diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 3 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 14096-0.txt | 7682 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 14096-h/14096-h.htm | 7770 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 14096-h/images/cover.jpg | bin | 0 -> 64579 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/14096-8.txt | 8068 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/14096-8.zip | bin | 0 -> 113216 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/14096-h.zip | bin | 0 -> 182469 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/14096-h/14096-h.htm | 8172 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/14096-h/images/cover.jpg | bin | 0 -> 64579 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/14096.txt | 8068 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/14096.zip | bin | 0 -> 113204 bytes |
13 files changed, 39776 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/14096-0.txt b/14096-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..27cb5eb --- /dev/null +++ b/14096-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7682 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14096 *** + +E-text prepared Steven desJardins and Project Gutenberg Distributed +Proofreaders + + + +WITH LINKS OF STEEL + +Or, The Peril of the Unknown + +New Magnet Library No. 1164 + +by + +NICHOLAS CARTER + +Author of the celebrated stories of Nick Carter's adventures, +which are published exclusively in the NEW MAGNET LIBRARY, +conceded to be among the best detective tales ever written. + +Street & Smith Corporation Publishers +79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York + +1904 + + + + + + + +[Illustration: Cover of With Links of Steel] + + + + +CHAPTER I A CRAFTY ROBBERY. +CHAPTER II CONCERNING SEÑORA CERVERA. +CHAPTER III THE KILGORE DIAMOND GANG. +CHAPTER IV GETTING DOWN TO WORK. +CHAPTER V BEHIND THE SCENES. +CHAPTER VI A SHOT IN THE DARK. +CHAPTER VII A STRATEGIC MOVE. +CHAPTER VIII FOUND DEAD. +CHAPTER IX NICK STRIKES A STARTLING CLEW. +CHAPTER X ON THE TRAIL. +CHAPTER XI THE CRIME AND THE MEANS. +CHAPTER XII CLOSING IN. +CHAPTER XIII CRAFTY CERVERA. +CHAPTER XIV IN A WARM CORNER. +CHAPTER XV THE DIAMOND PLANT. +CHAPTER XVI THE CUNNING OF JEAN PYLOTTE. +CHAPTER XVII THE GAME UNCOVERED. +CHAPTER XVIII AT CROSS-PURPOSES. +CHAPTER XIX HANDS SHOWED DOWN. +CHAPTER XX THE BOOT ON THE OTHER LEG. +CHAPTER XXI AN ONLY RESOURCE. +CHAPTER XXII THE LAST TRICK. + + + + +WITH LINKS OF STEEL + +CHAPTER I. + +A CRAFTY ROBBERY. + + +"Mr. Venner, sir?" + +"Mr. Venner--yes, certainly. You will find him in his private +office--that way, sir. The door to the right. Venner is in his private +office, Joseph, is he not?" + +"I don't think so, Mr. Garside, unless he has just returned. I saw him +go out some time ago." + +"Is that so? Wait a moment, young man." + +The young man halted, and then turned back to face Mr. Garside, with an +inquiring look in his frank, brown eyes. + +"Not here, sir, do I understand?" he asked, politely. + +Mr. Garside shook his head. He was a tall, slender man of forty, and was +the junior partner of the firm of Rufus Venner & Co., a large retail +jewelry house in New York City, with a handsome store on Fifth Avenue, +not far from Madison Square. + +It was in their store that this introductory scene occurred, and proved +to be the initiatory step of one of the shrewdest and most cleverly +executed robberies on record. + +It was about eleven o'clock one April morning. The sun was shining +brightly outside, and at the curbing in front of the store were several +handsome private carriages, with stiff-backed, motionless coachmen, in +bottle-green livery, perched on their boxes, all of which plainly +indicated the very desirable patronage accorded the firm mentioned. + +In the store the glare of sun was subdued by partly drawn yellow +curtains, which lent a soft, amber light to the deep interior, and +enhanced the dazzling beauty of the merchandise there displayed. + +The store was a rather narrow one, but quite deep, with a long-counter +on each side, back of which were numerous clerks, some engaged in +waiting upon the several customers then present. + +At the rear of the store was an office inclosure, with a partition of +plate glass; while at either side of this inclosure was a smaller room, +entirely secluded, these being the private offices of the two members of +the firm. + +Mr. Garside was standing about in the middle of the store when the young +man entered and inquired for Mr. Venner. As he turned from the clerk who +had informed him of Venner's absence, he added, half in apology, to his +visitor: + +"I was mistaken, young man. My clerk tells me that Mr. Venner is out +just now. Do you know where he has gone, Joseph?" + +"No, sir, I do not." + +"I think he will presently return," said Garside, again reverting to the +caller. "Is there anything that I can do for you? Or will you wait +until Mr. Venner comes in?" + +"I will not wait, Mr. Garside, since you are one of the firm, and +probably know about this matter," replied the young man, drawing a small +cloth-covered package from his breast pocket. "Here are the ten diamonds +for which Mr. Venner sent us an order this morning. I come from Thomas +Hafferman, sir, and will leave the stones with you." + +The man mentioned was also a jeweler, and a large importer of diamonds +and costly gems. + +Mr. Garside's countenance took on an expression of mild surprise. + +"From Hafferman? An order from Venner?" he murmured, inquiringly. "I was +not aware that Venner sent out any order for diamonds this morning." + +"One of your clerks brought the order, sir, and requested Mr. Hafferman +to send the stones here as soon as convenient," replied the messenger. +"Mr. Hafferman did not know your clerk personally, so I was sent here to +deliver the stones." + +"What is your name, young man?" + +"Harry Boyden, sir. I have worked for Mr. Hafferman for nearly five +years. I think you will find that the order was properly sent." + +"Wait just a moment, Mr. Boyden," suggested Garside, smiling. + +Then he hastened to the rear of the store, and spoke through the open +window near the cashier's desk. + +"Do any of you know of an order sent out by Mr. Venner this morning?" +he inquired, addressing the several clerks at work in the office. "An +order to Thomas Hafferman for ten diamonds." + +Only a girl stenographer, seated at a typewriter near the office door, +replied: + +"I think Mr. Venner sent Spaulding out about half an hour ago, sir," she +replied. "I saw him give Spaulding several letters." + +"Ah, doubtless it's all right enough," bowed Garside; "yet I wonder that +I had heard nothing about it. Joseph, has Spaulding been here within a +few minutes?" + +"No, sir," replied the clerk, the same who had at first been questioned. +"I saw him go out just before Mr. Venner departed, and he has not yet +returned." + +Garside had now reached the middle of the store again, where Boyden was +still waiting. + +"Are you quite sure that the order came from Mr. Venner?" he again +inquired. "How long ago was the messenger at your store?" + +"About half an hour ago, sir," Boyden readily answered. "The order was, +I presume, signed by Mr. Venner." + +"Was it our man Spaulding who delivered the order? Do you know him by +sight?" + +"I do not, sir. Joseph Maynard, yonder, is the only clerk here with whom +I am acquainted, and I think he will vouch for me," said Boyden, now +beginning to smile at Garside's manifest caution over receiving the +diamonds. "Surely, sir, no harm can come from your keeping the stones +until Mr. Venner returns, since I am willing to leave them with you," he +added, laughing. + +"Oh, no, no--I wasn't thinking of that," Garside quickly answered. "I +wished only to avoid the needless trouble of returning them, in case the +order did not come from us." + +"I think the order was all right, Mr. Garside. Besides, sir, I saw Mr. +Venner yesterday at our store, examining some diamonds. Doubtless these +are the same." + +"Oh, if that's the case, leave them, by all means," Garside cried. "I +was not aware that he had called there. Probably they are for some order +of which he has personal charge. Yes, yes, Mr. Boyden, leave them, +certainly. Here, Joseph, place the package in one of the vault drawers, +and hand it to Mr. Venner when he returns. Sorry to have detained you so +long, Mr. Boyden. Had you begun by stating that Venner called yesterday +upon Mr. Hafferman, I should not have demurred over the matter." + +"There's no harm done, Mr. Garside, none whatever," replied Boyden, +bowing and smiling. "I appreciate your caution, sir. If there proves to +have been any mistake in ordering them, you can easily return the +stones. Good-morning, sir." + +Garside replied with a nod over his shoulder, having turned to hand the +parcel to his clerk back of the counter, and Boyden immediately +departed. + +"Is that young man an acquaintance of yours, Maynard?" inquired Mr. +Garside. + +"Yes, sir. He has been with Hafferman for several years." + +"Doubtless it's all right, then. Odd, though, that Venner should have +made no mention to me of this order. Hand him the package as soon as he +comes in." + +"I will, sir, at once." + +Maynard had already placed the small parcel in a drawer of the huge +steel vault back of the counter, and he now resumed the work at which he +had been engaged. + +Mr. Garside sauntered toward the front of the store, and presently +greeted a lady who entered. + +Twenty minutes passed, and the incident of the diamonds was almost +forgotten by both employer and clerk. + +Soon both were reminded of it, however, by the entrance of another +man--a smooth-featured young fellow, with pale blue eyes, a sallow +complexion, slightly pock-marked. He was of medium height, and well put +together, and was clad in a neat business suit of fashionable +appearance. + +Quickly approaching Mr. Garside, who was then disengaged, he tendered +one of Thomas Hafferman's business cards, and said, glibly, while bowing +and laughing lightly: + +"Excuse me, Mr. Garside, but we rather owe you an apology. Our Mr. +Boyden left some diamonds with you a short time ago, which should have +been delivered to Tiffany & Co. Mr. Hafferman read the order without his +spectacles, and it's rather a good joke on him, for he thought it was +signed Venner & Co. The blunder was partly owing to the fact, no doubt, +that Mr. Venner called to see him yesterday about some diamonds." + +"There!" exclaimed Garside, as if quite pleased to discover that he had +been so nearly right. "I knew well enough that Venner had not sent out +any order without mentioning it to me. Yes, your Mr. Boyden left the +stones here. For Tiffany & Co., eh?" + +"Yes, sir, and they should have been delivered long ago," was the reply, +with a conventional laugh. "If you please, I'll leave them there on my +way back. Deucedly stupid blunder on Hafferman's part, I'm sure; and I +hope--" + +"Oh, there's no harm done, I guess, and but little time lost," +interrupted Garside, joining in the other's laugh. "You will deliver +them, you say?" + +"If you please." + +"Here, Joseph, hand me that package of diamonds left here by Boyden. +They were sent to us by mistake. I knew it well enough at the time. Here +you are, Mr. ----" + +"Raymond, sir. I am cashier at Hafferman's. Many thanks. Sorry to have +troubled you--very sorry." + +"No trouble at all," laughed Garside, accompanying Mr. Raymond toward +the street door. "The trouble has been all yours, sir." + +"That's quite true," smiled Raymond, as he bowed himself out with the +package of diamonds in his hand. "But now the pleasure is all mine!" he +added to himself, upon reaching the sidewalk. + +Then he strode rapidly away, quickly losing himself in the midday +stream of people thronging the famous New York thoroughfare. + +Less than five minutes later, before any misgivings had crept into the +mind of Mr. Garside, the senior member of the firm came hurrying into +the store. + +"Oh, I say, Venner!" exclaimed his partner, stopping him near the office +door. "What diamonds are you thinking of buying of Hafferman?" + +"Of Hafferman?" echoed Venner, with a look of surprise. + +"Weren't you looking at some stones there yesterday?" + +"Yes, certainly. Some very choice diamonds. I want ten of the first +water, a little larger and more perfectly matched than any we have in +stock at present. But how did you learn that I had called there?" + +Mr. Garside quickly informed him of the several incidents of the past +half hour, when, to his consternation and dismay a look of sudden +apprehension swept over Venner's face. + +"Raymond--the name of Hafferman's cashier!" he cried. "Nothing of the +sort, Philip. Their cashier is named Briggs. I know him well." + +"Briggs! Briggs!" + +"Briggs--yes, Briggs!" reiterated Mr. Venner, excitedly. "By Heaven, +there must be something wrong here!" + +"Dear me! If this Raymond was an impostor, we are done out of--" + +"Wait--wait!" + +Checking his partner with an impulsive gesture, Venner rushed into his +private office and seized his desk telephone, quickly calling up the +firm by which the diamonds had been sent. + +Garside followed him into the room, only to hear the questions hurriedly +asked over the wire by his excited partner, who presently dropped the +telephone and leaped to his feet, crying loudly, so loudly that his +voice filled the entire store, and brought all hands hurrying in his +direction: + +"There's no doubt of it, Garside, none whatever. You have been +duped--swindled--robbed of four thousand dollars' worth of gems! Raymond +was an impostor--a crook--" + +"Venner--hush! You are losing your head," protested Garside, white with +dismay. "It's enough that we have lost the stones, so at least keep your +head. Waste not a moment. Notify the police. Telephone at once for men +from the central office." + +"Blast the police! The central office be hanged!" cried Venner, choking +down an oath of wrathful contempt. "I'll have none of your police--none +of your central office men! I want a detective--not an effigy of one!" + +"Rufus--" + +"Silence, Garside, and leave this affair to me," Venner harshly +interrupted. "You've had fingers enough in it already." + +With which rebuke Mr. Rufus Venner strode passionately out of the office +and into the store proper, shouting loudly to the clerk previously +mentioned: + +"Maynard--here you, Maynard! Call a cab at once and go for Nick Carter! +Lose not a moment! Don't wait to ask questions, you blockhead! Away with +you, at once! Bring Nick Carter here with the least possible delay!" + +Maynard had already seized his coat and hat, and was hurrying out of the +store. + +And thus began one of the most stirring and extraordinary criminal cases +that ever fell within the broad experience of the famous New York +detective mentioned. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +CONCERNING SEÑORA CERVERA. + + +Joseph Maynard arrived at Nick Carter's residence just as the famous New +York detective was about preparing for lunch, and quickly stated his +mission, disclosing the superficial features of the crime. + +Nick Carter habitually looked below the surface of things, however, and +in trifles he invariably discovered more than the ordinary man. Before +Maynard had fairly outlined the case Nick keenly discerned that the +robbery could not have been committed by any common criminals, and he at +once decided not only that he would take the case, but also that it gave +promise of something far more startling than then appeared aboveboard. + +Yet even Nick's keen discernment utterly failed, at this early stage of +the affair, to anticipate its actual magnitude and tragic possibilities. + +Having consented to accompany Maynard to the scene of the crime, Nick +turned to Chick Carter, his reliable chief assistant, who also had been +an attentive listener to Maynard's disclosures. + +"You had better come with me, Chick," said he. "This affair has rather a +bad look, and in case quick work is imperative, I may need your +assistance." + +"Go with you it is, Nick," Chick heartily cried, hastening to put on his +coat and hat. + +"From the circumstances disclosed by Maynard, however," added Nick, "I +am inclined to think that these rats have very carefully covered their +tracks, and that a still hunt for their trail may prove to be our stunt. +Yet you had better go along with me." + +"I'm ready when you are, Nick." + +"Very good. Come on, Mr. Maynard. I see you have a carriage at the door. +We will not delay even for lunch, but will snatch a bite later." + +Together the three men left the house, and it was precisely one o'clock +when Nick was ushered into the private office of Venner & Co., where the +two members of the firm then were seated, apparently still engaged in +discussing the audacious robbery. + +Mr. Rufus Venner, it may be here stated, was a man of about forty years +of age, and was a very well-known man about town. Darkly handsome, with +an erect and imposing figure, an _habitué_ of the best clubs, a man +still unmarried, yet of whom hints were frequently dropped that he was +very popular with the fair sex, whom he was known to lavishly entertain +at times--this was the senior member of the firm of Venner & Co., and +the man who, quickly arose to greet Nick Carter and Chick when the two +detectives entered. + +"Your clerk has already given me the main facts of the case, Mr. Venner, +so we will dispense with any rehearsal of them, and get right down to +business," Nick crisply observed, immediately after their greeting. +"There are a few questions I wish to ask you, and concise replies may +expedite matters." + +"I will respond as briefly as possible, Mr. Carter," Venner quickly +rejoined, as they took chairs around the office table. "I do not fancy +being robbed in this scurvy fashion, sir, and you may go to any +reasonable expense to discover and arrest the thieves. Now, Detective +Carter, your questions?" + +"To begin with," asked Nick, with a steadfast scrutiny of Venner's +darkly attractive face, "what is the value of the stolen diamonds?" + +"About four thousand dollars." + +"Ten in number, I was told." + +"Precisely." + +"Are they of uniform value?" + +"Nearly so. They are splendid gems, and perfectly matched, and are worth +about four hundred dollars each. I wanted them for a special purpose, +which--" + +"Which I will presently arrive at," Nick courteously interposed. "I +understand, Mr. Venner, that you called yesterday at the store of Thomas +Hafferman and made some inquiries about these stones?" + +"I did, and also examined them." + +"In what part of Hafferman's store were you at the time?" + +"In his private office." + +"Were any of the clerks present?" + +"Not any--Stay! One of the clerks brought in the diamonds to Mr. +Hafferman, but he did not remain. Only Mr. Hafferman himself remained +with me while we discussed the matter." + +"Do you know the clerk's name?" + +"Boyden, I think, he was called." + +"The same who brought the diamonds here this morning," put in Mr. +Garside. "His name is Harry Boyden." + +Nick made a note of it in a small book which he drew from his pocket. + +"Did you make any deal at that time regarding the diamonds?" he +inquired. + +"I only had them reserved for me a day or two, stating that I would +either call again or send an order for them, if I decided to purchase +them," replied Venner. + +"Are you quite sure that only Mr. Hafferman heard you make that +statement?" + +"Sure only in that the office door was closed, and that he alone was +with me. If there were any eavesdroppers about I did not suspect it." + +"Naturally not," smiled Nick. "Now, then, for what special purpose did +you want those particular diamonds? I think you referred to one." + +A slight tinge of red appeared in Venner's cheeks when he replied, a +change which by no means escaped Nick's observation. + +"I wanted the stones, or then thought I might, for a customer who +contemplated giving me an order for a valuable diamond cross, to be worn +upon the stage. We happen to have in stock no diamonds perfectly adapted +to her requirements, and so I called upon Hafferman to learn if he could +supply me." + +"Who is the customer, Mr. Venner?" + +"I do not see how her identity can be at all essential to the +investigation of this affair, yet I have no objection to disclosing it," +said Venner, frowning slightly. + +"Why demur over it, then?" demanded Nick, bluntly. + +"Only because of an aversion to bringing the lady into the case, of +which she, of course, knows nothing," retorted Venner. "I expected the +order from Señora Cervera, the Spanish dancer." + +"Ah! Is she not a member of the Mammoth Vaudeville Troupe, which has +been playing here to packed houses for several months?" + +"She is, yes." + +"I have heard that she makes a great display of diamonds." + +"That is true, Mr. Carter. She possesses a magnificent collection of +jewels, and wears them with an abandon against which I frequently have +cautioned her." + +"By way of explanation," put in Mr. Garside, with an odd smile, "Venner +might add that he enjoys quite friendly relations with the Spanish +señora." + +"I see no occasion, Garside, for comments upon my interest in Sanetta +Cervera," declared Venner, with a frown at his partner. "My relations +with her, Detective Carter, are only those of a friend and a gentleman. +She called here several weeks ago to have some diamonds reset, when I +met her personally, and was deeply impressed with her extraordinary +grace and beauty. I since have shown her some attention." + +"Quite natural, I am sure," observed Nick, smiling indifferently. "As +you remarked, however, none of that appears to be material. I +understand, Mr. Venner, that you were absent when Boyden brought the +diamonds here this morning." + +"I was," bowed Venner. "I received a note from Señora Cervera this +morning, asking me to call upon her at eleven o'clock at her rooms, and +to bring with me a diamond pendant which we have in stock, and which I +had the pleasure of showing her a few days ago." + +"Ah, I see." + +"She stated in her note that if I would call upon her at the hour +mentioned, she would decide whether to purchase the pendant, or have us +make the diamond cross for her." + +"You complied with her request, Mr. Venner, and went to call upon her?" + +"Certainly." + +"Where is she quartered?" + +"She rents a furnished house uptown." + +"Does she live alone?" + +"With her servants only." + +"How many?" + +"She keeps a butler, a male cook, and two housemaids. Also a girl to +look after her wardrobe and act as her dresser at the theater." + +"Evidently Señora Cervera is wealthy," said Nick. + +"Well, not exactly wealthy," rejoined Venner. "She is the popular craze +just now, and from her professional work she derives a very large income +which she scatters as if dollars were dead leaves. In a word, Detective +Carter, Señora Cervera is an arrant spendthrift." + +"So I have heard," nodded Nick. + +"You have?" + +"Oh, yes!" laughed the detective. "That appears to surprise you. It +will not, when I tell you that there are very few public characters in +New York of whose general habits I am not tolerably well informed. Of +course, Mr. Venner, you have no doubt of this Spanish dancer's honesty?" +Nick added, bluntly. + +Venner flushed deeply, and instantly shook his head. + +"Most assuredly not," he cried, with some feeling. "Señora Cervera +dishonest? Impossible!" + +"Improbable, Mr. Venner, no doubt; but not impossible." + +"It is, sir," declared Venner, positively. "I know her well. Such an +idea is absurd. Drop it at once, Detective Carter. Indeed, sir, if I +thought her name was to be dragged into this affair, or her reputation +to be in any way imperiled, I would quietly suffer the loss of these +diamonds, and cease this investigation at once." + +Nick laughed softly, and suppressed the response that, nearly rose to +his lips. + +"Don't do it, Mr. Venner," said he, complacently. "My observation was +not intended to cast any reflection upon Señora Cervera. I have no doubt +that she is perfectly honest." + +"I should hope not, sir." + +"By the way, have you the note she sent to you this morning?" + +"Yes. Here it is." + +"By mail, or a messenger?" + +"A messenger brought it." + +"Ah!" murmured Nick, briefly studying the written page. "Plainly a +foreign hand. Very firm and forceful. It indicates a strong and +determined character. I should say that Señora Cervera is a woman of +rare qualities." + +"That is perfectly correct, sir. She is a woman of rare qualities." + +"What did she decide to do about the diamonds, Mr. Venner?" + +"She gave me an order for the cross, Detective Carter, to be made and +delivered as soon as possible." + +"This was during your call upon her this morning?" + +"Certainly." + +"You had previously sent no order to Hafferman for the stones?" + +"Surely not." + +"Yet a written order was received by him, or he would not have delivered +the goods." + +"In which case, then, it was a forgery." + +"No doubt of it," Nick readily admitted. "Chick." + +"Yes, Nick." + +"Take a carriage and go at once and interview Hafferman. See what you +can learn from him. Get the written order received by him, and bring it +here. Have a look at young Boyden, and see what you make of him. Also +get the written signature of Mr. Hafferman, and that of each person +employed in his store. Understand?" + +"Sure thing!" nodded Chick, already seeing clearly the line Nick's +investigation was taking, though neither Venner nor his partner yet +perceived it. "I will return as quickly as possible." + +"You will find me here," nodded Nick. "Wait a moment!" + +"Well?" + +"Also get a description of the party who delivered the written order at +Hafferman's store. Inquire what he said at the time, and why he did not +attempt securing the diamonds then and there." + +"Probably he was not known there, and knew he could not get them," +observed Venner, by way of explanation. + +Nick made no reply to this, however, and Chick hurriedly departed. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE KILGORE DIAMOND GANG. + + +"Now, gentlemen, only a few more questions, and I then shall be ready to +go at this case in a more energetic fashion," said Nick Carter, +immediately after Chick's departure. "Were any of your clerks absent +from the store, Mr. Venner, at the time of this robbery?" + +"As I was absent myself, I cannot say," replied Venner, rather dryly. +"How about it, Garside?--you were here." + +"Only one clerk, a young man named Spaulding, was out of the store." + +"Was he out on business?" + +"Yes, under my instructions," Venner quickly explained. "We have +numerous old accounts on our books, and just before I went uptown I sent +Spaulding out to try to make a few collections. I think he has returned +by this time." + +"It does not matter, since he was out under your instructions," said +Nick, closing his notebook. "Now, Mr. Venner, who among your employees +knew you thought of buying this lot of diamonds from Hafferman, or that +you had called at his store to examine them?" + +"Not a soul," was the prompt reply. + +"Are you sure of that?" + +"Absolutely. I had said nothing of the matter, even to my partner, there +being nothing definite about it before I saw Señora Cervera this +morning. I am sure that none of my clerks had any idea of my +intentions." + +Nick was not so sure of it, yet he did not say so. He arose and took +from Venner's desk a block of plain paper, which he laid upon the table. + +"Gentlemen," said he, "I want the signature of your firm, in the +handwriting of each of you. Kindly let me have this." + +"What's that for?" demanded Venner, abruptly. + +"I wish to make a comparison with the forged order which my assistant +will presently bring from Mr. Hafferman," Nick coolly explained. "I +would suggest that you do not delay me." + +Venner made no reply, but took a pen and signed the firm's name upon the +blank paper. + +"Now yours, Mr. Garside." + +"Mine also, Detective Carter?" queried Garside, with a look of surprise. + +"If you please." + +"Surely," cried Venner, with some resentment, "you do not suspect that +Mr. Garside or myself--" + +"Pardon me!" Nick bluntly interrupted. "I am not in the habit of +discussing my suspicions. That I should suspect either of you, however, +is utterly absurd." + +"I should say so!" + +"Therefore do not argue with me over an absurdity. If I am to continue +this investigation, gentlemen, I must do it in my own way. Either that, +or I shall drop the case at once. Your signature, Mr. Garside." + +Garside hastened to take the pen, and dashed off the firm's signature +below that of his partner. Nick tore the page from the block, then +handed the latter to Venner. + +"Now, Mr. Venner," said he, "have each of your employees, from first to +last, write his name with pen and ink upon this paper. Don't overlook +one of them, not one, from your bookkeeper down to your office boy. If +Spaulding is still out, get his signature later, and send it to me by +mail. I will wait here while you are thus engaged." + +Venner now vaguely perceived Nick's suspicions and design, and he could +not consistently offer any remonstrance. Yet he plainly resented the +idea that any of his clerks could have been guilty of co-operation with +the criminals who had committed the robbery that morning, and his dark +features wore a grim and sullen expression when he took the block of +paper and repaired to his main office. + +Nick Carter sat and waited, silently sizing up the case as he then saw +it. + +Just as Venner returned with the numerous signatures, Chick also put in +an appearance again, bringing with him the forged order which had been +left at Hafferman's store. Nick merely glanced at it, then thrust it +into his pocket. + +"Did you see Boyden?" he inquired of Chick. + +"Yes, and spoke with him," nodded Chick. + +"What about him?" + +"He looks all right." + +"Did you get the signatures of Hafferman and his clerks?" + +"They are on this paper." + +"Good enough. Let me have those of your employees, Mr. Venner. Are they +all here?" + +"Yes, all of them." + +"Very good," said Nick, putting the several papers into his pocket. +"Now, Chick, what of the man who visited Hafferman's store with the +forged order?" + +"He merely left the order and asked that the diamonds should be sent +here at once." + +"What sort of a man?" + +"Dark, about fifty, with a heavy mustache and wavy hair," said Chick, +glibly. "Quite a big fellow, Hafferman states." + +"H'm!" ejaculated Nick, with a significant nod. "Now, Mr. Garside, +describe the man to whom you delivered the diamonds." + +"Raymond?" + +"If that is the name he gave you." + +"He is a well-built, smoothly shaven fellow, of about thirty years, with +a sallow complexion, slightly pock-marked--" + +"Ah, I thought so!" Nick curtly interrupted. "That's quite sufficient, +Mr. Garside." + +"What do you mean, Carter?" quickly demanded Venner. "Do you already +recognize these criminals?" + +"I recognize their work." + +"And the men?" + +"I've them in mind from the outset." + +"Impossible!" + +"Not so, Mr. Venner," Nick now declared, with emphasis. "Without a +shadow of doubt, sir, you have been victimized by the notorious Kilgore +diamond gang, a trio of the shrewdest and most daring scoundrels that +ever stood in leather." + +"You amaze me." + +"Do I?" inquired Nick, smiling softly. "Well, sir, if I were to tell you +the history of these rascals, you would be more than amazed--you would +be astounded. No crime is too desperate, no knavery too hazardous, no +villainy too despicable, for them to attempt, and too often successfully +execute. They have perpetrated their crimes over two continents, and are +known to the police the world over." + +"That is not very complimentary to the police," said Venner, dryly. "I +marvel that such distinguished scoundrels are still at large." + +"A fact which stamps them no ordinary criminals," replied Nick, +pointedly. "Nor are they, sir." + +"What do you know of them, Detective Carter?" + +"David Kilgore, the chief of the gang, is one of the shrewdest and most +daring of knaves, a man of splendid education, polished manners and +broad experience. He possesses nerves of steel, the cunning of a fox, +and would not shrink even from murder, if his designs required it. Yet +he invariably covers his tracks so cleverly, or so quickly vanishes when +hard pressed, that thus far he has successfully eluded the police. +That's David Kilgore, sir." + +"And what of his associates?" inquired Venner. "I think you spoke of a +trio." + +"His confederates are scamps of the same sort, and nearly his equal in +craft and daring," replied Nick. "Perry Dalton is one--the smooth, +pock-marked rascal whom you, Mr. Garside, had the pleasure of meeting +this morning. He is nicknamed Spotty Dalton, because of his slight +disfigurement." + +"And the other?" + +"Is a man named Matthew Stall, more commonly called Matt Stall. He is a +Western man, a graduate of a California university, and is an expert +electrician. Oh, I know all about them," laughed Nick, "although this is +the first time I have been up against them personally. I am rather glad +to discover that they are here in New York." + +"Why so, Detective Carter?" Venner carelessly inquired, with a subtle +gleam in the depths of his dark eyes. + +"Because I have long wanted to match my talents against those of Dave +Kilgore and his rascally push," declared Nick, with grim austerity. "The +last I knew of them they were in Amsterdam, Holland, where some of the +finest work in diamond cutting is done, as you doubtless know." + +"Indeed, yes." + +"They probably had to jump that country for obvious reasons, and very +likely the European continent," added Nick. "They have long avoided New +York, and the fact that they are now here is significant of--well, well, +we shall see! That's all, gentlemen!" + +"But what do you intend doing about this case?" demanded Venner, as Nick +abruptly rose to go. + +"All that can be done, sir," the famous detective bluntly rejoined. "I +accept the case, Mr. Venner, and will do my best with it. When I have +anything to report, you shall hear from me." + +"But--" + +"There really is nothing more to be said, gentlemen, and the sooner I +get to work the better," Nick gravely interposed. + +"But will you advise me of any steps that you may take?" persisted +Venner, briefly detaining him by the arm. + +"Very probably," nodded Nick, though really he probably would do nothing +of the kind. "And now good-day, gentlemen. If reporters call upon you, +you may give them all of the facts, and state that Nick Carter is at +work on the case. I want this Kilgore diamond gang to know at the outset +that I am after them--and fully resolved to land them where they +belong." + +"Behind prison bars, eh?" inquired Venner, with an odd smile. + +"Yes, sir! Behind prison bars!" declared Nick, forcibly. "Again, +gentlemen, good-day. You will hear from me later." + +Mr. Rufus Venner, with his partner at his elbow, stood in the office +door and silently watched the two celebrated detectives as they strode +quickly through the elegant store, from which they presently vanished +into Fifth Avenue. + +There was a smile of subtle cunning, combined with cruel and malicious +determination, on Venner's dark face and he muttered under his breath, +as the store door closed upon Nick's imposing figure: + +"Hear from you later, eh? Very good. Very good, indeed, Mr. Detective +Carter! Hear from you again--that is precisely what I want! Early and +often, Detective Carter; early and often, if you please! It is precisely +for what the little robbery of this April morning was invented!" + +"But was it necessary--was it really necessary, Rufus?" whispered +Garside, who alone had overheard, and whose paler face and tremulous +figure betrayed fears which his swarthy senior partner would have +scorned to feel. "This Carter is a most artful and discerning man. I am +so afraid you have barked up the wrong tree. Was it necessary, really +necessary, Rufus?" + +Venner turned upon him with a half-smothered snarl of contempt. + +"Bah! You'd be afraid of your own shadow, Garside, if left alone with +it," he sneered, between his white, even teeth. "Necessary--of course it +was necessary! Otherwise, I should not have adopted the ruse. We are +about to attempt a big game--an infernally big game! When it matures, +when it is finally launched, the very first concern that finds itself +bitten will rush to Nick Carter for aid." + +"There is no doubt of that, Rufus." + +"Surely no doubt of it! He is the greatest detective in the country--and +the greatest will be none too clever, nor too expensive, for those who +find themselves duped by our unparalleled design." + +"I should say so." + +"What will be the result, Philip?--what will be the result?" added +Venner, with a curious mingling of exultation and asperity. "If our +victims appeal to Nick Carter for help--are we not also already in his +good graces? Have we not insured his confidence in us by this little +move of to-day? Will he not reveal himself and his suspicions to us, +just as I have designed, and keep us posted about his every move, and so +forewarned and forearmed? Of course he will--to be sure he will!" + +"But he is such a crafty and daring--" + +"Bah! Is he more crafty than Dave Kilgore?" demanded Venner, +significantly. "Is he more daring than Spotty Dalton, or more determined +than anyone of the Kilgore gang? Not by a long chalk, Philip, and I know +of them of whom I speak. Ay, as much and more of them than does +Detective Nick Carter." + +"Perhaps you are right, Rufus," murmured Garside, nodding. "We certainly +are about launching a tremendous, an utterly unparalleled, swindle. The +like of it was never, never known. There should be millions in it. Yes, +yes, Rufus, you are right. It was wise to preface our gigantic +operations by getting well in touch with Nick Carter." + +"To be sure, it was wise, Philip, or I should not have taken the trouble +to do so," said Venner, with much less acrimony. "So be a man always, +Philip, and never a flunky. You have played your part admirably this +morning. Let it be played as well, Philip, even to the finish--even to +the last ditch!" + +Philip Garside's color had returned, and he smiled confidently and +nodded in approval. + +Plainly enough, this hushed yet emphatic intercourse between these two +indicated one fact--that Detective Nick Carter was up against a far +deeper game than he then imagined. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +GETTING DOWN TO WORK. + + +"Well, Nick, old man, what have you made of it?" + +The question came from Chick Carter, in his familiar and cheerful +fashion, several hours after the interview held by the two detectives +with Rufus Venner and his partner in their Fifth Avenue store. + +It was now about six o'clock in the evening, and Chick had just returned +from having a confidential talk with one of the stage hands of the +theater in which the then famous attraction, the mammoth European and +American vaudeville troupe, of which Señora Cervera was a star +attraction, had for several months been playing to crowded houses. + +Chick found Nick seated at the table in his library, with a powerful +magnifying glass in his hand, while the table was strewn with the papers +he that morning had brought from the office of Venner & Co. + +Nick looked up with a laugh, and knocked the ashes from his cigar. + +"Well, there's no doubt about it, Chick," he replied. "We are finally up +against them." + +"The Kilgore diamond gang?" + +"Precisely." + +"I'm glad of it, Nick, as you remarked this morning." + +"Well, I've not changed my mind since then. So am I." + +"We shall now find out whether they are as crafty and desperate as they +have been painted." + +"I guess there is no doubt about it, Chick." + +"Well, if we fail to throw them down, Nick, my money shall go on Kilgore +from that moment," declared Chick, with a grin. "What have you dug out +of that mess of papers, Nick? Have you arrived at any conclusions?" + +"Rather!" smiled Nick, significantly. "Did you ever know me to study for +five hours over anything of this kind without arriving at some +conclusion?" + +"Never!" laughed Chick. "And the best of it is, Nick, your conclusions +nearly always prove to be correct. What's the verdict, old man?" + +Nick glanced at the French clock on the mantel. + +"Sit down and light up," he replied. "We have half an hour before +getting down to work against this push. I will devote it to informing +you of the case as it now appears." + +"Good enough!" exclaimed Chick, drawing up a chair and lighting a cigar. +"Let her go, Nick. I am all ears, as the donkey said to the deacon." + +"To begin with," began Nick, more gravely, "this order sent to +Hafferman, for the diamonds which he delivered at Venner's store, is +merely a forgery. Neither Venner nor Garside wrote it, that's as plain +as the nose on an elephant's face." + +"Which is plain enough, surely," nodded Chick. + +"Furthermore," continued Nick, "the forgery was not the work of any +clerk employed in either store. I have compared the writing of each and +every clerk with that of the forged order, and I will stake my +reputation upon my conclusion. The forgery was committed by some outside +party." + +Nick was an expert chirographist. To have deceived him with a disguised +handwriting would have been utterly impossible, and none knew it better +than Chick, who now nodded approvingly. + +"Some outside party, eh?" + +"There is no doubt of it, Chick. And this conclusion at once suggests +two very natural questions," Nick went on. "First, was one of the +Kilgore gang in Hafferman's store when Venner went there yesterday, and +did he overhear enough of what passed between them to enable him to plan +the job done this morning?" + +"Possibly." + +"In opposition to that theory, however, is the fact that the forged +order is written on one of Venner's printed letter sheets." + +"By a little adroit work, Nick, one of the gang could have obtained a +sheet of Venner's office paper." + +"That is very true," admitted Nick. "But since this is a theory founded +only upon conjecture, with no positive evidence to back it up, the +stronger probability is rather to the contrary." + +"Right, Nick, as far as that goes." + +"I think so." + +"And what is the second theory suggested?" + +"That some clerk in one of the stores got wind of Venner's contemplated +purchase, and revealed the fact to one of the Kilgore gang, by whom I +am confident--bear in mind--that the crime was committed." + +"That theory seems plausible," nodded Chick. "There is young Boyden, you +know, at Hafferman's. He may have got wise to Venner's intentions. +Garside remarked that he appeared quite anxious to leave the diamonds +until Venner should return. That would have been very natural on his +part, in case he was then co-operating with the party who finally +secured them." + +"The same objection again arises, however," argued Nick. "Boyden is not +employed at Venner's, and therefore has not access to his letter paper. +Furthermore, Venner's visit was made only yesterday afternoon, less than +twenty-four hours before the robbery occurred. It seems hardly probable +that Boyden was already in league with the Kilgore gang; and, if he was +not, it is even less probable that he so quickly got in touch with +them." + +"By Jove! that's so," cried Chick. "As a matter of fact, then, neither +of these theories has a reliable leg to stand upon." + +"That's exactly my conclusion," laughed Nick. + +"And what then?" + +"Concerning that side of the affair," replied Nick, "several +irresistible convictions are therefore forced upon me. One of the +Kilgore gang certainly knew of Venner's visit, and of the request he +made Hafferman regarding the diamonds. Otherwise he could not have +planned the job so neatly. Somebody must have informed him. Somebody +must have provided him with one of Venner's letter sheets. If we +eliminate the clerks, and the members of both firms, we are left very +much in the dark." + +"I should say so," rejoined Chick. "The affair becomes a dense mystery." + +"It becomes a mystery that I don't quite fancy," declared Nick, with a +significant nod. "In fact, Chick, I'm not at all favorably impressed +with this robbery. To me it has a mighty fishy look." + +"Why so, Nick?" + +"It is not like this Kilgore gang, mark you, to have been dickering with +a dirty little job of this kind, netting them only a few thousands at +the best; yet a job in which they incurred as much danger of detection, +Chick, as in one infinitely greater." + +"By Jove! that's so. There's no getting away from that argument, Nick." + +"Instead of trying to get away from it, Chick, I'm going to stay with +it," continued Nick, with emphasis. "I am beginning to suspect that this +paltry little robbery may in some way make a far deeper and darker game. +At all events, Chick, we'll not wind ourselves in a search for those +diamonds, at least not before we have sifted these side issues a little +finer." + +"Good enough!" cried Chick, heartily. "I agree with you on every point. +Only your long head, Nick, old man, could have deduced such shrewd +conclusions; and I believe, by Jove! that you have hit the nail on the +head." + +"If I have," rejoined Nick, grimly, "we'll drive the nail home a little +later, and home to stay." + +"That we will." + +"There remains one other feature of the case," added Nick, "and, +starting from that, we will begin work upon the affair this very night." + +"You refer to that Spanish dancer, Cervera?" + +"Precisely." + +"And the fact that she requested Venner to call at her house this +morning?" + +"Exactly," nodded Nick. "She fixed the hour, mind you, probably knowing +that Venner would comply with her request. Hence there exists a +possibility that she designed to get him away from his store at just +that time, in order that the robbery could be successfully executed." + +"In which case, Nick, we necessarily must figure her in with the Kilgore +gang, despite Venner's declaration of her honesty." + +"Certainly we must, Chick, in case her note to Venner was written for +the purpose mentioned," nodded Nick. "Of that, however, we have no +positive evidence. It may have been purely accidental that her note was +sent to-day, and mentioned the very hour when the theft was committed. +Obviously, in that case, the thief outside was waiting for some +opportunity when Venner should be away from his store. Cervera would +then be out of the affair, as far as any criminal intent is concerned." + +"Very probably." + +"So there you are!" exclaimed Nick, with another glance at the clock. +"Our half hour is up. You now have my measure of the case, and next we +will get down to business. We will drop this fishy-looking robbery for +the present, Chick, and first of all make a move to learn something +about Señora Cervera, and her relations with Rufus Venner." + +"A good scheme, Nick, and I'm with you." + +"Have you been at the theater?" + +"Yes, and fixed things with Busby." + +"You can get in upon the stage to-night?" + +"Sure thing, as I told you," laughed Chick. "Busby is the boss scene +shifter there, and he consented to work me in as a stage hand." + +"Ah! very good." + +"I have got to make up for the part, however, and must soon be about it. +I am due there at half-past seven." + +"Get at it, then," said Nick, rising. "See what you can learn about +Cervera, and what you make of her from observation. In case Venner is +about there, keep your ears alert, so that you can overhear." + +"You trust me for that, Nick," cried Chick, laughing. + +"Meantime, Chick, I'll have a look at the show from the front," added +Nick. "And after Cervera does her turn, in case Venner is there, and she +departs with him, you then may leave the couple to me. I'll be waiting +for them at the stage door." + +"Right you are, Nick. So here goes!" + +Shrewd deductions, indeed, those of Nick Carter. + +Plainly enough, Garside was quite justified in his apprehension that +Rufus Venner had barked up the wrong tree. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +BEHIND THE SCENES. + + +Nick Carter had a double object in the work laid out for that night. If +Señora Cervera was indeed in league with the Kilgore gang, and in any +way responsible for the diamond robbery, Nick was resolved to secure +positive evidence of it. + +While her letter to Venner appeared to implicate her, since it had taken +him from his store just at the time of the robbery, it seemed hardly +probable that this brilliant Spanish girl, whose extraordinary grace and +whirlwind dances had made her the talk of the town, could be identified +with a gang of criminals notorious the world over. Yet the bare +possibility existed, and Nick never ignored even the shadow of a clew. + +He further reasoned that, in case Cervera was in league with the +suspected gang, one or more of them might visit the theater in which she +was performing, and Nick decided to have a look at the audience that +evening. He was sure he could identify Kilgore or any of his gang, even +if disguised, as would be very probable. + +Nick's second object was that of learning the exact relations between +Señora Cervera and Rufus Venner, and a part of that work he confided to +Chick. With himself in the front of the house, and Chick on the stage, +Nick believed that nothing worth seeing would escape them. + +His own search early in the evening, however, proved futile. It was the +last week but one of the mammoth vaudeville attraction, and the theater +was densely crowded. Though Nick watched the lobbies and the smoking +room, and also made a systematic study of the auditorium, he could +discover no sign of the parties he was seeking. + +About nine o'clock he returned to his chair in the orchestra, and +settled himself to have a look at Cervera, whose act was one of the last +on the program. + +Just at that time Chick Carter, in the overalls and blouse of a scene +shifter, made his first pertinent discovery--that Rufus Venner, clad in +immaculate evening dress, and carrying an Inverness topcoat on his arm, +had arrived upon the stage. + +"He seems to be at home behind the scenes," soliloquized Chick, +furtively watching him. "Evidently he has some kind of a pull with the +manager, or he could not get admission to the stage. Probably through +his friend, the Spanish señora." + +Venner was then in one of the left wings, apparently indulging in small +talk with a handsome girl of about twenty, who had just finished her +turn upon the stage. She was rather simply clad, but was strikingly +pretty and modest appearing; and upon consulting a program with which he +had provided himself, Chick learned that her stage name was Violet +Marduke; and that she was cast as a singer of ballads. + +"Evidently employed to fill in," thought Chick, who had not been much +impressed with her songs, though he decided that the girl herself was a +beauty. "And by his admiring glances, Venner also thinks pretty well of +her," Chick mentally added. + +"Room here, mister," growled a voice at his elbow. "Make room for the +reptiles." + +Chick turned quickly about, and then involuntarily recoiled from the +startling object that met his gaze. + +In front of a scene then set in the second grooves of the Stage, the +continuous performance was still in progress. Meantime, several of the +stage hands were wheeling to the center of the stage, back of the scene, +the properties of the next performer on the program--and grewsome +properties they were. + +The object beheld by Chick was a huge, cagelike den, mounted on low +wheels, and having a broad front of plate glass. Inside of this den were +several wicker baskets, some of which were open, while others were +covered and locked. + +In the open baskets, or writhing freely about the floor of the den, were +fully fifty serpents of various sizes, many being only a foot or two +long, while several were as many yards in length. + +A more repulsive and blood-curdling sight Chick had never experienced, +and the stage hand who had asked him to move laughed at his look of +mingled horror and repugnance. + +"Ever seen any like 'em after a jamboree?" he inquired, good-naturedly. + +"Well, hardly," said Chick, subduing his aversion. "If I were to go on a +drunk and see anything like them, I'd sign the pledge the next morning." + +"A good scheme, too." + +"I should say so." + +"Some o' the crawling divils are as bad as they look," added the stage +hand, while he helped to place the snake den squarely on the stage. + +"What do you mean?" inquired Chick, still gingerly surveying them. + +"Pizen!" + +"Venomous?" + +"You bet! Durn 'em, I wouldn't touch one of them for the wealth of +Rockefeller." + +"Do you mean that some of them still have their fangs and poison bags?" + +"Sure! D'ye see that little copper-colored cuss down there in the +corner, not more'n a foot long? If he got a crack at you, you'd not live +ten seconds." + +"Well, I will take deuced good care that he gets no nip at me," declared +Chick, with a grin. "Why do they have such dangerous things around?" + +"H'm! What would be the excitement, or the credit of snake charming, if +the wriggling beasts were made harmless by pulling out their fangs?" +demanded the stage hand. "It would be like a dog fight, with the dogs +muzzled. These belong to that heathen Hindoo, the snake charmer. He +shows next." + +"Pandu Singe?" inquired Chick, glancing at the name on the program. + +"Sure. He handles 'em like so many babies. There he is now, just coming +from his dressing room. He looks a bit like a snake himself." + +Chick turned and gazed curiously at the approaching foreigner. + +Pandu Singe was a tall, swarthy man, with straight, black hair, an +Indian cast of features, and a pair of intensely black and piercing +eyes. Their glitter was indeed like that in the eyes of a snake, yet the +Hindoo, approaching without a word to anybody, or a glance to either +side, was not without a certain sort of savage dignity. + +He wore a red turban around his head, while a loose, black robe, belted +around his waist, reached nearly to his ankles. With a gesture he signed +the several men away from his hideous den of reptiles, and Chick retired +up the stage. + +The detective had barely made his change, when he heard the low voice of +Busby near by, the friend who had smuggled him upon the stage that +evening. + +"Hist! There she is, Chick!" + +"Cervera?" + +"Yes. Down yonder, just to the right of the electric switchboard. Slip +in back of this wood wing, and you can have a good look at her." + +"All right, Busby, old man," whispered Chick. "Don't you pay too much +attention to me, or it may be noticed. I'll see all there is to be seen, +old boy." + +Busby winked understandingly, and Chick stepped back of the scenery +mentioned, through a portion of which he could easily watch Cervera +unobserved. + +That she was a daughter of sunny Spain no man would have doubted. Her +wavy hair was as dark as night, and her eyes were as radiant as the +night stars. Her rich, olive complexion was much rouged, adding to the +brilliancy of her splendid beauty. + +She appeared to be about twenty-five, and was clad in her stage costume, +which combined all the bright hues of the rainbow, and was enlivened by +a myriad of dazzling jewels and diamonds. + +The costume served to display to advantage her matchless figure, +however, and Chick was fain to admit that he had never seen a much more +striking beauty. + +"She's a bird, all right, and no mistake," he said to himself, while +intently regarding her handsome face and jewel-bedecked figure. "Yet she +has a bad eye, despite her beauty, and a cruel mouth. She certainly +would put up a wicked fight, if once aroused. Yes, a deucedly bad eye! +What in thunder is she staring at, to look like that!" + +From her position near one of the lower wings, Sanetta Cervera was +gazing steadfastly across the stage at something which Chick could not +see. + +The dark eyes of the Spanish dancer had taken on a threatening glare. +Her curved brows had drooped and knit, until they formed a straight line +below her forehead, and her red lips were drawn and firmly compressed. + +Before Chick could discover any occasion for this mute display of +feeling, the performance in front of the set scene concluded, and the +act of the snake charmer was due to begin. + +Then came a rapid change of scenery, during which Chick was again +obliged to change his position, and for a time he lost sight of Cervera +in the stir and confusion of the busy stage. + +He did not succeed in locating her again until she began her +performance, when a full stage was given her for the marvelously +graceful and impassioned dances of which her act consisted, and which +had fairly turned half the heads in the city. + +In the white glare of the limelight, she certainly presented a wild and +dazzling picture. Her beauty was indescribably accentuated. She appeared +like a being ablaze with diamonds. Her every attitude was one of +seductive grace, her every movement as swift and light as those of a +startled leopard. + +At its conclusion her act evoked thunders of applause, and then Chick +saw her hastening toward her dressing room, flushed with excitement and +panting for breath. + +Suddenly she halted and her smile vanished. + +Then Chick saw her turn abruptly toward one of the wing scenes, where +she met Venner face to face. + +The wealthy Fifth Avenue jeweler laughed and extended his hand to greet +her, but she frowned and hesitated before accepting it; and Chick made a +quick move and stole back of the scenery, near which the two briefly +remained standing. + +He arrived in time to overhear only a few words, however, of which he +could make nothing bearing upon the diamond robbery, or relating to the +Kilgore gang. + +"Pshaw! You are entirely wrong, Sanetta," Venner was expostulating, with +voice lowered. "Your eyes have deceived you." + +The woman replied through her teeth, with a hiss like that of a snake. + +"My eyes deceived me? Never! You lie! I know what I see!" she fiercely +answered, with but a slight foreign accent. + +"You are wrong, Cervera," protested Venner. "I--" + +"I am not! I see--and I know!" + +"But--" + +"_Caramba!_ I say you shall go with me!" + +"Why, certainly, if you wish it. Am I not here for that?" + +"You know that I wish it--and you shall go." + +"Whenever you are ready, Sanetta," replied Venner. "Yet your infernal--" + +"Silence! You shall wait here till I have changed my suit. Then we will +go--we will go together. You shall wait here." + +"Go and make the change, then," said Venner, bluntly. "I will be here +when you return." + +"H'm!" thought Chick, as he heard Cervera move quickly away. "Evidently +there is something amiss between them, but what the dickens is it?" + +Still watching, he soon saw Cervera return in her street attire, when +Venner quickly gave her his arm, and they departed by the stairs leading +to the stage door. + +Chick immediately recalled Nick's instructions--that the couple should +now be left to him. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +A SHOT IN THE DARK. + + +It was nearly eleven o'clock when Rufus Venner and Cervera, the latter +enveloped in a voluminous black cloak, emerged from the stage door of +the theater. + +As they made their way through the paved area leading out to the side +street, where a carriage was awaiting them, a sturdy, roughly clad +fellow in a red wig and croppy beard suddenly slouched out of a gloomy +corner near the stage stairway and followed them, with movements as +stealthy and silent as those of a cat. + +As the carriage containing Venner and the dancer rapidly whirled away, +this rough fellow darted swiftly across the street, and approached a +waiting cab, the door of which stood open. + +"After them, Patsy!" he softly cried, as he sprang in and closed the +door. + +The driver of the cab was one of Nick Carter's youthful yet exceedingly +clever assistants, and the rough fellow was Nick himself. + +He had left the theater the moment Cervera concluded her performance, +and since had completed a perfect disguise in the cab, which he had had +in waiting, with all the properties for effecting the change mentioned. + +That Patsy would constantly keep their quarry in view, and without being +suspected, Nick had not a doubt. Nor was he mistaken. At the end of +twenty minutes the clever young driver slowed down upon approaching an +uptown corner, and signaled Nick to get out. + +The detective alighted from the door on the side from which he had +received the signal, yet the cab did not stop. Nick trotted along beside +the vehicle for a rod or two, keeping it between him and the side street +into which Patsy quickly signed that the hack had turned. + +"Fourth house on the right," he softly cried. "I saw them pull up at it +just as I reached the corner, so I kept right on up the avenue. They've +not gone in yet." + +"Good enough," replied Nick, approvingly. "Take home the traps I have +left in the cab." + +"Sure thing. You don't want any help to-night against this push, do +you?" + +"No, indeed. There'll be but little doing to-night, I imagine. Remember +the house, however, in case I fail to show up." + +"You may gamble on that, sir. I have it down pat." + +They had now passed the upper corner of the side street, and Nick felt +sure that he had not been seen leaving the cab. He darted quickly back +of the vehicle and gained the sidewalk, then stole back and peered +around the corner. + +Cervera and her companion were just mounting the steps of an imposing +stone residence, entirely separate from its neighbors, and their +carriage was driving rapidly away. + +Nick waited until the couple had entered the house, then he crossed to +the gloom of a doorway on the opposite side and had a look at the +dwelling. + +From basement to roof there was no sign of a light. Even the hall +appeared to be in darkness, and Nick waited and watched for several +minutes, expecting to see at least one of the rooms lighted. + +Not a glimmer or gleam, however, appeared from any quarter. + +"H'm!" he presently muttered, a little perplexed. "Either they are +remaining in darkness, or else they have all of those windows heavily +curtained. If the latter is the case, I must discover for what reason. + +"Possibly they are entirely alone in there, and have gone to some room +at the rear of the house. Or maybe they have suspected an espionage, and +are now watching from the gloom of one of those front windows. I'll fool +them if that is so, and will also have a look at the rear of the house. +There is something out of the ordinary here, that's certain." + +Keeping well in the gloom of the block of dwellings near by, Nick +retraced his steps to the corner, then crossed the street and presently +approached a paved driveway leading to a small stable at the rear of the +suspected house. + +The high gate, composed of sharp iron pickets, was securely closed and +locked; so Nick returned to an alley which he had just passed, and which +ran back of a block of dwellings fronting on the avenue where he had +left the cab. + +Stealing into the alley, Nick quickly scaled the high, wooden fence, +crossed two adjoining back yards, and thus reached a wall near the +stable mentioned. + +To mount the wall and drop back of the stable was equally feasible, and +Nick then had the rear of Cervera's dwelling plainly in view. + +Then his searching gaze was rewarded. One of the rear rooms was brightly +lighted, with only the lace draperies at the two windows preventing +observation from outside. + +"Evidently a rear sitting room, or library," thought Nick, calculating +the arrangement of the house. "I will at least learn who is in there." + +He listened briefly for any sound in or about the stable, then stole +quickly across the gloomy, paved yard and approached the house. + +The windows of the lighted room were two feet or more above his head; +but having reached a position just below one of them, he sprang up and +seized the stone coping outside, and drew himself up to peer into the +room. + +Then, just as his head rose into the glow of light from within, clearly +revealing his location, Nick heard a sound the deadly nature of which he +instantly recognized. + +Ping! + +It was the short, sharp, peculiar song of a flying bullet--once heard, +always remembered. + +Then came the dull thud when the leaden ball beat itself shapeless +against the stone wall beside him. + +The bullet had passed within an inch of Nick's ribs, and he knew at once +that he was now a mark for hidden foes. + +Yet there had been no revolver report to suggest their location, and +Nick instantly surmised that the ball must have been discharged with an +air gun. + +He knew that it must have come from some quarter behind him, however. +And he knew, too, how to bring his murderous assailants from their +secret cover. + +As quick as a flash, the instant the ball smote the wall beside him, +Nick let go his hold upon the stone coping and dropped into the darkness +below the window, falling prostrate upon his back. + +As he lay there his hand touched something hot, and he drew it nearer to +examine it. + +It was the battered chunk of lead which had come within an inch of +ending his life. + +"They meant business, for sure," he said to himself, while waiting for +his quick-witted ruse to operate. "I'm blessed if this affair is not +taking on a new and lively interest. I reckon there'll be more doing +to-night than I gave Patsy to believe. + +"Ha, ha! The scoundrels are already breaking cover!" + +His alert ears had detected a sound from the direction of the stable, +and now he silently drew his revolver and held it gripped by his side. + +Presently the stable door was cautiously opened. Then a momentary beam +of light, evidently from a bull's-eye lantern, shot across the paved +area, and lingered for an instant upon Nick's prostrate figure. + +Nick remained as motionless as a corpse. + +Then two men, both large and powerful fellows, and both heavily bearded, +came quickly from the stable and hastened toward him. + +"Done for with a single shot," remarked one, as they approached. + +"Looks like it, Dave," was the reply. "When I piped his head in the +light from the window, I felt sure I could drop him." + +"Well done. 'Twas a good shot. Shove your hand inside his vest, and see +if his heart is beating. Then we shall know for sure whether he's down +and out. If not, we must--" + +"Throw up your hands, instead, both of you!" Nick sternly interrupted, +half rising with weapon leveled. "At the first move by either, I will +shoot to kill!" + +Nick had foreseen that his foxy strategy must be very quickly detected, +and he had resolved to take the bull by the horns, and attempt to arrest +both of his cowardly assailants. + +That he was up against uncommon men, however, men of extraordinary nerve +and reckless daring, appeared in what instantly followed, even under the +very muzzle of the detective's revolver. + +As quick as a flash, before Nick's threatening command was fairly out of +his mouth, the man called Dave made a kick at the detective's uplifted +arm, so swift and accurate and forceful that Nick felt the bones of his +wrist fairly crack under the blow, and the fingers of his hand gripping +the weapon turned numb and tingling as if from an electric shock. + +"At him!" snarled the ruffian, even while he kicked. "At him, I say! +Quick--the pear!" + +It was plain that these men were not doing such desperate work together +for the first time. Both fell upon Nick like wolves upon a stricken elk, +yet they found the detective waiting for them. + +Nick hurled one aside, unable to use his revolver, and grappled with the +second, both falling heavily to the pavement. + +Then number one was at him again, and got him by the throat, with a grip +from which Nick thrice wrenched himself free, at the same time fiercely +banging the head of the other upon the stones upon which the terrific +combat was being waged. + +An oath of vicious rage broke from the latter, and then he fiercely +cried again: + +"The pear! D---- you, be quick! The pear!--the pear!" + +As if in response to this, Nick, who was panting under his violent +efforts to overcome both powerful men, suddenly felt something thrust +forcibly into his mouth. + +Still manfully battling with his opponents, Nick tried to eject the +object, opening his jaws wider in the effort. + +The object, which was shaped like a solid pear, instantly expanded, and +Nick could not close his jaws. + +Again he tried, opening them still wider, and again the pear-shaped +object expanded and held them rigid. + +Then Nick guessed the truth. + +While struggling with might and main to beat these ruffians, he had been +made the victim of an infernal instrument but seldom seen in these days, +and one of the most agonizing and diabolical devices of man's perverted +ingenuity. + +The object in Nick's mouth was a "choke pear!" + +This vicious instrument of torture dates back to the time of Palioly, +the notorious French robber and renegade, when it was very worthily +called "the pear of anguish." + +It consists of a solid gag, so to speak, yet it is so constructed, with +interior springs, that, once thrust into a person's mouth, it expands as +fast as the mouth is opened, and rigidly distends the victim's jaws. + +The more widely the victim gapes to eject the "choke pear," or to cry +out for aid, the larger the hideous object becomes, until torture, +suffocation and death speedily ensue. + +Had this infernal device been generally available to modern criminals, +Nick would have been warned by the significant words he had heard, and +would have guarded himself against it. + +As it was, however, he had been caught; and in the mouth of any ordinary +man the "choke pear" would have been irresistible. + +But the muscles of Nick Carter's jaws were like fibers of steel, and the +instant he realized his situation he opened his mouth no wider. Instead, +while hands and arms were still engaged in the furious conflict with his +assailants, he brought his jaws together as if with superhuman power, +and with a force that crushed the infernal device between them, much as +if it had been little more than an eggshell. + +One of the ruffians heard the snapping crunch, and uttered a cry of +amazement. + +The cry was echoed by hurried footsteps in the house. + +Then a rear door was suddenly thrown open by Rufus Venner, and a flood +of light revealed the struggling men, still battling furiously on the +pavement. + +Nick now had both opponents down, and within another minute he would +have had them at his mercy, a fact which Venner instantly perceived. + +He sprang nearer, drew his revolver, and dealt the detective a single +swinging blow upon the head. + +Nick dropped like an ox struck down in the shambles. + +The darkness of night was as nothing to the darkness that instantly fell +upon him. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +A STRATEGIC MOVE. + + +Nick Carter had a head that was used to hard knocks, and it required +more than one to put him down and out for any considerable period. + +The great detective recovered consciousness within half an hour after +the blow received from Rufus Venner, and he fell to taking the measure +of his situation the moment the cobwebs began to clear from his brain. + +He found himself bound hand and foot with ropes, and lying upon the +floor of a dark room. That he was in the dwelling occupied by the +Spanish dancer, Nick had not a doubt. + +As his mind became clearer and his eyes accustomed to the darkness, Nick +discovered a narrow thread of light some yards away and close to the +floor, and presently the sound of lowered voices faintly reached his +ears. + +"A light in the next room," he said to himself. "Probably the whole gang +is out there, sizing up my case, and deciding what to do with me. If +they are there, I must get a better look at those two ruffians. I owe +them something for their work of to-night, and I always mean to pay such +debts. + +"One of them was called Dave, and it may have been Dave Kilgore himself. +In which case, by Jove! I was right in thinking that this diamond +robbery only masks some deeper and bigger game. + +"I wonder if they suspect my identity. If not, what sort of a game have +they been playing here to-night?" + +Nick very quickly measured the various possibilities of the unusual +situation. + +If the man whose name he had heard was indeed David Kilgore, then Rufus +Venner, as well as Cervera, might be in league with the diamond gang, +and the pretended robbery only a move made with some secret design. + +On the other hand, Venner might be entirely ignorant of Kilgore's +identity, and without any serious suspicions of Cervera, being himself a +blind victim of these notorious criminals. + +"If the latter is the case," reasoned Nick, "the gang may stand in fear +of me, and perhaps are afraid that I shall foil some scheme they have in +operation, or are about to undertake. Then they to-night may have aimed +only to discover the extent and nature of my suspicions. + +"If that is the case, plainly it will become me to be a little foxy. I +will see if I can contrive to overhear anything from out yonder." + +Bent upon wriggling nearer the closed door revealed by the thread of +light near the floor, Nick quietly turned upon his side and cautiously +worked his way over the carpet. + +He had covered scarce a yard, however, when the sharp, metallic ring of +Cervera's voice fell plainly on his ears. + +"Look again, one of you," she curtly commanded. "See if that vagabond +has come to himself." + +"That's your humble servant!" thought Nick. + +He quickly rolled back to his former position on the floor, and prepared +to play the fox. + +In a moment the door was thrown open, admitting a flood of light, and a +man strode into the room and dropped to his knee beside the motionless +detective. + +"I say!" he harshly growled, shaking Nick roughly by the shoulder. +"Brace up, you dog! Brace up, d'ye hear?" + +Nick groaned deeply, then slowly opened his eyes. + +"Oh, my head--my poor head!" he muttered, like one dazed and in pain. + +"Your poor head, eh?" sneered the other. "You're dead lucky to have a +head left you. Pull yourself together, do you hear?" + +"Let me be! Where am I?" + +"You'll soon find out where you are. Sit up here!" + +"What do you say?" cried Venner, from the next room. "Has he come to?" + +The man at Nick's side turned his head to reply, and Nick then obtained +a clear view of his profile. + +"Humph!" he mentally ejaculated. "Matthew Stall in disguise! One of the +diamond gang, sure enough, and I now know I am on the right track." + +"Yes, he's finally coming to time," cried Stall, in reply to Venner. "He +will be all right in a minute." + +"Bring him out here," commanded Cervera, sharply. "Get the wretch up, +and bring him out here." + +This was precisely what Nick wanted. + +Stall immediately bent lower, and released the detective's ankles. + +"Get up, you varlet!" he then growled. "Get up, I say!" + +Still groaning, and incoherently muttering, Nick permitted himself to be +raised to his feet, and Stall then supported him and urged him out +through the open doorway and into the adjoining room. + +In his red wig and croppy head, together with his rough attire and dazed +aspect, Nick certainly presented a wretched appearance. He blinked +confusedly, glanced down at his bound wrists, yet at the same time took +in every feature of the brightly lighted room. + +It plainly was the library of the house, and both Rufus Venner and +Cervera were seated near a handsome center table. Upon it lay most of +the woman's jewels and diamonds, evidently lately removed, and +presenting in the rays of light from the chandelier above a dazzling +temptation to such a fellow as Nick then appeared to be. + +In an easy-chair, near the wall, sat the man called Dave, at the time +Nick was thought to be dead outside. Now, in the bright light of the +room, Nick instantly recognized him to be David Kilgore, despite a heavy +disguise which the criminal obviously believed to be impenetrable. + +Nick gave no sign of the recognition, however, being content to await +developments, and to shape his own course accordingly. + +From that moment, however, the name of neither criminal was once +mentioned; and Nick was compelled to infer that Venner might indeed be +entirely ignorant of their true identity and knavish character. + +The eyes of all were upon the detective, as he stood swaying slightly +on the floor; and Cervera sharply demanded, with a threatening frown: + +"Well, you vile miscreant, what can you say for yourself?" + +"Me?" queried Nick, pretending to pull himself together. "Nothing at +all." + +"I guess that's right." + +"What should I say? Why have you got me here, and tied up in this +fashion?" + +"You'll soon find out," cried Cervera, with vicious asperity. "What were +you doing out back of my house?" + +"Nothing much," Nick evasively growled, waiting to learn which way the +cat was about to jump. + +"Nothing much!" sneered Cervera. "You'll find that will not go down with +us." + +"I was looking for a chance to sleep in your stable," muttered Nick. + +"You lie, you dog!" cried Kilgore, fiercely. "You were at the back +window." + +"Was I?" + +"And your game was to rob me of my jewels," Cervera angrily added, with +her eyes emitting a gleam as fiery as the blazing gems at which she +pointed. "That was your game, you renegade!" + +"Do you think so?" + +"I know so!" + +Nick hoped she did. + +"And all I regret is," added the vixenish Spaniard, "that the bullet of +my watchman did not end your villainous life." + +"We can end it now, señora, if you say the word," put in Matthew Stall, +with grim readiness. + +Nick never accepted such scenes as this at their face value, for he had +witnessed many a similar game of bluff. This one might be all right and +on the level, he reasoned, yet there still existed the possibility that +he was recognized, and that these remarks implying the contrary were +only a part of some well-laid plan. + +"If you think I'm a thief, why don't you hand me over to the police?" he +shrewdly demanded. + +The ruse worked. For a moment Cervera was caught with no ready reply, +and Nick promptly decided that he was known, hence could not well be +given to the police. + +Yet these parties so obviously aimed to hide the fact that he was known +to be Nick Carter, that Nick quickly resolved to let them have all the +rope they wanted, and to meet them with a counter-move--that of boldly +declaring his own identity, and so disarming them of any misgiving that +he had recognized Kilgore and Matthew Stall, or even had any suspicions +of Señora Cervera. + +It was a very clever counter, and Nick went at it cleverly. + +"Why don't you give me to the police, if you think I'm a thief?" he +repeated, when Cervera made no reply. + +"The police?--bah!" she now cried, with a sneer. "For what? That you may +square yourself in some way, or make your escape, and then come back +here to attempt the job again?" + +"H'm!" thought Nick. "They don't want to let me go before learning what +I suspect. I won't do a thing but fool them in that." + +"Police be hanged!" Cervera quickly added. "In my country we have a +surer way of removing such villains as you." + +"What way?" queried Nick, coolly. + +"_Caramba!_ The garrote!" + +"Choke 'em off, eh?" + +"Or the poniard!" + +"A stab between the ribs, I take it." + +"Yes! It is what you deserve." + +"But you will not try it on me," declared Nick, confidently. + +"Don't you be too sure of it." + +"Oh, I'm sure enough of it." + +"The law would never reach us--don't think that," cried Cervera, with a +passionate sneer. "_Caramba!_ we'd plant your miserable bones where +they'd never be found. Don't think, you wretch, that we fear to do it." + +"Yet I don't fear that you will." + +"You don't?" + +"Not I, Señora Cervera." + +"How dare you utter my name with your foul mouth?" screamed the dancer, +with a vicious display of scornful resentment. "Not kill you? I've a +mind to order it done at once, you wretch! I hate such reptiles as you!" + +Nick laughed. + +"If you were to order it done, señora, and the knife were at my throat," +said he, "your order would certainly be countermanded." + +"What! By whom?" cried Cervera, with her passionate, dark eyes fiercely +blazing. "I'll have you know that I rule here--and not here alone!" + +"Yet your command would be revoked, señora." + +"For what reason, villain?" + +"It would be revoked at the request of our mutual friend, Mr. Rufus +Venner, to whom I presently shall explain my conduct, and also implore +your own pardon, señora, for having made you the mark of my very +unworthy suspicions," cried Nick, with a sudden dramatic display of +dignity and confidence. + +It brought Venner sharply to his feet. + +"Good heavens!" he cried. "What do you mean, sir?" + +"Ay, what do you mean?" roared Kilgore, bracing straight up in his chair +and reaching for his gun--a move Nick pretended he did not see. + +"I only mean, gentlemen, that I am no burglar," cried Nick, in his +natural voice, at the same time raising his bound hands to remove his +disguise. "Allow me, Mr. Venner, to present myself in proper person." + +"The devil and all his followers!" yelled Venner. "You're--you're Nick +Carter!" + +"None other," bowed Nick, smiling and tossing his disguise upon the +table. "Plainly, Venner, you are greatly surprised at seeing me--and I +do not wonder at it." + +Yet for all that Nick did wonder a little, since he could not yet +determine just how much of this scene was on the level. + +The faces of Kilgore and Matthew Stall, however, betrayed more secret +exultation than surprise. Plainly enough both were now convinced that +Nick did not recognize them, nor even suspect that he himself had been +recognized--and these were precisely the two convictions Nick had aimed +to convey by his masterly move in thus disclosing himself. + +"Yes, Señora Cervera," he hastened to add, before any of the startled +group could speak, "I owe you a profound apology. I did you the +injustice to suspect you, not only of being a thief, but also of being +identified with the notorious Kilgore gang, three of the cleverest and +most dangerous swindlers in the world." + +"Perdition!" gasped Cervera. "You astound me." + +"I was led to suspect you, señora, because your letter to Venner took +him from his store just at the time of the robbery," Nick quickly went +on to explain, thus putting his own strategy on a solid basis. "I +shadowed you from the theater to-night, intending to watch you and your +house, a design which has nearly cost me my life at the hands of your +faithful watchman. + +"I am glad to add, señora, that I now have completely changed my views, +and I trust that you will bear in mind that you were a stranger to me, +and so pardon my unworthy misgivings. It is impossible that you, Señora +Cervera, could be guilty of any evil, or know aught of so accomplished a +knave as David Kilgore, or any of his clever gang." + +A shrewder move could scarce have been conceived. That Nick would thus +have declared himself in the very presence of Kilgore, if known to him, +seemed utterly absurd; and the eyes of both Kilgore and Matt Stall were +aglow with a vicious amusement and satisfaction much too genuine to be +entirely concealed. + +"Well, Mr. Carter," cried Venner, now hastening to release the +defective's hands, "you certainly have had a close call, and are lucky +to come out of it with a whole skin. These two men are employed by +señora to guard her house at night, and they naturally mistook you for a +burglar." + +Despite his keen discernment, Nick could not determine whether this man +was lying, or was really as blind as his words implied. Content to await +further discoveries, however, Nick laughed quickly, and replied: + +"Well, well, Mr. Venner; I am quite accustomed to close calls and hard +knocks, and I assure you that I bear the señora's watchmen no ill will +for having done their duty as they saw it. Señora Cervera is to be +congratulated upon having secured the services of two such faithful +fellows." + +Kilgore had all he could do to keep from laughing aloud, so blinded was +he by Nick's artful duplicity. + +"And when I inform you, señora," cried Venner, "that Detective Carter is +in my employ, and is really a royal good friend, I am sure that you will +pardon him for having been so misled by your letter of this morning." + +Señora Cervera was blushing now, yet to Nick it appeared a little +forced, and there was in her evil, black eyes a gleam he did not like. +Yet she at once arose and came to shake the detective by the hand. + +"Oh, if my dear friend, Mr. Venner, says it is all right, I am sure it +must be so," she cried, smiling up at Nick. "But I am afraid, Detective +Carter, that you will now think me dreadfully severe, and my two +watchmen more brutal than bulldogs." + +Nick laughed deeply, and glanced at the display of diamonds on the +table. + +"When one has such valuable toys as those in her house, señora, bold men +and vigilant bulldogs are both essential," said he, heartily. + +"That's true, sir; indeed, it is." + +"And with your permission, señora, I will shake hands with your two +watchmen also, to show them I bear no resentment. After which I will +take myself home, to nurse my little tokens of their vigilance and +prowess." + +This brought a laugh from all, and Nick, ever shrewd and crafty, now +shook hands with the two criminals he fully intended to finally land +behind prison bars. Then he bowed himself out of the room, and was +accompanied by Rufus Venner to the front door of the house, where he +bade him a genial good-night and departed. + +When Venner returned to the room, he found Dave Kilgore seated on the +edge of the table, with his false beard in his hand, and a look of +intense distrust on his evil, forceful face. + +"Crafty--infernally crafty!" he cried, as Venner entered. "I tell you, +Rufe, that man must be watched. He is a man to be feared--constantly +feared! I'm cursed if I can tell whether he gave us that on the level or +not." + +"Pshaw!" sneered Venner, contemptuously. "Of course it was on the +level." + +"I'm not so sure of it--not so sure of it!" reiterated Kilgore, with +clouded brow. "I tell you, Venner, that he must be watched, and we must +be guarded. We have too much at stake to suffer Nick Carter to queer our +game." + +"There is one sure way of preventing it," cried Cervera, with passionate +vehemence. + +"Kill him?" + +"Yes! Take his life!" hissed the dancer, through her gleaming white +teeth. "You were fools to have missed it to-night. Even the law would +have acquitted you." + +"There are nights to come!" Kilgore grimly retorted. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +FOUND DEAD. + + +"What's the trouble yonder, Nick?" + +"Where?" + +"In the park." + +"Humph! Something wrong, evidently. Come on, Chick, and we'll see." + +It was nearly sunset one Monday afternoon, and almost two weeks +subsequent to the incidents last depicted. + +That at least one of Dave Kilgore's suggestions had been adopted, and he +and his gang had become rigorously guarded, appears in that the Carters +had utterly failed to accomplish anything against them in the interval +mentioned. Despite constant vigilance and incessant work on the case, +neither Nick nor Chick had been able to secure an additional clew. + +Kilgore and Matt Stall had vanished as if the earth had swallowed them. + +The mammoth vaudeville troupe had completed its engagement, and was now +disbanded for the season. + +Señora Cervera still retained her uptown house, and frequently received +Venner as a visitor; but never a sign of the diamond gang, or of any +stranger, could the detectives discover, in or about her place. + +Rufus Venner was attending to his business as usual, and appeared all +aboveboard. Now and then he called upon Nick about the stolen diamonds, +expressing a hope that they would be recovered; but in no way did he +lay himself open to further suspicions than Nick had at first conceived. + +Yet Nick was too shrewd to press him with questions, and so perhaps +betray his own hand. As a matter of fact, the famous detective was in +quite a quandary over the case, because of his conviction that some big +game was secretly afoot, and his utter inability to strike any tangible +clew to it. + +Such a state of affairs was very unusual, and Nick chafed under it. It +indicated that he was up against men as good as himself, and his vain +work of the past ten days served only to aggravate him, and embitter his +grim and inflexible determination to unearth the whole business. + +This Monday afternoon, as Nick and Chick were passing Central Park, the +attention of the latter was drawn toward a group of men in one of the +park walks, somewhat removed from the street. A policeman was among +them, and they appeared to be gazing at something upon the ground. + +"It looks like the figure of a woman," said Nick, as he and Chick +entered the park. "Officer Fogarty is there, and--yes, by Jove! it is +the form of a woman." + +The two detectives quickly reached the scene, and the park officer at +once recognized Nick, respectfully touching his helmet. + +"What's amiss here, Fogarty?" inquired Nick. + +Fogarty pointed to the motionless form upon the ground. + +"Dead!" said he, tersely. "We've just found her." + +"Keep those people further away, Fogarty," said Nick, with a toss of +his head toward half a score of men gathered near by. "I will see what I +make of the case." + +The figure was that of a girl, rather than a woman, apparently about +eighteen years of age. She was lying partly upon her side upon the +greensward, and evidently had fallen from one of the park seats upon +which she had been resting, and upon which her straw shade hat was still +lying. She was neatly clad in a suit of dark blue, and her girlish face +indicated some culture and refinement. + +Near her, upon the grass, lay a piece of brown wrapping paper, and a +yard of two of string, evidently removed from a small, square box, which +she had dropped and partly fallen upon when stricken with sudden death. + +A mere glance gave Nick these superficial features, and he quickly knelt +beside the girl, and felt her hand and wrist. + +"Dead as a doornail," he murmured to Chick, who also had approached. "I +find her hand still warm, however. She can have been dead only a few +minutes." + +"Heart failure, perhaps," suggested Chick. + +"I don't think so." + +"Why?" + +"She doesn't look it. Her form is plump, her cheeks full, and she +appears to have been in perfect health." + +"Yet she is dead." + +"No doubt of it." + +"A pretty girl, too." + +"Very. See if there is any writing on that brown paper." + +"No, Nick; not a line." + +"Here, here, let me see it! What's this? It is punctured with tiny +holes, evidently made with a pin." + +"So it is, by Jove!" + +"Perhaps she made them with her hat pin, while sitting there on the +seat. See, Chick, there is the pin still in the hat." + +"I see it, Nick. What now?" + +Still kneeling beside the girl, Nick was holding the sheet of paper +between himself and the sky. + +"No, the punctures are not uniform," said he. "I thought that they +possibly had been made with some design, and perhaps formed some word or +sentence that would give us a clew to the mystery." + +"None such, eh?" + +"Not a sign of it. Evidently she jabbed the pin through the paper only +in idleness." + +"She is lying on a box of some kind, from which she probably had taken +this wrapping paper." + +"So I see," nodded Nick. "Lend me a hand, Chick, and we'll have a look +at the box." + +With gentle hands the two detectives moved the girl's lifeless form, and +Nick then took up the box mentioned. + +It was about four inches square, and was made of silver, with an open +work design of vines and leaves, which displayed a blue silk lining +through the metal apertures. Plainly enough it was a lady's jewel +casket, and one of considerable value; but it was entirely empty, and it +bore no name or inscription. + +For several moments Nick Carter examined it very intently, with his +brows gradually knitting closer and closer; and all the while Officer +Fogarty, and the group of men in the gravel walk a few yards distant, +mutely gazed and wondered. + +Chick Carter, however, who could read Nick's every change of expression, +saw at once that the great detective not only was making some startling +discoveries, but also was arriving at deductions far too subtle and +significant to have been reached by any less keen and practiced +observer. + +"What do you make of it, Nick?" whispered Chick, dropping to his knee +beside his companion. + +Nick also lowered his voice, and for several minutes the two conversed +in rapid whispers. + +"It is a jewel case, Chick; and quite a valuable one." + +"So I see." + +"I don't think it belonged to this girl. She looks as if she were the +maid, or possibly the companion, of some woman of wealth or distinction. +Her attire also indicates that. Hence so valuable a toy can hardly have +belonged to the girl, but more likely was the property of her mistress." + +"No name on it?" + +"Not even an initial. Not a mark of any kind." + +"It is empty." + +"Yes." + +"Can the girl have been robbed of its contents, here and in broad +daylight?" + +"Worse, Chick!" whispered Nick, between his teeth. "Worse even than +that." + +"Good heavens, Nick! What do you mean?" + +"Chick, this girl was foully murdered!" + +"Murdered!" echoed Chick, with an involuntary gasp. "Can it be +possible?" + +"It certainly appears so to me." + +"But the means?" + +"That is the mystery." + +"There are no signs of violence." + +"Wait a bit. Notice her right wrist, just back of the thumb and near the +pulse. Notice that tiny red spot, barely observable. It might have been +made with the point of a pin. Do you see, it?" + +"Yes, now that you call my attention to it." + +"It means something. I am convinced of that." + +"Others are not likely to discover it." + +"I hope they may not, Chick," Nick hurriedly rejoined. "I am flooded +with ideas and suspicions, which I wish to consider and put in order +before too much of this mystery leaks out. I'll explain later." + +"Perhaps her hat pin is poisoned," suggested Chick. + +"I don't think that." + +"Or possibly--" + +"Wait a moment. Look at this box." + +"Well?" + +"That wrapper was punctured while still on the box," explained Nick. +"Notice that the pin went through the spaces in this metal design, and +then through the silk lining inside." + +"Plainly enough, Nick." + +"Notice this particular puncture in the interior of the lining." + +"By Jove! there's a faint tinge of red around it." + +"Left when the pin was withdrawn," whispered Nick, significantly. +"Chick, it's a tinge of blood!" + +"I believe you're right, Nick." + +"I am convinced of it. Also that there's a mystery here which cannot be +solved in a moment," said Nick, impressively. "I wish to conceal these +discoveries until after I have considered them more fully, and also +identified this girl. See if you can find her purse, or anything that +will reveal her name." + +While Chick was thus engaged, Nick arose and glanced sharply around in +search of any evidence indicating that such a crime could have been +committed unobserved in so public a place. + +The seat which the girl had occupied stood on the greensward, about +eight feet from the gravel walk. By several clusters of shrubbery some +feet away at either side, the seat was somewhat obscured from the view +of persons approaching along the walk from either direction. Several +trees cast shadows nearly over the spot, which was one very likely to +have been selected by a couple desirous of being somewhat alone while +resting from an afternoon stroll. + +Nick quickly noted these several features, then glanced at Chick and +asked: + +"Do you find anything?" + +"Nothing by which to identify her." + +"Her purse?" + +"It contains only a few pieces of silver. No cards, nor so much as a +scrap of paper. Other than her purse, there is only a latchkey in her +pocket, and a perfectly plain handkerchief. Her identification must come +later." + +"I guess we have missed nothing here," nodded Nick. "I'll have just a +word with Fogarty, and then we'll go along." + +"What do you make of it, Detective Carter?" inquired the officer, as +Nick approached. + +"I am not prepared to say," replied Nick, ignoring the startled glances +of the several men who heard his name and now beheld the great detective +for the first time. + +"The girl is dead, sir, isn't she?" + +"Oh, yes; there is no doubt of that," bowed Nick. "It may be a case of +heart failure. You had better take the proper steps for the removal of +the body. This box and wrapping paper, however, I am going to take with +me, and will be responsible for them." + +"All right, sir." + +"By the way, Fogarty, how long ago did you discover the body?" + +"Scarce a minute before you came, sir." + +"Were you the first to see it?" + +"I was, sir." + +"Had you seen the girl about here before during the afternoon?" + +"No, sir." + +"Did you see anybody leaving here just before you arrived and discovered +the body?" + +"I did not, sir." + +"That's all, Fogarty. I'll get any other particulars later." + +Thereupon, as Nick was about to turn away, a young man in the crowd came +suddenly forth, and exclaimed: + +"One moment, Detective Carter, if you please! I saw that girl, about +half an hour ago, walking this way with a gentleman." + +Nick turned abruptly to the speaker. + +"What is your name?" he asked. + +"Tom Jenkins, sir." + +"And your address?" + +"I live at the Hotel North, and am employed by Hentz Brothers, in Broad +Street." + +"You say that you saw the girl walking this way with a gentleman?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Did they appear to be on good terms?" + +"Excellent, sir. They were talking and laughing, and seemed to be +enjoying themselves." + +"Do you know the girl's name, or where she lives?" + +"I do not, sir; nor anything about her." + +"Do you know anything about her companion, the gentleman you saw with +her?" + +For the bare fraction of a second Jenkins hesitated, as one might do who +was loath to bring trouble upon another. Then he replied, in faltering +tones: + +"Well, yes, sir, I know the name of the man who was with her." + +"State it, please." + +"His name, sir, is Harry Boyden." + +Nick felt his blood start slightly, yet his countenance did not change +by so much as a shadow. + +He glanced at Chick, however, and the same thought was in the mind of +each. + +"Harry Boyden! The clerk employed by Thomas Hafferman, the dealer in +diamonds!" + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +NICK STRIKES A STARTLING CLEW. + + +The mind of Nick Carter was, as he had remarked to Chick, stirred with a +flood of questions not easily or quickly answered. + +Who was this girl found dead in Central Park? + +Had she, indeed, been foully murdered? If so, by what mysterious means? +What had been the object? Who the perpetrator of the crime? + +Or, on the other hand, was the evidence itself misleading, and had the +unfortunate girl selected that sequestered seat in the park, and there +deliberately committed suicide? Even then, by what means had the deed +been accomplished? What had been the occasion? + +What, moreover, had become of her companion at just that time? Why had +he deserted her? What signified the pin-punctured wrapping paper, and +the empty jewel casket, in the dead girl's possession? + +Had the casket contained jewels of great value? Had the girl been robbed +of them, and then foully murdered in some mysterious way? + +Was Harry Boyden, the clerk employed by Hafferman, the last to leave the +girl that fateful afternoon? Was he responsible for her death? Was +robbery the incentive to the crime? + +Or, on the other hand, had Boyden left the girl alive and well, and was +the crime the work of another? + +Or, finally, was there some strange and startling connection between +this park murder and the robbery committed at Venner's store? Was there, +between the two crimes, some extraordinary bond yet to be +discovered--some tie uniting the two misdeeds as if with links of steel? + +These were some of the conflicting questions that occurred to Nick +Carter that afternoon, and in order to consider them before taking any +decided action in the matter, Nick had kept to himself his startling +discoveries, and left Officer Fogarty to take the customary steps in the +affair. + +At seven o'clock that evening, while Nick and Chick were seated at +dinner, and still engaged in discussing the conflicting circumstances, a +message was received from police headquarters, informing Nick that the +girl had been identified, and that Harry Boyden had been found and +arrested. + +"Very good," observed Nick. "We shall now get something to work upon. I +will go and question Boyden as soon as I finish my dinner." + +"By all means," nodded Chick. + +"Do you know," said Nick, "I am seriously impressed that there is some +strange connection between this girl's death and that robbery at +Venner's store. I believe that we have struck the very clew, or are +about to strike it, that we so long have been vainly seeking." + +"To the Kilgore gang?" + +"Exactly." + +"Egad, I hope so," laughed Chick, with a grimace. "I am beastly tired of +nosing about on a scentless trail." + +Nick joined in the laugh of his invariably cheerful associate. + +"Odds blood, Nick, as they say in the play," added Chick. "I'd welcome +any sort of stir and danger, in preference to this chasing a +will-o'-the-wisp." + +"There'll be enough doing, Chick, take my word for it, as soon as we +once more get on the track of Kilgore and his push." + +"Let it come, and God speed it," grinned Chick. "What's your idea, +Nick?" + +"This empty jewel casket, the possibility that it contained diamonds, of +which the girl was robbed and then murdered, and the fact that Harry +Boyden is the clerk who brought the stolen diamonds to Venner's +store--certainly the circumstances seem to point to some strange +relation between the two crimes." + +While Nick was thus expressing his views, a rapidly driven carriage +approached the residence of the famous detective, and a servant +presently entered the dining room and informed Nick that a lady wished +to see him. + +Nick glanced at her card. + +"Violet Page," he muttered. "I know no lady named Violet Page. Is she +young or old?" + +"Young, sir." + +"Did you admit her?" + +"She is in the library, sir." + +"Very well. I will see her presently. Request her to wait a few +moments." + +Nick delayed only to finish his dinner, then repaired to the library. As +he entered the attractively furnished room his visitor quickly arose +from one of the easy-chairs and hastened to approach him. + +Nick beheld a young lady of exquisite beauty and modest bearing, and +though her sweet face, then very pale and distressed, struck him as one +he had previously seen, he at first could not place her. + +"Are you Mr. Carter--Detective Carter?" she hurriedly, inquired, in +tremulous accents of appeal. + +Nick had a warm place in his heart for one so timid and distressed as +this girl appeared, and he bowed very kindly. + +"Yes, Miss Page," said he. "What can I do for you? You appear to be in +trouble." + +"I am in trouble--terrible trouble, sir," cried the girl, with a +half-choked sob. "Oh, Mr. Carter, I come to you in despair, a girl +without friends or advisers, and who knows not whither to turn. I have +been told that you have a kind heart, and that you are the one man able +to solve the dreadful mystery which--" + +Nick checked her pathetic flood of words with a kindly gesture. + +"Calm yourself, Miss Page," said he, in a sort of paternal way. "Resume +your chair, please. Though I am somewhat pressed for time just now I +will give you at least a few moments." + +"Oh, thank you, sir!" + +"Be calm, however, in order that we may accomplish all the more." + +"I will, sir." + +"To what mystery do you refer? What is the occasion of your terrible +distress?" + +Violet Page subdued her agitation and hastened to reply. + +"My maid and companion, a girl named Mary Barton," said she, "was found +dead in Central Park late this afternoon. Nor is that all, Detective +Carter. A very dear friend of mine, named Harry Boyden, has been +arrested, under suspicion of having killed her. Oh, sir, that could not +be possible!" + +Nick felt an immediate increase of interest. + +He decided that Miss Violet Page was the very person he wanted to +interview, and while he did not then exhibit any knowledge of the case, +he proceeded to question her with his own ends in view, at the same time +ringing a signal for Chick to join him, which the latter presently did. + +"Where do you live, Miss Page?" inquired Nick. + +"I board in Forty-second Street, sir. I have no living relatives, and +for about two years have employed a maid, or, I might better call her, a +companion." + +"The girl mentioned?" + +"Yes, sir. Her parents also are dead. The fact that we both are orphans +created a bond of sympathy between us." + +"Are you a person of much means, Miss Page?" + +"Oh, no, sir. I earn my living on the stage. I was a member of the big +vaudeville troupe, which lately disbanded for the season. My stage name +is Violet Marduke." + +"Ah! now I remember," remarked Nick. "I thought I had seen you before. I +happened to hear you sing one evening about two weeks ago." + +"I recognized her when I entered," observed Chick, who had taken a +chair near by. + +Nick came back to business. + +"Why are you so confident, Miss Page, that Boyden cannot have killed +Mary Barton?" he demanded. + +"Because, sir, Harry Boyden is a gentle, brave and honest man, and +utterly incapable of committing such a crime," cried Violet, with much +feeling. "Besides, sir, he can have had no possible reason for wishing +her dead." + +"Are you sure of that?" + +"Absolutely!" + +"What are your relations with Boyden?" + +"We are lovers, sir," admitted Violet, with a tinge of red dispelling +the paleness of her pretty cheeks. "We expect to be married the coming +summer." + +"Ah! I see," murmured Nick, thoughtfully. "How long have you been +acquainted with Boyden?" + +"For ten years, sir." + +"Then you have been able to form quite a reliable opinion of his +character." + +"Indeed, sir, I have!" cried Violet, warmly. "Detective Carter, I know +that Harry Boyden is far above any dishonorable action. I would trust +him with my life." + +Of the honesty of the girl herself Nick had not a doubt. It showed in +her eyes, sounded in her voice, and was pictured in her ever changing +expression. Nick was inclined to feel that her opinion of Boyden was +worthy of very serious consideration, despite that circumstances seemed +to implicate the young man in no less than two crimes. + +"Is the fact that you are engaged to Boyden generally known, Miss +Page?" Nick next asked. + +"It is not, sir. We have said nothing about it." + +"Ah, that opens the way for conjectures," cried Nick. "Is there any +person who knows of the engagement, or who suspects it, that would +jealously aim to injure Boyden by implicating him in a crime?" + +"Oh, I cannot think so, sir!" said Violet, with a look of horror. "I +certainly know of no such person." + +"Have you been accepting the attentions of any other young man?" + +"No, sir," smiled Violet. "That is not my style." + +"I am glad to hear you say so, yet I really might have known it," +laughed Nick. + +"Thank you, Detective Carter," bowed the girl, blushing warmly. Then she +hastened to add: "Still, I am not a prude, sir--don't think I mean that. +In my profession one is obliged to be on friendly terms with a great +many persons, both men and women. At the theater, for instance, I meet +many men and form many acquaintances, both agreeable and the reverse." + +"And sometimes have the attentions of men fairly forced upon you, I +imagine?" said Nick, inquiringly, with a brighter gleam lighting his +earnest eyes. + +"Yes, sir; sometimes," Violet demurely admitted. + +Nick drew forward in his chair, and Chick saw that he had caught up the +thread at that moment suggested to himself. + +"Miss Page," said Nick, more impressively, "I now want you to answer me +without the slightest reserve." + +"I will, sir," bowed Violet, with a startled look. + +"Has any man of the late vaudeville company, or one connected with the +theater, endeavored to force his love upon you?" + +"No, sir; not one." + +"Or any visitor admitted to the stage?" + +"Well--yes, sir," faltered Violet, quite timidly. "Since you press me +thus gravely, I must admit that I have been obliged to repel the +affection of a certain man. Yet, please don't infer, sir, that he has +ever been ungentlemanly. He even has done me the honor, if one can so +term an undesired proposal, to protest that he wished to make me his +wife." + +"What is that man's name?" demanded Nick, quite bluntly. + +Yet both Nick and Chick already anticipated it. + +"Must I tell you his name, sir?" faltered Violet. + +"You may do so confidentially, Miss Page." + +"His name, sir, is Rufus Venner." + +"One more question, Miss Page," cried Nick, quickly, "Was there any +member of the vaudeville company who knew of Venner's proposal?" + +"I don't think so, sir. At least I know of none." + +Nick glanced at Chick and dryly remarked: + +"All under the surface, Chick." + +"Not a doubt of it, Nick." + +Violet looked surprised and alarmed at this, and hastened to ask: + +"Oh, Mr. Carter, is there something of which I am ignorant? Or have I +done wrong in any way?" + +Nick turned to her and gravely answered: + +"No, Miss Page, you have done nothing wrong--far from it! But there is +considerable of which you are ignorant." + +"Oh, sir, what do you mean?" + +"Wait just one moment, and I then may be able to tell you," said Nick, +rising. "I have something here that I wish to show you." + +He went to his library desk and took from a drawer the silver jewel +casket which he had brought from Central Park. + +When he turned he held it in his extended hand, and the eyes of the girl +suddenly fell upon it. + +Instantly she leaped to her feet, as pale as death itself. + +Then a scream, as of sudden, ungovernable terror, rose from her lips and +rang with piercing shrillness through the house. + +"Catch her, Chick--she's fainting!" yelled Nick, with eyes ablaze. "By +Heaven! we've struck the trail at last!" + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +ON THE TRAIL. + + +Nick Carter was a little perplexed. + +Miss Violet Page had recovered from her sudden swoon, and although still +very pale she sat gazing calmly at the silver jewel casket, which Nick +was again displaying. + +Somewhat to Nick's surprise, considering the girl's abrupt collapse upon +first beholding the casket, Miss Page had just declared that she had +never seen it before that evening. + +"You never saw it before?" exclaimed Nick, almost incredulously. + +"Never until you produced it from your desk a few minutes ago," +reiterated Violet. + +"Why, then, were you so overcome upon seeing it?" + +"I will tell you why, Detective Carter, yet I fear that you will think +me very weak and foolish to have been so seriously affected." + +"No; I think not." + +"I had a terrible dream last night, sir," Violet now explained. "I +dreamed that I was alone in an enormous graveyard at midnight, with a +full moon revealing the dismal surroundings, the dark tombs, the +staring, white headstones and the silent graves." + +"Not very cheerful--certainly," smiled Nick. + +"What followed was infinitely more terrible," continued Violet, with an +irrepressible shudder. + +"What was that?" + +"I dreamed that I saw a grave near which I was standing suddenly begin +to open, as if a living being were pushing up the ground from within. +Then I saw a fleshless hand appear above the disturbed sods. Then a +sightless human skull thrust itself forth, and presently, filling me +with a terror I cannot describe, the entire skeleton emerged from the +partly open grave, and arose and approached me." + +"A grewsome dream, indeed," remarked Nick. "But what of the casket?" + +"This of the casket, sir," concluded Violet. "In the skeleton's right +hand, which was extended straight toward me while he approached, was a +silver box--the exact likeness of the one you hold, and which you so +abruptly showed me a short time ago." + +"Ah, I see," nodded Nick. + +"In my present nervous condition, Detective Carter, the sight of the +real casket, after so horrible a dream, was more than I could sustain. +Fairly before I knew it, I had fainted." + +"A curious dream and a startling sequence," said Nick. "Evidently coming +events have been casting their shadows before. I am sorry to have +shocked you so severely." + +"Pray don't speak of it, Mr. Carter," protested Violet. "I am now quite +recovered." + +"Then we will at once proceed to business again," said Nick. "Am I to +infer, Miss Page, that you know nothing at all about this casket?" + +"Absolutely nothing, sir," declared Violet. + +"Have you ever heard your maid, Mary Barton, speak of possessing such a +jewel box?" + +"Never, sir." + +"Nevertheless," said Nick, pointedly, "this casket was found beside her +dead body in Central Park this afternoon." + +A half-suppressed cry broke from Violet upon hearing this. + +"Oh, sir, then that must have been the package mentioned by Harry +Boyden," she cried, excitedly. + +"What's that?" demanded Nick. "Have you seen Boyden since his arrest?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"When and where?" + +"He was arrested at my home about half-past six, sir. When I learned for +what and heard the particulars, I was advised by my landlady to appeal +at once to you." + +"Did you come directly here?" + +"I did, sir; as fast as a carriage could bring me." + +"Ah, now we shall get at it," declared Nick. "Tell me, Miss Page, just +what Boyden said about Mary Barton." + +"Why, sir, he said he left her alive and well about half-past five." + +"Where?" + +"On her way through the park," replied Violet. "He had met her about +five o'clock, and they walked about in the park for a short time. Then +he told her that he had an errand to do, after which he was coming to +call upon me. Then Mary laughed and replied that she would see him +later." + +"That doesn't smack very strongly of suicide, Chick," remarked Nick, +with a glance at the former. + +"I should say not," replied Chick, with a shrug of his shoulders. + +"Did Boyden know where Mary went after he left her?" inquired Nick, +reverting to his visitor. + +"No, sir. He declared to the officer that he did not." + +"What mention did he make of a package carried by the girl?" + +"He stated that Mary had what appeared to be a small, square box, done +up in brown wrapping paper, and secured with a string." + +"Did he make any inquiries about it?" + +"He asked her what it was, and she told him it was for me." + +"Did she tell him where she got it?" + +"Yes, sir, she did; and I am quite mystified by it." + +"Please explain," said Nick. "What did the Barton girl say about the +parcel?" + +"She said it was given to her by a woman whom she had met on Fifth +Avenue a short time before." + +"An acquaintance?" + +"No, sir; a strange woman," continued Violet. "Yet the stranger must +have known Mary, and that she lived with me, for she asked her if I was +at home." + +"And then?" + +"When told that I was, she gave Mary the package and asked her to +deliver it to me, into my hands only, as it was a gift from a friend." + +"Was the name of the friend mentioned?" + +"I think not, sir. The woman cautioned Mary against opening the package, +stating in explanation that she wished me to be the first to see what it +contained." + +"These are the facts which Mary Barton told to Harry Boyden, are they?" +demanded Nick, with an ominous ring stealing into his voice. + +"Yes, sir, they are." + +"And the statements which Boyden, in turn, made to the officer by whom +he was arrested at your home?" + +"That is right, sir. I heard them from Harry's own lips." + +"Did Mary Barton have any idea of the identity of the woman from whom +she received the package?" + +"I think not, sir. She told Harry that the woman was veiled, and that +she could not see her face. The incident seemed so strange, sir, that +Mary gave Harry Boyden all of these particulars." + +"Did she describe the strange woman, her form or her attire?" + +"I think she stated that the woman was plainly clad. Nothing more +definite that I know of." + +"In fact, Miss Page, you have now told me all that you know about the +case, haven't you?" + +"Really, sir, I think I have," admitted Violet, with a look of anxious +appeal. + +Nick drew out his watch and glanced quickly at it. + +"Ring for a carriage, Chick," said he abruptly. "We have no time to +lose." + +"I'll call one at once," nodded Chick, as he sprang up and hastened from +the room. + +"Am I to depart now, Detective Carter?" asked Violet, beginning to +tremble. "Oh, sir, will you not give me some word of encouragement +before I go? I am sure that Harry Boyden never committed--" + +"Hush!" interposed Nick, rising and taking her kindly by the hand. + +"I cannot at present tell you, Miss Page, what I think of this case. I +will say this, however, if Harry Boyden is, as you so firmly believe, +innocent of this crime, I will not rest until I have proved him +guiltless." + +"Oh, Detective Carter, how am I to thank you?" cried the girl, with her +tearful eyes raised to Nick's kindly face. + +"By not trying to do so," said he, smiling. "And by carefully following +a few directions which I shall now give you." + +"I will follow them to the very letter, sir," cried the grateful girl. + +"First, then, go home and borrow no further trouble about young Boyden," +said Nick, impressively. "Second, disclose to no person that you have +called upon me, or that I have any interest in the case. Third, say +nothing about the jewel casket, and display no personal knowledge of the +affair. Fourth, do not come here again unless I send for you. And, +finally, rest assured that I will do all in my power to have young +Boyden at liberty as soon as possible. To remain in custody a short +time, however, will not seriously harm him, and in a way it may do me +some service. Can you remember all that?" + +"Indeed I can, sir; and I will obey you in all!" cried Violet, with much +feeling. + +"That's right," smiled Nick, as he escorted her to the door. "You shall +not lose anything by so doing." + +"Ah, I am sure of that, sir. You are so very kind, and I am so glad that +I came to you." + +"Well, well, we shall see," laughed Nick, with a paternal caress of her +shapely white hand. "By the way, Miss Page, since I now happen to think +of it," the crafty detective indifferently added, "wasn't there a Hindoo +juggler, or snake charmer, or something of that sort, connected with +your late vaudeville company?" + +"Oh, yes, sir! Pandu Singe." + +"Ah, that is his name, is it?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Is he still in the city?" + +"I am not sure, Mr. Carter; but I think that he may be, for he is signed +with the company for next season." + +"Do you know where he has been living?" + +"Yes, sir. I have seen his house address on letters forwarded to the +theater. Do you want it, sir?" + +"If you can recall it, yes," smiled Nick, producing his notebook. "I am +making a study of the Hindoo language just at this time, and I would +like to consult Pandu Singe about certain books on the subject." + +Miss Page did not suspect any duplicity in this, and she cheerfully gave +Nick the address of the snake charmer, whereupon the detective +graciously thanked her, and then escorted her to her waiting carriage. + +As it rolled rapidly away a second hack came bowling up to the curbstone +in front of Nick's residence. It was the carriage for which Chick had +sent a call. + +"Don't cover your horses, cabbie!" cried Nick, sharply. "Wait about +three minutes, and we'll be with you." + +"Right, sir!" + +And Nick dashed back up the steps and into the house, meeting Chick in +the hall. + +"What do you make of it, Nick?" + +"Make of it?" cried Nick, with a laugh. "It's a cinch, Chick, dead open +and shut. Grab your hat and come with me. I'll explain in the carriage." + +"Good enough! I'm with you, old man!" + +"And we have no time to lose," cried Nick, "Now, then, we're off." + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +THE CRIME AND THE MEANS. + + +"Yes, Chick, it's as simple as two plus two, and we'll presently try to +bag a part of our quarry. But first of all, I want a bit of +corroborative evidence which I expect to get from that Hindoo snake +charmer, Pandu Singe." + +"Going there first, Nick?" + +"Yes; it will not take long. Then I think we shall have the strands for +a rope strong enough to hold that she-devil who murdered Mary Barton," +grimly added Nick. + +These remarks were made while the carriage containing the two detectives +was speeding through the city streets, then bright with the light and +life of the early evening. + +"What a dastardly crime it was, Nick," observed Chick. + +"It was the crime of a treacherous demon." + +"With jealousy the chief motive, eh?" + +"No doubt of it." + +"Yet her venomous arrow found the wrong mark." + +"That's just the size of it," said Nick. "In the light of what you saw +and heard on the stage that night, it is plain that Cervera is +passionately in love with Venner." + +"Surely." + +"You remember that you saw him talking with Violet Page, and then +observed Cervera in the opposite wings, angrily watching something or +somebody out of your range of view. Plainly enough, now, she was +watching Venner and the singer." + +"No doubt of it," declared Chick. "And she looked fit to use a poniard +then and there." + +"Jealousy," growled Nick. "She had been secretly watching Venner. She +had discovered his love for Violet, and decided that the girl was a +rival to be feared. Her fiery Spanish blood would shrink at nothing. She +went the limit, and tried to murder her rival. In so doing, however, she +but killed another." + +"She must have worked adroitly to have accomplished what she did." + +"It may not have been so very difficult," replied Nick. "She was on the +stage each night, and also that infernal snake den. She quietly learned +which of the venomous reptiles would best serve her deadly purpose, and +then found an opportunity and a way by which to secretly steal it." + +"A hazardous job at that," muttered Chick. + +"The jealousy of such a woman fears nothing," Nick rejoined. "To lure +the desired snake into a box, and then take it home and confine it in +the jewel casket, may have been done quite easily." + +"It must have been done before the company closed its engagement." + +"No doubt," admitted Nick. "Then Cervera was too crafty to use it at +once. She waited nearly a week. Then she dressed herself in cheap +attire, put on a thick veil, and lay in wait for her rival's maid and +companion, to whom she gave the package and her instructions regarding +it." + +"What first led you to suspect the crime and the means, Nick?" inquired +Chick, curiously. + +"Several facts," explained Nick. "The girl's sudden death seemed +peculiar. The jewel casket beside her was empty, at once suggesting that +something had been removed or fallen from it. Yet nothing was to be +found." + +"That's true." + +"The paper wrapper was punctured with a pin in many places, the holes +running even through the lining of the casket. That fact, too, was +suggestive. People are not in the habit of doing up parcels and then +punching them full of holes with a pin." + +"Well, hardly." + +"Cervera made those holes, Chick, in order that her venomous captive +might not expire for want of air." + +"No doubt of it, Nick. But what do you think led Mary Barton to open the +package after having been told not to do so?" + +"Curiosity, perhaps," replied Nick. "Or possibly she considered the +circumstances to be so strange that she felt that she had a right to +open it. Be that as it may, it is plain that Mary Barton sat down on the +park seat, after leaving Boyden and there briefly considered the +matter." + +"How do you arrive at that deduction, Nick?" + +"From the tiny tinge of fresh blood about one of the pinholes on the +interior of the lining," explained Nick. "The stain must have come from +the point of the pin, and when the pin was drawn out of the box, not +when it was thrust into it. In the latter case the pin point would have +been cleansed before passing through the lining, and the stain would +have been on the outside rather than the inside." + +"Surely." + +"Then it at once became plain that Mary Barton, while sitting there, had +thrust her hat pin through one of the previously made apertures, +possibly aiming to discover in this way what the box contained, and in +so doing she probably pricked the confined reptile." + +"Ah, I see," nodded Chick. "All this strongly indicated that something +might have been confined in the casket." + +"Yes, certainly. Not thus learning what the box contained," continued +Nick, "Mary Barton decided to open it. The moment she raised the lid the +snake, probably angered by its wound and long confinement, instantly +struck at her hand, snake-fashion, and buried its fangs in her wrist." + +"Hence the tiny, red spot which you so quickly discovered." + +"Precisely." + +"Very shrewd of you, Nick." + +"Greatly frightened, the girl probably fainted, and fell to the ground," +added Nick, in conclusion of the deductions by which he had solved the +remarkable mystery. "The snake instantly scurried away through the +grass, and left no trail behind him. Before the girl could recover from +her swoon, the deadly poison had done its work. The venom of some of +these India snakes is horribly rapid in its action." + +"That's true," cried Chick. "I saw one at the theater that evening, the +venom of which would kill a man in ten seconds. A wee bit of a cuss at +that." + +"Probably this was one of the same breed," said Nick, grimly. "At all +events, I am sure that murder was the crime, and a snake the means." + +"And Sanetta Cervera the criminal." + +"Beyond the shadow of a doubt," declared Nick. + +"And what do you expect to learn from the Hindoo?" + +"I wish to know, in corroboration of my suspicions, whether Pandu Singe +has missed any of his infernal reptiles." + +"Ah, I see." + +"If he has, my theory is surely correct, and we next must fix the guilt +upon the guilty," said Nick, firmly. "I shall arrest Cervera this very +night, providing the Hindoo informs me that-- Ah, here we are at his +door. Come into the house with me, Chick, and we'll see what he has to +say." + +They had stopped before an ordinary brick house on the East Side, and +Nick quickly mounted the steps and rang the bell. The summons brought a +corpulent English woman to the door, from whom Nick learned that the +Hindoo and his interpreter were still there. + +"Doesn't Pandu Singe speak English?" inquired Nick. + +"Dear me, no!" exclaimed the landlady, with a mute yet visible +laugh--visible in that her convolutions of flesh became observably +agitated. "Not the first word, sir. He talks only a blooming jargon fit +for snakes and spiders and that like." + +Nick laughed agreeably, having a request on his tongue's end. + +"He has moved his beastly den o' reptiles into my cellar to stay till +next season, sir, a 'orror I'd not stand for a minute, so I wouldn't, +only he pays me very 'andsome for the same." + +"Then he intends remaining here all summer, does he?" + +"He do," replied the woman, with startling terseness after the +foregoing. + +"I wish to see him briefly on business," said Nick. "Go and ask him if +he will receive us." + +The landlady complied, returning presently and inviting the two +detectives into the house. She led the way to a rear room off the hall, +at the door of which stood a swarthy foreigner, who bowed and smiled as +the callers approached. + +"'E's the hinterpreter," vouchsafed the landlady, in a wheezy whisper. + +Nick nodded understandingly. + +Reading by the light of a lamp on a table in the room sat the Hindoo +snake charmer himself, clad in a rich, loose robe of Oriental fashion. +He arose with much deliberation and dignity when the detectives entered, +and gravely bowed in greeting, while his interpreter hastened to place +chairs for the visitors. + +Through the interpreter Nick quickly explained his business, and saw a +look of surprise appear on the face of Pandu Singe when inquiries were +made about the loss of a snake. + +It took Nick but a short time to learn what he desired. Precisely as he +expected, the Hindoo had missed one of his snakes about ten days before, +one of the most venomous and dangerous of the lot. + +Hearing no reports or complaints about the missing reptile, however, +Pandu Singe had come to the conclusion that the snake had died in the +den and then been devoured by one of his companions in captivity. So the +Hindoo had let the matter drop, and had said nothing about it. + +Nick did not disclose the true occasion for his inquiries, but invented +a satisfactory explanation, and at the end of a quarter of an hour the +two detectives departed and entered their waiting carriage. + +"Rather a dignified chap, after all, that Pandu Singe," laughed Chick, +as they settled themselves on the cushions. + +"True," admitted Nick, thoughtfully. "Do you think, Chick, that we could +make up to pass for those two swarthy Orientals?" + +"Could we!" exclaimed Chick, promptly. "Well, Nick, I should say that we +could." + +"I think so, too." + +"You could do the snake charmer, all right, and easily gabble a lingo +that would pass for his." + +"Well, rather," laughed Nick. + +"And if I was wise to the game you wished to play I easily could act as +the interpreter, and run the conversation correctly on my own hook." + +"No doubt of it." + +"Do it? Why, surely we could," repeated Chick "Why did you ask?" + +"I think it may yet become necessary or desirable to make a move of +that kind," replied Nick. + +"Why so?" + +"Because, as I have suspected all along, I still think there is some big +game in the wind, with the Kilgore gang back of it, and that the murder +of this Barton girl may have some connection with it, or at least give +us a clew to it." + +"Egad! I hope so, Nick." + +"We soon shall see." + +"Going after Cervera now?" + +"Yes; at once," said Nick, with grim austerity. "We shall find her at +home, as usual. She'll not imagine that I can have got on her track as +quickly as this, so no doubt I can easily land her. Before midnight I +want bracelets on the white wrists of that Spanish dare-devil." + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +CLOSING IN. + + +There was, indeed, as Nick Carter shrewdly suspected, a mysterious bond +between the several crimes thus far engaging his attention, and the +secret operations for which David Kilgore and his gang had ventured into +the city of New York. + +Nick had remarked, however, that the game would become as hazardous and +stirring as one could desire, as soon as it was fairly driven from +cover. + +And Nick began to drive it from cover that very night. + +Shortly before nine o'clock, and just as the two detectives were parting +from the Hindoo snake charmer, Mr. Rufus Venner rang the bell at the +door of Cervera's uptown residence. + +It was answered by Cervera herself, much to Venner's surprise. + +"Where's the butler to-night?" he abruptly demanded, as he entered and +closed the door. + +"Gone," said Cervera, curtly. + +"Gone?" + +"I've sacked him along with all the rest." + +"Not discharged all of your servants?" + +"Nothing less." + +"But why?" demanded Venner, with a frown settling about his dark eyes. +"You cannot remain here alone." + +"I don't intend to." + +"But what are you going to do? When are you going?" + +While thus speaking they had repaired to the library at the rear of the +house, the room in which Nick had encountered the gang nearly a +fortnight before. It was the only room then lighted. Even the hall +through which they had passed was in darkness. + +Yet Cervera was dressed in an elaborate evening gown, fitted close to +her lithe, nervous figure, and augmenting in a marked degree her +dangerous, dark beauty. + +"You know where I am going--or should!" she replied, facing Venner, with +an odd smile on her red lips. + +"Not to the diamond plant?" cried he, with a start. + +"To the diamond plant--yes!" + +"Impossible!" + +"You will find it's not impossible, Rufe," she retorted. "I generally go +where I wish, and do what I undertake. I have already sent my own jewels +and other valuables there by Pylotte. He was here this morning." + +"But consider, Sanetta," protested Venner, with a darker frown. "Think +of what chances you are taking." + +"Of what?" + +"Suppose Nick Carter suspects you, and has a shadow on your movements--" + +"Bah!" interrupted Cervera, with a snap and flash of her black eyes. "I +care nothing for Nick Carter. _Caramba!_ do you think I fear him? I will +fool and foil Nick Carter as I have fooled and foiled his betters. I +shall go to the plant to-morrow, and that settles it." + +"Stop a bit," insisted Venner, almost angrily. "Do you forget that +Kilgore and all his gang are there? Do you forget that we are just +about launching our gigantic enterprise? We now have nearly a million +dollars' worth of diamonds manufactured, or in the process of making, +and I already have begun to distribute them on the market at a fabulous +profit." + +"Well, I know all that. What has it to do with my going there?" + +"Such a move on your part may give Carter a clew to our location," +declared Venner. + +"Oh, no, it won't," sneered Cervera, scornfully. "I'll look out for +that." + +"Discovery would ruin all, and possibly land the whole gang behind +prison bars." + +"Faugh! I'm as well at the plant as here, and there I am going. You let +me alone to evade the Carters." + +"But why in thunder are you so determined to make this change?" demanded +Venner. + +An amorous fire came stealing into the woman's resolute eyes, and she +shrugged her shapely shoulders significantly. + +"You should know why without asking," she slowly answered, with her gaze +fixed upon his changing countenance. "It is because I love you, Rufe, +and wish to be where you spend so much of your time." + +"So much of my time?" echoed Venner, inquiringly. + +"So at least you tell me." + +"Do you doubt it?" + +"I know that five days and nights have passed since you came here to see +me," cried Cervera, bitterly. "I have only your own word in explanation +of your neglect." + +"That should be enough," said Venner, curtly. + +"Yet a man after a new love does not shrink from lying to an old," +retorted Cervera. + +"Pshaw! You are jealous again." + +"A woman who loves as I love is always jealous." + +"Of whom now?" + +"You know of whom." + +"I tell you I have not seen Violet Page since the theater closed." + +"I have only your word for it," repeated Cervera, with incredulity +bright in her sensuous eyes. "You know what I told you, Rufe. I'll not +tamely permit that pale-faced nightingale to come between you and me. +You know what I told you. I would kill her as I would a--a snake!" + +Despite his own stiff nerves, Venner recoiled from the look on the +woman's desperate face. Her voice had fallen to a hiss like that of the +reptile mentioned. + +"You are mad, Sanetta," he cried, irritably. "You have no occasion for +this jealousy and hatred." + +"I have had! You know that I have had--and your face shows it!" + +"You have none now--absolutely none now!" + +His emphatic declaration fell upon Cervera with an effect which Venner +did not at first understand. + +She sprang quickly toward him, gripping him hard by the wrist, while her +every nerve seemed stimulated with sudden agitation. + +"None now? None now--now?" she fiercely reiterated, in inquiring +whispers. "Do you mean that--that it is done? that it is done?" + +"Done?" gasped Venner, amazedly. "Is what done? What the devil are you +driving at?" + +She drew back, searching his eyes with hers, and hers were like those of +a demon, in her momentary suspense. + +"Then it isn't--it isn't?" she hissed, through her white teeth. "I +thought from what you said that it was. I thought--" + +"Good God! what do you mean?" cried Venner, aghast for a moment. + +Then, struck with a sudden recollection, he turned and snatched an +evening paper from a pocket of his coat, which he had tossed on a chair. +He had recalled certain leader lines which had caught his eye earlier in +the evening, yet which he then had not had sufficient interest to +follow. + +Now he hurriedly opened the paper and read the story, or so much of it +as enabled him to guess the truth. + +It was the newspaper story of the girl found dead in Central Park that +afternoon, with the mystery involving the sudden fatality, and the names +of the murdered girl and her mistress, Violet Page. + +A half-smothered oath of horror and dismay broke from Venner, after a +moment. + +It brought Cervera to his side, and she snatched the paper from him and +read--the story of her own failure; the miscarriage of her own jealous +and murderous design. + +She suppressed the shriek of mingled disappointment and fury that rose +to her twitching lips, then passionately cast the paper upon the table. + +"Well, what do you make of it?" she demanded, glaring at Venner's +colorless face. + +"No need to ask," he replied, hoarsely. "You know what I make of it." + +"You think I did it?" + +"I know you did it!" + +"And killed the wrong girl?" + +"And killed the wrong girl!" + +"Can you guess how?" + +"I don't care how. I know that you did it." + +"You will not betray me?" hissed Cervera, crouching before him, with +eyes never leaving his. + +"I have no wish to betray you." + +"You dare not! you dare not!" + +"I shall not!" + +"If you do--" + +The woman checked her words for an instant, and ran her hand into the +bosom of her dress. When she drew it forth it gripped a naked poniard, +upon the polished blade of which the rays of light flashed with many a +wicked gleam and glint. + +"If you do," she repeated, "I will send you after her, Rufus Venner! I +will do even more! I will expose our whole game, and our whole gang!" + +"I have said that I shall not betray you, nor will I," cried Venner, +signing for her to put up the weapon. "Yet you were mad, Sanetta. You +had no grounds for such jealousy, no occasion for such a crime." + +"I had--and you know it! I told you I would do it." + +"Well, you have tried it, at least," growled Venner, forcing a smile to +his gray lips. + +"And you dare not betray me," repeated Cervera, thrusting the glittering +weapon within her dress. "I have not failed entirely, Rufe, since it +makes the criminal tie between you and me all the stronger. It binds us +together with links of steel, Rufe, and they are stronger far than any +marriage contract." + +"Then you love me like that, eh?" + +"You know that I do." + +"Yet your infernal jealousy, and your determination to quit this house +and go to the plant with the gang, may yet ruin us all. If Nick Carter +were to get a clew--" + +"Bah!" Cervera fiercely interrupted. "I despise him, not fear him! I +tell you again, I will fool and foil Nick Carter, as I have fooled and +foiled his betters!" + +"His better as a detective never lived, Sanetta." + +"I care not! I defy him, and will yet show you that--" + +"Hush! Hark! A cab has stopped outside!" + +Cervera changed like a flash. + +With the bound of a leopard, one of those lightning moves with which she +could electrify an audience from the stage, she crossed the adjoining +room, which was in darkness, and reached the front window. + +One glance through the lace draperies was enough. + +Nick Carter was just alighting from his carriage. + +Cervera darted back and rejoined Venner. + +"It is Carter--Nick Carter himself!" she fiercely whispered, with all +the fire of her passionate Spanish nature ablaze in her eyes. + +"Carter! Good God!" + +"Be off, Rufe, and leave him to me!" + +"To you alone?" + +"Yes." + +"He already is on your track for this crime." + +"I'll foil him yet! Leave him to me alone!" Cervera fiercely cried. "Be +off by the back stairs, then through the stable and the side alley. Go +to your own home, and from there signal Kilgore to have the secret way +to the plant open for me. Here--the paper! Take it away with you! I'll +elude Carter--" + +"But he may arrest you at once," protested Venner, excitedly. "If he +does--" + +"_Caramba!_ do you stop to question?" Cervera furiously interrupted. "If +he takes me from this house he will take me--dead!" + +"But--" + +"Quick--he's at the door! Leave him to me alone, and do what I told you! +Away! There's the bell!" + +Venner caught up his coat, darted down the back stairs and quickly +departed by the way mentioned. + +At the same time, while Nick's summons was still echoing through the +great house, Sanetta Cervera swept haughtily through the main hall, +switched on the electric light, and then opened the front door. + +She appeared as cool and composed as if she had just arisen from her +dinner. + +Yet in the vestibule stood the one man whom she had most cause to fear, +the man who now held her fate in his hand--Nick Carter. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +CRAFTY CERVERA. + + +"Good-evening, Mr. Venner. Oh, it's not you!" + +"Oh, yes, 'tis!" said Nick, dryly. "It's I all right, and I'm it. You +appear surprised at seeing me, Señora Cervera." + +Cervera had begun, then stopped, then uttered the startled exclamation; +and all with the utmost coolness, with the air of one stirred only by +genuine surprise, and as if without the slightest fear or dismay upon +beholding Nick Carter in the vestibule. + +So perfectly natural was her artful assumption, that it rather deceived +Nick for a short time. + +In response to his dry remarks, the artful jade now nodded and began to +laugh. + +"Surprised? Well, rather!" she exclaimed, in animated tones. "I was +expecting our mutual friend, dear Mr. Venner, and supposed it was he who +rang. But I'm just as pleased to see you." + +"Yes?" + +"Surely! Come in, Detective Carter. You are very, very welcome. I shall +be so glad to renew our brief acquaintance. In fact, Detective Carter, I +am quite charmed to see you." + +"You'll not feel so chipper and charmed when you learn my business," +said Nick to himself, as he entered and followed her to the library. + +"Take a chair, Detective Carter, and try to feel perfectly at home," +laughed Cervera, with bantering vivacity. "You have been here before, +you know." + +"Yes, indeed, I know," said Nick, dryly. "The night I had a taste of a +choke pear, at the hands of your faithful guardians." + +"Ah! but you shall be better treated this time," smiled Cervera, +dropping into a chair opposite the detective, and fixing her sensuous, +dark eyes on Nick's calm, unreadable face. + +"I hope so, señora," he replied. "By the way, what has become of those +two stalwart guardians of your treasures? Do you still retain them in +your employ?" + +It was second nature to Nick to feel his way in this crafty fashion, yet +he did not really expect any resistance in arresting Cervera, who now +laughed and shook her head, replying: + +"No, I have let them go." + +"That so?" + +"I have no use for them at present." + +"Why is that?" + +"My engagement at the theater has closed, and I seldom have occasion to +wear my diamonds. I have placed them all in a safe deposit vault." + +"Ah! I see." + +"So I have no need for my guardians, Detective Carter, with only myself +here. Nobody would want me personally, you know," she added, with a bold +laugh. + +Nick's firm lips drew a little closer. + +"On the contrary," said he, pointedly, "somebody does, want you +personally." + +"Oh! is that so?" cried Cervera, as if amused. + +"Very much so, señora." + +"And who does me the honor, pray?" + +"I want you," said Nick, bluntly. + +"You, Detective Carter! Why, sir, what an idea! I wouldn't have believed +it of you." + +"Yet it is true, nevertheless." + +"Well, well," repeated Cervera, with a pretty shrug, "I am really glad +to hear you say so. For what do you want me, Detective Carter?" + +Not once had Nick's searching gaze left her brazen countenance, and +despite her outward display of badinage, his steadfast and penetrating +eyes were making her secretly uneasy. + +"I want you," said Nick, pointedly, "for that ugly 'Jack-in-the-box' +trick which you perpetrated this afternoon." + +Cervera's eyes emitted a single swift, fiery gleam, and her red lips +drew closer. Yet she cried, still pleasantly: + +"What do you mean by that, Detective Carter? Is it a joke?" + +"You'll find it no joke." + +"If it is, sir, I don't see the point." + +"You will have a chance to look for it at the Tombs," replied Nick, with +grim quietude. "Señora Cervera, I want you to go along with me." + +"The Tombs! Go with you! What do you mean?" + +"I mean that you are now under arrest." + +"Arrest! For what?" + +"For the murder of a girl named Mary Barton," Nick bluntly rejoined, +ignoring the woman's increasing display of amazement and resentment. + +"Mary Barton!" cried Cervera. "I never heard of the girl." + +"Nevertheless," said Nick, sternly, "you met her on Fifth Avenue this +afternoon, and gave her a jewel casket containing a venomous snake, +which you had stolen from the den of Pandu Singe, and by which means you +inadvertently killed Mary Barton, instead of another for whom your +infernal design was intended. I am aware of all of your late movements, +señora, you see." + +"I see that you are a devil!" cried Cervera, with a sudden passionate +outburst. "How dare you come here with such a story as that?" + +For a moment at least, the fact that Nick already had discovered nearly +every detail of her infamous crime--though committed only a few hours +before--almost completely unnerved her, and her changing countenance, +her irrepressible outbreak, and the violent agitation of her lithe, +nervous figure, were tokens of self-betrayal by no means unobserved by +Nick. + +"You'll have a chance to refute the story before a judge and jury," Nick +curtly answered. "At present you are in my custody, however, and you +must go with me." + +Cervera rose to her feet, trembling visibly, and gripped the back of her +chair as if for support. + +"There must be some terrible mistake, Detective Carter," she now cried, +with well-feigned distress and alarm. "Surely you do not mean this, +sir? Surely you do but jest?" + +"On the contrary, señora, I mean every word that I have said." + +"That I am under arrest?" + +"Yes." + +"And must go with you?" + +"Precisely." + +"To the Tombs?" + +"To the Tombs, señora." + +"Oh! this is dreadful--dreadful!" craftily moaned Cervera, with tears +now filling her eyes. + +"I am sorry for you, señora, but I must do my duty," said Nick, rising. + +"I know you must--but, oh! what shall I do? To whom can I appeal? Oh! if +Mr. Venner were only here!" + +"You can send a messenger for him later, or dispatch one of your +servants from here," suggested Nick. + +"I have none here," sobbed Cervera. "They are all out, and I am alone. I +have no one--" + +She suddenly stopped, then drew herself up with resentful dignity, and +wiped the tears from her eyes. + +"I am a fool to be so weak!" she exclaimed, bitterly. "Detective Carter, +I know nothing of the crime you mention. I never heard of Mary Barton. +This arrest is an outrage, and I will appeal to the highest court in the +land for vindication!" + +"That's your privilege," said Nick, shortly. "But at present you must go +with me." + +"I cannot go as I am," declared Cervera, passionately stamping her +foot. "I am in evening dress--attired to receive a caller. I shall take +cold if I go out of doors in--" + +"Oh, you may change your dress," Nick curtly interrupted, the need of +which was decidedly obvious. "I'll give you time for that." + +"How very kind," sneered Cervera, with a bitter flash of her black eyes. +"You shall yet suffer for this affront, Detective Carter." + +"All right," said Nick. "But I have no time to speculate upon it now, so +get yourself ready. Wait a bit, my lady! I'll go along with you!" + +"With me? You insult me!" + +"Oh, no, I don't. I want a look at your chamber before letting you out +of my sight. I've seen rooms with more than one way out, and I don't +intend that you shall elude me." + +"You're a suspicious coward, sir!" + +"Stow all that, señora, and lead the way," commanded Nick, bluntly. + +Pale and resentful, with a sneer on her lips, Cervera led the way +through, the hall, playing her part so artfully that Nick, ignorant of +her late interview with Rufus Venner, was not much inclined to suspect +her of duplicity just then. + +Upon reaching the top of the hall stairs, Cervera switched on another +light, and then that which illumined her chamber, into which she +haughtily led the detective. + +"A fine affront to suffer," she bitterly exclaimed, throwing herself +into a chair. "Your conduct is despicable! You are no gentleman!" + +"I am a detective," retorted Nick, "and I come pretty near knowing my +business." + +"Oh! you do," sneered Cervera. "Plainly that is the limit of your +knowledge. You may not be as wise as you think." + +Nick made no reply, but looked sharply about the room. + +It was a large, square chamber, and elaborately furnished. The two +windows were well above the street, and offered no chance for escape. +There were but two doors, that leading into the hall and the one leading +into a large closet in the opposite wall. + +Nick opened the latter, and found the closet hung with Cervera's +extensive wardrobe. He thrust his arm along the garments hanging at +either side, and sounded the three walls, and then the closet floor, all +of which appeared perfectly firm and solid. + +Even these precautions seemed quite needless to Nick, however, it being +a rented house, and Cervera presumably uninformed of his coming. + +"Now, señora, you may have just ten minutes to make ready," said he, as +he rejoined her. "I shall leave this chamber door open, and will wait +for you in the adjoining hall. Can you whistle?" + +"Whistle?" + +"Yes, whistle! You know what it is to whistle, don't you?" + +The sneer on Cervera's red lips, as she arose from her chair, became +almost a smile. + +"Yes, I can whistle after a fashion," she admitted. + +"Well, then, you keep whistling all the time you are alone here," Nick +sternly commanded. "I will let you out of my sight to make these +changes, but not out of my hearing." + +"Suspicious fool!" + +"Fool or not, you keep whistling," said Nick, bluntly. "If you let up +for so long as a second, I'll come over yonder threshold in a way that +you'll not fancy." + +"But suppose I want to brush my teeth?" inquired Cervera, with a +vixenish light in her evil eyes. "I cannot whistle and brush my teeth, +Detective Carter." + +"You'll have plenty of time to brush your teeth at the Tombs," said +Nick, sharply. "Now look lively, mark you, and--keep whistling." + +Cervera at once began to whistle. + +Nick removed the key from the chamber door, and sauntered out into the +hall, where he kept his ears constantly alert. + +Not for a moment did the whistling cease, nor was there the slightest +change in tone or character. + +Nick could not have taken a more effective method to serve his present +purpose. + +At the end of eight minutes the whistling ceased, and Cervera coldly +cried: + +"Now you may come in, Detective Carter. I am about ready to go with +you." + +Nick at once entered the chamber. + +Cervera had changed her evening dress for a complete suit of black, and +was standing in the middle of the room. + +"I suppose," said she, staring icily at the detective, "that I ought to +thank you for your consideration." + +"Don't trouble yourself," said Nick, curtly. "I have no time to waste." + +"Yet just one word, Detective Carter, before we go." + +"Let it be brief, then." + +"You are said to be a very clever man, and no doubt you think you have +me dead to rights in this case," said Cervera, with a mocking curl of +her thin lips. + +"Decidedly so." + +"Yet you will find, Detective Carter, that a clever woman can always +fool and foil a clever man." + +"But you, my lady, are very far from being a clever woman," retorted +Nick, with a gesture of impatience, signifying that he wished to leave +with her at once. + +"Nevertheless, I shall beat you at the finish, make no mistake about +that," cried Cervera, scornfully. "Now, sir, I will put on my wrap, and +go with you where you please." + +With the last remark, she approached a peg in the open closet, as if to +take down a dark shawl. + +Instead, she suddenly turned quickly around and cried, with a taunting +laugh: + +"So long, Detective Carter! I really feel quite sorry to bid +you--good-by!" + +Nick started like a man electrified. + +Cervera merely had pressed the peg on which the shawl hung, whereupon +the whole back of the closet seemed to fall away instantly, disclosing a +lighted passage beyond. + +Nick caught a glimpse of it, and of the woman darting toward it, and he +followed her like a shot from a gun. + +As Cervera passed through the further opening and gained the lighted +passage, she seized and threw a short lever just beyond the closet wall. + +At the same moment Nick's weight fell upon the closet floor behind her. + +It was like treading upon air. + +The lever, like the peg, did not work in an instant. + + +Nick felt himself falling, and made a desperate clutch at the door +jamb--only to miss it. + +Then the closet floor, with the detective upon it, went speeding down +like an elevator cut loose from a top story. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +IN A WARM CORNER. + + +The crash with which Nick Carter vaguely expected his career might be +abruptly ended, as the floor upon which he had fallen prostrate rapidly +descended, did not come. + +The terrific downward speed suddenly decreased, then became more +gradual, all in the bare fraction of a second; and then the rushing +sound of compressed air escaping through narrow crevices fell upon the +detective's ears. + +Nick immediately guessed the truth. + +The falling closet floor was that of an elevator, no longer in use as +such, yet which still worked on the slides of the elevator well, and +evidently had been cleverly adjusted for just such an emergency as that +depicted. + +Presently there came a heavy jar, and then the downward motion ceased. +The close-fitting floor at first had fallen so swiftly that the confined +air in the well beneath it had become so compressed as to form an air +cushion, which finally let the floor completely down only after the air +had gradually escaped. It was this escaping air Nick heard during the +last moments of his fall. + +The entire episode began and ended in but little more than a moment, +however. Though considerably jarred, Nick pulled himself together, and +gazed up through the darkness at the bottom of the well. + +Cervera was peering down from the lighted passage three stories above +him, Nick having made a clean drop into the cellar of the imposing +residence. + +That this entire contrivance was the work of the Kilgore gang, devised +while they masqueraded at Cervera's house, Nick was thoroughly +convinced. + +"Hello!" Cervera suddenly cried, still gazing down into the darkness +enveloping Nick. "Are you there, Mr. Carter?" + +Nick stared up at her, but made no answer. + +At the same time he felt quietly over the walls of the well, in the hope +of finding some way of escape. + +It riled him not a little, the thought of having been so deftly caught +in a trap, almost entirely owing to his having been overconfident, an +assurance only very natural under the circumstances. + +The possibility that this woman might now elude him for a time was also +a thorn in Nick's mind. + +"_Caramba!_" cried Cervera, with a mocking laugh. "Aren't you going to +speak?" + +Still no answer. + +"Have you lost your tongue, Detective Carter? If you don't speak out, +Mr. Smart Fellow, I shall drop something down that will light you up. I +want a look at you, to know whether you're afoot or on horseback." + +Nick remained in perfect silence. + +Then Cervera disappeared. + +"The she-devil!" muttered the detective. "What move next, I wonder?" + +Again he felt quickly over the walls of the well, in the hope of finding +some avenue of escape. + +With a thrill of satisfaction, he now discovered one of the vertical +strips of iron which are attached to two opposite walls of an elevator +well, to steady the car and serve as slides for it to run upon. These +iron strips are usually regularly notched to the depth of an inch or +more, for the admission of an automatic break in the event of the rope +parting. + +"By Jove! this is not so bad," thought Nick. "It might serve for a +ladder. + +"To climb three stories with the tips of one's fingers and toes, +however, and by means of a notched iron on the bare face of a wall, is a +herculean and hazardous undertaking." + +While he stood, measuring the altitude with his eyes, Nick heard Cervera +returning. + +Then a great bunch of flaming paper came flying down the well, and the +detective was forced to leap aside to escape it. + +She-devil, indeed, Cervera had set fire to a crumpled newspaper, with +which to illuminate the bottom of the well. + +"Ah, there you are!" she exultingly cried, on discovering Nick in the +glare of the light. "On your feet, eh? You were lucky to escape, +Detective Carter." + +"And you'll be lucky if you escape Detective Carter," sternly retorted +Nick, quickly stamping out the fire. "I'll finally land you, my crafty +young woman, though I lie awake nights to devise a way." + +Cervera gave vent to a shrill, vindictive laugh. + +"Do you think you can do it?" she demanded, mockingly. + +"You'll find that I can." + +"Better men than you have tried--and failed." + +"Yet I shall succeed." + +"Do you feel quite sure of it?" + +"Absolutely." + +"Then I think I'd better see your finish this very night, since I now +have you cornered!" cried Cervera, in taunting tones, "It may not be +wise to defer it." + +Then Nick beheld a second burning newspaper coming his way. + +"Let up, you demon!" he shouted, angrily. "You'll set the house afire." + +"Wouldn't it be a shame! And what would become of you?" + +"Don't try it again, young woman, or worse may be your fate." + +"Oh! is that so?" sneered Cervera, maliciously. "We'll see." + +Down came another burning paper, and by the light of it Nick now +discovered a closed door in one of the walls. It was directly under the +closet door in Cervera's chamber, both of which evidently had once been +used for entering the elevator. + +The fact chiefly observed by Nick, however, was that the sill of the +door was wide enough to offer him a safe footing. Though it was fully +eight feet above his head, Nick resolved to attempt to reach it by means +of the notched iron on the side wall. + +Gripping the rough notches with his muscular fingers, and using those +lower down for a foothold, as best he could, Nick hurriedly began the +difficult ascent. + +By the light from a fragment of burning paper, Cervera perceived his +design, and greeted it with a scream of derision. + +"I'll soon stop that, my fine fellow," she shouted, with vicious +asperity. "Look out for yourself!" + +White speaking, she touched a match to one of her dresses, which hung +from a near peg on the closet wall, and dropped it blazing down the +well. + +Nick saw it coming, and was forced to drop back to the cellar floor. + +"You vicious demon!" he cried, angrily. "Let up! You'll have the house +on fire!" + +"That's just what I intend doing--and you with it!" screamed Cervera, +with a laugh. "I'll not leave you alive to get the best of me at some +later day." + +Then she set fire to a silk skirt, and dropped it after the other. + +Nick had not yet been able to extinguish the first, and the situation +was momentarily becoming more desperate. A cloud of smoke was filling +the well, with no draft to carry it away, and the heat was already very +oppressive. + +Crouching on the curb of the lighted passage three floors above him, +Cervera was laughing wildly, with her handsome face reflecting the +bitter hatred by which she was inspired, as she hurriedly set fire to a +third garment and dropped it down the well. + +The smoke at the bottom had become so dense that Nick no longer could +see her, but he felt quite sure that he could put an end to her present +murderous game. + +He drew his revolver and fired two quick shots in her direction. One +bullet crashed through the ceiling above her. The second clipped a lock +of hair from over the vixen's ear. + +It brought a shriek of alarm to her lips, and she sprang quickly back +from the curb over which she was stooping. + +"_Caramba!_" she yelled, excitedly. "That's your game, is it?" + +"You'll find it is, if you approach that opening again!" cried Nick, +half choked with smoke, while he fiercely strove to extinguish the +blazing garments. + +"Oh, I'll not give you another chance at me!" screamed Cervera. "I'll +push over something heavier, and crush out your life with--" + +She suddenly stopped, then held her breath and listened. + +The crash of a breaking door reached her ears, then hurried footsteps +began falling on the main stairway leading to her chamber. + +"Some one is coming!" she fiercely muttered. "Perhaps another detective! +I must be off!" + +Yet so bitter was her hatred of Nick, and so intensely enjoyable to her +the trick she had served him, that she lingered for an instant in the +face of the impending danger, and screamed down the well, with a mocking +laugh: + +"I'm obliged to leave you, Detective Carter! While I'm gone--keep +whistling!" + +At the same moment Chick Carter rushed into the chamber and caught a +glimpse of her through the wreathing smoke, as she fled through the +lighted passage. + +One glance at the scene gave Chick the entire situation. + +He drew back, took a short run, and with a magnificent bound cleared the +open well, and leaped squarely through the closet and into the lighted +passage. + +Then the crash of a heavy door, suddenly closed, and the shooting of +bolts, told him that Cervera had prevented pursuit for a time at least, +and Chick swung round to the open well, to see if Nick needed him. + +"Hello, Nick!" he shouted. "The woman--" + +"Let her go!" roared Nick, still fiercely fighting the flames that +threatened the woodwork of the well. "Let her go--we'll get her later! +First save the house!" + +"How can I reach you?" + +"Through a door under the one in her chamber," shouted Nick. "Try that." + +Chick cleared the well with another leap, then dashed downstairs and +into the parlor, which was lighted by the glare from both hall and +library. + +He quickly discovered the door--only to find it locked and the key +removed. + +Chick was promptly equal to so slight an emergency, however. Grasping a +heavy stool near the piano, he swung it above his head, and with half a +dozen rapid blows demolished most of the door, and forced it open. + +A cloud of smoke floated into the room, but a glance showed Chick that +Nick now had the flames extinguished. + +"Are you all right, old man?" he demanded. + +"Only a little in need of fresh air," gasped Nick. "You cannot reach +down to me." + +"Wait a bit, then. This will do the business!" + +Chick had turned and snatched off the thick cloth covering of the piano, +which he quickly twisted and lowered over the doorsill, and then braced +himself to sustain Nick's weight. + +"All right?" cried Nick. + +"Yes. Come on!" + +Nick drew himself up until he could grasp the sill of the door, then +easily reached the floor and the clearer atmosphere of the parlor. + +"Well, here's a pretty mess!" he growled, in tones of self-condemnation. +"If ever I was done by a crafty jade, I've been done by one this night." + +"How in thunder did it happen, Nick?" demanded Chick, with no little +amazement. + +Nick very quickly told him, and explained the occasion of his own lack +of distrust and caution. + +"It being a rented house, I did not look for any such trap as this," +said he. "Furthermore, I did not believe that Cervera had any warning of +my coming, and I felt satisfied that she was alone here. Have you seen +anything of Venner while waiting in the cab?" + +"Not a sign of him." + +"It's odds, then, that he was here when I arrived, and made his escape +by a back door," growled Nick. "If so, it goes to show that he is in +with her and the Kilgore push, and not a blind victim to their cunning. +We now must get some proof of that, Chick, and force that gang and +their game to light. We at least have made a beginning, and now for +another move." + +"To-night?" + +"At once!" declared Nick. "Cervera must find shelter somewhere, and it's +very likely she will go to Venner's house. That must be our next point, +and we will lose no time. Possibly we yet may land her before she finds +cover." + +"We can give it a try," cried Chick. + +"Help me extinguish these lights, and then we'll be off again." + +"I'm with you." + +"What sent you into the house so suddenly?" + +"The reports of your revolver," explained Chick. "I at once recognized +its bark, and knew something was wrong." + +"Ah! I see." + +"I saw the light in the chamber, and supposed you might be letting the +woman prepare to go with you," added Chick. "That was while I sat in the +cab. But when I heard your gun, I smashed open the front door and bolted +upstairs." + +"Very lucky, too," nodded Nick. "That she-devil would have burned the +house, and me in the bargain. But the end is not yet." + +"Well, hardly!" laughed Chick, as they descended the front stairs and +extinguished the last light. + +"We'll stop an officer, and send him here to watch the house," said +Nick. "Then we'll have a look at Venner's dwelling. It's my opinion, +Chick, that our work has now begun in good earnest." + +"Well, I reckon we shall prove equal to it," smiled Chick, rather +grimly, as they hastened to enter the waiting carriage. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +THE DIAMOND PLANT. + + +"This does settle it!" + +"What do you mean, Dave?" + +"It must be done?" + +"We must get these Carters--that's what! If we don't get them, +Spotty--you take my word for it--they'll get us!" + +"Do you really think so, Dave?" + +"Not think, but know so!" declared Kilgore, with emphasis. "I know these +Carters, root and branch. They have now struck our trail, and they'll +stick to it like bloodhounds till they run us down--unless we get them! +It must be done, I say, and done promptly." + +"Put them down and out?" + +"Exactly. It's them--or us!" + +"And why do you think, all of a sudden, Dave, that Nick Carter is so hot +on our heels?" + +"I'll tell you why, Spotty." + +And Mr. David Kilgore, chief of the notorious diamond gang bearing his +name, and one of the keenest and coolest criminals in or out of prison +walls, removed his pipe from his mouth and his heels from the edge of +the table, and drew forward in his chair to explain. + +It was a curious place, that in which the speakers of the above were +seated, in the bright glare of an electric light. + +It was inclosed with four solid stone walls, with not a window or +aperture through which a ray of light could be detected from outside. + +Yet in one of the walls was a low, narrow door, also of stone, and so +cleverly constructed and fitted that, when swung into place in the wall, +it was comparatively beyond the detection of anybody ignorant of its +existence. This door then stood open, but the aperture through the wall +was heavily curtained. + +Three of these walls formed the original foundation of an old and +extensive suburban mansion, the location, ownership and present use of +which will presently appear. The fourth wall, that with the door, was of +more recent construction, and was built squarely across the original +cellar of the house. It had been made to mask this secret subterranean +chamber in which the Kilgore gang was then gathered. + +The place was commodious, and contained some noteworthy objects. In one +corner was a powerful hydraulic press. Near by was a splendid electrical +furnace, capable of generating an extraordinary degree of heat. Against +the adjoining wall were several barrels of sulphur, of which only one +was unheaded. Near by was a large box of anthracite coal, black and +glistening in the rays of the arc light. + +Parallel with the opposite wall was a workbench, laden with curious +retorts, crucibles, test tubes, metal molds, and no end of tools, all of +which plainly suggested the work of one versed both in chemistry and +some mechanical art. + +In the middle of the room was a square deal table, at which Kilgore was +seated, with Matt Stall and Spotty Dalton, the original three of the +Kilgore gang. + +Two other persons were present, however, and they were engaged in +examining some work on the bench mentioned. + +One of them was a tall, angular Frenchman, about sixty years of age, +named Jean Pylotte. He had a slender figure, somewhat bowed; but his +head was massive, in which his gleaming, gray eyes were deeply sunk, +like those of a tireless student and hard worker. + +His companion at the bench just then was Sanetta Cervera, the Spanish +dancer--the murderess of Mary Barton--the vicious dare-devil who had +served Nick Carter one of her evil tricks that very evening. + +Cervera had arrived at the diamond plant less than an hour before, and +had hurriedly told her confederates the whole story of her crime and her +adventure with Nick. + +Crime was too common with these outlaws, however, and loyalty to one +another too natural, for Kilgore to censure his only female confederate +very severely. Yet as Kilgore now proceeded to explain, her crime had +rendered their situation decidedly more alarming. + +"I'll tell you why these Carters are now to be seriously feared," said +he, nodding grimly at his hearers. "This last move of Cervera has hurt +us severely." + +"In what way?" demanded Spotty Dalton, the pock-marked chap who had +relieved Venner's partner of the Hafferman diamonds about two weeks +before. "I don't see just how, Dave." + +"No more do I," put in Matt Stall. + +"You'll see," replied Kilgore, "when I run over a few facts which led +to our being here, and at work on our present game." + +"Well, Dave, we're listening." + +"One year ago we three were in Amsterdam, Holland, weren't we?" + +"Sure." + +"At work on a different kind of a game?" + +"Yes." + +"Only we three were then in the gang." + +"That's right, Dave. Now there are seven of us, counting Venner and his +partner." + +"It was in Amsterdam that we first met her nibs," continued Kilgore, +with a jerk of his thumb in the direction of Cervera, who was so engaged +with Pylotte that neither heeded the talk at the table. + +"Yes, Dave, we met her just a year ago," nodded Dalton. + +"She was then doing her dances in a theater there, and we naturally got +our peepers onto her diamonds," Kilgore went on to narrate. "You fellows +already know the scheme by which we tried to relieve her of them, which +we came so near doing." + +"Well, rather," grinned Dalton, as if the reminiscence was amusing. + +"Then we learned from her own lips, and greatly to our surprise, that +her sparks were not the real thing," smiled Kilgore. "At first we could +not believe it. The goods deceived even us, old hands though we are. It +was only when she told us about Pylotte, and the secret process by +which he makes such extraordinary imitations, that we could believe +her." + +"That's right, Dave." + +"She had stumbled by chance upon this clever French chemist and diamond +cutter, and was working him to the extent of her ability. She even had +got wise to his secret, and he was loading her with his marvelous gems +in return for her affection. But we at once saw the way to something +much more profitable, a game for making millions out of Pylotte's great +discovery." + +"Right again, Dave." + +"So we told them about it, and found them willing," continued Kilgore. +"We rung them into our gang, and planned the whole deal. We knew it +would be dead easy to work off such clever stones for genuine goods. +With plenty of such sparks on hand, and one big and reputable jeweler to +help us work the market, the distribution of our goods and their +substitution for genuine stones would quickly throw a cool million or +two our way." + +"Dead easy, Dave." + +"But we decided that New York was the best field for such a gigantic +enterprise," added Kilgore. "So we came here. With the help of Cervera, +we got our grip on Venner, and then on his avaricious partner, Garside, +whose business happened to be on its last legs. So they snapped like +hungry fish at this chance to square themselves, by secretly swindling +their own customers, and shoving our manufactured diamonds upon the +entire market." + +"Like hungry fish--h'm! that's no name for it," cried Matt Stall, with +a mingled growl and laugh. "Rufe Venner was as ready to become a knave +as any covey I ever crossed." + +"So we established this plant for Pylotte to do his clever work in," +continued Kilgore, disregarding the interruption. "Luckily, Venner +already owned this old mansion, as well as that in which he lives; and +fortunately, both places are somewhat secluded, with extensive grounds +abutting. That enabled us to frame up a very snug and safe retreat." + +"Sure it did." + +"So we went to work," Kilgore proceeded, discursively. "We built our +plant, placed our machinery, rigged a private telephone between this +house and Venner's, and tapped the electric conduit with a secret wire, +to give us light and feed our furnace." + +"That was my work," nodded Stall, with a touch of pride. + +"Right you are, Matt, and mighty good work, too," bowed Kilgore. "In a +nutshell, boys, after two months' secret work, we have accomplished all +we planned, and now have Venner sliding our goods upon the market at a +fabulous profit. In a single year, barring these infernal Carters, every +man of us should be a millionaire." + +"But why this sudden fear of the Carters?" growled Dalton, impatiently. + +"I'll now tell you why," cried Kilgore, with voice lowered, and an ugly +gleam in his frowning eyes. "We cannot sack Cervera, nor put out her +light, for she's too good and strong a card for us to lose. But in +losing her head over Venner, and jealously doing up that girl to-day, +she has given the Carters a clew by which to track us." + +"How so, Dave?" muttered Stall, growing a bit pale. + +"Through Venner, of course!" Kilgore forcibly argued. "Until this job of +to-day, Carter has had no definite suspicion of Venner, a possibility +which we headed off with that fake robbery. Now, however, since Cervera +must lie low, and Carter knows of her relations with Venner, he will +suspect the latter and make him a constant mark, in the hope of landing +the girl." + +"By Heaven, that's so!" snarled Dalton, quickly seeing the point. + +"And that's not the worst of it," added Kilgore. "The moment he suspects +Venner, Carter will connect him with us, and know that that robbery was +a put-up job. Then he'll begin to seek us and our game." + +"But how can he locate us?" + +"Locate us?" sneered Kilgore, acidly. "You don't know Nick Carter! I'll +tell you, Spotty, he can smell a rat further than any ferret that ever +shoved his nose under a miller's barn. As sure as death and taxes, Nick +Carter will run us down and land us, every mother's son of us--unless we +can get him, and put him down and out." + +"By Heaven, I begin to think so myself," growled Stall. "If we--" + +"There are no ifs, ands or buts about it, Matt," interrupted Kilgore, +decisively. "We must down them both, Nick and Chick Carter, or our game +is as good as done for." + +"But how can we land them, Dave, and when?" + +"I already have a plan, and I think the first move may be made this +very night." + +"What's the plan, Dave?" + +"To lure both detectives into Venner's house, and there do them up. If +we can get them to come there voluntarily, their fate may never be +learned, and our tracks will be better covered than by doing the job +elsewhere." + +"That's true enough, since they're not likely to disclose their +intentions, and if they come in disguise, no one about here will have +recognized them." + +"That's just my theory." + +"But how can we lure them to Venner's house?" + +"With the help of Pylotte, whom they do not know, nor ever heard of. +He's a brainy dog, moreover, and crafty enough to blind them." + +"But what's your scheme for to-night?" demanded Dalton. + +"After what has happened," replied Kilgore, "it's a safe gamble that the +Carters are at this moment watching Venner's house. If they are--but +wait a bit! First hear my whole plan." + +The three criminals drew their chairs closer, and in a very few minutes +Kilgore had disclosed his entire design, a scheme so recklessly bold +that it brought murmurs of amazement and misgivings from both his +hearers, daring knaves though they were. + +"It strikes me, Dave, that it's too long a chance for us to take, this +giving Nick Carter a genuine clew to our game," objected Dalton, +doubtfully. + +"But no other clew will answer," declared Kilgore, forcibly. "You +cannot fool Nick Carter with any false move or faked story; I'm already +sure of that." + +"So am I," nodded Stall. "He's too wise a guy to fool with." + +"We are compelled to give him the real thing, and make him feel that he +is up against a square deal, or no man among us can work the racket," +added Kilgore. "With my scheme, however, Pylotte is just the covey to do +the job, and land both Carters where we want them." + +"And then?" + +"Then it's our ability against theirs," snarled Kilgore, "If we go lame, +with the odds all in our favor, we deserve to be thrown down." + +"That's right, too," admitted Dalton. + +"Will Pylotte undertake this sort of a job, think you?" inquired Matt +Stall. + +"Will he?" rejoined Kilgore, with an ugly gleam in his determined eyes. +"He will, or--well, you know! Yes, Matt, he will; and he's just the man +for the job." + +The vicious significance with which he spoke plainly indicated that, +though Cervera may have ruled her own roost, there was but one chief of +this gang, and that was Mr. David Kilgore. + +He turned sharply about in his chair, and cried: + +"Here you, Pylotte! Come and give us your ear! I have work for you +to-night!" + +Both Pylotte and Cervera quickly turned and hastened to join the gang at +the table. + +For twenty minutes Kilgore's project for outwitting and securing Nick +Carter was earnestly discussed, and every detail of the plan carefully +laid. + +Then the four men stole quietly out of the house in company. + +It then was a little after midnight. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +THE CUNNING OF JEAN PYLOTTE. + + +Kilgore had reasoned shrewdly, in so quickly suspecting that Nick Carter +would lose no time in getting a line on the Venner residence. Even while +the diamond gang were discussing the plan by which to capture the +Carters, the two detectives were at times within a hundred yards of the +secret plant. + +It was dark out of doors that night, with only a few stars in the +clouded sky, and the wooded locality and neighboring streets were but +poorly lighted. + +It was in a northern suburb of New York, a section not yet much +encroached upon by the spreading city, and the dwelling owned and +occupied by Rufus Venner was that in which three generations of his +family had lived and died. + +It was a square, old house of brick, set fifty yards from the suburban +street, and was flanked in either direction by extensive, ill-kept +grounds, made damp and dark by the huge, old trees, which nearly covered +the estate. + +Back of the house, and off to one side, was a large wooden stable, fast +running to ruin; while a rusty iron fence, falling to fragments in +places, skirted the dismal grounds in front. + +Beyond the trees, far to the rear, could be seen the roof and chimneys +of an old, wooden mansion, fronting on another street, and having a very +similar environment. There, too, the house and grounds were running to +ruin and decay, both places being but crumbling monuments of former +opulence and grandeur. + +It was upon this scene that Nick Carter and Chick arrived just before +midnight, having left their carriage at a remote corner, to await their +return. + +"Yonder is Venner's house, Chick," said Nick, as they picked their way +along the unpaved sidewalk. "We'll vault this iron fence and steal +across the grounds." + +"It doesn't look much as if our quarry was there," observed Chick, as +they scaled the fence. + +"Their deeds are dark, and like seeks like," replied Nick. "They now may +be making darkness their cover." + +"Not a light in the house, is there?" + +"None visible from this side. We'll steal between the house and stable, +and have a look at the opposite elevation." + +"Not much danger of being seen. It's as dark as a nigger's pocket under +these trees." + +"So much the better in case anyone is watching." + +"Who lives here with Venner?" + +"Only an elderly housekeeper, of whom I don't hear anything very good," +replied Nick. "Venner is here but part of the time, I am told. In fact, +I don't quite fathom his habits." + +"Why so?" + +"I can't learn what takes him from home so much of the time. He does not +leave the city, nor patronize any hotel that I can discover, yet he +frequently is away from this house overnight." + +"Perhaps he secretly keeps another house, and is leading a double life." + +"Possibly," admitted Nick. "He is on friendly terms with numerous women, +I learn, and other quarters may be essential to designs of some kind. +Quietly, now, and we'll slip across the back lawn." + +Like shadows, as dark as the night itself, they silently reached a point +from which they could view the north side of the house. Here they +discovered that one of the lower rooms was lighted, with the curtain at +the single window nearly drawn. + +"Somebody is up," murmured Chick. + +"We'll learn who, if possible." + +"Going to have a look?" + +"Yes. Come, if you like, but don't get into the glare from the curtain. +Kilgore has a very wicked air gun, and if he and his gang are about +here, we might invite a bullet." + +"I'll have a care." + +Stealing closer over the damp greensward, they approached the house and +peered beneath the curtain mentioned. There was but one occupant of the +room, which was a small library. + +In an easy-chair near the table, with a newspaper fallen across his +knees, sat Rufus Venner, apparently sound asleep. + +This was only a part of the game, however, for Venner was wide awake. +By means of their secret wire, he had been informed of Cervera's arrival +at the diamond plant, and of Kilgore's designs upon Nick, and Venner at +that moment suspected that he might be under the eye of the detective. + +For nearly half an hour Nick waited for some sign of this artifice, but +Venner in no way betrayed it. + +Presently a clock on the mantel struck the half after one, and the sound +appeared to awake him. He yawned, glanced at the clock, then took the +lamp from the table and went up to bed. But never so much as a glance +toward the window. + +Nick led Chick away, and they returned across the lawn to a point beyond +the stable. + +"It rather looks as if Cervera had been here, doesn't it?" inquired +Chick, with a grin. + +"Yes," admitted Nick. "Two facts are very significant of it. First, that +Venner is at home on this particular night; and, second, that he should +be asleep in his chair after midnight. It has a fishy look." + +"That's my idea, Nick, exactly." + +"Yet the way to prove it doesn't appear quite easy." + +"Not just yet. But who occupies that house over yonder, where the roof +shows above the trees?" + +And Chick pointed to the distant dwelling, little dreaming that the +diamond plant and the gang they sought were established under its +many-gabled roof. + +This was not the first night Nick had watched Venner's house since the +diamond robbery, the doubtful character of which he had suspected at the +outset, and incidentally he had informed himself concerning Venner's +neighbors. + +"One Dr. Magruder, I am told, a retired physician from Illinois," he +replied. "He bought the place at a forced sale some little time ago." + +Nor did Nick, when thus replying, dream that Dr. Magruder and Rufus +Venner were one and the same; or that, in attributing to him a double +life of shameful iniquity, Chick had hit the nail squarely on the head. + +"Come this way," added Nick. + +"Where now?" + +"We'll go down to the corner of the grounds, and watch the house for a +time." + +Before Nick's reply was fairly uttered, however, both detectives were +startled by distant cries, which fell with frantic appeal on the +midnight air. + +"Help! Help! Help!" + +The startling cry was thrice repeated, the last time as if choked in the +speaker's throat, yet the direction of the sound was unmistakable. + +"Something's up!" muttered Nick. "This way!" + +With Chick at his heels, he tore across the wooded grounds and bounded +over the iron fence at the street. + +Then the occasion of the outcry at once became apparent. + +Some two hundred yards away, in the yellow glare of one of the +incandescent lights by which the little-frequented street was illumined, +a man was battling desperately with three assailants, one of whom he +had knocked to the ground. + +Without a word, both detectives rushed down the road to his assistance. + +As they drew nearer there came a flash of light, then the report of a +pistol, followed by another shriek for help. + +Then Nick saw one of the ruffians reel a little, as if shot, while a +second hurled their victim to the ground. The third leaped to his feet +at the same moment, yelling wildly: + +"Look out! Scatter, boys! The cops are upon us!" + +"Kilgore's voice, or I'm a liar," muttered Nick, over his shoulder. + +Both detectives were still fifty yards from the scene of the furious +conflict, and were running at the top of their speed along the rough +road. + +Before they could come near enough to use a weapon, however, the three +ruffians scattered like frightened cats, leaping the wall near an +adjoining woodland, into the gloom of which they speedily vanished. + +It was obvious to Nick that pursuit would be vain, so he hastened to the +side of the fallen man, who had been left prostrate in the road, and +helped him to his feet. + +The man was Jean Pylotte. + +He was panting hard after the conflict, the fake character of which Nick +could not then foresee. His coat was ripped up the back, his linen +collar torn off, and he was deathly pale, with a smutch of blood across +his cheek. In one hand he held a revolver, and in the other--a chunk of +coal. + +"Are you wounded, stranger?" Nick quickly demanded, as he studied the +man's pale face. + +"Not much--not badly, I think," gasped Pylotte, trembling violently. +"But it's lucky you came. They'd surely have killed me." + +Nick noticed that he spoke with a slight foreign accent, and was a man +of considerable physical prowess. + +"There's blood on your face," said he. + +"It came from one of them, I think," said Pylotte, drawing his sleeve +across his cheek to remove the stain. "I must have wounded one of them." + +"It's a pity you did not kill him," said Nick, bluntly. "Was it you who +fired the gun?" + +"Yes. I tried to fire again, but one of them struck me down before I +could do so. The ruffians came upon me before I fairly realized it." + +"Do you know them?" inquired Chick. + +"Only one of them, a man named John David," replied Pylotte, now +appearing to pull himself together. + +"John David, eh?" grunted Nick. + +"He has swindled me, and I--I saw him at a theater to-night, and +afterward followed him out here." + +"For what? If he has swindled you, why didn't you have him arrested at +the theater?" demanded Nick. + +"Well, I--I wanted to learn where he lives. He must have discovered +that he was being followed, and then tried to do me up." + +Nick observed the speaker's faltering manner, and it increased his +curiosity. + +"Why do you wish to know where he lives?" he demanded. + +Pylotte hesitated, and shrugged his shoulders. + +"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," said he, after a moment. + +"Not believe you?" + +"I hardly think so." + +"Suppose you tell me, and see," suggested Nick, with a faint smile. + +"I have no objection to telling you, none at all," Pylotte now replied. +"The man I spoke of, John David, swindled me yesterday with two +artificial diamonds." + +"Ah! is that so?" cried Nick, with a significant glance at Chick. "What +is your name, my man?" + +"Jean Pylotte, sir." + +"Who are you, and where do you live?" + +"I am a Frenchman by birth, and arrived in New York only this week. My +home is in Denver. I am a diamond cutter by trade, and came here to buy +some gems for a Denver woman of wealth, who wishes to obtain a certain +size and quality." + +"Then you are a judge of diamonds?" + +"One of the best," Pylotte modestly admitted, with a faint smile. "I am +an expert judge of diamonds, and so it happened that I discovered the +swindle of which I am a victim." + +"Then you bought a diamond of the man who said his name was John David, +did you?" + +"I bought two, sir," nodded Pylotte. "They appeared like natural and +very perfect stones when I first examined them, but after subjecting +them to more careful tests, I found them to be the most extraordinary +imitations I ever beheld." + +"Artificial diamonds, were they?" + +"Yes, artificial. But only the best of experts, and after the most rigid +tests, could discover the fraud. I never saw such imitations. The stones +are really almost as good as natural ones." + +"Have you them with you?" + +"Yes." + +"You feel quite confident that they were manufactured, do you?" + +"Oh, I am positive of it," cried Pylotte, with emphasis. "That is why I +was secretly following the swindler." + +"You wanted to discover his house, and learn how he made such perfect +imitations, eh? Was that your motive, instead of having him arrested at +the theater?" + +"Well, yes, it was," admitted Pylotte, with feigned reluctance. + +"Do you know any process for manufacturing diamonds?" Nick next +demanded. + +"I am pretty well informed on the subject." + +"Quite an art, isn't it?" + +"Yes, it is." + +"And one that could be made very profitable, perhaps?" + +"I judge so." + +"Put up your revolver," said Nick, abruptly. "What's that black object +you dropped just now?" + +Pylotte glanced down at his feet, then laughed faintly. + +"That's odd," said he. "It's a piece of coal. I must have seized it from +the road, thinking to defend myself with it." + +"What is there odd in that?" + +Pylotte laughed again. + +"Diamonds may be made from coal," said he. "The fact that I should have +got hold of a piece in the road here, while tracking that diamond +swindler in search of his house, strikes me as being rather odd." + +"So it was," said Nick, a bit dryly, thinking of Venner's house in the +near distance. + +Then he added, decisively: + +"Put up your gun, Mr. Pylotte. I want you to go with me. I think you are +the very man I want." + +"Go with you!" exclaimed Pylotte, drawing back. + +"If you please," said Nick, politely. "I want, at least, to hear more of +your story." + +"But who are you, sir?" + +"My name is Nick Carter." + +"Not the celebrated detective?" cried Pylotte, with feigned amazement. + +"Precisely." + +"That's quite sufficient, Mr. Carter!" the Frenchman now cried, with +much bowing and scraping. "I'll go with you when and where you wish. If +any man can run down these swindling ruffians, sir, you certainly are +the man." + +"Thanks," said Nick, dryly. "I'll take you home with me for the night." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +THE GAME UNCOVERED. + + +The following morning. + +The clock in Nick Carter's library was striking nine. + +Nick and Chick were seated at one side of the table, and Jean Pylotte +occupied a chair at the opposite side. + +Upon the dark cloth top of the table between them lay two large +diamonds, declared by Pylotte to have been artificially made, the two +with which he claimed to have been swindled. + +Yet to the eyes of a layman they had all the qualities of natural gems, +gleaming and glistening with magnificent fire in the cheerful sunlight +of Nick's library. + +Pylotte had invented a very clever and consistent story about himself +and his mission in New York, as well as about the meeting and being +victimized by the counterfeit diamond shover, and Nick as yet saw no +occasion for seriously distrusting him, or connecting him with the +Kilgore gang. + +He rather suspected, in fact, that Pylotte had shadowed the swindler, +whom Nick felt sure was Kilgore, with a view to learning just how the +diamonds had been manufactured, and possibly with a design to turn the +discovery to his own advantage. + +This was, indeed, the most natural deduction for Nick to arrive at, +after considering all the circumstances. + +"So you are confident that these stones are works of art, rather than +of nature, are you?" inquired Nick, who had been carefully examining the +gems. + +"I am absolutely sure of it, Mr. Carter," declared Pylotte. + +"Have you any idea how such counterfeits can be made?" + +"Oh, yes." + +"By what process and means, Mr. Pylotte?" + +Pylotte hastened to explain. + +"A natural diamond, Mr. Carter, is pure carbon, crystallized under +enormous heat and pressure in the bowels of the earth." + +"I am aware of that." + +"Charcoal and graphite are also pure carbon, but not in a crystallized +condition," continued Pylotte. "If that condition could be imparted to +the substances mentioned, we should have the artificial diamond." + +"How may that be done?" inquired Nick. + +"By subjecting the substance to the same condition under which the +natural diamond was crystallized." + +"Heat and pressure?" + +"Precisely," bowed Pylotte. "Attempts to thus manufacture diamonds have +frequently been made. A Mr. Acheson, of Pittsburg, while so engaged, and +in obtaining graphite from coal by the heat of an electric furnace, +discovered that combination of silicon and carbon now known as +carborundum, which has commercial value as an abrasive." + +"I know about that," bowed Nick. + +"Now, then," continued Pylotte, with an unconscious display of +enthusiasm; "while diamonds certainly have been made by artificial +means, the great difficulty has been that of producing them at a low +cost. Moissan, in my country, produced diamonds by heating charcoal and +iron to a high degree, and letting the mixture cool under enormous +pressure. He succeeded in obtaining very small crystals, or diamonds, +but the cost of production made his method impracticable from a +commercial standpoint." + +"Ah! I see." + +"In 1872 a chemist named Rose converted graphite into diamonds by a +similar process, but with the same result." + +"The cost of production being too great?" observed Nick. + +"Precisely." + +"Do you think that difficulty has now been overcome?" + +"I am compelled to think so, Mr. Carter," cried Pylotte, pointing to the +two diamonds on the table. + +"You purchased them at a price compelling that belief?" + +"Exactly." + +"Then you think the man of whom you got them has discovered a way to +make such perfect artificial diamonds at a low price?" + +"I certainly do, Mr. Carter." + +"Have you any idea of the machinery and ingredients he might require?" +asked Nick, with a view to getting points by which to locate the diamond +plant. + +Pylotte could easily inform him, and he promptly did so, following the +instructions given him by Dave Kilgore. + +"He would require an electric furnace and a hydraulic press," said he. +"Also the tools for cutting the crude crystals. The ingredients used +would depend upon the process he has discovered, probably coal or +charcoal, and possibly some quantities of iron salts and sulphur." + +"In brief, then, Mr. Pylotte," said Nick, pointing to the diamonds on +the table, "if those stones were made as cheaply as you think, the +diamond market offers the manufacturers of them a field for a most +gigantic swindle, does it not?" + +"Indeed it does!" exclaimed Pylotte, throwing up both hands. "Enormous! +Enormous! Millions could be made by so unparalleled a fraud!" + +"It opens the way, in fact, to the most colossal swindle on record?" + +"Undoubtedly." + +Nick glanced significantly at Chick, then abruptly rose to his feet. +That he had struck the big game which from the first he had suspected, +he now had not a doubt. + +"I require no more of you at present, Mr. Pylotte," said he, with +courteous firmness. "I shall do all in my power to remedy your loss by +this swindle, and to secure the perpetrators of it." + +"Thank you, Detective Carter," bowed Pylotte, with a crafty display of +appreciation and humility. + +"Meantime," added Nick, "you will please take no action in the case, but +leave it entirely to me." + +"I will do so, sir." + +"If you will leave me your city address, or call here again in a few +days, I shall have something to report to you." + +"I will call the day after to-morrow, Detective Carter," said Pylotte, +promptly, too cunning to give Nick a fictitious address. + +"Very well," said Nick. "Call in the evening. And now, Mr. Pylotte, we +will bid you good-morning, and get to work at once upon the case." + +Pylotte bowed very agreeably, taking his artificial diamonds from the +table and replacing them in his pocket; and Nick then conducted him to +the door, again assuring him that no efforts in his behalf should be +spared. + +Pylotte once more expressed his thanks, bowing and smiling as he +descended the steps, and Nick closed the door and returned to the +library. + +"Well, Chick, the bag is open and the cat out," he cried, as he entered. + +"Right you are, Nick." + +"And a monstrous cat it is!" + +"Never a larger one," declared Chick, with a laugh. "By Jove! Nick, if +Kilgore has really found a way to produce such perfect counterfeit +diamonds, his gang could work the greatest swindle ever known, unless +headed off." + +"That is their game, all right," said Nick. "From the very first I have +suspected something extraordinary. They are not the stamp of criminals +to dicker with petty jobs." + +"I should say not." + +"Far from it." + +"One thing is plain." + +"Namely?" + +"Where Cervera gets her diamonds, and of what they consist." + +"True. She certainly is one of the gang." + +"With such counterfeits as those worked upon Pylotte, and one big +jewelry concern to help market the goods, they could clean up millions +in a very short time." + +"No doubt of it. And they have their jewelry concern, all right." + +"Venner & Co.?" + +"Surely." + +"We must get absolute proof of it." + +"That's just what I intend doing, now that we have the game uncovered," +said Nick, grimly. + +"And then proceed to locate the plant where the goods are made, eh?" + +"Precisely." + +"What are your plans?" + +"We'll first get a line on Venner, and see to what it leads," replied +Nick. "There now is a way by which we can call the turn on him, and get +proof of his co-operation with Kilgore and his gang." + +"By getting him to sell us some diamonds?" + +"Exactly." + +"And then proving them to be artificial?" + +"That's the idea." + +"Can you get at him in a way to trap him?" + +"What do you mean?" + +"He may fight shy of us," suggested Chick, "in case he knows of +Pylotte's scrap with the gang last night. He may fear that Pylotte has +discovered the fraud, and reported it to the police." + +"There's not much danger of that," replied Nick. "So stupendous a fraud +would at once be given publicity through the press." + +"That's true." + +"In either case," added Nick, abruptly, "there's a way by which we can +fool him. I'll explain it on the way. Get your make-up box and prepare +to go with me. Since we have the game uncovered, we'll lose no time in +rounding up these accomplished rascals." + +"Good enough!" exclaimed Chick, as he hurriedly arose. "The sooner the +better." + +"We may have ragged work before the job is completed," added Nick. "So +provide yourself with a brace of guns. I'll be ready when you are." + +"Where first?" + +"To the house of Pandu Singe, the snake charmer." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +AT CROSS-PURPOSES. + + +It was not quite noon when Nick Carter and Chick arrived at the house of +the Hindoo snake charmer. + +They found Pandu Singe at home with his interpreter, and the two +detectives were very cordially received. + +Nick quickly disclosed his business. + +"We wish to borrow your personalities for a short time, also some of +your curious garments," he explained to Pandu Singe, through his +interpreter, who also was a Hindoo of superior education. + +The snake charmer appeared greatly surprised at such a request, but Nick +readily invented a very plausible story to serve his purpose, without +disclosing the true occasion. + +He soon persuaded the foreigner to grant his request, moreover, and the +amazement of Pandu Singe and the interpreter were redoubled when they +beheld what followed. + +This was the extraordinary transformation of their visitors. + +Nick had already outlined his plans to Chick, and they at once began +operations. + +First they placed the two Hindoos in chairs near the windows, where the +light revealed every peculiarity of their swarthy features. + +Nick next adjusted a large mirror upon the table, and placed his make-up +box near by. + +Using the interpreter for his pattern, Nick then set to work with +grease paints, powders, false hair, and the like, and at the end of +twenty minutes he had, with most artistic skill, converted himself into +a startling likeness of his model. + +The addition of the garments already provided for him made the +remarkable transformation absolutely complete. + +Chick had not been idle meantime, but with equally clever manipulation +had made himself into a counterfeit presentment of Pandu Singe. + +The astonishment of the two Hindoos, and their delight as they beheld +the progressive changes so artistically made, could scarcely find +expression in words. + +At the end of an hour, when the two detectives stood robed in their +strange Indian attire, one would readily have declared that four genuine +Hindoos, rather than two, occupied the apartment. + +Having thus paved the way to his next move, Nick easily prevailed upon +the Hindoos to remain indoors for a day or two, lest the deception +should be discovered and his designs perverted. + +He and Chick then returned to their waiting carriage, and half an hour +later it drew up at the Fifth Avenue store of Venner & Co. + +Chick alighted and led the way in. + +In order that he might do most of the talking, and shape his course by +whatever might occur, Nick had decided to personate the interpreter. + +Yet both detectives had carefully noticed the peculiar characteristics +of the Hindoo tongue, and believed that they could imitate it so +cleverly as to prevent detection. + +Several facts, which Nick then had no way of knowing, however, operated +very quickly to betray him and the crafty ruse he had adopted, when +Venner personally met them at the store door. + +First, Kilgore had shrewdly reasoned that Nick's first move, after the +disclosures made by Pylotte, would be that of thus getting positive +evidence against Venner; and the crafty diamond swindler had warned +Venner to be on the watch for the detective, and to handle him in a way +to serve their own designs. + +Furthermore, when visiting the theater with Cervera, Venner frequently +had heard Pandu Singe talking with his interpreter; and before Nick +fairly had begun speaking, Venner penetrated his disguise and saw that +he was up against the two detectives. + +Yet, despite the unexpected characters in which he now beheld them, the +nerve of the polished knave did not weaken, nor his countenance in any +way betray him. He at once proceeded to follow Kilgore's instructions. + +"Ah! yes, I recognize both you and your interpreter," said he, in reply +to Nick's dignified greeting. "I have frequently seen Pandu Singe at the +theater, where I am admitted to the stage with Señora Cervera, the +famous Spanish dancer. Perhaps Pandu Singe may have seen me there." + +Nick gravely bowed, then pretended to interpret the remarks to Chick; +who immediately began to bow and smile, at the same time glibly +responding in a jargon that would have staggered a Chinese laundryman, +yet which sounded as much like Hindoo as anything. + +Had his own situation been less serious, and the entire outlook less +desperate, Venner would have laughed at the consummate dignity and +soberness with which the two detectives co-operated in their exchange of +unintelligible talk. + +"My employer, the great Pandu Singe," bowed Nick, "says he remembers the +friend of the great Cervera." + +"Ah! I am glad to hear it," cried Venner, shaking hands with Chick. + +"He has seen the splendid diamonds of the great señora, and has heard +that they came from your magnificent store," Nick then went on to +explain. + +"That is quite right," bowed Venner. "Many of them did come from here. +Is Pandu Singe looking for some diamonds?" + +Nick promptly bowed, and noted a gleam of satisfaction in the depths of +Venner's eyes. + +"The great Pandu Singe soon returns to his own country," replied Nick. +"He wishes to take with him, as a gift to her august excellency, the +Empress of all the Indies, six fine jewels of equal weight and value. He +calls here to learn if you can provide him with them." + +Venner plainly saw the game that was being attempted, and it suited him +to the very letter. + +"Does the great Pandu Singe wish to purchase diamonds?" he asked, +bowing. + +"Diamonds, yes! Are they not for the empress?" + +"I should have thought of that, certainly." + +"Only diamonds will answer." + +"Of large size and the first water?" + +"The great Pandu Singe would consider no other." + +"Alas, then, this is most unfortunate!" Venner now exclaimed, glancing +about the store. "You see that we are making some repairs here, in the +walls of our store and vault." + +"That is plain," bowed Nick. "But what has that to do with the +diamonds?" + +"Only this," replied Venner, with feigned regret. "During these repairs +I have removed all of my most valuable diamonds to a vault in my private +residence." + +"For safer keeping?" + +"Exactly." + +"I will explain to Pandu Singe." + +"Wait a moment," Venner quickly interposed. "Tell him, also, that I have +at my residence the very gems he desires, six magnificent diamonds, +precisely alike in weight, purity and cutting. They cannot be equaled in +New York City, if in the entire country." + +"Are they fit for an empress?" + +"They are fit for a goddess." + +"Ah! that will please Pandu Singe." + +"Tell him, also, that he can purchase them at a marvelously low price," +cried Venner. "Now, if Pandu Singe will come to my house, say early this +evening, he may see the diamonds and examine them at his leisure. Tell +him that, Mr. Interpreter, and say that I will send my carriage for him +immediately after dinner. Say, too, that he may then see the diamonds +both by daylight and lamplight, and so observe all the variety of their +magnificent fire. Really, this will be greatly to the advantage of Pandu +Singe." + +Nick gravely heard him to a finish, and with never a change of +countenance. + +Yet, like a flash, one of those marvelous intuitions characteristic of +this great detective, Nick Carter had suddenly grasped the whole truth. + +That conflict of the previous night, the flight of three of the diamond +gang, Pylotte left comparatively uninjured in the road, his subsequent +disclosures, his extensive knowledge of the diamond-making art, the +hints he had imparted, and now this manifest eagerness of Venner to lure +his ostensible customers to his suburban house--all combined to reveal +to Nick's keen mind the shrewd game by which Kilgore was hoping to +entrap him. + +Nick now knew that Venner recognized both Chick and himself, and was +serving only the Kilgore gang. + +Yet Nick bowed without the slightest self-betrayal, and said, gravely: + +"I will explain the situation to Pandu Singe." + +For several minutes the two detectives maintained their curious game of +talk. + +Then Nick, who had speedily planned his own counter-move, again turned +to Rufus Venner. + +"The great Pandu Singe will do what you suggest," said he. "He wishes to +see the diamonds, and will be pleased to come to your house." + +Venner had felt sure of this to start with, though he little dreamed +that Nick had guessed the truth, and knew that he was recognized. + +"Let it be to-day, then," said he, quickly. + +"At your own pleasure," bowed Nick. + +"I will send my carriage far you at seven this evening," cried Venner, +with secret exultation. + +Nick gravely tendered one of the snake charmer's cards. + +"The great Pandu Singe will not keep your carriage waiting!" said he, +with a dryness to which Venner then was blind. + +"Well, Chick, what say you to that?" demanded Nick, as they were +returning to the house of the snake charmer. + +Chick laughed grimly. + +"I say that we are now up against it." + +"Right! There's a mighty wicked crisis near at hand." + +"No doubt of it, Nick. Venner knew us all right." + +"But he does not suspect that we are aware that he knew us, and in that +at least we have the best of him." + +"We'll turn it to a good account, too." + +"Do you see the game this Kilgore gang is playing?" + +"Plainly, Nick." + +"They aim to lure us both to Venner's house, and there trap us and do us +up." + +"To which latter," said Chick, dryly, "we shall strenuously object." + +"Well, rather!" laughed Nick. "Still, I can see nothing in evading this +question or in making a raid upon Venner's house. If the Kilgore gang +are about to lay for us there, it is evident that their diamond plant is +located elsewhere. They would not take chances of failing to down us, +and then having their plant discovered in the house where they slipped +up." + +"Surely not," admitted Chick. "Kilgore is too shrewd to take those +chances." + +"Undoubtedly." + +For several minutes Nick calmly considered the situation, then bluntly +observed: + +"Chick, I see but one course for us. We must go up against the game, and +give this gang what rope they want." + +"That's just my idea, Nick." + +"In no other way can we make sure of nailing the entire gang, and also +locating their plant. Raiding Venner's house would not accomplish it. +Some of the gang might not be there, or possibly escape us, and we might +search in vain for their plant. Then we should have most of our work to +do over again." + +"That's right, Nick." + +"So we'll take the one sure way, Chick," said Nick, decisively. "We'll +let this gang continue to think they are fooling us, and go up against +them till we get the whole truth." + +"That's good enough for me, Nick," nodded Chick. "I'm with you." + +"It may prove to be a desperate game, but we'll take our chances. Before +night I'll have laid such plans as will best serve us, and possibly +circumvent these scoundrels. Here we are at the house of Pandu Singe." + +Nick dismissed their carriage, and entered the dwelling, where they +decided to remain until evening. Meantime Nick perfected his plans and +discussed them with Chick. + +Then a wire was sent to Patsy, the detective's younger assistant, with +careful instructions. + +Seven o'clock came, then half-past seven, but no sign of Venner's +carriage. + +Nick readily suspected the true reason for the delay. + +"They are waiting until dark," he observed to Chick. "They don't want +our arrival at Venner's house to be observed. A crafty dog, this +Kilgore!" + +"That he is." + +"Never mind. Darkness will serve us best, as well as them." + +"Hark! There's a carriage." + +Nick glanced from the front window. + +"A landau!" he muttered, with grim satisfaction. "Yes, and with Spotty +Dalton on the seat. I know him, despite his disguise. Come on, Chick! +There's rough work to be done in the next two hours." + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +HANDS SHOWED DOWN. + + +Spotty Dalton stood at the door of the open carriage when Nick and Chick +emerged from the house, still clad in the character of Hindoos. + +"Are you sent here by Mr. Venner?" inquired Nick. + +Dalton touched the cloth cap drawn low over his brow, and stroked his +dark, false beard as he replied: + +"Yes, sir," said he, half in his throat. "You're the interpreter, I take +it." + +"At your service." + +"I'm a bit late, but it couldn't be helped. We'll not be long in getting +there." + +"Time does not matter to the great Pandu Singe," replied Nick, as he +followed Chick into the open landau. "The night is still long." + +"It'll be infernally long for you two meddlers," Dalton grimly said to +himself, as he banged the carriage door and mounted to the box. + +Then they rolled rapidly away toward a northern suburb of the city. + +The dusk of evening was already deepening to darkness, a gloom more +noticeable far up in the heavens than among the myriad of lights in the +city streets. For not a star was visible in the murky sky, and away in +the west huge banks of inky clouds were sweeping up toward the zenith, +indicating the rapid approach of a sudden storm. + +"Do you think it is going to rain, driver?" called Nick, from the rear +seat of the carriage. + +"Not soon," Dalton turned to answer; and then he added with grim +significance, which he did not dream would be appreciated: "Whether it +rains or not, you'll be brought back home in a closed carriage." + +"It's my private opinion that the boot will be on the other leg," +thought Nick, smiling faintly at the scoundrel's grim levity. + +For Dalton had implied that Nick would be brought back in a hearse. + +From that time but few words were spoken during the ride, though the +detectives occasionally passed a remark in their meaningless lingo, +merely to keep up appearances. + +At eight o'clock they had left the throbbing body of the city behind +them, and at half-past eight they were speeding along the deserted +suburban road leading to Venner's rather isolated homestead. + +Only the yellow glare of an incandescent lamp here and there now +relieved the terrestrial gloom, but across the distant heavens +intermittent flashes of light, followed by the low, sullen roll of +thunder, told of the approaching storm. + +Soon the lighted windows of Venner's house came into view through the +woodland, and Nick now murmured softly to Chick: + +"If I fail to rejoin you in ten minutes, you will know what to do." + +"You bet!" whispered Chick. "Trust me to do it, too!" + +"Here we are, sirs," cried Dalton, as he pulled up at the gate of the +gravel walk. "You can go right in, while I wait to look after my +horses." + +Chick--as Pandu Singe--pretended to give Nick a brief command, and Nick +alone sprang out upon the sidewalk. + +"Wait here, driver," said he, curtly. "I will return for Pandu Singe in +a few minutes." + +Dalton instantly became suspicious. + +"What's that for?" he abruptly demanded. "Why doesn't his nibs go in +with you now?" + +"It is for me to obey the great Pandu Singe, not question his commands," +replied Nick, with an air of offended dignity. "I shall return for him +when I have followed his instructions." + +"Hold on a bit! I want to know--" + +But Nick had already turned, and was striding up the long gravel walk +leading to the front door of the house. + +Dalton then swung round and began to address Chick, who quickly +signified that he could not understand; whereupon the puzzled scoundrel +remained doubtfully on the box, growling under his breath, and quite at +a loss just what he should do. + +Chick was now counting the seconds and minutes, until he should arrive +at ten. + +Venner, who was waiting with the gang in the house, heard Nick's step on +the wooden veranda, and he hastened to admit him. + +"What's this!" he at once exclaimed, starting. "Where is your master? +You did not come here alone!" + +"No, not alone," replied Nick, entering the hall. "Pandu Singe waits in +the carriage." + +"Waits in the carriage! For what?" + +"He fears the storm may break." + +"Fears the storm!" exclaimed Venner, with a blaze of suspicion leaping +up in his dark eyes. "Surely, then, he will not remain out there." + +"You don't understand," coolly answered Nick, quickly sizing up +everything in view. + +"Don't understand?" + +"Pandu Singe thinks of returning home before the storm shall break. He +has first sent me in to see the diamonds, as I know just what he wants. +If I think well of them, I am to return to the carriage and bring him in +to see them." + +"Oh, that's it, eh?" cried Venner, with unabated misgivings. + +"Am I to see the stones?" demanded Nick. "Pandu Singe will not care to +wait long." + +"Yes, yes," replied Venner, as perplexed as Dalton by Nick's unexpected +move. "Come out this way, where I have them ready to show you." + +Nick bowed and followed him through the hall, and a glance into the two +front rooms, both of which were well lighted, told him they were vacant. + +Nick knew that he was entering a trap, however, and possibly carried +his life in his hand. Yet he had several shrewd designs in the plan of +operations adopted. + +He aimed to prevent both Chick and himself being cornered, and possibly +caught at the same time. Not wishing to evade this gang, and thus reveal +his own knowledge and suspicions, he designed to leave Chick free to act +in case of his own downfall. + +Nick knew that he alone could force Venner and the gang to show their +hands, even if it resulted in his own capture. He rather invited the +latter, in fact, for he knew that the gang would see the need of +instantly removing him from Venner's house, at least until they could +lay hands upon Chick. In this case Nick believed that they might be +compelled to confine him at their diamond plant, the location of which +he thus hoped to discover. + +For these reasons Nick was coolly taking very long chances, at the same +time leaving Chick free to quickly get in his work, in case he himself +went down at the outset. + +Yet there was not a sign of any person save Venner, as Nick followed him +through the hall and into a side room near the rear of the house, +evidently a dining room. + +Nick sized it up with a glance. Electric chandelier; two doors, one by +which he had entered from the hall, and the other leading into a dark +kitchen; two windows, with the curtains closely drawn; several chairs, a +handsome sideboard, and in the middle of the room a large, square table, +covered with a rich damask cloth hanging nearly to the floor. + +Upon the table was also spread a piece of black velvet, on which was +displayed nearly a score of blazing diamonds--the most magnificent +artificial stones ever born of man's restless genius. + +Nick rightly guessed their true character, yet he allowed an ejaculation +of admiration to escape him. + +"Ah! Magnificent!" + +"Look them over," cried Venner, with a swift scrutiny of Nick's swarthy +features. "You'll excuse me for a minute or two. I wish to make sure +that my rear windows and doors are locked. Such gems are a terrible +temptation to thieves." + +"True, sir," bowed Nick. "Take your time. Meanwhile I'll examine the +diamonds. They are splendid! magnificent!" + +Nick rightly guessed that Venner wished to consult some of the gang. He +saw that his entering the house without Chick had thrown their plans +badly out of gear, as he had designed for it to do. + +Venner went into the dark kitchen, rattled a doorknob merely for a +bluff, then crossed the hall and entered the library, closing the door +behind him. + +The room was but dimly lighted, and on the floor stood Dave Kilgore and +Matthew Stall, each with a drawn revolver. + +"What's the meaning of this, Rufe?" Kilgore instantly demanded, in +passionate whispers. + +"How do I know?" Venner hurriedly rejoined, scarce above his breath. +"You heard what he said?" + +"Yes, curse him, but I don't swallow it." + +"Nor I." + +"I can't see into his game." + +"That's just my trouble," cried Venner. "Can he have discovered that we +recognize him?" + +"Impossible! Pylotte is too cunning to have betrayed us in any way." + +This was very true, in fact; but Venner himself had blindly done the +betraying. + +"It doesn't matter, Rufe," Kilgore fiercely added. "We must get them +both." + +"That's my idea." + +"And it's all the easier to get them one at a time." + +"Right you are, Dave." + +"Has he discovered Pylotte?" + +"Surely not!" + +"Go back there, then," hissed Kilgore. "Learn what his game is, if you +can. Force him to show his hand." + +"Leave that to me." + +"Waste no time, however, and on no pretext let him leave the house to +return to the carriage." + +"Not on our lives." + +"A warning whistle will start Pylotte, and we'll be on hand to do our +part," added Kilgore, hurriedly. "Go back at once, and waste not a +moment in getting at his game." + +"Trust me, Dave." + +"We must land Nick Carter and get him away from here before that +running mate of his can make any move against us." + +"That's the stuff." + +"And then we'll plan to get the other. Away with you!" + +These forcible measures were precisely what Nick had felt sure would be +adopted by the gang, and were the very steps to which he had so shrewdly +planned to force them. + +Venner darted softly across the hall and returned to the dining room. + +Nick was still examining the diamonds. + +He stood near the table, at a point midway between the two open doors. +He had selected this position for a very good reason. He was inviting +capture and removal, which he knew must be preceded by an assault; and +he therefore laid himself open from either side, aiming to be put down +and out with as little violence as possible. + +He wanted all his resources for what he knew was very likely to follow. + +Nick was quite as anxious as the gang to force matters, moreover; for at +the end of ten minutes, in case he did not return to the carriage, Chick +was to begin getting in his work. + +Therefore the climax came quickly. + +Six minutes had already passed. + +"Well, sir, what do you think of them?" cried Venner, as he returned to +the room. + +"The diamonds?" queried Nick, tossing several of them back upon the +table. + +"Certainly. What else?" + +"They are all right, Mr. Venner." + +"I thought you would say so." + +"Yes, indeed. They are all right--for what they are!" + +"For what they are?" + +"Precisely." + +"What do you mean by that?" + +"You know what I mean." + +"I do?" snarled Venner, inquiringly, with his frowning eyes shrinking +from Nick's steadfast gaze. + +"Certainly you do," declared Nick. "These diamonds are imitations, not +natural stones. They are the most perfect and marvelous artificial +diamonds ever made. + +"Artificial!" cried Venner, now drawing back. "You are mad, sir! Why, +man, you are away off the track!" + +"Oh, no, I'm not." + +"You are!" + +"Not off the track at all, but very squarely on it," Nick now retorted, +speaking in his own sternly resonant tones. "Hark you, Venner, I am the +one to ask the meaning of this, not you!" + +Venner's hand went stealing toward his hip pocket. + +"So you are showing your true colors, are you?" he cried, with +threatening significance. "By Heaven, you are no Hindoo!" + +"That's right, Venner, I am not," said Nick, quickly throwing off the +loose robe that hid his own apparel, fearing it might impede his +movements. "I am no Hindoo, but am--" + +"Nick Carter!" + +"Exactly!" + +"So this is your game, is it?" Venner fiercely began. "If you think--" + +"Stop right there, Venner," Nick sternly commanded. "Speaking of games, +I am here to discover what sort of a rascally game you and this Kilgore +gang are playing. I have learned enough to show me that you are a knave +and a--" + +"By heavens, Carter--" + +"Stop!" thundered Nick. "Don't pull a gun! If you do, I'll end your--" + +But he got no further, for there the climax came. + +A single sharp whistle sounded from the kitchen. + +Instantly Nick felt a rope noose jerked taut around his ankles, nearly +throwing him from his feet. + +From beneath the table, the hanging cover of which had effectually +concealed him, Jean Pylotte had managed to adjust the noose upon the +floor about Nick's legs. At the signal given him, he had quickly drawn +it taut. + +At the same moment Kilgore and Matt Stall leaped upon Nick from the +kitchen and hall doors, bearing him heavily to the floor, while Venner +ran to clap a revolver to the detective's head. + +"Hang to his feet, Pylotte," cried Kilgore, fiercely. + +"I've got 'em fast," shouted the diamond maker, from under the table. + +"Quit, Carter, or I'll blow your brains out," commanded Venner, with his +pistol at Nick's head. + +Nick had been making a great bluff at putting up an ugly fight, but now +he very agreeably subsided. + +The affair was going precisely as he desired, yet for the sake of +appearances he angrily snarled: + +"Let up, you dogs! So this is your game, is it? Turn that gun another +way, Venner, you miscreant! It might go off, and I'm not fool enough to +invite its contents. This dirty game that you've played--" + +"Dry up!" Kilgore sharply interrupted, while he and Stall quickly +secured Nick's arms with a rope. "You'll not live to know the game that +we have played, Nick Carter." + +"Won't I?" + +"Not if I live!" cried Kilgore, with vicious significance. + +"Well, maybe you'll not live long," retorted Nick. + +"I'll close that saucy trap of yours, at all events," sneered Kilgore. +"Give me that gag, Matt--quick." + +Nick no longer resisted. A glance at the clock on the mantel told him +that nearly ten minutes had passed since he left Chick. He suffered +himself to be gagged, then raised to his feet, from which Pylotte now +cast the line and emerged from under the table. + +Nick bestowed one look upon him, from which the rascal shrank and +shuddered. + +Kilgore now turned quickly to Venner, and hurriedly cried: + +"You remain here, Rufe, and leave us to dispose of this fellow. We'll +run him over yonder, and return as quickly as possible. It's not safe to +keep him here until we have landed his running mate." + +"But--" + +"Don't stop for buts!" cried Kilgore, fiercely. "Go see if you can sight +Chick Carter. If he is still in the carriage, we are all right up to +now. In six or eight minutes go down there and give him to understand +that his interpreter wants him to come in here. Before you reach this +room with him, we three will be back to help you turn him down. Do you +understand?" + +"Sure!" cried Venner, thrusting his weapon back in his pocket. "He +cannot suspect that we have recognized Nick, and he'll come in, all +right." + +"Go, then! We'll be back here in six minutes." + +Venner hastened to one of the front windows of the house and peered out +toward the street. At that moment a flash of lightning, followed by the +nearer roll of thunder, dispelled for an instant the intense gloom of +the night. + +A growl of profound satisfaction broke from Venner while he gazed, and +he muttered exultingly: + +"By Heaven! we're all right! He's waiting in the carriage, and Dalton is +still on the box!" + +Nick was being pushed out of a back door of the house, meantime, and +then across the lawn and through the dark stable. + +The ruffians who were hurrying him away did not stop there, however. +Pylotte ran on ahead, while Kilgore and Matt Stall continued urging the +detective across the grounds, making toward the old wooden mansion in +which their secret plant was located. + +It seemed to them the safest place in which to confine Nick, pending the +delay in getting hands upon Chick. + +Presently they came to a dry ditch, walled at each side, and originally +built for draining the low meadows between the two estates. Into this +they plunged, following it until they arrived near a wooden bulkhead in +the foundation wall of the house. This was the secret way of entering, +to which Cervera had referred the previous night. + +Pylotte already had opened it, and Nick was quickly forced through a +dark cellar. + +"All right," cried Kilgore. "Let us in." + +Instantly the secret stone door was thrown open, and Nick was nearly +blinded by the flood of light in the room into which he was abruptly +thrust. + +He stood in the subterranean chamber of the diamond plant. + +And there, erect on the floor, with her evil countenance a picture of +malicious triumph, stood his crafty combatant of the previous +night--Sanetta Cervera. + +"_Caramba!_" she cried, shrilly, with a vicious laugh. "So you've got +him! Well done, Dave! Well done!" + +"Yes, and we'll presently have the other," cried Kilgore, panting hard +after his exertions. + +"Good for you, Dave," screamed Cervera, exultingly. "But this is the one +I want most--this is the one!" + +"Look lively, Matt. Lend a hand here, and we'll bind him to yonder +chair." + +"And leave Cervera to guard him, eh?" + +"That's the stuff." + +"Can she do it?" + +"Can she!" growled Kilgore, with derisive vehemence. "You let her alone +for that." + +"Yes, yes, let me alone for that!" + +"We must get back to stand by Venner. That Chick Carter is nearly as +tough a customer as this fellow." + +"I guess you'll find that that's no dream," said Nick to himself, as the +ruffians bound him to the chair mentioned. + +Cervera was laughing and capering around as if about to have a fit--yet +her laugh had a terrible and chilling ring. + +"Oh, yes, I'll guard him, Dave," she shrilly cried, with a frightful +menace in her strained voice. "_Caramba_, yes! let me alone for that." + +"So I do," snarled Kilgore. + +"Knot the line fast, Matt--make sure of that," the woman fiercely added. +"Yes, I'll keep him quiet--never doubt that, boys! He shall be like a +baby taking milk. Perdition! but you shall have a sweet time, Mr. Nick, +alone here with Sanetta Cervera!" + +Kilgore paid but little attention to any of this, and only now and then +bestowed a glance upon the vicious woman. + +Within a minute after their arrival at the plant, the gang had Nick +securely bound to a common wooden chair, when they condescended to +remove the gag from his mouth. + +"He may shout himself hoarse here, if he likes," growled Kilgore. "There +will be none to hear him." + +Then he hurried Pylotte and Matt Stall back to the Venner house, to +land Chick Carter. + +Left alone with Nick, Cervera darted to the stone door in the solid +wall, and secured it within. + +There was murder in her glittering eyes when she shot the heavy bolts +into their iron sockets. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +THE BOOT ON THE OTHER LEG. + + +In the heat of action and excitement ten minutes are as nothing. + +The time seems longer, however, when one sits waiting in a motionless +carriage, enveloped in the gloom of night, with grim distrust and +uncertainty acting like spurs in the sides of one's impatience. + +Before five minutes had fairly passed, after Nick's departure, Spotty +Dalton had suffered his misgivings to the very limit of his endurance. + +Chick sat mentally counting the passing seconds, then scoring each +departed minute with his fingers, of which he had exhausted four and a +thumb, the entire complement of one hand; and all the while his eyes +were riveted with intense vigilance upon the growling ruffian on the +seat above him. + +Had Dalton ventured so much as a move to leave his perch, Chick would +have been after him like a terrier after a rat. + +At the end of five minutes, however, Dalton made a preliminary move. He +hitched the reins around the whipstock, then stared for a second or two +toward Venner's house, fifty yards away through the surrounding park. + +Then he suddenly swung round on his seat, and growled ferociously at +Chick, at the same time signifying with gestures the communication he +imagined would not be verbally understood: + +"See here, you swarthy-faced snake fiend, I'm bound up yonder, to see +what's going on! You sit where you are, d'ye hear, and I'll be back in a +jiffy, if things are all right! If they're not, ---- you, I'll be back +just the same--with a gun!" + +As if moved by a wish to understand him, Chick arose in the body of the +carriage while Dalton was thus declaring himself. He heard and +understood, all right, and it necessitated his getting in his work a +little earlier than was planned. For Chick would take no such chances as +this that Nick's operations in the house would be interfered with. + +As the last word left Dalton's lips, the arm of the detective shot out +through the darkness, and closed with the grip of a vise around the +ruffian's neck, throttling him to silence. + +"With a gun, eh?" Chick fiercely muttered, yanking Dalton backward into +the body of the carriage. "You open your lips again for so much as a +whisper, and I'll close them with six inches of cold steel." + +In the glare of a distant lightning flash, Dalton, though struggling +furiously, caught the gleam of a polished blade at his throat, and a +glimpse of the flaming eyes in the face above him. + +He shrank, gasping for breath, as the truth dawned upon him; and then +the voice of another sounded close beside the open carriage. + +"Want any help, Chick?" + +Nick's youthful assistant, to whom a wire had been sent from the house +of the snake charmer, had appeared like an apparition out of the +roadside gloom. + +"Ah! you're here, Patsy!" muttered Chick. "Yes. Clap a gag into this +cur's mouth. We'll choke off his pipes first of all." + +Dalton uttered a vicious growl, then felt the point of the knife pierce +the skin at his throat, and he wisely relapsed into silence. + +For Patsy to fish out a gag, and bind it securely in the scoundrel's +mouth, was the work of a few moments only. + +Then Chick jerked Dalton up from the rear cushion and out into the road, +in far less time than is taken to record it. + +"Off with his coat and hat, Patsy," he hurriedly commanded. "Now the +false beard, my lad. Now get into them yourself, as quickly as you can." + +"I'm all in, Chick," chuckled Patsy, working like a trooper. + +"Got all the traps with you?" + +"Sure!" + +"Clap the bracelets on him, then. Now give me a second pair, and a strip +of line. That's the stuff." + +"Oh, I brought the whole shooting match," laughed Patsy. + +"Good for you! Now mount to the box, and leave this dog to me. I'll +return in half a minute." + +Patsy climbed up to the seat from which Dalton had been so speedily +snatched and overcome, and Chick now ran the rascal a rod or more into +the woodland on the opposite side of the road. + +There he threw him to the ground beside a small oak, around the trunk of +which he quickly twined Dalton's legs, and then fastened them at the +ankles with a pair of irons. + +"I reckon you'll stay there quietly until I want you, barring that you +pull up the tree," he grimly remarked, as he turned to hasten back to +the carriage, in which he quickly resumed his seat. + +A moment later Venner peered from the distant window--and was satisfied +with what he saw. + +Five minutes later he came striding down the walk and approached the +carriage. Without a word to the driver, whom he supposed to be Dalton, +he opened the carriage door and laid his hand on Chick's arm, at the +same time pointing toward the house. + +Chick signified that he understood, and held out both hands, as if he +wished to be helped to the sidewalk. + +Venner promptly raised both of his--only to suddenly hear a quick, +metallic snap, and feel links of cold steel confining his wrists. Their +icy chill went through him like a knife, and he reeled as if stricken a +blow. + +"Good God!" he gasped, hoarsely. "What's this?" + +Chick and Patsy were already beside him. + +"This," said Chick, sternly, "is your wind-up!" + +"My--" + +"Stop! Not a loud word, Mr. Venner, or worse will be yours! Now tell me +in whispers--where is Nick Carter?" + +The sight of a revolver thrust under his nose had a potent effect upon +the dismayed man, yet even while he saw that he was cornered, he seized +upon the hope that Kilgore and the gang might discover and release him. + +"Find him yourself, if you want him!" he hissed through his teeth, with +an ugly frown. "I'm cursed if I'll inform you!" + +Chick did not delay for arguments or persuasion. With Patsy's help he +speedily put Venner in the same helpless condition in which he had left +Dalton, stretched upon the ground, within a rod of one another. + +Then he threw off his disguise, and shifted his revolvers to his side +pockets. + +"Now for yonder house, Patsy, and to see what the remainder of this gang +are at," said he. "Come with me, and have your guns ready." + +"I'm with you," cried Patsy, coolly. "Guns and all." + +A dash up the gravel walk brought them to the front door, which Venner +had left partly open. + +There they paused and listened. + +Not a sound came from within the house; but overhead the tempest now was +breaking, with frequent crashing peals of thunder, and flashes of +lightning that illumined all the landscape. Rain, too, now began pelting +down on the veranda roof. + +"We'll steal in and see what we can find," whispered Chick, drawing one +of his revolvers. + +"Go it, then." + +He led the way, and Patsy followed. The silence in the house mystified +them at first. It appeared to have been entirely deserted. + +When they reached the door of the dining room, however, Chick discovered +on the floor the disguise which Nick had discarded. + +"I have it, Patsy," he cried, softly. "They have nailed Nick, just as he +expected, and have taken him somewhere to confine him." + +"Perhaps in the cellar," suggested Patsy. + +"I hardly think so, yet we'll have a look." + +Moving as quietly as shadows, they entered the kitchen and easily +located the cellar door. It was closed and locked, with the key +remaining. + +"Evidently they're not down there," whispered Chick. + +"Let's try the upper floors," suggested Patsy. "They may be laying for +us up there, but I reckon we're good for them." + +"We'll take the chance, surely. Come on." + +They crept through the hall again, and then mounted the broad stairway, +which led to the next floor. + +There the utter silence and the semidarkness quickly convinced them that +they were on the wrong track. + +"The stable," muttered Chick, suddenly. "We'll try the stable." + +"They certainly have vamosed this ranch," remarked Patsy. + +"Plainly. Come on, then, and we'll try the stable." + +Together they started downstairs. + +A moment later Kilgore, Pylotte and Matt Stall came flurrying into the +house by the rear door. + +In the bright light of the broad hall each party discovered the other +at precisely the same moment, and Kilgore instantly guessed the truth. + +With a cry of rage, he whipped out his revolver and fired point-blank at +the two men on the stairs. + +"Down 'em, boys!" he yelled furiously. "Down 'em, or our game is done +for!" + +His bullet glanced from the baluster rail near Chick, and buried itself +in the wall behind him. + +"Drop them, Patsy!" he shouted, instantly. "Shoot to kill! It's them or +us!" + +"Let her go, Gallagher!" roared Patsy, pulling both guns. + +Then, amid the tumult of the breaking tempest outside, there began a +fusillade the thunder of which rivaled that of the night, and which, +though comparatively brief, was as fast and furious as any man there had +ever experienced. + +Pylotte went down at the first shot from Chick, however, with a bullet +in his brain. + +Then shot followed shot with lightning rapidity. + +Both detectives sprang down several stairs to evade the rain of lead, +for both Kilgore and Stall were rapidly emptying two revolvers. + +A bullet singed Patsy's ear. + +Another dislodged Chick's hat. + +Then Kilgore reeled with a slight wound in his left arm. + +A score of shots were fired and wasted, meantime, for all hands were +dodging about the hall and stairs in an utterly indescribable fashion. + +It was the warmest kind of a fight for fully three minutes. + +Then Chick got a line on Matt Stall from behind the baluster post, and +dropped him with a ragged wound in his hip. + +Stall fell with a yell of rage and pain, and Kilgore found himself +alone, and against odds. + +He turned like a flash, and darted out of the rear door of the house. + +He knew that the game was up, his confederates done for, and his own +chances of escape but small; and the situation stirred to their very +depths the worst elements of this lifelong criminal. + +But one thought possessed him--that of revenge, that of destroying the +chief cause of his downfall--Nick Carter. + +With this end in view, Kilgore tore like a madman through the blinding +rain of that tempestuous night, and shaped his course back to the +diamond plant. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +AN ONLY RESOURCE. + + +Despite the corner in which he had placed himself, a situation far more +desperate than he at first imagined, Nick Carter was congratulating +himself upon the success of his ruse by which he had so quickly located +the secret plant of the diamond swindlers, even at the sacrifice of his +personal freedom. + +The fact that he now sat bound in a chair in the hidden stronghold of +the gang, watched only by Cervera, did not seriously disturb the +fearless detective. + +Nick had been in many a worse corner than this, or in corners believed +to be worse, and he felt confident of pulling out of the scrape with a +whole skin, and with most of the gang in custody. + +He had surveyed his surroundings with more than cursory interest, +therefore, while Kilgore and his confederates were binding his arms to +the rounds of the chair back, and his ankles to the legs of the same. + +The rough foundation walls of the house, the massive stone wall built +across the cellar to mask the secret chamber, the elaborate electric +furnace, the huge hydraulic press, the workbench and tools, the powerful +arc light pendent from the ceiling--half an eye would have convinced +Nick that he occupied the workroom of that master craftsman whose +chemical knowledge and inventive genius had given birth to a most +marvelous production, long, earnestly, yet vainly, sought by others-- + +The production of an artificial diamond! + +Not until Nick heard the stone door forcibly closed, and its iron bolts +shot violently into their sockets, did he pay serious attention to +Cervera, the venomous Spanish vixen left to guard him. + +Then, as she swung round toward him, he took a sharper look at her +darkly magnificent face, and was thrilled despite him by the +extraordinary changes it had undergone. + +It had lost its beauty. Its olive flush had given place to a chalky +whiteness. The radiance of her eyes had become a merciless glitter, like +the glint cast from the eyes of a serpent. The reflection of a consuming +passion for vengeance had transfigured her countenance, till it had +become like the face of a fiend. + +Though Nick saw at a glance that his situation had taken on an +unexpected and desperate phase, he suppressed any betrayal of it. He met +the woman eye to eye, while she briefly paused and faced him, with a +cruel smile curling her gray lips. + +"So I have you now, Nick Carter," she cried, with mocking significance. + +"Well, yes, in a way," admitted Nick, coolly. + +"I have you in my power," hissed Cervera, with a vicious display of +satisfaction. + +"Ah! that's different," said Nick. + +"How different?" + +"That you have me in your power remains to be demonstrated." + +"Are we not alone here, you fool?" + +"Yes, very much alone." + +"And you helpless?" + +"Apparently." + +"If I wish, Nick Carter, I can kill you." + +"Then pray don't wish it," said Nick. "I am still too young to be +heartlessly slain, even by so beautiful and accomplished a woman." + +"_Caramba!_ you mock me!" cried Cervera, darting toward him with eyes +ablaze and her lithe figure quivering with passion. "You mock me!--you +shall repent it! Perdition! you shall repent it!" + +"Is that so?" + +"You shall repent it, I say!" + +"In this world, or in the next?" inquired Nick, bent upon prolonging the +scene as much as possible, with a hope that Chick might suddenly turn +up. + +Cervera did not answer him immediately. She wheeled again and darted to +the door, once more to make sure that she had secured its bolts. + +She was clad in the black dress in which she had escaped from Nick the +previous night, the somber hue of which was relieved only by occasional +flashes of her dainty white lace underskirts, as she swept quickly from +place to place, with her lithe figure crouching at times, and her every +movement as swift and impulsive as that of a startled leopard. + +As he sat watching her, Nick was reminded of her matchless work upon +the stage, thrilling men and women alike with her wild grace and the +fiery passion of her indescribable dances. + +She returned to confront him after a moment, crouching before him, with +her glowing eyes fixed on his. + +"In the next world--not in this!" she now replied, with a voice that cut +the air like the snap of a whip. "You'd have brief time for repentance +in this." + +"So you've decided to do the job, have you?" Nick coolly demanded. + +"Yes." + +"Well, I'm sorry to hear it." + +"Here is where we even up accounts." + +"Even them up, eh?" + +"You heard what I said." + +"But I wasn't aware that I have so very much the best of you." + +"You have." + +"How so?" + +"_Caramba!_ you know too much!" + +"Ah! you mean about that girl." + +"Yes." + +"I see," nodded Nick, secretly working in vain to loose the ropes +confining his arms. "Well, señora, as a matter of fact, I am rather +likely to make things unpleasant for you one of these days." + +"It will be this day, or never. You'll not live to see another." + +"Possibly not." + +"_Caramba!_ do you doubt it?" + +She darted nearer to him, with her hand tearing open the waist of her +dress, and then the gleam of a poniard met Nick's gaze. She swept it +before his eyes with a wild gesture, and gave vent to a mocking laugh. + +"Do you doubt that I can slay you?" + +"Not at all," answered Nick. "It's very evident." + +"Or that I will?" + +"That appears equally manifest." + +"So it is!" hissed Cervera, with vicious intensity. "I intend to do it! +Do you hear, Nick Carter? I intend to do it!" + +"Oh, yes, I hear you." + +"Why don't you shrink? Why don't you plead for mercy?" + +"What's the use?" + +She answered him with a laugh that made the room ring. + +"Besides," added Nick, "it's not my style to show the white feather." + +"We'll see! _Caramba!_ we will see!" + +She came nearer to him, crouching before him, so near that her breath +fell hot upon his cheeks. Then, with a quick movement, she pressed the +point of the blade through his clothing, till it pricked the flesh above +his heart. + +With his arms bound, with his ankles secured to the legs of the chair, +Nick appeared utterly at her mercy--of which she had none. + +Despite himself, Nick shrank slightly from the wound, and for the first +time shuddered at the peril by which he was menaced, and from which +there seemed to be no avenue of escape. + +Cervera laughed again, a laugh freighted with the terrible ring of +madness. + +"Did it hurt you?" she screamed, with her glittering eyes raised to +search his. "Perdition! I hope so! You have tortured me with a thousand +fears. I'd like to repay you with a thousand pangs!" + +Nick's eyes took on an ugly gleam. + +"Why don't you do so, then?" he growled. + +"I would, if I had the time," cried Cervera, through her teeth. + +"You have all there is." + +"Ten thousand times I'd thrust it into you--thus! thus!" + +Nick set his jaws and met the blade without flinching. + +Twice the vicious demon thrust it through his clothing, and now two +crimson stains of blood on his shirt front followed the withdrawal of +the weapon. + +"See! see!" screamed Cervera, triumphantly, with her terrible face +upturned to his gaze. "You're beginning to bleed! Did you know that the +sight of blood affects me as it does a leopard? I thirst for more--if +that of one I hate! When next I strike you, I shall strike deeper!" + +That she fully intended to murder him, Nick now, had not a doubt. The +homicidal madness was in her eyes, in her every feature, her every +motion, and it rang in every word that fell from her bloodless lips. + +Yet the inflexible nerve of the detective did not for a moment desert +him. + +"Send the blade home at once, if you like," he said, with a scornful +frown. + +"Not yet--not yet!" she cried, shrilly. "There'll be time for that." + +"Time and to spare," sneered Nick. + +"I first wish to torture you, as you've tortured me!" + +"Go ahead, then." + +"Once more! Are you ready?" + +"Let it come." + +Again she drew back the glittering blade, only to mock him with several +pretended thrusts, hoping thus to create and prolong an agony of fear +and suspense. + +A more viciously cruel and vindictive creature never drew the breath of +life. + +She laughed again, and slowly pressed the weapon closer--and then, with +a sudden startled cry, she drew back and leaped to her feet. + +A noise like that of a mighty cannonade seemed to shake even the solid +walls of this buried chamber. + +It was the crash of thunder in the heavens overhead. + +It was Cervera's first intimation of the terrible tempest that had been +gathering outside. + +At first she thought the sound was that of revolvers, and she darted to +the door and listened, pressing her ear to the wall. + +The instant her back was turned, Nick made a desperate attempt to free +himself, straining cords and muscles under the determined effort. It +proved vain, however. The ropes held him as if made of twisted steel. + +Yet in his brief but desperate struggle his right arm came in contact +with an object in the side pocket of his sack coat. + +The object was a box nearly filled with parlor matches--one of the most +dangerous and treacherous creations of man's inventive genius. + +Like a sudden revelation, or a bolt out of the blue, there leaped up in +Nick's mind a possible way of escape. + +He thought of Cervera's garments, of the fluffy lace skirts beneath her +gown, to which a single flash of fire would instantly prove fatal. + +The resort to such means seemed horrible--yet Nick well knew it was the +one and only resource left him. + +He glanced sharply at Cervera. She was still listening at the door, with +her evil face a picture of intense suspense. + +With a quick turn of his wrist, Nick succeeded in extracting the box +from his pocket. Then he forced it open, and with a move of his hand he +scattered its entire contents over the floor around his chair. The tiny +matches fell with scarce a sound, and Cervera, ten feet away, failed to +hear them. + +Then Nick quietly worked his chair back a foot or two, in order to bring +some of the fateful things upon the floor directly in front of him. + +A moment later Cervera turned from the door. + +"Thunder--it was thunder," she muttered, under her breath. "There's a +storm outside." + +"Somebody coming?" queried Nick, with taunting accents. + +He now aimed to provoke her, to force the situation to a climax, lest +any mischance should have befallen Chick, or perverted in any way his +own designs upon Kilgore and the gang. His taunting remark proved +effective, moreover. + +With a snarl of rage Cervera darted toward him, with eyes for him alone, +never for the floor. + +"You dog!" she cried, through her white teeth. + +"Do you mock me again?" + +"Oh! no, of course not," sneered Nick. + +"You lie! You do! You think some one will come--that you will then +escape me," screamed Cervera, quivering through and through with +venomous passion. + +Nick watched her as a cat watches a mouse. + +Her face was ghastly and distorted, her breast heaving, her every nerve +quivering, and her eyes were like balls of fire under their knitted +brows. + +Still clutching the poniard, her jeweled fingers worked convulsively +around its haft, like those of one who fain would strike a death blow, +yet whose hand was briefly held by consuming horror. + +Suddenly she darted nearer, with a vicious snarl. + +"You think you'll escape me," she screamed, with bitter ferocity. "It +shows in your eyes. I'll make sure that you don't. Let come who may, you +shall be found--dead! Dead!--do you hear?" + +"Oh! yes, I hear." + +"Yet you do not fear? We'll see--we'll see!" + +She darted closer to him, with the weapon raised, above her head, and +her knee touched Nick's knee. He swung quickly around toward her, and +scraped his feet over the floor below her skirts. + +Then came a quick, furious snapping, like the noise of a miniature +fusillade. A score of the matches had been ignited by Nick's swift move. + +Almost instantly a shriek of terror broke from Cervera's lips, and she +reeled back, clutching wildly at her skirts. + +"My God! I'm on fire!--on fire!" she screamed, with a voice so intense +in its agony as to have chilled a man of stone. + +A roar came from Nick as he sighted the flames under her gown. + +"Release me! Release me!" he thundered, furiously, with a voice that +drowned her frightful screams. "Cut me loose--loose! It's your only +hope--your only hope!" + +She heard him like one in a nightmare of agony and terror, and her +instinct rather than her reason responded to his thundering commands. + +Still with the poniard in her jeweled hand, still shrieking wildly, she +leaped to his side, and with a single sweep of the keen weapon severed +the rope binding his arms. + +Then Nick snatched the poniard from her hand. With several swift cuts +and slashes he released his limbs, and sprang quickly to his feet. + +He had already shaped his course. He had observed on the sulphur +barrels, near the wall, a strip of matting, used as a cover for them. +Nick snatched it from the barrels, and rushed to wrap it around the +skirts and limbs of the terror-stricken woman. + +For several moments the result seemed doubtful, so doubtful that Nick +finally threw Cervera heavily to the floor, the better to press the +matting closely around her and so smother the flames. In this he +presently succeeded, but not before she was so severely burned as to be +rendered utterly helpless. + +When Nick arose to his feet Cervera remained lying prostrate on the +floor, moaning with pain, yet in a state of semi-consciousness only. A +glance told Nick that she could make no move to escape, and he now had +other work than that of looking to her comfort. + +He ran to the stone door, threw the bolts, and quickly dragged it open. + +Even as he did so, from out of the gloom of the adjoining cellar, a man +came into view, as if suddenly arisen from the ground. + +The man was Dave Kilgore. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +THE LAST TRICK. + + +"Carter!" + +"Kilgore!" + +Each man uttered the name of the other, as if with the same breath. The +meeting came so suddenly that, for the bare fraction of a second, both +men were nonplused. + +Then both whipped out a weapon. + +Crack! + +Bang! + +They fired together, and both missed, Nick's usually accurate aim being +spoiled by the gloom of the cellar. + +Kilgore instantly sprang further away in the darkness, and aimed again. + +The hammer of his weapon fell as usual, but there was no report. In his +recent fight at the Venner house he had emptied both of his revolvers, +save the one bullet that had just missed Nick Carter. + +Then Kilgore, failing to have found Nick at his mercy, thought only of +making his own escape. He turned and ran toward the open door by which +he had entered. + +At that moment Chick's ringing voice sounded from outside. + +"This way! this way, Patsy!" he cried, louder than the rolling thunder +overhead. "I've found the rat hole!" + +"I'm with you," yelled Patsy. + +They were already at the door. + +By the frequent flashes of lightning they had, after the fight at +Venner's, succeeded in following Kilgore across the meadows, and they +well knew that he was headed to get even with Nick. + +Now Nick's voice rang through the cellar. + +"Look out for him, Chick," he commanded. "He's coming that way. Look out +for his gun." + +"Hurrah!" roared Chick, the moment he heard Nick's voice. "Let him come, +gun and all!" + +Kilgore saw his flight cut off in that direction, but he knew every inch +of the house. He turned like a rat in the darkness, and made for the +stairs leading to the floor above. Up these he hurriedly scrambled. + +Nick heard him through the gloom, and followed him, pitching headlong at +the foot of the stairs just as Kilgore opened the door leading to the +hall above. + +There the dim rays from a hall lamp revealed the man for an instant, and +showed Nick the way. He was up again and after Kilgore like a hound +after a fox. + +Kilgore dashed through the hall, but dared not take time to unlock and +open the front door of the house. He had a profound respect for the +revolver in the hand of his pursuer, who already had reached the hall. + +It was a flight for life, and Kilgore knew it. + +He turned like a flash and darted up the stairs, making for the second +floor. Three at a stride he covered, and succeeded in reaching the +corridor above before Nick could get a line on him. + +Nick followed, gun in hand. + +On the second floor Kilgore darted into a dark chamber, and then +through that to one adjoining it, where he waited till he heard Nick +plunging into the one first mentioned. + +Then Kilgore slipped out into the hall again, hoping to retrace his +steps downstairs and escape by the front door. + +In the way of that, however, Chick and Patsy were now in the lower hall, +the former shouting lustily up the stairs: + +"Run him down, Nick! Run him down! We'll cover this way of escape!" + +An involuntary oath broke from Kilgore's lips, and at the same moment a +vivid flash of lightning from the inky heavens illumined all the house. + +From the chamber in which he stood, Nick again caught sight of his man, +and was after him in an instant. + +Kilgore heard him coming, and again fled through the hall and up another +flight of stairs. + +"You'd better throw up your hands," roared Nick, as he followed. + +The answer came back with a yell of defiance: + +"Not on your life!" + +"You're a lost dog," cried Nick, hoping to keep him replying. + +"You'll not get me alive!" + +"Then I'll get you dead!" cried Nick, as he mounted the stairs. + +"You haven't got me yet!" + +"Next door to it, my man." + +This brought no answer. + +In a moment Nick reached the second hall, where he briefly paused to +listen. Save the rain beating on the roof of the house, only one sound +reached his strained ears. It was like that of some one hammering +against the side of the house with some heavy object. For a moment the +detective was puzzled. He could not fathom the meaning of such a sound. + +Then a gust of damp night air rushed through the hall and swept Nick's +cheek. + +"Ah! an open window!" he muttered. "That's easily located." + +He groped his way into one of the rear chambers. There the night air was +sweeping in through an open window, to the sill of which Nick quickly +sprang. + +Now the noise he had heard was instantly explained. + +Cornered like a rat, yet viciously resolute to the last, Kilgore had, in +order to make his escape, resorted to a means from which a less cool and +nervy scoundrel would have shrunk on such a night as that. + +He had, by reaching far out of the window, been able to grasp an +old-fashioned lightning rod with which the ancient wooden mansion was +provided, and by which he proposed to descend to the ground. Under the +swindler's weight, the beating of this swaying rod against the side of +the house was the sound Nick had heard. + +Kilgore, whose courage was worthy a far better cause, already was +halfway to the ground. + +Yet Nick had no idea of letting the knave escape thus, and he raised his +weapon to fire. + +There was no need for a bullet, however, for the hand of the Almighty +did the work. + +From the black vault of the heavens a bolt of liquid fire suddenly shot +earthward, with a crash of thunder that seemed to rend the entire +firmament. + +The fiery bolt reached the earth--but it reached it through the rod to +which Dave Kilgore was desperately clinging. + +Not a sound came from the doomed man as he went down--or if there was a +sound, it was drowned by the deafening crash and successive +reverberations of thunder. + +Before Nick had fairly recovered from the blinding light and terrific +concussion, he heard the voice of Chick yelling loudly from below: + +"Nick, Nick, come down here! The house is afire. The whole house is +afire!" + +Nick heard and darted for the stairs, at once realizing how well the +lightning had done its terrific work. Before he could reach the lower +hall, dense volumes of smoke were pouring through the house, and one +entire side of the fated dwelling was in flames. + +Nick thought of the woman in the cellar below, and, with Chick and Patsy +at his heels, he led the way to the diamond plant. The electric light +had been extinguished by the lightning stroke, but Nick soon located the +body of Cervera, and together the detectives brought her out and laid +her upon the ground some rods away from the burning dwelling. + +"She's done for, poor wretch!" muttered Nick, as he looked at her +bloodless face. + +He was right. + +Señora Cervera had danced her last dance--a terrible one it was! She +had lapsed into a merciful unconsciousness, from which she never +emerged. + +Next came Kilgore, and they easily found him. He lay stretched upon the +ground, dead and scorched almost beyond recognition, at the base of the +metallic rod through which he had met his fate. + +"Lend a hand here," said Nick. "We'll place him with his confederate +until we can have them properly removed." + +"So be it," said Chick, gravely. "It's about the last we can do for +them, and this nearly ends our work on this job." + +"You've got the others?" + +"Every man of them." + +"Well done!" nodded Nick, as they raised the lifeless form between them. +"Behold the way of the transgressor." + +"Hark!" exclaimed Patsy. "There goes the fire alarm. In three minutes +there'll be a mob about here." + +"Much good the firemen will do," rejoined Nick. "That house is doomed, +and all that's in it." + +He was right. With the passing of the tempest, and the first sign of a +star in the eastern sky, all that remained of the house above the +diamond plant was a heap of red, smoldering embers, filling the cellar +and the secret chamber--and blotting out, though perhaps not forever, +the secret art of that misguided genius, Jean Pylotte, dead with a +bullet in his brain, on the floor of Rufus Venner's hall. + +There remains but little to complete the record of this strange and +stirring case. + +Before morning Nick had lodged Venner and Spotty Dalton in the Tombs, +and had Garside arrested at his residence. The lifeless bodies of their +three confederates,--Cervera having died at dawn--were taken to the +Morgue. + +Early the following day, Harry Boyden, the young man arrested for the +murder of Mary Barton, was discharged from custody, and hastened to the +home of Violet Page, to make her happy with the news of his release and +his story of Nick Carter's extraordinary work. Both called upon Nick a +day or two later, and expressed their gratitude and affection in terms +which here need no recital. Incidentally it may be added that they were +married, as planned, the following summer. + +How strangely the circumstances and experiences of life are knit and +bound together. But for the vicious crime of a jealous woman, Nick might +have labored long, and possibly vainly, to run down the Kilgore gang and +their extraordinary criminal project, in which Cervera so strongly +figured. It was as Nick said, the two crimes seemed bound together as if +with links of steel. + +In the trial which preceded the conviction and punishment of the three +living members of the gang, Nick learned all of the facts of the case. + +Venner & Co., it appeared, were on their last legs, and went into the +game to square themselves, the design being to market vast quantities of +the artificial diamonds. With this project in view, Venner had purchased +the house at the rear of his own, under the name of Dr. Magruder, and +there had established the plant. How well the scheme would have +succeeded, but for Nick Carter, will never be known. + +At all events, in the stock of Venner & Co. were found numerous stones +which only the most proficient experts could prove to be artificial; and +even to this day it is intimated that, among the bejeweled women of New +York there are some unconsciously wearing the manufactured diamonds of +Jean Pylotte. What matters, however, since where ignorance is bliss it +is folly to be wise? + +Jean Pylotte: His art died with him, alas! For in the ruins of the +diamond plant there could be found no evidence sufficient to reveal his +great secret. + +Surely it had opened the way to a great swindle, the possibilities of +which can hardly be conceived. But, fortunately, in the way of it had +come-- + +Nick Carter. + + +THE END. + + + + +NICK CARTER STORIES + +New Magnet Library + +PRICE, FIFTEEN CENTS + +_Not a Dull Book in This List_ + + +Nick Carter stands for an interesting detective story. The fact that the +books in this line are so uniformly good is entirely due to the work of +a specialist. The man who wrote these stories produced no other type of +fiction. His mind was concentrated upon the creation of new plots and +situations in which his hero emerged triumphantly from all sorts of +trouble, and landed the criminal just where he should be--behind the +bars. + +The author of these stories knew more about writing detective stories +than any other single person. + +Following is a list of the best Nick Carter stories. They have been +selected with extreme care, and we unhesitatingly recommend each of them +as being fully as interesting as any detective story between cloth +covers which sells at ten times the price. + +If you do not know Nick Carter, buy a copy of any of the New Magnet +Library books, and get acquainted. He will surprise and delight you. + +_ALL TITLES ALWAYS IN PRINT_ + + +850--Wanted: A Clew By Nicholas Carter +851--A Tangled Skein By Nicholas Carter +852--The Bullion Mystery By Nicholas Carter +853--The Man of Riddles By Nicholas Carter +854--A Miscarriage of Justice By Nicholas Carter +855--The Gloved Hand By Nicholas Carter +856--Spoilers and the Spoils By Nicholas Carter +857--The Deeper Game By Nicholas Carter +858--Bolts from Blue Skies By Nicholas Carter +859--Unseen Foes By Nicholas Carter +860--Knaves in High Places By Nicholas Carter +861--The Microbe of Crime By Nicholas Carter +862--In the Toils of Fear By Nicholas Carter +863--A Heritage of Trouble By Nicholas Carter +864--Called to Account By Nicholas Carter +865--The Just and the Unjust By Nicholas Carter +866--Instinct at Fault By Nicholas Carter +867--A Rogue Worth Trapping By Nicholas Carter +868--A Rope of Slender Threads By Nicholas Carter +869--The Last Call By Nicholas Carter +870--The Spoils of Chance By Nicholas Carter +871--A Struggle With Destiny By Nicholas Carter +872--The Slave of Crime By Nicholas Carter +873--The Crook's Blind By Nicholas Carter +874--A Rascal of Quality By Nicholas Carter +875--With Shackles of Fire By Nicholas Carter +876--The Man Who Changed Faces By Nicholas Carter +877--The Fixed Alibi By Nicholas Carter +878--Out With the Tide By Nicholas Carter +879--The Soul Destroyers By Nicholas Carter +880--The Wages of Rascality By Nicholas Carter +881--Birds of Prey By Nicholas Carter +882--When Destruction Threatens By Nicholas Carter +883--The Keeper of Black Hounds By Nicholas Carter +884--The Door of Doubt By Nicholas Carter +885--The Wolf Within By Nicholas Carter +886--A Perilous Parole By Nicholas Carter +887--The Trail of the Fingerprints By Nicholas Carter +888--Dodging the Law By Nicholas Carter +889--A Crime in Paradise By Nicholas Carter +890--On the Ragged Edge By Nicholas Carter +891--The Red God of Tragedy By Nicholas Carter +892--The Man Who Paid By Nicholas Carter +893--The Blind Man's Daughter By Nicholas Carter +894--One Object in Life By Nicholas Carter +895--As a Crook Sows By Nicholas Carter +896--In Record Time By Nicholas Carter +897--Held in Suspense By Nicholas Carter +898--The $100,000 Kiss By Nicholas Carter +890--Just One Slip By Nicholas Carter +900--On a Million-dollar Trail By Nicholas Carter +901--A Weird Treasure By Nicholas Carter +902--The Middle Link By Nicholas Carter +903--To the Ends of the Earth By Nicholas Carter +904--When Honors Pall By Nicholas Carter +905--The Yellow Brand By Nicholas Carter +906--A New Serpent in Eden By Nicholas Carter +907--When Brave Men Tremble By Nicholas Carter +908--A Test of Courage By Nicholas Carter +909--Where Peril Beckons By Nicholas Carter +910--The Gargoni Girdle By Nicholas Carter +911--Rascals & Co. By Nicholas Carter +912--Too Late to Talk By Nicholas Carter +913--Satan's Apt Pupil By Nicholas Carter +914--The Girl Prisoner By Nicholas Carter +915--The Danger of Folly By Nicholas Carter +916--One Shipwreck Too Many By Nicholas Carter +917--Scourged by Fear By Nicholas Carter +918--The Red Plague By Nicholas Carter +919--Scoundrels Rampant By Nicholas Carter +920--From Clew to Clew By Nicholas Carter +921--When Rogues Conspire By Nicholas Carter +922--Twelve in a Grave By Nicholas Carter +923--The Great Opium Case By Nicholas Carter +924--A Conspiracy of Rumors By Nicholas Carter +925--A Klondike Claim By Nicholas Carter +926--The Evil Formula By Nicholas Carter +927--The Man of Many Faces By Nicholas Carter +928--The Great Enigma By Nicholas Carter +929--The Burden of Proof By Nicholas Carter +930--The Stolen Brain By Nicholas Carter +931--A Titled Counterfeiter By Nicholas Carter +932--The Magic Necklace By Nicholas Carter +933--'Round the World for a Quarter By Nicholas Carter +934--Over the Edge of the World By Nicholas Carter +935--In the Grip of Fate By Nicholas Carter +936--The Case of Many Clews By Nicholas Carter +937--The Sealed Door By Nicholas Carter +938--Nick Carter and the Green Goods Men By Nicholas Carter +939--The Man Without a Will By Nicholas Carter +940--Tracked Across the Atlantic By Nicholas Carter +941--A Clew From the Unknown By Nicholas Carter +942--The Crime of a Countess By Nicholas Carter +943--A Mixed Up Mess By Nicholas Carter +944--The Great Money Order Swindle By Nicholas Carter +945--The Adder's Brood By Nicholas Carter +946--A Wall Street Haul By Nicholas Carter +947--For a Pawned Crown By Nicholas Carter +948--Sealed Orders By Nicholas Carter +949--The Hate That Kills By Nicholas Carter +950--The American Marquis By Nicholas Carter +951--The Needy Nine By Nicholas Carter +952--Fighting Against Millions By Nicholas Carter +953--Outlaws of the Blue By Nicholas Carter +954--The Old Detective's Pupil By Nicholas Carter +955--Found in the Jungle By Nicholas Carter +956--The Mysterious Mail Robbery By Nicholas Carter +957--Broken Bars By Nicholas Carter +958--A Fair Criminal By Nicholas Carter +959--Won by Magic By Nicholas Carter +960--The Piano Box Mystery By Nicholas Carter +961--The Man They Held Back By Nicholas Carter +962--A Millionaire Partner By Nicholas Carter +963--A Pressing Peril By Nicholas Carter +964--An Australian Klondyke By Nicholas Carter +965--The Sultan's Pearls By Nicholas Carter +966--The Double Shuffle Club By Nicholas Carter +967--Paying the Price By Nicholas Carter +968--A Woman's Hand By Nicholas Carter +969--A Network of Crime By Nicholas Carter +970--At Thompson's Ranch By Nicholas Carter +971--The Crossed Needles By Nicholas Carter +972--The Diamond Mine Case By Nicholas Carter +973--Blood Will Tell By Nicholas Carter +974--An Accidental Password By Nicholas Carter +975--The Crook's Bauble By Nicholas Carter +976--Two Plus Two By Nicholas Carter +977--The Yellow Label By Nicholas Carter +978--The Clever Celestial By Nicholas Carter +979--The Amphitheater Plot By Nicholas Carter +980--Gideon Drexel's Millions By Nicholas Carter +981--Death in Life By Nicholas Carter +982--A Stolen Identity By Nicholas Carter +983--Evidence by Telephone By Nicholas Carter +984--The Twelve Tin Boxes By Nicholas Carter +985--Clew Against Clew By Nicholas Carter +986--Lady Velvet By Nicholas Carter +987--Playing a Bold Game By Nicholas Carter +988--A Dead Man's Grip By Nicholas Carter +989--Snarled Identities By Nicholas Carter +990--A Deposit Vault Puzzle By Nicholas Carter +991--The Crescent Brotherhood By Nicholas Carter +992--The Stolen Pay Train By Nicholas Carter +993--The Sea Fox By Nicholas Carter +994--Wanted by Two Clients By Nicholas Carter +995--The Van Alstine Case By Nicholas Carter +996--Check No. 777 By Nicholas Carter +997--Partners in Peril By Nicholas Carter +998--Nick Carter's Clever Protégé By Nicholas Carter +999--The Sign of the Crossed Knives By Nicholas Carter +1000--The Man Who Vanished By Nicholas Carter +1001--A Battle for the Right By Nicholas Carter +1002--A Game of Craft By Nicholas Carter +1003--Nick Carter's Retainer By Nicholas Carter +1004--Caught in the Toils By Nicholas Carter +1005--A Broken Bond By Nicholas Carter +1006--The Crime of the French Café By Nicholas Carter +1007--The Man Who Stole Millions By Nicholas Carter +1008--The Twelve Wise Men By Nicholas Carter +1009--Hidden Foes By Nicholas Carter +1010--A Gamblers' Syndicate By Nicholas Carter +1011--A Chance Discovery By Nicholas Carter +1012--Among the Counterfeiters By Nicholas Carter +1013--A Threefold Disappearance By Nicholas Carter +1014--At Odds With Scotland Yard By Nicholas Carter +1015--A Princess of Crime By Nicholas Carter +1016--Found on the Beach By Nicholas Carter +1017--A Spinner of Death By Nicholas Carter +1018--The Detective's Pretty Neighbor By Nicholas Carter +1019--A Bogus Clew By Nicholas Carter +1020--The Puzzle of Five Pistols By Nicholas Carter +1021--The Secret of the Marble Mantel By Nicholas Carter +1022--A Bite of an Apple By Nicholas Carter +1023--A Triple Crime By Nicholas Carter +1024--The Stolen Race Horse By Nicholas Carter +1025--Wildfire By Nicholas Carter +1026--A _Herald_ Personal By Nicholas Carter +1027--The Finger of Suspicion By Nicholas Carter +1028--The Crimson Clew By Nicholas Carter +1029--Nick Carter Down East By Nicholas Carter +1030--The Chain of Clews By Nicholas Carter +1031--A Victim of Circumstances By Nicholas Carter +1032--Brought to Bay By Nicholas Carter +1033--The Dynamite Trap By Nicholas Carter +1034--A Scrap of Black Lace By Nicholas Carter +1035--The Woman of Evil By Nicholas Carter +1036--A Legacy of Hate By Nicholas Carter +1037--A Trusted Rogue By Nicholas Carter +1038--Man Against Man By Nicholas Carter +1039--The Demons of the Night By Nicholas Carter +1040--The Brotherhood of Death By Nicholas Carter +1041--At the Knife's Point By Nicholas Carter +1042--A Cry for Help By Nicholas Carter +1043--A Stroke of Policy By Nicholas Carter +1044--Hounded to Death By Nicholas Carter +1045--A Bargain in Crime By Nicholas Carter +1046--The Fatal Prescription By Nicholas Carter +1047--The Man of Iron By Nicholas Carter +1048--An Amazing Scoundrel By Nicholas Carter +1049--The Chain of Evidence By Nicholas Carter +1050--Paid with Death By Nicholas Carter +1051--A Fight for a Throne By Nicholas Carter +1052--The Woman of Steel By Nicholas Carter +1053--The Seal of Death By Nicholas Carter +1054--The Human Fiend By Nicholas Carter +1055--A Desperate Chance By Nicholas Carter +1056--A Chase in the Dark By Nicholas Carter +1057--The Snare and the Game By Nicholas Carter +1058--The Murray Hill Mystery By Nicholas Carter +1059--Nick Carter's Close Call By Nicholas Carter +1060--The Missing Cotton King By Nicholas Carter +1061--A Game of Plots By Nicholas Carter +1062--The Prince of Liars By Nicholas Carter +1063--The Man at the Window By Nicholas Carter +1064--The Red League By Nicholas Carter +1065--The Price of a Secret By Nicholas Carter +1066--The Worst Case on Record By Nicholas Carter +1067--From Peril to Peril By Nicholas Carter +1068--The Seal of Silence By Nicholas Carter +1069--Nick Carter's Chinese Puzzle By Nicholas Carter +1070--A Blackmailer's Bluff By Nicholas Carter +1071--Heard in the Dark By Nicholas Carter +1072--A Checkmated Scoundrel By Nicholas Carter +1073--The Cashier's Secret By Nicholas Carter +1074--Behind a Mask By Nicholas Carter +1075--The Cloak of Guilt By Nicholas Carter +1076--Two Villains in One By Nicholas Carter +1077--The Hot Air Clew By Nicholas Carter +1078--Run to Earth By Nicholas Carter +1079--The Certified Check By Nicholas Carter +1080--Weaving the Web By Nicholas Carter +1081--Beyond Pursuit By Nicholas Carter +1082--The Claws of the Tiger By Nicholas Carter +1083--Driven From Cover By Nicholas Carter +1084--A Deal in Diamonds By Nicholas Carter +1085--The Wizard of the Cue By Nicholas Carter +1086--A Race for Ten Thousand By Nicholas Carter +1087--The Criminal Link By Nicholas Carter +1088--The Red Signal By Nicholas Carter +1089--The Secret Panel By Nicholas Carter +1090--A Bonded Villain By Nicholas Carter +1091--A Move in the Dark By Nicholas Carter +1092--Against Desperate Odds By Nicholas Carter +1093--The Telltale Photographs By Nicholas Carter +1094--The Ruby Pin By Nicholas Carter +1095--The Queen of Diamonds By Nicholas Carter +1096--A Broken Trail By Nicholas Carter +1097--An Ingenious Stratagem By Nicholas Carter +1098--A Sharper's Downfall By Nicholas Carter +1099--A Race Track Gamble By Nicholas Carter +1100--Without a Clew By Nicholas Carter +1101--The Council of Death By Nicholas Carter +1102--The Hole in the Vault By Nicholas Carter +1103--In Death's Grip By Nicholas Carter +1104--A Great Conspiracy By Nicholas Carter +1105--The Guilty Governor By Nicholas Carter +1106--A Ring of Rascals By Nicholas Carter +1107--A Masterpiece of Crime By Nicholas Carter +1108--A Blow For Vengeance By Nicholas Carter +1109--Tangled Threads By Nicholas Carter +1110--The Crime of the Camera By Nicholas Carter +1111--The Sign of the Dagger By Nicholas Carter +1112--Nick Carter's Promise By Nicholas Carter +1113--Marked for Death By Nicholas Carter +1114--The Limited Holdup By Nicholas Carter +1115--When the Trap Was Sprung By Nicholas Carter +1116--Through the Cellar Wall By Nicholas Carter +1117--Under the Tiger's Claws By Nicholas Carter +1118--The Girl in the Case By Nicholas Carter +1119--Behind a Throne By Nicholas Carter +1120--The Lure of Gold By Nicholas Carter +1121--Hand to Hand By Nicholas Carter +1122--From a Prison Cell By Nicholas Carter +1123--Dr. Quartz, Magician By Nicholas Carter +1124--Into Nick Carter's Web By Nicholas Carter +1125--The Mystic Diagram By Nicholas Carter +1126--The Hand That Won By Nicholas Carter +1127--Playing a Lone Hand By Nicholas Carter +1128--The Master Villain By Nicholas Carter +1129--The False Claimant By Nicholas Carter +1130--The Living Mask By Nicholas Carter +1131--The Crime and the Motive By Nicholas Carter +1132--A Mysterious Foe By Nicholas Carter +1133--A Missing Man By Nicholas Carter +1134--A Game Well Played By Nicholas Carter +1135--A Cigarette Clew By Nicholas Carter +1136--The Diamond Trail By Nicholas Carter +1137--The Silent Guardian By Nicholas Carter +1138--The Dead Stranger By Nicholas Carter +1140--The Doctor's Stratagem By Nicholas Carter +1141--Following a Chance Clew By Nicholas Carter +1142--The Bank Draft Puzzle By Nicholas Carter +1143--The Price of Treachery By Nicholas Carter +1144--The Silent Partner By Nicholas Carter +1145--Ahead of the Game By Nicholas Carter +1146--A Trap of Tangled Wire By Nicholas Carter +1147--In the Gloom of Night By Nicholas Carter +1148--The Unaccountable Crook By Nicholas Carter +1149--A Bundle of Clews By Nicholas Carter +1150--The Great Diamond Syndicate By Nicholas Carter +1151--The Death Circle By Nicholas Carter +1152--The Toss of a Penny By Nicholas Carter +1153--One Step Too Far By Nicholas Carter +1154--The Terrible Thirteen By Nicholas Carter +1155--A Detective's Theory By Nicholas Carter +1156--Nick Carter's Auto Trail By Nicholas Carter +1157--A Triple Identity By Nicholas Carter +1158--A Mysterious Graft By Nicholas Carter +1159--A Carnival of Crime By Nicholas Carter +1160--The Bloodstone Terror By Nicholas Carter + + +10,000,000 + +copies of the works of Nick Carter in the New Magnet Library have been +sold. Millions more are going to be sold, not because the line +represents forbidden literature, but because it fills a large and +growing demand for recreational reading. + +Nick Carter is justly famous. He stands as one of America's foremost +literary characters. He is the close companion of some of America's +leading professional and business men. Statesmen of high and low degree +have called him "Nick," and do not hesitate to say that he has given +them more satisfaction and pleasure than any other character in fiction. + +The Nick Carter stories, therefore, hold a great deal for you. Any in +the foregoing list are worth while. + +STREET & SMITH CORPORATION +79 Seventh Avenue New York City + + + + +BOOKS FOR YOUNG MEN + +MERRIWELL SERIES + +Stories of Frank and Dick Merriwell + +PRICE, FIFTEEN CENTS + +_Fascinating Stories of Athletics_ + + +A half million enthusiastic followers of the Merriwell brothers will +attest the unfailing interest and wholesomeness of these adventures of +two lads of high ideals, who play fair with themselves, as well as with +the rest of the world. + +These stories are rich in fun and thrills in all branches of sports and +athletics. They are extremely high in moral tone, and cannot fail to be +of immense benefit to every boy who reads them. + +They have the splendid quality of firing a boy's ambition to become a +good athlete, in order that he may develop into a strong, vigorous +right-thinking man. + + +_ALL TITLES ALWAYS IN PRINT_ + + +1--Frank Merriwell's School Days By Burt L. Standish +2--Frank Merriwell's Chums By Burt L. Standish +3--Frank Merriwell's Foes By Burt L. Standish +4--Frank Merriwell's Trip West By Burt L. Standish +5--Frank Merriwell Down South By Burt L. Standish +6--Frank Merriwell's Bravery By Burt L. Standish +7--Frank Merriwell's Hunting Tour By Burt L. Standish +8--Frank Merriwell in Europe By Burt L. Standish +9--Frank Merriwell at Yale By Burt L. Standish +10--Frank Merriwell's Sports Afield By Burt L. Standish +11--Frank Merriwell's Races By Burt L. Standish +12--Frank Merriwell's Party By Burt L. Standish +13--Frank Merriwell's Bicycle Tour By Burt L. Standish +14--Frank Merriwell's Courage By Burt L. Standish +15--Frank Merriwell's Daring By Burt L. Standish +16--Frank Merriwell's Alarm By Burt L. Standish +17--Frank Merriwell's Athletes By Burt L. Standish +18--Frank Merriwell's Skill By Burt L. Standish +19--Frank Merriwell's Champions By Burt L. Standish +20--Frank Merriwell's Return to Yale By Burt L. Standish +21--Frank Merriwell's Secret By Burt L. Standish +22--Frank Merriwell's Danger By Burt L. Standish +23--Frank Merriwell's Loyalty By Burt L. Standish +24--Frank Merriwell in Camp By Burt L. Standish +25--Frank Merriwell's Vacation By Burt L. Standish +26--Frank Merriwell's Cruise By Burt L. Standish +27--Frank Merriwell's Chase By Burt L. Standish +28--Frank Merriwell in Maine By Burt L. Standish +29--Frank Merriwell's Struggle By Burt L. Standish +30--Frank Merriwell's First Job By Burt L. Standish +31--Frank Merriwell's Opportunity By Burt L. Standish +32--Frank Merriwell's Hard Luck By Burt L. Standish +33--Frank Merriwell's Protégé By Burt L. Standish +34--Frank Merriwell on the Road By Burt L. Standish +35--Frank Merriwell's Own Company By Burt L. Standish +36--Frank Merriwell's Fame By Burt L. Standish +37--Frank Merriwell's College Chums By Burt L. Standish +38--Frank Merriwell's Problem By Burt L. Standish +39--Frank Merriwell's Fortune By Burt L. Standish +40--Frank Merriwell's New Comedian By Burt L. Standish +41--Frank Merriwell's Prosperity By Burt L. Standish +42--Frank Merriwell's Stage Hit By Burt L. Standish +43--Frank Merriwell's Great Scheme By Burt L. Standish +44--Frank Merriwell in England By Burt L. Standish +45--Frank Merriwell on the Boulevards By Burt L. Standish +46--Frank Merriwell's Duel By Burt L. Standish +47--Frank Merriwell's Double Shot By Burt L. Standish +48--Frank Merriwell's Baseball Victories By Burt L. Standish +49--Frank Merriwell's Confidence By Burt L. Standish +50--Frank Merriwell's Auto By Burt L. Standish +51--Frank Merriwell's Fun By Burt L. Standish +52--Frank Merriwell's Generosity By Burt L. Standish +53--Frank Merriwell's Tricks By Burt L. Standish +54--Frank Merriwell's Temptation By Burt L. Standish +55--Frank Merriwell on Top By Burt L. Standish +56--Frank Merriwell's Luck By Burt L. Standish +57--Frank Merriwell's Mascot By Burt L. Standish +58--Frank Merriwell's Reward By Burt L. Standish +59--Frank Merriwell's Phantom By Burt L. Standish +60--Frank Merriwell's Faith By Burt L. Standish +61--Frank Merriwell's Victories By Burt L. Standish +62--Frank Merriwell's Iron Nerve By Burt L. Standish +63--Frank Merriwell in Kentucky By Burt L. Standish +64--Frank Merriwell's Power By Burt L. Standish +65--Frank Merriwell's Shrewdness By Burt L. Standish +66--Frank Merriwell's Set Back By Burt L. Standish +67--Frank Merriwell's Search By Burt L. Standish +68--Frank Merriwell's Club By Burt L. Standish +69--Frank Merriwell's Trust By Burt L. Standish +70--Frank Merriwell's False Friend By Burt L. Standish +71--Frank Merriwell's Strong Arm By Burt L. Standish +72--Frank Merriwell As Coach By Burt L. Standish +73--Frank Merriwell's Brother By Burt L. Standish +74--Frank Merriwell's Marvel By Burt L. Standish +75--Frank Merriwell's Support By Burt L. Standish +76--Dick Merriwell At Fardale By Burt L. Standish +77--Dick Merriwell's Glory By Burt L. Standish +78--Dick Merriwell's Promise By Burt L. Standish +79--Dick Merriwell's Rescue By Burt L. Standish +80--Dick Merriwell's Narrow Escape By Burt L. Standish +81--Dick Merriwell's Racket By Burt L. Standish +82--Dick Merriwell's Revenge By Burt L. Standish +83--Dick Merriwell's Ruse By Burt L. Standish +84--Dick Merriwell's Delivery By Burt L. Standish +85--Dick Merriwell's Wonders By Burt L. Standish +86--Frank Merriwell's Honor By Burt L. Standish +87--Dick Merriwell's Diamond By Burt L. Standish +88--Frank Merriwell's Winners By Burt L. Standish +89--Dick Merriwell's Dash By Burt L. Standish +90--Dick Merriwell's Ability By Burt L. Standish +91--Dick Merriwell's Trap By Burt L. Standish +92--Dick Merriwell's Defense By Burt L. Standish +93--Dick Merriwell's Model By Burt L. Standish +94--Dick Merriwell's Mystery By Burt L. Standish +95--Frank Merriwell's Backers By Burt L. Standish +96--Dick Merriwell's Backstop By Burt. L. Standish +97--Dick Merriwell's Western Mission By Burt L. Standish +98--Frank Merriwell's Rescue By Burt L. Standish +99--Frank Merriwell's Encounter By Burt L. Standish +100--Dick Merriwell's Marked Money By Burt L. Standish +101--Frank Merriwell's Nomads By Burt L. Standish +102--Dick Merriwell on the Gridiron By Burt L. Standish +103--Dick Merriwell's Disguise By Burt L. Standish +104--Dick Merriwell's Test By Burt L. Standish +105--Frank Merriwell's Trump Card By Burt L. Standish +106--Frank Merriwell's Strategy By Burt L. Standish +107--Frank Merriwell's Triumph By Burt L. Standish +108--Dick Merriwell's Grit By Burt L. Standish +109--Dick Merriwell's Assurance By Burt L. Standish +110--Dick Merriwell's Long Slide By Burt L. Standish +111--Frank Merriwell's Rough Deal By Burt L. Standish +112--Dick Merriwell's Threat By Burt L. Standish +113--Dick Merriwell's Persistence By Burt L. Standish +114--Dick Merriwell's Day By Burt L. Standish +115--Frank Merriwell's Peril By Burt L. Standish +116--Dick Merriwell's Downfall By Burt L. Standish +117--Frank Merriwell's Pursuit By Burt L. Standish + + +SPORTS + +There is a greater appreciation of athletic sports among Americans than +among people of any other nationality. + +We have had definite proof of this in the correspondence occasioned by +our publication of the adventures of Frank and Dick Merriwell. These two +boys are active athletes. They are proficient in every line of sport, +and they play fair or not at all. + +This last feature of the Merriwell stories fills our daily mail with +letters from readers who say that they appreciate the integrity and +fairness of the Merriwells more than words can tell. + +These books, while of greatest interest to the right-thinking boy are +educational and make for the development of a character which will +enable the average boy to meet his fellows fairly and squarely in the +battle of life. + +STREET & SMITH CORPORATION +79 Seventh Avenue New York City + + + + +Bill Cody + + +At a rough estimate there are 400 million civilized human beings who +have heard of Bill Cody, not under his real name, but by the name +everybody called him, "Buffalo Bill." + +His character made him an outstanding figure during a period of the +development of America when a strong character was a matter of vital +necessity. + +We doubt, however, whether the man's work is fully appreciated, or ever +has been. In the rush and bustle that followed the introduction of the +railroad to the West, the results of Buffalo Bill's work were more or +less overlooked, but a time is coming when this remarkable man's +achievements will be fully appreciated. + +This is the character whose adventures are dealt with in Buffalo Bill's +Border Stories. + +Read them. You will find them of true historical value. + +STREET & SMITH CORPORATION +79 Seventh Avenue New York City + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14096 *** diff --git a/14096-h/14096-h.htm b/14096-h/14096-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..67c2dc6 --- /dev/null +++ b/14096-h/14096-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,7770 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of With Links of Steel, by Nicholas Carter</title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + } + hr { width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + } + body{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + + .toc {margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: center; } + .linenum {position: absolute; top: auto; left: 4%;} /* poetry number */ + .blockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%;} + .pagenum {position: absolute; left: 92%; font-size: smaller; text-align: right;} /* page numbers */ + .sidenote {width: 20%; padding-bottom: .5em; padding-top: .5em; + padding-left: .5em; padding-right: .5em; margin-left: 1em; + float: right; clear: right; margin-top: 1em; + font-size: smaller; background: #eeeeee; border: dashed 1px;} + + .bb {border-bottom: solid 2px;} + .bl {border-left: solid 2px;} + .bt {border-top: solid 2px;} + .br {border-right: solid 2px;} + .bbox {border: solid 2px;} + + .center {text-align: center;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + + .figleft {float: left; clear: left; margin-left: 0; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: + 1em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 0; text-align: center;} + + .figright {float: right; clear: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; + margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0; padding: 0; text-align: center;} + + .footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} + .footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + .footnote .label {position: absolute; left: 12%; text-align: left;} + + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} + .poem br {display: none;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem span {display: block; margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i2 {display: block; margin-left: 2em;} + .poem span.i4 {display: block; margin-left: 4em;} + hr.full { width: 100%; } + a:link {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + link {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + a:visited {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + a:hover {color:red} + pre {font-size: 8pt;} + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> +</head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14096 ***</div> +<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, With Links of Steel, by Nicholas Carter</h1> +<p> </p> +<h3>E-text prepared Steven desJardins<br /> + and Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders</h3> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p> </p> +<h3>NEW MAGNET LIBRARY No. 1164</h3> + +<h1>With Links of Steel</h1> + +<h4>OR</h4> + +<h3>The Peril of the Unknown</h3> + +<h2>by Nicholas Carter</h2> + +<div class="toc"> +<span>Author of the celebrated stories of Nick Carter's adventures, +which are published exclusively in the NEW MAGNET LIBRARY, +conceded to be among the best detective tales ever written.</span> +</div> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 425px; margin-top: 1em;"> +<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="425" height="600" alt="Cover of With Links of Steel" title="" /> +</div> + + +<h6>STREET & SMITH CORPORATION<br /> +PUBLISHERS<br /> +79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York</h6> +<h5>1904</h5> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<div class="toc"> +<span>CHAPTER I <a href="#CHAPTER_I">A CRAFTY ROBBERY.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER II <a href="#CHAPTER_II">CONCERNING SEÑORA CERVERA.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER III <a href="#CHAPTER_III">THE KILGORE DIAMOND GANG.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER IV <a href="#CHAPTER_IV">GETTING DOWN TO WORK.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER V <a href="#CHAPTER_V">BEHIND THE SCENES.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER VI <a href="#CHAPTER_VI">A SHOT IN THE DARK.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER VII <a href="#CHAPTER_VII">A STRATEGIC MOVE.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER VIII <a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">FOUND DEAD.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER IX <a href="#CHAPTER_IX">NICK STRIKES A STARTLING CLEW.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER X <a href="#CHAPTER_X">ON THE TRAIL.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER XI <a href="#CHAPTER_XI">THE CRIME AND THE MEANS.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER XII <a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CLOSING IN.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER XIII <a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CRAFTY CERVERA.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER XIV <a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">IN A WARM CORNER.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER XV <a href="#CHAPTER_XV">THE DIAMOND PLANT.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER XVI <a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">THE CUNNING OF JEAN PYLOTTE.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER XVII <a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">THE GAME UNCOVERED.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER XVIII <a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">AT CROSS-PURPOSES.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER XIX <a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">HANDS SHOWED DOWN.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER XX <a href="#CHAPTER_XX">THE BOOT ON THE OTHER LEG.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER XXI <a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">AN ONLY RESOURCE.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER XXII <a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">THE LAST TRICK.</a></span> +</div> +<p> </p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p> </p> +<h2><a name="WITH_LINKS_OF_STEEL" id="WITH_LINKS_OF_STEEL" />WITH LINKS OF STEEL</h2> + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I" />CHAPTER I.</h2> + +<h3>A CRAFTY ROBBERY.</h3> + + +<p>"Mr. Venner, sir?"</p> + +<p>"Mr. Venner—yes, certainly. You will find him in his private +office—that way, sir. The door to the right. Venner is in his private +office, Joseph, is he not?"</p> + +<p>"I don't think so, Mr. Garside, unless he has just returned. I saw him +go out some time ago."</p> + +<p>"Is that so? Wait a moment, young man."</p> + +<p>The young man halted, and then turned back to face Mr. Garside, with an +inquiring look in his frank, brown eyes.</p> + +<p>"Not here, sir, do I understand?" he asked, politely.</p> + +<p>Mr. Garside shook his head. He was a tall, slender man of forty, and was +the junior partner of the firm of Rufus Venner & Co., a large retail +jewelry house in New York City, with a handsome store on Fifth Avenue, +not far from Madison Square.</p> + +<p>It was in their store that this introductory scene occurred, and proved +to be the initiatory step of one of the shrewdest and most cleverly +executed robberies on record.</p> + +<p>It was about eleven o'clock one April morning. The sun was shining +brightly outside, and at the curbing in front of the store were several +handsome private carriages, with stiff-backed, motionless coachmen, in +bottle-green livery, perched on their boxes, all of which plainly +indicated the very desirable patronage accorded the firm mentioned.</p> + +<p>In the store the glare of sun was subdued by partly drawn yellow +curtains, which lent a soft, amber light to the deep interior, and +enhanced the dazzling beauty of the merchandise there displayed.</p> + +<p>The store was a rather narrow one, but quite deep, with a long-counter +on each side, back of which were numerous clerks, some engaged in +waiting upon the several customers then present.</p> + +<p>At the rear of the store was an office inclosure, with a partition of +plate glass; while at either side of this inclosure was a smaller room, +entirely secluded, these being the private offices of the two members of +the firm.</p> + +<p>Mr. Garside was standing about in the middle of the store when the young +man entered and inquired for Mr. Venner. As he turned from the clerk who +had informed him of Venner's absence, he added, half in apology, to his +visitor:</p> + +<p>"I was mistaken, young man. My clerk tells me that Mr. Venner is out +just now. Do you know where he has gone, Joseph?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir, I do not."</p> + +<p>"I think he will presently return," said Garside, again reverting to the +caller. "Is there anything that I can do for you? Or will you wait +until Mr. Venner comes in?"</p> + +<p>"I will not wait, Mr. Garside, since you are one of the firm, and +probably know about this matter," replied the young man, drawing a small +cloth-covered package from his breast pocket. "Here are the ten diamonds +for which Mr. Venner sent us an order this morning. I come from Thomas +Hafferman, sir, and will leave the stones with you."</p> + +<p>The man mentioned was also a jeweler, and a large importer of diamonds +and costly gems.</p> + +<p>Mr. Garside's countenance took on an expression of mild surprise.</p> + +<p>"From Hafferman? An order from Venner?" he murmured, inquiringly. "I was +not aware that Venner sent out any order for diamonds this morning."</p> + +<p>"One of your clerks brought the order, sir, and requested Mr. Hafferman +to send the stones here as soon as convenient," replied the messenger. +"Mr. Hafferman did not know your clerk personally, so I was sent here to +deliver the stones."</p> + +<p>"What is your name, young man?"</p> + +<p>"Harry Boyden, sir. I have worked for Mr. Hafferman for nearly five +years. I think you will find that the order was properly sent."</p> + +<p>"Wait just a moment, Mr. Boyden," suggested Garside, smiling.</p> + +<p>Then he hastened to the rear of the store, and spoke through the open +window near the cashier's desk.</p> + +<p>"Do any of you know of an order sent out by Mr. Venner this morning?" +he inquired, addressing the several clerks at work in the office. "An +order to Thomas Hafferman for ten diamonds."</p> + +<p>Only a girl stenographer, seated at a typewriter near the office door, +replied:</p> + +<p>"I think Mr. Venner sent Spaulding out about half an hour ago, sir," she +replied. "I saw him give Spaulding several letters."</p> + +<p>"Ah, doubtless it's all right enough," bowed Garside; "yet I wonder that +I had heard nothing about it. Joseph, has Spaulding been here within a +few minutes?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir," replied the clerk, the same who had at first been questioned. +"I saw him go out just before Mr. Venner departed, and he has not yet +returned."</p> + +<p>Garside had now reached the middle of the store again, where Boyden was +still waiting.</p> + +<p>"Are you quite sure that the order came from Mr. Venner?" he again +inquired. "How long ago was the messenger at your store?"</p> + +<p>"About half an hour ago, sir," Boyden readily answered. "The order was, +I presume, signed by Mr. Venner."</p> + +<p>"Was it our man Spaulding who delivered the order? Do you know him by +sight?"</p> + +<p>"I do not, sir. Joseph Maynard, yonder, is the only clerk here with whom +I am acquainted, and I think he will vouch for me," said Boyden, now +beginning to smile at Garside's manifest caution over receiving the +diamonds. "Surely, sir, no harm can come from your keeping the stones +until Mr. Venner returns, since I am willing to leave them with you," he +added, laughing.</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, no—I wasn't thinking of that," Garside quickly answered. "I +wished only to avoid the needless trouble of returning them, in case the +order did not come from us."</p> + +<p>"I think the order was all right, Mr. Garside. Besides, sir, I saw Mr. +Venner yesterday at our store, examining some diamonds. Doubtless these +are the same."</p> + +<p>"Oh, if that's the case, leave them, by all means," Garside cried. "I +was not aware that he had called there. Probably they are for some order +of which he has personal charge. Yes, yes, Mr. Boyden, leave them, +certainly. Here, Joseph, place the package in one of the vault drawers, +and hand it to Mr. Venner when he returns. Sorry to have detained you so +long, Mr. Boyden. Had you begun by stating that Venner called yesterday +upon Mr. Hafferman, I should not have demurred over the matter."</p> + +<p>"There's no harm done, Mr. Garside, none whatever," replied Boyden, +bowing and smiling. "I appreciate your caution, sir. If there proves to +have been any mistake in ordering them, you can easily return the +stones. Good-morning, sir."</p> + +<p>Garside replied with a nod over his shoulder, having turned to hand the +parcel to his clerk back of the counter, and Boyden immediately +departed.</p> + +<p>"Is that young man an acquaintance of yours, Maynard?" inquired Mr. +Garside.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir. He has been with Hafferman for several years."</p> + +<p>"Doubtless it's all right, then. Odd, though, that Venner should have +made no mention to me of this order. Hand him the package as soon as he +comes in."</p> + +<p>"I will, sir, at once."</p> + +<p>Maynard had already placed the small parcel in a drawer of the huge +steel vault back of the counter, and he now resumed the work at which he +had been engaged.</p> + +<p>Mr. Garside sauntered toward the front of the store, and presently +greeted a lady who entered.</p> + +<p>Twenty minutes passed, and the incident of the diamonds was almost +forgotten by both employer and clerk.</p> + +<p>Soon both were reminded of it, however, by the entrance of another +man—a smooth-featured young fellow, with pale blue eyes, a sallow +complexion, slightly pock-marked. He was of medium height, and well put +together, and was clad in a neat business suit of fashionable +appearance.</p> + +<p>Quickly approaching Mr. Garside, who was then disengaged, he tendered +one of Thomas Hafferman's business cards, and said, glibly, while bowing +and laughing lightly:</p> + +<p>"Excuse me, Mr. Garside, but we rather owe you an apology. Our Mr. +Boyden left some diamonds with you a short time ago, which should have +been delivered to Tiffany & Co. Mr. Hafferman read the order without his +spectacles, and it's rather a good joke on him, for he thought it was +signed Venner & Co. The blunder was partly owing to the fact, no doubt, +that Mr. Venner called to see him yesterday about some diamonds."</p> + +<p>"There!" exclaimed Garside, as if quite pleased to discover that he had +been so nearly right. "I knew well enough that Venner had not sent out +any order without mentioning it to me. Yes, your Mr. Boyden left the +stones here. For Tiffany & Co., eh?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir, and they should have been delivered long ago," was the reply, +with a conventional laugh. "If you please, I'll leave them there on my +way back. Deucedly stupid blunder on Hafferman's part, I'm sure; and I +hope—"</p> + +<p>"Oh, there's no harm done, I guess, and but little time lost," +interrupted Garside, joining in the other's laugh. "You will deliver +them, you say?"</p> + +<p>"If you please."</p> + +<p>"Here, Joseph, hand me that package of diamonds left here by Boyden. +They were sent to us by mistake. I knew it well enough at the time. Here +you are, Mr. ——"</p> + +<p>"Raymond, sir. I am cashier at Hafferman's. Many thanks. Sorry to have +troubled you—very sorry."</p> + +<p>"No trouble at all," laughed Garside, accompanying Mr. Raymond toward +the street door. "The trouble has been all yours, sir."</p> + +<p>"That's quite true," smiled Raymond, as he bowed himself out with the +package of diamonds in his hand. "But now the pleasure is all mine!" he +added to himself, upon reaching the sidewalk.</p> + +<p>Then he strode rapidly away, quickly losing himself in the midday +stream of people thronging the famous New York thoroughfare.</p> + +<p>Less than five minutes later, before any misgivings had crept into the +mind of Mr. Garside, the senior member of the firm came hurrying into +the store.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I say, Venner!" exclaimed his partner, stopping him near the office +door. "What diamonds are you thinking of buying of Hafferman?"</p> + +<p>"Of Hafferman?" echoed Venner, with a look of surprise.</p> + +<p>"Weren't you looking at some stones there yesterday?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, certainly. Some very choice diamonds. I want ten of the first +water, a little larger and more perfectly matched than any we have in +stock at present. But how did you learn that I had called there?"</p> + +<p>Mr. Garside quickly informed him of the several incidents of the past +half hour, when, to his consternation and dismay a look of sudden +apprehension swept over Venner's face.</p> + +<p>"Raymond—the name of Hafferman's cashier!" he cried. "Nothing of the +sort, Philip. Their cashier is named Briggs. I know him well."</p> + +<p>"Briggs! Briggs!"</p> + +<p>"Briggs—yes, Briggs!" reiterated Mr. Venner, excitedly. "By Heaven, +there must be something wrong here!"</p> + +<p>"Dear me! If this Raymond was an impostor, we are done out of—"</p> + +<p>"Wait—wait!"</p> + +<p>Checking his partner with an impulsive gesture, Venner rushed into his +private office and seized his desk telephone, quickly calling up the +firm by which the diamonds had been sent.</p> + +<p>Garside followed him into the room, only to hear the questions hurriedly +asked over the wire by his excited partner, who presently dropped the +telephone and leaped to his feet, crying loudly, so loudly that his +voice filled the entire store, and brought all hands hurrying in his +direction:</p> + +<p>"There's no doubt of it, Garside, none whatever. You have been +duped—swindled—robbed of four thousand dollars' worth of gems! Raymond +was an impostor—a crook—"</p> + +<p>"Venner—hush! You are losing your head," protested Garside, white with +dismay. "It's enough that we have lost the stones, so at least keep your +head. Waste not a moment. Notify the police. Telephone at once for men +from the central office."</p> + +<p>"Blast the police! The central office be hanged!" cried Venner, choking +down an oath of wrathful contempt. "I'll have none of your police—none +of your central office men! I want a detective—not an effigy of one!"</p> + +<p>"Rufus—"</p> + +<p>"Silence, Garside, and leave this affair to me," Venner harshly +interrupted. "You've had fingers enough in it already."</p> + +<p>With which rebuke Mr. Rufus Venner strode passionately out of the office +and into the store proper, shouting loudly to the clerk previously +mentioned:</p> + +<p>"Maynard—here you, Maynard! Call a cab at once and go for Nick Carter! +Lose not a moment! Don't wait to ask questions, you blockhead! Away with +you, at once! Bring Nick Carter here with the least possible delay!"</p> + +<p>Maynard had already seized his coat and hat, and was hurrying out of the +store.</p> + +<p>And thus began one of the most stirring and extraordinary criminal cases +that ever fell within the broad experience of the famous New York +detective mentioned.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II" />CHAPTER II.</h2> + +<h3>CONCERNING SEÑORA CERVERA.</h3> + + +<p>Joseph Maynard arrived at Nick Carter's residence just as the famous New +York detective was about preparing for lunch, and quickly stated his +mission, disclosing the superficial features of the crime.</p> + +<p>Nick Carter habitually looked below the surface of things, however, and +in trifles he invariably discovered more than the ordinary man. Before +Maynard had fairly outlined the case Nick keenly discerned that the +robbery could not have been committed by any common criminals, and he at +once decided not only that he would take the case, but also that it gave +promise of something far more startling than then appeared aboveboard.</p> + +<p>Yet even Nick's keen discernment utterly failed, at this early stage of +the affair, to anticipate its actual magnitude and tragic possibilities.</p> + +<p>Having consented to accompany Maynard to the scene of the crime, Nick +turned to Chick Carter, his reliable chief assistant, who also had been +an attentive listener to Maynard's disclosures.</p> + +<p>"You had better come with me, Chick," said he. "This affair has rather a +bad look, and in case quick work is imperative, I may need your +assistance."</p> + +<p>"Go with you it is, Nick," Chick heartily cried, hastening to put on his +coat and hat.</p> + +<p>"From the circumstances disclosed by Maynard, however," added Nick, "I +am inclined to think that these rats have very carefully covered their +tracks, and that a still hunt for their trail may prove to be our stunt. +Yet you had better go along with me."</p> + +<p>"I'm ready when you are, Nick."</p> + +<p>"Very good. Come on, Mr. Maynard. I see you have a carriage at the door. +We will not delay even for lunch, but will snatch a bite later."</p> + +<p>Together the three men left the house, and it was precisely one o'clock +when Nick was ushered into the private office of Venner & Co., where the +two members of the firm then were seated, apparently still engaged in +discussing the audacious robbery.</p> + +<p>Mr. Rufus Venner, it may be here stated, was a man of about forty years +of age, and was a very well-known man about town. Darkly handsome, with +an erect and imposing figure, an <i>habitué</i> of the best clubs, a man +still unmarried, yet of whom hints were frequently dropped that he was +very popular with the fair sex, whom he was known to lavishly entertain +at times—this was the senior member of the firm of Venner & Co., and +the man who, quickly arose to greet Nick Carter and Chick when the two +detectives entered.</p> + +<p>"Your clerk has already given me the main facts of the case, Mr. Venner, +so we will dispense with any rehearsal of them, and get right down to +business," Nick crisply observed, immediately after their greeting. +"There are a few questions I wish to ask you, and concise replies may +expedite matters."</p> + +<p>"I will respond as briefly as possible, Mr. Carter," Venner quickly +rejoined, as they took chairs around the office table. "I do not fancy +being robbed in this scurvy fashion, sir, and you may go to any +reasonable expense to discover and arrest the thieves. Now, Detective +Carter, your questions?"</p> + +<p>"To begin with," asked Nick, with a steadfast scrutiny of Venner's +darkly attractive face, "what is the value of the stolen diamonds?"</p> + +<p>"About four thousand dollars."</p> + +<p>"Ten in number, I was told."</p> + +<p>"Precisely."</p> + +<p>"Are they of uniform value?"</p> + +<p>"Nearly so. They are splendid gems, and perfectly matched, and are worth +about four hundred dollars each. I wanted them for a special purpose, +which—"</p> + +<p>"Which I will presently arrive at," Nick courteously interposed. "I +understand, Mr. Venner, that you called yesterday at the store of Thomas +Hafferman and made some inquiries about these stones?"</p> + +<p>"I did, and also examined them."</p> + +<p>"In what part of Hafferman's store were you at the time?"</p> + +<p>"In his private office."</p> + +<p>"Were any of the clerks present?"</p> + +<p>"Not any—Stay! One of the clerks brought in the diamonds to Mr. +Hafferman, but he did not remain. Only Mr. Hafferman himself remained +with me while we discussed the matter."</p> + +<p>"Do you know the clerk's name?"</p> + +<p>"Boyden, I think, he was called."</p> + +<p>"The same who brought the diamonds here this morning," put in Mr. +Garside. "His name is Harry Boyden."</p> + +<p>Nick made a note of it in a small book which he drew from his pocket.</p> + +<p>"Did you make any deal at that time regarding the diamonds?" he +inquired.</p> + +<p>"I only had them reserved for me a day or two, stating that I would +either call again or send an order for them, if I decided to purchase +them," replied Venner.</p> + +<p>"Are you quite sure that only Mr. Hafferman heard you make that +statement?"</p> + +<p>"Sure only in that the office door was closed, and that he alone was +with me. If there were any eavesdroppers about I did not suspect it."</p> + +<p>"Naturally not," smiled Nick. "Now, then, for what special purpose did +you want those particular diamonds? I think you referred to one."</p> + +<p>A slight tinge of red appeared in Venner's cheeks when he replied, a +change which by no means escaped Nick's observation.</p> + +<p>"I wanted the stones, or then thought I might, for a customer who +contemplated giving me an order for a valuable diamond cross, to be worn +upon the stage. We happen to have in stock no diamonds perfectly adapted +to her requirements, and so I called upon Hafferman to learn if he could +supply me."</p> + +<p>"Who is the customer, Mr. Venner?"</p> + +<p>"I do not see how her identity can be at all essential to the +investigation of this affair, yet I have no objection to disclosing it," +said Venner, frowning slightly.</p> + +<p>"Why demur over it, then?" demanded Nick, bluntly.</p> + +<p>"Only because of an aversion to bringing the lady into the case, of +which she, of course, knows nothing," retorted Venner. "I expected the +order from Señora Cervera, the Spanish dancer."</p> + +<p>"Ah! Is she not a member of the Mammoth Vaudeville Troupe, which has +been playing here to packed houses for several months?"</p> + +<p>"She is, yes."</p> + +<p>"I have heard that she makes a great display of diamonds."</p> + +<p>"That is true, Mr. Carter. She possesses a magnificent collection of +jewels, and wears them with an abandon against which I frequently have +cautioned her."</p> + +<p>"By way of explanation," put in Mr. Garside, with an odd smile, "Venner +might add that he enjoys quite friendly relations with the Spanish +señora."</p> + +<p>"I see no occasion, Garside, for comments upon my interest in Sanetta +Cervera," declared Venner, with a frown at his partner. "My relations +with her, Detective Carter, are only those of a friend and a gentleman. +She called here several weeks ago to have some diamonds reset, when I +met her personally, and was deeply impressed with her extraordinary +grace and beauty. I since have shown her some attention."</p> + +<p>"Quite natural, I am sure," observed Nick, smiling indifferently. "As +you remarked, however, none of that appears to be material. I +understand, Mr. Venner, that you were absent when Boyden brought the +diamonds here this morning."</p> + +<p>"I was," bowed Venner. "I received a note from Señora Cervera this +morning, asking me to call upon her at eleven o'clock at her rooms, and +to bring with me a diamond pendant which we have in stock, and which I +had the pleasure of showing her a few days ago."</p> + +<p>"Ah, I see."</p> + +<p>"She stated in her note that if I would call upon her at the hour +mentioned, she would decide whether to purchase the pendant, or have us +make the diamond cross for her."</p> + +<p>"You complied with her request, Mr. Venner, and went to call upon her?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly."</p> + +<p>"Where is she quartered?"</p> + +<p>"She rents a furnished house uptown."</p> + +<p>"Does she live alone?"</p> + +<p>"With her servants only."</p> + +<p>"How many?"</p> + +<p>"She keeps a butler, a male cook, and two housemaids. Also a girl to +look after her wardrobe and act as her dresser at the theater."</p> + +<p>"Evidently Señora Cervera is wealthy," said Nick.</p> + +<p>"Well, not exactly wealthy," rejoined Venner. "She is the popular craze +just now, and from her professional work she derives a very large income +which she scatters as if dollars were dead leaves. In a word, Detective +Carter, Señora Cervera is an arrant spendthrift."</p> + +<p>"So I have heard," nodded Nick.</p> + +<p>"You have?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes!" laughed the detective. "That appears to surprise you. It +will not, when I tell you that there are very few public characters in +New York of whose general habits I am not tolerably well informed. Of +course, Mr. Venner, you have no doubt of this Spanish dancer's honesty?" +Nick added, bluntly.</p> + +<p>Venner flushed deeply, and instantly shook his head.</p> + +<p>"Most assuredly not," he cried, with some feeling. "Señora Cervera +dishonest? Impossible!"</p> + +<p>"Improbable, Mr. Venner, no doubt; but not impossible."</p> + +<p>"It is, sir," declared Venner, positively. "I know her well. Such an +idea is absurd. Drop it at once, Detective Carter. Indeed, sir, if I +thought her name was to be dragged into this affair, or her reputation +to be in any way imperiled, I would quietly suffer the loss of these +diamonds, and cease this investigation at once."</p> + +<p>Nick laughed softly, and suppressed the response that, nearly rose to +his lips.</p> + +<p>"Don't do it, Mr. Venner," said he, complacently. "My observation was +not intended to cast any reflection upon Señora Cervera. I have no doubt +that she is perfectly honest."</p> + +<p>"I should hope not, sir."</p> + +<p>"By the way, have you the note she sent to you this morning?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. Here it is."</p> + +<p>"By mail, or a messenger?"</p> + +<p>"A messenger brought it."</p> + +<p>"Ah!" murmured Nick, briefly studying the written page. "Plainly a +foreign hand. Very firm and forceful. It indicates a strong and +determined character. I should say that Señora Cervera is a woman of +rare qualities."</p> + +<p>"That is perfectly correct, sir. She is a woman of rare qualities."</p> + +<p>"What did she decide to do about the diamonds, Mr. Venner?"</p> + +<p>"She gave me an order for the cross, Detective Carter, to be made and +delivered as soon as possible."</p> + +<p>"This was during your call upon her this morning?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly."</p> + +<p>"You had previously sent no order to Hafferman for the stones?"</p> + +<p>"Surely not."</p> + +<p>"Yet a written order was received by him, or he would not have delivered +the goods."</p> + +<p>"In which case, then, it was a forgery."</p> + +<p>"No doubt of it," Nick readily admitted. "Chick."</p> + +<p>"Yes, Nick."</p> + +<p>"Take a carriage and go at once and interview Hafferman. See what you +can learn from him. Get the written order received by him, and bring it +here. Have a look at young Boyden, and see what you make of him. Also +get the written signature of Mr. Hafferman, and that of each person +employed in his store. Understand?"</p> + +<p>"Sure thing!" nodded Chick, already seeing clearly the line Nick's +investigation was taking, though neither Venner nor his partner yet +perceived it. "I will return as quickly as possible."</p> + +<p>"You will find me here," nodded Nick. "Wait a moment!"</p> + +<p>"Well?"</p> + +<p>"Also get a description of the party who delivered the written order at +Hafferman's store. Inquire what he said at the time, and why he did not +attempt securing the diamonds then and there."</p> + +<p>"Probably he was not known there, and knew he could not get them," +observed Venner, by way of explanation.</p> + +<p>Nick made no reply to this, however, and Chick hurriedly departed.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III" />CHAPTER III.</h2> + +<h3>THE KILGORE DIAMOND GANG.</h3> + + +<p>"Now, gentlemen, only a few more questions, and I then shall be ready to +go at this case in a more energetic fashion," said Nick Carter, +immediately after Chick's departure. "Were any of your clerks absent +from the store, Mr. Venner, at the time of this robbery?"</p> + +<p>"As I was absent myself, I cannot say," replied Venner, rather dryly. +"How about it, Garside?—you were here."</p> + +<p>"Only one clerk, a young man named Spaulding, was out of the store."</p> + +<p>"Was he out on business?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, under my instructions," Venner quickly explained. "We have +numerous old accounts on our books, and just before I went uptown I sent +Spaulding out to try to make a few collections. I think he has returned +by this time."</p> + +<p>"It does not matter, since he was out under your instructions," said +Nick, closing his notebook. "Now, Mr. Venner, who among your employees +knew you thought of buying this lot of diamonds from Hafferman, or that +you had called at his store to examine them?"</p> + +<p>"Not a soul," was the prompt reply.</p> + +<p>"Are you sure of that?"</p> + +<p>"Absolutely. I had said nothing of the matter, even to my partner, there +being nothing definite about it before I saw Señora Cervera this +morning. I am sure that none of my clerks had any idea of my +intentions."</p> + +<p>Nick was not so sure of it, yet he did not say so. He arose and took +from Venner's desk a block of plain paper, which he laid upon the table.</p> + +<p>"Gentlemen," said he, "I want the signature of your firm, in the +handwriting of each of you. Kindly let me have this."</p> + +<p>"What's that for?" demanded Venner, abruptly.</p> + +<p>"I wish to make a comparison with the forged order which my assistant +will presently bring from Mr. Hafferman," Nick coolly explained. "I +would suggest that you do not delay me."</p> + +<p>Venner made no reply, but took a pen and signed the firm's name upon the +blank paper.</p> + +<p>"Now yours, Mr. Garside."</p> + +<p>"Mine also, Detective Carter?" queried Garside, with a look of surprise.</p> + +<p>"If you please."</p> + +<p>"Surely," cried Venner, with some resentment, "you do not suspect that +Mr. Garside or myself—"</p> + +<p>"Pardon me!" Nick bluntly interrupted. "I am not in the habit of +discussing my suspicions. That I should suspect either of you, however, +is utterly absurd."</p> + +<p>"I should say so!"</p> + +<p>"Therefore do not argue with me over an absurdity. If I am to continue +this investigation, gentlemen, I must do it in my own way. Either that, +or I shall drop the case at once. Your signature, Mr. Garside."</p> + +<p>Garside hastened to take the pen, and dashed off the firm's signature +below that of his partner. Nick tore the page from the block, then +handed the latter to Venner.</p> + +<p>"Now, Mr. Venner," said he, "have each of your employees, from first to +last, write his name with pen and ink upon this paper. Don't overlook +one of them, not one, from your bookkeeper down to your office boy. If +Spaulding is still out, get his signature later, and send it to me by +mail. I will wait here while you are thus engaged."</p> + +<p>Venner now vaguely perceived Nick's suspicions and design, and he could +not consistently offer any remonstrance. Yet he plainly resented the +idea that any of his clerks could have been guilty of co-operation with +the criminals who had committed the robbery that morning, and his dark +features wore a grim and sullen expression when he took the block of +paper and repaired to his main office.</p> + +<p>Nick Carter sat and waited, silently sizing up the case as he then saw +it.</p> + +<p>Just as Venner returned with the numerous signatures, Chick also put in +an appearance again, bringing with him the forged order which had been +left at Hafferman's store. Nick merely glanced at it, then thrust it +into his pocket.</p> + +<p>"Did you see Boyden?" he inquired of Chick.</p> + +<p>"Yes, and spoke with him," nodded Chick.</p> + +<p>"What about him?"</p> + +<p>"He looks all right."</p> + +<p>"Did you get the signatures of Hafferman and his clerks?"</p> + +<p>"They are on this paper."</p> + +<p>"Good enough. Let me have those of your employees, Mr. Venner. Are they +all here?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, all of them."</p> + +<p>"Very good," said Nick, putting the several papers into his pocket. +"Now, Chick, what of the man who visited Hafferman's store with the +forged order?"</p> + +<p>"He merely left the order and asked that the diamonds should be sent +here at once."</p> + +<p>"What sort of a man?"</p> + +<p>"Dark, about fifty, with a heavy mustache and wavy hair," said Chick, +glibly. "Quite a big fellow, Hafferman states."</p> + +<p>"H'm!" ejaculated Nick, with a significant nod. "Now, Mr. Garside, +describe the man to whom you delivered the diamonds."</p> + +<p>"Raymond?"</p> + +<p>"If that is the name he gave you."</p> + +<p>"He is a well-built, smoothly shaven fellow, of about thirty years, with +a sallow complexion, slightly pock-marked—"</p> + +<p>"Ah, I thought so!" Nick curtly interrupted. "That's quite sufficient, +Mr. Garside."</p> + +<p>"What do you mean, Carter?" quickly demanded Venner. "Do you already +recognize these criminals?"</p> + +<p>"I recognize their work."</p> + +<p>"And the men?"</p> + +<p>"I've them in mind from the outset."</p> + +<p>"Impossible!"</p> + +<p>"Not so, Mr. Venner," Nick now declared, with emphasis. "Without a +shadow of doubt, sir, you have been victimized by the notorious Kilgore +diamond gang, a trio of the shrewdest and most daring scoundrels that +ever stood in leather."</p> + +<p>"You amaze me."</p> + +<p>"Do I?" inquired Nick, smiling softly. "Well, sir, if I were to tell you +the history of these rascals, you would be more than amazed—you would +be astounded. No crime is too desperate, no knavery too hazardous, no +villainy too despicable, for them to attempt, and too often successfully +execute. They have perpetrated their crimes over two continents, and are +known to the police the world over."</p> + +<p>"That is not very complimentary to the police," said Venner, dryly. "I +marvel that such distinguished scoundrels are still at large."</p> + +<p>"A fact which stamps them no ordinary criminals," replied Nick, +pointedly. "Nor are they, sir."</p> + +<p>"What do you know of them, Detective Carter?"</p> + +<p>"David Kilgore, the chief of the gang, is one of the shrewdest and most +daring of knaves, a man of splendid education, polished manners and +broad experience. He possesses nerves of steel, the cunning of a fox, +and would not shrink even from murder, if his designs required it. Yet +he invariably covers his tracks so cleverly, or so quickly vanishes when +hard pressed, that thus far he has successfully eluded the police. +That's David Kilgore, sir."</p> + +<p>"And what of his associates?" inquired Venner. "I think you spoke of a +trio."</p> + +<p>"His confederates are scamps of the same sort, and nearly his equal in +craft and daring," replied Nick. "Perry Dalton is one—the smooth, +pock-marked rascal whom you, Mr. Garside, had the pleasure of meeting +this morning. He is nicknamed Spotty Dalton, because of his slight +disfigurement."</p> + +<p>"And the other?"</p> + +<p>"Is a man named Matthew Stall, more commonly called Matt Stall. He is a +Western man, a graduate of a California university, and is an expert +electrician. Oh, I know all about them," laughed Nick, "although this is +the first time I have been up against them personally. I am rather glad +to discover that they are here in New York."</p> + +<p>"Why so, Detective Carter?" Venner carelessly inquired, with a subtle +gleam in the depths of his dark eyes.</p> + +<p>"Because I have long wanted to match my talents against those of Dave +Kilgore and his rascally push," declared Nick, with grim austerity. "The +last I knew of them they were in Amsterdam, Holland, where some of the +finest work in diamond cutting is done, as you doubtless know."</p> + +<p>"Indeed, yes."</p> + +<p>"They probably had to jump that country for obvious reasons, and very +likely the European continent," added Nick. "They have long avoided New +York, and the fact that they are now here is significant of—well, well, +we shall see! That's all, gentlemen!"</p> + +<p>"But what do you intend doing about this case?" demanded Venner, as Nick +abruptly rose to go.</p> + +<p>"All that can be done, sir," the famous detective bluntly rejoined. "I +accept the case, Mr. Venner, and will do my best with it. When I have +anything to report, you shall hear from me."</p> + +<p>"But—"</p> + +<p>"There really is nothing more to be said, gentlemen, and the sooner I +get to work the better," Nick gravely interposed.</p> + +<p>"But will you advise me of any steps that you may take?" persisted +Venner, briefly detaining him by the arm.</p> + +<p>"Very probably," nodded Nick, though really he probably would do nothing +of the kind. "And now good-day, gentlemen. If reporters call upon you, +you may give them all of the facts, and state that Nick Carter is at +work on the case. I want this Kilgore diamond gang to know at the outset +that I am after them—and fully resolved to land them where they +belong."</p> + +<p>"Behind prison bars, eh?" inquired Venner, with an odd smile.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir! Behind prison bars!" declared Nick, forcibly. "Again, +gentlemen, good-day. You will hear from me later."</p> + +<p>Mr. Rufus Venner, with his partner at his elbow, stood in the office +door and silently watched the two celebrated detectives as they strode +quickly through the elegant store, from which they presently vanished +into Fifth Avenue.</p> + +<p>There was a smile of subtle cunning, combined with cruel and malicious +determination, on Venner's dark face and he muttered under his breath, +as the store door closed upon Nick's imposing figure:</p> + +<p>"Hear from you later, eh? Very good. Very good, indeed, Mr. Detective +Carter! Hear from you again—that is precisely what I want! Early and +often, Detective Carter; early and often, if you please! It is precisely +for what the little robbery of this April morning was invented!"</p> + +<p>"But was it necessary—was it really necessary, Rufus?" whispered +Garside, who alone had overheard, and whose paler face and tremulous +figure betrayed fears which his swarthy senior partner would have +scorned to feel. "This Carter is a most artful and discerning man. I am +so afraid you have barked up the wrong tree. Was it necessary, really +necessary, Rufus?"</p> + +<p>Venner turned upon him with a half-smothered snarl of contempt.</p> + +<p>"Bah! You'd be afraid of your own shadow, Garside, if left alone with +it," he sneered, between his white, even teeth. "Necessary—of course it +was necessary! Otherwise, I should not have adopted the ruse. We are +about to attempt a big game—an infernally big game! When it matures, +when it is finally launched, the very first concern that finds itself +bitten will rush to Nick Carter for aid."</p> + +<p>"There is no doubt of that, Rufus."</p> + +<p>"Surely no doubt of it! He is the greatest detective in the country—and +the greatest will be none too clever, nor too expensive, for those who +find themselves duped by our unparalleled design."</p> + +<p>"I should say so."</p> + +<p>"What will be the result, Philip?—what will be the result?" added +Venner, with a curious mingling of exultation and asperity. "If our +victims appeal to Nick Carter for help—are we not also already in his +good graces? Have we not insured his confidence in us by this little +move of to-day? Will he not reveal himself and his suspicions to us, +just as I have designed, and keep us posted about his every move, and so +forewarned and forearmed? Of course he will—to be sure he will!"</p> + +<p>"But he is such a crafty and daring—"</p> + +<p>"Bah! Is he more crafty than Dave Kilgore?" demanded Venner, +significantly. "Is he more daring than Spotty Dalton, or more determined +than anyone of the Kilgore gang? Not by a long chalk, Philip, and I know +of them of whom I speak. Ay, as much and more of them than does +Detective Nick Carter."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you are right, Rufus," murmured Garside, nodding. "We certainly +are about launching a tremendous, an utterly unparalleled, swindle. The +like of it was never, never known. There should be millions in it. Yes, +yes, Rufus, you are right. It was wise to preface our gigantic +operations by getting well in touch with Nick Carter."</p> + +<p>"To be sure, it was wise, Philip, or I should not have taken the trouble +to do so," said Venner, with much less acrimony. "So be a man always, +Philip, and never a flunky. You have played your part admirably this +morning. Let it be played as well, Philip, even to the finish—even to +the last ditch!"</p> + +<p>Philip Garside's color had returned, and he smiled confidently and +nodded in approval.</p> + +<p>Plainly enough, this hushed yet emphatic intercourse between these two +indicated one fact—that Detective Nick Carter was up against a far +deeper game than he then imagined.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV" />CHAPTER IV.</h2> + +<h3>GETTING DOWN TO WORK.</h3> + + +<p>"Well, Nick, old man, what have you made of it?"</p> + +<p>The question came from Chick Carter, in his familiar and cheerful +fashion, several hours after the interview held by the two detectives +with Rufus Venner and his partner in their Fifth Avenue store.</p> + +<p>It was now about six o'clock in the evening, and Chick had just returned +from having a confidential talk with one of the stage hands of the +theater in which the then famous attraction, the mammoth European and +American vaudeville troupe, of which Señora Cervera was a star +attraction, had for several months been playing to crowded houses.</p> + +<p>Chick found Nick seated at the table in his library, with a powerful +magnifying glass in his hand, while the table was strewn with the papers +he that morning had brought from the office of Venner & Co.</p> + +<p>Nick looked up with a laugh, and knocked the ashes from his cigar.</p> + +<p>"Well, there's no doubt about it, Chick," he replied. "We are finally up +against them."</p> + +<p>"The Kilgore diamond gang?"</p> + +<p>"Precisely."</p> + +<p>"I'm glad of it, Nick, as you remarked this morning."</p> + +<p>"Well, I've not changed my mind since then. So am I."</p> + +<p>"We shall now find out whether they are as crafty and desperate as they +have been painted."</p> + +<p>"I guess there is no doubt about it, Chick."</p> + +<p>"Well, if we fail to throw them down, Nick, my money shall go on Kilgore +from that moment," declared Chick, with a grin. "What have you dug out +of that mess of papers, Nick? Have you arrived at any conclusions?"</p> + +<p>"Rather!" smiled Nick, significantly. "Did you ever know me to study for +five hours over anything of this kind without arriving at some +conclusion?"</p> + +<p>"Never!" laughed Chick. "And the best of it is, Nick, your conclusions +nearly always prove to be correct. What's the verdict, old man?"</p> + +<p>Nick glanced at the French clock on the mantel.</p> + +<p>"Sit down and light up," he replied. "We have half an hour before +getting down to work against this push. I will devote it to informing +you of the case as it now appears."</p> + +<p>"Good enough!" exclaimed Chick, drawing up a chair and lighting a cigar. +"Let her go, Nick. I am all ears, as the donkey said to the deacon."</p> + +<p>"To begin with," began Nick, more gravely, "this order sent to +Hafferman, for the diamonds which he delivered at Venner's store, is +merely a forgery. Neither Venner nor Garside wrote it, that's as plain +as the nose on an elephant's face."</p> + +<p>"Which is plain enough, surely," nodded Chick.</p> + +<p>"Furthermore," continued Nick, "the forgery was not the work of any +clerk employed in either store. I have compared the writing of each and +every clerk with that of the forged order, and I will stake my +reputation upon my conclusion. The forgery was committed by some outside +party."</p> + +<p>Nick was an expert chirographist. To have deceived him with a disguised +handwriting would have been utterly impossible, and none knew it better +than Chick, who now nodded approvingly.</p> + +<p>"Some outside party, eh?"</p> + +<p>"There is no doubt of it, Chick. And this conclusion at once suggests +two very natural questions," Nick went on. "First, was one of the +Kilgore gang in Hafferman's store when Venner went there yesterday, and +did he overhear enough of what passed between them to enable him to plan +the job done this morning?"</p> + +<p>"Possibly."</p> + +<p>"In opposition to that theory, however, is the fact that the forged +order is written on one of Venner's printed letter sheets."</p> + +<p>"By a little adroit work, Nick, one of the gang could have obtained a +sheet of Venner's office paper."</p> + +<p>"That is very true," admitted Nick. "But since this is a theory founded +only upon conjecture, with no positive evidence to back it up, the +stronger probability is rather to the contrary."</p> + +<p>"Right, Nick, as far as that goes."</p> + +<p>"I think so."</p> + +<p>"And what is the second theory suggested?"</p> + +<p>"That some clerk in one of the stores got wind of Venner's contemplated +purchase, and revealed the fact to one of the Kilgore gang, by whom I +am confident—bear in mind—that the crime was committed."</p> + +<p>"That theory seems plausible," nodded Chick. "There is young Boyden, you +know, at Hafferman's. He may have got wise to Venner's intentions. +Garside remarked that he appeared quite anxious to leave the diamonds +until Venner should return. That would have been very natural on his +part, in case he was then co-operating with the party who finally +secured them."</p> + +<p>"The same objection again arises, however," argued Nick. "Boyden is not +employed at Venner's, and therefore has not access to his letter paper. +Furthermore, Venner's visit was made only yesterday afternoon, less than +twenty-four hours before the robbery occurred. It seems hardly probable +that Boyden was already in league with the Kilgore gang; and, if he was +not, it is even less probable that he so quickly got in touch with +them."</p> + +<p>"By Jove! that's so," cried Chick. "As a matter of fact, then, neither +of these theories has a reliable leg to stand upon."</p> + +<p>"That's exactly my conclusion," laughed Nick.</p> + +<p>"And what then?"</p> + +<p>"Concerning that side of the affair," replied Nick, "several +irresistible convictions are therefore forced upon me. One of the +Kilgore gang certainly knew of Venner's visit, and of the request he +made Hafferman regarding the diamonds. Otherwise he could not have +planned the job so neatly. Somebody must have informed him. Somebody +must have provided him with one of Venner's letter sheets. If we +eliminate the clerks, and the members of both firms, we are left very +much in the dark."</p> + +<p>"I should say so," rejoined Chick. "The affair becomes a dense mystery."</p> + +<p>"It becomes a mystery that I don't quite fancy," declared Nick, with a +significant nod. "In fact, Chick, I'm not at all favorably impressed +with this robbery. To me it has a mighty fishy look."</p> + +<p>"Why so, Nick?"</p> + +<p>"It is not like this Kilgore gang, mark you, to have been dickering with +a dirty little job of this kind, netting them only a few thousands at +the best; yet a job in which they incurred as much danger of detection, +Chick, as in one infinitely greater."</p> + +<p>"By Jove! that's so. There's no getting away from that argument, Nick."</p> + +<p>"Instead of trying to get away from it, Chick, I'm going to stay with +it," continued Nick, with emphasis. "I am beginning to suspect that this +paltry little robbery may in some way make a far deeper and darker game. +At all events, Chick, we'll not wind ourselves in a search for those +diamonds, at least not before we have sifted these side issues a little +finer."</p> + +<p>"Good enough!" cried Chick, heartily. "I agree with you on every point. +Only your long head, Nick, old man, could have deduced such shrewd +conclusions; and I believe, by Jove! that you have hit the nail on the +head."</p> + +<p>"If I have," rejoined Nick, grimly, "we'll drive the nail home a little +later, and home to stay."</p> + +<p>"That we will."</p> + +<p>"There remains one other feature of the case," added Nick, "and, +starting from that, we will begin work upon the affair this very night."</p> + +<p>"You refer to that Spanish dancer, Cervera?"</p> + +<p>"Precisely."</p> + +<p>"And the fact that she requested Venner to call at her house this +morning?"</p> + +<p>"Exactly," nodded Nick. "She fixed the hour, mind you, probably knowing +that Venner would comply with her request. Hence there exists a +possibility that she designed to get him away from his store at just +that time, in order that the robbery could be successfully executed."</p> + +<p>"In which case, Nick, we necessarily must figure her in with the Kilgore +gang, despite Venner's declaration of her honesty."</p> + +<p>"Certainly we must, Chick, in case her note to Venner was written for +the purpose mentioned," nodded Nick. "Of that, however, we have no +positive evidence. It may have been purely accidental that her note was +sent to-day, and mentioned the very hour when the theft was committed. +Obviously, in that case, the thief outside was waiting for some +opportunity when Venner should be away from his store. Cervera would +then be out of the affair, as far as any criminal intent is concerned."</p> + +<p>"Very probably."</p> + +<p>"So there you are!" exclaimed Nick, with another glance at the clock. +"Our half hour is up. You now have my measure of the case, and next we +will get down to business. We will drop this fishy-looking robbery for +the present, Chick, and first of all make a move to learn something +about Señora Cervera, and her relations with Rufus Venner."</p> + +<p>"A good scheme, Nick, and I'm with you."</p> + +<p>"Have you been at the theater?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, and fixed things with Busby."</p> + +<p>"You can get in upon the stage to-night?"</p> + +<p>"Sure thing, as I told you," laughed Chick. "Busby is the boss scene +shifter there, and he consented to work me in as a stage hand."</p> + +<p>"Ah! very good."</p> + +<p>"I have got to make up for the part, however, and must soon be about it. +I am due there at half-past seven."</p> + +<p>"Get at it, then," said Nick, rising. "See what you can learn about +Cervera, and what you make of her from observation. In case Venner is +about there, keep your ears alert, so that you can overhear."</p> + +<p>"You trust me for that, Nick," cried Chick, laughing.</p> + +<p>"Meantime, Chick, I'll have a look at the show from the front," added +Nick. "And after Cervera does her turn, in case Venner is there, and she +departs with him, you then may leave the couple to me. I'll be waiting +for them at the stage door."</p> + +<p>"Right you are, Nick. So here goes!"</p> + +<p>Shrewd deductions, indeed, those of Nick Carter.</p> + +<p>Plainly enough, Garside was quite justified in his apprehension that +Rufus Venner had barked up the wrong tree.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V" />CHAPTER V.</h2> + +<h3>BEHIND THE SCENES.</h3> + + +<p>Nick Carter had a double object in the work laid out for that night. If +Señora Cervera was indeed in league with the Kilgore gang, and in any +way responsible for the diamond robbery, Nick was resolved to secure +positive evidence of it.</p> + +<p>While her letter to Venner appeared to implicate her, since it had taken +him from his store just at the time of the robbery, it seemed hardly +probable that this brilliant Spanish girl, whose extraordinary grace and +whirlwind dances had made her the talk of the town, could be identified +with a gang of criminals notorious the world over. Yet the bare +possibility existed, and Nick never ignored even the shadow of a clew.</p> + +<p>He further reasoned that, in case Cervera was in league with the +suspected gang, one or more of them might visit the theater in which she +was performing, and Nick decided to have a look at the audience that +evening. He was sure he could identify Kilgore or any of his gang, even +if disguised, as would be very probable.</p> + +<p>Nick's second object was that of learning the exact relations between +Señora Cervera and Rufus Venner, and a part of that work he confided to +Chick. With himself in the front of the house, and Chick on the stage, +Nick believed that nothing worth seeing would escape them.</p> + +<p>His own search early in the evening, however, proved futile. It was the +last week but one of the mammoth vaudeville attraction, and the theater +was densely crowded. Though Nick watched the lobbies and the smoking +room, and also made a systematic study of the auditorium, he could +discover no sign of the parties he was seeking.</p> + +<p>About nine o'clock he returned to his chair in the orchestra, and +settled himself to have a look at Cervera, whose act was one of the last +on the program.</p> + +<p>Just at that time Chick Carter, in the overalls and blouse of a scene +shifter, made his first pertinent discovery—that Rufus Venner, clad in +immaculate evening dress, and carrying an Inverness topcoat on his arm, +had arrived upon the stage.</p> + +<p>"He seems to be at home behind the scenes," soliloquized Chick, +furtively watching him. "Evidently he has some kind of a pull with the +manager, or he could not get admission to the stage. Probably through +his friend, the Spanish señora."</p> + +<p>Venner was then in one of the left wings, apparently indulging in small +talk with a handsome girl of about twenty, who had just finished her +turn upon the stage. She was rather simply clad, but was strikingly +pretty and modest appearing; and upon consulting a program with which he +had provided himself, Chick learned that her stage name was Violet +Marduke; and that she was cast as a singer of ballads.</p> + +<p>"Evidently employed to fill in," thought Chick, who had not been much +impressed with her songs, though he decided that the girl herself was a +beauty. "And by his admiring glances, Venner also thinks pretty well of +her," Chick mentally added.</p> + +<p>"Room here, mister," growled a voice at his elbow. "Make room for the +reptiles."</p> + +<p>Chick turned quickly about, and then involuntarily recoiled from the +startling object that met his gaze.</p> + +<p>In front of a scene then set in the second grooves of the Stage, the +continuous performance was still in progress. Meantime, several of the +stage hands were wheeling to the center of the stage, back of the scene, +the properties of the next performer on the program—and grewsome +properties they were.</p> + +<p>The object beheld by Chick was a huge, cagelike den, mounted on low +wheels, and having a broad front of plate glass. Inside of this den were +several wicker baskets, some of which were open, while others were +covered and locked.</p> + +<p>In the open baskets, or writhing freely about the floor of the den, were +fully fifty serpents of various sizes, many being only a foot or two +long, while several were as many yards in length.</p> + +<p>A more repulsive and blood-curdling sight Chick had never experienced, +and the stage hand who had asked him to move laughed at his look of +mingled horror and repugnance.</p> + +<p>"Ever seen any like 'em after a jamboree?" he inquired, good-naturedly.</p> + +<p>"Well, hardly," said Chick, subduing his aversion. "If I were to go on a +drunk and see anything like them, I'd sign the pledge the next morning."</p> + +<p>"A good scheme, too."</p> + +<p>"I should say so."</p> + +<p>"Some o' the crawling divils are as bad as they look," added the stage +hand, while he helped to place the snake den squarely on the stage.</p> + +<p>"What do you mean?" inquired Chick, still gingerly surveying them.</p> + +<p>"Pizen!"</p> + +<p>"Venomous?"</p> + +<p>"You bet! Durn 'em, I wouldn't touch one of them for the wealth of +Rockefeller."</p> + +<p>"Do you mean that some of them still have their fangs and poison bags?"</p> + +<p>"Sure! D'ye see that little copper-colored cuss down there in the +corner, not more'n a foot long? If he got a crack at you, you'd not live +ten seconds."</p> + +<p>"Well, I will take deuced good care that he gets no nip at me," declared +Chick, with a grin. "Why do they have such dangerous things around?"</p> + +<p>"H'm! What would be the excitement, or the credit of snake charming, if +the wriggling beasts were made harmless by pulling out their fangs?" +demanded the stage hand. "It would be like a dog fight, with the dogs +muzzled. These belong to that heathen Hindoo, the snake charmer. He +shows next."</p> + +<p>"Pandu Singe?" inquired Chick, glancing at the name on the program.</p> + +<p>"Sure. He handles 'em like so many babies. There he is now, just coming +from his dressing room. He looks a bit like a snake himself."</p> + +<p>Chick turned and gazed curiously at the approaching foreigner.</p> + +<p>Pandu Singe was a tall, swarthy man, with straight, black hair, an +Indian cast of features, and a pair of intensely black and piercing +eyes. Their glitter was indeed like that in the eyes of a snake, yet the +Hindoo, approaching without a word to anybody, or a glance to either +side, was not without a certain sort of savage dignity.</p> + +<p>He wore a red turban around his head, while a loose, black robe, belted +around his waist, reached nearly to his ankles. With a gesture he signed +the several men away from his hideous den of reptiles, and Chick retired +up the stage.</p> + +<p>The detective had barely made his change, when he heard the low voice of +Busby near by, the friend who had smuggled him upon the stage that +evening.</p> + +<p>"Hist! There she is, Chick!"</p> + +<p>"Cervera?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. Down yonder, just to the right of the electric switchboard. Slip +in back of this wood wing, and you can have a good look at her."</p> + +<p>"All right, Busby, old man," whispered Chick. "Don't you pay too much +attention to me, or it may be noticed. I'll see all there is to be seen, +old boy."</p> + +<p>Busby winked understandingly, and Chick stepped back of the scenery +mentioned, through a portion of which he could easily watch Cervera +unobserved.</p> + +<p>That she was a daughter of sunny Spain no man would have doubted. Her +wavy hair was as dark as night, and her eyes were as radiant as the +night stars. Her rich, olive complexion was much rouged, adding to the +brilliancy of her splendid beauty.</p> + +<p>She appeared to be about twenty-five, and was clad in her stage costume, +which combined all the bright hues of the rainbow, and was enlivened by +a myriad of dazzling jewels and diamonds.</p> + +<p>The costume served to display to advantage her matchless figure, +however, and Chick was fain to admit that he had never seen a much more +striking beauty.</p> + +<p>"She's a bird, all right, and no mistake," he said to himself, while +intently regarding her handsome face and jewel-bedecked figure. "Yet she +has a bad eye, despite her beauty, and a cruel mouth. She certainly +would put up a wicked fight, if once aroused. Yes, a deucedly bad eye! +What in thunder is she staring at, to look like that!"</p> + +<p>From her position near one of the lower wings, Sanetta Cervera was +gazing steadfastly across the stage at something which Chick could not +see.</p> + +<p>The dark eyes of the Spanish dancer had taken on a threatening glare. +Her curved brows had drooped and knit, until they formed a straight line +below her forehead, and her red lips were drawn and firmly compressed.</p> + +<p>Before Chick could discover any occasion for this mute display of +feeling, the performance in front of the set scene concluded, and the +act of the snake charmer was due to begin.</p> + +<p>Then came a rapid change of scenery, during which Chick was again +obliged to change his position, and for a time he lost sight of Cervera +in the stir and confusion of the busy stage.</p> + +<p>He did not succeed in locating her again until she began her +performance, when a full stage was given her for the marvelously +graceful and impassioned dances of which her act consisted, and which +had fairly turned half the heads in the city.</p> + +<p>In the white glare of the limelight, she certainly presented a wild and +dazzling picture. Her beauty was indescribably accentuated. She appeared +like a being ablaze with diamonds. Her every attitude was one of +seductive grace, her every movement as swift and light as those of a +startled leopard.</p> + +<p>At its conclusion her act evoked thunders of applause, and then Chick +saw her hastening toward her dressing room, flushed with excitement and +panting for breath.</p> + +<p>Suddenly she halted and her smile vanished.</p> + +<p>Then Chick saw her turn abruptly toward one of the wing scenes, where +she met Venner face to face.</p> + +<p>The wealthy Fifth Avenue jeweler laughed and extended his hand to greet +her, but she frowned and hesitated before accepting it; and Chick made a +quick move and stole back of the scenery, near which the two briefly +remained standing.</p> + +<p>He arrived in time to overhear only a few words, however, of which he +could make nothing bearing upon the diamond robbery, or relating to the +Kilgore gang.</p> + +<p>"Pshaw! You are entirely wrong, Sanetta," Venner was expostulating, with +voice lowered. "Your eyes have deceived you."</p> + +<p>The woman replied through her teeth, with a hiss like that of a snake.</p> + +<p>"My eyes deceived me? Never! You lie! I know what I see!" she fiercely +answered, with but a slight foreign accent.</p> + +<p>"You are wrong, Cervera," protested Venner. "I—"</p> + +<p>"I am not! I see—and I know!"</p> + +<p>"But—"</p> + +<p>"<i>Caramba!</i> I say you shall go with me!"</p> + +<p>"Why, certainly, if you wish it. Am I not here for that?"</p> + +<p>"You know that I wish it—and you shall go."</p> + +<p>"Whenever you are ready, Sanetta," replied Venner. "Yet your infernal—"</p> + +<p>"Silence! You shall wait here till I have changed my suit. Then we will +go—we will go together. You shall wait here."</p> + +<p>"Go and make the change, then," said Venner, bluntly. "I will be here +when you return."</p> + +<p>"H'm!" thought Chick, as he heard Cervera move quickly away. "Evidently +there is something amiss between them, but what the dickens is it?"</p> + +<p>Still watching, he soon saw Cervera return in her street attire, when +Venner quickly gave her his arm, and they departed by the stairs leading +to the stage door.</p> + +<p>Chick immediately recalled Nick's instructions—that the couple should +now be left to him.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI" />CHAPTER VI.</h2> + +<h3>A SHOT IN THE DARK.</h3> + + +<p>It was nearly eleven o'clock when Rufus Venner and Cervera, the latter +enveloped in a voluminous black cloak, emerged from the stage door of +the theater.</p> + +<p>As they made their way through the paved area leading out to the side +street, where a carriage was awaiting them, a sturdy, roughly clad +fellow in a red wig and croppy beard suddenly slouched out of a gloomy +corner near the stage stairway and followed them, with movements as +stealthy and silent as those of a cat.</p> + +<p>As the carriage containing Venner and the dancer rapidly whirled away, +this rough fellow darted swiftly across the street, and approached a +waiting cab, the door of which stood open.</p> + +<p>"After them, Patsy!" he softly cried, as he sprang in and closed the +door.</p> + +<p>The driver of the cab was one of Nick Carter's youthful yet exceedingly +clever assistants, and the rough fellow was Nick himself.</p> + +<p>He had left the theater the moment Cervera concluded her performance, +and since had completed a perfect disguise in the cab, which he had had +in waiting, with all the properties for effecting the change mentioned.</p> + +<p>That Patsy would constantly keep their quarry in view, and without being +suspected, Nick had not a doubt. Nor was he mistaken. At the end of +twenty minutes the clever young driver slowed down upon approaching an +uptown corner, and signaled Nick to get out.</p> + +<p>The detective alighted from the door on the side from which he had +received the signal, yet the cab did not stop. Nick trotted along beside +the vehicle for a rod or two, keeping it between him and the side street +into which Patsy quickly signed that the hack had turned.</p> + +<p>"Fourth house on the right," he softly cried. "I saw them pull up at it +just as I reached the corner, so I kept right on up the avenue. They've +not gone in yet."</p> + +<p>"Good enough," replied Nick, approvingly. "Take home the traps I have +left in the cab."</p> + +<p>"Sure thing. You don't want any help to-night against this push, do +you?"</p> + +<p>"No, indeed. There'll be but little doing to-night, I imagine. Remember +the house, however, in case I fail to show up."</p> + +<p>"You may gamble on that, sir. I have it down pat."</p> + +<p>They had now passed the upper corner of the side street, and Nick felt +sure that he had not been seen leaving the cab. He darted quickly back +of the vehicle and gained the sidewalk, then stole back and peered +around the corner.</p> + +<p>Cervera and her companion were just mounting the steps of an imposing +stone residence, entirely separate from its neighbors, and their +carriage was driving rapidly away.</p> + +<p>Nick waited until the couple had entered the house, then he crossed to +the gloom of a doorway on the opposite side and had a look at the +dwelling.</p> + +<p>From basement to roof there was no sign of a light. Even the hall +appeared to be in darkness, and Nick waited and watched for several +minutes, expecting to see at least one of the rooms lighted.</p> + +<p>Not a glimmer or gleam, however, appeared from any quarter.</p> + +<p>"H'm!" he presently muttered, a little perplexed. "Either they are +remaining in darkness, or else they have all of those windows heavily +curtained. If the latter is the case, I must discover for what reason.</p> + +<p>"Possibly they are entirely alone in there, and have gone to some room +at the rear of the house. Or maybe they have suspected an espionage, and +are now watching from the gloom of one of those front windows. I'll fool +them if that is so, and will also have a look at the rear of the house. +There is something out of the ordinary here, that's certain."</p> + +<p>Keeping well in the gloom of the block of dwellings near by, Nick +retraced his steps to the corner, then crossed the street and presently +approached a paved driveway leading to a small stable at the rear of the +suspected house.</p> + +<p>The high gate, composed of sharp iron pickets, was securely closed and +locked; so Nick returned to an alley which he had just passed, and which +ran back of a block of dwellings fronting on the avenue where he had +left the cab.</p> + +<p>Stealing into the alley, Nick quickly scaled the high, wooden fence, +crossed two adjoining back yards, and thus reached a wall near the +stable mentioned.</p> + +<p>To mount the wall and drop back of the stable was equally feasible, and +Nick then had the rear of Cervera's dwelling plainly in view.</p> + +<p>Then his searching gaze was rewarded. One of the rear rooms was brightly +lighted, with only the lace draperies at the two windows preventing +observation from outside.</p> + +<p>"Evidently a rear sitting room, or library," thought Nick, calculating +the arrangement of the house. "I will at least learn who is in there."</p> + +<p>He listened briefly for any sound in or about the stable, then stole +quickly across the gloomy, paved yard and approached the house.</p> + +<p>The windows of the lighted room were two feet or more above his head; +but having reached a position just below one of them, he sprang up and +seized the stone coping outside, and drew himself up to peer into the +room.</p> + +<p>Then, just as his head rose into the glow of light from within, clearly +revealing his location, Nick heard a sound the deadly nature of which he +instantly recognized.</p> + +<p>Ping!</p> + +<p>It was the short, sharp, peculiar song of a flying bullet—once heard, +always remembered.</p> + +<p>Then came the dull thud when the leaden ball beat itself shapeless +against the stone wall beside him.</p> + +<p>The bullet had passed within an inch of Nick's ribs, and he knew at once +that he was now a mark for hidden foes.</p> + +<p>Yet there had been no revolver report to suggest their location, and +Nick instantly surmised that the ball must have been discharged with an +air gun.</p> + +<p>He knew that it must have come from some quarter behind him, however. +And he knew, too, how to bring his murderous assailants from their +secret cover.</p> + +<p>As quick as a flash, the instant the ball smote the wall beside him, +Nick let go his hold upon the stone coping and dropped into the darkness +below the window, falling prostrate upon his back.</p> + +<p>As he lay there his hand touched something hot, and he drew it nearer to +examine it.</p> + +<p>It was the battered chunk of lead which had come within an inch of +ending his life.</p> + +<p>"They meant business, for sure," he said to himself, while waiting for +his quick-witted ruse to operate. "I'm blessed if this affair is not +taking on a new and lively interest. I reckon there'll be more doing +to-night than I gave Patsy to believe.</p> + +<p>"Ha, ha! The scoundrels are already breaking cover!"</p> + +<p>His alert ears had detected a sound from the direction of the stable, +and now he silently drew his revolver and held it gripped by his side.</p> + +<p>Presently the stable door was cautiously opened. Then a momentary beam +of light, evidently from a bull's-eye lantern, shot across the paved +area, and lingered for an instant upon Nick's prostrate figure.</p> + +<p>Nick remained as motionless as a corpse.</p> + +<p>Then two men, both large and powerful fellows, and both heavily bearded, +came quickly from the stable and hastened toward him.</p> + +<p>"Done for with a single shot," remarked one, as they approached.</p> + +<p>"Looks like it, Dave," was the reply. "When I piped his head in the +light from the window, I felt sure I could drop him."</p> + +<p>"Well done. 'Twas a good shot. Shove your hand inside his vest, and see +if his heart is beating. Then we shall know for sure whether he's down +and out. If not, we must—"</p> + +<p>"Throw up your hands, instead, both of you!" Nick sternly interrupted, +half rising with weapon leveled. "At the first move by either, I will +shoot to kill!"</p> + +<p>Nick had foreseen that his foxy strategy must be very quickly detected, +and he had resolved to take the bull by the horns, and attempt to arrest +both of his cowardly assailants.</p> + +<p>That he was up against uncommon men, however, men of extraordinary nerve +and reckless daring, appeared in what instantly followed, even under the +very muzzle of the detective's revolver.</p> + +<p>As quick as a flash, before Nick's threatening command was fairly out of +his mouth, the man called Dave made a kick at the detective's uplifted +arm, so swift and accurate and forceful that Nick felt the bones of his +wrist fairly crack under the blow, and the fingers of his hand gripping +the weapon turned numb and tingling as if from an electric shock.</p> + +<p>"At him!" snarled the ruffian, even while he kicked. "At him, I say! +Quick—the pear!"</p> + +<p>It was plain that these men were not doing such desperate work together +for the first time. Both fell upon Nick like wolves upon a stricken elk, +yet they found the detective waiting for them.</p> + +<p>Nick hurled one aside, unable to use his revolver, and grappled with the +second, both falling heavily to the pavement.</p> + +<p>Then number one was at him again, and got him by the throat, with a grip +from which Nick thrice wrenched himself free, at the same time fiercely +banging the head of the other upon the stones upon which the terrific +combat was being waged.</p> + +<p>An oath of vicious rage broke from the latter, and then he fiercely +cried again:</p> + +<p>"The pear! D—— you, be quick! The pear!—the pear!"</p> + +<p>As if in response to this, Nick, who was panting under his violent +efforts to overcome both powerful men, suddenly felt something thrust +forcibly into his mouth.</p> + +<p>Still manfully battling with his opponents, Nick tried to eject the +object, opening his jaws wider in the effort.</p> + +<p>The object, which was shaped like a solid pear, instantly expanded, and +Nick could not close his jaws.</p> + +<p>Again he tried, opening them still wider, and again the pear-shaped +object expanded and held them rigid.</p> + +<p>Then Nick guessed the truth.</p> + +<p>While struggling with might and main to beat these ruffians, he had been +made the victim of an infernal instrument but seldom seen in these days, +and one of the most agonizing and diabolical devices of man's perverted +ingenuity.</p> + +<p>The object in Nick's mouth was a "choke pear!"</p> + +<p>This vicious instrument of torture dates back to the time of Palioly, +the notorious French robber and renegade, when it was very worthily +called "the pear of anguish."</p> + +<p>It consists of a solid gag, so to speak, yet it is so constructed, with +interior springs, that, once thrust into a person's mouth, it expands as +fast as the mouth is opened, and rigidly distends the victim's jaws.</p> + +<p>The more widely the victim gapes to eject the "choke pear," or to cry +out for aid, the larger the hideous object becomes, until torture, +suffocation and death speedily ensue.</p> + +<p>Had this infernal device been generally available to modern criminals, +Nick would have been warned by the significant words he had heard, and +would have guarded himself against it.</p> + +<p>As it was, however, he had been caught; and in the mouth of any ordinary +man the "choke pear" would have been irresistible.</p> + +<p>But the muscles of Nick Carter's jaws were like fibers of steel, and the +instant he realized his situation he opened his mouth no wider. Instead, +while hands and arms were still engaged in the furious conflict with his +assailants, he brought his jaws together as if with superhuman power, +and with a force that crushed the infernal device between them, much as +if it had been little more than an eggshell.</p> + +<p>One of the ruffians heard the snapping crunch, and uttered a cry of +amazement.</p> + +<p>The cry was echoed by hurried footsteps in the house.</p> + +<p>Then a rear door was suddenly thrown open by Rufus Venner, and a flood +of light revealed the struggling men, still battling furiously on the +pavement.</p> + +<p>Nick now had both opponents down, and within another minute he would +have had them at his mercy, a fact which Venner instantly perceived.</p> + +<p>He sprang nearer, drew his revolver, and dealt the detective a single +swinging blow upon the head.</p> + +<p>Nick dropped like an ox struck down in the shambles.</p> + +<p>The darkness of night was as nothing to the darkness that instantly fell +upon him.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII" />CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<h3>A STRATEGIC MOVE.</h3> + + +<p>Nick Carter had a head that was used to hard knocks, and it required +more than one to put him down and out for any considerable period.</p> + +<p>The great detective recovered consciousness within half an hour after +the blow received from Rufus Venner, and he fell to taking the measure +of his situation the moment the cobwebs began to clear from his brain.</p> + +<p>He found himself bound hand and foot with ropes, and lying upon the +floor of a dark room. That he was in the dwelling occupied by the +Spanish dancer, Nick had not a doubt.</p> + +<p>As his mind became clearer and his eyes accustomed to the darkness, Nick +discovered a narrow thread of light some yards away and close to the +floor, and presently the sound of lowered voices faintly reached his +ears.</p> + +<p>"A light in the next room," he said to himself. "Probably the whole gang +is out there, sizing up my case, and deciding what to do with me. If +they are there, I must get a better look at those two ruffians. I owe +them something for their work of to-night, and I always mean to pay such +debts.</p> + +<p>"One of them was called Dave, and it may have been Dave Kilgore himself. +In which case, by Jove! I was right in thinking that this diamond +robbery only masks some deeper and bigger game.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if they suspect my identity. If not, what sort of a game have +they been playing here to-night?"</p> + +<p>Nick very quickly measured the various possibilities of the unusual +situation.</p> + +<p>If the man whose name he had heard was indeed David Kilgore, then Rufus +Venner, as well as Cervera, might be in league with the diamond gang, +and the pretended robbery only a move made with some secret design.</p> + +<p>On the other hand, Venner might be entirely ignorant of Kilgore's +identity, and without any serious suspicions of Cervera, being himself a +blind victim of these notorious criminals.</p> + +<p>"If the latter is the case," reasoned Nick, "the gang may stand in fear +of me, and perhaps are afraid that I shall foil some scheme they have in +operation, or are about to undertake. Then they to-night may have aimed +only to discover the extent and nature of my suspicions.</p> + +<p>"If that is the case, plainly it will become me to be a little foxy. I +will see if I can contrive to overhear anything from out yonder."</p> + +<p>Bent upon wriggling nearer the closed door revealed by the thread of +light near the floor, Nick quietly turned upon his side and cautiously +worked his way over the carpet.</p> + +<p>He had covered scarce a yard, however, when the sharp, metallic ring of +Cervera's voice fell plainly on his ears.</p> + +<p>"Look again, one of you," she curtly commanded. "See if that vagabond +has come to himself."</p> + +<p>"That's your humble servant!" thought Nick.</p> + +<p>He quickly rolled back to his former position on the floor, and prepared +to play the fox.</p> + +<p>In a moment the door was thrown open, admitting a flood of light, and a +man strode into the room and dropped to his knee beside the motionless +detective.</p> + +<p>"I say!" he harshly growled, shaking Nick roughly by the shoulder. +"Brace up, you dog! Brace up, d'ye hear?"</p> + +<p>Nick groaned deeply, then slowly opened his eyes.</p> + +<p>"Oh, my head—my poor head!" he muttered, like one dazed and in pain.</p> + +<p>"Your poor head, eh?" sneered the other. "You're dead lucky to have a +head left you. Pull yourself together, do you hear?"</p> + +<p>"Let me be! Where am I?"</p> + +<p>"You'll soon find out where you are. Sit up here!"</p> + +<p>"What do you say?" cried Venner, from the next room. "Has he come to?"</p> + +<p>The man at Nick's side turned his head to reply, and Nick then obtained +a clear view of his profile.</p> + +<p>"Humph!" he mentally ejaculated. "Matthew Stall in disguise! One of the +diamond gang, sure enough, and I now know I am on the right track."</p> + +<p>"Yes, he's finally coming to time," cried Stall, in reply to Venner. "He +will be all right in a minute."</p> + +<p>"Bring him out here," commanded Cervera, sharply. "Get the wretch up, +and bring him out here."</p> + +<p>This was precisely what Nick wanted.</p> + +<p>Stall immediately bent lower, and released the detective's ankles.</p> + +<p>"Get up, you varlet!" he then growled. "Get up, I say!"</p> + +<p>Still groaning, and incoherently muttering, Nick permitted himself to be +raised to his feet, and Stall then supported him and urged him out +through the open doorway and into the adjoining room.</p> + +<p>In his red wig and croppy head, together with his rough attire and dazed +aspect, Nick certainly presented a wretched appearance. He blinked +confusedly, glanced down at his bound wrists, yet at the same time took +in every feature of the brightly lighted room.</p> + +<p>It plainly was the library of the house, and both Rufus Venner and +Cervera were seated near a handsome center table. Upon it lay most of +the woman's jewels and diamonds, evidently lately removed, and +presenting in the rays of light from the chandelier above a dazzling +temptation to such a fellow as Nick then appeared to be.</p> + +<p>In an easy-chair, near the wall, sat the man called Dave, at the time +Nick was thought to be dead outside. Now, in the bright light of the +room, Nick instantly recognized him to be David Kilgore, despite a heavy +disguise which the criminal obviously believed to be impenetrable.</p> + +<p>Nick gave no sign of the recognition, however, being content to await +developments, and to shape his own course accordingly.</p> + +<p>From that moment, however, the name of neither criminal was once +mentioned; and Nick was compelled to infer that Venner might indeed be +entirely ignorant of their true identity and knavish character.</p> + +<p>The eyes of all were upon the detective, as he stood swaying slightly +on the floor; and Cervera sharply demanded, with a threatening frown:</p> + +<p>"Well, you vile miscreant, what can you say for yourself?"</p> + +<p>"Me?" queried Nick, pretending to pull himself together. "Nothing at +all."</p> + +<p>"I guess that's right."</p> + +<p>"What should I say? Why have you got me here, and tied up in this +fashion?"</p> + +<p>"You'll soon find out," cried Cervera, with vicious asperity. "What were +you doing out back of my house?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing much," Nick evasively growled, waiting to learn which way the +cat was about to jump.</p> + +<p>"Nothing much!" sneered Cervera. "You'll find that will not go down with +us."</p> + +<p>"I was looking for a chance to sleep in your stable," muttered Nick.</p> + +<p>"You lie, you dog!" cried Kilgore, fiercely. "You were at the back +window."</p> + +<p>"Was I?"</p> + +<p>"And your game was to rob me of my jewels," Cervera angrily added, with +her eyes emitting a gleam as fiery as the blazing gems at which she +pointed. "That was your game, you renegade!"</p> + +<p>"Do you think so?"</p> + +<p>"I know so!"</p> + +<p>Nick hoped she did.</p> + +<p>"And all I regret is," added the vixenish Spaniard, "that the bullet of +my watchman did not end your villainous life."</p> + +<p>"We can end it now, señora, if you say the word," put in Matthew Stall, +with grim readiness.</p> + +<p>Nick never accepted such scenes as this at their face value, for he had +witnessed many a similar game of bluff. This one might be all right and +on the level, he reasoned, yet there still existed the possibility that +he was recognized, and that these remarks implying the contrary were +only a part of some well-laid plan.</p> + +<p>"If you think I'm a thief, why don't you hand me over to the police?" he +shrewdly demanded.</p> + +<p>The ruse worked. For a moment Cervera was caught with no ready reply, +and Nick promptly decided that he was known, hence could not well be +given to the police.</p> + +<p>Yet these parties so obviously aimed to hide the fact that he was known +to be Nick Carter, that Nick quickly resolved to let them have all the +rope they wanted, and to meet them with a counter-move—that of boldly +declaring his own identity, and so disarming them of any misgiving that +he had recognized Kilgore and Matthew Stall, or even had any suspicions +of Señora Cervera.</p> + +<p>It was a very clever counter, and Nick went at it cleverly.</p> + +<p>"Why don't you give me to the police, if you think I'm a thief?" he +repeated, when Cervera made no reply.</p> + +<p>"The police?—bah!" she now cried, with a sneer. "For what? That you may +square yourself in some way, or make your escape, and then come back +here to attempt the job again?"</p> + +<p>"H'm!" thought Nick. "They don't want to let me go before learning what +I suspect. I won't do a thing but fool them in that."</p> + +<p>"Police be hanged!" Cervera quickly added. "In my country we have a +surer way of removing such villains as you."</p> + +<p>"What way?" queried Nick, coolly.</p> + +<p>"<i>Caramba!</i> The garrote!"</p> + +<p>"Choke 'em off, eh?"</p> + +<p>"Or the poniard!"</p> + +<p>"A stab between the ribs, I take it."</p> + +<p>"Yes! It is what you deserve."</p> + +<p>"But you will not try it on me," declared Nick, confidently.</p> + +<p>"Don't you be too sure of it."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I'm sure enough of it."</p> + +<p>"The law would never reach us—don't think that," cried Cervera, with a +passionate sneer. "<i>Caramba!</i> we'd plant your miserable bones where +they'd never be found. Don't think, you wretch, that we fear to do it."</p> + +<p>"Yet I don't fear that you will."</p> + +<p>"You don't?"</p> + +<p>"Not I, Señora Cervera."</p> + +<p>"How dare you utter my name with your foul mouth?" screamed the dancer, +with a vicious display of scornful resentment. "Not kill you? I've a +mind to order it done at once, you wretch! I hate such reptiles as you!"</p> + +<p>Nick laughed.</p> + +<p>"If you were to order it done, señora, and the knife were at my throat," +said he, "your order would certainly be countermanded."</p> + +<p>"What! By whom?" cried Cervera, with her passionate, dark eyes fiercely +blazing. "I'll have you know that I rule here—and not here alone!"</p> + +<p>"Yet your command would be revoked, señora."</p> + +<p>"For what reason, villain?"</p> + +<p>"It would be revoked at the request of our mutual friend, Mr. Rufus +Venner, to whom I presently shall explain my conduct, and also implore +your own pardon, señora, for having made you the mark of my very +unworthy suspicions," cried Nick, with a sudden dramatic display of +dignity and confidence.</p> + +<p>It brought Venner sharply to his feet.</p> + +<p>"Good heavens!" he cried. "What do you mean, sir?"</p> + +<p>"Ay, what do you mean?" roared Kilgore, bracing straight up in his chair +and reaching for his gun—a move Nick pretended he did not see.</p> + +<p>"I only mean, gentlemen, that I am no burglar," cried Nick, in his +natural voice, at the same time raising his bound hands to remove his +disguise. "Allow me, Mr. Venner, to present myself in proper person."</p> + +<p>"The devil and all his followers!" yelled Venner. "You're—you're Nick +Carter!"</p> + +<p>"None other," bowed Nick, smiling and tossing his disguise upon the +table. "Plainly, Venner, you are greatly surprised at seeing me—and I +do not wonder at it."</p> + +<p>Yet for all that Nick did wonder a little, since he could not yet +determine just how much of this scene was on the level.</p> + +<p>The faces of Kilgore and Matthew Stall, however, betrayed more secret +exultation than surprise. Plainly enough both were now convinced that +Nick did not recognize them, nor even suspect that he himself had been +recognized—and these were precisely the two convictions Nick had aimed +to convey by his masterly move in thus disclosing himself.</p> + +<p>"Yes, Señora Cervera," he hastened to add, before any of the startled +group could speak, "I owe you a profound apology. I did you the +injustice to suspect you, not only of being a thief, but also of being +identified with the notorious Kilgore gang, three of the cleverest and +most dangerous swindlers in the world."</p> + +<p>"Perdition!" gasped Cervera. "You astound me."</p> + +<p>"I was led to suspect you, señora, because your letter to Venner took +him from his store just at the time of the robbery," Nick quickly went +on to explain, thus putting his own strategy on a solid basis. "I +shadowed you from the theater to-night, intending to watch you and your +house, a design which has nearly cost me my life at the hands of your +faithful watchman.</p> + +<p>"I am glad to add, señora, that I now have completely changed my views, +and I trust that you will bear in mind that you were a stranger to me, +and so pardon my unworthy misgivings. It is impossible that you, Señora +Cervera, could be guilty of any evil, or know aught of so accomplished a +knave as David Kilgore, or any of his clever gang."</p> + +<p>A shrewder move could scarce have been conceived. That Nick would thus +have declared himself in the very presence of Kilgore, if known to him, +seemed utterly absurd; and the eyes of both Kilgore and Matt Stall were +aglow with a vicious amusement and satisfaction much too genuine to be +entirely concealed.</p> + +<p>"Well, Mr. Carter," cried Venner, now hastening to release the +defective's hands, "you certainly have had a close call, and are lucky +to come out of it with a whole skin. These two men are employed by +señora to guard her house at night, and they naturally mistook you for a +burglar."</p> + +<p>Despite his keen discernment, Nick could not determine whether this man +was lying, or was really as blind as his words implied. Content to await +further discoveries, however, Nick laughed quickly, and replied:</p> + +<p>"Well, well, Mr. Venner; I am quite accustomed to close calls and hard +knocks, and I assure you that I bear the señora's watchmen no ill will +for having done their duty as they saw it. Señora Cervera is to be +congratulated upon having secured the services of two such faithful +fellows."</p> + +<p>Kilgore had all he could do to keep from laughing aloud, so blinded was +he by Nick's artful duplicity.</p> + +<p>"And when I inform you, señora," cried Venner, "that Detective Carter is +in my employ, and is really a royal good friend, I am sure that you will +pardon him for having been so misled by your letter of this morning."</p> + +<p>Señora Cervera was blushing now, yet to Nick it appeared a little +forced, and there was in her evil, black eyes a gleam he did not like. +Yet she at once arose and came to shake the detective by the hand.</p> + +<p>"Oh, if my dear friend, Mr. Venner, says it is all right, I am sure it +must be so," she cried, smiling up at Nick. "But I am afraid, Detective +Carter, that you will now think me dreadfully severe, and my two +watchmen more brutal than bulldogs."</p> + +<p>Nick laughed deeply, and glanced at the display of diamonds on the +table.</p> + +<p>"When one has such valuable toys as those in her house, señora, bold men +and vigilant bulldogs are both essential," said he, heartily.</p> + +<p>"That's true, sir; indeed, it is."</p> + +<p>"And with your permission, señora, I will shake hands with your two +watchmen also, to show them I bear no resentment. After which I will +take myself home, to nurse my little tokens of their vigilance and +prowess."</p> + +<p>This brought a laugh from all, and Nick, ever shrewd and crafty, now +shook hands with the two criminals he fully intended to finally land +behind prison bars. Then he bowed himself out of the room, and was +accompanied by Rufus Venner to the front door of the house, where he +bade him a genial good-night and departed.</p> + +<p>When Venner returned to the room, he found Dave Kilgore seated on the +edge of the table, with his false beard in his hand, and a look of +intense distrust on his evil, forceful face.</p> + +<p>"Crafty—infernally crafty!" he cried, as Venner entered. "I tell you, +Rufe, that man must be watched. He is a man to be feared—constantly +feared! I'm cursed if I can tell whether he gave us that on the level or +not."</p> + +<p>"Pshaw!" sneered Venner, contemptuously. "Of course it was on the +level."</p> + +<p>"I'm not so sure of it—not so sure of it!" reiterated Kilgore, with +clouded brow. "I tell you, Venner, that he must be watched, and we must +be guarded. We have too much at stake to suffer Nick Carter to queer our +game."</p> + +<p>"There is one sure way of preventing it," cried Cervera, with passionate +vehemence.</p> + +<p>"Kill him?"</p> + +<p>"Yes! Take his life!" hissed the dancer, through her gleaming white +teeth. "You were fools to have missed it to-night. Even the law would +have acquitted you."</p> + +<p>"There are nights to come!" Kilgore grimly retorted.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII" />CHAPTER VIII.</h2> + +<h3>FOUND DEAD.</h3> + + +<p>"What's the trouble yonder, Nick?"</p> + +<p>"Where?"</p> + +<p>"In the park."</p> + +<p>"Humph! Something wrong, evidently. Come on, Chick, and we'll see."</p> + +<p>It was nearly sunset one Monday afternoon, and almost two weeks +subsequent to the incidents last depicted.</p> + +<p>That at least one of Dave Kilgore's suggestions had been adopted, and he +and his gang had become rigorously guarded, appears in that the Carters +had utterly failed to accomplish anything against them in the interval +mentioned. Despite constant vigilance and incessant work on the case, +neither Nick nor Chick had been able to secure an additional clew.</p> + +<p>Kilgore and Matt Stall had vanished as if the earth had swallowed them.</p> + +<p>The mammoth vaudeville troupe had completed its engagement, and was now +disbanded for the season.</p> + +<p>Señora Cervera still retained her uptown house, and frequently received +Venner as a visitor; but never a sign of the diamond gang, or of any +stranger, could the detectives discover, in or about her place.</p> + +<p>Rufus Venner was attending to his business as usual, and appeared all +aboveboard. Now and then he called upon Nick about the stolen diamonds, +expressing a hope that they would be recovered; but in no way did he +lay himself open to further suspicions than Nick had at first conceived.</p> + +<p>Yet Nick was too shrewd to press him with questions, and so perhaps +betray his own hand. As a matter of fact, the famous detective was in +quite a quandary over the case, because of his conviction that some big +game was secretly afoot, and his utter inability to strike any tangible +clew to it.</p> + +<p>Such a state of affairs was very unusual, and Nick chafed under it. It +indicated that he was up against men as good as himself, and his vain +work of the past ten days served only to aggravate him, and embitter his +grim and inflexible determination to unearth the whole business.</p> + +<p>This Monday afternoon, as Nick and Chick were passing Central Park, the +attention of the latter was drawn toward a group of men in one of the +park walks, somewhat removed from the street. A policeman was among +them, and they appeared to be gazing at something upon the ground.</p> + +<p>"It looks like the figure of a woman," said Nick, as he and Chick +entered the park. "Officer Fogarty is there, and—yes, by Jove! it is +the form of a woman."</p> + +<p>The two detectives quickly reached the scene, and the park officer at +once recognized Nick, respectfully touching his helmet.</p> + +<p>"What's amiss here, Fogarty?" inquired Nick.</p> + +<p>Fogarty pointed to the motionless form upon the ground.</p> + +<p>"Dead!" said he, tersely. "We've just found her."</p> + +<p>"Keep those people further away, Fogarty," said Nick, with a toss of +his head toward half a score of men gathered near by. "I will see what I +make of the case."</p> + +<p>The figure was that of a girl, rather than a woman, apparently about +eighteen years of age. She was lying partly upon her side upon the +greensward, and evidently had fallen from one of the park seats upon +which she had been resting, and upon which her straw shade hat was still +lying. She was neatly clad in a suit of dark blue, and her girlish face +indicated some culture and refinement.</p> + +<p>Near her, upon the grass, lay a piece of brown wrapping paper, and a +yard of two of string, evidently removed from a small, square box, which +she had dropped and partly fallen upon when stricken with sudden death.</p> + +<p>A mere glance gave Nick these superficial features, and he quickly knelt +beside the girl, and felt her hand and wrist.</p> + +<p>"Dead as a doornail," he murmured to Chick, who also had approached. "I +find her hand still warm, however. She can have been dead only a few +minutes."</p> + +<p>"Heart failure, perhaps," suggested Chick.</p> + +<p>"I don't think so."</p> + +<p>"Why?"</p> + +<p>"She doesn't look it. Her form is plump, her cheeks full, and she +appears to have been in perfect health."</p> + +<p>"Yet she is dead."</p> + +<p>"No doubt of it."</p> + +<p>"A pretty girl, too."</p> + +<p>"Very. See if there is any writing on that brown paper."</p> + +<p>"No, Nick; not a line."</p> + +<p>"Here, here, let me see it! What's this? It is punctured with tiny +holes, evidently made with a pin."</p> + +<p>"So it is, by Jove!"</p> + +<p>"Perhaps she made them with her hat pin, while sitting there on the +seat. See, Chick, there is the pin still in the hat."</p> + +<p>"I see it, Nick. What now?"</p> + +<p>Still kneeling beside the girl, Nick was holding the sheet of paper +between himself and the sky.</p> + +<p>"No, the punctures are not uniform," said he. "I thought that they +possibly had been made with some design, and perhaps formed some word or +sentence that would give us a clew to the mystery."</p> + +<p>"None such, eh?"</p> + +<p>"Not a sign of it. Evidently she jabbed the pin through the paper only +in idleness."</p> + +<p>"She is lying on a box of some kind, from which she probably had taken +this wrapping paper."</p> + +<p>"So I see," nodded Nick. "Lend me a hand, Chick, and we'll have a look +at the box."</p> + +<p>With gentle hands the two detectives moved the girl's lifeless form, and +Nick then took up the box mentioned.</p> + +<p>It was about four inches square, and was made of silver, with an open +work design of vines and leaves, which displayed a blue silk lining +through the metal apertures. Plainly enough it was a lady's jewel +casket, and one of considerable value; but it was entirely empty, and it +bore no name or inscription.</p> + +<p>For several moments Nick Carter examined it very intently, with his +brows gradually knitting closer and closer; and all the while Officer +Fogarty, and the group of men in the gravel walk a few yards distant, +mutely gazed and wondered.</p> + +<p>Chick Carter, however, who could read Nick's every change of expression, +saw at once that the great detective not only was making some startling +discoveries, but also was arriving at deductions far too subtle and +significant to have been reached by any less keen and practiced +observer.</p> + +<p>"What do you make of it, Nick?" whispered Chick, dropping to his knee +beside his companion.</p> + +<p>Nick also lowered his voice, and for several minutes the two conversed +in rapid whispers.</p> + +<p>"It is a jewel case, Chick; and quite a valuable one."</p> + +<p>"So I see."</p> + +<p>"I don't think it belonged to this girl. She looks as if she were the +maid, or possibly the companion, of some woman of wealth or distinction. +Her attire also indicates that. Hence so valuable a toy can hardly have +belonged to the girl, but more likely was the property of her mistress."</p> + +<p>"No name on it?"</p> + +<p>"Not even an initial. Not a mark of any kind."</p> + +<p>"It is empty."</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Can the girl have been robbed of its contents, here and in broad +daylight?"</p> + +<p>"Worse, Chick!" whispered Nick, between his teeth. "Worse even than +that."</p> + +<p>"Good heavens, Nick! What do you mean?"</p> + +<p>"Chick, this girl was foully murdered!"</p> + +<p>"Murdered!" echoed Chick, with an involuntary gasp. "Can it be +possible?"</p> + +<p>"It certainly appears so to me."</p> + +<p>"But the means?"</p> + +<p>"That is the mystery."</p> + +<p>"There are no signs of violence."</p> + +<p>"Wait a bit. Notice her right wrist, just back of the thumb and near the +pulse. Notice that tiny red spot, barely observable. It might have been +made with the point of a pin. Do you see, it?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, now that you call my attention to it."</p> + +<p>"It means something. I am convinced of that."</p> + +<p>"Others are not likely to discover it."</p> + +<p>"I hope they may not, Chick," Nick hurriedly rejoined. "I am flooded +with ideas and suspicions, which I wish to consider and put in order +before too much of this mystery leaks out. I'll explain later."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps her hat pin is poisoned," suggested Chick.</p> + +<p>"I don't think that."</p> + +<p>"Or possibly—"</p> + +<p>"Wait a moment. Look at this box."</p> + +<p>"Well?"</p> + +<p>"That wrapper was punctured while still on the box," explained Nick. +"Notice that the pin went through the spaces in this metal design, and +then through the silk lining inside."</p> + +<p>"Plainly enough, Nick."</p> + +<p>"Notice this particular puncture in the interior of the lining."</p> + +<p>"By Jove! there's a faint tinge of red around it."</p> + +<p>"Left when the pin was withdrawn," whispered Nick, significantly. +"Chick, it's a tinge of blood!"</p> + +<p>"I believe you're right, Nick."</p> + +<p>"I am convinced of it. Also that there's a mystery here which cannot be +solved in a moment," said Nick, impressively. "I wish to conceal these +discoveries until after I have considered them more fully, and also +identified this girl. See if you can find her purse, or anything that +will reveal her name."</p> + +<p>While Chick was thus engaged, Nick arose and glanced sharply around in +search of any evidence indicating that such a crime could have been +committed unobserved in so public a place.</p> + +<p>The seat which the girl had occupied stood on the greensward, about +eight feet from the gravel walk. By several clusters of shrubbery some +feet away at either side, the seat was somewhat obscured from the view +of persons approaching along the walk from either direction. Several +trees cast shadows nearly over the spot, which was one very likely to +have been selected by a couple desirous of being somewhat alone while +resting from an afternoon stroll.</p> + +<p>Nick quickly noted these several features, then glanced at Chick and +asked:</p> + +<p>"Do you find anything?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing by which to identify her."</p> + +<p>"Her purse?"</p> + +<p>"It contains only a few pieces of silver. No cards, nor so much as a +scrap of paper. Other than her purse, there is only a latchkey in her +pocket, and a perfectly plain handkerchief. Her identification must come +later."</p> + +<p>"I guess we have missed nothing here," nodded Nick. "I'll have just a +word with Fogarty, and then we'll go along."</p> + +<p>"What do you make of it, Detective Carter?" inquired the officer, as +Nick approached.</p> + +<p>"I am not prepared to say," replied Nick, ignoring the startled glances +of the several men who heard his name and now beheld the great detective +for the first time.</p> + +<p>"The girl is dead, sir, isn't she?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes; there is no doubt of that," bowed Nick. "It may be a case of +heart failure. You had better take the proper steps for the removal of +the body. This box and wrapping paper, however, I am going to take with +me, and will be responsible for them."</p> + +<p>"All right, sir."</p> + +<p>"By the way, Fogarty, how long ago did you discover the body?"</p> + +<p>"Scarce a minute before you came, sir."</p> + +<p>"Were you the first to see it?"</p> + +<p>"I was, sir."</p> + +<p>"Had you seen the girl about here before during the afternoon?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir."</p> + +<p>"Did you see anybody leaving here just before you arrived and discovered +the body?"</p> + +<p>"I did not, sir."</p> + +<p>"That's all, Fogarty. I'll get any other particulars later."</p> + +<p>Thereupon, as Nick was about to turn away, a young man in the crowd came +suddenly forth, and exclaimed:</p> + +<p>"One moment, Detective Carter, if you please! I saw that girl, about +half an hour ago, walking this way with a gentleman."</p> + +<p>Nick turned abruptly to the speaker.</p> + +<p>"What is your name?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Tom Jenkins, sir."</p> + +<p>"And your address?"</p> + +<p>"I live at the Hotel North, and am employed by Hentz Brothers, in Broad +Street."</p> + +<p>"You say that you saw the girl walking this way with a gentleman?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir."</p> + +<p>"Did they appear to be on good terms?"</p> + +<p>"Excellent, sir. They were talking and laughing, and seemed to be +enjoying themselves."</p> + +<p>"Do you know the girl's name, or where she lives?"</p> + +<p>"I do not, sir; nor anything about her."</p> + +<p>"Do you know anything about her companion, the gentleman you saw with +her?"</p> + +<p>For the bare fraction of a second Jenkins hesitated, as one might do who +was loath to bring trouble upon another. Then he replied, in faltering +tones:</p> + +<p>"Well, yes, sir, I know the name of the man who was with her."</p> + +<p>"State it, please."</p> + +<p>"His name, sir, is Harry Boyden."</p> + +<p>Nick felt his blood start slightly, yet his countenance did not change +by so much as a shadow.</p> + +<p>He glanced at Chick, however, and the same thought was in the mind of +each.</p> + +<p>"Harry Boyden! The clerk employed by Thomas Hafferman, the dealer in +diamonds!"</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX" />CHAPTER IX.</h2> + +<h3>NICK STRIKES A STARTLING CLEW.</h3> + + +<p>The mind of Nick Carter was, as he had remarked to Chick, stirred with a +flood of questions not easily or quickly answered.</p> + +<p>Who was this girl found dead in Central Park?</p> + +<p>Had she, indeed, been foully murdered? If so, by what mysterious means? +What had been the object? Who the perpetrator of the crime?</p> + +<p>Or, on the other hand, was the evidence itself misleading, and had the +unfortunate girl selected that sequestered seat in the park, and there +deliberately committed suicide? Even then, by what means had the deed +been accomplished? What had been the occasion?</p> + +<p>What, moreover, had become of her companion at just that time? Why had +he deserted her? What signified the pin-punctured wrapping paper, and +the empty jewel casket, in the dead girl's possession?</p> + +<p>Had the casket contained jewels of great value? Had the girl been robbed +of them, and then foully murdered in some mysterious way?</p> + +<p>Was Harry Boyden, the clerk employed by Hafferman, the last to leave the +girl that fateful afternoon? Was he responsible for her death? Was +robbery the incentive to the crime?</p> + +<p>Or, on the other hand, had Boyden left the girl alive and well, and was +the crime the work of another?</p> + +<p>Or, finally, was there some strange and startling connection between +this park murder and the robbery committed at Venner's store? Was there, +between the two crimes, some extraordinary bond yet to be +discovered—some tie uniting the two misdeeds as if with links of steel?</p> + +<p>These were some of the conflicting questions that occurred to Nick +Carter that afternoon, and in order to consider them before taking any +decided action in the matter, Nick had kept to himself his startling +discoveries, and left Officer Fogarty to take the customary steps in the +affair.</p> + +<p>At seven o'clock that evening, while Nick and Chick were seated at +dinner, and still engaged in discussing the conflicting circumstances, a +message was received from police headquarters, informing Nick that the +girl had been identified, and that Harry Boyden had been found and +arrested.</p> + +<p>"Very good," observed Nick. "We shall now get something to work upon. I +will go and question Boyden as soon as I finish my dinner."</p> + +<p>"By all means," nodded Chick.</p> + +<p>"Do you know," said Nick, "I am seriously impressed that there is some +strange connection between this girl's death and that robbery at +Venner's store. I believe that we have struck the very clew, or are +about to strike it, that we so long have been vainly seeking."</p> + +<p>"To the Kilgore gang?"</p> + +<p>"Exactly."</p> + +<p>"Egad, I hope so," laughed Chick, with a grimace. "I am beastly tired of +nosing about on a scentless trail."</p> + +<p>Nick joined in the laugh of his invariably cheerful associate.</p> + +<p>"Odds blood, Nick, as they say in the play," added Chick. "I'd welcome +any sort of stir and danger, in preference to this chasing a +will-o'-the-wisp."</p> + +<p>"There'll be enough doing, Chick, take my word for it, as soon as we +once more get on the track of Kilgore and his push."</p> + +<p>"Let it come, and God speed it," grinned Chick. "What's your idea, +Nick?"</p> + +<p>"This empty jewel casket, the possibility that it contained diamonds, of +which the girl was robbed and then murdered, and the fact that Harry +Boyden is the clerk who brought the stolen diamonds to Venner's +store—certainly the circumstances seem to point to some strange +relation between the two crimes."</p> + +<p>While Nick was thus expressing his views, a rapidly driven carriage +approached the residence of the famous detective, and a servant +presently entered the dining room and informed Nick that a lady wished +to see him.</p> + +<p>Nick glanced at her card.</p> + +<p>"Violet Page," he muttered. "I know no lady named Violet Page. Is she +young or old?"</p> + +<p>"Young, sir."</p> + +<p>"Did you admit her?"</p> + +<p>"She is in the library, sir."</p> + +<p>"Very well. I will see her presently. Request her to wait a few +moments."</p> + +<p>Nick delayed only to finish his dinner, then repaired to the library. As +he entered the attractively furnished room his visitor quickly arose +from one of the easy-chairs and hastened to approach him.</p> + +<p>Nick beheld a young lady of exquisite beauty and modest bearing, and +though her sweet face, then very pale and distressed, struck him as one +he had previously seen, he at first could not place her.</p> + +<p>"Are you Mr. Carter—Detective Carter?" she hurriedly, inquired, in +tremulous accents of appeal.</p> + +<p>Nick had a warm place in his heart for one so timid and distressed as +this girl appeared, and he bowed very kindly.</p> + +<p>"Yes, Miss Page," said he. "What can I do for you? You appear to be in +trouble."</p> + +<p>"I am in trouble—terrible trouble, sir," cried the girl, with a +half-choked sob. "Oh, Mr. Carter, I come to you in despair, a girl +without friends or advisers, and who knows not whither to turn. I have +been told that you have a kind heart, and that you are the one man able +to solve the dreadful mystery which—"</p> + +<p>Nick checked her pathetic flood of words with a kindly gesture.</p> + +<p>"Calm yourself, Miss Page," said he, in a sort of paternal way. "Resume +your chair, please. Though I am somewhat pressed for time just now I +will give you at least a few moments."</p> + +<p>"Oh, thank you, sir!"</p> + +<p>"Be calm, however, in order that we may accomplish all the more."</p> + +<p>"I will, sir."</p> + +<p>"To what mystery do you refer? What is the occasion of your terrible +distress?"</p> + +<p>Violet Page subdued her agitation and hastened to reply.</p> + +<p>"My maid and companion, a girl named Mary Barton," said she, "was found +dead in Central Park late this afternoon. Nor is that all, Detective +Carter. A very dear friend of mine, named Harry Boyden, has been +arrested, under suspicion of having killed her. Oh, sir, that could not +be possible!"</p> + +<p>Nick felt an immediate increase of interest.</p> + +<p>He decided that Miss Violet Page was the very person he wanted to +interview, and while he did not then exhibit any knowledge of the case, +he proceeded to question her with his own ends in view, at the same time +ringing a signal for Chick to join him, which the latter presently did.</p> + +<p>"Where do you live, Miss Page?" inquired Nick.</p> + +<p>"I board in Forty-second Street, sir. I have no living relatives, and +for about two years have employed a maid, or, I might better call her, a +companion."</p> + +<p>"The girl mentioned?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir. Her parents also are dead. The fact that we both are orphans +created a bond of sympathy between us."</p> + +<p>"Are you a person of much means, Miss Page?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, sir. I earn my living on the stage. I was a member of the big +vaudeville troupe, which lately disbanded for the season. My stage name +is Violet Marduke."</p> + +<p>"Ah! now I remember," remarked Nick. "I thought I had seen you before. I +happened to hear you sing one evening about two weeks ago."</p> + +<p>"I recognized her when I entered," observed Chick, who had taken a +chair near by.</p> + +<p>Nick came back to business.</p> + +<p>"Why are you so confident, Miss Page, that Boyden cannot have killed +Mary Barton?" he demanded.</p> + +<p>"Because, sir, Harry Boyden is a gentle, brave and honest man, and +utterly incapable of committing such a crime," cried Violet, with much +feeling. "Besides, sir, he can have had no possible reason for wishing +her dead."</p> + +<p>"Are you sure of that?"</p> + +<p>"Absolutely!"</p> + +<p>"What are your relations with Boyden?"</p> + +<p>"We are lovers, sir," admitted Violet, with a tinge of red dispelling +the paleness of her pretty cheeks. "We expect to be married the coming +summer."</p> + +<p>"Ah! I see," murmured Nick, thoughtfully. "How long have you been +acquainted with Boyden?"</p> + +<p>"For ten years, sir."</p> + +<p>"Then you have been able to form quite a reliable opinion of his +character."</p> + +<p>"Indeed, sir, I have!" cried Violet, warmly. "Detective Carter, I know +that Harry Boyden is far above any dishonorable action. I would trust +him with my life."</p> + +<p>Of the honesty of the girl herself Nick had not a doubt. It showed in +her eyes, sounded in her voice, and was pictured in her ever changing +expression. Nick was inclined to feel that her opinion of Boyden was +worthy of very serious consideration, despite that circumstances seemed +to implicate the young man in no less than two crimes.</p> + +<p>"Is the fact that you are engaged to Boyden generally known, Miss +Page?" Nick next asked.</p> + +<p>"It is not, sir. We have said nothing about it."</p> + +<p>"Ah, that opens the way for conjectures," cried Nick. "Is there any +person who knows of the engagement, or who suspects it, that would +jealously aim to injure Boyden by implicating him in a crime?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, I cannot think so, sir!" said Violet, with a look of horror. "I +certainly know of no such person."</p> + +<p>"Have you been accepting the attentions of any other young man?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir," smiled Violet. "That is not my style."</p> + +<p>"I am glad to hear you say so, yet I really might have known it," +laughed Nick.</p> + +<p>"Thank you, Detective Carter," bowed the girl, blushing warmly. Then she +hastened to add: "Still, I am not a prude, sir—don't think I mean that. +In my profession one is obliged to be on friendly terms with a great +many persons, both men and women. At the theater, for instance, I meet +many men and form many acquaintances, both agreeable and the reverse."</p> + +<p>"And sometimes have the attentions of men fairly forced upon you, I +imagine?" said Nick, inquiringly, with a brighter gleam lighting his +earnest eyes.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir; sometimes," Violet demurely admitted.</p> + +<p>Nick drew forward in his chair, and Chick saw that he had caught up the +thread at that moment suggested to himself.</p> + +<p>"Miss Page," said Nick, more impressively, "I now want you to answer me +without the slightest reserve."</p> + +<p>"I will, sir," bowed Violet, with a startled look.</p> + +<p>"Has any man of the late vaudeville company, or one connected with the +theater, endeavored to force his love upon you?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir; not one."</p> + +<p>"Or any visitor admitted to the stage?"</p> + +<p>"Well—yes, sir," faltered Violet, quite timidly. "Since you press me +thus gravely, I must admit that I have been obliged to repel the +affection of a certain man. Yet, please don't infer, sir, that he has +ever been ungentlemanly. He even has done me the honor, if one can so +term an undesired proposal, to protest that he wished to make me his +wife."</p> + +<p>"What is that man's name?" demanded Nick, quite bluntly.</p> + +<p>Yet both Nick and Chick already anticipated it.</p> + +<p>"Must I tell you his name, sir?" faltered Violet.</p> + +<p>"You may do so confidentially, Miss Page."</p> + +<p>"His name, sir, is Rufus Venner."</p> + +<p>"One more question, Miss Page," cried Nick, quickly, "Was there any +member of the vaudeville company who knew of Venner's proposal?"</p> + +<p>"I don't think so, sir. At least I know of none."</p> + +<p>Nick glanced at Chick and dryly remarked:</p> + +<p>"All under the surface, Chick."</p> + +<p>"Not a doubt of it, Nick."</p> + +<p>Violet looked surprised and alarmed at this, and hastened to ask:</p> + +<p>"Oh, Mr. Carter, is there something of which I am ignorant? Or have I +done wrong in any way?"</p> + +<p>Nick turned to her and gravely answered:</p> + +<p>"No, Miss Page, you have done nothing wrong—far from it! But there is +considerable of which you are ignorant."</p> + +<p>"Oh, sir, what do you mean?"</p> + +<p>"Wait just one moment, and I then may be able to tell you," said Nick, +rising. "I have something here that I wish to show you."</p> + +<p>He went to his library desk and took from a drawer the silver jewel +casket which he had brought from Central Park.</p> + +<p>When he turned he held it in his extended hand, and the eyes of the girl +suddenly fell upon it.</p> + +<p>Instantly she leaped to her feet, as pale as death itself.</p> + +<p>Then a scream, as of sudden, ungovernable terror, rose from her lips and +rang with piercing shrillness through the house.</p> + +<p>"Catch her, Chick—she's fainting!" yelled Nick, with eyes ablaze. "By +Heaven! we've struck the trail at last!"</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X" />CHAPTER X.</h2> + +<h3>ON THE TRAIL.</h3> + + +<p>Nick Carter was a little perplexed.</p> + +<p>Miss Violet Page had recovered from her sudden swoon, and although still +very pale she sat gazing calmly at the silver jewel casket, which Nick +was again displaying.</p> + +<p>Somewhat to Nick's surprise, considering the girl's abrupt collapse upon +first beholding the casket, Miss Page had just declared that she had +never seen it before that evening.</p> + +<p>"You never saw it before?" exclaimed Nick, almost incredulously.</p> + +<p>"Never until you produced it from your desk a few minutes ago," +reiterated Violet.</p> + +<p>"Why, then, were you so overcome upon seeing it?"</p> + +<p>"I will tell you why, Detective Carter, yet I fear that you will think +me very weak and foolish to have been so seriously affected."</p> + +<p>"No; I think not."</p> + +<p>"I had a terrible dream last night, sir," Violet now explained. "I +dreamed that I was alone in an enormous graveyard at midnight, with a +full moon revealing the dismal surroundings, the dark tombs, the +staring, white headstones and the silent graves."</p> + +<p>"Not very cheerful—certainly," smiled Nick.</p> + +<p>"What followed was infinitely more terrible," continued Violet, with an +irrepressible shudder.</p> + +<p>"What was that?"</p> + +<p>"I dreamed that I saw a grave near which I was standing suddenly begin +to open, as if a living being were pushing up the ground from within. +Then I saw a fleshless hand appear above the disturbed sods. Then a +sightless human skull thrust itself forth, and presently, filling me +with a terror I cannot describe, the entire skeleton emerged from the +partly open grave, and arose and approached me."</p> + +<p>"A grewsome dream, indeed," remarked Nick. "But what of the casket?"</p> + +<p>"This of the casket, sir," concluded Violet. "In the skeleton's right +hand, which was extended straight toward me while he approached, was a +silver box—the exact likeness of the one you hold, and which you so +abruptly showed me a short time ago."</p> + +<p>"Ah, I see," nodded Nick.</p> + +<p>"In my present nervous condition, Detective Carter, the sight of the +real casket, after so horrible a dream, was more than I could sustain. +Fairly before I knew it, I had fainted."</p> + +<p>"A curious dream and a startling sequence," said Nick. "Evidently coming +events have been casting their shadows before. I am sorry to have +shocked you so severely."</p> + +<p>"Pray don't speak of it, Mr. Carter," protested Violet. "I am now quite +recovered."</p> + +<p>"Then we will at once proceed to business again," said Nick. "Am I to +infer, Miss Page, that you know nothing at all about this casket?"</p> + +<p>"Absolutely nothing, sir," declared Violet.</p> + +<p>"Have you ever heard your maid, Mary Barton, speak of possessing such a +jewel box?"</p> + +<p>"Never, sir."</p> + +<p>"Nevertheless," said Nick, pointedly, "this casket was found beside her +dead body in Central Park this afternoon."</p> + +<p>A half-suppressed cry broke from Violet upon hearing this.</p> + +<p>"Oh, sir, then that must have been the package mentioned by Harry +Boyden," she cried, excitedly.</p> + +<p>"What's that?" demanded Nick. "Have you seen Boyden since his arrest?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir."</p> + +<p>"When and where?"</p> + +<p>"He was arrested at my home about half-past six, sir. When I learned for +what and heard the particulars, I was advised by my landlady to appeal +at once to you."</p> + +<p>"Did you come directly here?"</p> + +<p>"I did, sir; as fast as a carriage could bring me."</p> + +<p>"Ah, now we shall get at it," declared Nick. "Tell me, Miss Page, just +what Boyden said about Mary Barton."</p> + +<p>"Why, sir, he said he left her alive and well about half-past five."</p> + +<p>"Where?"</p> + +<p>"On her way through the park," replied Violet. "He had met her about +five o'clock, and they walked about in the park for a short time. Then +he told her that he had an errand to do, after which he was coming to +call upon me. Then Mary laughed and replied that she would see him +later."</p> + +<p>"That doesn't smack very strongly of suicide, Chick," remarked Nick, +with a glance at the former.</p> + +<p>"I should say not," replied Chick, with a shrug of his shoulders.</p> + +<p>"Did Boyden know where Mary went after he left her?" inquired Nick, +reverting to his visitor.</p> + +<p>"No, sir. He declared to the officer that he did not."</p> + +<p>"What mention did he make of a package carried by the girl?"</p> + +<p>"He stated that Mary had what appeared to be a small, square box, done +up in brown wrapping paper, and secured with a string."</p> + +<p>"Did he make any inquiries about it?"</p> + +<p>"He asked her what it was, and she told him it was for me."</p> + +<p>"Did she tell him where she got it?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir, she did; and I am quite mystified by it."</p> + +<p>"Please explain," said Nick. "What did the Barton girl say about the +parcel?"</p> + +<p>"She said it was given to her by a woman whom she had met on Fifth +Avenue a short time before."</p> + +<p>"An acquaintance?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir; a strange woman," continued Violet. "Yet the stranger must +have known Mary, and that she lived with me, for she asked her if I was +at home."</p> + +<p>"And then?"</p> + +<p>"When told that I was, she gave Mary the package and asked her to +deliver it to me, into my hands only, as it was a gift from a friend."</p> + +<p>"Was the name of the friend mentioned?"</p> + +<p>"I think not, sir. The woman cautioned Mary against opening the package, +stating in explanation that she wished me to be the first to see what it +contained."</p> + +<p>"These are the facts which Mary Barton told to Harry Boyden, are they?" +demanded Nick, with an ominous ring stealing into his voice.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir, they are."</p> + +<p>"And the statements which Boyden, in turn, made to the officer by whom +he was arrested at your home?"</p> + +<p>"That is right, sir. I heard them from Harry's own lips."</p> + +<p>"Did Mary Barton have any idea of the identity of the woman from whom +she received the package?"</p> + +<p>"I think not, sir. She told Harry that the woman was veiled, and that +she could not see her face. The incident seemed so strange, sir, that +Mary gave Harry Boyden all of these particulars."</p> + +<p>"Did she describe the strange woman, her form or her attire?"</p> + +<p>"I think she stated that the woman was plainly clad. Nothing more +definite that I know of."</p> + +<p>"In fact, Miss Page, you have now told me all that you know about the +case, haven't you?"</p> + +<p>"Really, sir, I think I have," admitted Violet, with a look of anxious +appeal.</p> + +<p>Nick drew out his watch and glanced quickly at it.</p> + +<p>"Ring for a carriage, Chick," said he abruptly. "We have no time to +lose."</p> + +<p>"I'll call one at once," nodded Chick, as he sprang up and hastened from +the room.</p> + +<p>"Am I to depart now, Detective Carter?" asked Violet, beginning to +tremble. "Oh, sir, will you not give me some word of encouragement +before I go? I am sure that Harry Boyden never committed—"</p> + +<p>"Hush!" interposed Nick, rising and taking her kindly by the hand.</p> + +<p>"I cannot at present tell you, Miss Page, what I think of this case. I +will say this, however, if Harry Boyden is, as you so firmly believe, +innocent of this crime, I will not rest until I have proved him +guiltless."</p> + +<p>"Oh, Detective Carter, how am I to thank you?" cried the girl, with her +tearful eyes raised to Nick's kindly face.</p> + +<p>"By not trying to do so," said he, smiling. "And by carefully following +a few directions which I shall now give you."</p> + +<p>"I will follow them to the very letter, sir," cried the grateful girl.</p> + +<p>"First, then, go home and borrow no further trouble about young Boyden," +said Nick, impressively. "Second, disclose to no person that you have +called upon me, or that I have any interest in the case. Third, say +nothing about the jewel casket, and display no personal knowledge of the +affair. Fourth, do not come here again unless I send for you. And, +finally, rest assured that I will do all in my power to have young +Boyden at liberty as soon as possible. To remain in custody a short +time, however, will not seriously harm him, and in a way it may do me +some service. Can you remember all that?"</p> + +<p>"Indeed I can, sir; and I will obey you in all!" cried Violet, with much +feeling.</p> + +<p>"That's right," smiled Nick, as he escorted her to the door. "You shall +not lose anything by so doing."</p> + +<p>"Ah, I am sure of that, sir. You are so very kind, and I am so glad that +I came to you."</p> + +<p>"Well, well, we shall see," laughed Nick, with a paternal caress of her +shapely white hand. "By the way, Miss Page, since I now happen to think +of it," the crafty detective indifferently added, "wasn't there a Hindoo +juggler, or snake charmer, or something of that sort, connected with +your late vaudeville company?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, sir! Pandu Singe."</p> + +<p>"Ah, that is his name, is it?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir."</p> + +<p>"Is he still in the city?"</p> + +<p>"I am not sure, Mr. Carter; but I think that he may be, for he is signed +with the company for next season."</p> + +<p>"Do you know where he has been living?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir. I have seen his house address on letters forwarded to the +theater. Do you want it, sir?"</p> + +<p>"If you can recall it, yes," smiled Nick, producing his notebook. "I am +making a study of the Hindoo language just at this time, and I would +like to consult Pandu Singe about certain books on the subject."</p> + +<p>Miss Page did not suspect any duplicity in this, and she cheerfully gave +Nick the address of the snake charmer, whereupon the detective +graciously thanked her, and then escorted her to her waiting carriage.</p> + +<p>As it rolled rapidly away a second hack came bowling up to the curbstone +in front of Nick's residence. It was the carriage for which Chick had +sent a call.</p> + +<p>"Don't cover your horses, cabbie!" cried Nick, sharply. "Wait about +three minutes, and we'll be with you."</p> + +<p>"Right, sir!"</p> + +<p>And Nick dashed back up the steps and into the house, meeting Chick in +the hall.</p> + +<p>"What do you make of it, Nick?"</p> + +<p>"Make of it?" cried Nick, with a laugh. "It's a cinch, Chick, dead open +and shut. Grab your hat and come with me. I'll explain in the carriage."</p> + +<p>"Good enough! I'm with you, old man!"</p> + +<p>"And we have no time to lose," cried Nick, "Now, then, we're off."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI" />CHAPTER XI.</h2> + +<h3>THE CRIME AND THE MEANS.</h3> + + +<p>"Yes, Chick, it's as simple as two plus two, and we'll presently try to +bag a part of our quarry. But first of all, I want a bit of +corroborative evidence which I expect to get from that Hindoo snake +charmer, Pandu Singe."</p> + +<p>"Going there first, Nick?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; it will not take long. Then I think we shall have the strands for +a rope strong enough to hold that she-devil who murdered Mary Barton," +grimly added Nick.</p> + +<p>These remarks were made while the carriage containing the two detectives +was speeding through the city streets, then bright with the light and +life of the early evening.</p> + +<p>"What a dastardly crime it was, Nick," observed Chick.</p> + +<p>"It was the crime of a treacherous demon."</p> + +<p>"With jealousy the chief motive, eh?"</p> + +<p>"No doubt of it."</p> + +<p>"Yet her venomous arrow found the wrong mark."</p> + +<p>"That's just the size of it," said Nick. "In the light of what you saw +and heard on the stage that night, it is plain that Cervera is +passionately in love with Venner."</p> + +<p>"Surely."</p> + +<p>"You remember that you saw him talking with Violet Page, and then +observed Cervera in the opposite wings, angrily watching something or +somebody out of your range of view. Plainly enough, now, she was +watching Venner and the singer."</p> + +<p>"No doubt of it," declared Chick. "And she looked fit to use a poniard +then and there."</p> + +<p>"Jealousy," growled Nick. "She had been secretly watching Venner. She +had discovered his love for Violet, and decided that the girl was a +rival to be feared. Her fiery Spanish blood would shrink at nothing. She +went the limit, and tried to murder her rival. In so doing, however, she +but killed another."</p> + +<p>"She must have worked adroitly to have accomplished what she did."</p> + +<p>"It may not have been so very difficult," replied Nick. "She was on the +stage each night, and also that infernal snake den. She quietly learned +which of the venomous reptiles would best serve her deadly purpose, and +then found an opportunity and a way by which to secretly steal it."</p> + +<p>"A hazardous job at that," muttered Chick.</p> + +<p>"The jealousy of such a woman fears nothing," Nick rejoined. "To lure +the desired snake into a box, and then take it home and confine it in +the jewel casket, may have been done quite easily."</p> + +<p>"It must have been done before the company closed its engagement."</p> + +<p>"No doubt," admitted Nick. "Then Cervera was too crafty to use it at +once. She waited nearly a week. Then she dressed herself in cheap +attire, put on a thick veil, and lay in wait for her rival's maid and +companion, to whom she gave the package and her instructions regarding +it."</p> + +<p>"What first led you to suspect the crime and the means, Nick?" inquired +Chick, curiously.</p> + +<p>"Several facts," explained Nick. "The girl's sudden death seemed +peculiar. The jewel casket beside her was empty, at once suggesting that +something had been removed or fallen from it. Yet nothing was to be +found."</p> + +<p>"That's true."</p> + +<p>"The paper wrapper was punctured with a pin in many places, the holes +running even through the lining of the casket. That fact, too, was +suggestive. People are not in the habit of doing up parcels and then +punching them full of holes with a pin."</p> + +<p>"Well, hardly."</p> + +<p>"Cervera made those holes, Chick, in order that her venomous captive +might not expire for want of air."</p> + +<p>"No doubt of it, Nick. But what do you think led Mary Barton to open the +package after having been told not to do so?"</p> + +<p>"Curiosity, perhaps," replied Nick. "Or possibly she considered the +circumstances to be so strange that she felt that she had a right to +open it. Be that as it may, it is plain that Mary Barton sat down on the +park seat, after leaving Boyden and there briefly considered the +matter."</p> + +<p>"How do you arrive at that deduction, Nick?"</p> + +<p>"From the tiny tinge of fresh blood about one of the pinholes on the +interior of the lining," explained Nick. "The stain must have come from +the point of the pin, and when the pin was drawn out of the box, not +when it was thrust into it. In the latter case the pin point would have +been cleansed before passing through the lining, and the stain would +have been on the outside rather than the inside."</p> + +<p>"Surely."</p> + +<p>"Then it at once became plain that Mary Barton, while sitting there, had +thrust her hat pin through one of the previously made apertures, +possibly aiming to discover in this way what the box contained, and in +so doing she probably pricked the confined reptile."</p> + +<p>"Ah, I see," nodded Chick. "All this strongly indicated that something +might have been confined in the casket."</p> + +<p>"Yes, certainly. Not thus learning what the box contained," continued +Nick, "Mary Barton decided to open it. The moment she raised the lid the +snake, probably angered by its wound and long confinement, instantly +struck at her hand, snake-fashion, and buried its fangs in her wrist."</p> + +<p>"Hence the tiny, red spot which you so quickly discovered."</p> + +<p>"Precisely."</p> + +<p>"Very shrewd of you, Nick."</p> + +<p>"Greatly frightened, the girl probably fainted, and fell to the ground," +added Nick, in conclusion of the deductions by which he had solved the +remarkable mystery. "The snake instantly scurried away through the +grass, and left no trail behind him. Before the girl could recover from +her swoon, the deadly poison had done its work. The venom of some of +these India snakes is horribly rapid in its action."</p> + +<p>"That's true," cried Chick. "I saw one at the theater that evening, the +venom of which would kill a man in ten seconds. A wee bit of a cuss at +that."</p> + +<p>"Probably this was one of the same breed," said Nick, grimly. "At all +events, I am sure that murder was the crime, and a snake the means."</p> + +<p>"And Sanetta Cervera the criminal."</p> + +<p>"Beyond the shadow of a doubt," declared Nick.</p> + +<p>"And what do you expect to learn from the Hindoo?"</p> + +<p>"I wish to know, in corroboration of my suspicions, whether Pandu Singe +has missed any of his infernal reptiles."</p> + +<p>"Ah, I see."</p> + +<p>"If he has, my theory is surely correct, and we next must fix the guilt +upon the guilty," said Nick, firmly. "I shall arrest Cervera this very +night, providing the Hindoo informs me that— Ah, here we are at his +door. Come into the house with me, Chick, and we'll see what he has to +say."</p> + +<p>They had stopped before an ordinary brick house on the East Side, and +Nick quickly mounted the steps and rang the bell. The summons brought a +corpulent English woman to the door, from whom Nick learned that the +Hindoo and his interpreter were still there.</p> + +<p>"Doesn't Pandu Singe speak English?" inquired Nick.</p> + +<p>"Dear me, no!" exclaimed the landlady, with a mute yet visible +laugh—visible in that her convolutions of flesh became observably +agitated. "Not the first word, sir. He talks only a blooming jargon fit +for snakes and spiders and that like."</p> + +<p>Nick laughed agreeably, having a request on his tongue's end.</p> + +<p>"He has moved his beastly den o' reptiles into my cellar to stay till +next season, sir, a 'orror I'd not stand for a minute, so I wouldn't, +only he pays me very 'andsome for the same."</p> + +<p>"Then he intends remaining here all summer, does he?"</p> + +<p>"He do," replied the woman, with startling terseness after the +foregoing.</p> + +<p>"I wish to see him briefly on business," said Nick. "Go and ask him if +he will receive us."</p> + +<p>The landlady complied, returning presently and inviting the two +detectives into the house. She led the way to a rear room off the hall, +at the door of which stood a swarthy foreigner, who bowed and smiled as +the callers approached.</p> + +<p>"'E's the hinterpreter," vouchsafed the landlady, in a wheezy whisper.</p> + +<p>Nick nodded understandingly.</p> + +<p>Reading by the light of a lamp on a table in the room sat the Hindoo +snake charmer himself, clad in a rich, loose robe of Oriental fashion. +He arose with much deliberation and dignity when the detectives entered, +and gravely bowed in greeting, while his interpreter hastened to place +chairs for the visitors.</p> + +<p>Through the interpreter Nick quickly explained his business, and saw a +look of surprise appear on the face of Pandu Singe when inquiries were +made about the loss of a snake.</p> + +<p>It took Nick but a short time to learn what he desired. Precisely as he +expected, the Hindoo had missed one of his snakes about ten days before, +one of the most venomous and dangerous of the lot.</p> + +<p>Hearing no reports or complaints about the missing reptile, however, +Pandu Singe had come to the conclusion that the snake had died in the +den and then been devoured by one of his companions in captivity. So the +Hindoo had let the matter drop, and had said nothing about it.</p> + +<p>Nick did not disclose the true occasion for his inquiries, but invented +a satisfactory explanation, and at the end of a quarter of an hour the +two detectives departed and entered their waiting carriage.</p> + +<p>"Rather a dignified chap, after all, that Pandu Singe," laughed Chick, +as they settled themselves on the cushions.</p> + +<p>"True," admitted Nick, thoughtfully. "Do you think, Chick, that we could +make up to pass for those two swarthy Orientals?"</p> + +<p>"Could we!" exclaimed Chick, promptly. "Well, Nick, I should say that we +could."</p> + +<p>"I think so, too."</p> + +<p>"You could do the snake charmer, all right, and easily gabble a lingo +that would pass for his."</p> + +<p>"Well, rather," laughed Nick.</p> + +<p>"And if I was wise to the game you wished to play I easily could act as +the interpreter, and run the conversation correctly on my own hook."</p> + +<p>"No doubt of it."</p> + +<p>"Do it? Why, surely we could," repeated Chick "Why did you ask?"</p> + +<p>"I think it may yet become necessary or desirable to make a move of +that kind," replied Nick.</p> + +<p>"Why so?"</p> + +<p>"Because, as I have suspected all along, I still think there is some big +game in the wind, with the Kilgore gang back of it, and that the murder +of this Barton girl may have some connection with it, or at least give +us a clew to it."</p> + +<p>"Egad! I hope so, Nick."</p> + +<p>"We soon shall see."</p> + +<p>"Going after Cervera now?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; at once," said Nick, with grim austerity. "We shall find her at +home, as usual. She'll not imagine that I can have got on her track as +quickly as this, so no doubt I can easily land her. Before midnight I +want bracelets on the white wrists of that Spanish dare-devil."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII" />CHAPTER XII.</h2> + +<h3>CLOSING IN.</h3> + + +<p>There was, indeed, as Nick Carter shrewdly suspected, a mysterious bond +between the several crimes thus far engaging his attention, and the +secret operations for which David Kilgore and his gang had ventured into +the city of New York.</p> + +<p>Nick had remarked, however, that the game would become as hazardous and +stirring as one could desire, as soon as it was fairly driven from +cover.</p> + +<p>And Nick began to drive it from cover that very night.</p> + +<p>Shortly before nine o'clock, and just as the two detectives were parting +from the Hindoo snake charmer, Mr. Rufus Venner rang the bell at the +door of Cervera's uptown residence.</p> + +<p>It was answered by Cervera herself, much to Venner's surprise.</p> + +<p>"Where's the butler to-night?" he abruptly demanded, as he entered and +closed the door.</p> + +<p>"Gone," said Cervera, curtly.</p> + +<p>"Gone?"</p> + +<p>"I've sacked him along with all the rest."</p> + +<p>"Not discharged all of your servants?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing less."</p> + +<p>"But why?" demanded Venner, with a frown settling about his dark eyes. +"You cannot remain here alone."</p> + +<p>"I don't intend to."</p> + +<p>"But what are you going to do? When are you going?"</p> + +<p>While thus speaking they had repaired to the library at the rear of the +house, the room in which Nick had encountered the gang nearly a +fortnight before. It was the only room then lighted. Even the hall +through which they had passed was in darkness.</p> + +<p>Yet Cervera was dressed in an elaborate evening gown, fitted close to +her lithe, nervous figure, and augmenting in a marked degree her +dangerous, dark beauty.</p> + +<p>"You know where I am going—or should!" she replied, facing Venner, with +an odd smile on her red lips.</p> + +<p>"Not to the diamond plant?" cried he, with a start.</p> + +<p>"To the diamond plant—yes!"</p> + +<p>"Impossible!"</p> + +<p>"You will find it's not impossible, Rufe," she retorted. "I generally go +where I wish, and do what I undertake. I have already sent my own jewels +and other valuables there by Pylotte. He was here this morning."</p> + +<p>"But consider, Sanetta," protested Venner, with a darker frown. "Think +of what chances you are taking."</p> + +<p>"Of what?"</p> + +<p>"Suppose Nick Carter suspects you, and has a shadow on your movements—"</p> + +<p>"Bah!" interrupted Cervera, with a snap and flash of her black eyes. "I +care nothing for Nick Carter. <i>Caramba!</i> do you think I fear him? I will +fool and foil Nick Carter as I have fooled and foiled his betters. I +shall go to the plant to-morrow, and that settles it."</p> + +<p>"Stop a bit," insisted Venner, almost angrily. "Do you forget that +Kilgore and all his gang are there? Do you forget that we are just +about launching our gigantic enterprise? We now have nearly a million +dollars' worth of diamonds manufactured, or in the process of making, +and I already have begun to distribute them on the market at a fabulous +profit."</p> + +<p>"Well, I know all that. What has it to do with my going there?"</p> + +<p>"Such a move on your part may give Carter a clew to our location," +declared Venner.</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, it won't," sneered Cervera, scornfully. "I'll look out for +that."</p> + +<p>"Discovery would ruin all, and possibly land the whole gang behind +prison bars."</p> + +<p>"Faugh! I'm as well at the plant as here, and there I am going. You let +me alone to evade the Carters."</p> + +<p>"But why in thunder are you so determined to make this change?" demanded +Venner.</p> + +<p>An amorous fire came stealing into the woman's resolute eyes, and she +shrugged her shapely shoulders significantly.</p> + +<p>"You should know why without asking," she slowly answered, with her gaze +fixed upon his changing countenance. "It is because I love you, Rufe, +and wish to be where you spend so much of your time."</p> + +<p>"So much of my time?" echoed Venner, inquiringly.</p> + +<p>"So at least you tell me."</p> + +<p>"Do you doubt it?"</p> + +<p>"I know that five days and nights have passed since you came here to see +me," cried Cervera, bitterly. "I have only your own word in explanation +of your neglect."</p> + +<p>"That should be enough," said Venner, curtly.</p> + +<p>"Yet a man after a new love does not shrink from lying to an old," +retorted Cervera.</p> + +<p>"Pshaw! You are jealous again."</p> + +<p>"A woman who loves as I love is always jealous."</p> + +<p>"Of whom now?"</p> + +<p>"You know of whom."</p> + +<p>"I tell you I have not seen Violet Page since the theater closed."</p> + +<p>"I have only your word for it," repeated Cervera, with incredulity +bright in her sensuous eyes. "You know what I told you, Rufe. I'll not +tamely permit that pale-faced nightingale to come between you and me. +You know what I told you. I would kill her as I would a—a snake!"</p> + +<p>Despite his own stiff nerves, Venner recoiled from the look on the +woman's desperate face. Her voice had fallen to a hiss like that of the +reptile mentioned.</p> + +<p>"You are mad, Sanetta," he cried, irritably. "You have no occasion for +this jealousy and hatred."</p> + +<p>"I have had! You know that I have had—and your face shows it!"</p> + +<p>"You have none now—absolutely none now!"</p> + +<p>His emphatic declaration fell upon Cervera with an effect which Venner +did not at first understand.</p> + +<p>She sprang quickly toward him, gripping him hard by the wrist, while her +every nerve seemed stimulated with sudden agitation.</p> + +<p>"None now? None now—now?" she fiercely reiterated, in inquiring +whispers. "Do you mean that—that it is done? that it is done?"</p> + +<p>"Done?" gasped Venner, amazedly. "Is what done? What the devil are you +driving at?"</p> + +<p>She drew back, searching his eyes with hers, and hers were like those of +a demon, in her momentary suspense.</p> + +<p>"Then it isn't—it isn't?" she hissed, through her white teeth. "I +thought from what you said that it was. I thought—"</p> + +<p>"Good God! what do you mean?" cried Venner, aghast for a moment.</p> + +<p>Then, struck with a sudden recollection, he turned and snatched an +evening paper from a pocket of his coat, which he had tossed on a chair. +He had recalled certain leader lines which had caught his eye earlier in +the evening, yet which he then had not had sufficient interest to +follow.</p> + +<p>Now he hurriedly opened the paper and read the story, or so much of it +as enabled him to guess the truth.</p> + +<p>It was the newspaper story of the girl found dead in Central Park that +afternoon, with the mystery involving the sudden fatality, and the names +of the murdered girl and her mistress, Violet Page.</p> + +<p>A half-smothered oath of horror and dismay broke from Venner, after a +moment.</p> + +<p>It brought Cervera to his side, and she snatched the paper from him and +read—the story of her own failure; the miscarriage of her own jealous +and murderous design.</p> + +<p>She suppressed the shriek of mingled disappointment and fury that rose +to her twitching lips, then passionately cast the paper upon the table.</p> + +<p>"Well, what do you make of it?" she demanded, glaring at Venner's +colorless face.</p> + +<p>"No need to ask," he replied, hoarsely. "You know what I make of it."</p> + +<p>"You think I did it?"</p> + +<p>"I know you did it!"</p> + +<p>"And killed the wrong girl?"</p> + +<p>"And killed the wrong girl!"</p> + +<p>"Can you guess how?"</p> + +<p>"I don't care how. I know that you did it."</p> + +<p>"You will not betray me?" hissed Cervera, crouching before him, with +eyes never leaving his.</p> + +<p>"I have no wish to betray you."</p> + +<p>"You dare not! you dare not!"</p> + +<p>"I shall not!"</p> + +<p>"If you do—"</p> + +<p>The woman checked her words for an instant, and ran her hand into the +bosom of her dress. When she drew it forth it gripped a naked poniard, +upon the polished blade of which the rays of light flashed with many a +wicked gleam and glint.</p> + +<p>"If you do," she repeated, "I will send you after her, Rufus Venner! I +will do even more! I will expose our whole game, and our whole gang!"</p> + +<p>"I have said that I shall not betray you, nor will I," cried Venner, +signing for her to put up the weapon. "Yet you were mad, Sanetta. You +had no grounds for such jealousy, no occasion for such a crime."</p> + +<p>"I had—and you know it! I told you I would do it."</p> + +<p>"Well, you have tried it, at least," growled Venner, forcing a smile to +his gray lips.</p> + +<p>"And you dare not betray me," repeated Cervera, thrusting the glittering +weapon within her dress. "I have not failed entirely, Rufe, since it +makes the criminal tie between you and me all the stronger. It binds us +together with links of steel, Rufe, and they are stronger far than any +marriage contract."</p> + +<p>"Then you love me like that, eh?"</p> + +<p>"You know that I do."</p> + +<p>"Yet your infernal jealousy, and your determination to quit this house +and go to the plant with the gang, may yet ruin us all. If Nick Carter +were to get a clew—"</p> + +<p>"Bah!" Cervera fiercely interrupted. "I despise him, not fear him! I +tell you again, I will fool and foil Nick Carter, as I have fooled and +foiled his betters!"</p> + +<p>"His better as a detective never lived, Sanetta."</p> + +<p>"I care not! I defy him, and will yet show you that—"</p> + +<p>"Hush! Hark! A cab has stopped outside!"</p> + +<p>Cervera changed like a flash.</p> + +<p>With the bound of a leopard, one of those lightning moves with which she +could electrify an audience from the stage, she crossed the adjoining +room, which was in darkness, and reached the front window.</p> + +<p>One glance through the lace draperies was enough.</p> + +<p>Nick Carter was just alighting from his carriage.</p> + +<p>Cervera darted back and rejoined Venner.</p> + +<p>"It is Carter—Nick Carter himself!" she fiercely whispered, with all +the fire of her passionate Spanish nature ablaze in her eyes.</p> + +<p>"Carter! Good God!"</p> + +<p>"Be off, Rufe, and leave him to me!"</p> + +<p>"To you alone?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"He already is on your track for this crime."</p> + +<p>"I'll foil him yet! Leave him to me alone!" Cervera fiercely cried. "Be +off by the back stairs, then through the stable and the side alley. Go +to your own home, and from there signal Kilgore to have the secret way +to the plant open for me. Here—the paper! Take it away with you! I'll +elude Carter—"</p> + +<p>"But he may arrest you at once," protested Venner, excitedly. "If he +does—"</p> + +<p>"<i>Caramba!</i> do you stop to question?" Cervera furiously interrupted. "If +he takes me from this house he will take me—dead!"</p> + +<p>"But—"</p> + +<p>"Quick—he's at the door! Leave him to me alone, and do what I told you! +Away! There's the bell!"</p> + +<p>Venner caught up his coat, darted down the back stairs and quickly +departed by the way mentioned.</p> + +<p>At the same time, while Nick's summons was still echoing through the +great house, Sanetta Cervera swept haughtily through the main hall, +switched on the electric light, and then opened the front door.</p> + +<p>She appeared as cool and composed as if she had just arisen from her +dinner.</p> + +<p>Yet in the vestibule stood the one man whom she had most cause to fear, +the man who now held her fate in his hand—Nick Carter.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII" />CHAPTER XIII.</h2> + +<h3>CRAFTY CERVERA.</h3> + + +<p>"Good-evening, Mr. Venner. Oh, it's not you!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, 'tis!" said Nick, dryly. "It's I all right, and I'm it. You +appear surprised at seeing me, Señora Cervera."</p> + +<p>Cervera had begun, then stopped, then uttered the startled exclamation; +and all with the utmost coolness, with the air of one stirred only by +genuine surprise, and as if without the slightest fear or dismay upon +beholding Nick Carter in the vestibule.</p> + +<p>So perfectly natural was her artful assumption, that it rather deceived +Nick for a short time.</p> + +<p>In response to his dry remarks, the artful jade now nodded and began to +laugh.</p> + +<p>"Surprised? Well, rather!" she exclaimed, in animated tones. "I was +expecting our mutual friend, dear Mr. Venner, and supposed it was he who +rang. But I'm just as pleased to see you."</p> + +<p>"Yes?"</p> + +<p>"Surely! Come in, Detective Carter. You are very, very welcome. I shall +be so glad to renew our brief acquaintance. In fact, Detective Carter, I +am quite charmed to see you."</p> + +<p>"You'll not feel so chipper and charmed when you learn my business," +said Nick to himself, as he entered and followed her to the library.</p> + +<p>"Take a chair, Detective Carter, and try to feel perfectly at home," +laughed Cervera, with bantering vivacity. "You have been here before, +you know."</p> + +<p>"Yes, indeed, I know," said Nick, dryly. "The night I had a taste of a +choke pear, at the hands of your faithful guardians."</p> + +<p>"Ah! but you shall be better treated this time," smiled Cervera, +dropping into a chair opposite the detective, and fixing her sensuous, +dark eyes on Nick's calm, unreadable face.</p> + +<p>"I hope so, señora," he replied. "By the way, what has become of those +two stalwart guardians of your treasures? Do you still retain them in +your employ?"</p> + +<p>It was second nature to Nick to feel his way in this crafty fashion, yet +he did not really expect any resistance in arresting Cervera, who now +laughed and shook her head, replying:</p> + +<p>"No, I have let them go."</p> + +<p>"That so?"</p> + +<p>"I have no use for them at present."</p> + +<p>"Why is that?"</p> + +<p>"My engagement at the theater has closed, and I seldom have occasion to +wear my diamonds. I have placed them all in a safe deposit vault."</p> + +<p>"Ah! I see."</p> + +<p>"So I have no need for my guardians, Detective Carter, with only myself +here. Nobody would want me personally, you know," she added, with a bold +laugh.</p> + +<p>Nick's firm lips drew a little closer.</p> + +<p>"On the contrary," said he, pointedly, "somebody does, want you +personally."</p> + +<p>"Oh! is that so?" cried Cervera, as if amused.</p> + +<p>"Very much so, señora."</p> + +<p>"And who does me the honor, pray?"</p> + +<p>"I want you," said Nick, bluntly.</p> + +<p>"You, Detective Carter! Why, sir, what an idea! I wouldn't have believed +it of you."</p> + +<p>"Yet it is true, nevertheless."</p> + +<p>"Well, well," repeated Cervera, with a pretty shrug, "I am really glad +to hear you say so. For what do you want me, Detective Carter?"</p> + +<p>Not once had Nick's searching gaze left her brazen countenance, and +despite her outward display of badinage, his steadfast and penetrating +eyes were making her secretly uneasy.</p> + +<p>"I want you," said Nick, pointedly, "for that ugly 'Jack-in-the-box' +trick which you perpetrated this afternoon."</p> + +<p>Cervera's eyes emitted a single swift, fiery gleam, and her red lips +drew closer. Yet she cried, still pleasantly:</p> + +<p>"What do you mean by that, Detective Carter? Is it a joke?"</p> + +<p>"You'll find it no joke."</p> + +<p>"If it is, sir, I don't see the point."</p> + +<p>"You will have a chance to look for it at the Tombs," replied Nick, with +grim quietude. "Señora Cervera, I want you to go along with me."</p> + +<p>"The Tombs! Go with you! What do you mean?"</p> + +<p>"I mean that you are now under arrest."</p> + +<p>"Arrest! For what?"</p> + +<p>"For the murder of a girl named Mary Barton," Nick bluntly rejoined, +ignoring the woman's increasing display of amazement and resentment.</p> + +<p>"Mary Barton!" cried Cervera. "I never heard of the girl."</p> + +<p>"Nevertheless," said Nick, sternly, "you met her on Fifth Avenue this +afternoon, and gave her a jewel casket containing a venomous snake, +which you had stolen from the den of Pandu Singe, and by which means you +inadvertently killed Mary Barton, instead of another for whom your +infernal design was intended. I am aware of all of your late movements, +señora, you see."</p> + +<p>"I see that you are a devil!" cried Cervera, with a sudden passionate +outburst. "How dare you come here with such a story as that?"</p> + +<p>For a moment at least, the fact that Nick already had discovered nearly +every detail of her infamous crime—though committed only a few hours +before—almost completely unnerved her, and her changing countenance, +her irrepressible outbreak, and the violent agitation of her lithe, +nervous figure, were tokens of self-betrayal by no means unobserved by +Nick.</p> + +<p>"You'll have a chance to refute the story before a judge and jury," Nick +curtly answered. "At present you are in my custody, however, and you +must go with me."</p> + +<p>Cervera rose to her feet, trembling visibly, and gripped the back of her +chair as if for support.</p> + +<p>"There must be some terrible mistake, Detective Carter," she now cried, +with well-feigned distress and alarm. "Surely you do not mean this, +sir? Surely you do but jest?"</p> + +<p>"On the contrary, señora, I mean every word that I have said."</p> + +<p>"That I am under arrest?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"And must go with you?"</p> + +<p>"Precisely."</p> + +<p>"To the Tombs?"</p> + +<p>"To the Tombs, señora."</p> + +<p>"Oh! this is dreadful—dreadful!" craftily moaned Cervera, with tears +now filling her eyes.</p> + +<p>"I am sorry for you, señora, but I must do my duty," said Nick, rising.</p> + +<p>"I know you must—but, oh! what shall I do? To whom can I appeal? Oh! if +Mr. Venner were only here!"</p> + +<p>"You can send a messenger for him later, or dispatch one of your +servants from here," suggested Nick.</p> + +<p>"I have none here," sobbed Cervera. "They are all out, and I am alone. I +have no one—"</p> + +<p>She suddenly stopped, then drew herself up with resentful dignity, and +wiped the tears from her eyes.</p> + +<p>"I am a fool to be so weak!" she exclaimed, bitterly. "Detective Carter, +I know nothing of the crime you mention. I never heard of Mary Barton. +This arrest is an outrage, and I will appeal to the highest court in the +land for vindication!"</p> + +<p>"That's your privilege," said Nick, shortly. "But at present you must go +with me."</p> + +<p>"I cannot go as I am," declared Cervera, passionately stamping her +foot. "I am in evening dress—attired to receive a caller. I shall take +cold if I go out of doors in—"</p> + +<p>"Oh, you may change your dress," Nick curtly interrupted, the need of +which was decidedly obvious. "I'll give you time for that."</p> + +<p>"How very kind," sneered Cervera, with a bitter flash of her black eyes. +"You shall yet suffer for this affront, Detective Carter."</p> + +<p>"All right," said Nick. "But I have no time to speculate upon it now, so +get yourself ready. Wait a bit, my lady! I'll go along with you!"</p> + +<p>"With me? You insult me!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, I don't. I want a look at your chamber before letting you out +of my sight. I've seen rooms with more than one way out, and I don't +intend that you shall elude me."</p> + +<p>"You're a suspicious coward, sir!"</p> + +<p>"Stow all that, señora, and lead the way," commanded Nick, bluntly.</p> + +<p>Pale and resentful, with a sneer on her lips, Cervera led the way +through, the hall, playing her part so artfully that Nick, ignorant of +her late interview with Rufus Venner, was not much inclined to suspect +her of duplicity just then.</p> + +<p>Upon reaching the top of the hall stairs, Cervera switched on another +light, and then that which illumined her chamber, into which she +haughtily led the detective.</p> + +<p>"A fine affront to suffer," she bitterly exclaimed, throwing herself +into a chair. "Your conduct is despicable! You are no gentleman!"</p> + +<p>"I am a detective," retorted Nick, "and I come pretty near knowing my +business."</p> + +<p>"Oh! you do," sneered Cervera. "Plainly that is the limit of your +knowledge. You may not be as wise as you think."</p> + +<p>Nick made no reply, but looked sharply about the room.</p> + +<p>It was a large, square chamber, and elaborately furnished. The two +windows were well above the street, and offered no chance for escape. +There were but two doors, that leading into the hall and the one leading +into a large closet in the opposite wall.</p> + +<p>Nick opened the latter, and found the closet hung with Cervera's +extensive wardrobe. He thrust his arm along the garments hanging at +either side, and sounded the three walls, and then the closet floor, all +of which appeared perfectly firm and solid.</p> + +<p>Even these precautions seemed quite needless to Nick, however, it being +a rented house, and Cervera presumably uninformed of his coming.</p> + +<p>"Now, señora, you may have just ten minutes to make ready," said he, as +he rejoined her. "I shall leave this chamber door open, and will wait +for you in the adjoining hall. Can you whistle?"</p> + +<p>"Whistle?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, whistle! You know what it is to whistle, don't you?"</p> + +<p>The sneer on Cervera's red lips, as she arose from her chair, became +almost a smile.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I can whistle after a fashion," she admitted.</p> + +<p>"Well, then, you keep whistling all the time you are alone here," Nick +sternly commanded. "I will let you out of my sight to make these +changes, but not out of my hearing."</p> + +<p>"Suspicious fool!"</p> + +<p>"Fool or not, you keep whistling," said Nick, bluntly. "If you let up +for so long as a second, I'll come over yonder threshold in a way that +you'll not fancy."</p> + +<p>"But suppose I want to brush my teeth?" inquired Cervera, with a +vixenish light in her evil eyes. "I cannot whistle and brush my teeth, +Detective Carter."</p> + +<p>"You'll have plenty of time to brush your teeth at the Tombs," said +Nick, sharply. "Now look lively, mark you, and—keep whistling."</p> + +<p>Cervera at once began to whistle.</p> + +<p>Nick removed the key from the chamber door, and sauntered out into the +hall, where he kept his ears constantly alert.</p> + +<p>Not for a moment did the whistling cease, nor was there the slightest +change in tone or character.</p> + +<p>Nick could not have taken a more effective method to serve his present +purpose.</p> + +<p>At the end of eight minutes the whistling ceased, and Cervera coldly +cried:</p> + +<p>"Now you may come in, Detective Carter. I am about ready to go with +you."</p> + +<p>Nick at once entered the chamber.</p> + +<p>Cervera had changed her evening dress for a complete suit of black, and +was standing in the middle of the room.</p> + +<p>"I suppose," said she, staring icily at the detective, "that I ought to +thank you for your consideration."</p> + +<p>"Don't trouble yourself," said Nick, curtly. "I have no time to waste."</p> + +<p>"Yet just one word, Detective Carter, before we go."</p> + +<p>"Let it be brief, then."</p> + +<p>"You are said to be a very clever man, and no doubt you think you have +me dead to rights in this case," said Cervera, with a mocking curl of +her thin lips.</p> + +<p>"Decidedly so."</p> + +<p>"Yet you will find, Detective Carter, that a clever woman can always +fool and foil a clever man."</p> + +<p>"But you, my lady, are very far from being a clever woman," retorted +Nick, with a gesture of impatience, signifying that he wished to leave +with her at once.</p> + +<p>"Nevertheless, I shall beat you at the finish, make no mistake about +that," cried Cervera, scornfully. "Now, sir, I will put on my wrap, and +go with you where you please."</p> + +<p>With the last remark, she approached a peg in the open closet, as if to +take down a dark shawl.</p> + +<p>Instead, she suddenly turned quickly around and cried, with a taunting +laugh:</p> + +<p>"So long, Detective Carter! I really feel quite sorry to bid +you—good-by!"</p> + +<p>Nick started like a man electrified.</p> + +<p>Cervera merely had pressed the peg on which the shawl hung, whereupon +the whole back of the closet seemed to fall away instantly, disclosing a +lighted passage beyond.</p> + +<p>Nick caught a glimpse of it, and of the woman darting toward it, and he +followed her like a shot from a gun.</p> + +<p>As Cervera passed through the further opening and gained the lighted +passage, she seized and threw a short lever just beyond the closet wall.</p> + +<p>At the same moment Nick's weight fell upon the closet floor behind her.</p> + +<p>It was like treading upon air.</p> + +<p>The lever, like the peg, did not work in an instant.</p> + + +<p>Nick felt himself falling, and made a desperate clutch at the door +jamb—only to miss it.</p> + +<p>Then the closet floor, with the detective upon it, went speeding down +like an elevator cut loose from a top story.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV" />CHAPTER XIV.</h2> + +<h3>IN A WARM CORNER.</h3> + + +<p>The crash with which Nick Carter vaguely expected his career might be +abruptly ended, as the floor upon which he had fallen prostrate rapidly +descended, did not come.</p> + +<p>The terrific downward speed suddenly decreased, then became more +gradual, all in the bare fraction of a second; and then the rushing +sound of compressed air escaping through narrow crevices fell upon the +detective's ears.</p> + +<p>Nick immediately guessed the truth.</p> + +<p>The falling closet floor was that of an elevator, no longer in use as +such, yet which still worked on the slides of the elevator well, and +evidently had been cleverly adjusted for just such an emergency as that +depicted.</p> + +<p>Presently there came a heavy jar, and then the downward motion ceased. +The close-fitting floor at first had fallen so swiftly that the confined +air in the well beneath it had become so compressed as to form an air +cushion, which finally let the floor completely down only after the air +had gradually escaped. It was this escaping air Nick heard during the +last moments of his fall.</p> + +<p>The entire episode began and ended in but little more than a moment, +however. Though considerably jarred, Nick pulled himself together, and +gazed up through the darkness at the bottom of the well.</p> + +<p>Cervera was peering down from the lighted passage three stories above +him, Nick having made a clean drop into the cellar of the imposing +residence.</p> + +<p>That this entire contrivance was the work of the Kilgore gang, devised +while they masqueraded at Cervera's house, Nick was thoroughly +convinced.</p> + +<p>"Hello!" Cervera suddenly cried, still gazing down into the darkness +enveloping Nick. "Are you there, Mr. Carter?"</p> + +<p>Nick stared up at her, but made no answer.</p> + +<p>At the same time he felt quietly over the walls of the well, in the hope +of finding some way of escape.</p> + +<p>It riled him not a little, the thought of having been so deftly caught +in a trap, almost entirely owing to his having been overconfident, an +assurance only very natural under the circumstances.</p> + +<p>The possibility that this woman might now elude him for a time was also +a thorn in Nick's mind.</p> + +<p>"<i>Caramba!</i>" cried Cervera, with a mocking laugh. "Aren't you going to +speak?"</p> + +<p>Still no answer.</p> + +<p>"Have you lost your tongue, Detective Carter? If you don't speak out, +Mr. Smart Fellow, I shall drop something down that will light you up. I +want a look at you, to know whether you're afoot or on horseback."</p> + +<p>Nick remained in perfect silence.</p> + +<p>Then Cervera disappeared.</p> + +<p>"The she-devil!" muttered the detective. "What move next, I wonder?"</p> + +<p>Again he felt quickly over the walls of the well, in the hope of finding +some avenue of escape.</p> + +<p>With a thrill of satisfaction, he now discovered one of the vertical +strips of iron which are attached to two opposite walls of an elevator +well, to steady the car and serve as slides for it to run upon. These +iron strips are usually regularly notched to the depth of an inch or +more, for the admission of an automatic break in the event of the rope +parting.</p> + +<p>"By Jove! this is not so bad," thought Nick. "It might serve for a +ladder.</p> + +<p>"To climb three stories with the tips of one's fingers and toes, +however, and by means of a notched iron on the bare face of a wall, is a +herculean and hazardous undertaking."</p> + +<p>While he stood, measuring the altitude with his eyes, Nick heard Cervera +returning.</p> + +<p>Then a great bunch of flaming paper came flying down the well, and the +detective was forced to leap aside to escape it.</p> + +<p>She-devil, indeed, Cervera had set fire to a crumpled newspaper, with +which to illuminate the bottom of the well.</p> + +<p>"Ah, there you are!" she exultingly cried, on discovering Nick in the +glare of the light. "On your feet, eh? You were lucky to escape, +Detective Carter."</p> + +<p>"And you'll be lucky if you escape Detective Carter," sternly retorted +Nick, quickly stamping out the fire. "I'll finally land you, my crafty +young woman, though I lie awake nights to devise a way."</p> + +<p>Cervera gave vent to a shrill, vindictive laugh.</p> + +<p>"Do you think you can do it?" she demanded, mockingly.</p> + +<p>"You'll find that I can."</p> + +<p>"Better men than you have tried—and failed."</p> + +<p>"Yet I shall succeed."</p> + +<p>"Do you feel quite sure of it?"</p> + +<p>"Absolutely."</p> + +<p>"Then I think I'd better see your finish this very night, since I now +have you cornered!" cried Cervera, in taunting tones, "It may not be +wise to defer it."</p> + +<p>Then Nick beheld a second burning newspaper coming his way.</p> + +<p>"Let up, you demon!" he shouted, angrily. "You'll set the house afire."</p> + +<p>"Wouldn't it be a shame! And what would become of you?"</p> + +<p>"Don't try it again, young woman, or worse may be your fate."</p> + +<p>"Oh! is that so?" sneered Cervera, maliciously. "We'll see."</p> + +<p>Down came another burning paper, and by the light of it Nick now +discovered a closed door in one of the walls. It was directly under the +closet door in Cervera's chamber, both of which evidently had once been +used for entering the elevator.</p> + +<p>The fact chiefly observed by Nick, however, was that the sill of the +door was wide enough to offer him a safe footing. Though it was fully +eight feet above his head, Nick resolved to attempt to reach it by means +of the notched iron on the side wall.</p> + +<p>Gripping the rough notches with his muscular fingers, and using those +lower down for a foothold, as best he could, Nick hurriedly began the +difficult ascent.</p> + +<p>By the light from a fragment of burning paper, Cervera perceived his +design, and greeted it with a scream of derision.</p> + +<p>"I'll soon stop that, my fine fellow," she shouted, with vicious +asperity. "Look out for yourself!"</p> + +<p>White speaking, she touched a match to one of her dresses, which hung +from a near peg on the closet wall, and dropped it blazing down the +well.</p> + +<p>Nick saw it coming, and was forced to drop back to the cellar floor.</p> + +<p>"You vicious demon!" he cried, angrily. "Let up! You'll have the house +on fire!"</p> + +<p>"That's just what I intend doing—and you with it!" screamed Cervera, +with a laugh. "I'll not leave you alive to get the best of me at some +later day."</p> + +<p>Then she set fire to a silk skirt, and dropped it after the other.</p> + +<p>Nick had not yet been able to extinguish the first, and the situation +was momentarily becoming more desperate. A cloud of smoke was filling +the well, with no draft to carry it away, and the heat was already very +oppressive.</p> + +<p>Crouching on the curb of the lighted passage three floors above him, +Cervera was laughing wildly, with her handsome face reflecting the +bitter hatred by which she was inspired, as she hurriedly set fire to a +third garment and dropped it down the well.</p> + +<p>The smoke at the bottom had become so dense that Nick no longer could +see her, but he felt quite sure that he could put an end to her present +murderous game.</p> + +<p>He drew his revolver and fired two quick shots in her direction. One +bullet crashed through the ceiling above her. The second clipped a lock +of hair from over the vixen's ear.</p> + +<p>It brought a shriek of alarm to her lips, and she sprang quickly back +from the curb over which she was stooping.</p> + +<p>"<i>Caramba!</i>" she yelled, excitedly. "That's your game, is it?"</p> + +<p>"You'll find it is, if you approach that opening again!" cried Nick, +half choked with smoke, while he fiercely strove to extinguish the +blazing garments.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I'll not give you another chance at me!" screamed Cervera. "I'll +push over something heavier, and crush out your life with—"</p> + +<p>She suddenly stopped, then held her breath and listened.</p> + +<p>The crash of a breaking door reached her ears, then hurried footsteps +began falling on the main stairway leading to her chamber.</p> + +<p>"Some one is coming!" she fiercely muttered. "Perhaps another detective! +I must be off!"</p> + +<p>Yet so bitter was her hatred of Nick, and so intensely enjoyable to her +the trick she had served him, that she lingered for an instant in the +face of the impending danger, and screamed down the well, with a mocking +laugh:</p> + +<p>"I'm obliged to leave you, Detective Carter! While I'm gone—keep +whistling!"</p> + +<p>At the same moment Chick Carter rushed into the chamber and caught a +glimpse of her through the wreathing smoke, as she fled through the +lighted passage.</p> + +<p>One glance at the scene gave Chick the entire situation.</p> + +<p>He drew back, took a short run, and with a magnificent bound cleared the +open well, and leaped squarely through the closet and into the lighted +passage.</p> + +<p>Then the crash of a heavy door, suddenly closed, and the shooting of +bolts, told him that Cervera had prevented pursuit for a time at least, +and Chick swung round to the open well, to see if Nick needed him.</p> + +<p>"Hello, Nick!" he shouted. "The woman—"</p> + +<p>"Let her go!" roared Nick, still fiercely fighting the flames that +threatened the woodwork of the well. "Let her go—we'll get her later! +First save the house!"</p> + +<p>"How can I reach you?"</p> + +<p>"Through a door under the one in her chamber," shouted Nick. "Try that."</p> + +<p>Chick cleared the well with another leap, then dashed downstairs and +into the parlor, which was lighted by the glare from both hall and +library.</p> + +<p>He quickly discovered the door—only to find it locked and the key +removed.</p> + +<p>Chick was promptly equal to so slight an emergency, however. Grasping a +heavy stool near the piano, he swung it above his head, and with half a +dozen rapid blows demolished most of the door, and forced it open.</p> + +<p>A cloud of smoke floated into the room, but a glance showed Chick that +Nick now had the flames extinguished.</p> + +<p>"Are you all right, old man?" he demanded.</p> + +<p>"Only a little in need of fresh air," gasped Nick. "You cannot reach +down to me."</p> + +<p>"Wait a bit, then. This will do the business!"</p> + +<p>Chick had turned and snatched off the thick cloth covering of the piano, +which he quickly twisted and lowered over the doorsill, and then braced +himself to sustain Nick's weight.</p> + +<p>"All right?" cried Nick.</p> + +<p>"Yes. Come on!"</p> + +<p>Nick drew himself up until he could grasp the sill of the door, then +easily reached the floor and the clearer atmosphere of the parlor.</p> + +<p>"Well, here's a pretty mess!" he growled, in tones of self-condemnation. +"If ever I was done by a crafty jade, I've been done by one this night."</p> + +<p>"How in thunder did it happen, Nick?" demanded Chick, with no little +amazement.</p> + +<p>Nick very quickly told him, and explained the occasion of his own lack +of distrust and caution.</p> + +<p>"It being a rented house, I did not look for any such trap as this," +said he. "Furthermore, I did not believe that Cervera had any warning of +my coming, and I felt satisfied that she was alone here. Have you seen +anything of Venner while waiting in the cab?"</p> + +<p>"Not a sign of him."</p> + +<p>"It's odds, then, that he was here when I arrived, and made his escape +by a back door," growled Nick. "If so, it goes to show that he is in +with her and the Kilgore push, and not a blind victim to their cunning. +We now must get some proof of that, Chick, and force that gang and +their game to light. We at least have made a beginning, and now for +another move."</p> + +<p>"To-night?"</p> + +<p>"At once!" declared Nick. "Cervera must find shelter somewhere, and it's +very likely she will go to Venner's house. That must be our next point, +and we will lose no time. Possibly we yet may land her before she finds +cover."</p> + +<p>"We can give it a try," cried Chick.</p> + +<p>"Help me extinguish these lights, and then we'll be off again."</p> + +<p>"I'm with you."</p> + +<p>"What sent you into the house so suddenly?"</p> + +<p>"The reports of your revolver," explained Chick. "I at once recognized +its bark, and knew something was wrong."</p> + +<p>"Ah! I see."</p> + +<p>"I saw the light in the chamber, and supposed you might be letting the +woman prepare to go with you," added Chick. "That was while I sat in the +cab. But when I heard your gun, I smashed open the front door and bolted +upstairs."</p> + +<p>"Very lucky, too," nodded Nick. "That she-devil would have burned the +house, and me in the bargain. But the end is not yet."</p> + +<p>"Well, hardly!" laughed Chick, as they descended the front stairs and +extinguished the last light.</p> + +<p>"We'll stop an officer, and send him here to watch the house," said +Nick. "Then we'll have a look at Venner's dwelling. It's my opinion, +Chick, that our work has now begun in good earnest."</p> + +<p>"Well, I reckon we shall prove equal to it," smiled Chick, rather +grimly, as they hastened to enter the waiting carriage.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV" />CHAPTER XV.</h2> + +<h3>THE DIAMOND PLANT.</h3> + + +<p>"This does settle it!"</p> + +<p>"What do you mean, Dave?"</p> + +<p>"It must be done?"</p> + +<p>"We must get these Carters—that's what! If we don't get them, +Spotty—you take my word for it—they'll get us!"</p> + +<p>"Do you really think so, Dave?"</p> + +<p>"Not think, but know so!" declared Kilgore, with emphasis. "I know these +Carters, root and branch. They have now struck our trail, and they'll +stick to it like bloodhounds till they run us down—unless we get them! +It must be done, I say, and done promptly."</p> + +<p>"Put them down and out?"</p> + +<p>"Exactly. It's them—or us!"</p> + +<p>"And why do you think, all of a sudden, Dave, that Nick Carter is so hot +on our heels?"</p> + +<p>"I'll tell you why, Spotty."</p> + +<p>And Mr. David Kilgore, chief of the notorious diamond gang bearing his +name, and one of the keenest and coolest criminals in or out of prison +walls, removed his pipe from his mouth and his heels from the edge of +the table, and drew forward in his chair to explain.</p> + +<p>It was a curious place, that in which the speakers of the above were +seated, in the bright glare of an electric light.</p> + +<p>It was inclosed with four solid stone walls, with not a window or +aperture through which a ray of light could be detected from outside.</p> + +<p>Yet in one of the walls was a low, narrow door, also of stone, and so +cleverly constructed and fitted that, when swung into place in the wall, +it was comparatively beyond the detection of anybody ignorant of its +existence. This door then stood open, but the aperture through the wall +was heavily curtained.</p> + +<p>Three of these walls formed the original foundation of an old and +extensive suburban mansion, the location, ownership and present use of +which will presently appear. The fourth wall, that with the door, was of +more recent construction, and was built squarely across the original +cellar of the house. It had been made to mask this secret subterranean +chamber in which the Kilgore gang was then gathered.</p> + +<p>The place was commodious, and contained some noteworthy objects. In one +corner was a powerful hydraulic press. Near by was a splendid electrical +furnace, capable of generating an extraordinary degree of heat. Against +the adjoining wall were several barrels of sulphur, of which only one +was unheaded. Near by was a large box of anthracite coal, black and +glistening in the rays of the arc light.</p> + +<p>Parallel with the opposite wall was a workbench, laden with curious +retorts, crucibles, test tubes, metal molds, and no end of tools, all of +which plainly suggested the work of one versed both in chemistry and +some mechanical art.</p> + +<p>In the middle of the room was a square deal table, at which Kilgore was +seated, with Matt Stall and Spotty Dalton, the original three of the +Kilgore gang.</p> + +<p>Two other persons were present, however, and they were engaged in +examining some work on the bench mentioned.</p> + +<p>One of them was a tall, angular Frenchman, about sixty years of age, +named Jean Pylotte. He had a slender figure, somewhat bowed; but his +head was massive, in which his gleaming, gray eyes were deeply sunk, +like those of a tireless student and hard worker.</p> + +<p>His companion at the bench just then was Sanetta Cervera, the Spanish +dancer—the murderess of Mary Barton—the vicious dare-devil who had +served Nick Carter one of her evil tricks that very evening.</p> + +<p>Cervera had arrived at the diamond plant less than an hour before, and +had hurriedly told her confederates the whole story of her crime and her +adventure with Nick.</p> + +<p>Crime was too common with these outlaws, however, and loyalty to one +another too natural, for Kilgore to censure his only female confederate +very severely. Yet as Kilgore now proceeded to explain, her crime had +rendered their situation decidedly more alarming.</p> + +<p>"I'll tell you why these Carters are now to be seriously feared," said +he, nodding grimly at his hearers. "This last move of Cervera has hurt +us severely."</p> + +<p>"In what way?" demanded Spotty Dalton, the pock-marked chap who had +relieved Venner's partner of the Hafferman diamonds about two weeks +before. "I don't see just how, Dave."</p> + +<p>"No more do I," put in Matt Stall.</p> + +<p>"You'll see," replied Kilgore, "when I run over a few facts which led +to our being here, and at work on our present game."</p> + +<p>"Well, Dave, we're listening."</p> + +<p>"One year ago we three were in Amsterdam, Holland, weren't we?"</p> + +<p>"Sure."</p> + +<p>"At work on a different kind of a game?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Only we three were then in the gang."</p> + +<p>"That's right, Dave. Now there are seven of us, counting Venner and his +partner."</p> + +<p>"It was in Amsterdam that we first met her nibs," continued Kilgore, +with a jerk of his thumb in the direction of Cervera, who was so engaged +with Pylotte that neither heeded the talk at the table.</p> + +<p>"Yes, Dave, we met her just a year ago," nodded Dalton.</p> + +<p>"She was then doing her dances in a theater there, and we naturally got +our peepers onto her diamonds," Kilgore went on to narrate. "You fellows +already know the scheme by which we tried to relieve her of them, which +we came so near doing."</p> + +<p>"Well, rather," grinned Dalton, as if the reminiscence was amusing.</p> + +<p>"Then we learned from her own lips, and greatly to our surprise, that +her sparks were not the real thing," smiled Kilgore. "At first we could +not believe it. The goods deceived even us, old hands though we are. It +was only when she told us about Pylotte, and the secret process by +which he makes such extraordinary imitations, that we could believe +her."</p> + +<p>"That's right, Dave."</p> + +<p>"She had stumbled by chance upon this clever French chemist and diamond +cutter, and was working him to the extent of her ability. She even had +got wise to his secret, and he was loading her with his marvelous gems +in return for her affection. But we at once saw the way to something +much more profitable, a game for making millions out of Pylotte's great +discovery."</p> + +<p>"Right again, Dave."</p> + +<p>"So we told them about it, and found them willing," continued Kilgore. +"We rung them into our gang, and planned the whole deal. We knew it +would be dead easy to work off such clever stones for genuine goods. +With plenty of such sparks on hand, and one big and reputable jeweler to +help us work the market, the distribution of our goods and their +substitution for genuine stones would quickly throw a cool million or +two our way."</p> + +<p>"Dead easy, Dave."</p> + +<p>"But we decided that New York was the best field for such a gigantic +enterprise," added Kilgore. "So we came here. With the help of Cervera, +we got our grip on Venner, and then on his avaricious partner, Garside, +whose business happened to be on its last legs. So they snapped like +hungry fish at this chance to square themselves, by secretly swindling +their own customers, and shoving our manufactured diamonds upon the +entire market."</p> + +<p>"Like hungry fish—h'm! that's no name for it," cried Matt Stall, with +a mingled growl and laugh. "Rufe Venner was as ready to become a knave +as any covey I ever crossed."</p> + +<p>"So we established this plant for Pylotte to do his clever work in," +continued Kilgore, disregarding the interruption. "Luckily, Venner +already owned this old mansion, as well as that in which he lives; and +fortunately, both places are somewhat secluded, with extensive grounds +abutting. That enabled us to frame up a very snug and safe retreat."</p> + +<p>"Sure it did."</p> + +<p>"So we went to work," Kilgore proceeded, discursively. "We built our +plant, placed our machinery, rigged a private telephone between this +house and Venner's, and tapped the electric conduit with a secret wire, +to give us light and feed our furnace."</p> + +<p>"That was my work," nodded Stall, with a touch of pride.</p> + +<p>"Right you are, Matt, and mighty good work, too," bowed Kilgore. "In a +nutshell, boys, after two months' secret work, we have accomplished all +we planned, and now have Venner sliding our goods upon the market at a +fabulous profit. In a single year, barring these infernal Carters, every +man of us should be a millionaire."</p> + +<p>"But why this sudden fear of the Carters?" growled Dalton, impatiently.</p> + +<p>"I'll now tell you why," cried Kilgore, with voice lowered, and an ugly +gleam in his frowning eyes. "We cannot sack Cervera, nor put out her +light, for she's too good and strong a card for us to lose. But in +losing her head over Venner, and jealously doing up that girl to-day, +she has given the Carters a clew by which to track us."</p> + +<p>"How so, Dave?" muttered Stall, growing a bit pale.</p> + +<p>"Through Venner, of course!" Kilgore forcibly argued. "Until this job of +to-day, Carter has had no definite suspicion of Venner, a possibility +which we headed off with that fake robbery. Now, however, since Cervera +must lie low, and Carter knows of her relations with Venner, he will +suspect the latter and make him a constant mark, in the hope of landing +the girl."</p> + +<p>"By Heaven, that's so!" snarled Dalton, quickly seeing the point.</p> + +<p>"And that's not the worst of it," added Kilgore. "The moment he suspects +Venner, Carter will connect him with us, and know that that robbery was +a put-up job. Then he'll begin to seek us and our game."</p> + +<p>"But how can he locate us?"</p> + +<p>"Locate us?" sneered Kilgore, acidly. "You don't know Nick Carter! I'll +tell you, Spotty, he can smell a rat further than any ferret that ever +shoved his nose under a miller's barn. As sure as death and taxes, Nick +Carter will run us down and land us, every mother's son of us—unless we +can get him, and put him down and out."</p> + +<p>"By Heaven, I begin to think so myself," growled Stall. "If we—"</p> + +<p>"There are no ifs, ands or buts about it, Matt," interrupted Kilgore, +decisively. "We must down them both, Nick and Chick Carter, or our game +is as good as done for."</p> + +<p>"But how can we land them, Dave, and when?"</p> + +<p>"I already have a plan, and I think the first move may be made this +very night."</p> + +<p>"What's the plan, Dave?"</p> + +<p>"To lure both detectives into Venner's house, and there do them up. If +we can get them to come there voluntarily, their fate may never be +learned, and our tracks will be better covered than by doing the job +elsewhere."</p> + +<p>"That's true enough, since they're not likely to disclose their +intentions, and if they come in disguise, no one about here will have +recognized them."</p> + +<p>"That's just my theory."</p> + +<p>"But how can we lure them to Venner's house?"</p> + +<p>"With the help of Pylotte, whom they do not know, nor ever heard of. +He's a brainy dog, moreover, and crafty enough to blind them."</p> + +<p>"But what's your scheme for to-night?" demanded Dalton.</p> + +<p>"After what has happened," replied Kilgore, "it's a safe gamble that the +Carters are at this moment watching Venner's house. If they are—but +wait a bit! First hear my whole plan."</p> + +<p>The three criminals drew their chairs closer, and in a very few minutes +Kilgore had disclosed his entire design, a scheme so recklessly bold +that it brought murmurs of amazement and misgivings from both his +hearers, daring knaves though they were.</p> + +<p>"It strikes me, Dave, that it's too long a chance for us to take, this +giving Nick Carter a genuine clew to our game," objected Dalton, +doubtfully.</p> + +<p>"But no other clew will answer," declared Kilgore, forcibly. "You +cannot fool Nick Carter with any false move or faked story; I'm already +sure of that."</p> + +<p>"So am I," nodded Stall. "He's too wise a guy to fool with."</p> + +<p>"We are compelled to give him the real thing, and make him feel that he +is up against a square deal, or no man among us can work the racket," +added Kilgore. "With my scheme, however, Pylotte is just the covey to do +the job, and land both Carters where we want them."</p> + +<p>"And then?"</p> + +<p>"Then it's our ability against theirs," snarled Kilgore, "If we go lame, +with the odds all in our favor, we deserve to be thrown down."</p> + +<p>"That's right, too," admitted Dalton.</p> + +<p>"Will Pylotte undertake this sort of a job, think you?" inquired Matt +Stall.</p> + +<p>"Will he?" rejoined Kilgore, with an ugly gleam in his determined eyes. +"He will, or—well, you know! Yes, Matt, he will; and he's just the man +for the job."</p> + +<p>The vicious significance with which he spoke plainly indicated that, +though Cervera may have ruled her own roost, there was but one chief of +this gang, and that was Mr. David Kilgore.</p> + +<p>He turned sharply about in his chair, and cried:</p> + +<p>"Here you, Pylotte! Come and give us your ear! I have work for you +to-night!"</p> + +<p>Both Pylotte and Cervera quickly turned and hastened to join the gang at +the table.</p> + +<p>For twenty minutes Kilgore's project for outwitting and securing Nick +Carter was earnestly discussed, and every detail of the plan carefully +laid.</p> + +<p>Then the four men stole quietly out of the house in company.</p> + +<p>It then was a little after midnight.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI" />CHAPTER XVI.</h2> + +<h3>THE CUNNING OF JEAN PYLOTTE.</h3> + + +<p>Kilgore had reasoned shrewdly, in so quickly suspecting that Nick Carter +would lose no time in getting a line on the Venner residence. Even while +the diamond gang were discussing the plan by which to capture the +Carters, the two detectives were at times within a hundred yards of the +secret plant.</p> + +<p>It was dark out of doors that night, with only a few stars in the +clouded sky, and the wooded locality and neighboring streets were but +poorly lighted.</p> + +<p>It was in a northern suburb of New York, a section not yet much +encroached upon by the spreading city, and the dwelling owned and +occupied by Rufus Venner was that in which three generations of his +family had lived and died.</p> + +<p>It was a square, old house of brick, set fifty yards from the suburban +street, and was flanked in either direction by extensive, ill-kept +grounds, made damp and dark by the huge, old trees, which nearly covered +the estate.</p> + +<p>Back of the house, and off to one side, was a large wooden stable, fast +running to ruin; while a rusty iron fence, falling to fragments in +places, skirted the dismal grounds in front.</p> + +<p>Beyond the trees, far to the rear, could be seen the roof and chimneys +of an old, wooden mansion, fronting on another street, and having a very +similar environment. There, too, the house and grounds were running to +ruin and decay, both places being but crumbling monuments of former +opulence and grandeur.</p> + +<p>It was upon this scene that Nick Carter and Chick arrived just before +midnight, having left their carriage at a remote corner, to await their +return.</p> + +<p>"Yonder is Venner's house, Chick," said Nick, as they picked their way +along the unpaved sidewalk. "We'll vault this iron fence and steal +across the grounds."</p> + +<p>"It doesn't look much as if our quarry was there," observed Chick, as +they scaled the fence.</p> + +<p>"Their deeds are dark, and like seeks like," replied Nick. "They now may +be making darkness their cover."</p> + +<p>"Not a light in the house, is there?"</p> + +<p>"None visible from this side. We'll steal between the house and stable, +and have a look at the opposite elevation."</p> + +<p>"Not much danger of being seen. It's as dark as a nigger's pocket under +these trees."</p> + +<p>"So much the better in case anyone is watching."</p> + +<p>"Who lives here with Venner?"</p> + +<p>"Only an elderly housekeeper, of whom I don't hear anything very good," +replied Nick. "Venner is here but part of the time, I am told. In fact, +I don't quite fathom his habits."</p> + +<p>"Why so?"</p> + +<p>"I can't learn what takes him from home so much of the time. He does not +leave the city, nor patronize any hotel that I can discover, yet he +frequently is away from this house overnight."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps he secretly keeps another house, and is leading a double life."</p> + +<p>"Possibly," admitted Nick. "He is on friendly terms with numerous women, +I learn, and other quarters may be essential to designs of some kind. +Quietly, now, and we'll slip across the back lawn."</p> + +<p>Like shadows, as dark as the night itself, they silently reached a point +from which they could view the north side of the house. Here they +discovered that one of the lower rooms was lighted, with the curtain at +the single window nearly drawn.</p> + +<p>"Somebody is up," murmured Chick.</p> + +<p>"We'll learn who, if possible."</p> + +<p>"Going to have a look?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. Come, if you like, but don't get into the glare from the curtain. +Kilgore has a very wicked air gun, and if he and his gang are about +here, we might invite a bullet."</p> + +<p>"I'll have a care."</p> + +<p>Stealing closer over the damp greensward, they approached the house and +peered beneath the curtain mentioned. There was but one occupant of the +room, which was a small library.</p> + +<p>In an easy-chair near the table, with a newspaper fallen across his +knees, sat Rufus Venner, apparently sound asleep.</p> + +<p>This was only a part of the game, however, for Venner was wide awake. +By means of their secret wire, he had been informed of Cervera's arrival +at the diamond plant, and of Kilgore's designs upon Nick, and Venner at +that moment suspected that he might be under the eye of the detective.</p> + +<p>For nearly half an hour Nick waited for some sign of this artifice, but +Venner in no way betrayed it.</p> + +<p>Presently a clock on the mantel struck the half after one, and the sound +appeared to awake him. He yawned, glanced at the clock, then took the +lamp from the table and went up to bed. But never so much as a glance +toward the window.</p> + +<p>Nick led Chick away, and they returned across the lawn to a point beyond +the stable.</p> + +<p>"It rather looks as if Cervera had been here, doesn't it?" inquired +Chick, with a grin.</p> + +<p>"Yes," admitted Nick. "Two facts are very significant of it. First, that +Venner is at home on this particular night; and, second, that he should +be asleep in his chair after midnight. It has a fishy look."</p> + +<p>"That's my idea, Nick, exactly."</p> + +<p>"Yet the way to prove it doesn't appear quite easy."</p> + +<p>"Not just yet. But who occupies that house over yonder, where the roof +shows above the trees?"</p> + +<p>And Chick pointed to the distant dwelling, little dreaming that the +diamond plant and the gang they sought were established under its +many-gabled roof.</p> + +<p>This was not the first night Nick had watched Venner's house since the +diamond robbery, the doubtful character of which he had suspected at the +outset, and incidentally he had informed himself concerning Venner's +neighbors.</p> + +<p>"One Dr. Magruder, I am told, a retired physician from Illinois," he +replied. "He bought the place at a forced sale some little time ago."</p> + +<p>Nor did Nick, when thus replying, dream that Dr. Magruder and Rufus +Venner were one and the same; or that, in attributing to him a double +life of shameful iniquity, Chick had hit the nail squarely on the head.</p> + +<p>"Come this way," added Nick.</p> + +<p>"Where now?"</p> + +<p>"We'll go down to the corner of the grounds, and watch the house for a +time."</p> + +<p>Before Nick's reply was fairly uttered, however, both detectives were +startled by distant cries, which fell with frantic appeal on the +midnight air.</p> + +<p>"Help! Help! Help!"</p> + +<p>The startling cry was thrice repeated, the last time as if choked in the +speaker's throat, yet the direction of the sound was unmistakable.</p> + +<p>"Something's up!" muttered Nick. "This way!"</p> + +<p>With Chick at his heels, he tore across the wooded grounds and bounded +over the iron fence at the street.</p> + +<p>Then the occasion of the outcry at once became apparent.</p> + +<p>Some two hundred yards away, in the yellow glare of one of the +incandescent lights by which the little-frequented street was illumined, +a man was battling desperately with three assailants, one of whom he +had knocked to the ground.</p> + +<p>Without a word, both detectives rushed down the road to his assistance.</p> + +<p>As they drew nearer there came a flash of light, then the report of a +pistol, followed by another shriek for help.</p> + +<p>Then Nick saw one of the ruffians reel a little, as if shot, while a +second hurled their victim to the ground. The third leaped to his feet +at the same moment, yelling wildly:</p> + +<p>"Look out! Scatter, boys! The cops are upon us!"</p> + +<p>"Kilgore's voice, or I'm a liar," muttered Nick, over his shoulder.</p> + +<p>Both detectives were still fifty yards from the scene of the furious +conflict, and were running at the top of their speed along the rough +road.</p> + +<p>Before they could come near enough to use a weapon, however, the three +ruffians scattered like frightened cats, leaping the wall near an +adjoining woodland, into the gloom of which they speedily vanished.</p> + +<p>It was obvious to Nick that pursuit would be vain, so he hastened to the +side of the fallen man, who had been left prostrate in the road, and +helped him to his feet.</p> + +<p>The man was Jean Pylotte.</p> + +<p>He was panting hard after the conflict, the fake character of which Nick +could not then foresee. His coat was ripped up the back, his linen +collar torn off, and he was deathly pale, with a smutch of blood across +his cheek. In one hand he held a revolver, and in the other—a chunk of +coal.</p> + +<p>"Are you wounded, stranger?" Nick quickly demanded, as he studied the +man's pale face.</p> + +<p>"Not much—not badly, I think," gasped Pylotte, trembling violently. +"But it's lucky you came. They'd surely have killed me."</p> + +<p>Nick noticed that he spoke with a slight foreign accent, and was a man +of considerable physical prowess.</p> + +<p>"There's blood on your face," said he.</p> + +<p>"It came from one of them, I think," said Pylotte, drawing his sleeve +across his cheek to remove the stain. "I must have wounded one of them."</p> + +<p>"It's a pity you did not kill him," said Nick, bluntly. "Was it you who +fired the gun?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. I tried to fire again, but one of them struck me down before I +could do so. The ruffians came upon me before I fairly realized it."</p> + +<p>"Do you know them?" inquired Chick.</p> + +<p>"Only one of them, a man named John David," replied Pylotte, now +appearing to pull himself together.</p> + +<p>"John David, eh?" grunted Nick.</p> + +<p>"He has swindled me, and I—I saw him at a theater to-night, and +afterward followed him out here."</p> + +<p>"For what? If he has swindled you, why didn't you have him arrested at +the theater?" demanded Nick.</p> + +<p>"Well, I—I wanted to learn where he lives. He must have discovered +that he was being followed, and then tried to do me up."</p> + +<p>Nick observed the speaker's faltering manner, and it increased his +curiosity.</p> + +<p>"Why do you wish to know where he lives?" he demanded.</p> + +<p>Pylotte hesitated, and shrugged his shoulders.</p> + +<p>"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," said he, after a moment.</p> + +<p>"Not believe you?"</p> + +<p>"I hardly think so."</p> + +<p>"Suppose you tell me, and see," suggested Nick, with a faint smile.</p> + +<p>"I have no objection to telling you, none at all," Pylotte now replied. +"The man I spoke of, John David, swindled me yesterday with two +artificial diamonds."</p> + +<p>"Ah! is that so?" cried Nick, with a significant glance at Chick. "What +is your name, my man?"</p> + +<p>"Jean Pylotte, sir."</p> + +<p>"Who are you, and where do you live?"</p> + +<p>"I am a Frenchman by birth, and arrived in New York only this week. My +home is in Denver. I am a diamond cutter by trade, and came here to buy +some gems for a Denver woman of wealth, who wishes to obtain a certain +size and quality."</p> + +<p>"Then you are a judge of diamonds?"</p> + +<p>"One of the best," Pylotte modestly admitted, with a faint smile. "I am +an expert judge of diamonds, and so it happened that I discovered the +swindle of which I am a victim."</p> + +<p>"Then you bought a diamond of the man who said his name was John David, +did you?"</p> + +<p>"I bought two, sir," nodded Pylotte. "They appeared like natural and +very perfect stones when I first examined them, but after subjecting +them to more careful tests, I found them to be the most extraordinary +imitations I ever beheld."</p> + +<p>"Artificial diamonds, were they?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, artificial. But only the best of experts, and after the most rigid +tests, could discover the fraud. I never saw such imitations. The stones +are really almost as good as natural ones."</p> + +<p>"Have you them with you?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"You feel quite confident that they were manufactured, do you?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, I am positive of it," cried Pylotte, with emphasis. "That is why I +was secretly following the swindler."</p> + +<p>"You wanted to discover his house, and learn how he made such perfect +imitations, eh? Was that your motive, instead of having him arrested at +the theater?"</p> + +<p>"Well, yes, it was," admitted Pylotte, with feigned reluctance.</p> + +<p>"Do you know any process for manufacturing diamonds?" Nick next +demanded.</p> + +<p>"I am pretty well informed on the subject."</p> + +<p>"Quite an art, isn't it?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, it is."</p> + +<p>"And one that could be made very profitable, perhaps?"</p> + +<p>"I judge so."</p> + +<p>"Put up your revolver," said Nick, abruptly. "What's that black object +you dropped just now?"</p> + +<p>Pylotte glanced down at his feet, then laughed faintly.</p> + +<p>"That's odd," said he. "It's a piece of coal. I must have seized it from +the road, thinking to defend myself with it."</p> + +<p>"What is there odd in that?"</p> + +<p>Pylotte laughed again.</p> + +<p>"Diamonds may be made from coal," said he. "The fact that I should have +got hold of a piece in the road here, while tracking that diamond +swindler in search of his house, strikes me as being rather odd."</p> + +<p>"So it was," said Nick, a bit dryly, thinking of Venner's house in the +near distance.</p> + +<p>Then he added, decisively:</p> + +<p>"Put up your gun, Mr. Pylotte. I want you to go with me. I think you are +the very man I want."</p> + +<p>"Go with you!" exclaimed Pylotte, drawing back.</p> + +<p>"If you please," said Nick, politely. "I want, at least, to hear more of +your story."</p> + +<p>"But who are you, sir?"</p> + +<p>"My name is Nick Carter."</p> + +<p>"Not the celebrated detective?" cried Pylotte, with feigned amazement.</p> + +<p>"Precisely."</p> + +<p>"That's quite sufficient, Mr. Carter!" the Frenchman now cried, with +much bowing and scraping. "I'll go with you when and where you wish. If +any man can run down these swindling ruffians, sir, you certainly are +the man."</p> + +<p>"Thanks," said Nick, dryly. "I'll take you home with me for the night."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII" />CHAPTER XVII.</h2> + +<h3>THE GAME UNCOVERED.</h3> + + +<p>The following morning.</p> + +<p>The clock in Nick Carter's library was striking nine.</p> + +<p>Nick and Chick were seated at one side of the table, and Jean Pylotte +occupied a chair at the opposite side.</p> + +<p>Upon the dark cloth top of the table between them lay two large +diamonds, declared by Pylotte to have been artificially made, the two +with which he claimed to have been swindled.</p> + +<p>Yet to the eyes of a layman they had all the qualities of natural gems, +gleaming and glistening with magnificent fire in the cheerful sunlight +of Nick's library.</p> + +<p>Pylotte had invented a very clever and consistent story about himself +and his mission in New York, as well as about the meeting and being +victimized by the counterfeit diamond shover, and Nick as yet saw no +occasion for seriously distrusting him, or connecting him with the +Kilgore gang.</p> + +<p>He rather suspected, in fact, that Pylotte had shadowed the swindler, +whom Nick felt sure was Kilgore, with a view to learning just how the +diamonds had been manufactured, and possibly with a design to turn the +discovery to his own advantage.</p> + +<p>This was, indeed, the most natural deduction for Nick to arrive at, +after considering all the circumstances.</p> + +<p>"So you are confident that these stones are works of art, rather than +of nature, are you?" inquired Nick, who had been carefully examining the +gems.</p> + +<p>"I am absolutely sure of it, Mr. Carter," declared Pylotte.</p> + +<p>"Have you any idea how such counterfeits can be made?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes."</p> + +<p>"By what process and means, Mr. Pylotte?"</p> + +<p>Pylotte hastened to explain.</p> + +<p>"A natural diamond, Mr. Carter, is pure carbon, crystallized under +enormous heat and pressure in the bowels of the earth."</p> + +<p>"I am aware of that."</p> + +<p>"Charcoal and graphite are also pure carbon, but not in a crystallized +condition," continued Pylotte. "If that condition could be imparted to +the substances mentioned, we should have the artificial diamond."</p> + +<p>"How may that be done?" inquired Nick.</p> + +<p>"By subjecting the substance to the same condition under which the +natural diamond was crystallized."</p> + +<p>"Heat and pressure?"</p> + +<p>"Precisely," bowed Pylotte. "Attempts to thus manufacture diamonds have +frequently been made. A Mr. Acheson, of Pittsburg, while so engaged, and +in obtaining graphite from coal by the heat of an electric furnace, +discovered that combination of silicon and carbon now known as +carborundum, which has commercial value as an abrasive."</p> + +<p>"I know about that," bowed Nick.</p> + +<p>"Now, then," continued Pylotte, with an unconscious display of +enthusiasm; "while diamonds certainly have been made by artificial +means, the great difficulty has been that of producing them at a low +cost. Moissan, in my country, produced diamonds by heating charcoal and +iron to a high degree, and letting the mixture cool under enormous +pressure. He succeeded in obtaining very small crystals, or diamonds, +but the cost of production made his method impracticable from a +commercial standpoint."</p> + +<p>"Ah! I see."</p> + +<p>"In 1872 a chemist named Rose converted graphite into diamonds by a +similar process, but with the same result."</p> + +<p>"The cost of production being too great?" observed Nick.</p> + +<p>"Precisely."</p> + +<p>"Do you think that difficulty has now been overcome?"</p> + +<p>"I am compelled to think so, Mr. Carter," cried Pylotte, pointing to the +two diamonds on the table.</p> + +<p>"You purchased them at a price compelling that belief?"</p> + +<p>"Exactly."</p> + +<p>"Then you think the man of whom you got them has discovered a way to +make such perfect artificial diamonds at a low price?"</p> + +<p>"I certainly do, Mr. Carter."</p> + +<p>"Have you any idea of the machinery and ingredients he might require?" +asked Nick, with a view to getting points by which to locate the diamond +plant.</p> + +<p>Pylotte could easily inform him, and he promptly did so, following the +instructions given him by Dave Kilgore.</p> + +<p>"He would require an electric furnace and a hydraulic press," said he. +"Also the tools for cutting the crude crystals. The ingredients used +would depend upon the process he has discovered, probably coal or +charcoal, and possibly some quantities of iron salts and sulphur."</p> + +<p>"In brief, then, Mr. Pylotte," said Nick, pointing to the diamonds on +the table, "if those stones were made as cheaply as you think, the +diamond market offers the manufacturers of them a field for a most +gigantic swindle, does it not?"</p> + +<p>"Indeed it does!" exclaimed Pylotte, throwing up both hands. "Enormous! +Enormous! Millions could be made by so unparalleled a fraud!"</p> + +<p>"It opens the way, in fact, to the most colossal swindle on record?"</p> + +<p>"Undoubtedly."</p> + +<p>Nick glanced significantly at Chick, then abruptly rose to his feet. +That he had struck the big game which from the first he had suspected, +he now had not a doubt.</p> + +<p>"I require no more of you at present, Mr. Pylotte," said he, with +courteous firmness. "I shall do all in my power to remedy your loss by +this swindle, and to secure the perpetrators of it."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, Detective Carter," bowed Pylotte, with a crafty display of +appreciation and humility.</p> + +<p>"Meantime," added Nick, "you will please take no action in the case, but +leave it entirely to me."</p> + +<p>"I will do so, sir."</p> + +<p>"If you will leave me your city address, or call here again in a few +days, I shall have something to report to you."</p> + +<p>"I will call the day after to-morrow, Detective Carter," said Pylotte, +promptly, too cunning to give Nick a fictitious address.</p> + +<p>"Very well," said Nick. "Call in the evening. And now, Mr. Pylotte, we +will bid you good-morning, and get to work at once upon the case."</p> + +<p>Pylotte bowed very agreeably, taking his artificial diamonds from the +table and replacing them in his pocket; and Nick then conducted him to +the door, again assuring him that no efforts in his behalf should be +spared.</p> + +<p>Pylotte once more expressed his thanks, bowing and smiling as he +descended the steps, and Nick closed the door and returned to the +library.</p> + +<p>"Well, Chick, the bag is open and the cat out," he cried, as he entered.</p> + +<p>"Right you are, Nick."</p> + +<p>"And a monstrous cat it is!"</p> + +<p>"Never a larger one," declared Chick, with a laugh. "By Jove! Nick, if +Kilgore has really found a way to produce such perfect counterfeit +diamonds, his gang could work the greatest swindle ever known, unless +headed off."</p> + +<p>"That is their game, all right," said Nick. "From the very first I have +suspected something extraordinary. They are not the stamp of criminals +to dicker with petty jobs."</p> + +<p>"I should say not."</p> + +<p>"Far from it."</p> + +<p>"One thing is plain."</p> + +<p>"Namely?"</p> + +<p>"Where Cervera gets her diamonds, and of what they consist."</p> + +<p>"True. She certainly is one of the gang."</p> + +<p>"With such counterfeits as those worked upon Pylotte, and one big +jewelry concern to help market the goods, they could clean up millions +in a very short time."</p> + +<p>"No doubt of it. And they have their jewelry concern, all right."</p> + +<p>"Venner & Co.?"</p> + +<p>"Surely."</p> + +<p>"We must get absolute proof of it."</p> + +<p>"That's just what I intend doing, now that we have the game uncovered," +said Nick, grimly.</p> + +<p>"And then proceed to locate the plant where the goods are made, eh?"</p> + +<p>"Precisely."</p> + +<p>"What are your plans?"</p> + +<p>"We'll first get a line on Venner, and see to what it leads," replied +Nick. "There now is a way by which we can call the turn on him, and get +proof of his co-operation with Kilgore and his gang."</p> + +<p>"By getting him to sell us some diamonds?"</p> + +<p>"Exactly."</p> + +<p>"And then proving them to be artificial?"</p> + +<p>"That's the idea."</p> + +<p>"Can you get at him in a way to trap him?"</p> + +<p>"What do you mean?"</p> + +<p>"He may fight shy of us," suggested Chick, "in case he knows of +Pylotte's scrap with the gang last night. He may fear that Pylotte has +discovered the fraud, and reported it to the police."</p> + +<p>"There's not much danger of that," replied Nick. "So stupendous a fraud +would at once be given publicity through the press."</p> + +<p>"That's true."</p> + +<p>"In either case," added Nick, abruptly, "there's a way by which we can +fool him. I'll explain it on the way. Get your make-up box and prepare +to go with me. Since we have the game uncovered, we'll lose no time in +rounding up these accomplished rascals."</p> + +<p>"Good enough!" exclaimed Chick, as he hurriedly arose. "The sooner the +better."</p> + +<p>"We may have ragged work before the job is completed," added Nick. "So +provide yourself with a brace of guns. I'll be ready when you are."</p> + +<p>"Where first?"</p> + +<p>"To the house of Pandu Singe, the snake charmer."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII" />CHAPTER XVIII.</h2> + +<h3>AT CROSS-PURPOSES.</h3> + + +<p>It was not quite noon when Nick Carter and Chick arrived at the house of +the Hindoo snake charmer.</p> + +<p>They found Pandu Singe at home with his interpreter, and the two +detectives were very cordially received.</p> + +<p>Nick quickly disclosed his business.</p> + +<p>"We wish to borrow your personalities for a short time, also some of +your curious garments," he explained to Pandu Singe, through his +interpreter, who also was a Hindoo of superior education.</p> + +<p>The snake charmer appeared greatly surprised at such a request, but Nick +readily invented a very plausible story to serve his purpose, without +disclosing the true occasion.</p> + +<p>He soon persuaded the foreigner to grant his request, moreover, and the +amazement of Pandu Singe and the interpreter were redoubled when they +beheld what followed.</p> + +<p>This was the extraordinary transformation of their visitors.</p> + +<p>Nick had already outlined his plans to Chick, and they at once began +operations.</p> + +<p>First they placed the two Hindoos in chairs near the windows, where the +light revealed every peculiarity of their swarthy features.</p> + +<p>Nick next adjusted a large mirror upon the table, and placed his make-up +box near by.</p> + +<p>Using the interpreter for his pattern, Nick then set to work with +grease paints, powders, false hair, and the like, and at the end of +twenty minutes he had, with most artistic skill, converted himself into +a startling likeness of his model.</p> + +<p>The addition of the garments already provided for him made the +remarkable transformation absolutely complete.</p> + +<p>Chick had not been idle meantime, but with equally clever manipulation +had made himself into a counterfeit presentment of Pandu Singe.</p> + +<p>The astonishment of the two Hindoos, and their delight as they beheld +the progressive changes so artistically made, could scarcely find +expression in words.</p> + +<p>At the end of an hour, when the two detectives stood robed in their +strange Indian attire, one would readily have declared that four genuine +Hindoos, rather than two, occupied the apartment.</p> + +<p>Having thus paved the way to his next move, Nick easily prevailed upon +the Hindoos to remain indoors for a day or two, lest the deception +should be discovered and his designs perverted.</p> + +<p>He and Chick then returned to their waiting carriage, and half an hour +later it drew up at the Fifth Avenue store of Venner & Co.</p> + +<p>Chick alighted and led the way in.</p> + +<p>In order that he might do most of the talking, and shape his course by +whatever might occur, Nick had decided to personate the interpreter.</p> + +<p>Yet both detectives had carefully noticed the peculiar characteristics +of the Hindoo tongue, and believed that they could imitate it so +cleverly as to prevent detection.</p> + +<p>Several facts, which Nick then had no way of knowing, however, operated +very quickly to betray him and the crafty ruse he had adopted, when +Venner personally met them at the store door.</p> + +<p>First, Kilgore had shrewdly reasoned that Nick's first move, after the +disclosures made by Pylotte, would be that of thus getting positive +evidence against Venner; and the crafty diamond swindler had warned +Venner to be on the watch for the detective, and to handle him in a way +to serve their own designs.</p> + +<p>Furthermore, when visiting the theater with Cervera, Venner frequently +had heard Pandu Singe talking with his interpreter; and before Nick +fairly had begun speaking, Venner penetrated his disguise and saw that +he was up against the two detectives.</p> + +<p>Yet, despite the unexpected characters in which he now beheld them, the +nerve of the polished knave did not weaken, nor his countenance in any +way betray him. He at once proceeded to follow Kilgore's instructions.</p> + +<p>"Ah! yes, I recognize both you and your interpreter," said he, in reply +to Nick's dignified greeting. "I have frequently seen Pandu Singe at the +theater, where I am admitted to the stage with Señora Cervera, the +famous Spanish dancer. Perhaps Pandu Singe may have seen me there."</p> + +<p>Nick gravely bowed, then pretended to interpret the remarks to Chick; +who immediately began to bow and smile, at the same time glibly +responding in a jargon that would have staggered a Chinese laundryman, +yet which sounded as much like Hindoo as anything.</p> + +<p>Had his own situation been less serious, and the entire outlook less +desperate, Venner would have laughed at the consummate dignity and +soberness with which the two detectives co-operated in their exchange of +unintelligible talk.</p> + +<p>"My employer, the great Pandu Singe," bowed Nick, "says he remembers the +friend of the great Cervera."</p> + +<p>"Ah! I am glad to hear it," cried Venner, shaking hands with Chick.</p> + +<p>"He has seen the splendid diamonds of the great señora, and has heard +that they came from your magnificent store," Nick then went on to +explain.</p> + +<p>"That is quite right," bowed Venner. "Many of them did come from here. +Is Pandu Singe looking for some diamonds?"</p> + +<p>Nick promptly bowed, and noted a gleam of satisfaction in the depths of +Venner's eyes.</p> + +<p>"The great Pandu Singe soon returns to his own country," replied Nick. +"He wishes to take with him, as a gift to her august excellency, the +Empress of all the Indies, six fine jewels of equal weight and value. He +calls here to learn if you can provide him with them."</p> + +<p>Venner plainly saw the game that was being attempted, and it suited him +to the very letter.</p> + +<p>"Does the great Pandu Singe wish to purchase diamonds?" he asked, +bowing.</p> + +<p>"Diamonds, yes! Are they not for the empress?"</p> + +<p>"I should have thought of that, certainly."</p> + +<p>"Only diamonds will answer."</p> + +<p>"Of large size and the first water?"</p> + +<p>"The great Pandu Singe would consider no other."</p> + +<p>"Alas, then, this is most unfortunate!" Venner now exclaimed, glancing +about the store. "You see that we are making some repairs here, in the +walls of our store and vault."</p> + +<p>"That is plain," bowed Nick. "But what has that to do with the +diamonds?"</p> + +<p>"Only this," replied Venner, with feigned regret. "During these repairs +I have removed all of my most valuable diamonds to a vault in my private +residence."</p> + +<p>"For safer keeping?"</p> + +<p>"Exactly."</p> + +<p>"I will explain to Pandu Singe."</p> + +<p>"Wait a moment," Venner quickly interposed. "Tell him, also, that I have +at my residence the very gems he desires, six magnificent diamonds, +precisely alike in weight, purity and cutting. They cannot be equaled in +New York City, if in the entire country."</p> + +<p>"Are they fit for an empress?"</p> + +<p>"They are fit for a goddess."</p> + +<p>"Ah! that will please Pandu Singe."</p> + +<p>"Tell him, also, that he can purchase them at a marvelously low price," +cried Venner. "Now, if Pandu Singe will come to my house, say early this +evening, he may see the diamonds and examine them at his leisure. Tell +him that, Mr. Interpreter, and say that I will send my carriage for him +immediately after dinner. Say, too, that he may then see the diamonds +both by daylight and lamplight, and so observe all the variety of their +magnificent fire. Really, this will be greatly to the advantage of Pandu +Singe."</p> + +<p>Nick gravely heard him to a finish, and with never a change of +countenance.</p> + +<p>Yet, like a flash, one of those marvelous intuitions characteristic of +this great detective, Nick Carter had suddenly grasped the whole truth.</p> + +<p>That conflict of the previous night, the flight of three of the diamond +gang, Pylotte left comparatively uninjured in the road, his subsequent +disclosures, his extensive knowledge of the diamond-making art, the +hints he had imparted, and now this manifest eagerness of Venner to lure +his ostensible customers to his suburban house—all combined to reveal +to Nick's keen mind the shrewd game by which Kilgore was hoping to +entrap him.</p> + +<p>Nick now knew that Venner recognized both Chick and himself, and was +serving only the Kilgore gang.</p> + +<p>Yet Nick bowed without the slightest self-betrayal, and said, gravely:</p> + +<p>"I will explain the situation to Pandu Singe."</p> + +<p>For several minutes the two detectives maintained their curious game of +talk.</p> + +<p>Then Nick, who had speedily planned his own counter-move, again turned +to Rufus Venner.</p> + +<p>"The great Pandu Singe will do what you suggest," said he. "He wishes to +see the diamonds, and will be pleased to come to your house."</p> + +<p>Venner had felt sure of this to start with, though he little dreamed +that Nick had guessed the truth, and knew that he was recognized.</p> + +<p>"Let it be to-day, then," said he, quickly.</p> + +<p>"At your own pleasure," bowed Nick.</p> + +<p>"I will send my carriage far you at seven this evening," cried Venner, +with secret exultation.</p> + +<p>Nick gravely tendered one of the snake charmer's cards.</p> + +<p>"The great Pandu Singe will not keep your carriage waiting!" said he, +with a dryness to which Venner then was blind.</p> + +<p>"Well, Chick, what say you to that?" demanded Nick, as they were +returning to the house of the snake charmer.</p> + +<p>Chick laughed grimly.</p> + +<p>"I say that we are now up against it."</p> + +<p>"Right! There's a mighty wicked crisis near at hand."</p> + +<p>"No doubt of it, Nick. Venner knew us all right."</p> + +<p>"But he does not suspect that we are aware that he knew us, and in that +at least we have the best of him."</p> + +<p>"We'll turn it to a good account, too."</p> + +<p>"Do you see the game this Kilgore gang is playing?"</p> + +<p>"Plainly, Nick."</p> + +<p>"They aim to lure us both to Venner's house, and there trap us and do us +up."</p> + +<p>"To which latter," said Chick, dryly, "we shall strenuously object."</p> + +<p>"Well, rather!" laughed Nick. "Still, I can see nothing in evading this +question or in making a raid upon Venner's house. If the Kilgore gang +are about to lay for us there, it is evident that their diamond plant is +located elsewhere. They would not take chances of failing to down us, +and then having their plant discovered in the house where they slipped +up."</p> + +<p>"Surely not," admitted Chick. "Kilgore is too shrewd to take those +chances."</p> + +<p>"Undoubtedly."</p> + +<p>For several minutes Nick calmly considered the situation, then bluntly +observed:</p> + +<p>"Chick, I see but one course for us. We must go up against the game, and +give this gang what rope they want."</p> + +<p>"That's just my idea, Nick."</p> + +<p>"In no other way can we make sure of nailing the entire gang, and also +locating their plant. Raiding Venner's house would not accomplish it. +Some of the gang might not be there, or possibly escape us, and we might +search in vain for their plant. Then we should have most of our work to +do over again."</p> + +<p>"That's right, Nick."</p> + +<p>"So we'll take the one sure way, Chick," said Nick, decisively. "We'll +let this gang continue to think they are fooling us, and go up against +them till we get the whole truth."</p> + +<p>"That's good enough for me, Nick," nodded Chick. "I'm with you."</p> + +<p>"It may prove to be a desperate game, but we'll take our chances. Before +night I'll have laid such plans as will best serve us, and possibly +circumvent these scoundrels. Here we are at the house of Pandu Singe."</p> + +<p>Nick dismissed their carriage, and entered the dwelling, where they +decided to remain until evening. Meantime Nick perfected his plans and +discussed them with Chick.</p> + +<p>Then a wire was sent to Patsy, the detective's younger assistant, with +careful instructions.</p> + +<p>Seven o'clock came, then half-past seven, but no sign of Venner's +carriage.</p> + +<p>Nick readily suspected the true reason for the delay.</p> + +<p>"They are waiting until dark," he observed to Chick. "They don't want +our arrival at Venner's house to be observed. A crafty dog, this +Kilgore!"</p> + +<p>"That he is."</p> + +<p>"Never mind. Darkness will serve us best, as well as them."</p> + +<p>"Hark! There's a carriage."</p> + +<p>Nick glanced from the front window.</p> + +<p>"A landau!" he muttered, with grim satisfaction. "Yes, and with Spotty +Dalton on the seat. I know him, despite his disguise. Come on, Chick! +There's rough work to be done in the next two hours."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX" />CHAPTER XIX.</h2> + +<h3>HANDS SHOWED DOWN.</h3> + + +<p>Spotty Dalton stood at the door of the open carriage when Nick and Chick +emerged from the house, still clad in the character of Hindoos.</p> + +<p>"Are you sent here by Mr. Venner?" inquired Nick.</p> + +<p>Dalton touched the cloth cap drawn low over his brow, and stroked his +dark, false beard as he replied:</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," said he, half in his throat. "You're the interpreter, I take +it."</p> + +<p>"At your service."</p> + +<p>"I'm a bit late, but it couldn't be helped. We'll not be long in getting +there."</p> + +<p>"Time does not matter to the great Pandu Singe," replied Nick, as he +followed Chick into the open landau. "The night is still long."</p> + +<p>"It'll be infernally long for you two meddlers," Dalton grimly said to +himself, as he banged the carriage door and mounted to the box.</p> + +<p>Then they rolled rapidly away toward a northern suburb of the city.</p> + +<p>The dusk of evening was already deepening to darkness, a gloom more +noticeable far up in the heavens than among the myriad of lights in the +city streets. For not a star was visible in the murky sky, and away in +the west huge banks of inky clouds were sweeping up toward the zenith, +indicating the rapid approach of a sudden storm.</p> + +<p>"Do you think it is going to rain, driver?" called Nick, from the rear +seat of the carriage.</p> + +<p>"Not soon," Dalton turned to answer; and then he added with grim +significance, which he did not dream would be appreciated: "Whether it +rains or not, you'll be brought back home in a closed carriage."</p> + +<p>"It's my private opinion that the boot will be on the other leg," +thought Nick, smiling faintly at the scoundrel's grim levity.</p> + +<p>For Dalton had implied that Nick would be brought back in a hearse.</p> + +<p>From that time but few words were spoken during the ride, though the +detectives occasionally passed a remark in their meaningless lingo, +merely to keep up appearances.</p> + +<p>At eight o'clock they had left the throbbing body of the city behind +them, and at half-past eight they were speeding along the deserted +suburban road leading to Venner's rather isolated homestead.</p> + +<p>Only the yellow glare of an incandescent lamp here and there now +relieved the terrestrial gloom, but across the distant heavens +intermittent flashes of light, followed by the low, sullen roll of +thunder, told of the approaching storm.</p> + +<p>Soon the lighted windows of Venner's house came into view through the +woodland, and Nick now murmured softly to Chick:</p> + +<p>"If I fail to rejoin you in ten minutes, you will know what to do."</p> + +<p>"You bet!" whispered Chick. "Trust me to do it, too!"</p> + +<p>"Here we are, sirs," cried Dalton, as he pulled up at the gate of the +gravel walk. "You can go right in, while I wait to look after my +horses."</p> + +<p>Chick—as Pandu Singe—pretended to give Nick a brief command, and Nick +alone sprang out upon the sidewalk.</p> + +<p>"Wait here, driver," said he, curtly. "I will return for Pandu Singe in +a few minutes."</p> + +<p>Dalton instantly became suspicious.</p> + +<p>"What's that for?" he abruptly demanded. "Why doesn't his nibs go in +with you now?"</p> + +<p>"It is for me to obey the great Pandu Singe, not question his commands," +replied Nick, with an air of offended dignity. "I shall return for him +when I have followed his instructions."</p> + +<p>"Hold on a bit! I want to know—"</p> + +<p>But Nick had already turned, and was striding up the long gravel walk +leading to the front door of the house.</p> + +<p>Dalton then swung round and began to address Chick, who quickly +signified that he could not understand; whereupon the puzzled scoundrel +remained doubtfully on the box, growling under his breath, and quite at +a loss just what he should do.</p> + +<p>Chick was now counting the seconds and minutes, until he should arrive +at ten.</p> + +<p>Venner, who was waiting with the gang in the house, heard Nick's step on +the wooden veranda, and he hastened to admit him.</p> + +<p>"What's this!" he at once exclaimed, starting. "Where is your master? +You did not come here alone!"</p> + +<p>"No, not alone," replied Nick, entering the hall. "Pandu Singe waits in +the carriage."</p> + +<p>"Waits in the carriage! For what?"</p> + +<p>"He fears the storm may break."</p> + +<p>"Fears the storm!" exclaimed Venner, with a blaze of suspicion leaping +up in his dark eyes. "Surely, then, he will not remain out there."</p> + +<p>"You don't understand," coolly answered Nick, quickly sizing up +everything in view.</p> + +<p>"Don't understand?"</p> + +<p>"Pandu Singe thinks of returning home before the storm shall break. He +has first sent me in to see the diamonds, as I know just what he wants. +If I think well of them, I am to return to the carriage and bring him in +to see them."</p> + +<p>"Oh, that's it, eh?" cried Venner, with unabated misgivings.</p> + +<p>"Am I to see the stones?" demanded Nick. "Pandu Singe will not care to +wait long."</p> + +<p>"Yes, yes," replied Venner, as perplexed as Dalton by Nick's unexpected +move. "Come out this way, where I have them ready to show you."</p> + +<p>Nick bowed and followed him through the hall, and a glance into the two +front rooms, both of which were well lighted, told him they were vacant.</p> + +<p>Nick knew that he was entering a trap, however, and possibly carried +his life in his hand. Yet he had several shrewd designs in the plan of +operations adopted.</p> + +<p>He aimed to prevent both Chick and himself being cornered, and possibly +caught at the same time. Not wishing to evade this gang, and thus reveal +his own knowledge and suspicions, he designed to leave Chick free to act +in case of his own downfall.</p> + +<p>Nick knew that he alone could force Venner and the gang to show their +hands, even if it resulted in his own capture. He rather invited the +latter, in fact, for he knew that the gang would see the need of +instantly removing him from Venner's house, at least until they could +lay hands upon Chick. In this case Nick believed that they might be +compelled to confine him at their diamond plant, the location of which +he thus hoped to discover.</p> + +<p>For these reasons Nick was coolly taking very long chances, at the same +time leaving Chick free to quickly get in his work, in case he himself +went down at the outset.</p> + +<p>Yet there was not a sign of any person save Venner, as Nick followed him +through the hall and into a side room near the rear of the house, +evidently a dining room.</p> + +<p>Nick sized it up with a glance. Electric chandelier; two doors, one by +which he had entered from the hall, and the other leading into a dark +kitchen; two windows, with the curtains closely drawn; several chairs, a +handsome sideboard, and in the middle of the room a large, square table, +covered with a rich damask cloth hanging nearly to the floor.</p> + +<p>Upon the table was also spread a piece of black velvet, on which was +displayed nearly a score of blazing diamonds—the most magnificent +artificial stones ever born of man's restless genius.</p> + +<p>Nick rightly guessed their true character, yet he allowed an ejaculation +of admiration to escape him.</p> + +<p>"Ah! Magnificent!"</p> + +<p>"Look them over," cried Venner, with a swift scrutiny of Nick's swarthy +features. "You'll excuse me for a minute or two. I wish to make sure +that my rear windows and doors are locked. Such gems are a terrible +temptation to thieves."</p> + +<p>"True, sir," bowed Nick. "Take your time. Meanwhile I'll examine the +diamonds. They are splendid! magnificent!"</p> + +<p>Nick rightly guessed that Venner wished to consult some of the gang. He +saw that his entering the house without Chick had thrown their plans +badly out of gear, as he had designed for it to do.</p> + +<p>Venner went into the dark kitchen, rattled a doorknob merely for a +bluff, then crossed the hall and entered the library, closing the door +behind him.</p> + +<p>The room was but dimly lighted, and on the floor stood Dave Kilgore and +Matthew Stall, each with a drawn revolver.</p> + +<p>"What's the meaning of this, Rufe?" Kilgore instantly demanded, in +passionate whispers.</p> + +<p>"How do I know?" Venner hurriedly rejoined, scarce above his breath. +"You heard what he said?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, curse him, but I don't swallow it."</p> + +<p>"Nor I."</p> + +<p>"I can't see into his game."</p> + +<p>"That's just my trouble," cried Venner. "Can he have discovered that we +recognize him?"</p> + +<p>"Impossible! Pylotte is too cunning to have betrayed us in any way."</p> + +<p>This was very true, in fact; but Venner himself had blindly done the +betraying.</p> + +<p>"It doesn't matter, Rufe," Kilgore fiercely added. "We must get them +both."</p> + +<p>"That's my idea."</p> + +<p>"And it's all the easier to get them one at a time."</p> + +<p>"Right you are, Dave."</p> + +<p>"Has he discovered Pylotte?"</p> + +<p>"Surely not!"</p> + +<p>"Go back there, then," hissed Kilgore. "Learn what his game is, if you +can. Force him to show his hand."</p> + +<p>"Leave that to me."</p> + +<p>"Waste no time, however, and on no pretext let him leave the house to +return to the carriage."</p> + +<p>"Not on our lives."</p> + +<p>"A warning whistle will start Pylotte, and we'll be on hand to do our +part," added Kilgore, hurriedly. "Go back at once, and waste not a +moment in getting at his game."</p> + +<p>"Trust me, Dave."</p> + +<p>"We must land Nick Carter and get him away from here before that +running mate of his can make any move against us."</p> + +<p>"That's the stuff."</p> + +<p>"And then we'll plan to get the other. Away with you!"</p> + +<p>These forcible measures were precisely what Nick had felt sure would be +adopted by the gang, and were the very steps to which he had so shrewdly +planned to force them.</p> + +<p>Venner darted softly across the hall and returned to the dining room.</p> + +<p>Nick was still examining the diamonds.</p> + +<p>He stood near the table, at a point midway between the two open doors. +He had selected this position for a very good reason. He was inviting +capture and removal, which he knew must be preceded by an assault; and +he therefore laid himself open from either side, aiming to be put down +and out with as little violence as possible.</p> + +<p>He wanted all his resources for what he knew was very likely to follow.</p> + +<p>Nick was quite as anxious as the gang to force matters, moreover; for at +the end of ten minutes, in case he did not return to the carriage, Chick +was to begin getting in his work.</p> + +<p>Therefore the climax came quickly.</p> + +<p>Six minutes had already passed.</p> + +<p>"Well, sir, what do you think of them?" cried Venner, as he returned to +the room.</p> + +<p>"The diamonds?" queried Nick, tossing several of them back upon the +table.</p> + +<p>"Certainly. What else?"</p> + +<p>"They are all right, Mr. Venner."</p> + +<p>"I thought you would say so."</p> + +<p>"Yes, indeed. They are all right—for what they are!"</p> + +<p>"For what they are?"</p> + +<p>"Precisely."</p> + +<p>"What do you mean by that?"</p> + +<p>"You know what I mean."</p> + +<p>"I do?" snarled Venner, inquiringly, with his frowning eyes shrinking +from Nick's steadfast gaze.</p> + +<p>"Certainly you do," declared Nick. "These diamonds are imitations, not +natural stones. They are the most perfect and marvelous artificial +diamonds ever made.</p> + +<p>"Artificial!" cried Venner, now drawing back. "You are mad, sir! Why, +man, you are away off the track!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, I'm not."</p> + +<p>"You are!"</p> + +<p>"Not off the track at all, but very squarely on it," Nick now retorted, +speaking in his own sternly resonant tones. "Hark you, Venner, I am the +one to ask the meaning of this, not you!"</p> + +<p>Venner's hand went stealing toward his hip pocket.</p> + +<p>"So you are showing your true colors, are you?" he cried, with +threatening significance. "By Heaven, you are no Hindoo!"</p> + +<p>"That's right, Venner, I am not," said Nick, quickly throwing off the +loose robe that hid his own apparel, fearing it might impede his +movements. "I am no Hindoo, but am—"</p> + +<p>"Nick Carter!"</p> + +<p>"Exactly!"</p> + +<p>"So this is your game, is it?" Venner fiercely began. "If you think—"</p> + +<p>"Stop right there, Venner," Nick sternly commanded. "Speaking of games, +I am here to discover what sort of a rascally game you and this Kilgore +gang are playing. I have learned enough to show me that you are a knave +and a—"</p> + +<p>"By heavens, Carter—"</p> + +<p>"Stop!" thundered Nick. "Don't pull a gun! If you do, I'll end your—"</p> + +<p>But he got no further, for there the climax came.</p> + +<p>A single sharp whistle sounded from the kitchen.</p> + +<p>Instantly Nick felt a rope noose jerked taut around his ankles, nearly +throwing him from his feet.</p> + +<p>From beneath the table, the hanging cover of which had effectually +concealed him, Jean Pylotte had managed to adjust the noose upon the +floor about Nick's legs. At the signal given him, he had quickly drawn +it taut.</p> + +<p>At the same moment Kilgore and Matt Stall leaped upon Nick from the +kitchen and hall doors, bearing him heavily to the floor, while Venner +ran to clap a revolver to the detective's head.</p> + +<p>"Hang to his feet, Pylotte," cried Kilgore, fiercely.</p> + +<p>"I've got 'em fast," shouted the diamond maker, from under the table.</p> + +<p>"Quit, Carter, or I'll blow your brains out," commanded Venner, with his +pistol at Nick's head.</p> + +<p>Nick had been making a great bluff at putting up an ugly fight, but now +he very agreeably subsided.</p> + +<p>The affair was going precisely as he desired, yet for the sake of +appearances he angrily snarled:</p> + +<p>"Let up, you dogs! So this is your game, is it? Turn that gun another +way, Venner, you miscreant! It might go off, and I'm not fool enough to +invite its contents. This dirty game that you've played—"</p> + +<p>"Dry up!" Kilgore sharply interrupted, while he and Stall quickly +secured Nick's arms with a rope. "You'll not live to know the game that +we have played, Nick Carter."</p> + +<p>"Won't I?"</p> + +<p>"Not if I live!" cried Kilgore, with vicious significance.</p> + +<p>"Well, maybe you'll not live long," retorted Nick.</p> + +<p>"I'll close that saucy trap of yours, at all events," sneered Kilgore. +"Give me that gag, Matt—quick."</p> + +<p>Nick no longer resisted. A glance at the clock on the mantel told him +that nearly ten minutes had passed since he left Chick. He suffered +himself to be gagged, then raised to his feet, from which Pylotte now +cast the line and emerged from under the table.</p> + +<p>Nick bestowed one look upon him, from which the rascal shrank and +shuddered.</p> + +<p>Kilgore now turned quickly to Venner, and hurriedly cried:</p> + +<p>"You remain here, Rufe, and leave us to dispose of this fellow. We'll +run him over yonder, and return as quickly as possible. It's not safe to +keep him here until we have landed his running mate."</p> + +<p>"But—"</p> + +<p>"Don't stop for buts!" cried Kilgore, fiercely. "Go see if you can sight +Chick Carter. If he is still in the carriage, we are all right up to +now. In six or eight minutes go down there and give him to understand +that his interpreter wants him to come in here. Before you reach this +room with him, we three will be back to help you turn him down. Do you +understand?"</p> + +<p>"Sure!" cried Venner, thrusting his weapon back in his pocket. "He +cannot suspect that we have recognized Nick, and he'll come in, all +right."</p> + +<p>"Go, then! We'll be back here in six minutes."</p> + +<p>Venner hastened to one of the front windows of the house and peered out +toward the street. At that moment a flash of lightning, followed by the +nearer roll of thunder, dispelled for an instant the intense gloom of +the night.</p> + +<p>A growl of profound satisfaction broke from Venner while he gazed, and +he muttered exultingly:</p> + +<p>"By Heaven! we're all right! He's waiting in the carriage, and Dalton is +still on the box!"</p> + +<p>Nick was being pushed out of a back door of the house, meantime, and +then across the lawn and through the dark stable.</p> + +<p>The ruffians who were hurrying him away did not stop there, however. +Pylotte ran on ahead, while Kilgore and Matt Stall continued urging the +detective across the grounds, making toward the old wooden mansion in +which their secret plant was located.</p> + +<p>It seemed to them the safest place in which to confine Nick, pending the +delay in getting hands upon Chick.</p> + +<p>Presently they came to a dry ditch, walled at each side, and originally +built for draining the low meadows between the two estates. Into this +they plunged, following it until they arrived near a wooden bulkhead in +the foundation wall of the house. This was the secret way of entering, +to which Cervera had referred the previous night.</p> + +<p>Pylotte already had opened it, and Nick was quickly forced through a +dark cellar.</p> + +<p>"All right," cried Kilgore. "Let us in."</p> + +<p>Instantly the secret stone door was thrown open, and Nick was nearly +blinded by the flood of light in the room into which he was abruptly +thrust.</p> + +<p>He stood in the subterranean chamber of the diamond plant.</p> + +<p>And there, erect on the floor, with her evil countenance a picture of +malicious triumph, stood his crafty combatant of the previous +night—Sanetta Cervera.</p> + +<p>"<i>Caramba!</i>" she cried, shrilly, with a vicious laugh. "So you've got +him! Well done, Dave! Well done!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, and we'll presently have the other," cried Kilgore, panting hard +after his exertions.</p> + +<p>"Good for you, Dave," screamed Cervera, exultingly. "But this is the one +I want most—this is the one!"</p> + +<p>"Look lively, Matt. Lend a hand here, and we'll bind him to yonder +chair."</p> + +<p>"And leave Cervera to guard him, eh?"</p> + +<p>"That's the stuff."</p> + +<p>"Can she do it?"</p> + +<p>"Can she!" growled Kilgore, with derisive vehemence. "You let her alone +for that."</p> + +<p>"Yes, yes, let me alone for that!"</p> + +<p>"We must get back to stand by Venner. That Chick Carter is nearly as +tough a customer as this fellow."</p> + +<p>"I guess you'll find that that's no dream," said Nick to himself, as the +ruffians bound him to the chair mentioned.</p> + +<p>Cervera was laughing and capering around as if about to have a fit—yet +her laugh had a terrible and chilling ring.</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, I'll guard him, Dave," she shrilly cried, with a frightful +menace in her strained voice. "<i>Caramba</i>, yes! let me alone for that."</p> + +<p>"So I do," snarled Kilgore.</p> + +<p>"Knot the line fast, Matt—make sure of that," the woman fiercely added. +"Yes, I'll keep him quiet—never doubt that, boys! He shall be like a +baby taking milk. Perdition! but you shall have a sweet time, Mr. Nick, +alone here with Sanetta Cervera!"</p> + +<p>Kilgore paid but little attention to any of this, and only now and then +bestowed a glance upon the vicious woman.</p> + +<p>Within a minute after their arrival at the plant, the gang had Nick +securely bound to a common wooden chair, when they condescended to +remove the gag from his mouth.</p> + +<p>"He may shout himself hoarse here, if he likes," growled Kilgore. "There +will be none to hear him."</p> + +<p>Then he hurried Pylotte and Matt Stall back to the Venner house, to +land Chick Carter.</p> + +<p>Left alone with Nick, Cervera darted to the stone door in the solid +wall, and secured it within.</p> + +<p>There was murder in her glittering eyes when she shot the heavy bolts +into their iron sockets.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX" />CHAPTER XX.</h2> + +<h3>THE BOOT ON THE OTHER LEG.</h3> + + +<p>In the heat of action and excitement ten minutes are as nothing.</p> + +<p>The time seems longer, however, when one sits waiting in a motionless +carriage, enveloped in the gloom of night, with grim distrust and +uncertainty acting like spurs in the sides of one's impatience.</p> + +<p>Before five minutes had fairly passed, after Nick's departure, Spotty +Dalton had suffered his misgivings to the very limit of his endurance.</p> + +<p>Chick sat mentally counting the passing seconds, then scoring each +departed minute with his fingers, of which he had exhausted four and a +thumb, the entire complement of one hand; and all the while his eyes +were riveted with intense vigilance upon the growling ruffian on the +seat above him.</p> + +<p>Had Dalton ventured so much as a move to leave his perch, Chick would +have been after him like a terrier after a rat.</p> + +<p>At the end of five minutes, however, Dalton made a preliminary move. He +hitched the reins around the whipstock, then stared for a second or two +toward Venner's house, fifty yards away through the surrounding park.</p> + +<p>Then he suddenly swung round on his seat, and growled ferociously at +Chick, at the same time signifying with gestures the communication he +imagined would not be verbally understood:</p> + +<p>"See here, you swarthy-faced snake fiend, I'm bound up yonder, to see +what's going on! You sit where you are, d'ye hear, and I'll be back in a +jiffy, if things are all right! If they're not, —— you, I'll be back +just the same—with a gun!"</p> + +<p>As if moved by a wish to understand him, Chick arose in the body of the +carriage while Dalton was thus declaring himself. He heard and +understood, all right, and it necessitated his getting in his work a +little earlier than was planned. For Chick would take no such chances as +this that Nick's operations in the house would be interfered with.</p> + +<p>As the last word left Dalton's lips, the arm of the detective shot out +through the darkness, and closed with the grip of a vise around the +ruffian's neck, throttling him to silence.</p> + +<p>"With a gun, eh?" Chick fiercely muttered, yanking Dalton backward into +the body of the carriage. "You open your lips again for so much as a +whisper, and I'll close them with six inches of cold steel."</p> + +<p>In the glare of a distant lightning flash, Dalton, though struggling +furiously, caught the gleam of a polished blade at his throat, and a +glimpse of the flaming eyes in the face above him.</p> + +<p>He shrank, gasping for breath, as the truth dawned upon him; and then +the voice of another sounded close beside the open carriage.</p> + +<p>"Want any help, Chick?"</p> + +<p>Nick's youthful assistant, to whom a wire had been sent from the house +of the snake charmer, had appeared like an apparition out of the +roadside gloom.</p> + +<p>"Ah! you're here, Patsy!" muttered Chick. "Yes. Clap a gag into this +cur's mouth. We'll choke off his pipes first of all."</p> + +<p>Dalton uttered a vicious growl, then felt the point of the knife pierce +the skin at his throat, and he wisely relapsed into silence.</p> + +<p>For Patsy to fish out a gag, and bind it securely in the scoundrel's +mouth, was the work of a few moments only.</p> + +<p>Then Chick jerked Dalton up from the rear cushion and out into the road, +in far less time than is taken to record it.</p> + +<p>"Off with his coat and hat, Patsy," he hurriedly commanded. "Now the +false beard, my lad. Now get into them yourself, as quickly as you can."</p> + +<p>"I'm all in, Chick," chuckled Patsy, working like a trooper.</p> + +<p>"Got all the traps with you?"</p> + +<p>"Sure!"</p> + +<p>"Clap the bracelets on him, then. Now give me a second pair, and a strip +of line. That's the stuff."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I brought the whole shooting match," laughed Patsy.</p> + +<p>"Good for you! Now mount to the box, and leave this dog to me. I'll +return in half a minute."</p> + +<p>Patsy climbed up to the seat from which Dalton had been so speedily +snatched and overcome, and Chick now ran the rascal a rod or more into +the woodland on the opposite side of the road.</p> + +<p>There he threw him to the ground beside a small oak, around the trunk of +which he quickly twined Dalton's legs, and then fastened them at the +ankles with a pair of irons.</p> + +<p>"I reckon you'll stay there quietly until I want you, barring that you +pull up the tree," he grimly remarked, as he turned to hasten back to +the carriage, in which he quickly resumed his seat.</p> + +<p>A moment later Venner peered from the distant window—and was satisfied +with what he saw.</p> + +<p>Five minutes later he came striding down the walk and approached the +carriage. Without a word to the driver, whom he supposed to be Dalton, +he opened the carriage door and laid his hand on Chick's arm, at the +same time pointing toward the house.</p> + +<p>Chick signified that he understood, and held out both hands, as if he +wished to be helped to the sidewalk.</p> + +<p>Venner promptly raised both of his—only to suddenly hear a quick, +metallic snap, and feel links of cold steel confining his wrists. Their +icy chill went through him like a knife, and he reeled as if stricken a +blow.</p> + +<p>"Good God!" he gasped, hoarsely. "What's this?"</p> + +<p>Chick and Patsy were already beside him.</p> + +<p>"This," said Chick, sternly, "is your wind-up!"</p> + +<p>"My—"</p> + +<p>"Stop! Not a loud word, Mr. Venner, or worse will be yours! Now tell me +in whispers—where is Nick Carter?"</p> + +<p>The sight of a revolver thrust under his nose had a potent effect upon +the dismayed man, yet even while he saw that he was cornered, he seized +upon the hope that Kilgore and the gang might discover and release him.</p> + +<p>"Find him yourself, if you want him!" he hissed through his teeth, with +an ugly frown. "I'm cursed if I'll inform you!"</p> + +<p>Chick did not delay for arguments or persuasion. With Patsy's help he +speedily put Venner in the same helpless condition in which he had left +Dalton, stretched upon the ground, within a rod of one another.</p> + +<p>Then he threw off his disguise, and shifted his revolvers to his side +pockets.</p> + +<p>"Now for yonder house, Patsy, and to see what the remainder of this gang +are at," said he. "Come with me, and have your guns ready."</p> + +<p>"I'm with you," cried Patsy, coolly. "Guns and all."</p> + +<p>A dash up the gravel walk brought them to the front door, which Venner +had left partly open.</p> + +<p>There they paused and listened.</p> + +<p>Not a sound came from within the house; but overhead the tempest now was +breaking, with frequent crashing peals of thunder, and flashes of +lightning that illumined all the landscape. Rain, too, now began pelting +down on the veranda roof.</p> + +<p>"We'll steal in and see what we can find," whispered Chick, drawing one +of his revolvers.</p> + +<p>"Go it, then."</p> + +<p>He led the way, and Patsy followed. The silence in the house mystified +them at first. It appeared to have been entirely deserted.</p> + +<p>When they reached the door of the dining room, however, Chick discovered +on the floor the disguise which Nick had discarded.</p> + +<p>"I have it, Patsy," he cried, softly. "They have nailed Nick, just as he +expected, and have taken him somewhere to confine him."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps in the cellar," suggested Patsy.</p> + +<p>"I hardly think so, yet we'll have a look."</p> + +<p>Moving as quietly as shadows, they entered the kitchen and easily +located the cellar door. It was closed and locked, with the key +remaining.</p> + +<p>"Evidently they're not down there," whispered Chick.</p> + +<p>"Let's try the upper floors," suggested Patsy. "They may be laying for +us up there, but I reckon we're good for them."</p> + +<p>"We'll take the chance, surely. Come on."</p> + +<p>They crept through the hall again, and then mounted the broad stairway, +which led to the next floor.</p> + +<p>There the utter silence and the semidarkness quickly convinced them that +they were on the wrong track.</p> + +<p>"The stable," muttered Chick, suddenly. "We'll try the stable."</p> + +<p>"They certainly have vamosed this ranch," remarked Patsy.</p> + +<p>"Plainly. Come on, then, and we'll try the stable."</p> + +<p>Together they started downstairs.</p> + +<p>A moment later Kilgore, Pylotte and Matt Stall came flurrying into the +house by the rear door.</p> + +<p>In the bright light of the broad hall each party discovered the other +at precisely the same moment, and Kilgore instantly guessed the truth.</p> + +<p>With a cry of rage, he whipped out his revolver and fired point-blank at +the two men on the stairs.</p> + +<p>"Down 'em, boys!" he yelled furiously. "Down 'em, or our game is done +for!"</p> + +<p>His bullet glanced from the baluster rail near Chick, and buried itself +in the wall behind him.</p> + +<p>"Drop them, Patsy!" he shouted, instantly. "Shoot to kill! It's them or +us!"</p> + +<p>"Let her go, Gallagher!" roared Patsy, pulling both guns.</p> + +<p>Then, amid the tumult of the breaking tempest outside, there began a +fusillade the thunder of which rivaled that of the night, and which, +though comparatively brief, was as fast and furious as any man there had +ever experienced.</p> + +<p>Pylotte went down at the first shot from Chick, however, with a bullet +in his brain.</p> + +<p>Then shot followed shot with lightning rapidity.</p> + +<p>Both detectives sprang down several stairs to evade the rain of lead, +for both Kilgore and Stall were rapidly emptying two revolvers.</p> + +<p>A bullet singed Patsy's ear.</p> + +<p>Another dislodged Chick's hat.</p> + +<p>Then Kilgore reeled with a slight wound in his left arm.</p> + +<p>A score of shots were fired and wasted, meantime, for all hands were +dodging about the hall and stairs in an utterly indescribable fashion.</p> + +<p>It was the warmest kind of a fight for fully three minutes.</p> + +<p>Then Chick got a line on Matt Stall from behind the baluster post, and +dropped him with a ragged wound in his hip.</p> + +<p>Stall fell with a yell of rage and pain, and Kilgore found himself +alone, and against odds.</p> + +<p>He turned like a flash, and darted out of the rear door of the house.</p> + +<p>He knew that the game was up, his confederates done for, and his own +chances of escape but small; and the situation stirred to their very +depths the worst elements of this lifelong criminal.</p> + +<p>But one thought possessed him—that of revenge, that of destroying the +chief cause of his downfall—Nick Carter.</p> + +<p>With this end in view, Kilgore tore like a madman through the blinding +rain of that tempestuous night, and shaped his course back to the +diamond plant.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI" />CHAPTER XXI.</h2> + +<h3>AN ONLY RESOURCE.</h3> + + +<p>Despite the corner in which he had placed himself, a situation far more +desperate than he at first imagined, Nick Carter was congratulating +himself upon the success of his ruse by which he had so quickly located +the secret plant of the diamond swindlers, even at the sacrifice of his +personal freedom.</p> + +<p>The fact that he now sat bound in a chair in the hidden stronghold of +the gang, watched only by Cervera, did not seriously disturb the +fearless detective.</p> + +<p>Nick had been in many a worse corner than this, or in corners believed +to be worse, and he felt confident of pulling out of the scrape with a +whole skin, and with most of the gang in custody.</p> + +<p>He had surveyed his surroundings with more than cursory interest, +therefore, while Kilgore and his confederates were binding his arms to +the rounds of the chair back, and his ankles to the legs of the same.</p> + +<p>The rough foundation walls of the house, the massive stone wall built +across the cellar to mask the secret chamber, the elaborate electric +furnace, the huge hydraulic press, the workbench and tools, the powerful +arc light pendent from the ceiling—half an eye would have convinced +Nick that he occupied the workroom of that master craftsman whose +chemical knowledge and inventive genius had given birth to a most +marvelous production, long, earnestly, yet vainly, sought by others—</p> + +<p>The production of an artificial diamond!</p> + +<p>Not until Nick heard the stone door forcibly closed, and its iron bolts +shot violently into their sockets, did he pay serious attention to +Cervera, the venomous Spanish vixen left to guard him.</p> + +<p>Then, as she swung round toward him, he took a sharper look at her +darkly magnificent face, and was thrilled despite him by the +extraordinary changes it had undergone.</p> + +<p>It had lost its beauty. Its olive flush had given place to a chalky +whiteness. The radiance of her eyes had become a merciless glitter, like +the glint cast from the eyes of a serpent. The reflection of a consuming +passion for vengeance had transfigured her countenance, till it had +become like the face of a fiend.</p> + +<p>Though Nick saw at a glance that his situation had taken on an +unexpected and desperate phase, he suppressed any betrayal of it. He met +the woman eye to eye, while she briefly paused and faced him, with a +cruel smile curling her gray lips.</p> + +<p>"So I have you now, Nick Carter," she cried, with mocking significance.</p> + +<p>"Well, yes, in a way," admitted Nick, coolly.</p> + +<p>"I have you in my power," hissed Cervera, with a vicious display of +satisfaction.</p> + +<p>"Ah! that's different," said Nick.</p> + +<p>"How different?"</p> + +<p>"That you have me in your power remains to be demonstrated."</p> + +<p>"Are we not alone here, you fool?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, very much alone."</p> + +<p>"And you helpless?"</p> + +<p>"Apparently."</p> + +<p>"If I wish, Nick Carter, I can kill you."</p> + +<p>"Then pray don't wish it," said Nick. "I am still too young to be +heartlessly slain, even by so beautiful and accomplished a woman."</p> + +<p>"<i>Caramba!</i> you mock me!" cried Cervera, darting toward him with eyes +ablaze and her lithe figure quivering with passion. "You mock me!—you +shall repent it! Perdition! you shall repent it!"</p> + +<p>"Is that so?"</p> + +<p>"You shall repent it, I say!"</p> + +<p>"In this world, or in the next?" inquired Nick, bent upon prolonging the +scene as much as possible, with a hope that Chick might suddenly turn +up.</p> + +<p>Cervera did not answer him immediately. She wheeled again and darted to +the door, once more to make sure that she had secured its bolts.</p> + +<p>She was clad in the black dress in which she had escaped from Nick the +previous night, the somber hue of which was relieved only by occasional +flashes of her dainty white lace underskirts, as she swept quickly from +place to place, with her lithe figure crouching at times, and her every +movement as swift and impulsive as that of a startled leopard.</p> + +<p>As he sat watching her, Nick was reminded of her matchless work upon +the stage, thrilling men and women alike with her wild grace and the +fiery passion of her indescribable dances.</p> + +<p>She returned to confront him after a moment, crouching before him, with +her glowing eyes fixed on his.</p> + +<p>"In the next world—not in this!" she now replied, with a voice that cut +the air like the snap of a whip. "You'd have brief time for repentance +in this."</p> + +<p>"So you've decided to do the job, have you?" Nick coolly demanded.</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Well, I'm sorry to hear it."</p> + +<p>"Here is where we even up accounts."</p> + +<p>"Even them up, eh?"</p> + +<p>"You heard what I said."</p> + +<p>"But I wasn't aware that I have so very much the best of you."</p> + +<p>"You have."</p> + +<p>"How so?"</p> + +<p>"<i>Caramba!</i> you know too much!"</p> + +<p>"Ah! you mean about that girl."</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"I see," nodded Nick, secretly working in vain to loose the ropes +confining his arms. "Well, señora, as a matter of fact, I am rather +likely to make things unpleasant for you one of these days."</p> + +<p>"It will be this day, or never. You'll not live to see another."</p> + +<p>"Possibly not."</p> + +<p>"<i>Caramba!</i> do you doubt it?"</p> + +<p>She darted nearer to him, with her hand tearing open the waist of her +dress, and then the gleam of a poniard met Nick's gaze. She swept it +before his eyes with a wild gesture, and gave vent to a mocking laugh.</p> + +<p>"Do you doubt that I can slay you?"</p> + +<p>"Not at all," answered Nick. "It's very evident."</p> + +<p>"Or that I will?"</p> + +<p>"That appears equally manifest."</p> + +<p>"So it is!" hissed Cervera, with vicious intensity. "I intend to do it! +Do you hear, Nick Carter? I intend to do it!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, I hear you."</p> + +<p>"Why don't you shrink? Why don't you plead for mercy?"</p> + +<p>"What's the use?"</p> + +<p>She answered him with a laugh that made the room ring.</p> + +<p>"Besides," added Nick, "it's not my style to show the white feather."</p> + +<p>"We'll see! <i>Caramba!</i> we will see!"</p> + +<p>She came nearer to him, crouching before him, so near that her breath +fell hot upon his cheeks. Then, with a quick movement, she pressed the +point of the blade through his clothing, till it pricked the flesh above +his heart.</p> + +<p>With his arms bound, with his ankles secured to the legs of the chair, +Nick appeared utterly at her mercy—of which she had none.</p> + +<p>Despite himself, Nick shrank slightly from the wound, and for the first +time shuddered at the peril by which he was menaced, and from which +there seemed to be no avenue of escape.</p> + +<p>Cervera laughed again, a laugh freighted with the terrible ring of +madness.</p> + +<p>"Did it hurt you?" she screamed, with her glittering eyes raised to +search his. "Perdition! I hope so! You have tortured me with a thousand +fears. I'd like to repay you with a thousand pangs!"</p> + +<p>Nick's eyes took on an ugly gleam.</p> + +<p>"Why don't you do so, then?" he growled.</p> + +<p>"I would, if I had the time," cried Cervera, through her teeth.</p> + +<p>"You have all there is."</p> + +<p>"Ten thousand times I'd thrust it into you—thus! thus!"</p> + +<p>Nick set his jaws and met the blade without flinching.</p> + +<p>Twice the vicious demon thrust it through his clothing, and now two +crimson stains of blood on his shirt front followed the withdrawal of +the weapon.</p> + +<p>"See! see!" screamed Cervera, triumphantly, with her terrible face +upturned to his gaze. "You're beginning to bleed! Did you know that the +sight of blood affects me as it does a leopard? I thirst for more—if +that of one I hate! When next I strike you, I shall strike deeper!"</p> + +<p>That she fully intended to murder him, Nick now, had not a doubt. The +homicidal madness was in her eyes, in her every feature, her every +motion, and it rang in every word that fell from her bloodless lips.</p> + +<p>Yet the inflexible nerve of the detective did not for a moment desert +him.</p> + +<p>"Send the blade home at once, if you like," he said, with a scornful +frown.</p> + +<p>"Not yet—not yet!" she cried, shrilly. "There'll be time for that."</p> + +<p>"Time and to spare," sneered Nick.</p> + +<p>"I first wish to torture you, as you've tortured me!"</p> + +<p>"Go ahead, then."</p> + +<p>"Once more! Are you ready?"</p> + +<p>"Let it come."</p> + +<p>Again she drew back the glittering blade, only to mock him with several +pretended thrusts, hoping thus to create and prolong an agony of fear +and suspense.</p> + +<p>A more viciously cruel and vindictive creature never drew the breath of +life.</p> + +<p>She laughed again, and slowly pressed the weapon closer—and then, with +a sudden startled cry, she drew back and leaped to her feet.</p> + +<p>A noise like that of a mighty cannonade seemed to shake even the solid +walls of this buried chamber.</p> + +<p>It was the crash of thunder in the heavens overhead.</p> + +<p>It was Cervera's first intimation of the terrible tempest that had been +gathering outside.</p> + +<p>At first she thought the sound was that of revolvers, and she darted to +the door and listened, pressing her ear to the wall.</p> + +<p>The instant her back was turned, Nick made a desperate attempt to free +himself, straining cords and muscles under the determined effort. It +proved vain, however. The ropes held him as if made of twisted steel.</p> + +<p>Yet in his brief but desperate struggle his right arm came in contact +with an object in the side pocket of his sack coat.</p> + +<p>The object was a box nearly filled with parlor matches—one of the most +dangerous and treacherous creations of man's inventive genius.</p> + +<p>Like a sudden revelation, or a bolt out of the blue, there leaped up in +Nick's mind a possible way of escape.</p> + +<p>He thought of Cervera's garments, of the fluffy lace skirts beneath her +gown, to which a single flash of fire would instantly prove fatal.</p> + +<p>The resort to such means seemed horrible—yet Nick well knew it was the +one and only resource left him.</p> + +<p>He glanced sharply at Cervera. She was still listening at the door, with +her evil face a picture of intense suspense.</p> + +<p>With a quick turn of his wrist, Nick succeeded in extracting the box +from his pocket. Then he forced it open, and with a move of his hand he +scattered its entire contents over the floor around his chair. The tiny +matches fell with scarce a sound, and Cervera, ten feet away, failed to +hear them.</p> + +<p>Then Nick quietly worked his chair back a foot or two, in order to bring +some of the fateful things upon the floor directly in front of him.</p> + +<p>A moment later Cervera turned from the door.</p> + +<p>"Thunder—it was thunder," she muttered, under her breath. "There's a +storm outside."</p> + +<p>"Somebody coming?" queried Nick, with taunting accents.</p> + +<p>He now aimed to provoke her, to force the situation to a climax, lest +any mischance should have befallen Chick, or perverted in any way his +own designs upon Kilgore and the gang. His taunting remark proved +effective, moreover.</p> + +<p>With a snarl of rage Cervera darted toward him, with eyes for him alone, +never for the floor.</p> + +<p>"You dog!" she cried, through her white teeth.</p> + +<p>"Do you mock me again?"</p> + +<p>"Oh! no, of course not," sneered Nick.</p> + +<p>"You lie! You do! You think some one will come—that you will then +escape me," screamed Cervera, quivering through and through with +venomous passion.</p> + +<p>Nick watched her as a cat watches a mouse.</p> + +<p>Her face was ghastly and distorted, her breast heaving, her every nerve +quivering, and her eyes were like balls of fire under their knitted +brows.</p> + +<p>Still clutching the poniard, her jeweled fingers worked convulsively +around its haft, like those of one who fain would strike a death blow, +yet whose hand was briefly held by consuming horror.</p> + +<p>Suddenly she darted nearer, with a vicious snarl.</p> + +<p>"You think you'll escape me," she screamed, with bitter ferocity. "It +shows in your eyes. I'll make sure that you don't. Let come who may, you +shall be found—dead! Dead!—do you hear?"</p> + +<p>"Oh! yes, I hear."</p> + +<p>"Yet you do not fear? We'll see—we'll see!"</p> + +<p>She darted closer to him, with the weapon raised, above her head, and +her knee touched Nick's knee. He swung quickly around toward her, and +scraped his feet over the floor below her skirts.</p> + +<p>Then came a quick, furious snapping, like the noise of a miniature +fusillade. A score of the matches had been ignited by Nick's swift move.</p> + +<p>Almost instantly a shriek of terror broke from Cervera's lips, and she +reeled back, clutching wildly at her skirts.</p> + +<p>"My God! I'm on fire!—on fire!" she screamed, with a voice so intense +in its agony as to have chilled a man of stone.</p> + +<p>A roar came from Nick as he sighted the flames under her gown.</p> + +<p>"Release me! Release me!" he thundered, furiously, with a voice that +drowned her frightful screams. "Cut me loose—loose! It's your only +hope—your only hope!"</p> + +<p>She heard him like one in a nightmare of agony and terror, and her +instinct rather than her reason responded to his thundering commands.</p> + +<p>Still with the poniard in her jeweled hand, still shrieking wildly, she +leaped to his side, and with a single sweep of the keen weapon severed +the rope binding his arms.</p> + +<p>Then Nick snatched the poniard from her hand. With several swift cuts +and slashes he released his limbs, and sprang quickly to his feet.</p> + +<p>He had already shaped his course. He had observed on the sulphur +barrels, near the wall, a strip of matting, used as a cover for them. +Nick snatched it from the barrels, and rushed to wrap it around the +skirts and limbs of the terror-stricken woman.</p> + +<p>For several moments the result seemed doubtful, so doubtful that Nick +finally threw Cervera heavily to the floor, the better to press the +matting closely around her and so smother the flames. In this he +presently succeeded, but not before she was so severely burned as to be +rendered utterly helpless.</p> + +<p>When Nick arose to his feet Cervera remained lying prostrate on the +floor, moaning with pain, yet in a state of semi-consciousness only. A +glance told Nick that she could make no move to escape, and he now had +other work than that of looking to her comfort.</p> + +<p>He ran to the stone door, threw the bolts, and quickly dragged it open.</p> + +<p>Even as he did so, from out of the gloom of the adjoining cellar, a man +came into view, as if suddenly arisen from the ground.</p> + +<p>The man was Dave Kilgore.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII" />CHAPTER XXII.</h2> + +<h3>THE LAST TRICK.</h3> + + +<p>"Carter!"</p> + +<p>"Kilgore!"</p> + +<p>Each man uttered the name of the other, as if with the same breath. The +meeting came so suddenly that, for the bare fraction of a second, both +men were nonplused.</p> + +<p>Then both whipped out a weapon.</p> + +<p>Crack!</p> + +<p>Bang!</p> + +<p>They fired together, and both missed, Nick's usually accurate aim being +spoiled by the gloom of the cellar.</p> + +<p>Kilgore instantly sprang further away in the darkness, and aimed again.</p> + +<p>The hammer of his weapon fell as usual, but there was no report. In his +recent fight at the Venner house he had emptied both of his revolvers, +save the one bullet that had just missed Nick Carter.</p> + +<p>Then Kilgore, failing to have found Nick at his mercy, thought only of +making his own escape. He turned and ran toward the open door by which +he had entered.</p> + +<p>At that moment Chick's ringing voice sounded from outside.</p> + +<p>"This way! this way, Patsy!" he cried, louder than the rolling thunder +overhead. "I've found the rat hole!"</p> + +<p>"I'm with you," yelled Patsy.</p> + +<p>They were already at the door.</p> + +<p>By the frequent flashes of lightning they had, after the fight at +Venner's, succeeded in following Kilgore across the meadows, and they +well knew that he was headed to get even with Nick.</p> + +<p>Now Nick's voice rang through the cellar.</p> + +<p>"Look out for him, Chick," he commanded. "He's coming that way. Look out +for his gun."</p> + +<p>"Hurrah!" roared Chick, the moment he heard Nick's voice. "Let him come, +gun and all!"</p> + +<p>Kilgore saw his flight cut off in that direction, but he knew every inch +of the house. He turned like a rat in the darkness, and made for the +stairs leading to the floor above. Up these he hurriedly scrambled.</p> + +<p>Nick heard him through the gloom, and followed him, pitching headlong at +the foot of the stairs just as Kilgore opened the door leading to the +hall above.</p> + +<p>There the dim rays from a hall lamp revealed the man for an instant, and +showed Nick the way. He was up again and after Kilgore like a hound +after a fox.</p> + +<p>Kilgore dashed through the hall, but dared not take time to unlock and +open the front door of the house. He had a profound respect for the +revolver in the hand of his pursuer, who already had reached the hall.</p> + +<p>It was a flight for life, and Kilgore knew it.</p> + +<p>He turned like a flash and darted up the stairs, making for the second +floor. Three at a stride he covered, and succeeded in reaching the +corridor above before Nick could get a line on him.</p> + +<p>Nick followed, gun in hand.</p> + +<p>On the second floor Kilgore darted into a dark chamber, and then +through that to one adjoining it, where he waited till he heard Nick +plunging into the one first mentioned.</p> + +<p>Then Kilgore slipped out into the hall again, hoping to retrace his +steps downstairs and escape by the front door.</p> + +<p>In the way of that, however, Chick and Patsy were now in the lower hall, +the former shouting lustily up the stairs:</p> + +<p>"Run him down, Nick! Run him down! We'll cover this way of escape!"</p> + +<p>An involuntary oath broke from Kilgore's lips, and at the same moment a +vivid flash of lightning from the inky heavens illumined all the house.</p> + +<p>From the chamber in which he stood, Nick again caught sight of his man, +and was after him in an instant.</p> + +<p>Kilgore heard him coming, and again fled through the hall and up another +flight of stairs.</p> + +<p>"You'd better throw up your hands," roared Nick, as he followed.</p> + +<p>The answer came back with a yell of defiance:</p> + +<p>"Not on your life!"</p> + +<p>"You're a lost dog," cried Nick, hoping to keep him replying.</p> + +<p>"You'll not get me alive!"</p> + +<p>"Then I'll get you dead!" cried Nick, as he mounted the stairs.</p> + +<p>"You haven't got me yet!"</p> + +<p>"Next door to it, my man."</p> + +<p>This brought no answer.</p> + +<p>In a moment Nick reached the second hall, where he briefly paused to +listen. Save the rain beating on the roof of the house, only one sound +reached his strained ears. It was like that of some one hammering +against the side of the house with some heavy object. For a moment the +detective was puzzled. He could not fathom the meaning of such a sound.</p> + +<p>Then a gust of damp night air rushed through the hall and swept Nick's +cheek.</p> + +<p>"Ah! an open window!" he muttered. "That's easily located."</p> + +<p>He groped his way into one of the rear chambers. There the night air was +sweeping in through an open window, to the sill of which Nick quickly +sprang.</p> + +<p>Now the noise he had heard was instantly explained.</p> + +<p>Cornered like a rat, yet viciously resolute to the last, Kilgore had, in +order to make his escape, resorted to a means from which a less cool and +nervy scoundrel would have shrunk on such a night as that.</p> + +<p>He had, by reaching far out of the window, been able to grasp an +old-fashioned lightning rod with which the ancient wooden mansion was +provided, and by which he proposed to descend to the ground. Under the +swindler's weight, the beating of this swaying rod against the side of +the house was the sound Nick had heard.</p> + +<p>Kilgore, whose courage was worthy a far better cause, already was +halfway to the ground.</p> + +<p>Yet Nick had no idea of letting the knave escape thus, and he raised his +weapon to fire.</p> + +<p>There was no need for a bullet, however, for the hand of the Almighty +did the work.</p> + +<p>From the black vault of the heavens a bolt of liquid fire suddenly shot +earthward, with a crash of thunder that seemed to rend the entire +firmament.</p> + +<p>The fiery bolt reached the earth—but it reached it through the rod to +which Dave Kilgore was desperately clinging.</p> + +<p>Not a sound came from the doomed man as he went down—or if there was a +sound, it was drowned by the deafening crash and successive +reverberations of thunder.</p> + +<p>Before Nick had fairly recovered from the blinding light and terrific +concussion, he heard the voice of Chick yelling loudly from below:</p> + +<p>"Nick, Nick, come down here! The house is afire. The whole house is +afire!"</p> + +<p>Nick heard and darted for the stairs, at once realizing how well the +lightning had done its terrific work. Before he could reach the lower +hall, dense volumes of smoke were pouring through the house, and one +entire side of the fated dwelling was in flames.</p> + +<p>Nick thought of the woman in the cellar below, and, with Chick and Patsy +at his heels, he led the way to the diamond plant. The electric light +had been extinguished by the lightning stroke, but Nick soon located the +body of Cervera, and together the detectives brought her out and laid +her upon the ground some rods away from the burning dwelling.</p> + +<p>"She's done for, poor wretch!" muttered Nick, as he looked at her +bloodless face.</p> + +<p>He was right.</p> + +<p>Señora Cervera had danced her last dance—a terrible one it was! She +had lapsed into a merciful unconsciousness, from which she never +emerged.</p> + +<p>Next came Kilgore, and they easily found him. He lay stretched upon the +ground, dead and scorched almost beyond recognition, at the base of the +metallic rod through which he had met his fate.</p> + +<p>"Lend a hand here," said Nick. "We'll place him with his confederate +until we can have them properly removed."</p> + +<p>"So be it," said Chick, gravely. "It's about the last we can do for +them, and this nearly ends our work on this job."</p> + +<p>"You've got the others?"</p> + +<p>"Every man of them."</p> + +<p>"Well done!" nodded Nick, as they raised the lifeless form between them. +"Behold the way of the transgressor."</p> + +<p>"Hark!" exclaimed Patsy. "There goes the fire alarm. In three minutes +there'll be a mob about here."</p> + +<p>"Much good the firemen will do," rejoined Nick. "That house is doomed, +and all that's in it."</p> + +<p>He was right. With the passing of the tempest, and the first sign of a +star in the eastern sky, all that remained of the house above the +diamond plant was a heap of red, smoldering embers, filling the cellar +and the secret chamber—and blotting out, though perhaps not forever, +the secret art of that misguided genius, Jean Pylotte, dead with a +bullet in his brain, on the floor of Rufus Venner's hall.</p> + +<p>There remains but little to complete the record of this strange and +stirring case.</p> + +<p>Before morning Nick had lodged Venner and Spotty Dalton in the Tombs, +and had Garside arrested at his residence. The lifeless bodies of their +three confederates,—Cervera having died at dawn—were taken to the +Morgue.</p> + +<p>Early the following day, Harry Boyden, the young man arrested for the +murder of Mary Barton, was discharged from custody, and hastened to the +home of Violet Page, to make her happy with the news of his release and +his story of Nick Carter's extraordinary work. Both called upon Nick a +day or two later, and expressed their gratitude and affection in terms +which here need no recital. Incidentally it may be added that they were +married, as planned, the following summer.</p> + +<p>How strangely the circumstances and experiences of life are knit and +bound together. But for the vicious crime of a jealous woman, Nick might +have labored long, and possibly vainly, to run down the Kilgore gang and +their extraordinary criminal project, in which Cervera so strongly +figured. It was as Nick said, the two crimes seemed bound together as if +with links of steel.</p> + +<p>In the trial which preceded the conviction and punishment of the three +living members of the gang, Nick learned all of the facts of the case.</p> + +<p>Venner & Co., it appeared, were on their last legs, and went into the +game to square themselves, the design being to market vast quantities of +the artificial diamonds. With this project in view, Venner had purchased +the house at the rear of his own, under the name of Dr. Magruder, and +there had established the plant. How well the scheme would have +succeeded, but for Nick Carter, will never be known.</p> + +<p>At all events, in the stock of Venner & Co. were found numerous stones +which only the most proficient experts could prove to be artificial; and +even to this day it is intimated that, among the bejeweled women of New +York there are some unconsciously wearing the manufactured diamonds of +Jean Pylotte. What matters, however, since where ignorance is bliss it +is folly to be wise?</p> + +<p>Jean Pylotte: His art died with him, alas! For in the ruins of the +diamond plant there could be found no evidence sufficient to reveal his +great secret.</p> + +<p>Surely it had opened the way to a great swindle, the possibilities of +which can hardly be conceived. But, fortunately, in the way of it had +come—</p> + +<p>Nick Carter.</p> + + +<h5>THE END.</h5> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="NICK_CARTER_STORIES" id="NICK_CARTER_STORIES" />NICK CARTER STORIES</h3> + +<h2>New Magnet Library</h2> + +<h3>PRICE, FIFTEEN CENTS</h3> + +<h4><i>Not a Dull Book in This List</i></h4> + + +<p>Nick Carter stands for an interesting detective story. The fact that the +books in this line are so uniformly good is entirely due to the work of +a specialist. The man who wrote these stories produced no other type of +fiction. His mind was concentrated upon the creation of new plots and +situations in which his hero emerged triumphantly from all sorts of +trouble, and landed the criminal just where he should be—behind the +bars.</p> + +<p>The author of these stories knew more about writing detective stories +than any other single person.</p> + +<p>Following is a list of the best Nick Carter stories. They have been +selected with extreme care, and we unhesitatingly recommend each of them +as being fully as interesting as any detective story between cloth +covers which sells at ten times the price.</p> + +<p>If you do not know Nick Carter, buy a copy of any of the New Magnet +Library books, and get acquainted. He will surprise and delight you.</p> + +<h4><i>ALL TITLES ALWAYS IN PRINT</i></h4> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> +<tr><td align='left'>850—Wanted: A Clew</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>851—A Tangled Skein</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>852—The Bullion Mystery</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>853—The Man of Riddles</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>854—A Miscarriage of Justice</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>855—The Gloved Hand</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>856—Spoilers and the Spoils</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>857—The Deeper Game</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>858—Bolts from Blue Skies</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>859—Unseen Foes</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>860—Knaves in High Places</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>861—The Microbe of Crime</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>862—In the Toils of Fear</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>863—A Heritage of Trouble</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>864—Called to Account</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>865—The Just and the Unjust</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>866—Instinct at Fault</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>867—A Rogue Worth Trapping</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>868—A Rope of Slender Threads</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>869—The Last Call</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>870—The Spoils of Chance</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>871—A Struggle With Destiny</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>872—The Slave of Crime</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>873—The Crook's Blind</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>874—A Rascal of Quality</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>875—With Shackles of Fire</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>876—The Man Who Changed Faces</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>877—The Fixed Alibi</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>878—Out With the Tide</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>879—The Soul Destroyers</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>880—The Wages of Rascality</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>881—Birds of Prey</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>882—When Destruction Threatens</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>883—The Keeper of Black Hounds</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>884—The Door of Doubt</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>885—The Wolf Within</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>886—A Perilous Parole</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>887—The Trail of the Fingerprints</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>888—Dodging the Law</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>889—A Crime in Paradise</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>890—On the Ragged Edge</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>891—The Red God of Tragedy</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>892—The Man Who Paid</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>893—The Blind Man's Daughter</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>894—One Object in Life</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>895—As a Crook Sows</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>896—In Record Time</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>897—Held in Suspense</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>898—The $100,000 Kiss</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>890—Just One Slip</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>900—On a Million-dollar Trail</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>901—A Weird Treasure</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>902—The Middle Link</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>903—To the Ends of the Earth</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>904—When Honors Pall</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>905—The Yellow Brand</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>906—A New Serpent in Eden</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>907—When Brave Men Tremble</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>908—A Test of Courage</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>909—Where Peril Beckons</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>910—The Gargoni Girdle</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>911—Rascals & Co.</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>912—Too Late to Talk</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>913—Satan's Apt Pupil</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>914—The Girl Prisoner</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>915—The Danger of Folly</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>916—One Shipwreck Too Many</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>917—Scourged by Fear</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>918—The Red Plague</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>919—Scoundrels Rampant</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>920—From Clew to Clew</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>921—When Rogues Conspire</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>922—Twelve in a Grave</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>923—The Great Opium Case</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>924—A Conspiracy of Rumors</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>925—A Klondike Claim</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>926—The Evil Formula</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>927—The Man of Many Faces</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>928—The Great Enigma</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>929—The Burden of Proof</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>930—The Stolen Brain</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>931—A Titled Counterfeiter</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>932—The Magic Necklace</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>933—'Round the World for a Quarter</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>934—Over the Edge of the World</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>935—In the Grip of Fate</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>936—The Case of Many Clews</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>937—The Sealed Door</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>938—Nick Carter and the Green Goods Men</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>939—The Man Without a Will</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>940—Tracked Across the Atlantic</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>941—A Clew From the Unknown</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>942—The Crime of a Countess</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>943—A Mixed Up Mess</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>944—The Great Money Order Swindle</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>945—The Adder's Brood</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>946—A Wall Street Haul</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>947—For a Pawned Crown</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>948—Sealed Orders</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>949—The Hate That Kills</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>950—The American Marquis</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>951—The Needy Nine</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>952—Fighting Against Millions</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>953—Outlaws of the Blue</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>954—The Old Detective's Pupil</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>955—Found in the Jungle</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>956—The Mysterious Mail Robbery</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>957—Broken Bars</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>958—A Fair Criminal</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>959—Won by Magic</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>960—The Piano Box Mystery</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>961—The Man They Held Back</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>962—A Millionaire Partner</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>963—A Pressing Peril</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>964—An Australian Klondyke</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>965—The Sultan's Pearls</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>966—The Double Shuffle Club</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>967—Paying the Price</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>968—A Woman's Hand</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>969—A Network of Crime</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>970—At Thompson's Ranch</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>971—The Crossed Needles</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>972—The Diamond Mine Case</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>973—Blood Will Tell</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>974—An Accidental Password</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>975—The Crook's Bauble</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>976—Two Plus Two</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>977—The Yellow Label</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>978—The Clever Celestial</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>979—The Amphitheater Plot</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>980—Gideon Drexel's Millions</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>981—Death in Life</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>982—A Stolen Identity</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>983—Evidence by Telephone</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>984—The Twelve Tin Boxes</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>985—Clew Against Clew</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>986—Lady Velvet</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>987—Playing a Bold Game</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>988—A Dead Man's Grip</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>989—Snarled Identities</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>990—A Deposit Vault Puzzle</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>991—The Crescent Brotherhood</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>992—The Stolen Pay Train</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>993—The Sea Fox</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>994—Wanted by Two Clients</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>995—The Van Alstine Case</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>996—Check No. 777</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>997—Partners in Peril</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>998—Nick Carter's Clever Protégé</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>999—The Sign of the Crossed Knives</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1000—The Man Who Vanished</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1001—A Battle for the Right</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1002—A Game of Craft</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1003—Nick Carter's Retainer</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1004—Caught in the Toils</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1005—A Broken Bond</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1006—The Crime of the French Café</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1007—The Man Who Stole Millions</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1008—The Twelve Wise Men</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1009—Hidden Foes</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1010—A Gamblers' Syndicate</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1011—A Chance Discovery</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1012—Among the Counterfeiters</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1013—A Threefold Disappearance</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1014—At Odds With Scotland Yard</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1015—A Princess of Crime</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1016—Found on the Beach</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1017—A Spinner of Death</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1018—The Detective's Pretty Neighbor</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1019—A Bogus Clew</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1020—The Puzzle of Five Pistols</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1021—The Secret of the Marble Mantel</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1022—A Bite of an Apple</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1023—A Triple Crime</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1024—The Stolen Race Horse</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1025—Wildfire</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1026—A <i>Herald</i> Personal</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1027—The Finger of Suspicion</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1028—The Crimson Clew</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1029—Nick Carter Down East</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1030—The Chain of Clews</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1031—A Victim of Circumstances</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1032—Brought to Bay</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1033—The Dynamite Trap</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1034—A Scrap of Black Lace</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1035—The Woman of Evil</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1036—A Legacy of Hate</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1037—A Trusted Rogue</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1038—Man Against Man</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1039—The Demons of the Night</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1040—The Brotherhood of Death</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1041—At the Knife's Point</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1042—A Cry for Help</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1043—A Stroke of Policy</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1044—Hounded to Death</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1045—A Bargain in Crime</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1046—The Fatal Prescription</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1047—The Man of Iron</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1048—An Amazing Scoundrel</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1049—The Chain of Evidence</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1050—Paid with Death</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1051—A Fight for a Throne</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1052—The Woman of Steel</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1053—The Seal of Death</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1054—The Human Fiend</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1055—A Desperate Chance</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1056—A Chase in the Dark</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1057—The Snare and the Game</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1058—The Murray Hill Mystery</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1059—Nick Carter's Close Call</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1060—The Missing Cotton King</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1061—A Game of Plots</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1062—The Prince of Liars</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1063—The Man at the Window</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1064—The Red League</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1065—The Price of a Secret</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1066—The Worst Case on Record</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1067—From Peril to Peril</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1068—The Seal of Silence</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1069—Nick Carter's Chinese Puzzle</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1070—A Blackmailer's Bluff</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1071—Heard in the Dark</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1072—A Checkmated Scoundrel</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1073—The Cashier's Secret</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1074—Behind a Mask</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1075—The Cloak of Guilt</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1076—Two Villains in One</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1077—The Hot Air Clew</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1078—Run to Earth</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1079—The Certified Check</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1080—Weaving the Web</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1081—Beyond Pursuit</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1082—The Claws of the Tiger</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1083—Driven From Cover</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1084—A Deal in Diamonds</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1085—The Wizard of the Cue</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1086—A Race for Ten Thousand</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1087—The Criminal Link</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1088—The Red Signal</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1089—The Secret Panel</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1090—A Bonded Villain</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1091—A Move in the Dark</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1092—Against Desperate Odds</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1093—The Telltale Photographs</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1094—The Ruby Pin</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1095—The Queen of Diamonds</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1096—A Broken Trail</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1097—An Ingenious Stratagem</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1098—A Sharper's Downfall</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1099—A Race Track Gamble</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1100—Without a Clew</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1101—The Council of Death</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1102—The Hole in the Vault</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1103—In Death's Grip</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1104—A Great Conspiracy</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1105—The Guilty Governor</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1106—A Ring of Rascals</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1107—A Masterpiece of Crime</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1108—A Blow For Vengeance</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1109—Tangled Threads</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1110—The Crime of the Camera</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1111—The Sign of the Dagger</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1112—Nick Carter's Promise</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1113—Marked for Death</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1114—The Limited Holdup</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1115—When the Trap Was Sprung</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1116—Through the Cellar Wall</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1117—Under the Tiger's Claws</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1118—The Girl in the Case</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1119—Behind a Throne</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1120—The Lure of Gold</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1121—Hand to Hand</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1122—From a Prison Cell</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1123—Dr. Quartz, Magician</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1124—Into Nick Carter's Web</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1125—The Mystic Diagram</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1126—The Hand That Won</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1127—Playing a Lone Hand</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1128—The Master Villain</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1129—The False Claimant</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1130—The Living Mask</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1131—The Crime and the Motive</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1132—A Mysterious Foe</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1133—A Missing Man</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1134—A Game Well Played</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1135—A Cigarette Clew</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1136—The Diamond Trail</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1137—The Silent Guardian</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1138—The Dead Stranger</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1140—The Doctor's Stratagem</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1141—Following a Chance Clew</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1142—The Bank Draft Puzzle</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1143—The Price of Treachery</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1144—The Silent Partner</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1145—Ahead of the Game</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1146—A Trap of Tangled Wire</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1147—In the Gloom of Night</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1148—The Unaccountable Crook</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1149—A Bundle of Clews</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1150—The Great Diamond Syndicate</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1151—The Death Circle</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1152—The Toss of a Penny</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1153—One Step Too Far</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1154—The Terrible Thirteen</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1155—A Detective's Theory</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1156—Nick Carter's Auto Trail</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1157—A Triple Identity</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1158—A Mysterious Graft</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1159—A Carnival of Crime</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1160—The Bloodstone Terror</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +</table> + + +<h2>10,000,000</h2> + +<p>copies of the works of Nick Carter in the New Magnet Library have been +sold. Millions more are going to be sold, not because the line +represents forbidden literature, but because it fills a large and +growing demand for recreational reading.</p> + +<p>Nick Carter is justly famous. He stands as one of America's foremost +literary characters. He is the close companion of some of America's +leading professional and business men. Statesmen of high and low degree +have called him "Nick," and do not hesitate to say that he has given +them more satisfaction and pleasure than any other character in fiction.</p> + +<p>The Nick Carter stories, therefore, hold a great deal for you. Any in +the foregoing list are worth while.</p> + +<h4>STREET & SMITH CORPORATION</h4> +<h5>79 Seventh Avenue New York City</h5> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="BOOKS_FOR_YOUNG_MEN" id="BOOKS_FOR_YOUNG_MEN" />BOOKS FOR YOUNG MEN</h3> + +<h2>MERRIWELL SERIES</h2> + +<h4>Stories of Frank and Dick Merriwell</h4> + +<h3>PRICE, FIFTEEN CENTS</h3> + +<h4><i>Fascinating Stories of Athletics</i></h4> + +<hr style="width: 25%;" /> +<p>A half million enthusiastic followers of the Merriwell brothers will +attest the unfailing interest and wholesomeness of these adventures of +two lads of high ideals, who play fair with themselves, as well as with +the rest of the world.</p> + +<p>These stories are rich in fun and thrills in all branches of sports and +athletics. They are extremely high in moral tone, and cannot fail to be +of immense benefit to every boy who reads them.</p> + +<p>They have the splendid quality of firing a boy's ambition to become a +good athlete, in order that he may develop into a strong, vigorous +right-thinking man.</p> + + +<h5><i>ALL TITLES ALWAYS IN PRINT</i></h5> + + +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> +<tr><td align='left'>1—Frank Merriwell's School Days</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>2—Frank Merriwell's Chums</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>3—Frank Merriwell's Foes</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>4—Frank Merriwell's Trip West</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>5—Frank Merriwell Down South</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>6—Frank Merriwell's Bravery</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>7—Frank Merriwell's Hunting Tour</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>8—Frank Merriwell in Europe</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>9—Frank Merriwell at Yale</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>10—Frank Merriwell's Sports Afield</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>11—Frank Merriwell's Races</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>12—Frank Merriwell's Party</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>13—Frank Merriwell's Bicycle Tour</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>14—Frank Merriwell's Courage</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>15—Frank Merriwell's Daring</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>16—Frank Merriwell's Alarm</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>17—Frank Merriwell's Athletes</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>18—Frank Merriwell's Skill</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>19—Frank Merriwell's Champions</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>20—Frank Merriwell's Return to Yale</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>21—Frank Merriwell's Secret</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>22—Frank Merriwell's Danger</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>23—Frank Merriwell's Loyalty</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>24—Frank Merriwell in Camp</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>25—Frank Merriwell's Vacation</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>26—Frank Merriwell's Cruise</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>27—Frank Merriwell's Chase</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>28—Frank Merriwell in Maine</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>29—Frank Merriwell's Struggle</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>30—Frank Merriwell's First Job</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>31—Frank Merriwell's Opportunity</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>32—Frank Merriwell's Hard Luck</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>33—Frank Merriwell's Protégé</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>34—Frank Merriwell on the Road</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>35—Frank Merriwell's Own Company</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>36—Frank Merriwell's Fame</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>37—Frank Merriwell's College Chums</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>38—Frank Merriwell's Problem</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>39—Frank Merriwell's Fortune</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>40—Frank Merriwell's New Comedian</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>41—Frank Merriwell's Prosperity</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>42—Frank Merriwell's Stage Hit</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>43—Frank Merriwell's Great Scheme</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>44—Frank Merriwell in England</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>45—Frank Merriwell on the Boulevards</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>46—Frank Merriwell's Duel</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>47—Frank Merriwell's Double Shot</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>48—Frank Merriwell's Baseball Victories</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>49—Frank Merriwell's Confidence</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>50—Frank Merriwell's Auto</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>51—Frank Merriwell's Fun</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>52—Frank Merriwell's Generosity</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>53—Frank Merriwell's Tricks</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>54—Frank Merriwell's Temptation</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>55—Frank Merriwell on Top</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>56—Frank Merriwell's Luck</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>57—Frank Merriwell's Mascot</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>58—Frank Merriwell's Reward</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>59—Frank Merriwell's Phantom</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>60—Frank Merriwell's Faith</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>61—Frank Merriwell's Victories</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>62—Frank Merriwell's Iron Nerve</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>63—Frank Merriwell in Kentucky</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>64—Frank Merriwell's Power</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>65—Frank Merriwell's Shrewdness</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>66—Frank Merriwell's Set Back</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>67—Frank Merriwell's Search</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>68—Frank Merriwell's Club</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>69—Frank Merriwell's Trust</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>70—Frank Merriwell's False Friend</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>71—Frank Merriwell's Strong Arm</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>72—Frank Merriwell As Coach</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>73—Frank Merriwell's Brother</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>74—Frank Merriwell's Marvel</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>75—Frank Merriwell's Support</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>76—Dick Merriwell At Fardale</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>77—Dick Merriwell's Glory</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>78—Dick Merriwell's Promise</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>79—Dick Merriwell's Rescue</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>80—Dick Merriwell's Narrow Escape</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>81—Dick Merriwell's Racket</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>82—Dick Merriwell's Revenge</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>83—Dick Merriwell's Ruse</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>84—Dick Merriwell's Delivery</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>85—Dick Merriwell's Wonders</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>86—Frank Merriwell's Honor</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>87—Dick Merriwell's Diamond</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>88—Frank Merriwell's Winners</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>89—Dick Merriwell's Dash</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>90—Dick Merriwell's Ability</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>91—Dick Merriwell's Trap</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>92—Dick Merriwell's Defense</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>93—Dick Merriwell's Model</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>94—Dick Merriwell's Mystery</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>95—Frank Merriwell's Backers</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>96—Dick Merriwell's Backstop</td><td align='left'>By Burt. L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>97—Dick Merriwell's Western Mission</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>98—Frank Merriwell's Rescue</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>99—Frank Merriwell's Encounter</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>100—Dick Merriwell's Marked Money</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>101—Frank Merriwell's Nomads</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>102—Dick Merriwell on the Gridiron</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>103—Dick Merriwell's Disguise</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>104—Dick Merriwell's Test</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>105—Frank Merriwell's Trump Card</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>106—Frank Merriwell's Strategy</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>107—Frank Merriwell's Triumph</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>108—Dick Merriwell's Grit</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>109—Dick Merriwell's Assurance</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>110—Dick Merriwell's Long Slide</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>111—Frank Merriwell's Rough Deal</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>112—Dick Merriwell's Threat</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>113—Dick Merriwell's Persistence</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>114—Dick Merriwell's Day</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>115—Frank Merriwell's Peril</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>116—Dick Merriwell's Downfall</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>117—Frank Merriwell's Pursuit</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +</table> + + +<h2>SPORTS</h2> + +<p>There is a greater appreciation of athletic sports among Americans than +among people of any other nationality.</p> + +<p>We have had definite proof of this in the correspondence occasioned by +our publication of the adventures of Frank and Dick Merriwell. These two +boys are active athletes. They are proficient in every line of sport, +and they play fair or not at all.</p> + +<p>This last feature of the Merriwell stories fills our daily mail with +letters from readers who say that they appreciate the integrity and +fairness of the Merriwells more than words can tell.</p> + +<p>These books, while of greatest interest to the right-thinking boy are +educational and make for the development of a character which will +enable the average boy to meet his fellows fairly and squarely in the +battle of life.</p> + +<h3>STREET & SMITH CORPORATION</h3> +<h4>79 Seventh Avenue New York City</h4> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Bill_Cody" id="Bill_Cody" />Bill Cody</h2> + + +<p>At a rough estimate there are 400 million civilized human beings who +have heard of Bill Cody, not under his real name, but by the name +everybody called him, "Buffalo Bill."</p> + +<p>His character made him an outstanding figure during a period of the +development of America when a strong character was a matter of vital +necessity.</p> + +<p>We doubt, however, whether the man's work is fully appreciated, or ever +has been. In the rush and bustle that followed the introduction of the +railroad to the West, the results of Buffalo Bill's work were more or +less overlooked, but a time is coming when this remarkable man's +achievements will be fully appreciated.</p> + +<p>This is the character whose adventures are dealt with in Buffalo Bill's +Border Stories.</p> + +<p>Read them. You will find them of true historical value.</p> + +<h3>STREET & SMITH CORPORATION</h3> +<h4>79 Seventh Avenue New York City</h4> + +<p> </p> +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14096 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/14096-h/images/cover.jpg b/14096-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..616b8e3 --- /dev/null +++ b/14096-h/images/cover.jpg diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..97ca7b5 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #14096 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14096) diff --git a/old/14096-8.txt b/old/14096-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..692ddee --- /dev/null +++ b/old/14096-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8068 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, With Links of Steel, by Nicholas Carter + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: With Links of Steel + +Author: Nicholas Carter + +Release Date: November 19, 2004 [eBook #14096] +Most recently updated July 28, 2011 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH LINKS OF STEEL*** + + +E-text prepared Steven desJardins and Project Gutenberg Distributed +Proofreaders + + + +WITH LINKS OF STEEL + +Or, The Peril of the Unknown + +New Magnet Library No. 1164 + +by + +NICHOLAS CARTER + +Author of the celebrated stories of Nick Carter's adventures, +which are published exclusively in the NEW MAGNET LIBRARY, +conceded to be among the best detective tales ever written. + +Street & Smith Corporation Publishers +79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York + +1904 + + + + + + + +[Illustration: Cover of With Links of Steel] + + + + +CHAPTER I A CRAFTY ROBBERY. +CHAPTER II CONCERNING SEÑORA CERVERA. +CHAPTER III THE KILGORE DIAMOND GANG. +CHAPTER IV GETTING DOWN TO WORK. +CHAPTER V BEHIND THE SCENES. +CHAPTER VI A SHOT IN THE DARK. +CHAPTER VII A STRATEGIC MOVE. +CHAPTER VIII FOUND DEAD. +CHAPTER IX NICK STRIKES A STARTLING CLEW. +CHAPTER X ON THE TRAIL. +CHAPTER XI THE CRIME AND THE MEANS. +CHAPTER XII CLOSING IN. +CHAPTER XIII CRAFTY CERVERA. +CHAPTER XIV IN A WARM CORNER. +CHAPTER XV THE DIAMOND PLANT. +CHAPTER XVI THE CUNNING OF JEAN PYLOTTE. +CHAPTER XVII THE GAME UNCOVERED. +CHAPTER XVIII AT CROSS-PURPOSES. +CHAPTER XIX HANDS SHOWED DOWN. +CHAPTER XX THE BOOT ON THE OTHER LEG. +CHAPTER XXI AN ONLY RESOURCE. +CHAPTER XXII THE LAST TRICK. + + + + +WITH LINKS OF STEEL + +CHAPTER I. + +A CRAFTY ROBBERY. + + +"Mr. Venner, sir?" + +"Mr. Venner--yes, certainly. You will find him in his private +office--that way, sir. The door to the right. Venner is in his private +office, Joseph, is he not?" + +"I don't think so, Mr. Garside, unless he has just returned. I saw him +go out some time ago." + +"Is that so? Wait a moment, young man." + +The young man halted, and then turned back to face Mr. Garside, with an +inquiring look in his frank, brown eyes. + +"Not here, sir, do I understand?" he asked, politely. + +Mr. Garside shook his head. He was a tall, slender man of forty, and was +the junior partner of the firm of Rufus Venner & Co., a large retail +jewelry house in New York City, with a handsome store on Fifth Avenue, +not far from Madison Square. + +It was in their store that this introductory scene occurred, and proved +to be the initiatory step of one of the shrewdest and most cleverly +executed robberies on record. + +It was about eleven o'clock one April morning. The sun was shining +brightly outside, and at the curbing in front of the store were several +handsome private carriages, with stiff-backed, motionless coachmen, in +bottle-green livery, perched on their boxes, all of which plainly +indicated the very desirable patronage accorded the firm mentioned. + +In the store the glare of sun was subdued by partly drawn yellow +curtains, which lent a soft, amber light to the deep interior, and +enhanced the dazzling beauty of the merchandise there displayed. + +The store was a rather narrow one, but quite deep, with a long-counter +on each side, back of which were numerous clerks, some engaged in +waiting upon the several customers then present. + +At the rear of the store was an office inclosure, with a partition of +plate glass; while at either side of this inclosure was a smaller room, +entirely secluded, these being the private offices of the two members of +the firm. + +Mr. Garside was standing about in the middle of the store when the young +man entered and inquired for Mr. Venner. As he turned from the clerk who +had informed him of Venner's absence, he added, half in apology, to his +visitor: + +"I was mistaken, young man. My clerk tells me that Mr. Venner is out +just now. Do you know where he has gone, Joseph?" + +"No, sir, I do not." + +"I think he will presently return," said Garside, again reverting to the +caller. "Is there anything that I can do for you? Or will you wait +until Mr. Venner comes in?" + +"I will not wait, Mr. Garside, since you are one of the firm, and +probably know about this matter," replied the young man, drawing a small +cloth-covered package from his breast pocket. "Here are the ten diamonds +for which Mr. Venner sent us an order this morning. I come from Thomas +Hafferman, sir, and will leave the stones with you." + +The man mentioned was also a jeweler, and a large importer of diamonds +and costly gems. + +Mr. Garside's countenance took on an expression of mild surprise. + +"From Hafferman? An order from Venner?" he murmured, inquiringly. "I was +not aware that Venner sent out any order for diamonds this morning." + +"One of your clerks brought the order, sir, and requested Mr. Hafferman +to send the stones here as soon as convenient," replied the messenger. +"Mr. Hafferman did not know your clerk personally, so I was sent here to +deliver the stones." + +"What is your name, young man?" + +"Harry Boyden, sir. I have worked for Mr. Hafferman for nearly five +years. I think you will find that the order was properly sent." + +"Wait just a moment, Mr. Boyden," suggested Garside, smiling. + +Then he hastened to the rear of the store, and spoke through the open +window near the cashier's desk. + +"Do any of you know of an order sent out by Mr. Venner this morning?" +he inquired, addressing the several clerks at work in the office. "An +order to Thomas Hafferman for ten diamonds." + +Only a girl stenographer, seated at a typewriter near the office door, +replied: + +"I think Mr. Venner sent Spaulding out about half an hour ago, sir," she +replied. "I saw him give Spaulding several letters." + +"Ah, doubtless it's all right enough," bowed Garside; "yet I wonder that +I had heard nothing about it. Joseph, has Spaulding been here within a +few minutes?" + +"No, sir," replied the clerk, the same who had at first been questioned. +"I saw him go out just before Mr. Venner departed, and he has not yet +returned." + +Garside had now reached the middle of the store again, where Boyden was +still waiting. + +"Are you quite sure that the order came from Mr. Venner?" he again +inquired. "How long ago was the messenger at your store?" + +"About half an hour ago, sir," Boyden readily answered. "The order was, +I presume, signed by Mr. Venner." + +"Was it our man Spaulding who delivered the order? Do you know him by +sight?" + +"I do not, sir. Joseph Maynard, yonder, is the only clerk here with whom +I am acquainted, and I think he will vouch for me," said Boyden, now +beginning to smile at Garside's manifest caution over receiving the +diamonds. "Surely, sir, no harm can come from your keeping the stones +until Mr. Venner returns, since I am willing to leave them with you," he +added, laughing. + +"Oh, no, no--I wasn't thinking of that," Garside quickly answered. "I +wished only to avoid the needless trouble of returning them, in case the +order did not come from us." + +"I think the order was all right, Mr. Garside. Besides, sir, I saw Mr. +Venner yesterday at our store, examining some diamonds. Doubtless these +are the same." + +"Oh, if that's the case, leave them, by all means," Garside cried. "I +was not aware that he had called there. Probably they are for some order +of which he has personal charge. Yes, yes, Mr. Boyden, leave them, +certainly. Here, Joseph, place the package in one of the vault drawers, +and hand it to Mr. Venner when he returns. Sorry to have detained you so +long, Mr. Boyden. Had you begun by stating that Venner called yesterday +upon Mr. Hafferman, I should not have demurred over the matter." + +"There's no harm done, Mr. Garside, none whatever," replied Boyden, +bowing and smiling. "I appreciate your caution, sir. If there proves to +have been any mistake in ordering them, you can easily return the +stones. Good-morning, sir." + +Garside replied with a nod over his shoulder, having turned to hand the +parcel to his clerk back of the counter, and Boyden immediately +departed. + +"Is that young man an acquaintance of yours, Maynard?" inquired Mr. +Garside. + +"Yes, sir. He has been with Hafferman for several years." + +"Doubtless it's all right, then. Odd, though, that Venner should have +made no mention to me of this order. Hand him the package as soon as he +comes in." + +"I will, sir, at once." + +Maynard had already placed the small parcel in a drawer of the huge +steel vault back of the counter, and he now resumed the work at which he +had been engaged. + +Mr. Garside sauntered toward the front of the store, and presently +greeted a lady who entered. + +Twenty minutes passed, and the incident of the diamonds was almost +forgotten by both employer and clerk. + +Soon both were reminded of it, however, by the entrance of another +man--a smooth-featured young fellow, with pale blue eyes, a sallow +complexion, slightly pock-marked. He was of medium height, and well put +together, and was clad in a neat business suit of fashionable +appearance. + +Quickly approaching Mr. Garside, who was then disengaged, he tendered +one of Thomas Hafferman's business cards, and said, glibly, while bowing +and laughing lightly: + +"Excuse me, Mr. Garside, but we rather owe you an apology. Our Mr. +Boyden left some diamonds with you a short time ago, which should have +been delivered to Tiffany & Co. Mr. Hafferman read the order without his +spectacles, and it's rather a good joke on him, for he thought it was +signed Venner & Co. The blunder was partly owing to the fact, no doubt, +that Mr. Venner called to see him yesterday about some diamonds." + +"There!" exclaimed Garside, as if quite pleased to discover that he had +been so nearly right. "I knew well enough that Venner had not sent out +any order without mentioning it to me. Yes, your Mr. Boyden left the +stones here. For Tiffany & Co., eh?" + +"Yes, sir, and they should have been delivered long ago," was the reply, +with a conventional laugh. "If you please, I'll leave them there on my +way back. Deucedly stupid blunder on Hafferman's part, I'm sure; and I +hope--" + +"Oh, there's no harm done, I guess, and but little time lost," +interrupted Garside, joining in the other's laugh. "You will deliver +them, you say?" + +"If you please." + +"Here, Joseph, hand me that package of diamonds left here by Boyden. +They were sent to us by mistake. I knew it well enough at the time. Here +you are, Mr. ----" + +"Raymond, sir. I am cashier at Hafferman's. Many thanks. Sorry to have +troubled you--very sorry." + +"No trouble at all," laughed Garside, accompanying Mr. Raymond toward +the street door. "The trouble has been all yours, sir." + +"That's quite true," smiled Raymond, as he bowed himself out with the +package of diamonds in his hand. "But now the pleasure is all mine!" he +added to himself, upon reaching the sidewalk. + +Then he strode rapidly away, quickly losing himself in the midday +stream of people thronging the famous New York thoroughfare. + +Less than five minutes later, before any misgivings had crept into the +mind of Mr. Garside, the senior member of the firm came hurrying into +the store. + +"Oh, I say, Venner!" exclaimed his partner, stopping him near the office +door. "What diamonds are you thinking of buying of Hafferman?" + +"Of Hafferman?" echoed Venner, with a look of surprise. + +"Weren't you looking at some stones there yesterday?" + +"Yes, certainly. Some very choice diamonds. I want ten of the first +water, a little larger and more perfectly matched than any we have in +stock at present. But how did you learn that I had called there?" + +Mr. Garside quickly informed him of the several incidents of the past +half hour, when, to his consternation and dismay a look of sudden +apprehension swept over Venner's face. + +"Raymond--the name of Hafferman's cashier!" he cried. "Nothing of the +sort, Philip. Their cashier is named Briggs. I know him well." + +"Briggs! Briggs!" + +"Briggs--yes, Briggs!" reiterated Mr. Venner, excitedly. "By Heaven, +there must be something wrong here!" + +"Dear me! If this Raymond was an impostor, we are done out of--" + +"Wait--wait!" + +Checking his partner with an impulsive gesture, Venner rushed into his +private office and seized his desk telephone, quickly calling up the +firm by which the diamonds had been sent. + +Garside followed him into the room, only to hear the questions hurriedly +asked over the wire by his excited partner, who presently dropped the +telephone and leaped to his feet, crying loudly, so loudly that his +voice filled the entire store, and brought all hands hurrying in his +direction: + +"There's no doubt of it, Garside, none whatever. You have been +duped--swindled--robbed of four thousand dollars' worth of gems! Raymond +was an impostor--a crook--" + +"Venner--hush! You are losing your head," protested Garside, white with +dismay. "It's enough that we have lost the stones, so at least keep your +head. Waste not a moment. Notify the police. Telephone at once for men +from the central office." + +"Blast the police! The central office be hanged!" cried Venner, choking +down an oath of wrathful contempt. "I'll have none of your police--none +of your central office men! I want a detective--not an effigy of one!" + +"Rufus--" + +"Silence, Garside, and leave this affair to me," Venner harshly +interrupted. "You've had fingers enough in it already." + +With which rebuke Mr. Rufus Venner strode passionately out of the office +and into the store proper, shouting loudly to the clerk previously +mentioned: + +"Maynard--here you, Maynard! Call a cab at once and go for Nick Carter! +Lose not a moment! Don't wait to ask questions, you blockhead! Away with +you, at once! Bring Nick Carter here with the least possible delay!" + +Maynard had already seized his coat and hat, and was hurrying out of the +store. + +And thus began one of the most stirring and extraordinary criminal cases +that ever fell within the broad experience of the famous New York +detective mentioned. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +CONCERNING SEÑORA CERVERA. + + +Joseph Maynard arrived at Nick Carter's residence just as the famous New +York detective was about preparing for lunch, and quickly stated his +mission, disclosing the superficial features of the crime. + +Nick Carter habitually looked below the surface of things, however, and +in trifles he invariably discovered more than the ordinary man. Before +Maynard had fairly outlined the case Nick keenly discerned that the +robbery could not have been committed by any common criminals, and he at +once decided not only that he would take the case, but also that it gave +promise of something far more startling than then appeared aboveboard. + +Yet even Nick's keen discernment utterly failed, at this early stage of +the affair, to anticipate its actual magnitude and tragic possibilities. + +Having consented to accompany Maynard to the scene of the crime, Nick +turned to Chick Carter, his reliable chief assistant, who also had been +an attentive listener to Maynard's disclosures. + +"You had better come with me, Chick," said he. "This affair has rather a +bad look, and in case quick work is imperative, I may need your +assistance." + +"Go with you it is, Nick," Chick heartily cried, hastening to put on his +coat and hat. + +"From the circumstances disclosed by Maynard, however," added Nick, "I +am inclined to think that these rats have very carefully covered their +tracks, and that a still hunt for their trail may prove to be our stunt. +Yet you had better go along with me." + +"I'm ready when you are, Nick." + +"Very good. Come on, Mr. Maynard. I see you have a carriage at the door. +We will not delay even for lunch, but will snatch a bite later." + +Together the three men left the house, and it was precisely one o'clock +when Nick was ushered into the private office of Venner & Co., where the +two members of the firm then were seated, apparently still engaged in +discussing the audacious robbery. + +Mr. Rufus Venner, it may be here stated, was a man of about forty years +of age, and was a very well-known man about town. Darkly handsome, with +an erect and imposing figure, an _habitué_ of the best clubs, a man +still unmarried, yet of whom hints were frequently dropped that he was +very popular with the fair sex, whom he was known to lavishly entertain +at times--this was the senior member of the firm of Venner & Co., and +the man who, quickly arose to greet Nick Carter and Chick when the two +detectives entered. + +"Your clerk has already given me the main facts of the case, Mr. Venner, +so we will dispense with any rehearsal of them, and get right down to +business," Nick crisply observed, immediately after their greeting. +"There are a few questions I wish to ask you, and concise replies may +expedite matters." + +"I will respond as briefly as possible, Mr. Carter," Venner quickly +rejoined, as they took chairs around the office table. "I do not fancy +being robbed in this scurvy fashion, sir, and you may go to any +reasonable expense to discover and arrest the thieves. Now, Detective +Carter, your questions?" + +"To begin with," asked Nick, with a steadfast scrutiny of Venner's +darkly attractive face, "what is the value of the stolen diamonds?" + +"About four thousand dollars." + +"Ten in number, I was told." + +"Precisely." + +"Are they of uniform value?" + +"Nearly so. They are splendid gems, and perfectly matched, and are worth +about four hundred dollars each. I wanted them for a special purpose, +which--" + +"Which I will presently arrive at," Nick courteously interposed. "I +understand, Mr. Venner, that you called yesterday at the store of Thomas +Hafferman and made some inquiries about these stones?" + +"I did, and also examined them." + +"In what part of Hafferman's store were you at the time?" + +"In his private office." + +"Were any of the clerks present?" + +"Not any--Stay! One of the clerks brought in the diamonds to Mr. +Hafferman, but he did not remain. Only Mr. Hafferman himself remained +with me while we discussed the matter." + +"Do you know the clerk's name?" + +"Boyden, I think, he was called." + +"The same who brought the diamonds here this morning," put in Mr. +Garside. "His name is Harry Boyden." + +Nick made a note of it in a small book which he drew from his pocket. + +"Did you make any deal at that time regarding the diamonds?" he +inquired. + +"I only had them reserved for me a day or two, stating that I would +either call again or send an order for them, if I decided to purchase +them," replied Venner. + +"Are you quite sure that only Mr. Hafferman heard you make that +statement?" + +"Sure only in that the office door was closed, and that he alone was +with me. If there were any eavesdroppers about I did not suspect it." + +"Naturally not," smiled Nick. "Now, then, for what special purpose did +you want those particular diamonds? I think you referred to one." + +A slight tinge of red appeared in Venner's cheeks when he replied, a +change which by no means escaped Nick's observation. + +"I wanted the stones, or then thought I might, for a customer who +contemplated giving me an order for a valuable diamond cross, to be worn +upon the stage. We happen to have in stock no diamonds perfectly adapted +to her requirements, and so I called upon Hafferman to learn if he could +supply me." + +"Who is the customer, Mr. Venner?" + +"I do not see how her identity can be at all essential to the +investigation of this affair, yet I have no objection to disclosing it," +said Venner, frowning slightly. + +"Why demur over it, then?" demanded Nick, bluntly. + +"Only because of an aversion to bringing the lady into the case, of +which she, of course, knows nothing," retorted Venner. "I expected the +order from Señora Cervera, the Spanish dancer." + +"Ah! Is she not a member of the Mammoth Vaudeville Troupe, which has +been playing here to packed houses for several months?" + +"She is, yes." + +"I have heard that she makes a great display of diamonds." + +"That is true, Mr. Carter. She possesses a magnificent collection of +jewels, and wears them with an abandon against which I frequently have +cautioned her." + +"By way of explanation," put in Mr. Garside, with an odd smile, "Venner +might add that he enjoys quite friendly relations with the Spanish +señora." + +"I see no occasion, Garside, for comments upon my interest in Sanetta +Cervera," declared Venner, with a frown at his partner. "My relations +with her, Detective Carter, are only those of a friend and a gentleman. +She called here several weeks ago to have some diamonds reset, when I +met her personally, and was deeply impressed with her extraordinary +grace and beauty. I since have shown her some attention." + +"Quite natural, I am sure," observed Nick, smiling indifferently. "As +you remarked, however, none of that appears to be material. I +understand, Mr. Venner, that you were absent when Boyden brought the +diamonds here this morning." + +"I was," bowed Venner. "I received a note from Señora Cervera this +morning, asking me to call upon her at eleven o'clock at her rooms, and +to bring with me a diamond pendant which we have in stock, and which I +had the pleasure of showing her a few days ago." + +"Ah, I see." + +"She stated in her note that if I would call upon her at the hour +mentioned, she would decide whether to purchase the pendant, or have us +make the diamond cross for her." + +"You complied with her request, Mr. Venner, and went to call upon her?" + +"Certainly." + +"Where is she quartered?" + +"She rents a furnished house uptown." + +"Does she live alone?" + +"With her servants only." + +"How many?" + +"She keeps a butler, a male cook, and two housemaids. Also a girl to +look after her wardrobe and act as her dresser at the theater." + +"Evidently Señora Cervera is wealthy," said Nick. + +"Well, not exactly wealthy," rejoined Venner. "She is the popular craze +just now, and from her professional work she derives a very large income +which she scatters as if dollars were dead leaves. In a word, Detective +Carter, Señora Cervera is an arrant spendthrift." + +"So I have heard," nodded Nick. + +"You have?" + +"Oh, yes!" laughed the detective. "That appears to surprise you. It +will not, when I tell you that there are very few public characters in +New York of whose general habits I am not tolerably well informed. Of +course, Mr. Venner, you have no doubt of this Spanish dancer's honesty?" +Nick added, bluntly. + +Venner flushed deeply, and instantly shook his head. + +"Most assuredly not," he cried, with some feeling. "Señora Cervera +dishonest? Impossible!" + +"Improbable, Mr. Venner, no doubt; but not impossible." + +"It is, sir," declared Venner, positively. "I know her well. Such an +idea is absurd. Drop it at once, Detective Carter. Indeed, sir, if I +thought her name was to be dragged into this affair, or her reputation +to be in any way imperiled, I would quietly suffer the loss of these +diamonds, and cease this investigation at once." + +Nick laughed softly, and suppressed the response that, nearly rose to +his lips. + +"Don't do it, Mr. Venner," said he, complacently. "My observation was +not intended to cast any reflection upon Señora Cervera. I have no doubt +that she is perfectly honest." + +"I should hope not, sir." + +"By the way, have you the note she sent to you this morning?" + +"Yes. Here it is." + +"By mail, or a messenger?" + +"A messenger brought it." + +"Ah!" murmured Nick, briefly studying the written page. "Plainly a +foreign hand. Very firm and forceful. It indicates a strong and +determined character. I should say that Señora Cervera is a woman of +rare qualities." + +"That is perfectly correct, sir. She is a woman of rare qualities." + +"What did she decide to do about the diamonds, Mr. Venner?" + +"She gave me an order for the cross, Detective Carter, to be made and +delivered as soon as possible." + +"This was during your call upon her this morning?" + +"Certainly." + +"You had previously sent no order to Hafferman for the stones?" + +"Surely not." + +"Yet a written order was received by him, or he would not have delivered +the goods." + +"In which case, then, it was a forgery." + +"No doubt of it," Nick readily admitted. "Chick." + +"Yes, Nick." + +"Take a carriage and go at once and interview Hafferman. See what you +can learn from him. Get the written order received by him, and bring it +here. Have a look at young Boyden, and see what you make of him. Also +get the written signature of Mr. Hafferman, and that of each person +employed in his store. Understand?" + +"Sure thing!" nodded Chick, already seeing clearly the line Nick's +investigation was taking, though neither Venner nor his partner yet +perceived it. "I will return as quickly as possible." + +"You will find me here," nodded Nick. "Wait a moment!" + +"Well?" + +"Also get a description of the party who delivered the written order at +Hafferman's store. Inquire what he said at the time, and why he did not +attempt securing the diamonds then and there." + +"Probably he was not known there, and knew he could not get them," +observed Venner, by way of explanation. + +Nick made no reply to this, however, and Chick hurriedly departed. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE KILGORE DIAMOND GANG. + + +"Now, gentlemen, only a few more questions, and I then shall be ready to +go at this case in a more energetic fashion," said Nick Carter, +immediately after Chick's departure. "Were any of your clerks absent +from the store, Mr. Venner, at the time of this robbery?" + +"As I was absent myself, I cannot say," replied Venner, rather dryly. +"How about it, Garside?--you were here." + +"Only one clerk, a young man named Spaulding, was out of the store." + +"Was he out on business?" + +"Yes, under my instructions," Venner quickly explained. "We have +numerous old accounts on our books, and just before I went uptown I sent +Spaulding out to try to make a few collections. I think he has returned +by this time." + +"It does not matter, since he was out under your instructions," said +Nick, closing his notebook. "Now, Mr. Venner, who among your employees +knew you thought of buying this lot of diamonds from Hafferman, or that +you had called at his store to examine them?" + +"Not a soul," was the prompt reply. + +"Are you sure of that?" + +"Absolutely. I had said nothing of the matter, even to my partner, there +being nothing definite about it before I saw Señora Cervera this +morning. I am sure that none of my clerks had any idea of my +intentions." + +Nick was not so sure of it, yet he did not say so. He arose and took +from Venner's desk a block of plain paper, which he laid upon the table. + +"Gentlemen," said he, "I want the signature of your firm, in the +handwriting of each of you. Kindly let me have this." + +"What's that for?" demanded Venner, abruptly. + +"I wish to make a comparison with the forged order which my assistant +will presently bring from Mr. Hafferman," Nick coolly explained. "I +would suggest that you do not delay me." + +Venner made no reply, but took a pen and signed the firm's name upon the +blank paper. + +"Now yours, Mr. Garside." + +"Mine also, Detective Carter?" queried Garside, with a look of surprise. + +"If you please." + +"Surely," cried Venner, with some resentment, "you do not suspect that +Mr. Garside or myself--" + +"Pardon me!" Nick bluntly interrupted. "I am not in the habit of +discussing my suspicions. That I should suspect either of you, however, +is utterly absurd." + +"I should say so!" + +"Therefore do not argue with me over an absurdity. If I am to continue +this investigation, gentlemen, I must do it in my own way. Either that, +or I shall drop the case at once. Your signature, Mr. Garside." + +Garside hastened to take the pen, and dashed off the firm's signature +below that of his partner. Nick tore the page from the block, then +handed the latter to Venner. + +"Now, Mr. Venner," said he, "have each of your employees, from first to +last, write his name with pen and ink upon this paper. Don't overlook +one of them, not one, from your bookkeeper down to your office boy. If +Spaulding is still out, get his signature later, and send it to me by +mail. I will wait here while you are thus engaged." + +Venner now vaguely perceived Nick's suspicions and design, and he could +not consistently offer any remonstrance. Yet he plainly resented the +idea that any of his clerks could have been guilty of co-operation with +the criminals who had committed the robbery that morning, and his dark +features wore a grim and sullen expression when he took the block of +paper and repaired to his main office. + +Nick Carter sat and waited, silently sizing up the case as he then saw +it. + +Just as Venner returned with the numerous signatures, Chick also put in +an appearance again, bringing with him the forged order which had been +left at Hafferman's store. Nick merely glanced at it, then thrust it +into his pocket. + +"Did you see Boyden?" he inquired of Chick. + +"Yes, and spoke with him," nodded Chick. + +"What about him?" + +"He looks all right." + +"Did you get the signatures of Hafferman and his clerks?" + +"They are on this paper." + +"Good enough. Let me have those of your employees, Mr. Venner. Are they +all here?" + +"Yes, all of them." + +"Very good," said Nick, putting the several papers into his pocket. +"Now, Chick, what of the man who visited Hafferman's store with the +forged order?" + +"He merely left the order and asked that the diamonds should be sent +here at once." + +"What sort of a man?" + +"Dark, about fifty, with a heavy mustache and wavy hair," said Chick, +glibly. "Quite a big fellow, Hafferman states." + +"H'm!" ejaculated Nick, with a significant nod. "Now, Mr. Garside, +describe the man to whom you delivered the diamonds." + +"Raymond?" + +"If that is the name he gave you." + +"He is a well-built, smoothly shaven fellow, of about thirty years, with +a sallow complexion, slightly pock-marked--" + +"Ah, I thought so!" Nick curtly interrupted. "That's quite sufficient, +Mr. Garside." + +"What do you mean, Carter?" quickly demanded Venner. "Do you already +recognize these criminals?" + +"I recognize their work." + +"And the men?" + +"I've them in mind from the outset." + +"Impossible!" + +"Not so, Mr. Venner," Nick now declared, with emphasis. "Without a +shadow of doubt, sir, you have been victimized by the notorious Kilgore +diamond gang, a trio of the shrewdest and most daring scoundrels that +ever stood in leather." + +"You amaze me." + +"Do I?" inquired Nick, smiling softly. "Well, sir, if I were to tell you +the history of these rascals, you would be more than amazed--you would +be astounded. No crime is too desperate, no knavery too hazardous, no +villainy too despicable, for them to attempt, and too often successfully +execute. They have perpetrated their crimes over two continents, and are +known to the police the world over." + +"That is not very complimentary to the police," said Venner, dryly. "I +marvel that such distinguished scoundrels are still at large." + +"A fact which stamps them no ordinary criminals," replied Nick, +pointedly. "Nor are they, sir." + +"What do you know of them, Detective Carter?" + +"David Kilgore, the chief of the gang, is one of the shrewdest and most +daring of knaves, a man of splendid education, polished manners and +broad experience. He possesses nerves of steel, the cunning of a fox, +and would not shrink even from murder, if his designs required it. Yet +he invariably covers his tracks so cleverly, or so quickly vanishes when +hard pressed, that thus far he has successfully eluded the police. +That's David Kilgore, sir." + +"And what of his associates?" inquired Venner. "I think you spoke of a +trio." + +"His confederates are scamps of the same sort, and nearly his equal in +craft and daring," replied Nick. "Perry Dalton is one--the smooth, +pock-marked rascal whom you, Mr. Garside, had the pleasure of meeting +this morning. He is nicknamed Spotty Dalton, because of his slight +disfigurement." + +"And the other?" + +"Is a man named Matthew Stall, more commonly called Matt Stall. He is a +Western man, a graduate of a California university, and is an expert +electrician. Oh, I know all about them," laughed Nick, "although this is +the first time I have been up against them personally. I am rather glad +to discover that they are here in New York." + +"Why so, Detective Carter?" Venner carelessly inquired, with a subtle +gleam in the depths of his dark eyes. + +"Because I have long wanted to match my talents against those of Dave +Kilgore and his rascally push," declared Nick, with grim austerity. "The +last I knew of them they were in Amsterdam, Holland, where some of the +finest work in diamond cutting is done, as you doubtless know." + +"Indeed, yes." + +"They probably had to jump that country for obvious reasons, and very +likely the European continent," added Nick. "They have long avoided New +York, and the fact that they are now here is significant of--well, well, +we shall see! That's all, gentlemen!" + +"But what do you intend doing about this case?" demanded Venner, as Nick +abruptly rose to go. + +"All that can be done, sir," the famous detective bluntly rejoined. "I +accept the case, Mr. Venner, and will do my best with it. When I have +anything to report, you shall hear from me." + +"But--" + +"There really is nothing more to be said, gentlemen, and the sooner I +get to work the better," Nick gravely interposed. + +"But will you advise me of any steps that you may take?" persisted +Venner, briefly detaining him by the arm. + +"Very probably," nodded Nick, though really he probably would do nothing +of the kind. "And now good-day, gentlemen. If reporters call upon you, +you may give them all of the facts, and state that Nick Carter is at +work on the case. I want this Kilgore diamond gang to know at the outset +that I am after them--and fully resolved to land them where they +belong." + +"Behind prison bars, eh?" inquired Venner, with an odd smile. + +"Yes, sir! Behind prison bars!" declared Nick, forcibly. "Again, +gentlemen, good-day. You will hear from me later." + +Mr. Rufus Venner, with his partner at his elbow, stood in the office +door and silently watched the two celebrated detectives as they strode +quickly through the elegant store, from which they presently vanished +into Fifth Avenue. + +There was a smile of subtle cunning, combined with cruel and malicious +determination, on Venner's dark face and he muttered under his breath, +as the store door closed upon Nick's imposing figure: + +"Hear from you later, eh? Very good. Very good, indeed, Mr. Detective +Carter! Hear from you again--that is precisely what I want! Early and +often, Detective Carter; early and often, if you please! It is precisely +for what the little robbery of this April morning was invented!" + +"But was it necessary--was it really necessary, Rufus?" whispered +Garside, who alone had overheard, and whose paler face and tremulous +figure betrayed fears which his swarthy senior partner would have +scorned to feel. "This Carter is a most artful and discerning man. I am +so afraid you have barked up the wrong tree. Was it necessary, really +necessary, Rufus?" + +Venner turned upon him with a half-smothered snarl of contempt. + +"Bah! You'd be afraid of your own shadow, Garside, if left alone with +it," he sneered, between his white, even teeth. "Necessary--of course it +was necessary! Otherwise, I should not have adopted the ruse. We are +about to attempt a big game--an infernally big game! When it matures, +when it is finally launched, the very first concern that finds itself +bitten will rush to Nick Carter for aid." + +"There is no doubt of that, Rufus." + +"Surely no doubt of it! He is the greatest detective in the country--and +the greatest will be none too clever, nor too expensive, for those who +find themselves duped by our unparalleled design." + +"I should say so." + +"What will be the result, Philip?--what will be the result?" added +Venner, with a curious mingling of exultation and asperity. "If our +victims appeal to Nick Carter for help--are we not also already in his +good graces? Have we not insured his confidence in us by this little +move of to-day? Will he not reveal himself and his suspicions to us, +just as I have designed, and keep us posted about his every move, and so +forewarned and forearmed? Of course he will--to be sure he will!" + +"But he is such a crafty and daring--" + +"Bah! Is he more crafty than Dave Kilgore?" demanded Venner, +significantly. "Is he more daring than Spotty Dalton, or more determined +than anyone of the Kilgore gang? Not by a long chalk, Philip, and I know +of them of whom I speak. Ay, as much and more of them than does +Detective Nick Carter." + +"Perhaps you are right, Rufus," murmured Garside, nodding. "We certainly +are about launching a tremendous, an utterly unparalleled, swindle. The +like of it was never, never known. There should be millions in it. Yes, +yes, Rufus, you are right. It was wise to preface our gigantic +operations by getting well in touch with Nick Carter." + +"To be sure, it was wise, Philip, or I should not have taken the trouble +to do so," said Venner, with much less acrimony. "So be a man always, +Philip, and never a flunky. You have played your part admirably this +morning. Let it be played as well, Philip, even to the finish--even to +the last ditch!" + +Philip Garside's color had returned, and he smiled confidently and +nodded in approval. + +Plainly enough, this hushed yet emphatic intercourse between these two +indicated one fact--that Detective Nick Carter was up against a far +deeper game than he then imagined. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +GETTING DOWN TO WORK. + + +"Well, Nick, old man, what have you made of it?" + +The question came from Chick Carter, in his familiar and cheerful +fashion, several hours after the interview held by the two detectives +with Rufus Venner and his partner in their Fifth Avenue store. + +It was now about six o'clock in the evening, and Chick had just returned +from having a confidential talk with one of the stage hands of the +theater in which the then famous attraction, the mammoth European and +American vaudeville troupe, of which Señora Cervera was a star +attraction, had for several months been playing to crowded houses. + +Chick found Nick seated at the table in his library, with a powerful +magnifying glass in his hand, while the table was strewn with the papers +he that morning had brought from the office of Venner & Co. + +Nick looked up with a laugh, and knocked the ashes from his cigar. + +"Well, there's no doubt about it, Chick," he replied. "We are finally up +against them." + +"The Kilgore diamond gang?" + +"Precisely." + +"I'm glad of it, Nick, as you remarked this morning." + +"Well, I've not changed my mind since then. So am I." + +"We shall now find out whether they are as crafty and desperate as they +have been painted." + +"I guess there is no doubt about it, Chick." + +"Well, if we fail to throw them down, Nick, my money shall go on Kilgore +from that moment," declared Chick, with a grin. "What have you dug out +of that mess of papers, Nick? Have you arrived at any conclusions?" + +"Rather!" smiled Nick, significantly. "Did you ever know me to study for +five hours over anything of this kind without arriving at some +conclusion?" + +"Never!" laughed Chick. "And the best of it is, Nick, your conclusions +nearly always prove to be correct. What's the verdict, old man?" + +Nick glanced at the French clock on the mantel. + +"Sit down and light up," he replied. "We have half an hour before +getting down to work against this push. I will devote it to informing +you of the case as it now appears." + +"Good enough!" exclaimed Chick, drawing up a chair and lighting a cigar. +"Let her go, Nick. I am all ears, as the donkey said to the deacon." + +"To begin with," began Nick, more gravely, "this order sent to +Hafferman, for the diamonds which he delivered at Venner's store, is +merely a forgery. Neither Venner nor Garside wrote it, that's as plain +as the nose on an elephant's face." + +"Which is plain enough, surely," nodded Chick. + +"Furthermore," continued Nick, "the forgery was not the work of any +clerk employed in either store. I have compared the writing of each and +every clerk with that of the forged order, and I will stake my +reputation upon my conclusion. The forgery was committed by some outside +party." + +Nick was an expert chirographist. To have deceived him with a disguised +handwriting would have been utterly impossible, and none knew it better +than Chick, who now nodded approvingly. + +"Some outside party, eh?" + +"There is no doubt of it, Chick. And this conclusion at once suggests +two very natural questions," Nick went on. "First, was one of the +Kilgore gang in Hafferman's store when Venner went there yesterday, and +did he overhear enough of what passed between them to enable him to plan +the job done this morning?" + +"Possibly." + +"In opposition to that theory, however, is the fact that the forged +order is written on one of Venner's printed letter sheets." + +"By a little adroit work, Nick, one of the gang could have obtained a +sheet of Venner's office paper." + +"That is very true," admitted Nick. "But since this is a theory founded +only upon conjecture, with no positive evidence to back it up, the +stronger probability is rather to the contrary." + +"Right, Nick, as far as that goes." + +"I think so." + +"And what is the second theory suggested?" + +"That some clerk in one of the stores got wind of Venner's contemplated +purchase, and revealed the fact to one of the Kilgore gang, by whom I +am confident--bear in mind--that the crime was committed." + +"That theory seems plausible," nodded Chick. "There is young Boyden, you +know, at Hafferman's. He may have got wise to Venner's intentions. +Garside remarked that he appeared quite anxious to leave the diamonds +until Venner should return. That would have been very natural on his +part, in case he was then co-operating with the party who finally +secured them." + +"The same objection again arises, however," argued Nick. "Boyden is not +employed at Venner's, and therefore has not access to his letter paper. +Furthermore, Venner's visit was made only yesterday afternoon, less than +twenty-four hours before the robbery occurred. It seems hardly probable +that Boyden was already in league with the Kilgore gang; and, if he was +not, it is even less probable that he so quickly got in touch with +them." + +"By Jove! that's so," cried Chick. "As a matter of fact, then, neither +of these theories has a reliable leg to stand upon." + +"That's exactly my conclusion," laughed Nick. + +"And what then?" + +"Concerning that side of the affair," replied Nick, "several +irresistible convictions are therefore forced upon me. One of the +Kilgore gang certainly knew of Venner's visit, and of the request he +made Hafferman regarding the diamonds. Otherwise he could not have +planned the job so neatly. Somebody must have informed him. Somebody +must have provided him with one of Venner's letter sheets. If we +eliminate the clerks, and the members of both firms, we are left very +much in the dark." + +"I should say so," rejoined Chick. "The affair becomes a dense mystery." + +"It becomes a mystery that I don't quite fancy," declared Nick, with a +significant nod. "In fact, Chick, I'm not at all favorably impressed +with this robbery. To me it has a mighty fishy look." + +"Why so, Nick?" + +"It is not like this Kilgore gang, mark you, to have been dickering with +a dirty little job of this kind, netting them only a few thousands at +the best; yet a job in which they incurred as much danger of detection, +Chick, as in one infinitely greater." + +"By Jove! that's so. There's no getting away from that argument, Nick." + +"Instead of trying to get away from it, Chick, I'm going to stay with +it," continued Nick, with emphasis. "I am beginning to suspect that this +paltry little robbery may in some way make a far deeper and darker game. +At all events, Chick, we'll not wind ourselves in a search for those +diamonds, at least not before we have sifted these side issues a little +finer." + +"Good enough!" cried Chick, heartily. "I agree with you on every point. +Only your long head, Nick, old man, could have deduced such shrewd +conclusions; and I believe, by Jove! that you have hit the nail on the +head." + +"If I have," rejoined Nick, grimly, "we'll drive the nail home a little +later, and home to stay." + +"That we will." + +"There remains one other feature of the case," added Nick, "and, +starting from that, we will begin work upon the affair this very night." + +"You refer to that Spanish dancer, Cervera?" + +"Precisely." + +"And the fact that she requested Venner to call at her house this +morning?" + +"Exactly," nodded Nick. "She fixed the hour, mind you, probably knowing +that Venner would comply with her request. Hence there exists a +possibility that she designed to get him away from his store at just +that time, in order that the robbery could be successfully executed." + +"In which case, Nick, we necessarily must figure her in with the Kilgore +gang, despite Venner's declaration of her honesty." + +"Certainly we must, Chick, in case her note to Venner was written for +the purpose mentioned," nodded Nick. "Of that, however, we have no +positive evidence. It may have been purely accidental that her note was +sent to-day, and mentioned the very hour when the theft was committed. +Obviously, in that case, the thief outside was waiting for some +opportunity when Venner should be away from his store. Cervera would +then be out of the affair, as far as any criminal intent is concerned." + +"Very probably." + +"So there you are!" exclaimed Nick, with another glance at the clock. +"Our half hour is up. You now have my measure of the case, and next we +will get down to business. We will drop this fishy-looking robbery for +the present, Chick, and first of all make a move to learn something +about Señora Cervera, and her relations with Rufus Venner." + +"A good scheme, Nick, and I'm with you." + +"Have you been at the theater?" + +"Yes, and fixed things with Busby." + +"You can get in upon the stage to-night?" + +"Sure thing, as I told you," laughed Chick. "Busby is the boss scene +shifter there, and he consented to work me in as a stage hand." + +"Ah! very good." + +"I have got to make up for the part, however, and must soon be about it. +I am due there at half-past seven." + +"Get at it, then," said Nick, rising. "See what you can learn about +Cervera, and what you make of her from observation. In case Venner is +about there, keep your ears alert, so that you can overhear." + +"You trust me for that, Nick," cried Chick, laughing. + +"Meantime, Chick, I'll have a look at the show from the front," added +Nick. "And after Cervera does her turn, in case Venner is there, and she +departs with him, you then may leave the couple to me. I'll be waiting +for them at the stage door." + +"Right you are, Nick. So here goes!" + +Shrewd deductions, indeed, those of Nick Carter. + +Plainly enough, Garside was quite justified in his apprehension that +Rufus Venner had barked up the wrong tree. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +BEHIND THE SCENES. + + +Nick Carter had a double object in the work laid out for that night. If +Señora Cervera was indeed in league with the Kilgore gang, and in any +way responsible for the diamond robbery, Nick was resolved to secure +positive evidence of it. + +While her letter to Venner appeared to implicate her, since it had taken +him from his store just at the time of the robbery, it seemed hardly +probable that this brilliant Spanish girl, whose extraordinary grace and +whirlwind dances had made her the talk of the town, could be identified +with a gang of criminals notorious the world over. Yet the bare +possibility existed, and Nick never ignored even the shadow of a clew. + +He further reasoned that, in case Cervera was in league with the +suspected gang, one or more of them might visit the theater in which she +was performing, and Nick decided to have a look at the audience that +evening. He was sure he could identify Kilgore or any of his gang, even +if disguised, as would be very probable. + +Nick's second object was that of learning the exact relations between +Señora Cervera and Rufus Venner, and a part of that work he confided to +Chick. With himself in the front of the house, and Chick on the stage, +Nick believed that nothing worth seeing would escape them. + +His own search early in the evening, however, proved futile. It was the +last week but one of the mammoth vaudeville attraction, and the theater +was densely crowded. Though Nick watched the lobbies and the smoking +room, and also made a systematic study of the auditorium, he could +discover no sign of the parties he was seeking. + +About nine o'clock he returned to his chair in the orchestra, and +settled himself to have a look at Cervera, whose act was one of the last +on the program. + +Just at that time Chick Carter, in the overalls and blouse of a scene +shifter, made his first pertinent discovery--that Rufus Venner, clad in +immaculate evening dress, and carrying an Inverness topcoat on his arm, +had arrived upon the stage. + +"He seems to be at home behind the scenes," soliloquized Chick, +furtively watching him. "Evidently he has some kind of a pull with the +manager, or he could not get admission to the stage. Probably through +his friend, the Spanish señora." + +Venner was then in one of the left wings, apparently indulging in small +talk with a handsome girl of about twenty, who had just finished her +turn upon the stage. She was rather simply clad, but was strikingly +pretty and modest appearing; and upon consulting a program with which he +had provided himself, Chick learned that her stage name was Violet +Marduke; and that she was cast as a singer of ballads. + +"Evidently employed to fill in," thought Chick, who had not been much +impressed with her songs, though he decided that the girl herself was a +beauty. "And by his admiring glances, Venner also thinks pretty well of +her," Chick mentally added. + +"Room here, mister," growled a voice at his elbow. "Make room for the +reptiles." + +Chick turned quickly about, and then involuntarily recoiled from the +startling object that met his gaze. + +In front of a scene then set in the second grooves of the Stage, the +continuous performance was still in progress. Meantime, several of the +stage hands were wheeling to the center of the stage, back of the scene, +the properties of the next performer on the program--and grewsome +properties they were. + +The object beheld by Chick was a huge, cagelike den, mounted on low +wheels, and having a broad front of plate glass. Inside of this den were +several wicker baskets, some of which were open, while others were +covered and locked. + +In the open baskets, or writhing freely about the floor of the den, were +fully fifty serpents of various sizes, many being only a foot or two +long, while several were as many yards in length. + +A more repulsive and blood-curdling sight Chick had never experienced, +and the stage hand who had asked him to move laughed at his look of +mingled horror and repugnance. + +"Ever seen any like 'em after a jamboree?" he inquired, good-naturedly. + +"Well, hardly," said Chick, subduing his aversion. "If I were to go on a +drunk and see anything like them, I'd sign the pledge the next morning." + +"A good scheme, too." + +"I should say so." + +"Some o' the crawling divils are as bad as they look," added the stage +hand, while he helped to place the snake den squarely on the stage. + +"What do you mean?" inquired Chick, still gingerly surveying them. + +"Pizen!" + +"Venomous?" + +"You bet! Durn 'em, I wouldn't touch one of them for the wealth of +Rockefeller." + +"Do you mean that some of them still have their fangs and poison bags?" + +"Sure! D'ye see that little copper-colored cuss down there in the +corner, not more'n a foot long? If he got a crack at you, you'd not live +ten seconds." + +"Well, I will take deuced good care that he gets no nip at me," declared +Chick, with a grin. "Why do they have such dangerous things around?" + +"H'm! What would be the excitement, or the credit of snake charming, if +the wriggling beasts were made harmless by pulling out their fangs?" +demanded the stage hand. "It would be like a dog fight, with the dogs +muzzled. These belong to that heathen Hindoo, the snake charmer. He +shows next." + +"Pandu Singe?" inquired Chick, glancing at the name on the program. + +"Sure. He handles 'em like so many babies. There he is now, just coming +from his dressing room. He looks a bit like a snake himself." + +Chick turned and gazed curiously at the approaching foreigner. + +Pandu Singe was a tall, swarthy man, with straight, black hair, an +Indian cast of features, and a pair of intensely black and piercing +eyes. Their glitter was indeed like that in the eyes of a snake, yet the +Hindoo, approaching without a word to anybody, or a glance to either +side, was not without a certain sort of savage dignity. + +He wore a red turban around his head, while a loose, black robe, belted +around his waist, reached nearly to his ankles. With a gesture he signed +the several men away from his hideous den of reptiles, and Chick retired +up the stage. + +The detective had barely made his change, when he heard the low voice of +Busby near by, the friend who had smuggled him upon the stage that +evening. + +"Hist! There she is, Chick!" + +"Cervera?" + +"Yes. Down yonder, just to the right of the electric switchboard. Slip +in back of this wood wing, and you can have a good look at her." + +"All right, Busby, old man," whispered Chick. "Don't you pay too much +attention to me, or it may be noticed. I'll see all there is to be seen, +old boy." + +Busby winked understandingly, and Chick stepped back of the scenery +mentioned, through a portion of which he could easily watch Cervera +unobserved. + +That she was a daughter of sunny Spain no man would have doubted. Her +wavy hair was as dark as night, and her eyes were as radiant as the +night stars. Her rich, olive complexion was much rouged, adding to the +brilliancy of her splendid beauty. + +She appeared to be about twenty-five, and was clad in her stage costume, +which combined all the bright hues of the rainbow, and was enlivened by +a myriad of dazzling jewels and diamonds. + +The costume served to display to advantage her matchless figure, +however, and Chick was fain to admit that he had never seen a much more +striking beauty. + +"She's a bird, all right, and no mistake," he said to himself, while +intently regarding her handsome face and jewel-bedecked figure. "Yet she +has a bad eye, despite her beauty, and a cruel mouth. She certainly +would put up a wicked fight, if once aroused. Yes, a deucedly bad eye! +What in thunder is she staring at, to look like that!" + +From her position near one of the lower wings, Sanetta Cervera was +gazing steadfastly across the stage at something which Chick could not +see. + +The dark eyes of the Spanish dancer had taken on a threatening glare. +Her curved brows had drooped and knit, until they formed a straight line +below her forehead, and her red lips were drawn and firmly compressed. + +Before Chick could discover any occasion for this mute display of +feeling, the performance in front of the set scene concluded, and the +act of the snake charmer was due to begin. + +Then came a rapid change of scenery, during which Chick was again +obliged to change his position, and for a time he lost sight of Cervera +in the stir and confusion of the busy stage. + +He did not succeed in locating her again until she began her +performance, when a full stage was given her for the marvelously +graceful and impassioned dances of which her act consisted, and which +had fairly turned half the heads in the city. + +In the white glare of the limelight, she certainly presented a wild and +dazzling picture. Her beauty was indescribably accentuated. She appeared +like a being ablaze with diamonds. Her every attitude was one of +seductive grace, her every movement as swift and light as those of a +startled leopard. + +At its conclusion her act evoked thunders of applause, and then Chick +saw her hastening toward her dressing room, flushed with excitement and +panting for breath. + +Suddenly she halted and her smile vanished. + +Then Chick saw her turn abruptly toward one of the wing scenes, where +she met Venner face to face. + +The wealthy Fifth Avenue jeweler laughed and extended his hand to greet +her, but she frowned and hesitated before accepting it; and Chick made a +quick move and stole back of the scenery, near which the two briefly +remained standing. + +He arrived in time to overhear only a few words, however, of which he +could make nothing bearing upon the diamond robbery, or relating to the +Kilgore gang. + +"Pshaw! You are entirely wrong, Sanetta," Venner was expostulating, with +voice lowered. "Your eyes have deceived you." + +The woman replied through her teeth, with a hiss like that of a snake. + +"My eyes deceived me? Never! You lie! I know what I see!" she fiercely +answered, with but a slight foreign accent. + +"You are wrong, Cervera," protested Venner. "I--" + +"I am not! I see--and I know!" + +"But--" + +"_Caramba!_ I say you shall go with me!" + +"Why, certainly, if you wish it. Am I not here for that?" + +"You know that I wish it--and you shall go." + +"Whenever you are ready, Sanetta," replied Venner. "Yet your infernal--" + +"Silence! You shall wait here till I have changed my suit. Then we will +go--we will go together. You shall wait here." + +"Go and make the change, then," said Venner, bluntly. "I will be here +when you return." + +"H'm!" thought Chick, as he heard Cervera move quickly away. "Evidently +there is something amiss between them, but what the dickens is it?" + +Still watching, he soon saw Cervera return in her street attire, when +Venner quickly gave her his arm, and they departed by the stairs leading +to the stage door. + +Chick immediately recalled Nick's instructions--that the couple should +now be left to him. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +A SHOT IN THE DARK. + + +It was nearly eleven o'clock when Rufus Venner and Cervera, the latter +enveloped in a voluminous black cloak, emerged from the stage door of +the theater. + +As they made their way through the paved area leading out to the side +street, where a carriage was awaiting them, a sturdy, roughly clad +fellow in a red wig and croppy beard suddenly slouched out of a gloomy +corner near the stage stairway and followed them, with movements as +stealthy and silent as those of a cat. + +As the carriage containing Venner and the dancer rapidly whirled away, +this rough fellow darted swiftly across the street, and approached a +waiting cab, the door of which stood open. + +"After them, Patsy!" he softly cried, as he sprang in and closed the +door. + +The driver of the cab was one of Nick Carter's youthful yet exceedingly +clever assistants, and the rough fellow was Nick himself. + +He had left the theater the moment Cervera concluded her performance, +and since had completed a perfect disguise in the cab, which he had had +in waiting, with all the properties for effecting the change mentioned. + +That Patsy would constantly keep their quarry in view, and without being +suspected, Nick had not a doubt. Nor was he mistaken. At the end of +twenty minutes the clever young driver slowed down upon approaching an +uptown corner, and signaled Nick to get out. + +The detective alighted from the door on the side from which he had +received the signal, yet the cab did not stop. Nick trotted along beside +the vehicle for a rod or two, keeping it between him and the side street +into which Patsy quickly signed that the hack had turned. + +"Fourth house on the right," he softly cried. "I saw them pull up at it +just as I reached the corner, so I kept right on up the avenue. They've +not gone in yet." + +"Good enough," replied Nick, approvingly. "Take home the traps I have +left in the cab." + +"Sure thing. You don't want any help to-night against this push, do +you?" + +"No, indeed. There'll be but little doing to-night, I imagine. Remember +the house, however, in case I fail to show up." + +"You may gamble on that, sir. I have it down pat." + +They had now passed the upper corner of the side street, and Nick felt +sure that he had not been seen leaving the cab. He darted quickly back +of the vehicle and gained the sidewalk, then stole back and peered +around the corner. + +Cervera and her companion were just mounting the steps of an imposing +stone residence, entirely separate from its neighbors, and their +carriage was driving rapidly away. + +Nick waited until the couple had entered the house, then he crossed to +the gloom of a doorway on the opposite side and had a look at the +dwelling. + +From basement to roof there was no sign of a light. Even the hall +appeared to be in darkness, and Nick waited and watched for several +minutes, expecting to see at least one of the rooms lighted. + +Not a glimmer or gleam, however, appeared from any quarter. + +"H'm!" he presently muttered, a little perplexed. "Either they are +remaining in darkness, or else they have all of those windows heavily +curtained. If the latter is the case, I must discover for what reason. + +"Possibly they are entirely alone in there, and have gone to some room +at the rear of the house. Or maybe they have suspected an espionage, and +are now watching from the gloom of one of those front windows. I'll fool +them if that is so, and will also have a look at the rear of the house. +There is something out of the ordinary here, that's certain." + +Keeping well in the gloom of the block of dwellings near by, Nick +retraced his steps to the corner, then crossed the street and presently +approached a paved driveway leading to a small stable at the rear of the +suspected house. + +The high gate, composed of sharp iron pickets, was securely closed and +locked; so Nick returned to an alley which he had just passed, and which +ran back of a block of dwellings fronting on the avenue where he had +left the cab. + +Stealing into the alley, Nick quickly scaled the high, wooden fence, +crossed two adjoining back yards, and thus reached a wall near the +stable mentioned. + +To mount the wall and drop back of the stable was equally feasible, and +Nick then had the rear of Cervera's dwelling plainly in view. + +Then his searching gaze was rewarded. One of the rear rooms was brightly +lighted, with only the lace draperies at the two windows preventing +observation from outside. + +"Evidently a rear sitting room, or library," thought Nick, calculating +the arrangement of the house. "I will at least learn who is in there." + +He listened briefly for any sound in or about the stable, then stole +quickly across the gloomy, paved yard and approached the house. + +The windows of the lighted room were two feet or more above his head; +but having reached a position just below one of them, he sprang up and +seized the stone coping outside, and drew himself up to peer into the +room. + +Then, just as his head rose into the glow of light from within, clearly +revealing his location, Nick heard a sound the deadly nature of which he +instantly recognized. + +Ping! + +It was the short, sharp, peculiar song of a flying bullet--once heard, +always remembered. + +Then came the dull thud when the leaden ball beat itself shapeless +against the stone wall beside him. + +The bullet had passed within an inch of Nick's ribs, and he knew at once +that he was now a mark for hidden foes. + +Yet there had been no revolver report to suggest their location, and +Nick instantly surmised that the ball must have been discharged with an +air gun. + +He knew that it must have come from some quarter behind him, however. +And he knew, too, how to bring his murderous assailants from their +secret cover. + +As quick as a flash, the instant the ball smote the wall beside him, +Nick let go his hold upon the stone coping and dropped into the darkness +below the window, falling prostrate upon his back. + +As he lay there his hand touched something hot, and he drew it nearer to +examine it. + +It was the battered chunk of lead which had come within an inch of +ending his life. + +"They meant business, for sure," he said to himself, while waiting for +his quick-witted ruse to operate. "I'm blessed if this affair is not +taking on a new and lively interest. I reckon there'll be more doing +to-night than I gave Patsy to believe. + +"Ha, ha! The scoundrels are already breaking cover!" + +His alert ears had detected a sound from the direction of the stable, +and now he silently drew his revolver and held it gripped by his side. + +Presently the stable door was cautiously opened. Then a momentary beam +of light, evidently from a bull's-eye lantern, shot across the paved +area, and lingered for an instant upon Nick's prostrate figure. + +Nick remained as motionless as a corpse. + +Then two men, both large and powerful fellows, and both heavily bearded, +came quickly from the stable and hastened toward him. + +"Done for with a single shot," remarked one, as they approached. + +"Looks like it, Dave," was the reply. "When I piped his head in the +light from the window, I felt sure I could drop him." + +"Well done. 'Twas a good shot. Shove your hand inside his vest, and see +if his heart is beating. Then we shall know for sure whether he's down +and out. If not, we must--" + +"Throw up your hands, instead, both of you!" Nick sternly interrupted, +half rising with weapon leveled. "At the first move by either, I will +shoot to kill!" + +Nick had foreseen that his foxy strategy must be very quickly detected, +and he had resolved to take the bull by the horns, and attempt to arrest +both of his cowardly assailants. + +That he was up against uncommon men, however, men of extraordinary nerve +and reckless daring, appeared in what instantly followed, even under the +very muzzle of the detective's revolver. + +As quick as a flash, before Nick's threatening command was fairly out of +his mouth, the man called Dave made a kick at the detective's uplifted +arm, so swift and accurate and forceful that Nick felt the bones of his +wrist fairly crack under the blow, and the fingers of his hand gripping +the weapon turned numb and tingling as if from an electric shock. + +"At him!" snarled the ruffian, even while he kicked. "At him, I say! +Quick--the pear!" + +It was plain that these men were not doing such desperate work together +for the first time. Both fell upon Nick like wolves upon a stricken elk, +yet they found the detective waiting for them. + +Nick hurled one aside, unable to use his revolver, and grappled with the +second, both falling heavily to the pavement. + +Then number one was at him again, and got him by the throat, with a grip +from which Nick thrice wrenched himself free, at the same time fiercely +banging the head of the other upon the stones upon which the terrific +combat was being waged. + +An oath of vicious rage broke from the latter, and then he fiercely +cried again: + +"The pear! D---- you, be quick! The pear!--the pear!" + +As if in response to this, Nick, who was panting under his violent +efforts to overcome both powerful men, suddenly felt something thrust +forcibly into his mouth. + +Still manfully battling with his opponents, Nick tried to eject the +object, opening his jaws wider in the effort. + +The object, which was shaped like a solid pear, instantly expanded, and +Nick could not close his jaws. + +Again he tried, opening them still wider, and again the pear-shaped +object expanded and held them rigid. + +Then Nick guessed the truth. + +While struggling with might and main to beat these ruffians, he had been +made the victim of an infernal instrument but seldom seen in these days, +and one of the most agonizing and diabolical devices of man's perverted +ingenuity. + +The object in Nick's mouth was a "choke pear!" + +This vicious instrument of torture dates back to the time of Palioly, +the notorious French robber and renegade, when it was very worthily +called "the pear of anguish." + +It consists of a solid gag, so to speak, yet it is so constructed, with +interior springs, that, once thrust into a person's mouth, it expands as +fast as the mouth is opened, and rigidly distends the victim's jaws. + +The more widely the victim gapes to eject the "choke pear," or to cry +out for aid, the larger the hideous object becomes, until torture, +suffocation and death speedily ensue. + +Had this infernal device been generally available to modern criminals, +Nick would have been warned by the significant words he had heard, and +would have guarded himself against it. + +As it was, however, he had been caught; and in the mouth of any ordinary +man the "choke pear" would have been irresistible. + +But the muscles of Nick Carter's jaws were like fibers of steel, and the +instant he realized his situation he opened his mouth no wider. Instead, +while hands and arms were still engaged in the furious conflict with his +assailants, he brought his jaws together as if with superhuman power, +and with a force that crushed the infernal device between them, much as +if it had been little more than an eggshell. + +One of the ruffians heard the snapping crunch, and uttered a cry of +amazement. + +The cry was echoed by hurried footsteps in the house. + +Then a rear door was suddenly thrown open by Rufus Venner, and a flood +of light revealed the struggling men, still battling furiously on the +pavement. + +Nick now had both opponents down, and within another minute he would +have had them at his mercy, a fact which Venner instantly perceived. + +He sprang nearer, drew his revolver, and dealt the detective a single +swinging blow upon the head. + +Nick dropped like an ox struck down in the shambles. + +The darkness of night was as nothing to the darkness that instantly fell +upon him. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +A STRATEGIC MOVE. + + +Nick Carter had a head that was used to hard knocks, and it required +more than one to put him down and out for any considerable period. + +The great detective recovered consciousness within half an hour after +the blow received from Rufus Venner, and he fell to taking the measure +of his situation the moment the cobwebs began to clear from his brain. + +He found himself bound hand and foot with ropes, and lying upon the +floor of a dark room. That he was in the dwelling occupied by the +Spanish dancer, Nick had not a doubt. + +As his mind became clearer and his eyes accustomed to the darkness, Nick +discovered a narrow thread of light some yards away and close to the +floor, and presently the sound of lowered voices faintly reached his +ears. + +"A light in the next room," he said to himself. "Probably the whole gang +is out there, sizing up my case, and deciding what to do with me. If +they are there, I must get a better look at those two ruffians. I owe +them something for their work of to-night, and I always mean to pay such +debts. + +"One of them was called Dave, and it may have been Dave Kilgore himself. +In which case, by Jove! I was right in thinking that this diamond +robbery only masks some deeper and bigger game. + +"I wonder if they suspect my identity. If not, what sort of a game have +they been playing here to-night?" + +Nick very quickly measured the various possibilities of the unusual +situation. + +If the man whose name he had heard was indeed David Kilgore, then Rufus +Venner, as well as Cervera, might be in league with the diamond gang, +and the pretended robbery only a move made with some secret design. + +On the other hand, Venner might be entirely ignorant of Kilgore's +identity, and without any serious suspicions of Cervera, being himself a +blind victim of these notorious criminals. + +"If the latter is the case," reasoned Nick, "the gang may stand in fear +of me, and perhaps are afraid that I shall foil some scheme they have in +operation, or are about to undertake. Then they to-night may have aimed +only to discover the extent and nature of my suspicions. + +"If that is the case, plainly it will become me to be a little foxy. I +will see if I can contrive to overhear anything from out yonder." + +Bent upon wriggling nearer the closed door revealed by the thread of +light near the floor, Nick quietly turned upon his side and cautiously +worked his way over the carpet. + +He had covered scarce a yard, however, when the sharp, metallic ring of +Cervera's voice fell plainly on his ears. + +"Look again, one of you," she curtly commanded. "See if that vagabond +has come to himself." + +"That's your humble servant!" thought Nick. + +He quickly rolled back to his former position on the floor, and prepared +to play the fox. + +In a moment the door was thrown open, admitting a flood of light, and a +man strode into the room and dropped to his knee beside the motionless +detective. + +"I say!" he harshly growled, shaking Nick roughly by the shoulder. +"Brace up, you dog! Brace up, d'ye hear?" + +Nick groaned deeply, then slowly opened his eyes. + +"Oh, my head--my poor head!" he muttered, like one dazed and in pain. + +"Your poor head, eh?" sneered the other. "You're dead lucky to have a +head left you. Pull yourself together, do you hear?" + +"Let me be! Where am I?" + +"You'll soon find out where you are. Sit up here!" + +"What do you say?" cried Venner, from the next room. "Has he come to?" + +The man at Nick's side turned his head to reply, and Nick then obtained +a clear view of his profile. + +"Humph!" he mentally ejaculated. "Matthew Stall in disguise! One of the +diamond gang, sure enough, and I now know I am on the right track." + +"Yes, he's finally coming to time," cried Stall, in reply to Venner. "He +will be all right in a minute." + +"Bring him out here," commanded Cervera, sharply. "Get the wretch up, +and bring him out here." + +This was precisely what Nick wanted. + +Stall immediately bent lower, and released the detective's ankles. + +"Get up, you varlet!" he then growled. "Get up, I say!" + +Still groaning, and incoherently muttering, Nick permitted himself to be +raised to his feet, and Stall then supported him and urged him out +through the open doorway and into the adjoining room. + +In his red wig and croppy head, together with his rough attire and dazed +aspect, Nick certainly presented a wretched appearance. He blinked +confusedly, glanced down at his bound wrists, yet at the same time took +in every feature of the brightly lighted room. + +It plainly was the library of the house, and both Rufus Venner and +Cervera were seated near a handsome center table. Upon it lay most of +the woman's jewels and diamonds, evidently lately removed, and +presenting in the rays of light from the chandelier above a dazzling +temptation to such a fellow as Nick then appeared to be. + +In an easy-chair, near the wall, sat the man called Dave, at the time +Nick was thought to be dead outside. Now, in the bright light of the +room, Nick instantly recognized him to be David Kilgore, despite a heavy +disguise which the criminal obviously believed to be impenetrable. + +Nick gave no sign of the recognition, however, being content to await +developments, and to shape his own course accordingly. + +From that moment, however, the name of neither criminal was once +mentioned; and Nick was compelled to infer that Venner might indeed be +entirely ignorant of their true identity and knavish character. + +The eyes of all were upon the detective, as he stood swaying slightly +on the floor; and Cervera sharply demanded, with a threatening frown: + +"Well, you vile miscreant, what can you say for yourself?" + +"Me?" queried Nick, pretending to pull himself together. "Nothing at +all." + +"I guess that's right." + +"What should I say? Why have you got me here, and tied up in this +fashion?" + +"You'll soon find out," cried Cervera, with vicious asperity. "What were +you doing out back of my house?" + +"Nothing much," Nick evasively growled, waiting to learn which way the +cat was about to jump. + +"Nothing much!" sneered Cervera. "You'll find that will not go down with +us." + +"I was looking for a chance to sleep in your stable," muttered Nick. + +"You lie, you dog!" cried Kilgore, fiercely. "You were at the back +window." + +"Was I?" + +"And your game was to rob me of my jewels," Cervera angrily added, with +her eyes emitting a gleam as fiery as the blazing gems at which she +pointed. "That was your game, you renegade!" + +"Do you think so?" + +"I know so!" + +Nick hoped she did. + +"And all I regret is," added the vixenish Spaniard, "that the bullet of +my watchman did not end your villainous life." + +"We can end it now, señora, if you say the word," put in Matthew Stall, +with grim readiness. + +Nick never accepted such scenes as this at their face value, for he had +witnessed many a similar game of bluff. This one might be all right and +on the level, he reasoned, yet there still existed the possibility that +he was recognized, and that these remarks implying the contrary were +only a part of some well-laid plan. + +"If you think I'm a thief, why don't you hand me over to the police?" he +shrewdly demanded. + +The ruse worked. For a moment Cervera was caught with no ready reply, +and Nick promptly decided that he was known, hence could not well be +given to the police. + +Yet these parties so obviously aimed to hide the fact that he was known +to be Nick Carter, that Nick quickly resolved to let them have all the +rope they wanted, and to meet them with a counter-move--that of boldly +declaring his own identity, and so disarming them of any misgiving that +he had recognized Kilgore and Matthew Stall, or even had any suspicions +of Señora Cervera. + +It was a very clever counter, and Nick went at it cleverly. + +"Why don't you give me to the police, if you think I'm a thief?" he +repeated, when Cervera made no reply. + +"The police?--bah!" she now cried, with a sneer. "For what? That you may +square yourself in some way, or make your escape, and then come back +here to attempt the job again?" + +"H'm!" thought Nick. "They don't want to let me go before learning what +I suspect. I won't do a thing but fool them in that." + +"Police be hanged!" Cervera quickly added. "In my country we have a +surer way of removing such villains as you." + +"What way?" queried Nick, coolly. + +"_Caramba!_ The garrote!" + +"Choke 'em off, eh?" + +"Or the poniard!" + +"A stab between the ribs, I take it." + +"Yes! It is what you deserve." + +"But you will not try it on me," declared Nick, confidently. + +"Don't you be too sure of it." + +"Oh, I'm sure enough of it." + +"The law would never reach us--don't think that," cried Cervera, with a +passionate sneer. "_Caramba!_ we'd plant your miserable bones where +they'd never be found. Don't think, you wretch, that we fear to do it." + +"Yet I don't fear that you will." + +"You don't?" + +"Not I, Señora Cervera." + +"How dare you utter my name with your foul mouth?" screamed the dancer, +with a vicious display of scornful resentment. "Not kill you? I've a +mind to order it done at once, you wretch! I hate such reptiles as you!" + +Nick laughed. + +"If you were to order it done, señora, and the knife were at my throat," +said he, "your order would certainly be countermanded." + +"What! By whom?" cried Cervera, with her passionate, dark eyes fiercely +blazing. "I'll have you know that I rule here--and not here alone!" + +"Yet your command would be revoked, señora." + +"For what reason, villain?" + +"It would be revoked at the request of our mutual friend, Mr. Rufus +Venner, to whom I presently shall explain my conduct, and also implore +your own pardon, señora, for having made you the mark of my very +unworthy suspicions," cried Nick, with a sudden dramatic display of +dignity and confidence. + +It brought Venner sharply to his feet. + +"Good heavens!" he cried. "What do you mean, sir?" + +"Ay, what do you mean?" roared Kilgore, bracing straight up in his chair +and reaching for his gun--a move Nick pretended he did not see. + +"I only mean, gentlemen, that I am no burglar," cried Nick, in his +natural voice, at the same time raising his bound hands to remove his +disguise. "Allow me, Mr. Venner, to present myself in proper person." + +"The devil and all his followers!" yelled Venner. "You're--you're Nick +Carter!" + +"None other," bowed Nick, smiling and tossing his disguise upon the +table. "Plainly, Venner, you are greatly surprised at seeing me--and I +do not wonder at it." + +Yet for all that Nick did wonder a little, since he could not yet +determine just how much of this scene was on the level. + +The faces of Kilgore and Matthew Stall, however, betrayed more secret +exultation than surprise. Plainly enough both were now convinced that +Nick did not recognize them, nor even suspect that he himself had been +recognized--and these were precisely the two convictions Nick had aimed +to convey by his masterly move in thus disclosing himself. + +"Yes, Señora Cervera," he hastened to add, before any of the startled +group could speak, "I owe you a profound apology. I did you the +injustice to suspect you, not only of being a thief, but also of being +identified with the notorious Kilgore gang, three of the cleverest and +most dangerous swindlers in the world." + +"Perdition!" gasped Cervera. "You astound me." + +"I was led to suspect you, señora, because your letter to Venner took +him from his store just at the time of the robbery," Nick quickly went +on to explain, thus putting his own strategy on a solid basis. "I +shadowed you from the theater to-night, intending to watch you and your +house, a design which has nearly cost me my life at the hands of your +faithful watchman. + +"I am glad to add, señora, that I now have completely changed my views, +and I trust that you will bear in mind that you were a stranger to me, +and so pardon my unworthy misgivings. It is impossible that you, Señora +Cervera, could be guilty of any evil, or know aught of so accomplished a +knave as David Kilgore, or any of his clever gang." + +A shrewder move could scarce have been conceived. That Nick would thus +have declared himself in the very presence of Kilgore, if known to him, +seemed utterly absurd; and the eyes of both Kilgore and Matt Stall were +aglow with a vicious amusement and satisfaction much too genuine to be +entirely concealed. + +"Well, Mr. Carter," cried Venner, now hastening to release the +defective's hands, "you certainly have had a close call, and are lucky +to come out of it with a whole skin. These two men are employed by +señora to guard her house at night, and they naturally mistook you for a +burglar." + +Despite his keen discernment, Nick could not determine whether this man +was lying, or was really as blind as his words implied. Content to await +further discoveries, however, Nick laughed quickly, and replied: + +"Well, well, Mr. Venner; I am quite accustomed to close calls and hard +knocks, and I assure you that I bear the señora's watchmen no ill will +for having done their duty as they saw it. Señora Cervera is to be +congratulated upon having secured the services of two such faithful +fellows." + +Kilgore had all he could do to keep from laughing aloud, so blinded was +he by Nick's artful duplicity. + +"And when I inform you, señora," cried Venner, "that Detective Carter is +in my employ, and is really a royal good friend, I am sure that you will +pardon him for having been so misled by your letter of this morning." + +Señora Cervera was blushing now, yet to Nick it appeared a little +forced, and there was in her evil, black eyes a gleam he did not like. +Yet she at once arose and came to shake the detective by the hand. + +"Oh, if my dear friend, Mr. Venner, says it is all right, I am sure it +must be so," she cried, smiling up at Nick. "But I am afraid, Detective +Carter, that you will now think me dreadfully severe, and my two +watchmen more brutal than bulldogs." + +Nick laughed deeply, and glanced at the display of diamonds on the +table. + +"When one has such valuable toys as those in her house, señora, bold men +and vigilant bulldogs are both essential," said he, heartily. + +"That's true, sir; indeed, it is." + +"And with your permission, señora, I will shake hands with your two +watchmen also, to show them I bear no resentment. After which I will +take myself home, to nurse my little tokens of their vigilance and +prowess." + +This brought a laugh from all, and Nick, ever shrewd and crafty, now +shook hands with the two criminals he fully intended to finally land +behind prison bars. Then he bowed himself out of the room, and was +accompanied by Rufus Venner to the front door of the house, where he +bade him a genial good-night and departed. + +When Venner returned to the room, he found Dave Kilgore seated on the +edge of the table, with his false beard in his hand, and a look of +intense distrust on his evil, forceful face. + +"Crafty--infernally crafty!" he cried, as Venner entered. "I tell you, +Rufe, that man must be watched. He is a man to be feared--constantly +feared! I'm cursed if I can tell whether he gave us that on the level or +not." + +"Pshaw!" sneered Venner, contemptuously. "Of course it was on the +level." + +"I'm not so sure of it--not so sure of it!" reiterated Kilgore, with +clouded brow. "I tell you, Venner, that he must be watched, and we must +be guarded. We have too much at stake to suffer Nick Carter to queer our +game." + +"There is one sure way of preventing it," cried Cervera, with passionate +vehemence. + +"Kill him?" + +"Yes! Take his life!" hissed the dancer, through her gleaming white +teeth. "You were fools to have missed it to-night. Even the law would +have acquitted you." + +"There are nights to come!" Kilgore grimly retorted. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +FOUND DEAD. + + +"What's the trouble yonder, Nick?" + +"Where?" + +"In the park." + +"Humph! Something wrong, evidently. Come on, Chick, and we'll see." + +It was nearly sunset one Monday afternoon, and almost two weeks +subsequent to the incidents last depicted. + +That at least one of Dave Kilgore's suggestions had been adopted, and he +and his gang had become rigorously guarded, appears in that the Carters +had utterly failed to accomplish anything against them in the interval +mentioned. Despite constant vigilance and incessant work on the case, +neither Nick nor Chick had been able to secure an additional clew. + +Kilgore and Matt Stall had vanished as if the earth had swallowed them. + +The mammoth vaudeville troupe had completed its engagement, and was now +disbanded for the season. + +Señora Cervera still retained her uptown house, and frequently received +Venner as a visitor; but never a sign of the diamond gang, or of any +stranger, could the detectives discover, in or about her place. + +Rufus Venner was attending to his business as usual, and appeared all +aboveboard. Now and then he called upon Nick about the stolen diamonds, +expressing a hope that they would be recovered; but in no way did he +lay himself open to further suspicions than Nick had at first conceived. + +Yet Nick was too shrewd to press him with questions, and so perhaps +betray his own hand. As a matter of fact, the famous detective was in +quite a quandary over the case, because of his conviction that some big +game was secretly afoot, and his utter inability to strike any tangible +clew to it. + +Such a state of affairs was very unusual, and Nick chafed under it. It +indicated that he was up against men as good as himself, and his vain +work of the past ten days served only to aggravate him, and embitter his +grim and inflexible determination to unearth the whole business. + +This Monday afternoon, as Nick and Chick were passing Central Park, the +attention of the latter was drawn toward a group of men in one of the +park walks, somewhat removed from the street. A policeman was among +them, and they appeared to be gazing at something upon the ground. + +"It looks like the figure of a woman," said Nick, as he and Chick +entered the park. "Officer Fogarty is there, and--yes, by Jove! it is +the form of a woman." + +The two detectives quickly reached the scene, and the park officer at +once recognized Nick, respectfully touching his helmet. + +"What's amiss here, Fogarty?" inquired Nick. + +Fogarty pointed to the motionless form upon the ground. + +"Dead!" said he, tersely. "We've just found her." + +"Keep those people further away, Fogarty," said Nick, with a toss of +his head toward half a score of men gathered near by. "I will see what I +make of the case." + +The figure was that of a girl, rather than a woman, apparently about +eighteen years of age. She was lying partly upon her side upon the +greensward, and evidently had fallen from one of the park seats upon +which she had been resting, and upon which her straw shade hat was still +lying. She was neatly clad in a suit of dark blue, and her girlish face +indicated some culture and refinement. + +Near her, upon the grass, lay a piece of brown wrapping paper, and a +yard of two of string, evidently removed from a small, square box, which +she had dropped and partly fallen upon when stricken with sudden death. + +A mere glance gave Nick these superficial features, and he quickly knelt +beside the girl, and felt her hand and wrist. + +"Dead as a doornail," he murmured to Chick, who also had approached. "I +find her hand still warm, however. She can have been dead only a few +minutes." + +"Heart failure, perhaps," suggested Chick. + +"I don't think so." + +"Why?" + +"She doesn't look it. Her form is plump, her cheeks full, and she +appears to have been in perfect health." + +"Yet she is dead." + +"No doubt of it." + +"A pretty girl, too." + +"Very. See if there is any writing on that brown paper." + +"No, Nick; not a line." + +"Here, here, let me see it! What's this? It is punctured with tiny +holes, evidently made with a pin." + +"So it is, by Jove!" + +"Perhaps she made them with her hat pin, while sitting there on the +seat. See, Chick, there is the pin still in the hat." + +"I see it, Nick. What now?" + +Still kneeling beside the girl, Nick was holding the sheet of paper +between himself and the sky. + +"No, the punctures are not uniform," said he. "I thought that they +possibly had been made with some design, and perhaps formed some word or +sentence that would give us a clew to the mystery." + +"None such, eh?" + +"Not a sign of it. Evidently she jabbed the pin through the paper only +in idleness." + +"She is lying on a box of some kind, from which she probably had taken +this wrapping paper." + +"So I see," nodded Nick. "Lend me a hand, Chick, and we'll have a look +at the box." + +With gentle hands the two detectives moved the girl's lifeless form, and +Nick then took up the box mentioned. + +It was about four inches square, and was made of silver, with an open +work design of vines and leaves, which displayed a blue silk lining +through the metal apertures. Plainly enough it was a lady's jewel +casket, and one of considerable value; but it was entirely empty, and it +bore no name or inscription. + +For several moments Nick Carter examined it very intently, with his +brows gradually knitting closer and closer; and all the while Officer +Fogarty, and the group of men in the gravel walk a few yards distant, +mutely gazed and wondered. + +Chick Carter, however, who could read Nick's every change of expression, +saw at once that the great detective not only was making some startling +discoveries, but also was arriving at deductions far too subtle and +significant to have been reached by any less keen and practiced +observer. + +"What do you make of it, Nick?" whispered Chick, dropping to his knee +beside his companion. + +Nick also lowered his voice, and for several minutes the two conversed +in rapid whispers. + +"It is a jewel case, Chick; and quite a valuable one." + +"So I see." + +"I don't think it belonged to this girl. She looks as if she were the +maid, or possibly the companion, of some woman of wealth or distinction. +Her attire also indicates that. Hence so valuable a toy can hardly have +belonged to the girl, but more likely was the property of her mistress." + +"No name on it?" + +"Not even an initial. Not a mark of any kind." + +"It is empty." + +"Yes." + +"Can the girl have been robbed of its contents, here and in broad +daylight?" + +"Worse, Chick!" whispered Nick, between his teeth. "Worse even than +that." + +"Good heavens, Nick! What do you mean?" + +"Chick, this girl was foully murdered!" + +"Murdered!" echoed Chick, with an involuntary gasp. "Can it be +possible?" + +"It certainly appears so to me." + +"But the means?" + +"That is the mystery." + +"There are no signs of violence." + +"Wait a bit. Notice her right wrist, just back of the thumb and near the +pulse. Notice that tiny red spot, barely observable. It might have been +made with the point of a pin. Do you see, it?" + +"Yes, now that you call my attention to it." + +"It means something. I am convinced of that." + +"Others are not likely to discover it." + +"I hope they may not, Chick," Nick hurriedly rejoined. "I am flooded +with ideas and suspicions, which I wish to consider and put in order +before too much of this mystery leaks out. I'll explain later." + +"Perhaps her hat pin is poisoned," suggested Chick. + +"I don't think that." + +"Or possibly--" + +"Wait a moment. Look at this box." + +"Well?" + +"That wrapper was punctured while still on the box," explained Nick. +"Notice that the pin went through the spaces in this metal design, and +then through the silk lining inside." + +"Plainly enough, Nick." + +"Notice this particular puncture in the interior of the lining." + +"By Jove! there's a faint tinge of red around it." + +"Left when the pin was withdrawn," whispered Nick, significantly. +"Chick, it's a tinge of blood!" + +"I believe you're right, Nick." + +"I am convinced of it. Also that there's a mystery here which cannot be +solved in a moment," said Nick, impressively. "I wish to conceal these +discoveries until after I have considered them more fully, and also +identified this girl. See if you can find her purse, or anything that +will reveal her name." + +While Chick was thus engaged, Nick arose and glanced sharply around in +search of any evidence indicating that such a crime could have been +committed unobserved in so public a place. + +The seat which the girl had occupied stood on the greensward, about +eight feet from the gravel walk. By several clusters of shrubbery some +feet away at either side, the seat was somewhat obscured from the view +of persons approaching along the walk from either direction. Several +trees cast shadows nearly over the spot, which was one very likely to +have been selected by a couple desirous of being somewhat alone while +resting from an afternoon stroll. + +Nick quickly noted these several features, then glanced at Chick and +asked: + +"Do you find anything?" + +"Nothing by which to identify her." + +"Her purse?" + +"It contains only a few pieces of silver. No cards, nor so much as a +scrap of paper. Other than her purse, there is only a latchkey in her +pocket, and a perfectly plain handkerchief. Her identification must come +later." + +"I guess we have missed nothing here," nodded Nick. "I'll have just a +word with Fogarty, and then we'll go along." + +"What do you make of it, Detective Carter?" inquired the officer, as +Nick approached. + +"I am not prepared to say," replied Nick, ignoring the startled glances +of the several men who heard his name and now beheld the great detective +for the first time. + +"The girl is dead, sir, isn't she?" + +"Oh, yes; there is no doubt of that," bowed Nick. "It may be a case of +heart failure. You had better take the proper steps for the removal of +the body. This box and wrapping paper, however, I am going to take with +me, and will be responsible for them." + +"All right, sir." + +"By the way, Fogarty, how long ago did you discover the body?" + +"Scarce a minute before you came, sir." + +"Were you the first to see it?" + +"I was, sir." + +"Had you seen the girl about here before during the afternoon?" + +"No, sir." + +"Did you see anybody leaving here just before you arrived and discovered +the body?" + +"I did not, sir." + +"That's all, Fogarty. I'll get any other particulars later." + +Thereupon, as Nick was about to turn away, a young man in the crowd came +suddenly forth, and exclaimed: + +"One moment, Detective Carter, if you please! I saw that girl, about +half an hour ago, walking this way with a gentleman." + +Nick turned abruptly to the speaker. + +"What is your name?" he asked. + +"Tom Jenkins, sir." + +"And your address?" + +"I live at the Hotel North, and am employed by Hentz Brothers, in Broad +Street." + +"You say that you saw the girl walking this way with a gentleman?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Did they appear to be on good terms?" + +"Excellent, sir. They were talking and laughing, and seemed to be +enjoying themselves." + +"Do you know the girl's name, or where she lives?" + +"I do not, sir; nor anything about her." + +"Do you know anything about her companion, the gentleman you saw with +her?" + +For the bare fraction of a second Jenkins hesitated, as one might do who +was loath to bring trouble upon another. Then he replied, in faltering +tones: + +"Well, yes, sir, I know the name of the man who was with her." + +"State it, please." + +"His name, sir, is Harry Boyden." + +Nick felt his blood start slightly, yet his countenance did not change +by so much as a shadow. + +He glanced at Chick, however, and the same thought was in the mind of +each. + +"Harry Boyden! The clerk employed by Thomas Hafferman, the dealer in +diamonds!" + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +NICK STRIKES A STARTLING CLEW. + + +The mind of Nick Carter was, as he had remarked to Chick, stirred with a +flood of questions not easily or quickly answered. + +Who was this girl found dead in Central Park? + +Had she, indeed, been foully murdered? If so, by what mysterious means? +What had been the object? Who the perpetrator of the crime? + +Or, on the other hand, was the evidence itself misleading, and had the +unfortunate girl selected that sequestered seat in the park, and there +deliberately committed suicide? Even then, by what means had the deed +been accomplished? What had been the occasion? + +What, moreover, had become of her companion at just that time? Why had +he deserted her? What signified the pin-punctured wrapping paper, and +the empty jewel casket, in the dead girl's possession? + +Had the casket contained jewels of great value? Had the girl been robbed +of them, and then foully murdered in some mysterious way? + +Was Harry Boyden, the clerk employed by Hafferman, the last to leave the +girl that fateful afternoon? Was he responsible for her death? Was +robbery the incentive to the crime? + +Or, on the other hand, had Boyden left the girl alive and well, and was +the crime the work of another? + +Or, finally, was there some strange and startling connection between +this park murder and the robbery committed at Venner's store? Was there, +between the two crimes, some extraordinary bond yet to be +discovered--some tie uniting the two misdeeds as if with links of steel? + +These were some of the conflicting questions that occurred to Nick +Carter that afternoon, and in order to consider them before taking any +decided action in the matter, Nick had kept to himself his startling +discoveries, and left Officer Fogarty to take the customary steps in the +affair. + +At seven o'clock that evening, while Nick and Chick were seated at +dinner, and still engaged in discussing the conflicting circumstances, a +message was received from police headquarters, informing Nick that the +girl had been identified, and that Harry Boyden had been found and +arrested. + +"Very good," observed Nick. "We shall now get something to work upon. I +will go and question Boyden as soon as I finish my dinner." + +"By all means," nodded Chick. + +"Do you know," said Nick, "I am seriously impressed that there is some +strange connection between this girl's death and that robbery at +Venner's store. I believe that we have struck the very clew, or are +about to strike it, that we so long have been vainly seeking." + +"To the Kilgore gang?" + +"Exactly." + +"Egad, I hope so," laughed Chick, with a grimace. "I am beastly tired of +nosing about on a scentless trail." + +Nick joined in the laugh of his invariably cheerful associate. + +"Odds blood, Nick, as they say in the play," added Chick. "I'd welcome +any sort of stir and danger, in preference to this chasing a +will-o'-the-wisp." + +"There'll be enough doing, Chick, take my word for it, as soon as we +once more get on the track of Kilgore and his push." + +"Let it come, and God speed it," grinned Chick. "What's your idea, +Nick?" + +"This empty jewel casket, the possibility that it contained diamonds, of +which the girl was robbed and then murdered, and the fact that Harry +Boyden is the clerk who brought the stolen diamonds to Venner's +store--certainly the circumstances seem to point to some strange +relation between the two crimes." + +While Nick was thus expressing his views, a rapidly driven carriage +approached the residence of the famous detective, and a servant +presently entered the dining room and informed Nick that a lady wished +to see him. + +Nick glanced at her card. + +"Violet Page," he muttered. "I know no lady named Violet Page. Is she +young or old?" + +"Young, sir." + +"Did you admit her?" + +"She is in the library, sir." + +"Very well. I will see her presently. Request her to wait a few +moments." + +Nick delayed only to finish his dinner, then repaired to the library. As +he entered the attractively furnished room his visitor quickly arose +from one of the easy-chairs and hastened to approach him. + +Nick beheld a young lady of exquisite beauty and modest bearing, and +though her sweet face, then very pale and distressed, struck him as one +he had previously seen, he at first could not place her. + +"Are you Mr. Carter--Detective Carter?" she hurriedly, inquired, in +tremulous accents of appeal. + +Nick had a warm place in his heart for one so timid and distressed as +this girl appeared, and he bowed very kindly. + +"Yes, Miss Page," said he. "What can I do for you? You appear to be in +trouble." + +"I am in trouble--terrible trouble, sir," cried the girl, with a +half-choked sob. "Oh, Mr. Carter, I come to you in despair, a girl +without friends or advisers, and who knows not whither to turn. I have +been told that you have a kind heart, and that you are the one man able +to solve the dreadful mystery which--" + +Nick checked her pathetic flood of words with a kindly gesture. + +"Calm yourself, Miss Page," said he, in a sort of paternal way. "Resume +your chair, please. Though I am somewhat pressed for time just now I +will give you at least a few moments." + +"Oh, thank you, sir!" + +"Be calm, however, in order that we may accomplish all the more." + +"I will, sir." + +"To what mystery do you refer? What is the occasion of your terrible +distress?" + +Violet Page subdued her agitation and hastened to reply. + +"My maid and companion, a girl named Mary Barton," said she, "was found +dead in Central Park late this afternoon. Nor is that all, Detective +Carter. A very dear friend of mine, named Harry Boyden, has been +arrested, under suspicion of having killed her. Oh, sir, that could not +be possible!" + +Nick felt an immediate increase of interest. + +He decided that Miss Violet Page was the very person he wanted to +interview, and while he did not then exhibit any knowledge of the case, +he proceeded to question her with his own ends in view, at the same time +ringing a signal for Chick to join him, which the latter presently did. + +"Where do you live, Miss Page?" inquired Nick. + +"I board in Forty-second Street, sir. I have no living relatives, and +for about two years have employed a maid, or, I might better call her, a +companion." + +"The girl mentioned?" + +"Yes, sir. Her parents also are dead. The fact that we both are orphans +created a bond of sympathy between us." + +"Are you a person of much means, Miss Page?" + +"Oh, no, sir. I earn my living on the stage. I was a member of the big +vaudeville troupe, which lately disbanded for the season. My stage name +is Violet Marduke." + +"Ah! now I remember," remarked Nick. "I thought I had seen you before. I +happened to hear you sing one evening about two weeks ago." + +"I recognized her when I entered," observed Chick, who had taken a +chair near by. + +Nick came back to business. + +"Why are you so confident, Miss Page, that Boyden cannot have killed +Mary Barton?" he demanded. + +"Because, sir, Harry Boyden is a gentle, brave and honest man, and +utterly incapable of committing such a crime," cried Violet, with much +feeling. "Besides, sir, he can have had no possible reason for wishing +her dead." + +"Are you sure of that?" + +"Absolutely!" + +"What are your relations with Boyden?" + +"We are lovers, sir," admitted Violet, with a tinge of red dispelling +the paleness of her pretty cheeks. "We expect to be married the coming +summer." + +"Ah! I see," murmured Nick, thoughtfully. "How long have you been +acquainted with Boyden?" + +"For ten years, sir." + +"Then you have been able to form quite a reliable opinion of his +character." + +"Indeed, sir, I have!" cried Violet, warmly. "Detective Carter, I know +that Harry Boyden is far above any dishonorable action. I would trust +him with my life." + +Of the honesty of the girl herself Nick had not a doubt. It showed in +her eyes, sounded in her voice, and was pictured in her ever changing +expression. Nick was inclined to feel that her opinion of Boyden was +worthy of very serious consideration, despite that circumstances seemed +to implicate the young man in no less than two crimes. + +"Is the fact that you are engaged to Boyden generally known, Miss +Page?" Nick next asked. + +"It is not, sir. We have said nothing about it." + +"Ah, that opens the way for conjectures," cried Nick. "Is there any +person who knows of the engagement, or who suspects it, that would +jealously aim to injure Boyden by implicating him in a crime?" + +"Oh, I cannot think so, sir!" said Violet, with a look of horror. "I +certainly know of no such person." + +"Have you been accepting the attentions of any other young man?" + +"No, sir," smiled Violet. "That is not my style." + +"I am glad to hear you say so, yet I really might have known it," +laughed Nick. + +"Thank you, Detective Carter," bowed the girl, blushing warmly. Then she +hastened to add: "Still, I am not a prude, sir--don't think I mean that. +In my profession one is obliged to be on friendly terms with a great +many persons, both men and women. At the theater, for instance, I meet +many men and form many acquaintances, both agreeable and the reverse." + +"And sometimes have the attentions of men fairly forced upon you, I +imagine?" said Nick, inquiringly, with a brighter gleam lighting his +earnest eyes. + +"Yes, sir; sometimes," Violet demurely admitted. + +Nick drew forward in his chair, and Chick saw that he had caught up the +thread at that moment suggested to himself. + +"Miss Page," said Nick, more impressively, "I now want you to answer me +without the slightest reserve." + +"I will, sir," bowed Violet, with a startled look. + +"Has any man of the late vaudeville company, or one connected with the +theater, endeavored to force his love upon you?" + +"No, sir; not one." + +"Or any visitor admitted to the stage?" + +"Well--yes, sir," faltered Violet, quite timidly. "Since you press me +thus gravely, I must admit that I have been obliged to repel the +affection of a certain man. Yet, please don't infer, sir, that he has +ever been ungentlemanly. He even has done me the honor, if one can so +term an undesired proposal, to protest that he wished to make me his +wife." + +"What is that man's name?" demanded Nick, quite bluntly. + +Yet both Nick and Chick already anticipated it. + +"Must I tell you his name, sir?" faltered Violet. + +"You may do so confidentially, Miss Page." + +"His name, sir, is Rufus Venner." + +"One more question, Miss Page," cried Nick, quickly, "Was there any +member of the vaudeville company who knew of Venner's proposal?" + +"I don't think so, sir. At least I know of none." + +Nick glanced at Chick and dryly remarked: + +"All under the surface, Chick." + +"Not a doubt of it, Nick." + +Violet looked surprised and alarmed at this, and hastened to ask: + +"Oh, Mr. Carter, is there something of which I am ignorant? Or have I +done wrong in any way?" + +Nick turned to her and gravely answered: + +"No, Miss Page, you have done nothing wrong--far from it! But there is +considerable of which you are ignorant." + +"Oh, sir, what do you mean?" + +"Wait just one moment, and I then may be able to tell you," said Nick, +rising. "I have something here that I wish to show you." + +He went to his library desk and took from a drawer the silver jewel +casket which he had brought from Central Park. + +When he turned he held it in his extended hand, and the eyes of the girl +suddenly fell upon it. + +Instantly she leaped to her feet, as pale as death itself. + +Then a scream, as of sudden, ungovernable terror, rose from her lips and +rang with piercing shrillness through the house. + +"Catch her, Chick--she's fainting!" yelled Nick, with eyes ablaze. "By +Heaven! we've struck the trail at last!" + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +ON THE TRAIL. + + +Nick Carter was a little perplexed. + +Miss Violet Page had recovered from her sudden swoon, and although still +very pale she sat gazing calmly at the silver jewel casket, which Nick +was again displaying. + +Somewhat to Nick's surprise, considering the girl's abrupt collapse upon +first beholding the casket, Miss Page had just declared that she had +never seen it before that evening. + +"You never saw it before?" exclaimed Nick, almost incredulously. + +"Never until you produced it from your desk a few minutes ago," +reiterated Violet. + +"Why, then, were you so overcome upon seeing it?" + +"I will tell you why, Detective Carter, yet I fear that you will think +me very weak and foolish to have been so seriously affected." + +"No; I think not." + +"I had a terrible dream last night, sir," Violet now explained. "I +dreamed that I was alone in an enormous graveyard at midnight, with a +full moon revealing the dismal surroundings, the dark tombs, the +staring, white headstones and the silent graves." + +"Not very cheerful--certainly," smiled Nick. + +"What followed was infinitely more terrible," continued Violet, with an +irrepressible shudder. + +"What was that?" + +"I dreamed that I saw a grave near which I was standing suddenly begin +to open, as if a living being were pushing up the ground from within. +Then I saw a fleshless hand appear above the disturbed sods. Then a +sightless human skull thrust itself forth, and presently, filling me +with a terror I cannot describe, the entire skeleton emerged from the +partly open grave, and arose and approached me." + +"A grewsome dream, indeed," remarked Nick. "But what of the casket?" + +"This of the casket, sir," concluded Violet. "In the skeleton's right +hand, which was extended straight toward me while he approached, was a +silver box--the exact likeness of the one you hold, and which you so +abruptly showed me a short time ago." + +"Ah, I see," nodded Nick. + +"In my present nervous condition, Detective Carter, the sight of the +real casket, after so horrible a dream, was more than I could sustain. +Fairly before I knew it, I had fainted." + +"A curious dream and a startling sequence," said Nick. "Evidently coming +events have been casting their shadows before. I am sorry to have +shocked you so severely." + +"Pray don't speak of it, Mr. Carter," protested Violet. "I am now quite +recovered." + +"Then we will at once proceed to business again," said Nick. "Am I to +infer, Miss Page, that you know nothing at all about this casket?" + +"Absolutely nothing, sir," declared Violet. + +"Have you ever heard your maid, Mary Barton, speak of possessing such a +jewel box?" + +"Never, sir." + +"Nevertheless," said Nick, pointedly, "this casket was found beside her +dead body in Central Park this afternoon." + +A half-suppressed cry broke from Violet upon hearing this. + +"Oh, sir, then that must have been the package mentioned by Harry +Boyden," she cried, excitedly. + +"What's that?" demanded Nick. "Have you seen Boyden since his arrest?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"When and where?" + +"He was arrested at my home about half-past six, sir. When I learned for +what and heard the particulars, I was advised by my landlady to appeal +at once to you." + +"Did you come directly here?" + +"I did, sir; as fast as a carriage could bring me." + +"Ah, now we shall get at it," declared Nick. "Tell me, Miss Page, just +what Boyden said about Mary Barton." + +"Why, sir, he said he left her alive and well about half-past five." + +"Where?" + +"On her way through the park," replied Violet. "He had met her about +five o'clock, and they walked about in the park for a short time. Then +he told her that he had an errand to do, after which he was coming to +call upon me. Then Mary laughed and replied that she would see him +later." + +"That doesn't smack very strongly of suicide, Chick," remarked Nick, +with a glance at the former. + +"I should say not," replied Chick, with a shrug of his shoulders. + +"Did Boyden know where Mary went after he left her?" inquired Nick, +reverting to his visitor. + +"No, sir. He declared to the officer that he did not." + +"What mention did he make of a package carried by the girl?" + +"He stated that Mary had what appeared to be a small, square box, done +up in brown wrapping paper, and secured with a string." + +"Did he make any inquiries about it?" + +"He asked her what it was, and she told him it was for me." + +"Did she tell him where she got it?" + +"Yes, sir, she did; and I am quite mystified by it." + +"Please explain," said Nick. "What did the Barton girl say about the +parcel?" + +"She said it was given to her by a woman whom she had met on Fifth +Avenue a short time before." + +"An acquaintance?" + +"No, sir; a strange woman," continued Violet. "Yet the stranger must +have known Mary, and that she lived with me, for she asked her if I was +at home." + +"And then?" + +"When told that I was, she gave Mary the package and asked her to +deliver it to me, into my hands only, as it was a gift from a friend." + +"Was the name of the friend mentioned?" + +"I think not, sir. The woman cautioned Mary against opening the package, +stating in explanation that she wished me to be the first to see what it +contained." + +"These are the facts which Mary Barton told to Harry Boyden, are they?" +demanded Nick, with an ominous ring stealing into his voice. + +"Yes, sir, they are." + +"And the statements which Boyden, in turn, made to the officer by whom +he was arrested at your home?" + +"That is right, sir. I heard them from Harry's own lips." + +"Did Mary Barton have any idea of the identity of the woman from whom +she received the package?" + +"I think not, sir. She told Harry that the woman was veiled, and that +she could not see her face. The incident seemed so strange, sir, that +Mary gave Harry Boyden all of these particulars." + +"Did she describe the strange woman, her form or her attire?" + +"I think she stated that the woman was plainly clad. Nothing more +definite that I know of." + +"In fact, Miss Page, you have now told me all that you know about the +case, haven't you?" + +"Really, sir, I think I have," admitted Violet, with a look of anxious +appeal. + +Nick drew out his watch and glanced quickly at it. + +"Ring for a carriage, Chick," said he abruptly. "We have no time to +lose." + +"I'll call one at once," nodded Chick, as he sprang up and hastened from +the room. + +"Am I to depart now, Detective Carter?" asked Violet, beginning to +tremble. "Oh, sir, will you not give me some word of encouragement +before I go? I am sure that Harry Boyden never committed--" + +"Hush!" interposed Nick, rising and taking her kindly by the hand. + +"I cannot at present tell you, Miss Page, what I think of this case. I +will say this, however, if Harry Boyden is, as you so firmly believe, +innocent of this crime, I will not rest until I have proved him +guiltless." + +"Oh, Detective Carter, how am I to thank you?" cried the girl, with her +tearful eyes raised to Nick's kindly face. + +"By not trying to do so," said he, smiling. "And by carefully following +a few directions which I shall now give you." + +"I will follow them to the very letter, sir," cried the grateful girl. + +"First, then, go home and borrow no further trouble about young Boyden," +said Nick, impressively. "Second, disclose to no person that you have +called upon me, or that I have any interest in the case. Third, say +nothing about the jewel casket, and display no personal knowledge of the +affair. Fourth, do not come here again unless I send for you. And, +finally, rest assured that I will do all in my power to have young +Boyden at liberty as soon as possible. To remain in custody a short +time, however, will not seriously harm him, and in a way it may do me +some service. Can you remember all that?" + +"Indeed I can, sir; and I will obey you in all!" cried Violet, with much +feeling. + +"That's right," smiled Nick, as he escorted her to the door. "You shall +not lose anything by so doing." + +"Ah, I am sure of that, sir. You are so very kind, and I am so glad that +I came to you." + +"Well, well, we shall see," laughed Nick, with a paternal caress of her +shapely white hand. "By the way, Miss Page, since I now happen to think +of it," the crafty detective indifferently added, "wasn't there a Hindoo +juggler, or snake charmer, or something of that sort, connected with +your late vaudeville company?" + +"Oh, yes, sir! Pandu Singe." + +"Ah, that is his name, is it?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Is he still in the city?" + +"I am not sure, Mr. Carter; but I think that he may be, for he is signed +with the company for next season." + +"Do you know where he has been living?" + +"Yes, sir. I have seen his house address on letters forwarded to the +theater. Do you want it, sir?" + +"If you can recall it, yes," smiled Nick, producing his notebook. "I am +making a study of the Hindoo language just at this time, and I would +like to consult Pandu Singe about certain books on the subject." + +Miss Page did not suspect any duplicity in this, and she cheerfully gave +Nick the address of the snake charmer, whereupon the detective +graciously thanked her, and then escorted her to her waiting carriage. + +As it rolled rapidly away a second hack came bowling up to the curbstone +in front of Nick's residence. It was the carriage for which Chick had +sent a call. + +"Don't cover your horses, cabbie!" cried Nick, sharply. "Wait about +three minutes, and we'll be with you." + +"Right, sir!" + +And Nick dashed back up the steps and into the house, meeting Chick in +the hall. + +"What do you make of it, Nick?" + +"Make of it?" cried Nick, with a laugh. "It's a cinch, Chick, dead open +and shut. Grab your hat and come with me. I'll explain in the carriage." + +"Good enough! I'm with you, old man!" + +"And we have no time to lose," cried Nick, "Now, then, we're off." + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +THE CRIME AND THE MEANS. + + +"Yes, Chick, it's as simple as two plus two, and we'll presently try to +bag a part of our quarry. But first of all, I want a bit of +corroborative evidence which I expect to get from that Hindoo snake +charmer, Pandu Singe." + +"Going there first, Nick?" + +"Yes; it will not take long. Then I think we shall have the strands for +a rope strong enough to hold that she-devil who murdered Mary Barton," +grimly added Nick. + +These remarks were made while the carriage containing the two detectives +was speeding through the city streets, then bright with the light and +life of the early evening. + +"What a dastardly crime it was, Nick," observed Chick. + +"It was the crime of a treacherous demon." + +"With jealousy the chief motive, eh?" + +"No doubt of it." + +"Yet her venomous arrow found the wrong mark." + +"That's just the size of it," said Nick. "In the light of what you saw +and heard on the stage that night, it is plain that Cervera is +passionately in love with Venner." + +"Surely." + +"You remember that you saw him talking with Violet Page, and then +observed Cervera in the opposite wings, angrily watching something or +somebody out of your range of view. Plainly enough, now, she was +watching Venner and the singer." + +"No doubt of it," declared Chick. "And she looked fit to use a poniard +then and there." + +"Jealousy," growled Nick. "She had been secretly watching Venner. She +had discovered his love for Violet, and decided that the girl was a +rival to be feared. Her fiery Spanish blood would shrink at nothing. She +went the limit, and tried to murder her rival. In so doing, however, she +but killed another." + +"She must have worked adroitly to have accomplished what she did." + +"It may not have been so very difficult," replied Nick. "She was on the +stage each night, and also that infernal snake den. She quietly learned +which of the venomous reptiles would best serve her deadly purpose, and +then found an opportunity and a way by which to secretly steal it." + +"A hazardous job at that," muttered Chick. + +"The jealousy of such a woman fears nothing," Nick rejoined. "To lure +the desired snake into a box, and then take it home and confine it in +the jewel casket, may have been done quite easily." + +"It must have been done before the company closed its engagement." + +"No doubt," admitted Nick. "Then Cervera was too crafty to use it at +once. She waited nearly a week. Then she dressed herself in cheap +attire, put on a thick veil, and lay in wait for her rival's maid and +companion, to whom she gave the package and her instructions regarding +it." + +"What first led you to suspect the crime and the means, Nick?" inquired +Chick, curiously. + +"Several facts," explained Nick. "The girl's sudden death seemed +peculiar. The jewel casket beside her was empty, at once suggesting that +something had been removed or fallen from it. Yet nothing was to be +found." + +"That's true." + +"The paper wrapper was punctured with a pin in many places, the holes +running even through the lining of the casket. That fact, too, was +suggestive. People are not in the habit of doing up parcels and then +punching them full of holes with a pin." + +"Well, hardly." + +"Cervera made those holes, Chick, in order that her venomous captive +might not expire for want of air." + +"No doubt of it, Nick. But what do you think led Mary Barton to open the +package after having been told not to do so?" + +"Curiosity, perhaps," replied Nick. "Or possibly she considered the +circumstances to be so strange that she felt that she had a right to +open it. Be that as it may, it is plain that Mary Barton sat down on the +park seat, after leaving Boyden and there briefly considered the +matter." + +"How do you arrive at that deduction, Nick?" + +"From the tiny tinge of fresh blood about one of the pinholes on the +interior of the lining," explained Nick. "The stain must have come from +the point of the pin, and when the pin was drawn out of the box, not +when it was thrust into it. In the latter case the pin point would have +been cleansed before passing through the lining, and the stain would +have been on the outside rather than the inside." + +"Surely." + +"Then it at once became plain that Mary Barton, while sitting there, had +thrust her hat pin through one of the previously made apertures, +possibly aiming to discover in this way what the box contained, and in +so doing she probably pricked the confined reptile." + +"Ah, I see," nodded Chick. "All this strongly indicated that something +might have been confined in the casket." + +"Yes, certainly. Not thus learning what the box contained," continued +Nick, "Mary Barton decided to open it. The moment she raised the lid the +snake, probably angered by its wound and long confinement, instantly +struck at her hand, snake-fashion, and buried its fangs in her wrist." + +"Hence the tiny, red spot which you so quickly discovered." + +"Precisely." + +"Very shrewd of you, Nick." + +"Greatly frightened, the girl probably fainted, and fell to the ground," +added Nick, in conclusion of the deductions by which he had solved the +remarkable mystery. "The snake instantly scurried away through the +grass, and left no trail behind him. Before the girl could recover from +her swoon, the deadly poison had done its work. The venom of some of +these India snakes is horribly rapid in its action." + +"That's true," cried Chick. "I saw one at the theater that evening, the +venom of which would kill a man in ten seconds. A wee bit of a cuss at +that." + +"Probably this was one of the same breed," said Nick, grimly. "At all +events, I am sure that murder was the crime, and a snake the means." + +"And Sanetta Cervera the criminal." + +"Beyond the shadow of a doubt," declared Nick. + +"And what do you expect to learn from the Hindoo?" + +"I wish to know, in corroboration of my suspicions, whether Pandu Singe +has missed any of his infernal reptiles." + +"Ah, I see." + +"If he has, my theory is surely correct, and we next must fix the guilt +upon the guilty," said Nick, firmly. "I shall arrest Cervera this very +night, providing the Hindoo informs me that-- Ah, here we are at his +door. Come into the house with me, Chick, and we'll see what he has to +say." + +They had stopped before an ordinary brick house on the East Side, and +Nick quickly mounted the steps and rang the bell. The summons brought a +corpulent English woman to the door, from whom Nick learned that the +Hindoo and his interpreter were still there. + +"Doesn't Pandu Singe speak English?" inquired Nick. + +"Dear me, no!" exclaimed the landlady, with a mute yet visible +laugh--visible in that her convolutions of flesh became observably +agitated. "Not the first word, sir. He talks only a blooming jargon fit +for snakes and spiders and that like." + +Nick laughed agreeably, having a request on his tongue's end. + +"He has moved his beastly den o' reptiles into my cellar to stay till +next season, sir, a 'orror I'd not stand for a minute, so I wouldn't, +only he pays me very 'andsome for the same." + +"Then he intends remaining here all summer, does he?" + +"He do," replied the woman, with startling terseness after the +foregoing. + +"I wish to see him briefly on business," said Nick. "Go and ask him if +he will receive us." + +The landlady complied, returning presently and inviting the two +detectives into the house. She led the way to a rear room off the hall, +at the door of which stood a swarthy foreigner, who bowed and smiled as +the callers approached. + +"'E's the hinterpreter," vouchsafed the landlady, in a wheezy whisper. + +Nick nodded understandingly. + +Reading by the light of a lamp on a table in the room sat the Hindoo +snake charmer himself, clad in a rich, loose robe of Oriental fashion. +He arose with much deliberation and dignity when the detectives entered, +and gravely bowed in greeting, while his interpreter hastened to place +chairs for the visitors. + +Through the interpreter Nick quickly explained his business, and saw a +look of surprise appear on the face of Pandu Singe when inquiries were +made about the loss of a snake. + +It took Nick but a short time to learn what he desired. Precisely as he +expected, the Hindoo had missed one of his snakes about ten days before, +one of the most venomous and dangerous of the lot. + +Hearing no reports or complaints about the missing reptile, however, +Pandu Singe had come to the conclusion that the snake had died in the +den and then been devoured by one of his companions in captivity. So the +Hindoo had let the matter drop, and had said nothing about it. + +Nick did not disclose the true occasion for his inquiries, but invented +a satisfactory explanation, and at the end of a quarter of an hour the +two detectives departed and entered their waiting carriage. + +"Rather a dignified chap, after all, that Pandu Singe," laughed Chick, +as they settled themselves on the cushions. + +"True," admitted Nick, thoughtfully. "Do you think, Chick, that we could +make up to pass for those two swarthy Orientals?" + +"Could we!" exclaimed Chick, promptly. "Well, Nick, I should say that we +could." + +"I think so, too." + +"You could do the snake charmer, all right, and easily gabble a lingo +that would pass for his." + +"Well, rather," laughed Nick. + +"And if I was wise to the game you wished to play I easily could act as +the interpreter, and run the conversation correctly on my own hook." + +"No doubt of it." + +"Do it? Why, surely we could," repeated Chick "Why did you ask?" + +"I think it may yet become necessary or desirable to make a move of +that kind," replied Nick. + +"Why so?" + +"Because, as I have suspected all along, I still think there is some big +game in the wind, with the Kilgore gang back of it, and that the murder +of this Barton girl may have some connection with it, or at least give +us a clew to it." + +"Egad! I hope so, Nick." + +"We soon shall see." + +"Going after Cervera now?" + +"Yes; at once," said Nick, with grim austerity. "We shall find her at +home, as usual. She'll not imagine that I can have got on her track as +quickly as this, so no doubt I can easily land her. Before midnight I +want bracelets on the white wrists of that Spanish dare-devil." + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +CLOSING IN. + + +There was, indeed, as Nick Carter shrewdly suspected, a mysterious bond +between the several crimes thus far engaging his attention, and the +secret operations for which David Kilgore and his gang had ventured into +the city of New York. + +Nick had remarked, however, that the game would become as hazardous and +stirring as one could desire, as soon as it was fairly driven from +cover. + +And Nick began to drive it from cover that very night. + +Shortly before nine o'clock, and just as the two detectives were parting +from the Hindoo snake charmer, Mr. Rufus Venner rang the bell at the +door of Cervera's uptown residence. + +It was answered by Cervera herself, much to Venner's surprise. + +"Where's the butler to-night?" he abruptly demanded, as he entered and +closed the door. + +"Gone," said Cervera, curtly. + +"Gone?" + +"I've sacked him along with all the rest." + +"Not discharged all of your servants?" + +"Nothing less." + +"But why?" demanded Venner, with a frown settling about his dark eyes. +"You cannot remain here alone." + +"I don't intend to." + +"But what are you going to do? When are you going?" + +While thus speaking they had repaired to the library at the rear of the +house, the room in which Nick had encountered the gang nearly a +fortnight before. It was the only room then lighted. Even the hall +through which they had passed was in darkness. + +Yet Cervera was dressed in an elaborate evening gown, fitted close to +her lithe, nervous figure, and augmenting in a marked degree her +dangerous, dark beauty. + +"You know where I am going--or should!" she replied, facing Venner, with +an odd smile on her red lips. + +"Not to the diamond plant?" cried he, with a start. + +"To the diamond plant--yes!" + +"Impossible!" + +"You will find it's not impossible, Rufe," she retorted. "I generally go +where I wish, and do what I undertake. I have already sent my own jewels +and other valuables there by Pylotte. He was here this morning." + +"But consider, Sanetta," protested Venner, with a darker frown. "Think +of what chances you are taking." + +"Of what?" + +"Suppose Nick Carter suspects you, and has a shadow on your movements--" + +"Bah!" interrupted Cervera, with a snap and flash of her black eyes. "I +care nothing for Nick Carter. _Caramba!_ do you think I fear him? I will +fool and foil Nick Carter as I have fooled and foiled his betters. I +shall go to the plant to-morrow, and that settles it." + +"Stop a bit," insisted Venner, almost angrily. "Do you forget that +Kilgore and all his gang are there? Do you forget that we are just +about launching our gigantic enterprise? We now have nearly a million +dollars' worth of diamonds manufactured, or in the process of making, +and I already have begun to distribute them on the market at a fabulous +profit." + +"Well, I know all that. What has it to do with my going there?" + +"Such a move on your part may give Carter a clew to our location," +declared Venner. + +"Oh, no, it won't," sneered Cervera, scornfully. "I'll look out for +that." + +"Discovery would ruin all, and possibly land the whole gang behind +prison bars." + +"Faugh! I'm as well at the plant as here, and there I am going. You let +me alone to evade the Carters." + +"But why in thunder are you so determined to make this change?" demanded +Venner. + +An amorous fire came stealing into the woman's resolute eyes, and she +shrugged her shapely shoulders significantly. + +"You should know why without asking," she slowly answered, with her gaze +fixed upon his changing countenance. "It is because I love you, Rufe, +and wish to be where you spend so much of your time." + +"So much of my time?" echoed Venner, inquiringly. + +"So at least you tell me." + +"Do you doubt it?" + +"I know that five days and nights have passed since you came here to see +me," cried Cervera, bitterly. "I have only your own word in explanation +of your neglect." + +"That should be enough," said Venner, curtly. + +"Yet a man after a new love does not shrink from lying to an old," +retorted Cervera. + +"Pshaw! You are jealous again." + +"A woman who loves as I love is always jealous." + +"Of whom now?" + +"You know of whom." + +"I tell you I have not seen Violet Page since the theater closed." + +"I have only your word for it," repeated Cervera, with incredulity +bright in her sensuous eyes. "You know what I told you, Rufe. I'll not +tamely permit that pale-faced nightingale to come between you and me. +You know what I told you. I would kill her as I would a--a snake!" + +Despite his own stiff nerves, Venner recoiled from the look on the +woman's desperate face. Her voice had fallen to a hiss like that of the +reptile mentioned. + +"You are mad, Sanetta," he cried, irritably. "You have no occasion for +this jealousy and hatred." + +"I have had! You know that I have had--and your face shows it!" + +"You have none now--absolutely none now!" + +His emphatic declaration fell upon Cervera with an effect which Venner +did not at first understand. + +She sprang quickly toward him, gripping him hard by the wrist, while her +every nerve seemed stimulated with sudden agitation. + +"None now? None now--now?" she fiercely reiterated, in inquiring +whispers. "Do you mean that--that it is done? that it is done?" + +"Done?" gasped Venner, amazedly. "Is what done? What the devil are you +driving at?" + +She drew back, searching his eyes with hers, and hers were like those of +a demon, in her momentary suspense. + +"Then it isn't--it isn't?" she hissed, through her white teeth. "I +thought from what you said that it was. I thought--" + +"Good God! what do you mean?" cried Venner, aghast for a moment. + +Then, struck with a sudden recollection, he turned and snatched an +evening paper from a pocket of his coat, which he had tossed on a chair. +He had recalled certain leader lines which had caught his eye earlier in +the evening, yet which he then had not had sufficient interest to +follow. + +Now he hurriedly opened the paper and read the story, or so much of it +as enabled him to guess the truth. + +It was the newspaper story of the girl found dead in Central Park that +afternoon, with the mystery involving the sudden fatality, and the names +of the murdered girl and her mistress, Violet Page. + +A half-smothered oath of horror and dismay broke from Venner, after a +moment. + +It brought Cervera to his side, and she snatched the paper from him and +read--the story of her own failure; the miscarriage of her own jealous +and murderous design. + +She suppressed the shriek of mingled disappointment and fury that rose +to her twitching lips, then passionately cast the paper upon the table. + +"Well, what do you make of it?" she demanded, glaring at Venner's +colorless face. + +"No need to ask," he replied, hoarsely. "You know what I make of it." + +"You think I did it?" + +"I know you did it!" + +"And killed the wrong girl?" + +"And killed the wrong girl!" + +"Can you guess how?" + +"I don't care how. I know that you did it." + +"You will not betray me?" hissed Cervera, crouching before him, with +eyes never leaving his. + +"I have no wish to betray you." + +"You dare not! you dare not!" + +"I shall not!" + +"If you do--" + +The woman checked her words for an instant, and ran her hand into the +bosom of her dress. When she drew it forth it gripped a naked poniard, +upon the polished blade of which the rays of light flashed with many a +wicked gleam and glint. + +"If you do," she repeated, "I will send you after her, Rufus Venner! I +will do even more! I will expose our whole game, and our whole gang!" + +"I have said that I shall not betray you, nor will I," cried Venner, +signing for her to put up the weapon. "Yet you were mad, Sanetta. You +had no grounds for such jealousy, no occasion for such a crime." + +"I had--and you know it! I told you I would do it." + +"Well, you have tried it, at least," growled Venner, forcing a smile to +his gray lips. + +"And you dare not betray me," repeated Cervera, thrusting the glittering +weapon within her dress. "I have not failed entirely, Rufe, since it +makes the criminal tie between you and me all the stronger. It binds us +together with links of steel, Rufe, and they are stronger far than any +marriage contract." + +"Then you love me like that, eh?" + +"You know that I do." + +"Yet your infernal jealousy, and your determination to quit this house +and go to the plant with the gang, may yet ruin us all. If Nick Carter +were to get a clew--" + +"Bah!" Cervera fiercely interrupted. "I despise him, not fear him! I +tell you again, I will fool and foil Nick Carter, as I have fooled and +foiled his betters!" + +"His better as a detective never lived, Sanetta." + +"I care not! I defy him, and will yet show you that--" + +"Hush! Hark! A cab has stopped outside!" + +Cervera changed like a flash. + +With the bound of a leopard, one of those lightning moves with which she +could electrify an audience from the stage, she crossed the adjoining +room, which was in darkness, and reached the front window. + +One glance through the lace draperies was enough. + +Nick Carter was just alighting from his carriage. + +Cervera darted back and rejoined Venner. + +"It is Carter--Nick Carter himself!" she fiercely whispered, with all +the fire of her passionate Spanish nature ablaze in her eyes. + +"Carter! Good God!" + +"Be off, Rufe, and leave him to me!" + +"To you alone?" + +"Yes." + +"He already is on your track for this crime." + +"I'll foil him yet! Leave him to me alone!" Cervera fiercely cried. "Be +off by the back stairs, then through the stable and the side alley. Go +to your own home, and from there signal Kilgore to have the secret way +to the plant open for me. Here--the paper! Take it away with you! I'll +elude Carter--" + +"But he may arrest you at once," protested Venner, excitedly. "If he +does--" + +"_Caramba!_ do you stop to question?" Cervera furiously interrupted. "If +he takes me from this house he will take me--dead!" + +"But--" + +"Quick--he's at the door! Leave him to me alone, and do what I told you! +Away! There's the bell!" + +Venner caught up his coat, darted down the back stairs and quickly +departed by the way mentioned. + +At the same time, while Nick's summons was still echoing through the +great house, Sanetta Cervera swept haughtily through the main hall, +switched on the electric light, and then opened the front door. + +She appeared as cool and composed as if she had just arisen from her +dinner. + +Yet in the vestibule stood the one man whom she had most cause to fear, +the man who now held her fate in his hand--Nick Carter. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +CRAFTY CERVERA. + + +"Good-evening, Mr. Venner. Oh, it's not you!" + +"Oh, yes, 'tis!" said Nick, dryly. "It's I all right, and I'm it. You +appear surprised at seeing me, Señora Cervera." + +Cervera had begun, then stopped, then uttered the startled exclamation; +and all with the utmost coolness, with the air of one stirred only by +genuine surprise, and as if without the slightest fear or dismay upon +beholding Nick Carter in the vestibule. + +So perfectly natural was her artful assumption, that it rather deceived +Nick for a short time. + +In response to his dry remarks, the artful jade now nodded and began to +laugh. + +"Surprised? Well, rather!" she exclaimed, in animated tones. "I was +expecting our mutual friend, dear Mr. Venner, and supposed it was he who +rang. But I'm just as pleased to see you." + +"Yes?" + +"Surely! Come in, Detective Carter. You are very, very welcome. I shall +be so glad to renew our brief acquaintance. In fact, Detective Carter, I +am quite charmed to see you." + +"You'll not feel so chipper and charmed when you learn my business," +said Nick to himself, as he entered and followed her to the library. + +"Take a chair, Detective Carter, and try to feel perfectly at home," +laughed Cervera, with bantering vivacity. "You have been here before, +you know." + +"Yes, indeed, I know," said Nick, dryly. "The night I had a taste of a +choke pear, at the hands of your faithful guardians." + +"Ah! but you shall be better treated this time," smiled Cervera, +dropping into a chair opposite the detective, and fixing her sensuous, +dark eyes on Nick's calm, unreadable face. + +"I hope so, señora," he replied. "By the way, what has become of those +two stalwart guardians of your treasures? Do you still retain them in +your employ?" + +It was second nature to Nick to feel his way in this crafty fashion, yet +he did not really expect any resistance in arresting Cervera, who now +laughed and shook her head, replying: + +"No, I have let them go." + +"That so?" + +"I have no use for them at present." + +"Why is that?" + +"My engagement at the theater has closed, and I seldom have occasion to +wear my diamonds. I have placed them all in a safe deposit vault." + +"Ah! I see." + +"So I have no need for my guardians, Detective Carter, with only myself +here. Nobody would want me personally, you know," she added, with a bold +laugh. + +Nick's firm lips drew a little closer. + +"On the contrary," said he, pointedly, "somebody does, want you +personally." + +"Oh! is that so?" cried Cervera, as if amused. + +"Very much so, señora." + +"And who does me the honor, pray?" + +"I want you," said Nick, bluntly. + +"You, Detective Carter! Why, sir, what an idea! I wouldn't have believed +it of you." + +"Yet it is true, nevertheless." + +"Well, well," repeated Cervera, with a pretty shrug, "I am really glad +to hear you say so. For what do you want me, Detective Carter?" + +Not once had Nick's searching gaze left her brazen countenance, and +despite her outward display of badinage, his steadfast and penetrating +eyes were making her secretly uneasy. + +"I want you," said Nick, pointedly, "for that ugly 'Jack-in-the-box' +trick which you perpetrated this afternoon." + +Cervera's eyes emitted a single swift, fiery gleam, and her red lips +drew closer. Yet she cried, still pleasantly: + +"What do you mean by that, Detective Carter? Is it a joke?" + +"You'll find it no joke." + +"If it is, sir, I don't see the point." + +"You will have a chance to look for it at the Tombs," replied Nick, with +grim quietude. "Señora Cervera, I want you to go along with me." + +"The Tombs! Go with you! What do you mean?" + +"I mean that you are now under arrest." + +"Arrest! For what?" + +"For the murder of a girl named Mary Barton," Nick bluntly rejoined, +ignoring the woman's increasing display of amazement and resentment. + +"Mary Barton!" cried Cervera. "I never heard of the girl." + +"Nevertheless," said Nick, sternly, "you met her on Fifth Avenue this +afternoon, and gave her a jewel casket containing a venomous snake, +which you had stolen from the den of Pandu Singe, and by which means you +inadvertently killed Mary Barton, instead of another for whom your +infernal design was intended. I am aware of all of your late movements, +señora, you see." + +"I see that you are a devil!" cried Cervera, with a sudden passionate +outburst. "How dare you come here with such a story as that?" + +For a moment at least, the fact that Nick already had discovered nearly +every detail of her infamous crime--though committed only a few hours +before--almost completely unnerved her, and her changing countenance, +her irrepressible outbreak, and the violent agitation of her lithe, +nervous figure, were tokens of self-betrayal by no means unobserved by +Nick. + +"You'll have a chance to refute the story before a judge and jury," Nick +curtly answered. "At present you are in my custody, however, and you +must go with me." + +Cervera rose to her feet, trembling visibly, and gripped the back of her +chair as if for support. + +"There must be some terrible mistake, Detective Carter," she now cried, +with well-feigned distress and alarm. "Surely you do not mean this, +sir? Surely you do but jest?" + +"On the contrary, señora, I mean every word that I have said." + +"That I am under arrest?" + +"Yes." + +"And must go with you?" + +"Precisely." + +"To the Tombs?" + +"To the Tombs, señora." + +"Oh! this is dreadful--dreadful!" craftily moaned Cervera, with tears +now filling her eyes. + +"I am sorry for you, señora, but I must do my duty," said Nick, rising. + +"I know you must--but, oh! what shall I do? To whom can I appeal? Oh! if +Mr. Venner were only here!" + +"You can send a messenger for him later, or dispatch one of your +servants from here," suggested Nick. + +"I have none here," sobbed Cervera. "They are all out, and I am alone. I +have no one--" + +She suddenly stopped, then drew herself up with resentful dignity, and +wiped the tears from her eyes. + +"I am a fool to be so weak!" she exclaimed, bitterly. "Detective Carter, +I know nothing of the crime you mention. I never heard of Mary Barton. +This arrest is an outrage, and I will appeal to the highest court in the +land for vindication!" + +"That's your privilege," said Nick, shortly. "But at present you must go +with me." + +"I cannot go as I am," declared Cervera, passionately stamping her +foot. "I am in evening dress--attired to receive a caller. I shall take +cold if I go out of doors in--" + +"Oh, you may change your dress," Nick curtly interrupted, the need of +which was decidedly obvious. "I'll give you time for that." + +"How very kind," sneered Cervera, with a bitter flash of her black eyes. +"You shall yet suffer for this affront, Detective Carter." + +"All right," said Nick. "But I have no time to speculate upon it now, so +get yourself ready. Wait a bit, my lady! I'll go along with you!" + +"With me? You insult me!" + +"Oh, no, I don't. I want a look at your chamber before letting you out +of my sight. I've seen rooms with more than one way out, and I don't +intend that you shall elude me." + +"You're a suspicious coward, sir!" + +"Stow all that, señora, and lead the way," commanded Nick, bluntly. + +Pale and resentful, with a sneer on her lips, Cervera led the way +through, the hall, playing her part so artfully that Nick, ignorant of +her late interview with Rufus Venner, was not much inclined to suspect +her of duplicity just then. + +Upon reaching the top of the hall stairs, Cervera switched on another +light, and then that which illumined her chamber, into which she +haughtily led the detective. + +"A fine affront to suffer," she bitterly exclaimed, throwing herself +into a chair. "Your conduct is despicable! You are no gentleman!" + +"I am a detective," retorted Nick, "and I come pretty near knowing my +business." + +"Oh! you do," sneered Cervera. "Plainly that is the limit of your +knowledge. You may not be as wise as you think." + +Nick made no reply, but looked sharply about the room. + +It was a large, square chamber, and elaborately furnished. The two +windows were well above the street, and offered no chance for escape. +There were but two doors, that leading into the hall and the one leading +into a large closet in the opposite wall. + +Nick opened the latter, and found the closet hung with Cervera's +extensive wardrobe. He thrust his arm along the garments hanging at +either side, and sounded the three walls, and then the closet floor, all +of which appeared perfectly firm and solid. + +Even these precautions seemed quite needless to Nick, however, it being +a rented house, and Cervera presumably uninformed of his coming. + +"Now, señora, you may have just ten minutes to make ready," said he, as +he rejoined her. "I shall leave this chamber door open, and will wait +for you in the adjoining hall. Can you whistle?" + +"Whistle?" + +"Yes, whistle! You know what it is to whistle, don't you?" + +The sneer on Cervera's red lips, as she arose from her chair, became +almost a smile. + +"Yes, I can whistle after a fashion," she admitted. + +"Well, then, you keep whistling all the time you are alone here," Nick +sternly commanded. "I will let you out of my sight to make these +changes, but not out of my hearing." + +"Suspicious fool!" + +"Fool or not, you keep whistling," said Nick, bluntly. "If you let up +for so long as a second, I'll come over yonder threshold in a way that +you'll not fancy." + +"But suppose I want to brush my teeth?" inquired Cervera, with a +vixenish light in her evil eyes. "I cannot whistle and brush my teeth, +Detective Carter." + +"You'll have plenty of time to brush your teeth at the Tombs," said +Nick, sharply. "Now look lively, mark you, and--keep whistling." + +Cervera at once began to whistle. + +Nick removed the key from the chamber door, and sauntered out into the +hall, where he kept his ears constantly alert. + +Not for a moment did the whistling cease, nor was there the slightest +change in tone or character. + +Nick could not have taken a more effective method to serve his present +purpose. + +At the end of eight minutes the whistling ceased, and Cervera coldly +cried: + +"Now you may come in, Detective Carter. I am about ready to go with +you." + +Nick at once entered the chamber. + +Cervera had changed her evening dress for a complete suit of black, and +was standing in the middle of the room. + +"I suppose," said she, staring icily at the detective, "that I ought to +thank you for your consideration." + +"Don't trouble yourself," said Nick, curtly. "I have no time to waste." + +"Yet just one word, Detective Carter, before we go." + +"Let it be brief, then." + +"You are said to be a very clever man, and no doubt you think you have +me dead to rights in this case," said Cervera, with a mocking curl of +her thin lips. + +"Decidedly so." + +"Yet you will find, Detective Carter, that a clever woman can always +fool and foil a clever man." + +"But you, my lady, are very far from being a clever woman," retorted +Nick, with a gesture of impatience, signifying that he wished to leave +with her at once. + +"Nevertheless, I shall beat you at the finish, make no mistake about +that," cried Cervera, scornfully. "Now, sir, I will put on my wrap, and +go with you where you please." + +With the last remark, she approached a peg in the open closet, as if to +take down a dark shawl. + +Instead, she suddenly turned quickly around and cried, with a taunting +laugh: + +"So long, Detective Carter! I really feel quite sorry to bid +you--good-by!" + +Nick started like a man electrified. + +Cervera merely had pressed the peg on which the shawl hung, whereupon +the whole back of the closet seemed to fall away instantly, disclosing a +lighted passage beyond. + +Nick caught a glimpse of it, and of the woman darting toward it, and he +followed her like a shot from a gun. + +As Cervera passed through the further opening and gained the lighted +passage, she seized and threw a short lever just beyond the closet wall. + +At the same moment Nick's weight fell upon the closet floor behind her. + +It was like treading upon air. + +The lever, like the peg, did not work in an instant. + + +Nick felt himself falling, and made a desperate clutch at the door +jamb--only to miss it. + +Then the closet floor, with the detective upon it, went speeding down +like an elevator cut loose from a top story. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +IN A WARM CORNER. + + +The crash with which Nick Carter vaguely expected his career might be +abruptly ended, as the floor upon which he had fallen prostrate rapidly +descended, did not come. + +The terrific downward speed suddenly decreased, then became more +gradual, all in the bare fraction of a second; and then the rushing +sound of compressed air escaping through narrow crevices fell upon the +detective's ears. + +Nick immediately guessed the truth. + +The falling closet floor was that of an elevator, no longer in use as +such, yet which still worked on the slides of the elevator well, and +evidently had been cleverly adjusted for just such an emergency as that +depicted. + +Presently there came a heavy jar, and then the downward motion ceased. +The close-fitting floor at first had fallen so swiftly that the confined +air in the well beneath it had become so compressed as to form an air +cushion, which finally let the floor completely down only after the air +had gradually escaped. It was this escaping air Nick heard during the +last moments of his fall. + +The entire episode began and ended in but little more than a moment, +however. Though considerably jarred, Nick pulled himself together, and +gazed up through the darkness at the bottom of the well. + +Cervera was peering down from the lighted passage three stories above +him, Nick having made a clean drop into the cellar of the imposing +residence. + +That this entire contrivance was the work of the Kilgore gang, devised +while they masqueraded at Cervera's house, Nick was thoroughly +convinced. + +"Hello!" Cervera suddenly cried, still gazing down into the darkness +enveloping Nick. "Are you there, Mr. Carter?" + +Nick stared up at her, but made no answer. + +At the same time he felt quietly over the walls of the well, in the hope +of finding some way of escape. + +It riled him not a little, the thought of having been so deftly caught +in a trap, almost entirely owing to his having been overconfident, an +assurance only very natural under the circumstances. + +The possibility that this woman might now elude him for a time was also +a thorn in Nick's mind. + +"_Caramba!_" cried Cervera, with a mocking laugh. "Aren't you going to +speak?" + +Still no answer. + +"Have you lost your tongue, Detective Carter? If you don't speak out, +Mr. Smart Fellow, I shall drop something down that will light you up. I +want a look at you, to know whether you're afoot or on horseback." + +Nick remained in perfect silence. + +Then Cervera disappeared. + +"The she-devil!" muttered the detective. "What move next, I wonder?" + +Again he felt quickly over the walls of the well, in the hope of finding +some avenue of escape. + +With a thrill of satisfaction, he now discovered one of the vertical +strips of iron which are attached to two opposite walls of an elevator +well, to steady the car and serve as slides for it to run upon. These +iron strips are usually regularly notched to the depth of an inch or +more, for the admission of an automatic break in the event of the rope +parting. + +"By Jove! this is not so bad," thought Nick. "It might serve for a +ladder. + +"To climb three stories with the tips of one's fingers and toes, +however, and by means of a notched iron on the bare face of a wall, is a +herculean and hazardous undertaking." + +While he stood, measuring the altitude with his eyes, Nick heard Cervera +returning. + +Then a great bunch of flaming paper came flying down the well, and the +detective was forced to leap aside to escape it. + +She-devil, indeed, Cervera had set fire to a crumpled newspaper, with +which to illuminate the bottom of the well. + +"Ah, there you are!" she exultingly cried, on discovering Nick in the +glare of the light. "On your feet, eh? You were lucky to escape, +Detective Carter." + +"And you'll be lucky if you escape Detective Carter," sternly retorted +Nick, quickly stamping out the fire. "I'll finally land you, my crafty +young woman, though I lie awake nights to devise a way." + +Cervera gave vent to a shrill, vindictive laugh. + +"Do you think you can do it?" she demanded, mockingly. + +"You'll find that I can." + +"Better men than you have tried--and failed." + +"Yet I shall succeed." + +"Do you feel quite sure of it?" + +"Absolutely." + +"Then I think I'd better see your finish this very night, since I now +have you cornered!" cried Cervera, in taunting tones, "It may not be +wise to defer it." + +Then Nick beheld a second burning newspaper coming his way. + +"Let up, you demon!" he shouted, angrily. "You'll set the house afire." + +"Wouldn't it be a shame! And what would become of you?" + +"Don't try it again, young woman, or worse may be your fate." + +"Oh! is that so?" sneered Cervera, maliciously. "We'll see." + +Down came another burning paper, and by the light of it Nick now +discovered a closed door in one of the walls. It was directly under the +closet door in Cervera's chamber, both of which evidently had once been +used for entering the elevator. + +The fact chiefly observed by Nick, however, was that the sill of the +door was wide enough to offer him a safe footing. Though it was fully +eight feet above his head, Nick resolved to attempt to reach it by means +of the notched iron on the side wall. + +Gripping the rough notches with his muscular fingers, and using those +lower down for a foothold, as best he could, Nick hurriedly began the +difficult ascent. + +By the light from a fragment of burning paper, Cervera perceived his +design, and greeted it with a scream of derision. + +"I'll soon stop that, my fine fellow," she shouted, with vicious +asperity. "Look out for yourself!" + +White speaking, she touched a match to one of her dresses, which hung +from a near peg on the closet wall, and dropped it blazing down the +well. + +Nick saw it coming, and was forced to drop back to the cellar floor. + +"You vicious demon!" he cried, angrily. "Let up! You'll have the house +on fire!" + +"That's just what I intend doing--and you with it!" screamed Cervera, +with a laugh. "I'll not leave you alive to get the best of me at some +later day." + +Then she set fire to a silk skirt, and dropped it after the other. + +Nick had not yet been able to extinguish the first, and the situation +was momentarily becoming more desperate. A cloud of smoke was filling +the well, with no draft to carry it away, and the heat was already very +oppressive. + +Crouching on the curb of the lighted passage three floors above him, +Cervera was laughing wildly, with her handsome face reflecting the +bitter hatred by which she was inspired, as she hurriedly set fire to a +third garment and dropped it down the well. + +The smoke at the bottom had become so dense that Nick no longer could +see her, but he felt quite sure that he could put an end to her present +murderous game. + +He drew his revolver and fired two quick shots in her direction. One +bullet crashed through the ceiling above her. The second clipped a lock +of hair from over the vixen's ear. + +It brought a shriek of alarm to her lips, and she sprang quickly back +from the curb over which she was stooping. + +"_Caramba!_" she yelled, excitedly. "That's your game, is it?" + +"You'll find it is, if you approach that opening again!" cried Nick, +half choked with smoke, while he fiercely strove to extinguish the +blazing garments. + +"Oh, I'll not give you another chance at me!" screamed Cervera. "I'll +push over something heavier, and crush out your life with--" + +She suddenly stopped, then held her breath and listened. + +The crash of a breaking door reached her ears, then hurried footsteps +began falling on the main stairway leading to her chamber. + +"Some one is coming!" she fiercely muttered. "Perhaps another detective! +I must be off!" + +Yet so bitter was her hatred of Nick, and so intensely enjoyable to her +the trick she had served him, that she lingered for an instant in the +face of the impending danger, and screamed down the well, with a mocking +laugh: + +"I'm obliged to leave you, Detective Carter! While I'm gone--keep +whistling!" + +At the same moment Chick Carter rushed into the chamber and caught a +glimpse of her through the wreathing smoke, as she fled through the +lighted passage. + +One glance at the scene gave Chick the entire situation. + +He drew back, took a short run, and with a magnificent bound cleared the +open well, and leaped squarely through the closet and into the lighted +passage. + +Then the crash of a heavy door, suddenly closed, and the shooting of +bolts, told him that Cervera had prevented pursuit for a time at least, +and Chick swung round to the open well, to see if Nick needed him. + +"Hello, Nick!" he shouted. "The woman--" + +"Let her go!" roared Nick, still fiercely fighting the flames that +threatened the woodwork of the well. "Let her go--we'll get her later! +First save the house!" + +"How can I reach you?" + +"Through a door under the one in her chamber," shouted Nick. "Try that." + +Chick cleared the well with another leap, then dashed downstairs and +into the parlor, which was lighted by the glare from both hall and +library. + +He quickly discovered the door--only to find it locked and the key +removed. + +Chick was promptly equal to so slight an emergency, however. Grasping a +heavy stool near the piano, he swung it above his head, and with half a +dozen rapid blows demolished most of the door, and forced it open. + +A cloud of smoke floated into the room, but a glance showed Chick that +Nick now had the flames extinguished. + +"Are you all right, old man?" he demanded. + +"Only a little in need of fresh air," gasped Nick. "You cannot reach +down to me." + +"Wait a bit, then. This will do the business!" + +Chick had turned and snatched off the thick cloth covering of the piano, +which he quickly twisted and lowered over the doorsill, and then braced +himself to sustain Nick's weight. + +"All right?" cried Nick. + +"Yes. Come on!" + +Nick drew himself up until he could grasp the sill of the door, then +easily reached the floor and the clearer atmosphere of the parlor. + +"Well, here's a pretty mess!" he growled, in tones of self-condemnation. +"If ever I was done by a crafty jade, I've been done by one this night." + +"How in thunder did it happen, Nick?" demanded Chick, with no little +amazement. + +Nick very quickly told him, and explained the occasion of his own lack +of distrust and caution. + +"It being a rented house, I did not look for any such trap as this," +said he. "Furthermore, I did not believe that Cervera had any warning of +my coming, and I felt satisfied that she was alone here. Have you seen +anything of Venner while waiting in the cab?" + +"Not a sign of him." + +"It's odds, then, that he was here when I arrived, and made his escape +by a back door," growled Nick. "If so, it goes to show that he is in +with her and the Kilgore push, and not a blind victim to their cunning. +We now must get some proof of that, Chick, and force that gang and +their game to light. We at least have made a beginning, and now for +another move." + +"To-night?" + +"At once!" declared Nick. "Cervera must find shelter somewhere, and it's +very likely she will go to Venner's house. That must be our next point, +and we will lose no time. Possibly we yet may land her before she finds +cover." + +"We can give it a try," cried Chick. + +"Help me extinguish these lights, and then we'll be off again." + +"I'm with you." + +"What sent you into the house so suddenly?" + +"The reports of your revolver," explained Chick. "I at once recognized +its bark, and knew something was wrong." + +"Ah! I see." + +"I saw the light in the chamber, and supposed you might be letting the +woman prepare to go with you," added Chick. "That was while I sat in the +cab. But when I heard your gun, I smashed open the front door and bolted +upstairs." + +"Very lucky, too," nodded Nick. "That she-devil would have burned the +house, and me in the bargain. But the end is not yet." + +"Well, hardly!" laughed Chick, as they descended the front stairs and +extinguished the last light. + +"We'll stop an officer, and send him here to watch the house," said +Nick. "Then we'll have a look at Venner's dwelling. It's my opinion, +Chick, that our work has now begun in good earnest." + +"Well, I reckon we shall prove equal to it," smiled Chick, rather +grimly, as they hastened to enter the waiting carriage. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +THE DIAMOND PLANT. + + +"This does settle it!" + +"What do you mean, Dave?" + +"It must be done?" + +"We must get these Carters--that's what! If we don't get them, +Spotty--you take my word for it--they'll get us!" + +"Do you really think so, Dave?" + +"Not think, but know so!" declared Kilgore, with emphasis. "I know these +Carters, root and branch. They have now struck our trail, and they'll +stick to it like bloodhounds till they run us down--unless we get them! +It must be done, I say, and done promptly." + +"Put them down and out?" + +"Exactly. It's them--or us!" + +"And why do you think, all of a sudden, Dave, that Nick Carter is so hot +on our heels?" + +"I'll tell you why, Spotty." + +And Mr. David Kilgore, chief of the notorious diamond gang bearing his +name, and one of the keenest and coolest criminals in or out of prison +walls, removed his pipe from his mouth and his heels from the edge of +the table, and drew forward in his chair to explain. + +It was a curious place, that in which the speakers of the above were +seated, in the bright glare of an electric light. + +It was inclosed with four solid stone walls, with not a window or +aperture through which a ray of light could be detected from outside. + +Yet in one of the walls was a low, narrow door, also of stone, and so +cleverly constructed and fitted that, when swung into place in the wall, +it was comparatively beyond the detection of anybody ignorant of its +existence. This door then stood open, but the aperture through the wall +was heavily curtained. + +Three of these walls formed the original foundation of an old and +extensive suburban mansion, the location, ownership and present use of +which will presently appear. The fourth wall, that with the door, was of +more recent construction, and was built squarely across the original +cellar of the house. It had been made to mask this secret subterranean +chamber in which the Kilgore gang was then gathered. + +The place was commodious, and contained some noteworthy objects. In one +corner was a powerful hydraulic press. Near by was a splendid electrical +furnace, capable of generating an extraordinary degree of heat. Against +the adjoining wall were several barrels of sulphur, of which only one +was unheaded. Near by was a large box of anthracite coal, black and +glistening in the rays of the arc light. + +Parallel with the opposite wall was a workbench, laden with curious +retorts, crucibles, test tubes, metal molds, and no end of tools, all of +which plainly suggested the work of one versed both in chemistry and +some mechanical art. + +In the middle of the room was a square deal table, at which Kilgore was +seated, with Matt Stall and Spotty Dalton, the original three of the +Kilgore gang. + +Two other persons were present, however, and they were engaged in +examining some work on the bench mentioned. + +One of them was a tall, angular Frenchman, about sixty years of age, +named Jean Pylotte. He had a slender figure, somewhat bowed; but his +head was massive, in which his gleaming, gray eyes were deeply sunk, +like those of a tireless student and hard worker. + +His companion at the bench just then was Sanetta Cervera, the Spanish +dancer--the murderess of Mary Barton--the vicious dare-devil who had +served Nick Carter one of her evil tricks that very evening. + +Cervera had arrived at the diamond plant less than an hour before, and +had hurriedly told her confederates the whole story of her crime and her +adventure with Nick. + +Crime was too common with these outlaws, however, and loyalty to one +another too natural, for Kilgore to censure his only female confederate +very severely. Yet as Kilgore now proceeded to explain, her crime had +rendered their situation decidedly more alarming. + +"I'll tell you why these Carters are now to be seriously feared," said +he, nodding grimly at his hearers. "This last move of Cervera has hurt +us severely." + +"In what way?" demanded Spotty Dalton, the pock-marked chap who had +relieved Venner's partner of the Hafferman diamonds about two weeks +before. "I don't see just how, Dave." + +"No more do I," put in Matt Stall. + +"You'll see," replied Kilgore, "when I run over a few facts which led +to our being here, and at work on our present game." + +"Well, Dave, we're listening." + +"One year ago we three were in Amsterdam, Holland, weren't we?" + +"Sure." + +"At work on a different kind of a game?" + +"Yes." + +"Only we three were then in the gang." + +"That's right, Dave. Now there are seven of us, counting Venner and his +partner." + +"It was in Amsterdam that we first met her nibs," continued Kilgore, +with a jerk of his thumb in the direction of Cervera, who was so engaged +with Pylotte that neither heeded the talk at the table. + +"Yes, Dave, we met her just a year ago," nodded Dalton. + +"She was then doing her dances in a theater there, and we naturally got +our peepers onto her diamonds," Kilgore went on to narrate. "You fellows +already know the scheme by which we tried to relieve her of them, which +we came so near doing." + +"Well, rather," grinned Dalton, as if the reminiscence was amusing. + +"Then we learned from her own lips, and greatly to our surprise, that +her sparks were not the real thing," smiled Kilgore. "At first we could +not believe it. The goods deceived even us, old hands though we are. It +was only when she told us about Pylotte, and the secret process by +which he makes such extraordinary imitations, that we could believe +her." + +"That's right, Dave." + +"She had stumbled by chance upon this clever French chemist and diamond +cutter, and was working him to the extent of her ability. She even had +got wise to his secret, and he was loading her with his marvelous gems +in return for her affection. But we at once saw the way to something +much more profitable, a game for making millions out of Pylotte's great +discovery." + +"Right again, Dave." + +"So we told them about it, and found them willing," continued Kilgore. +"We rung them into our gang, and planned the whole deal. We knew it +would be dead easy to work off such clever stones for genuine goods. +With plenty of such sparks on hand, and one big and reputable jeweler to +help us work the market, the distribution of our goods and their +substitution for genuine stones would quickly throw a cool million or +two our way." + +"Dead easy, Dave." + +"But we decided that New York was the best field for such a gigantic +enterprise," added Kilgore. "So we came here. With the help of Cervera, +we got our grip on Venner, and then on his avaricious partner, Garside, +whose business happened to be on its last legs. So they snapped like +hungry fish at this chance to square themselves, by secretly swindling +their own customers, and shoving our manufactured diamonds upon the +entire market." + +"Like hungry fish--h'm! that's no name for it," cried Matt Stall, with +a mingled growl and laugh. "Rufe Venner was as ready to become a knave +as any covey I ever crossed." + +"So we established this plant for Pylotte to do his clever work in," +continued Kilgore, disregarding the interruption. "Luckily, Venner +already owned this old mansion, as well as that in which he lives; and +fortunately, both places are somewhat secluded, with extensive grounds +abutting. That enabled us to frame up a very snug and safe retreat." + +"Sure it did." + +"So we went to work," Kilgore proceeded, discursively. "We built our +plant, placed our machinery, rigged a private telephone between this +house and Venner's, and tapped the electric conduit with a secret wire, +to give us light and feed our furnace." + +"That was my work," nodded Stall, with a touch of pride. + +"Right you are, Matt, and mighty good work, too," bowed Kilgore. "In a +nutshell, boys, after two months' secret work, we have accomplished all +we planned, and now have Venner sliding our goods upon the market at a +fabulous profit. In a single year, barring these infernal Carters, every +man of us should be a millionaire." + +"But why this sudden fear of the Carters?" growled Dalton, impatiently. + +"I'll now tell you why," cried Kilgore, with voice lowered, and an ugly +gleam in his frowning eyes. "We cannot sack Cervera, nor put out her +light, for she's too good and strong a card for us to lose. But in +losing her head over Venner, and jealously doing up that girl to-day, +she has given the Carters a clew by which to track us." + +"How so, Dave?" muttered Stall, growing a bit pale. + +"Through Venner, of course!" Kilgore forcibly argued. "Until this job of +to-day, Carter has had no definite suspicion of Venner, a possibility +which we headed off with that fake robbery. Now, however, since Cervera +must lie low, and Carter knows of her relations with Venner, he will +suspect the latter and make him a constant mark, in the hope of landing +the girl." + +"By Heaven, that's so!" snarled Dalton, quickly seeing the point. + +"And that's not the worst of it," added Kilgore. "The moment he suspects +Venner, Carter will connect him with us, and know that that robbery was +a put-up job. Then he'll begin to seek us and our game." + +"But how can he locate us?" + +"Locate us?" sneered Kilgore, acidly. "You don't know Nick Carter! I'll +tell you, Spotty, he can smell a rat further than any ferret that ever +shoved his nose under a miller's barn. As sure as death and taxes, Nick +Carter will run us down and land us, every mother's son of us--unless we +can get him, and put him down and out." + +"By Heaven, I begin to think so myself," growled Stall. "If we--" + +"There are no ifs, ands or buts about it, Matt," interrupted Kilgore, +decisively. "We must down them both, Nick and Chick Carter, or our game +is as good as done for." + +"But how can we land them, Dave, and when?" + +"I already have a plan, and I think the first move may be made this +very night." + +"What's the plan, Dave?" + +"To lure both detectives into Venner's house, and there do them up. If +we can get them to come there voluntarily, their fate may never be +learned, and our tracks will be better covered than by doing the job +elsewhere." + +"That's true enough, since they're not likely to disclose their +intentions, and if they come in disguise, no one about here will have +recognized them." + +"That's just my theory." + +"But how can we lure them to Venner's house?" + +"With the help of Pylotte, whom they do not know, nor ever heard of. +He's a brainy dog, moreover, and crafty enough to blind them." + +"But what's your scheme for to-night?" demanded Dalton. + +"After what has happened," replied Kilgore, "it's a safe gamble that the +Carters are at this moment watching Venner's house. If they are--but +wait a bit! First hear my whole plan." + +The three criminals drew their chairs closer, and in a very few minutes +Kilgore had disclosed his entire design, a scheme so recklessly bold +that it brought murmurs of amazement and misgivings from both his +hearers, daring knaves though they were. + +"It strikes me, Dave, that it's too long a chance for us to take, this +giving Nick Carter a genuine clew to our game," objected Dalton, +doubtfully. + +"But no other clew will answer," declared Kilgore, forcibly. "You +cannot fool Nick Carter with any false move or faked story; I'm already +sure of that." + +"So am I," nodded Stall. "He's too wise a guy to fool with." + +"We are compelled to give him the real thing, and make him feel that he +is up against a square deal, or no man among us can work the racket," +added Kilgore. "With my scheme, however, Pylotte is just the covey to do +the job, and land both Carters where we want them." + +"And then?" + +"Then it's our ability against theirs," snarled Kilgore, "If we go lame, +with the odds all in our favor, we deserve to be thrown down." + +"That's right, too," admitted Dalton. + +"Will Pylotte undertake this sort of a job, think you?" inquired Matt +Stall. + +"Will he?" rejoined Kilgore, with an ugly gleam in his determined eyes. +"He will, or--well, you know! Yes, Matt, he will; and he's just the man +for the job." + +The vicious significance with which he spoke plainly indicated that, +though Cervera may have ruled her own roost, there was but one chief of +this gang, and that was Mr. David Kilgore. + +He turned sharply about in his chair, and cried: + +"Here you, Pylotte! Come and give us your ear! I have work for you +to-night!" + +Both Pylotte and Cervera quickly turned and hastened to join the gang at +the table. + +For twenty minutes Kilgore's project for outwitting and securing Nick +Carter was earnestly discussed, and every detail of the plan carefully +laid. + +Then the four men stole quietly out of the house in company. + +It then was a little after midnight. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +THE CUNNING OF JEAN PYLOTTE. + + +Kilgore had reasoned shrewdly, in so quickly suspecting that Nick Carter +would lose no time in getting a line on the Venner residence. Even while +the diamond gang were discussing the plan by which to capture the +Carters, the two detectives were at times within a hundred yards of the +secret plant. + +It was dark out of doors that night, with only a few stars in the +clouded sky, and the wooded locality and neighboring streets were but +poorly lighted. + +It was in a northern suburb of New York, a section not yet much +encroached upon by the spreading city, and the dwelling owned and +occupied by Rufus Venner was that in which three generations of his +family had lived and died. + +It was a square, old house of brick, set fifty yards from the suburban +street, and was flanked in either direction by extensive, ill-kept +grounds, made damp and dark by the huge, old trees, which nearly covered +the estate. + +Back of the house, and off to one side, was a large wooden stable, fast +running to ruin; while a rusty iron fence, falling to fragments in +places, skirted the dismal grounds in front. + +Beyond the trees, far to the rear, could be seen the roof and chimneys +of an old, wooden mansion, fronting on another street, and having a very +similar environment. There, too, the house and grounds were running to +ruin and decay, both places being but crumbling monuments of former +opulence and grandeur. + +It was upon this scene that Nick Carter and Chick arrived just before +midnight, having left their carriage at a remote corner, to await their +return. + +"Yonder is Venner's house, Chick," said Nick, as they picked their way +along the unpaved sidewalk. "We'll vault this iron fence and steal +across the grounds." + +"It doesn't look much as if our quarry was there," observed Chick, as +they scaled the fence. + +"Their deeds are dark, and like seeks like," replied Nick. "They now may +be making darkness their cover." + +"Not a light in the house, is there?" + +"None visible from this side. We'll steal between the house and stable, +and have a look at the opposite elevation." + +"Not much danger of being seen. It's as dark as a nigger's pocket under +these trees." + +"So much the better in case anyone is watching." + +"Who lives here with Venner?" + +"Only an elderly housekeeper, of whom I don't hear anything very good," +replied Nick. "Venner is here but part of the time, I am told. In fact, +I don't quite fathom his habits." + +"Why so?" + +"I can't learn what takes him from home so much of the time. He does not +leave the city, nor patronize any hotel that I can discover, yet he +frequently is away from this house overnight." + +"Perhaps he secretly keeps another house, and is leading a double life." + +"Possibly," admitted Nick. "He is on friendly terms with numerous women, +I learn, and other quarters may be essential to designs of some kind. +Quietly, now, and we'll slip across the back lawn." + +Like shadows, as dark as the night itself, they silently reached a point +from which they could view the north side of the house. Here they +discovered that one of the lower rooms was lighted, with the curtain at +the single window nearly drawn. + +"Somebody is up," murmured Chick. + +"We'll learn who, if possible." + +"Going to have a look?" + +"Yes. Come, if you like, but don't get into the glare from the curtain. +Kilgore has a very wicked air gun, and if he and his gang are about +here, we might invite a bullet." + +"I'll have a care." + +Stealing closer over the damp greensward, they approached the house and +peered beneath the curtain mentioned. There was but one occupant of the +room, which was a small library. + +In an easy-chair near the table, with a newspaper fallen across his +knees, sat Rufus Venner, apparently sound asleep. + +This was only a part of the game, however, for Venner was wide awake. +By means of their secret wire, he had been informed of Cervera's arrival +at the diamond plant, and of Kilgore's designs upon Nick, and Venner at +that moment suspected that he might be under the eye of the detective. + +For nearly half an hour Nick waited for some sign of this artifice, but +Venner in no way betrayed it. + +Presently a clock on the mantel struck the half after one, and the sound +appeared to awake him. He yawned, glanced at the clock, then took the +lamp from the table and went up to bed. But never so much as a glance +toward the window. + +Nick led Chick away, and they returned across the lawn to a point beyond +the stable. + +"It rather looks as if Cervera had been here, doesn't it?" inquired +Chick, with a grin. + +"Yes," admitted Nick. "Two facts are very significant of it. First, that +Venner is at home on this particular night; and, second, that he should +be asleep in his chair after midnight. It has a fishy look." + +"That's my idea, Nick, exactly." + +"Yet the way to prove it doesn't appear quite easy." + +"Not just yet. But who occupies that house over yonder, where the roof +shows above the trees?" + +And Chick pointed to the distant dwelling, little dreaming that the +diamond plant and the gang they sought were established under its +many-gabled roof. + +This was not the first night Nick had watched Venner's house since the +diamond robbery, the doubtful character of which he had suspected at the +outset, and incidentally he had informed himself concerning Venner's +neighbors. + +"One Dr. Magruder, I am told, a retired physician from Illinois," he +replied. "He bought the place at a forced sale some little time ago." + +Nor did Nick, when thus replying, dream that Dr. Magruder and Rufus +Venner were one and the same; or that, in attributing to him a double +life of shameful iniquity, Chick had hit the nail squarely on the head. + +"Come this way," added Nick. + +"Where now?" + +"We'll go down to the corner of the grounds, and watch the house for a +time." + +Before Nick's reply was fairly uttered, however, both detectives were +startled by distant cries, which fell with frantic appeal on the +midnight air. + +"Help! Help! Help!" + +The startling cry was thrice repeated, the last time as if choked in the +speaker's throat, yet the direction of the sound was unmistakable. + +"Something's up!" muttered Nick. "This way!" + +With Chick at his heels, he tore across the wooded grounds and bounded +over the iron fence at the street. + +Then the occasion of the outcry at once became apparent. + +Some two hundred yards away, in the yellow glare of one of the +incandescent lights by which the little-frequented street was illumined, +a man was battling desperately with three assailants, one of whom he +had knocked to the ground. + +Without a word, both detectives rushed down the road to his assistance. + +As they drew nearer there came a flash of light, then the report of a +pistol, followed by another shriek for help. + +Then Nick saw one of the ruffians reel a little, as if shot, while a +second hurled their victim to the ground. The third leaped to his feet +at the same moment, yelling wildly: + +"Look out! Scatter, boys! The cops are upon us!" + +"Kilgore's voice, or I'm a liar," muttered Nick, over his shoulder. + +Both detectives were still fifty yards from the scene of the furious +conflict, and were running at the top of their speed along the rough +road. + +Before they could come near enough to use a weapon, however, the three +ruffians scattered like frightened cats, leaping the wall near an +adjoining woodland, into the gloom of which they speedily vanished. + +It was obvious to Nick that pursuit would be vain, so he hastened to the +side of the fallen man, who had been left prostrate in the road, and +helped him to his feet. + +The man was Jean Pylotte. + +He was panting hard after the conflict, the fake character of which Nick +could not then foresee. His coat was ripped up the back, his linen +collar torn off, and he was deathly pale, with a smutch of blood across +his cheek. In one hand he held a revolver, and in the other--a chunk of +coal. + +"Are you wounded, stranger?" Nick quickly demanded, as he studied the +man's pale face. + +"Not much--not badly, I think," gasped Pylotte, trembling violently. +"But it's lucky you came. They'd surely have killed me." + +Nick noticed that he spoke with a slight foreign accent, and was a man +of considerable physical prowess. + +"There's blood on your face," said he. + +"It came from one of them, I think," said Pylotte, drawing his sleeve +across his cheek to remove the stain. "I must have wounded one of them." + +"It's a pity you did not kill him," said Nick, bluntly. "Was it you who +fired the gun?" + +"Yes. I tried to fire again, but one of them struck me down before I +could do so. The ruffians came upon me before I fairly realized it." + +"Do you know them?" inquired Chick. + +"Only one of them, a man named John David," replied Pylotte, now +appearing to pull himself together. + +"John David, eh?" grunted Nick. + +"He has swindled me, and I--I saw him at a theater to-night, and +afterward followed him out here." + +"For what? If he has swindled you, why didn't you have him arrested at +the theater?" demanded Nick. + +"Well, I--I wanted to learn where he lives. He must have discovered +that he was being followed, and then tried to do me up." + +Nick observed the speaker's faltering manner, and it increased his +curiosity. + +"Why do you wish to know where he lives?" he demanded. + +Pylotte hesitated, and shrugged his shoulders. + +"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," said he, after a moment. + +"Not believe you?" + +"I hardly think so." + +"Suppose you tell me, and see," suggested Nick, with a faint smile. + +"I have no objection to telling you, none at all," Pylotte now replied. +"The man I spoke of, John David, swindled me yesterday with two +artificial diamonds." + +"Ah! is that so?" cried Nick, with a significant glance at Chick. "What +is your name, my man?" + +"Jean Pylotte, sir." + +"Who are you, and where do you live?" + +"I am a Frenchman by birth, and arrived in New York only this week. My +home is in Denver. I am a diamond cutter by trade, and came here to buy +some gems for a Denver woman of wealth, who wishes to obtain a certain +size and quality." + +"Then you are a judge of diamonds?" + +"One of the best," Pylotte modestly admitted, with a faint smile. "I am +an expert judge of diamonds, and so it happened that I discovered the +swindle of which I am a victim." + +"Then you bought a diamond of the man who said his name was John David, +did you?" + +"I bought two, sir," nodded Pylotte. "They appeared like natural and +very perfect stones when I first examined them, but after subjecting +them to more careful tests, I found them to be the most extraordinary +imitations I ever beheld." + +"Artificial diamonds, were they?" + +"Yes, artificial. But only the best of experts, and after the most rigid +tests, could discover the fraud. I never saw such imitations. The stones +are really almost as good as natural ones." + +"Have you them with you?" + +"Yes." + +"You feel quite confident that they were manufactured, do you?" + +"Oh, I am positive of it," cried Pylotte, with emphasis. "That is why I +was secretly following the swindler." + +"You wanted to discover his house, and learn how he made such perfect +imitations, eh? Was that your motive, instead of having him arrested at +the theater?" + +"Well, yes, it was," admitted Pylotte, with feigned reluctance. + +"Do you know any process for manufacturing diamonds?" Nick next +demanded. + +"I am pretty well informed on the subject." + +"Quite an art, isn't it?" + +"Yes, it is." + +"And one that could be made very profitable, perhaps?" + +"I judge so." + +"Put up your revolver," said Nick, abruptly. "What's that black object +you dropped just now?" + +Pylotte glanced down at his feet, then laughed faintly. + +"That's odd," said he. "It's a piece of coal. I must have seized it from +the road, thinking to defend myself with it." + +"What is there odd in that?" + +Pylotte laughed again. + +"Diamonds may be made from coal," said he. "The fact that I should have +got hold of a piece in the road here, while tracking that diamond +swindler in search of his house, strikes me as being rather odd." + +"So it was," said Nick, a bit dryly, thinking of Venner's house in the +near distance. + +Then he added, decisively: + +"Put up your gun, Mr. Pylotte. I want you to go with me. I think you are +the very man I want." + +"Go with you!" exclaimed Pylotte, drawing back. + +"If you please," said Nick, politely. "I want, at least, to hear more of +your story." + +"But who are you, sir?" + +"My name is Nick Carter." + +"Not the celebrated detective?" cried Pylotte, with feigned amazement. + +"Precisely." + +"That's quite sufficient, Mr. Carter!" the Frenchman now cried, with +much bowing and scraping. "I'll go with you when and where you wish. If +any man can run down these swindling ruffians, sir, you certainly are +the man." + +"Thanks," said Nick, dryly. "I'll take you home with me for the night." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +THE GAME UNCOVERED. + + +The following morning. + +The clock in Nick Carter's library was striking nine. + +Nick and Chick were seated at one side of the table, and Jean Pylotte +occupied a chair at the opposite side. + +Upon the dark cloth top of the table between them lay two large +diamonds, declared by Pylotte to have been artificially made, the two +with which he claimed to have been swindled. + +Yet to the eyes of a layman they had all the qualities of natural gems, +gleaming and glistening with magnificent fire in the cheerful sunlight +of Nick's library. + +Pylotte had invented a very clever and consistent story about himself +and his mission in New York, as well as about the meeting and being +victimized by the counterfeit diamond shover, and Nick as yet saw no +occasion for seriously distrusting him, or connecting him with the +Kilgore gang. + +He rather suspected, in fact, that Pylotte had shadowed the swindler, +whom Nick felt sure was Kilgore, with a view to learning just how the +diamonds had been manufactured, and possibly with a design to turn the +discovery to his own advantage. + +This was, indeed, the most natural deduction for Nick to arrive at, +after considering all the circumstances. + +"So you are confident that these stones are works of art, rather than +of nature, are you?" inquired Nick, who had been carefully examining the +gems. + +"I am absolutely sure of it, Mr. Carter," declared Pylotte. + +"Have you any idea how such counterfeits can be made?" + +"Oh, yes." + +"By what process and means, Mr. Pylotte?" + +Pylotte hastened to explain. + +"A natural diamond, Mr. Carter, is pure carbon, crystallized under +enormous heat and pressure in the bowels of the earth." + +"I am aware of that." + +"Charcoal and graphite are also pure carbon, but not in a crystallized +condition," continued Pylotte. "If that condition could be imparted to +the substances mentioned, we should have the artificial diamond." + +"How may that be done?" inquired Nick. + +"By subjecting the substance to the same condition under which the +natural diamond was crystallized." + +"Heat and pressure?" + +"Precisely," bowed Pylotte. "Attempts to thus manufacture diamonds have +frequently been made. A Mr. Acheson, of Pittsburg, while so engaged, and +in obtaining graphite from coal by the heat of an electric furnace, +discovered that combination of silicon and carbon now known as +carborundum, which has commercial value as an abrasive." + +"I know about that," bowed Nick. + +"Now, then," continued Pylotte, with an unconscious display of +enthusiasm; "while diamonds certainly have been made by artificial +means, the great difficulty has been that of producing them at a low +cost. Moissan, in my country, produced diamonds by heating charcoal and +iron to a high degree, and letting the mixture cool under enormous +pressure. He succeeded in obtaining very small crystals, or diamonds, +but the cost of production made his method impracticable from a +commercial standpoint." + +"Ah! I see." + +"In 1872 a chemist named Rose converted graphite into diamonds by a +similar process, but with the same result." + +"The cost of production being too great?" observed Nick. + +"Precisely." + +"Do you think that difficulty has now been overcome?" + +"I am compelled to think so, Mr. Carter," cried Pylotte, pointing to the +two diamonds on the table. + +"You purchased them at a price compelling that belief?" + +"Exactly." + +"Then you think the man of whom you got them has discovered a way to +make such perfect artificial diamonds at a low price?" + +"I certainly do, Mr. Carter." + +"Have you any idea of the machinery and ingredients he might require?" +asked Nick, with a view to getting points by which to locate the diamond +plant. + +Pylotte could easily inform him, and he promptly did so, following the +instructions given him by Dave Kilgore. + +"He would require an electric furnace and a hydraulic press," said he. +"Also the tools for cutting the crude crystals. The ingredients used +would depend upon the process he has discovered, probably coal or +charcoal, and possibly some quantities of iron salts and sulphur." + +"In brief, then, Mr. Pylotte," said Nick, pointing to the diamonds on +the table, "if those stones were made as cheaply as you think, the +diamond market offers the manufacturers of them a field for a most +gigantic swindle, does it not?" + +"Indeed it does!" exclaimed Pylotte, throwing up both hands. "Enormous! +Enormous! Millions could be made by so unparalleled a fraud!" + +"It opens the way, in fact, to the most colossal swindle on record?" + +"Undoubtedly." + +Nick glanced significantly at Chick, then abruptly rose to his feet. +That he had struck the big game which from the first he had suspected, +he now had not a doubt. + +"I require no more of you at present, Mr. Pylotte," said he, with +courteous firmness. "I shall do all in my power to remedy your loss by +this swindle, and to secure the perpetrators of it." + +"Thank you, Detective Carter," bowed Pylotte, with a crafty display of +appreciation and humility. + +"Meantime," added Nick, "you will please take no action in the case, but +leave it entirely to me." + +"I will do so, sir." + +"If you will leave me your city address, or call here again in a few +days, I shall have something to report to you." + +"I will call the day after to-morrow, Detective Carter," said Pylotte, +promptly, too cunning to give Nick a fictitious address. + +"Very well," said Nick. "Call in the evening. And now, Mr. Pylotte, we +will bid you good-morning, and get to work at once upon the case." + +Pylotte bowed very agreeably, taking his artificial diamonds from the +table and replacing them in his pocket; and Nick then conducted him to +the door, again assuring him that no efforts in his behalf should be +spared. + +Pylotte once more expressed his thanks, bowing and smiling as he +descended the steps, and Nick closed the door and returned to the +library. + +"Well, Chick, the bag is open and the cat out," he cried, as he entered. + +"Right you are, Nick." + +"And a monstrous cat it is!" + +"Never a larger one," declared Chick, with a laugh. "By Jove! Nick, if +Kilgore has really found a way to produce such perfect counterfeit +diamonds, his gang could work the greatest swindle ever known, unless +headed off." + +"That is their game, all right," said Nick. "From the very first I have +suspected something extraordinary. They are not the stamp of criminals +to dicker with petty jobs." + +"I should say not." + +"Far from it." + +"One thing is plain." + +"Namely?" + +"Where Cervera gets her diamonds, and of what they consist." + +"True. She certainly is one of the gang." + +"With such counterfeits as those worked upon Pylotte, and one big +jewelry concern to help market the goods, they could clean up millions +in a very short time." + +"No doubt of it. And they have their jewelry concern, all right." + +"Venner & Co.?" + +"Surely." + +"We must get absolute proof of it." + +"That's just what I intend doing, now that we have the game uncovered," +said Nick, grimly. + +"And then proceed to locate the plant where the goods are made, eh?" + +"Precisely." + +"What are your plans?" + +"We'll first get a line on Venner, and see to what it leads," replied +Nick. "There now is a way by which we can call the turn on him, and get +proof of his co-operation with Kilgore and his gang." + +"By getting him to sell us some diamonds?" + +"Exactly." + +"And then proving them to be artificial?" + +"That's the idea." + +"Can you get at him in a way to trap him?" + +"What do you mean?" + +"He may fight shy of us," suggested Chick, "in case he knows of +Pylotte's scrap with the gang last night. He may fear that Pylotte has +discovered the fraud, and reported it to the police." + +"There's not much danger of that," replied Nick. "So stupendous a fraud +would at once be given publicity through the press." + +"That's true." + +"In either case," added Nick, abruptly, "there's a way by which we can +fool him. I'll explain it on the way. Get your make-up box and prepare +to go with me. Since we have the game uncovered, we'll lose no time in +rounding up these accomplished rascals." + +"Good enough!" exclaimed Chick, as he hurriedly arose. "The sooner the +better." + +"We may have ragged work before the job is completed," added Nick. "So +provide yourself with a brace of guns. I'll be ready when you are." + +"Where first?" + +"To the house of Pandu Singe, the snake charmer." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +AT CROSS-PURPOSES. + + +It was not quite noon when Nick Carter and Chick arrived at the house of +the Hindoo snake charmer. + +They found Pandu Singe at home with his interpreter, and the two +detectives were very cordially received. + +Nick quickly disclosed his business. + +"We wish to borrow your personalities for a short time, also some of +your curious garments," he explained to Pandu Singe, through his +interpreter, who also was a Hindoo of superior education. + +The snake charmer appeared greatly surprised at such a request, but Nick +readily invented a very plausible story to serve his purpose, without +disclosing the true occasion. + +He soon persuaded the foreigner to grant his request, moreover, and the +amazement of Pandu Singe and the interpreter were redoubled when they +beheld what followed. + +This was the extraordinary transformation of their visitors. + +Nick had already outlined his plans to Chick, and they at once began +operations. + +First they placed the two Hindoos in chairs near the windows, where the +light revealed every peculiarity of their swarthy features. + +Nick next adjusted a large mirror upon the table, and placed his make-up +box near by. + +Using the interpreter for his pattern, Nick then set to work with +grease paints, powders, false hair, and the like, and at the end of +twenty minutes he had, with most artistic skill, converted himself into +a startling likeness of his model. + +The addition of the garments already provided for him made the +remarkable transformation absolutely complete. + +Chick had not been idle meantime, but with equally clever manipulation +had made himself into a counterfeit presentment of Pandu Singe. + +The astonishment of the two Hindoos, and their delight as they beheld +the progressive changes so artistically made, could scarcely find +expression in words. + +At the end of an hour, when the two detectives stood robed in their +strange Indian attire, one would readily have declared that four genuine +Hindoos, rather than two, occupied the apartment. + +Having thus paved the way to his next move, Nick easily prevailed upon +the Hindoos to remain indoors for a day or two, lest the deception +should be discovered and his designs perverted. + +He and Chick then returned to their waiting carriage, and half an hour +later it drew up at the Fifth Avenue store of Venner & Co. + +Chick alighted and led the way in. + +In order that he might do most of the talking, and shape his course by +whatever might occur, Nick had decided to personate the interpreter. + +Yet both detectives had carefully noticed the peculiar characteristics +of the Hindoo tongue, and believed that they could imitate it so +cleverly as to prevent detection. + +Several facts, which Nick then had no way of knowing, however, operated +very quickly to betray him and the crafty ruse he had adopted, when +Venner personally met them at the store door. + +First, Kilgore had shrewdly reasoned that Nick's first move, after the +disclosures made by Pylotte, would be that of thus getting positive +evidence against Venner; and the crafty diamond swindler had warned +Venner to be on the watch for the detective, and to handle him in a way +to serve their own designs. + +Furthermore, when visiting the theater with Cervera, Venner frequently +had heard Pandu Singe talking with his interpreter; and before Nick +fairly had begun speaking, Venner penetrated his disguise and saw that +he was up against the two detectives. + +Yet, despite the unexpected characters in which he now beheld them, the +nerve of the polished knave did not weaken, nor his countenance in any +way betray him. He at once proceeded to follow Kilgore's instructions. + +"Ah! yes, I recognize both you and your interpreter," said he, in reply +to Nick's dignified greeting. "I have frequently seen Pandu Singe at the +theater, where I am admitted to the stage with Señora Cervera, the +famous Spanish dancer. Perhaps Pandu Singe may have seen me there." + +Nick gravely bowed, then pretended to interpret the remarks to Chick; +who immediately began to bow and smile, at the same time glibly +responding in a jargon that would have staggered a Chinese laundryman, +yet which sounded as much like Hindoo as anything. + +Had his own situation been less serious, and the entire outlook less +desperate, Venner would have laughed at the consummate dignity and +soberness with which the two detectives co-operated in their exchange of +unintelligible talk. + +"My employer, the great Pandu Singe," bowed Nick, "says he remembers the +friend of the great Cervera." + +"Ah! I am glad to hear it," cried Venner, shaking hands with Chick. + +"He has seen the splendid diamonds of the great señora, and has heard +that they came from your magnificent store," Nick then went on to +explain. + +"That is quite right," bowed Venner. "Many of them did come from here. +Is Pandu Singe looking for some diamonds?" + +Nick promptly bowed, and noted a gleam of satisfaction in the depths of +Venner's eyes. + +"The great Pandu Singe soon returns to his own country," replied Nick. +"He wishes to take with him, as a gift to her august excellency, the +Empress of all the Indies, six fine jewels of equal weight and value. He +calls here to learn if you can provide him with them." + +Venner plainly saw the game that was being attempted, and it suited him +to the very letter. + +"Does the great Pandu Singe wish to purchase diamonds?" he asked, +bowing. + +"Diamonds, yes! Are they not for the empress?" + +"I should have thought of that, certainly." + +"Only diamonds will answer." + +"Of large size and the first water?" + +"The great Pandu Singe would consider no other." + +"Alas, then, this is most unfortunate!" Venner now exclaimed, glancing +about the store. "You see that we are making some repairs here, in the +walls of our store and vault." + +"That is plain," bowed Nick. "But what has that to do with the +diamonds?" + +"Only this," replied Venner, with feigned regret. "During these repairs +I have removed all of my most valuable diamonds to a vault in my private +residence." + +"For safer keeping?" + +"Exactly." + +"I will explain to Pandu Singe." + +"Wait a moment," Venner quickly interposed. "Tell him, also, that I have +at my residence the very gems he desires, six magnificent diamonds, +precisely alike in weight, purity and cutting. They cannot be equaled in +New York City, if in the entire country." + +"Are they fit for an empress?" + +"They are fit for a goddess." + +"Ah! that will please Pandu Singe." + +"Tell him, also, that he can purchase them at a marvelously low price," +cried Venner. "Now, if Pandu Singe will come to my house, say early this +evening, he may see the diamonds and examine them at his leisure. Tell +him that, Mr. Interpreter, and say that I will send my carriage for him +immediately after dinner. Say, too, that he may then see the diamonds +both by daylight and lamplight, and so observe all the variety of their +magnificent fire. Really, this will be greatly to the advantage of Pandu +Singe." + +Nick gravely heard him to a finish, and with never a change of +countenance. + +Yet, like a flash, one of those marvelous intuitions characteristic of +this great detective, Nick Carter had suddenly grasped the whole truth. + +That conflict of the previous night, the flight of three of the diamond +gang, Pylotte left comparatively uninjured in the road, his subsequent +disclosures, his extensive knowledge of the diamond-making art, the +hints he had imparted, and now this manifest eagerness of Venner to lure +his ostensible customers to his suburban house--all combined to reveal +to Nick's keen mind the shrewd game by which Kilgore was hoping to +entrap him. + +Nick now knew that Venner recognized both Chick and himself, and was +serving only the Kilgore gang. + +Yet Nick bowed without the slightest self-betrayal, and said, gravely: + +"I will explain the situation to Pandu Singe." + +For several minutes the two detectives maintained their curious game of +talk. + +Then Nick, who had speedily planned his own counter-move, again turned +to Rufus Venner. + +"The great Pandu Singe will do what you suggest," said he. "He wishes to +see the diamonds, and will be pleased to come to your house." + +Venner had felt sure of this to start with, though he little dreamed +that Nick had guessed the truth, and knew that he was recognized. + +"Let it be to-day, then," said he, quickly. + +"At your own pleasure," bowed Nick. + +"I will send my carriage far you at seven this evening," cried Venner, +with secret exultation. + +Nick gravely tendered one of the snake charmer's cards. + +"The great Pandu Singe will not keep your carriage waiting!" said he, +with a dryness to which Venner then was blind. + +"Well, Chick, what say you to that?" demanded Nick, as they were +returning to the house of the snake charmer. + +Chick laughed grimly. + +"I say that we are now up against it." + +"Right! There's a mighty wicked crisis near at hand." + +"No doubt of it, Nick. Venner knew us all right." + +"But he does not suspect that we are aware that he knew us, and in that +at least we have the best of him." + +"We'll turn it to a good account, too." + +"Do you see the game this Kilgore gang is playing?" + +"Plainly, Nick." + +"They aim to lure us both to Venner's house, and there trap us and do us +up." + +"To which latter," said Chick, dryly, "we shall strenuously object." + +"Well, rather!" laughed Nick. "Still, I can see nothing in evading this +question or in making a raid upon Venner's house. If the Kilgore gang +are about to lay for us there, it is evident that their diamond plant is +located elsewhere. They would not take chances of failing to down us, +and then having their plant discovered in the house where they slipped +up." + +"Surely not," admitted Chick. "Kilgore is too shrewd to take those +chances." + +"Undoubtedly." + +For several minutes Nick calmly considered the situation, then bluntly +observed: + +"Chick, I see but one course for us. We must go up against the game, and +give this gang what rope they want." + +"That's just my idea, Nick." + +"In no other way can we make sure of nailing the entire gang, and also +locating their plant. Raiding Venner's house would not accomplish it. +Some of the gang might not be there, or possibly escape us, and we might +search in vain for their plant. Then we should have most of our work to +do over again." + +"That's right, Nick." + +"So we'll take the one sure way, Chick," said Nick, decisively. "We'll +let this gang continue to think they are fooling us, and go up against +them till we get the whole truth." + +"That's good enough for me, Nick," nodded Chick. "I'm with you." + +"It may prove to be a desperate game, but we'll take our chances. Before +night I'll have laid such plans as will best serve us, and possibly +circumvent these scoundrels. Here we are at the house of Pandu Singe." + +Nick dismissed their carriage, and entered the dwelling, where they +decided to remain until evening. Meantime Nick perfected his plans and +discussed them with Chick. + +Then a wire was sent to Patsy, the detective's younger assistant, with +careful instructions. + +Seven o'clock came, then half-past seven, but no sign of Venner's +carriage. + +Nick readily suspected the true reason for the delay. + +"They are waiting until dark," he observed to Chick. "They don't want +our arrival at Venner's house to be observed. A crafty dog, this +Kilgore!" + +"That he is." + +"Never mind. Darkness will serve us best, as well as them." + +"Hark! There's a carriage." + +Nick glanced from the front window. + +"A landau!" he muttered, with grim satisfaction. "Yes, and with Spotty +Dalton on the seat. I know him, despite his disguise. Come on, Chick! +There's rough work to be done in the next two hours." + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +HANDS SHOWED DOWN. + + +Spotty Dalton stood at the door of the open carriage when Nick and Chick +emerged from the house, still clad in the character of Hindoos. + +"Are you sent here by Mr. Venner?" inquired Nick. + +Dalton touched the cloth cap drawn low over his brow, and stroked his +dark, false beard as he replied: + +"Yes, sir," said he, half in his throat. "You're the interpreter, I take +it." + +"At your service." + +"I'm a bit late, but it couldn't be helped. We'll not be long in getting +there." + +"Time does not matter to the great Pandu Singe," replied Nick, as he +followed Chick into the open landau. "The night is still long." + +"It'll be infernally long for you two meddlers," Dalton grimly said to +himself, as he banged the carriage door and mounted to the box. + +Then they rolled rapidly away toward a northern suburb of the city. + +The dusk of evening was already deepening to darkness, a gloom more +noticeable far up in the heavens than among the myriad of lights in the +city streets. For not a star was visible in the murky sky, and away in +the west huge banks of inky clouds were sweeping up toward the zenith, +indicating the rapid approach of a sudden storm. + +"Do you think it is going to rain, driver?" called Nick, from the rear +seat of the carriage. + +"Not soon," Dalton turned to answer; and then he added with grim +significance, which he did not dream would be appreciated: "Whether it +rains or not, you'll be brought back home in a closed carriage." + +"It's my private opinion that the boot will be on the other leg," +thought Nick, smiling faintly at the scoundrel's grim levity. + +For Dalton had implied that Nick would be brought back in a hearse. + +From that time but few words were spoken during the ride, though the +detectives occasionally passed a remark in their meaningless lingo, +merely to keep up appearances. + +At eight o'clock they had left the throbbing body of the city behind +them, and at half-past eight they were speeding along the deserted +suburban road leading to Venner's rather isolated homestead. + +Only the yellow glare of an incandescent lamp here and there now +relieved the terrestrial gloom, but across the distant heavens +intermittent flashes of light, followed by the low, sullen roll of +thunder, told of the approaching storm. + +Soon the lighted windows of Venner's house came into view through the +woodland, and Nick now murmured softly to Chick: + +"If I fail to rejoin you in ten minutes, you will know what to do." + +"You bet!" whispered Chick. "Trust me to do it, too!" + +"Here we are, sirs," cried Dalton, as he pulled up at the gate of the +gravel walk. "You can go right in, while I wait to look after my +horses." + +Chick--as Pandu Singe--pretended to give Nick a brief command, and Nick +alone sprang out upon the sidewalk. + +"Wait here, driver," said he, curtly. "I will return for Pandu Singe in +a few minutes." + +Dalton instantly became suspicious. + +"What's that for?" he abruptly demanded. "Why doesn't his nibs go in +with you now?" + +"It is for me to obey the great Pandu Singe, not question his commands," +replied Nick, with an air of offended dignity. "I shall return for him +when I have followed his instructions." + +"Hold on a bit! I want to know--" + +But Nick had already turned, and was striding up the long gravel walk +leading to the front door of the house. + +Dalton then swung round and began to address Chick, who quickly +signified that he could not understand; whereupon the puzzled scoundrel +remained doubtfully on the box, growling under his breath, and quite at +a loss just what he should do. + +Chick was now counting the seconds and minutes, until he should arrive +at ten. + +Venner, who was waiting with the gang in the house, heard Nick's step on +the wooden veranda, and he hastened to admit him. + +"What's this!" he at once exclaimed, starting. "Where is your master? +You did not come here alone!" + +"No, not alone," replied Nick, entering the hall. "Pandu Singe waits in +the carriage." + +"Waits in the carriage! For what?" + +"He fears the storm may break." + +"Fears the storm!" exclaimed Venner, with a blaze of suspicion leaping +up in his dark eyes. "Surely, then, he will not remain out there." + +"You don't understand," coolly answered Nick, quickly sizing up +everything in view. + +"Don't understand?" + +"Pandu Singe thinks of returning home before the storm shall break. He +has first sent me in to see the diamonds, as I know just what he wants. +If I think well of them, I am to return to the carriage and bring him in +to see them." + +"Oh, that's it, eh?" cried Venner, with unabated misgivings. + +"Am I to see the stones?" demanded Nick. "Pandu Singe will not care to +wait long." + +"Yes, yes," replied Venner, as perplexed as Dalton by Nick's unexpected +move. "Come out this way, where I have them ready to show you." + +Nick bowed and followed him through the hall, and a glance into the two +front rooms, both of which were well lighted, told him they were vacant. + +Nick knew that he was entering a trap, however, and possibly carried +his life in his hand. Yet he had several shrewd designs in the plan of +operations adopted. + +He aimed to prevent both Chick and himself being cornered, and possibly +caught at the same time. Not wishing to evade this gang, and thus reveal +his own knowledge and suspicions, he designed to leave Chick free to act +in case of his own downfall. + +Nick knew that he alone could force Venner and the gang to show their +hands, even if it resulted in his own capture. He rather invited the +latter, in fact, for he knew that the gang would see the need of +instantly removing him from Venner's house, at least until they could +lay hands upon Chick. In this case Nick believed that they might be +compelled to confine him at their diamond plant, the location of which +he thus hoped to discover. + +For these reasons Nick was coolly taking very long chances, at the same +time leaving Chick free to quickly get in his work, in case he himself +went down at the outset. + +Yet there was not a sign of any person save Venner, as Nick followed him +through the hall and into a side room near the rear of the house, +evidently a dining room. + +Nick sized it up with a glance. Electric chandelier; two doors, one by +which he had entered from the hall, and the other leading into a dark +kitchen; two windows, with the curtains closely drawn; several chairs, a +handsome sideboard, and in the middle of the room a large, square table, +covered with a rich damask cloth hanging nearly to the floor. + +Upon the table was also spread a piece of black velvet, on which was +displayed nearly a score of blazing diamonds--the most magnificent +artificial stones ever born of man's restless genius. + +Nick rightly guessed their true character, yet he allowed an ejaculation +of admiration to escape him. + +"Ah! Magnificent!" + +"Look them over," cried Venner, with a swift scrutiny of Nick's swarthy +features. "You'll excuse me for a minute or two. I wish to make sure +that my rear windows and doors are locked. Such gems are a terrible +temptation to thieves." + +"True, sir," bowed Nick. "Take your time. Meanwhile I'll examine the +diamonds. They are splendid! magnificent!" + +Nick rightly guessed that Venner wished to consult some of the gang. He +saw that his entering the house without Chick had thrown their plans +badly out of gear, as he had designed for it to do. + +Venner went into the dark kitchen, rattled a doorknob merely for a +bluff, then crossed the hall and entered the library, closing the door +behind him. + +The room was but dimly lighted, and on the floor stood Dave Kilgore and +Matthew Stall, each with a drawn revolver. + +"What's the meaning of this, Rufe?" Kilgore instantly demanded, in +passionate whispers. + +"How do I know?" Venner hurriedly rejoined, scarce above his breath. +"You heard what he said?" + +"Yes, curse him, but I don't swallow it." + +"Nor I." + +"I can't see into his game." + +"That's just my trouble," cried Venner. "Can he have discovered that we +recognize him?" + +"Impossible! Pylotte is too cunning to have betrayed us in any way." + +This was very true, in fact; but Venner himself had blindly done the +betraying. + +"It doesn't matter, Rufe," Kilgore fiercely added. "We must get them +both." + +"That's my idea." + +"And it's all the easier to get them one at a time." + +"Right you are, Dave." + +"Has he discovered Pylotte?" + +"Surely not!" + +"Go back there, then," hissed Kilgore. "Learn what his game is, if you +can. Force him to show his hand." + +"Leave that to me." + +"Waste no time, however, and on no pretext let him leave the house to +return to the carriage." + +"Not on our lives." + +"A warning whistle will start Pylotte, and we'll be on hand to do our +part," added Kilgore, hurriedly. "Go back at once, and waste not a +moment in getting at his game." + +"Trust me, Dave." + +"We must land Nick Carter and get him away from here before that +running mate of his can make any move against us." + +"That's the stuff." + +"And then we'll plan to get the other. Away with you!" + +These forcible measures were precisely what Nick had felt sure would be +adopted by the gang, and were the very steps to which he had so shrewdly +planned to force them. + +Venner darted softly across the hall and returned to the dining room. + +Nick was still examining the diamonds. + +He stood near the table, at a point midway between the two open doors. +He had selected this position for a very good reason. He was inviting +capture and removal, which he knew must be preceded by an assault; and +he therefore laid himself open from either side, aiming to be put down +and out with as little violence as possible. + +He wanted all his resources for what he knew was very likely to follow. + +Nick was quite as anxious as the gang to force matters, moreover; for at +the end of ten minutes, in case he did not return to the carriage, Chick +was to begin getting in his work. + +Therefore the climax came quickly. + +Six minutes had already passed. + +"Well, sir, what do you think of them?" cried Venner, as he returned to +the room. + +"The diamonds?" queried Nick, tossing several of them back upon the +table. + +"Certainly. What else?" + +"They are all right, Mr. Venner." + +"I thought you would say so." + +"Yes, indeed. They are all right--for what they are!" + +"For what they are?" + +"Precisely." + +"What do you mean by that?" + +"You know what I mean." + +"I do?" snarled Venner, inquiringly, with his frowning eyes shrinking +from Nick's steadfast gaze. + +"Certainly you do," declared Nick. "These diamonds are imitations, not +natural stones. They are the most perfect and marvelous artificial +diamonds ever made. + +"Artificial!" cried Venner, now drawing back. "You are mad, sir! Why, +man, you are away off the track!" + +"Oh, no, I'm not." + +"You are!" + +"Not off the track at all, but very squarely on it," Nick now retorted, +speaking in his own sternly resonant tones. "Hark you, Venner, I am the +one to ask the meaning of this, not you!" + +Venner's hand went stealing toward his hip pocket. + +"So you are showing your true colors, are you?" he cried, with +threatening significance. "By Heaven, you are no Hindoo!" + +"That's right, Venner, I am not," said Nick, quickly throwing off the +loose robe that hid his own apparel, fearing it might impede his +movements. "I am no Hindoo, but am--" + +"Nick Carter!" + +"Exactly!" + +"So this is your game, is it?" Venner fiercely began. "If you think--" + +"Stop right there, Venner," Nick sternly commanded. "Speaking of games, +I am here to discover what sort of a rascally game you and this Kilgore +gang are playing. I have learned enough to show me that you are a knave +and a--" + +"By heavens, Carter--" + +"Stop!" thundered Nick. "Don't pull a gun! If you do, I'll end your--" + +But he got no further, for there the climax came. + +A single sharp whistle sounded from the kitchen. + +Instantly Nick felt a rope noose jerked taut around his ankles, nearly +throwing him from his feet. + +From beneath the table, the hanging cover of which had effectually +concealed him, Jean Pylotte had managed to adjust the noose upon the +floor about Nick's legs. At the signal given him, he had quickly drawn +it taut. + +At the same moment Kilgore and Matt Stall leaped upon Nick from the +kitchen and hall doors, bearing him heavily to the floor, while Venner +ran to clap a revolver to the detective's head. + +"Hang to his feet, Pylotte," cried Kilgore, fiercely. + +"I've got 'em fast," shouted the diamond maker, from under the table. + +"Quit, Carter, or I'll blow your brains out," commanded Venner, with his +pistol at Nick's head. + +Nick had been making a great bluff at putting up an ugly fight, but now +he very agreeably subsided. + +The affair was going precisely as he desired, yet for the sake of +appearances he angrily snarled: + +"Let up, you dogs! So this is your game, is it? Turn that gun another +way, Venner, you miscreant! It might go off, and I'm not fool enough to +invite its contents. This dirty game that you've played--" + +"Dry up!" Kilgore sharply interrupted, while he and Stall quickly +secured Nick's arms with a rope. "You'll not live to know the game that +we have played, Nick Carter." + +"Won't I?" + +"Not if I live!" cried Kilgore, with vicious significance. + +"Well, maybe you'll not live long," retorted Nick. + +"I'll close that saucy trap of yours, at all events," sneered Kilgore. +"Give me that gag, Matt--quick." + +Nick no longer resisted. A glance at the clock on the mantel told him +that nearly ten minutes had passed since he left Chick. He suffered +himself to be gagged, then raised to his feet, from which Pylotte now +cast the line and emerged from under the table. + +Nick bestowed one look upon him, from which the rascal shrank and +shuddered. + +Kilgore now turned quickly to Venner, and hurriedly cried: + +"You remain here, Rufe, and leave us to dispose of this fellow. We'll +run him over yonder, and return as quickly as possible. It's not safe to +keep him here until we have landed his running mate." + +"But--" + +"Don't stop for buts!" cried Kilgore, fiercely. "Go see if you can sight +Chick Carter. If he is still in the carriage, we are all right up to +now. In six or eight minutes go down there and give him to understand +that his interpreter wants him to come in here. Before you reach this +room with him, we three will be back to help you turn him down. Do you +understand?" + +"Sure!" cried Venner, thrusting his weapon back in his pocket. "He +cannot suspect that we have recognized Nick, and he'll come in, all +right." + +"Go, then! We'll be back here in six minutes." + +Venner hastened to one of the front windows of the house and peered out +toward the street. At that moment a flash of lightning, followed by the +nearer roll of thunder, dispelled for an instant the intense gloom of +the night. + +A growl of profound satisfaction broke from Venner while he gazed, and +he muttered exultingly: + +"By Heaven! we're all right! He's waiting in the carriage, and Dalton is +still on the box!" + +Nick was being pushed out of a back door of the house, meantime, and +then across the lawn and through the dark stable. + +The ruffians who were hurrying him away did not stop there, however. +Pylotte ran on ahead, while Kilgore and Matt Stall continued urging the +detective across the grounds, making toward the old wooden mansion in +which their secret plant was located. + +It seemed to them the safest place in which to confine Nick, pending the +delay in getting hands upon Chick. + +Presently they came to a dry ditch, walled at each side, and originally +built for draining the low meadows between the two estates. Into this +they plunged, following it until they arrived near a wooden bulkhead in +the foundation wall of the house. This was the secret way of entering, +to which Cervera had referred the previous night. + +Pylotte already had opened it, and Nick was quickly forced through a +dark cellar. + +"All right," cried Kilgore. "Let us in." + +Instantly the secret stone door was thrown open, and Nick was nearly +blinded by the flood of light in the room into which he was abruptly +thrust. + +He stood in the subterranean chamber of the diamond plant. + +And there, erect on the floor, with her evil countenance a picture of +malicious triumph, stood his crafty combatant of the previous +night--Sanetta Cervera. + +"_Caramba!_" she cried, shrilly, with a vicious laugh. "So you've got +him! Well done, Dave! Well done!" + +"Yes, and we'll presently have the other," cried Kilgore, panting hard +after his exertions. + +"Good for you, Dave," screamed Cervera, exultingly. "But this is the one +I want most--this is the one!" + +"Look lively, Matt. Lend a hand here, and we'll bind him to yonder +chair." + +"And leave Cervera to guard him, eh?" + +"That's the stuff." + +"Can she do it?" + +"Can she!" growled Kilgore, with derisive vehemence. "You let her alone +for that." + +"Yes, yes, let me alone for that!" + +"We must get back to stand by Venner. That Chick Carter is nearly as +tough a customer as this fellow." + +"I guess you'll find that that's no dream," said Nick to himself, as the +ruffians bound him to the chair mentioned. + +Cervera was laughing and capering around as if about to have a fit--yet +her laugh had a terrible and chilling ring. + +"Oh, yes, I'll guard him, Dave," she shrilly cried, with a frightful +menace in her strained voice. "_Caramba_, yes! let me alone for that." + +"So I do," snarled Kilgore. + +"Knot the line fast, Matt--make sure of that," the woman fiercely added. +"Yes, I'll keep him quiet--never doubt that, boys! He shall be like a +baby taking milk. Perdition! but you shall have a sweet time, Mr. Nick, +alone here with Sanetta Cervera!" + +Kilgore paid but little attention to any of this, and only now and then +bestowed a glance upon the vicious woman. + +Within a minute after their arrival at the plant, the gang had Nick +securely bound to a common wooden chair, when they condescended to +remove the gag from his mouth. + +"He may shout himself hoarse here, if he likes," growled Kilgore. "There +will be none to hear him." + +Then he hurried Pylotte and Matt Stall back to the Venner house, to +land Chick Carter. + +Left alone with Nick, Cervera darted to the stone door in the solid +wall, and secured it within. + +There was murder in her glittering eyes when she shot the heavy bolts +into their iron sockets. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +THE BOOT ON THE OTHER LEG. + + +In the heat of action and excitement ten minutes are as nothing. + +The time seems longer, however, when one sits waiting in a motionless +carriage, enveloped in the gloom of night, with grim distrust and +uncertainty acting like spurs in the sides of one's impatience. + +Before five minutes had fairly passed, after Nick's departure, Spotty +Dalton had suffered his misgivings to the very limit of his endurance. + +Chick sat mentally counting the passing seconds, then scoring each +departed minute with his fingers, of which he had exhausted four and a +thumb, the entire complement of one hand; and all the while his eyes +were riveted with intense vigilance upon the growling ruffian on the +seat above him. + +Had Dalton ventured so much as a move to leave his perch, Chick would +have been after him like a terrier after a rat. + +At the end of five minutes, however, Dalton made a preliminary move. He +hitched the reins around the whipstock, then stared for a second or two +toward Venner's house, fifty yards away through the surrounding park. + +Then he suddenly swung round on his seat, and growled ferociously at +Chick, at the same time signifying with gestures the communication he +imagined would not be verbally understood: + +"See here, you swarthy-faced snake fiend, I'm bound up yonder, to see +what's going on! You sit where you are, d'ye hear, and I'll be back in a +jiffy, if things are all right! If they're not, ---- you, I'll be back +just the same--with a gun!" + +As if moved by a wish to understand him, Chick arose in the body of the +carriage while Dalton was thus declaring himself. He heard and +understood, all right, and it necessitated his getting in his work a +little earlier than was planned. For Chick would take no such chances as +this that Nick's operations in the house would be interfered with. + +As the last word left Dalton's lips, the arm of the detective shot out +through the darkness, and closed with the grip of a vise around the +ruffian's neck, throttling him to silence. + +"With a gun, eh?" Chick fiercely muttered, yanking Dalton backward into +the body of the carriage. "You open your lips again for so much as a +whisper, and I'll close them with six inches of cold steel." + +In the glare of a distant lightning flash, Dalton, though struggling +furiously, caught the gleam of a polished blade at his throat, and a +glimpse of the flaming eyes in the face above him. + +He shrank, gasping for breath, as the truth dawned upon him; and then +the voice of another sounded close beside the open carriage. + +"Want any help, Chick?" + +Nick's youthful assistant, to whom a wire had been sent from the house +of the snake charmer, had appeared like an apparition out of the +roadside gloom. + +"Ah! you're here, Patsy!" muttered Chick. "Yes. Clap a gag into this +cur's mouth. We'll choke off his pipes first of all." + +Dalton uttered a vicious growl, then felt the point of the knife pierce +the skin at his throat, and he wisely relapsed into silence. + +For Patsy to fish out a gag, and bind it securely in the scoundrel's +mouth, was the work of a few moments only. + +Then Chick jerked Dalton up from the rear cushion and out into the road, +in far less time than is taken to record it. + +"Off with his coat and hat, Patsy," he hurriedly commanded. "Now the +false beard, my lad. Now get into them yourself, as quickly as you can." + +"I'm all in, Chick," chuckled Patsy, working like a trooper. + +"Got all the traps with you?" + +"Sure!" + +"Clap the bracelets on him, then. Now give me a second pair, and a strip +of line. That's the stuff." + +"Oh, I brought the whole shooting match," laughed Patsy. + +"Good for you! Now mount to the box, and leave this dog to me. I'll +return in half a minute." + +Patsy climbed up to the seat from which Dalton had been so speedily +snatched and overcome, and Chick now ran the rascal a rod or more into +the woodland on the opposite side of the road. + +There he threw him to the ground beside a small oak, around the trunk of +which he quickly twined Dalton's legs, and then fastened them at the +ankles with a pair of irons. + +"I reckon you'll stay there quietly until I want you, barring that you +pull up the tree," he grimly remarked, as he turned to hasten back to +the carriage, in which he quickly resumed his seat. + +A moment later Venner peered from the distant window--and was satisfied +with what he saw. + +Five minutes later he came striding down the walk and approached the +carriage. Without a word to the driver, whom he supposed to be Dalton, +he opened the carriage door and laid his hand on Chick's arm, at the +same time pointing toward the house. + +Chick signified that he understood, and held out both hands, as if he +wished to be helped to the sidewalk. + +Venner promptly raised both of his--only to suddenly hear a quick, +metallic snap, and feel links of cold steel confining his wrists. Their +icy chill went through him like a knife, and he reeled as if stricken a +blow. + +"Good God!" he gasped, hoarsely. "What's this?" + +Chick and Patsy were already beside him. + +"This," said Chick, sternly, "is your wind-up!" + +"My--" + +"Stop! Not a loud word, Mr. Venner, or worse will be yours! Now tell me +in whispers--where is Nick Carter?" + +The sight of a revolver thrust under his nose had a potent effect upon +the dismayed man, yet even while he saw that he was cornered, he seized +upon the hope that Kilgore and the gang might discover and release him. + +"Find him yourself, if you want him!" he hissed through his teeth, with +an ugly frown. "I'm cursed if I'll inform you!" + +Chick did not delay for arguments or persuasion. With Patsy's help he +speedily put Venner in the same helpless condition in which he had left +Dalton, stretched upon the ground, within a rod of one another. + +Then he threw off his disguise, and shifted his revolvers to his side +pockets. + +"Now for yonder house, Patsy, and to see what the remainder of this gang +are at," said he. "Come with me, and have your guns ready." + +"I'm with you," cried Patsy, coolly. "Guns and all." + +A dash up the gravel walk brought them to the front door, which Venner +had left partly open. + +There they paused and listened. + +Not a sound came from within the house; but overhead the tempest now was +breaking, with frequent crashing peals of thunder, and flashes of +lightning that illumined all the landscape. Rain, too, now began pelting +down on the veranda roof. + +"We'll steal in and see what we can find," whispered Chick, drawing one +of his revolvers. + +"Go it, then." + +He led the way, and Patsy followed. The silence in the house mystified +them at first. It appeared to have been entirely deserted. + +When they reached the door of the dining room, however, Chick discovered +on the floor the disguise which Nick had discarded. + +"I have it, Patsy," he cried, softly. "They have nailed Nick, just as he +expected, and have taken him somewhere to confine him." + +"Perhaps in the cellar," suggested Patsy. + +"I hardly think so, yet we'll have a look." + +Moving as quietly as shadows, they entered the kitchen and easily +located the cellar door. It was closed and locked, with the key +remaining. + +"Evidently they're not down there," whispered Chick. + +"Let's try the upper floors," suggested Patsy. "They may be laying for +us up there, but I reckon we're good for them." + +"We'll take the chance, surely. Come on." + +They crept through the hall again, and then mounted the broad stairway, +which led to the next floor. + +There the utter silence and the semidarkness quickly convinced them that +they were on the wrong track. + +"The stable," muttered Chick, suddenly. "We'll try the stable." + +"They certainly have vamosed this ranch," remarked Patsy. + +"Plainly. Come on, then, and we'll try the stable." + +Together they started downstairs. + +A moment later Kilgore, Pylotte and Matt Stall came flurrying into the +house by the rear door. + +In the bright light of the broad hall each party discovered the other +at precisely the same moment, and Kilgore instantly guessed the truth. + +With a cry of rage, he whipped out his revolver and fired point-blank at +the two men on the stairs. + +"Down 'em, boys!" he yelled furiously. "Down 'em, or our game is done +for!" + +His bullet glanced from the baluster rail near Chick, and buried itself +in the wall behind him. + +"Drop them, Patsy!" he shouted, instantly. "Shoot to kill! It's them or +us!" + +"Let her go, Gallagher!" roared Patsy, pulling both guns. + +Then, amid the tumult of the breaking tempest outside, there began a +fusillade the thunder of which rivaled that of the night, and which, +though comparatively brief, was as fast and furious as any man there had +ever experienced. + +Pylotte went down at the first shot from Chick, however, with a bullet +in his brain. + +Then shot followed shot with lightning rapidity. + +Both detectives sprang down several stairs to evade the rain of lead, +for both Kilgore and Stall were rapidly emptying two revolvers. + +A bullet singed Patsy's ear. + +Another dislodged Chick's hat. + +Then Kilgore reeled with a slight wound in his left arm. + +A score of shots were fired and wasted, meantime, for all hands were +dodging about the hall and stairs in an utterly indescribable fashion. + +It was the warmest kind of a fight for fully three minutes. + +Then Chick got a line on Matt Stall from behind the baluster post, and +dropped him with a ragged wound in his hip. + +Stall fell with a yell of rage and pain, and Kilgore found himself +alone, and against odds. + +He turned like a flash, and darted out of the rear door of the house. + +He knew that the game was up, his confederates done for, and his own +chances of escape but small; and the situation stirred to their very +depths the worst elements of this lifelong criminal. + +But one thought possessed him--that of revenge, that of destroying the +chief cause of his downfall--Nick Carter. + +With this end in view, Kilgore tore like a madman through the blinding +rain of that tempestuous night, and shaped his course back to the +diamond plant. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +AN ONLY RESOURCE. + + +Despite the corner in which he had placed himself, a situation far more +desperate than he at first imagined, Nick Carter was congratulating +himself upon the success of his ruse by which he had so quickly located +the secret plant of the diamond swindlers, even at the sacrifice of his +personal freedom. + +The fact that he now sat bound in a chair in the hidden stronghold of +the gang, watched only by Cervera, did not seriously disturb the +fearless detective. + +Nick had been in many a worse corner than this, or in corners believed +to be worse, and he felt confident of pulling out of the scrape with a +whole skin, and with most of the gang in custody. + +He had surveyed his surroundings with more than cursory interest, +therefore, while Kilgore and his confederates were binding his arms to +the rounds of the chair back, and his ankles to the legs of the same. + +The rough foundation walls of the house, the massive stone wall built +across the cellar to mask the secret chamber, the elaborate electric +furnace, the huge hydraulic press, the workbench and tools, the powerful +arc light pendent from the ceiling--half an eye would have convinced +Nick that he occupied the workroom of that master craftsman whose +chemical knowledge and inventive genius had given birth to a most +marvelous production, long, earnestly, yet vainly, sought by others-- + +The production of an artificial diamond! + +Not until Nick heard the stone door forcibly closed, and its iron bolts +shot violently into their sockets, did he pay serious attention to +Cervera, the venomous Spanish vixen left to guard him. + +Then, as she swung round toward him, he took a sharper look at her +darkly magnificent face, and was thrilled despite him by the +extraordinary changes it had undergone. + +It had lost its beauty. Its olive flush had given place to a chalky +whiteness. The radiance of her eyes had become a merciless glitter, like +the glint cast from the eyes of a serpent. The reflection of a consuming +passion for vengeance had transfigured her countenance, till it had +become like the face of a fiend. + +Though Nick saw at a glance that his situation had taken on an +unexpected and desperate phase, he suppressed any betrayal of it. He met +the woman eye to eye, while she briefly paused and faced him, with a +cruel smile curling her gray lips. + +"So I have you now, Nick Carter," she cried, with mocking significance. + +"Well, yes, in a way," admitted Nick, coolly. + +"I have you in my power," hissed Cervera, with a vicious display of +satisfaction. + +"Ah! that's different," said Nick. + +"How different?" + +"That you have me in your power remains to be demonstrated." + +"Are we not alone here, you fool?" + +"Yes, very much alone." + +"And you helpless?" + +"Apparently." + +"If I wish, Nick Carter, I can kill you." + +"Then pray don't wish it," said Nick. "I am still too young to be +heartlessly slain, even by so beautiful and accomplished a woman." + +"_Caramba!_ you mock me!" cried Cervera, darting toward him with eyes +ablaze and her lithe figure quivering with passion. "You mock me!--you +shall repent it! Perdition! you shall repent it!" + +"Is that so?" + +"You shall repent it, I say!" + +"In this world, or in the next?" inquired Nick, bent upon prolonging the +scene as much as possible, with a hope that Chick might suddenly turn +up. + +Cervera did not answer him immediately. She wheeled again and darted to +the door, once more to make sure that she had secured its bolts. + +She was clad in the black dress in which she had escaped from Nick the +previous night, the somber hue of which was relieved only by occasional +flashes of her dainty white lace underskirts, as she swept quickly from +place to place, with her lithe figure crouching at times, and her every +movement as swift and impulsive as that of a startled leopard. + +As he sat watching her, Nick was reminded of her matchless work upon +the stage, thrilling men and women alike with her wild grace and the +fiery passion of her indescribable dances. + +She returned to confront him after a moment, crouching before him, with +her glowing eyes fixed on his. + +"In the next world--not in this!" she now replied, with a voice that cut +the air like the snap of a whip. "You'd have brief time for repentance +in this." + +"So you've decided to do the job, have you?" Nick coolly demanded. + +"Yes." + +"Well, I'm sorry to hear it." + +"Here is where we even up accounts." + +"Even them up, eh?" + +"You heard what I said." + +"But I wasn't aware that I have so very much the best of you." + +"You have." + +"How so?" + +"_Caramba!_ you know too much!" + +"Ah! you mean about that girl." + +"Yes." + +"I see," nodded Nick, secretly working in vain to loose the ropes +confining his arms. "Well, señora, as a matter of fact, I am rather +likely to make things unpleasant for you one of these days." + +"It will be this day, or never. You'll not live to see another." + +"Possibly not." + +"_Caramba!_ do you doubt it?" + +She darted nearer to him, with her hand tearing open the waist of her +dress, and then the gleam of a poniard met Nick's gaze. She swept it +before his eyes with a wild gesture, and gave vent to a mocking laugh. + +"Do you doubt that I can slay you?" + +"Not at all," answered Nick. "It's very evident." + +"Or that I will?" + +"That appears equally manifest." + +"So it is!" hissed Cervera, with vicious intensity. "I intend to do it! +Do you hear, Nick Carter? I intend to do it!" + +"Oh, yes, I hear you." + +"Why don't you shrink? Why don't you plead for mercy?" + +"What's the use?" + +She answered him with a laugh that made the room ring. + +"Besides," added Nick, "it's not my style to show the white feather." + +"We'll see! _Caramba!_ we will see!" + +She came nearer to him, crouching before him, so near that her breath +fell hot upon his cheeks. Then, with a quick movement, she pressed the +point of the blade through his clothing, till it pricked the flesh above +his heart. + +With his arms bound, with his ankles secured to the legs of the chair, +Nick appeared utterly at her mercy--of which she had none. + +Despite himself, Nick shrank slightly from the wound, and for the first +time shuddered at the peril by which he was menaced, and from which +there seemed to be no avenue of escape. + +Cervera laughed again, a laugh freighted with the terrible ring of +madness. + +"Did it hurt you?" she screamed, with her glittering eyes raised to +search his. "Perdition! I hope so! You have tortured me with a thousand +fears. I'd like to repay you with a thousand pangs!" + +Nick's eyes took on an ugly gleam. + +"Why don't you do so, then?" he growled. + +"I would, if I had the time," cried Cervera, through her teeth. + +"You have all there is." + +"Ten thousand times I'd thrust it into you--thus! thus!" + +Nick set his jaws and met the blade without flinching. + +Twice the vicious demon thrust it through his clothing, and now two +crimson stains of blood on his shirt front followed the withdrawal of +the weapon. + +"See! see!" screamed Cervera, triumphantly, with her terrible face +upturned to his gaze. "You're beginning to bleed! Did you know that the +sight of blood affects me as it does a leopard? I thirst for more--if +that of one I hate! When next I strike you, I shall strike deeper!" + +That she fully intended to murder him, Nick now, had not a doubt. The +homicidal madness was in her eyes, in her every feature, her every +motion, and it rang in every word that fell from her bloodless lips. + +Yet the inflexible nerve of the detective did not for a moment desert +him. + +"Send the blade home at once, if you like," he said, with a scornful +frown. + +"Not yet--not yet!" she cried, shrilly. "There'll be time for that." + +"Time and to spare," sneered Nick. + +"I first wish to torture you, as you've tortured me!" + +"Go ahead, then." + +"Once more! Are you ready?" + +"Let it come." + +Again she drew back the glittering blade, only to mock him with several +pretended thrusts, hoping thus to create and prolong an agony of fear +and suspense. + +A more viciously cruel and vindictive creature never drew the breath of +life. + +She laughed again, and slowly pressed the weapon closer--and then, with +a sudden startled cry, she drew back and leaped to her feet. + +A noise like that of a mighty cannonade seemed to shake even the solid +walls of this buried chamber. + +It was the crash of thunder in the heavens overhead. + +It was Cervera's first intimation of the terrible tempest that had been +gathering outside. + +At first she thought the sound was that of revolvers, and she darted to +the door and listened, pressing her ear to the wall. + +The instant her back was turned, Nick made a desperate attempt to free +himself, straining cords and muscles under the determined effort. It +proved vain, however. The ropes held him as if made of twisted steel. + +Yet in his brief but desperate struggle his right arm came in contact +with an object in the side pocket of his sack coat. + +The object was a box nearly filled with parlor matches--one of the most +dangerous and treacherous creations of man's inventive genius. + +Like a sudden revelation, or a bolt out of the blue, there leaped up in +Nick's mind a possible way of escape. + +He thought of Cervera's garments, of the fluffy lace skirts beneath her +gown, to which a single flash of fire would instantly prove fatal. + +The resort to such means seemed horrible--yet Nick well knew it was the +one and only resource left him. + +He glanced sharply at Cervera. She was still listening at the door, with +her evil face a picture of intense suspense. + +With a quick turn of his wrist, Nick succeeded in extracting the box +from his pocket. Then he forced it open, and with a move of his hand he +scattered its entire contents over the floor around his chair. The tiny +matches fell with scarce a sound, and Cervera, ten feet away, failed to +hear them. + +Then Nick quietly worked his chair back a foot or two, in order to bring +some of the fateful things upon the floor directly in front of him. + +A moment later Cervera turned from the door. + +"Thunder--it was thunder," she muttered, under her breath. "There's a +storm outside." + +"Somebody coming?" queried Nick, with taunting accents. + +He now aimed to provoke her, to force the situation to a climax, lest +any mischance should have befallen Chick, or perverted in any way his +own designs upon Kilgore and the gang. His taunting remark proved +effective, moreover. + +With a snarl of rage Cervera darted toward him, with eyes for him alone, +never for the floor. + +"You dog!" she cried, through her white teeth. + +"Do you mock me again?" + +"Oh! no, of course not," sneered Nick. + +"You lie! You do! You think some one will come--that you will then +escape me," screamed Cervera, quivering through and through with +venomous passion. + +Nick watched her as a cat watches a mouse. + +Her face was ghastly and distorted, her breast heaving, her every nerve +quivering, and her eyes were like balls of fire under their knitted +brows. + +Still clutching the poniard, her jeweled fingers worked convulsively +around its haft, like those of one who fain would strike a death blow, +yet whose hand was briefly held by consuming horror. + +Suddenly she darted nearer, with a vicious snarl. + +"You think you'll escape me," she screamed, with bitter ferocity. "It +shows in your eyes. I'll make sure that you don't. Let come who may, you +shall be found--dead! Dead!--do you hear?" + +"Oh! yes, I hear." + +"Yet you do not fear? We'll see--we'll see!" + +She darted closer to him, with the weapon raised, above her head, and +her knee touched Nick's knee. He swung quickly around toward her, and +scraped his feet over the floor below her skirts. + +Then came a quick, furious snapping, like the noise of a miniature +fusillade. A score of the matches had been ignited by Nick's swift move. + +Almost instantly a shriek of terror broke from Cervera's lips, and she +reeled back, clutching wildly at her skirts. + +"My God! I'm on fire!--on fire!" she screamed, with a voice so intense +in its agony as to have chilled a man of stone. + +A roar came from Nick as he sighted the flames under her gown. + +"Release me! Release me!" he thundered, furiously, with a voice that +drowned her frightful screams. "Cut me loose--loose! It's your only +hope--your only hope!" + +She heard him like one in a nightmare of agony and terror, and her +instinct rather than her reason responded to his thundering commands. + +Still with the poniard in her jeweled hand, still shrieking wildly, she +leaped to his side, and with a single sweep of the keen weapon severed +the rope binding his arms. + +Then Nick snatched the poniard from her hand. With several swift cuts +and slashes he released his limbs, and sprang quickly to his feet. + +He had already shaped his course. He had observed on the sulphur +barrels, near the wall, a strip of matting, used as a cover for them. +Nick snatched it from the barrels, and rushed to wrap it around the +skirts and limbs of the terror-stricken woman. + +For several moments the result seemed doubtful, so doubtful that Nick +finally threw Cervera heavily to the floor, the better to press the +matting closely around her and so smother the flames. In this he +presently succeeded, but not before she was so severely burned as to be +rendered utterly helpless. + +When Nick arose to his feet Cervera remained lying prostrate on the +floor, moaning with pain, yet in a state of semi-consciousness only. A +glance told Nick that she could make no move to escape, and he now had +other work than that of looking to her comfort. + +He ran to the stone door, threw the bolts, and quickly dragged it open. + +Even as he did so, from out of the gloom of the adjoining cellar, a man +came into view, as if suddenly arisen from the ground. + +The man was Dave Kilgore. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +THE LAST TRICK. + + +"Carter!" + +"Kilgore!" + +Each man uttered the name of the other, as if with the same breath. The +meeting came so suddenly that, for the bare fraction of a second, both +men were nonplused. + +Then both whipped out a weapon. + +Crack! + +Bang! + +They fired together, and both missed, Nick's usually accurate aim being +spoiled by the gloom of the cellar. + +Kilgore instantly sprang further away in the darkness, and aimed again. + +The hammer of his weapon fell as usual, but there was no report. In his +recent fight at the Venner house he had emptied both of his revolvers, +save the one bullet that had just missed Nick Carter. + +Then Kilgore, failing to have found Nick at his mercy, thought only of +making his own escape. He turned and ran toward the open door by which +he had entered. + +At that moment Chick's ringing voice sounded from outside. + +"This way! this way, Patsy!" he cried, louder than the rolling thunder +overhead. "I've found the rat hole!" + +"I'm with you," yelled Patsy. + +They were already at the door. + +By the frequent flashes of lightning they had, after the fight at +Venner's, succeeded in following Kilgore across the meadows, and they +well knew that he was headed to get even with Nick. + +Now Nick's voice rang through the cellar. + +"Look out for him, Chick," he commanded. "He's coming that way. Look out +for his gun." + +"Hurrah!" roared Chick, the moment he heard Nick's voice. "Let him come, +gun and all!" + +Kilgore saw his flight cut off in that direction, but he knew every inch +of the house. He turned like a rat in the darkness, and made for the +stairs leading to the floor above. Up these he hurriedly scrambled. + +Nick heard him through the gloom, and followed him, pitching headlong at +the foot of the stairs just as Kilgore opened the door leading to the +hall above. + +There the dim rays from a hall lamp revealed the man for an instant, and +showed Nick the way. He was up again and after Kilgore like a hound +after a fox. + +Kilgore dashed through the hall, but dared not take time to unlock and +open the front door of the house. He had a profound respect for the +revolver in the hand of his pursuer, who already had reached the hall. + +It was a flight for life, and Kilgore knew it. + +He turned like a flash and darted up the stairs, making for the second +floor. Three at a stride he covered, and succeeded in reaching the +corridor above before Nick could get a line on him. + +Nick followed, gun in hand. + +On the second floor Kilgore darted into a dark chamber, and then +through that to one adjoining it, where he waited till he heard Nick +plunging into the one first mentioned. + +Then Kilgore slipped out into the hall again, hoping to retrace his +steps downstairs and escape by the front door. + +In the way of that, however, Chick and Patsy were now in the lower hall, +the former shouting lustily up the stairs: + +"Run him down, Nick! Run him down! We'll cover this way of escape!" + +An involuntary oath broke from Kilgore's lips, and at the same moment a +vivid flash of lightning from the inky heavens illumined all the house. + +From the chamber in which he stood, Nick again caught sight of his man, +and was after him in an instant. + +Kilgore heard him coming, and again fled through the hall and up another +flight of stairs. + +"You'd better throw up your hands," roared Nick, as he followed. + +The answer came back with a yell of defiance: + +"Not on your life!" + +"You're a lost dog," cried Nick, hoping to keep him replying. + +"You'll not get me alive!" + +"Then I'll get you dead!" cried Nick, as he mounted the stairs. + +"You haven't got me yet!" + +"Next door to it, my man." + +This brought no answer. + +In a moment Nick reached the second hall, where he briefly paused to +listen. Save the rain beating on the roof of the house, only one sound +reached his strained ears. It was like that of some one hammering +against the side of the house with some heavy object. For a moment the +detective was puzzled. He could not fathom the meaning of such a sound. + +Then a gust of damp night air rushed through the hall and swept Nick's +cheek. + +"Ah! an open window!" he muttered. "That's easily located." + +He groped his way into one of the rear chambers. There the night air was +sweeping in through an open window, to the sill of which Nick quickly +sprang. + +Now the noise he had heard was instantly explained. + +Cornered like a rat, yet viciously resolute to the last, Kilgore had, in +order to make his escape, resorted to a means from which a less cool and +nervy scoundrel would have shrunk on such a night as that. + +He had, by reaching far out of the window, been able to grasp an +old-fashioned lightning rod with which the ancient wooden mansion was +provided, and by which he proposed to descend to the ground. Under the +swindler's weight, the beating of this swaying rod against the side of +the house was the sound Nick had heard. + +Kilgore, whose courage was worthy a far better cause, already was +halfway to the ground. + +Yet Nick had no idea of letting the knave escape thus, and he raised his +weapon to fire. + +There was no need for a bullet, however, for the hand of the Almighty +did the work. + +From the black vault of the heavens a bolt of liquid fire suddenly shot +earthward, with a crash of thunder that seemed to rend the entire +firmament. + +The fiery bolt reached the earth--but it reached it through the rod to +which Dave Kilgore was desperately clinging. + +Not a sound came from the doomed man as he went down--or if there was a +sound, it was drowned by the deafening crash and successive +reverberations of thunder. + +Before Nick had fairly recovered from the blinding light and terrific +concussion, he heard the voice of Chick yelling loudly from below: + +"Nick, Nick, come down here! The house is afire. The whole house is +afire!" + +Nick heard and darted for the stairs, at once realizing how well the +lightning had done its terrific work. Before he could reach the lower +hall, dense volumes of smoke were pouring through the house, and one +entire side of the fated dwelling was in flames. + +Nick thought of the woman in the cellar below, and, with Chick and Patsy +at his heels, he led the way to the diamond plant. The electric light +had been extinguished by the lightning stroke, but Nick soon located the +body of Cervera, and together the detectives brought her out and laid +her upon the ground some rods away from the burning dwelling. + +"She's done for, poor wretch!" muttered Nick, as he looked at her +bloodless face. + +He was right. + +Señora Cervera had danced her last dance--a terrible one it was! She +had lapsed into a merciful unconsciousness, from which she never +emerged. + +Next came Kilgore, and they easily found him. He lay stretched upon the +ground, dead and scorched almost beyond recognition, at the base of the +metallic rod through which he had met his fate. + +"Lend a hand here," said Nick. "We'll place him with his confederate +until we can have them properly removed." + +"So be it," said Chick, gravely. "It's about the last we can do for +them, and this nearly ends our work on this job." + +"You've got the others?" + +"Every man of them." + +"Well done!" nodded Nick, as they raised the lifeless form between them. +"Behold the way of the transgressor." + +"Hark!" exclaimed Patsy. "There goes the fire alarm. In three minutes +there'll be a mob about here." + +"Much good the firemen will do," rejoined Nick. "That house is doomed, +and all that's in it." + +He was right. With the passing of the tempest, and the first sign of a +star in the eastern sky, all that remained of the house above the +diamond plant was a heap of red, smoldering embers, filling the cellar +and the secret chamber--and blotting out, though perhaps not forever, +the secret art of that misguided genius, Jean Pylotte, dead with a +bullet in his brain, on the floor of Rufus Venner's hall. + +There remains but little to complete the record of this strange and +stirring case. + +Before morning Nick had lodged Venner and Spotty Dalton in the Tombs, +and had Garside arrested at his residence. The lifeless bodies of their +three confederates,--Cervera having died at dawn--were taken to the +Morgue. + +Early the following day, Harry Boyden, the young man arrested for the +murder of Mary Barton, was discharged from custody, and hastened to the +home of Violet Page, to make her happy with the news of his release and +his story of Nick Carter's extraordinary work. Both called upon Nick a +day or two later, and expressed their gratitude and affection in terms +which here need no recital. Incidentally it may be added that they were +married, as planned, the following summer. + +How strangely the circumstances and experiences of life are knit and +bound together. But for the vicious crime of a jealous woman, Nick might +have labored long, and possibly vainly, to run down the Kilgore gang and +their extraordinary criminal project, in which Cervera so strongly +figured. It was as Nick said, the two crimes seemed bound together as if +with links of steel. + +In the trial which preceded the conviction and punishment of the three +living members of the gang, Nick learned all of the facts of the case. + +Venner & Co., it appeared, were on their last legs, and went into the +game to square themselves, the design being to market vast quantities of +the artificial diamonds. With this project in view, Venner had purchased +the house at the rear of his own, under the name of Dr. Magruder, and +there had established the plant. How well the scheme would have +succeeded, but for Nick Carter, will never be known. + +At all events, in the stock of Venner & Co. were found numerous stones +which only the most proficient experts could prove to be artificial; and +even to this day it is intimated that, among the bejeweled women of New +York there are some unconsciously wearing the manufactured diamonds of +Jean Pylotte. What matters, however, since where ignorance is bliss it +is folly to be wise? + +Jean Pylotte: His art died with him, alas! For in the ruins of the +diamond plant there could be found no evidence sufficient to reveal his +great secret. + +Surely it had opened the way to a great swindle, the possibilities of +which can hardly be conceived. But, fortunately, in the way of it had +come-- + +Nick Carter. + + +THE END. + + + + +NICK CARTER STORIES + +New Magnet Library + +PRICE, FIFTEEN CENTS + +_Not a Dull Book in This List_ + + +Nick Carter stands for an interesting detective story. The fact that the +books in this line are so uniformly good is entirely due to the work of +a specialist. The man who wrote these stories produced no other type of +fiction. His mind was concentrated upon the creation of new plots and +situations in which his hero emerged triumphantly from all sorts of +trouble, and landed the criminal just where he should be--behind the +bars. + +The author of these stories knew more about writing detective stories +than any other single person. + +Following is a list of the best Nick Carter stories. They have been +selected with extreme care, and we unhesitatingly recommend each of them +as being fully as interesting as any detective story between cloth +covers which sells at ten times the price. + +If you do not know Nick Carter, buy a copy of any of the New Magnet +Library books, and get acquainted. He will surprise and delight you. + +_ALL TITLES ALWAYS IN PRINT_ + + +850--Wanted: A Clew By Nicholas Carter +851--A Tangled Skein By Nicholas Carter +852--The Bullion Mystery By Nicholas Carter +853--The Man of Riddles By Nicholas Carter +854--A Miscarriage of Justice By Nicholas Carter +855--The Gloved Hand By Nicholas Carter +856--Spoilers and the Spoils By Nicholas Carter +857--The Deeper Game By Nicholas Carter +858--Bolts from Blue Skies By Nicholas Carter +859--Unseen Foes By Nicholas Carter +860--Knaves in High Places By Nicholas Carter +861--The Microbe of Crime By Nicholas Carter +862--In the Toils of Fear By Nicholas Carter +863--A Heritage of Trouble By Nicholas Carter +864--Called to Account By Nicholas Carter +865--The Just and the Unjust By Nicholas Carter +866--Instinct at Fault By Nicholas Carter +867--A Rogue Worth Trapping By Nicholas Carter +868--A Rope of Slender Threads By Nicholas Carter +869--The Last Call By Nicholas Carter +870--The Spoils of Chance By Nicholas Carter +871--A Struggle With Destiny By Nicholas Carter +872--The Slave of Crime By Nicholas Carter +873--The Crook's Blind By Nicholas Carter +874--A Rascal of Quality By Nicholas Carter +875--With Shackles of Fire By Nicholas Carter +876--The Man Who Changed Faces By Nicholas Carter +877--The Fixed Alibi By Nicholas Carter +878--Out With the Tide By Nicholas Carter +879--The Soul Destroyers By Nicholas Carter +880--The Wages of Rascality By Nicholas Carter +881--Birds of Prey By Nicholas Carter +882--When Destruction Threatens By Nicholas Carter +883--The Keeper of Black Hounds By Nicholas Carter +884--The Door of Doubt By Nicholas Carter +885--The Wolf Within By Nicholas Carter +886--A Perilous Parole By Nicholas Carter +887--The Trail of the Fingerprints By Nicholas Carter +888--Dodging the Law By Nicholas Carter +889--A Crime in Paradise By Nicholas Carter +890--On the Ragged Edge By Nicholas Carter +891--The Red God of Tragedy By Nicholas Carter +892--The Man Who Paid By Nicholas Carter +893--The Blind Man's Daughter By Nicholas Carter +894--One Object in Life By Nicholas Carter +895--As a Crook Sows By Nicholas Carter +896--In Record Time By Nicholas Carter +897--Held in Suspense By Nicholas Carter +898--The $100,000 Kiss By Nicholas Carter +890--Just One Slip By Nicholas Carter +900--On a Million-dollar Trail By Nicholas Carter +901--A Weird Treasure By Nicholas Carter +902--The Middle Link By Nicholas Carter +903--To the Ends of the Earth By Nicholas Carter +904--When Honors Pall By Nicholas Carter +905--The Yellow Brand By Nicholas Carter +906--A New Serpent in Eden By Nicholas Carter +907--When Brave Men Tremble By Nicholas Carter +908--A Test of Courage By Nicholas Carter +909--Where Peril Beckons By Nicholas Carter +910--The Gargoni Girdle By Nicholas Carter +911--Rascals & Co. By Nicholas Carter +912--Too Late to Talk By Nicholas Carter +913--Satan's Apt Pupil By Nicholas Carter +914--The Girl Prisoner By Nicholas Carter +915--The Danger of Folly By Nicholas Carter +916--One Shipwreck Too Many By Nicholas Carter +917--Scourged by Fear By Nicholas Carter +918--The Red Plague By Nicholas Carter +919--Scoundrels Rampant By Nicholas Carter +920--From Clew to Clew By Nicholas Carter +921--When Rogues Conspire By Nicholas Carter +922--Twelve in a Grave By Nicholas Carter +923--The Great Opium Case By Nicholas Carter +924--A Conspiracy of Rumors By Nicholas Carter +925--A Klondike Claim By Nicholas Carter +926--The Evil Formula By Nicholas Carter +927--The Man of Many Faces By Nicholas Carter +928--The Great Enigma By Nicholas Carter +929--The Burden of Proof By Nicholas Carter +930--The Stolen Brain By Nicholas Carter +931--A Titled Counterfeiter By Nicholas Carter +932--The Magic Necklace By Nicholas Carter +933--'Round the World for a Quarter By Nicholas Carter +934--Over the Edge of the World By Nicholas Carter +935--In the Grip of Fate By Nicholas Carter +936--The Case of Many Clews By Nicholas Carter +937--The Sealed Door By Nicholas Carter +938--Nick Carter and the Green Goods Men By Nicholas Carter +939--The Man Without a Will By Nicholas Carter +940--Tracked Across the Atlantic By Nicholas Carter +941--A Clew From the Unknown By Nicholas Carter +942--The Crime of a Countess By Nicholas Carter +943--A Mixed Up Mess By Nicholas Carter +944--The Great Money Order Swindle By Nicholas Carter +945--The Adder's Brood By Nicholas Carter +946--A Wall Street Haul By Nicholas Carter +947--For a Pawned Crown By Nicholas Carter +948--Sealed Orders By Nicholas Carter +949--The Hate That Kills By Nicholas Carter +950--The American Marquis By Nicholas Carter +951--The Needy Nine By Nicholas Carter +952--Fighting Against Millions By Nicholas Carter +953--Outlaws of the Blue By Nicholas Carter +954--The Old Detective's Pupil By Nicholas Carter +955--Found in the Jungle By Nicholas Carter +956--The Mysterious Mail Robbery By Nicholas Carter +957--Broken Bars By Nicholas Carter +958--A Fair Criminal By Nicholas Carter +959--Won by Magic By Nicholas Carter +960--The Piano Box Mystery By Nicholas Carter +961--The Man They Held Back By Nicholas Carter +962--A Millionaire Partner By Nicholas Carter +963--A Pressing Peril By Nicholas Carter +964--An Australian Klondyke By Nicholas Carter +965--The Sultan's Pearls By Nicholas Carter +966--The Double Shuffle Club By Nicholas Carter +967--Paying the Price By Nicholas Carter +968--A Woman's Hand By Nicholas Carter +969--A Network of Crime By Nicholas Carter +970--At Thompson's Ranch By Nicholas Carter +971--The Crossed Needles By Nicholas Carter +972--The Diamond Mine Case By Nicholas Carter +973--Blood Will Tell By Nicholas Carter +974--An Accidental Password By Nicholas Carter +975--The Crook's Bauble By Nicholas Carter +976--Two Plus Two By Nicholas Carter +977--The Yellow Label By Nicholas Carter +978--The Clever Celestial By Nicholas Carter +979--The Amphitheater Plot By Nicholas Carter +980--Gideon Drexel's Millions By Nicholas Carter +981--Death in Life By Nicholas Carter +982--A Stolen Identity By Nicholas Carter +983--Evidence by Telephone By Nicholas Carter +984--The Twelve Tin Boxes By Nicholas Carter +985--Clew Against Clew By Nicholas Carter +986--Lady Velvet By Nicholas Carter +987--Playing a Bold Game By Nicholas Carter +988--A Dead Man's Grip By Nicholas Carter +989--Snarled Identities By Nicholas Carter +990--A Deposit Vault Puzzle By Nicholas Carter +991--The Crescent Brotherhood By Nicholas Carter +992--The Stolen Pay Train By Nicholas Carter +993--The Sea Fox By Nicholas Carter +994--Wanted by Two Clients By Nicholas Carter +995--The Van Alstine Case By Nicholas Carter +996--Check No. 777 By Nicholas Carter +997--Partners in Peril By Nicholas Carter +998--Nick Carter's Clever Protégé By Nicholas Carter +999--The Sign of the Crossed Knives By Nicholas Carter +1000--The Man Who Vanished By Nicholas Carter +1001--A Battle for the Right By Nicholas Carter +1002--A Game of Craft By Nicholas Carter +1003--Nick Carter's Retainer By Nicholas Carter +1004--Caught in the Toils By Nicholas Carter +1005--A Broken Bond By Nicholas Carter +1006--The Crime of the French Café By Nicholas Carter +1007--The Man Who Stole Millions By Nicholas Carter +1008--The Twelve Wise Men By Nicholas Carter +1009--Hidden Foes By Nicholas Carter +1010--A Gamblers' Syndicate By Nicholas Carter +1011--A Chance Discovery By Nicholas Carter +1012--Among the Counterfeiters By Nicholas Carter +1013--A Threefold Disappearance By Nicholas Carter +1014--At Odds With Scotland Yard By Nicholas Carter +1015--A Princess of Crime By Nicholas Carter +1016--Found on the Beach By Nicholas Carter +1017--A Spinner of Death By Nicholas Carter +1018--The Detective's Pretty Neighbor By Nicholas Carter +1019--A Bogus Clew By Nicholas Carter +1020--The Puzzle of Five Pistols By Nicholas Carter +1021--The Secret of the Marble Mantel By Nicholas Carter +1022--A Bite of an Apple By Nicholas Carter +1023--A Triple Crime By Nicholas Carter +1024--The Stolen Race Horse By Nicholas Carter +1025--Wildfire By Nicholas Carter +1026--A _Herald_ Personal By Nicholas Carter +1027--The Finger of Suspicion By Nicholas Carter +1028--The Crimson Clew By Nicholas Carter +1029--Nick Carter Down East By Nicholas Carter +1030--The Chain of Clews By Nicholas Carter +1031--A Victim of Circumstances By Nicholas Carter +1032--Brought to Bay By Nicholas Carter +1033--The Dynamite Trap By Nicholas Carter +1034--A Scrap of Black Lace By Nicholas Carter +1035--The Woman of Evil By Nicholas Carter +1036--A Legacy of Hate By Nicholas Carter +1037--A Trusted Rogue By Nicholas Carter +1038--Man Against Man By Nicholas Carter +1039--The Demons of the Night By Nicholas Carter +1040--The Brotherhood of Death By Nicholas Carter +1041--At the Knife's Point By Nicholas Carter +1042--A Cry for Help By Nicholas Carter +1043--A Stroke of Policy By Nicholas Carter +1044--Hounded to Death By Nicholas Carter +1045--A Bargain in Crime By Nicholas Carter +1046--The Fatal Prescription By Nicholas Carter +1047--The Man of Iron By Nicholas Carter +1048--An Amazing Scoundrel By Nicholas Carter +1049--The Chain of Evidence By Nicholas Carter +1050--Paid with Death By Nicholas Carter +1051--A Fight for a Throne By Nicholas Carter +1052--The Woman of Steel By Nicholas Carter +1053--The Seal of Death By Nicholas Carter +1054--The Human Fiend By Nicholas Carter +1055--A Desperate Chance By Nicholas Carter +1056--A Chase in the Dark By Nicholas Carter +1057--The Snare and the Game By Nicholas Carter +1058--The Murray Hill Mystery By Nicholas Carter +1059--Nick Carter's Close Call By Nicholas Carter +1060--The Missing Cotton King By Nicholas Carter +1061--A Game of Plots By Nicholas Carter +1062--The Prince of Liars By Nicholas Carter +1063--The Man at the Window By Nicholas Carter +1064--The Red League By Nicholas Carter +1065--The Price of a Secret By Nicholas Carter +1066--The Worst Case on Record By Nicholas Carter +1067--From Peril to Peril By Nicholas Carter +1068--The Seal of Silence By Nicholas Carter +1069--Nick Carter's Chinese Puzzle By Nicholas Carter +1070--A Blackmailer's Bluff By Nicholas Carter +1071--Heard in the Dark By Nicholas Carter +1072--A Checkmated Scoundrel By Nicholas Carter +1073--The Cashier's Secret By Nicholas Carter +1074--Behind a Mask By Nicholas Carter +1075--The Cloak of Guilt By Nicholas Carter +1076--Two Villains in One By Nicholas Carter +1077--The Hot Air Clew By Nicholas Carter +1078--Run to Earth By Nicholas Carter +1079--The Certified Check By Nicholas Carter +1080--Weaving the Web By Nicholas Carter +1081--Beyond Pursuit By Nicholas Carter +1082--The Claws of the Tiger By Nicholas Carter +1083--Driven From Cover By Nicholas Carter +1084--A Deal in Diamonds By Nicholas Carter +1085--The Wizard of the Cue By Nicholas Carter +1086--A Race for Ten Thousand By Nicholas Carter +1087--The Criminal Link By Nicholas Carter +1088--The Red Signal By Nicholas Carter +1089--The Secret Panel By Nicholas Carter +1090--A Bonded Villain By Nicholas Carter +1091--A Move in the Dark By Nicholas Carter +1092--Against Desperate Odds By Nicholas Carter +1093--The Telltale Photographs By Nicholas Carter +1094--The Ruby Pin By Nicholas Carter +1095--The Queen of Diamonds By Nicholas Carter +1096--A Broken Trail By Nicholas Carter +1097--An Ingenious Stratagem By Nicholas Carter +1098--A Sharper's Downfall By Nicholas Carter +1099--A Race Track Gamble By Nicholas Carter +1100--Without a Clew By Nicholas Carter +1101--The Council of Death By Nicholas Carter +1102--The Hole in the Vault By Nicholas Carter +1103--In Death's Grip By Nicholas Carter +1104--A Great Conspiracy By Nicholas Carter +1105--The Guilty Governor By Nicholas Carter +1106--A Ring of Rascals By Nicholas Carter +1107--A Masterpiece of Crime By Nicholas Carter +1108--A Blow For Vengeance By Nicholas Carter +1109--Tangled Threads By Nicholas Carter +1110--The Crime of the Camera By Nicholas Carter +1111--The Sign of the Dagger By Nicholas Carter +1112--Nick Carter's Promise By Nicholas Carter +1113--Marked for Death By Nicholas Carter +1114--The Limited Holdup By Nicholas Carter +1115--When the Trap Was Sprung By Nicholas Carter +1116--Through the Cellar Wall By Nicholas Carter +1117--Under the Tiger's Claws By Nicholas Carter +1118--The Girl in the Case By Nicholas Carter +1119--Behind a Throne By Nicholas Carter +1120--The Lure of Gold By Nicholas Carter +1121--Hand to Hand By Nicholas Carter +1122--From a Prison Cell By Nicholas Carter +1123--Dr. Quartz, Magician By Nicholas Carter +1124--Into Nick Carter's Web By Nicholas Carter +1125--The Mystic Diagram By Nicholas Carter +1126--The Hand That Won By Nicholas Carter +1127--Playing a Lone Hand By Nicholas Carter +1128--The Master Villain By Nicholas Carter +1129--The False Claimant By Nicholas Carter +1130--The Living Mask By Nicholas Carter +1131--The Crime and the Motive By Nicholas Carter +1132--A Mysterious Foe By Nicholas Carter +1133--A Missing Man By Nicholas Carter +1134--A Game Well Played By Nicholas Carter +1135--A Cigarette Clew By Nicholas Carter +1136--The Diamond Trail By Nicholas Carter +1137--The Silent Guardian By Nicholas Carter +1138--The Dead Stranger By Nicholas Carter +1140--The Doctor's Stratagem By Nicholas Carter +1141--Following a Chance Clew By Nicholas Carter +1142--The Bank Draft Puzzle By Nicholas Carter +1143--The Price of Treachery By Nicholas Carter +1144--The Silent Partner By Nicholas Carter +1145--Ahead of the Game By Nicholas Carter +1146--A Trap of Tangled Wire By Nicholas Carter +1147--In the Gloom of Night By Nicholas Carter +1148--The Unaccountable Crook By Nicholas Carter +1149--A Bundle of Clews By Nicholas Carter +1150--The Great Diamond Syndicate By Nicholas Carter +1151--The Death Circle By Nicholas Carter +1152--The Toss of a Penny By Nicholas Carter +1153--One Step Too Far By Nicholas Carter +1154--The Terrible Thirteen By Nicholas Carter +1155--A Detective's Theory By Nicholas Carter +1156--Nick Carter's Auto Trail By Nicholas Carter +1157--A Triple Identity By Nicholas Carter +1158--A Mysterious Graft By Nicholas Carter +1159--A Carnival of Crime By Nicholas Carter +1160--The Bloodstone Terror By Nicholas Carter + + +10,000,000 + +copies of the works of Nick Carter in the New Magnet Library have been +sold. Millions more are going to be sold, not because the line +represents forbidden literature, but because it fills a large and +growing demand for recreational reading. + +Nick Carter is justly famous. He stands as one of America's foremost +literary characters. He is the close companion of some of America's +leading professional and business men. Statesmen of high and low degree +have called him "Nick," and do not hesitate to say that he has given +them more satisfaction and pleasure than any other character in fiction. + +The Nick Carter stories, therefore, hold a great deal for you. Any in +the foregoing list are worth while. + +STREET & SMITH CORPORATION +79 Seventh Avenue New York City + + + + +BOOKS FOR YOUNG MEN + +MERRIWELL SERIES + +Stories of Frank and Dick Merriwell + +PRICE, FIFTEEN CENTS + +_Fascinating Stories of Athletics_ + + +A half million enthusiastic followers of the Merriwell brothers will +attest the unfailing interest and wholesomeness of these adventures of +two lads of high ideals, who play fair with themselves, as well as with +the rest of the world. + +These stories are rich in fun and thrills in all branches of sports and +athletics. They are extremely high in moral tone, and cannot fail to be +of immense benefit to every boy who reads them. + +They have the splendid quality of firing a boy's ambition to become a +good athlete, in order that he may develop into a strong, vigorous +right-thinking man. + + +_ALL TITLES ALWAYS IN PRINT_ + + +1--Frank Merriwell's School Days By Burt L. Standish +2--Frank Merriwell's Chums By Burt L. Standish +3--Frank Merriwell's Foes By Burt L. Standish +4--Frank Merriwell's Trip West By Burt L. Standish +5--Frank Merriwell Down South By Burt L. Standish +6--Frank Merriwell's Bravery By Burt L. Standish +7--Frank Merriwell's Hunting Tour By Burt L. Standish +8--Frank Merriwell in Europe By Burt L. Standish +9--Frank Merriwell at Yale By Burt L. Standish +10--Frank Merriwell's Sports Afield By Burt L. Standish +11--Frank Merriwell's Races By Burt L. Standish +12--Frank Merriwell's Party By Burt L. Standish +13--Frank Merriwell's Bicycle Tour By Burt L. Standish +14--Frank Merriwell's Courage By Burt L. Standish +15--Frank Merriwell's Daring By Burt L. Standish +16--Frank Merriwell's Alarm By Burt L. Standish +17--Frank Merriwell's Athletes By Burt L. Standish +18--Frank Merriwell's Skill By Burt L. Standish +19--Frank Merriwell's Champions By Burt L. Standish +20--Frank Merriwell's Return to Yale By Burt L. Standish +21--Frank Merriwell's Secret By Burt L. Standish +22--Frank Merriwell's Danger By Burt L. Standish +23--Frank Merriwell's Loyalty By Burt L. Standish +24--Frank Merriwell in Camp By Burt L. Standish +25--Frank Merriwell's Vacation By Burt L. Standish +26--Frank Merriwell's Cruise By Burt L. Standish +27--Frank Merriwell's Chase By Burt L. Standish +28--Frank Merriwell in Maine By Burt L. Standish +29--Frank Merriwell's Struggle By Burt L. Standish +30--Frank Merriwell's First Job By Burt L. Standish +31--Frank Merriwell's Opportunity By Burt L. Standish +32--Frank Merriwell's Hard Luck By Burt L. Standish +33--Frank Merriwell's Protégé By Burt L. Standish +34--Frank Merriwell on the Road By Burt L. Standish +35--Frank Merriwell's Own Company By Burt L. Standish +36--Frank Merriwell's Fame By Burt L. Standish +37--Frank Merriwell's College Chums By Burt L. Standish +38--Frank Merriwell's Problem By Burt L. Standish +39--Frank Merriwell's Fortune By Burt L. Standish +40--Frank Merriwell's New Comedian By Burt L. Standish +41--Frank Merriwell's Prosperity By Burt L. Standish +42--Frank Merriwell's Stage Hit By Burt L. Standish +43--Frank Merriwell's Great Scheme By Burt L. Standish +44--Frank Merriwell in England By Burt L. Standish +45--Frank Merriwell on the Boulevards By Burt L. Standish +46--Frank Merriwell's Duel By Burt L. Standish +47--Frank Merriwell's Double Shot By Burt L. Standish +48--Frank Merriwell's Baseball Victories By Burt L. Standish +49--Frank Merriwell's Confidence By Burt L. Standish +50--Frank Merriwell's Auto By Burt L. Standish +51--Frank Merriwell's Fun By Burt L. Standish +52--Frank Merriwell's Generosity By Burt L. Standish +53--Frank Merriwell's Tricks By Burt L. Standish +54--Frank Merriwell's Temptation By Burt L. Standish +55--Frank Merriwell on Top By Burt L. Standish +56--Frank Merriwell's Luck By Burt L. Standish +57--Frank Merriwell's Mascot By Burt L. Standish +58--Frank Merriwell's Reward By Burt L. Standish +59--Frank Merriwell's Phantom By Burt L. Standish +60--Frank Merriwell's Faith By Burt L. Standish +61--Frank Merriwell's Victories By Burt L. Standish +62--Frank Merriwell's Iron Nerve By Burt L. Standish +63--Frank Merriwell in Kentucky By Burt L. Standish +64--Frank Merriwell's Power By Burt L. Standish +65--Frank Merriwell's Shrewdness By Burt L. Standish +66--Frank Merriwell's Set Back By Burt L. Standish +67--Frank Merriwell's Search By Burt L. Standish +68--Frank Merriwell's Club By Burt L. Standish +69--Frank Merriwell's Trust By Burt L. Standish +70--Frank Merriwell's False Friend By Burt L. Standish +71--Frank Merriwell's Strong Arm By Burt L. Standish +72--Frank Merriwell As Coach By Burt L. Standish +73--Frank Merriwell's Brother By Burt L. Standish +74--Frank Merriwell's Marvel By Burt L. Standish +75--Frank Merriwell's Support By Burt L. Standish +76--Dick Merriwell At Fardale By Burt L. Standish +77--Dick Merriwell's Glory By Burt L. Standish +78--Dick Merriwell's Promise By Burt L. Standish +79--Dick Merriwell's Rescue By Burt L. Standish +80--Dick Merriwell's Narrow Escape By Burt L. Standish +81--Dick Merriwell's Racket By Burt L. Standish +82--Dick Merriwell's Revenge By Burt L. Standish +83--Dick Merriwell's Ruse By Burt L. Standish +84--Dick Merriwell's Delivery By Burt L. Standish +85--Dick Merriwell's Wonders By Burt L. Standish +86--Frank Merriwell's Honor By Burt L. Standish +87--Dick Merriwell's Diamond By Burt L. Standish +88--Frank Merriwell's Winners By Burt L. Standish +89--Dick Merriwell's Dash By Burt L. Standish +90--Dick Merriwell's Ability By Burt L. Standish +91--Dick Merriwell's Trap By Burt L. Standish +92--Dick Merriwell's Defense By Burt L. Standish +93--Dick Merriwell's Model By Burt L. Standish +94--Dick Merriwell's Mystery By Burt L. Standish +95--Frank Merriwell's Backers By Burt L. Standish +96--Dick Merriwell's Backstop By Burt. L. Standish +97--Dick Merriwell's Western Mission By Burt L. Standish +98--Frank Merriwell's Rescue By Burt L. Standish +99--Frank Merriwell's Encounter By Burt L. Standish +100--Dick Merriwell's Marked Money By Burt L. Standish +101--Frank Merriwell's Nomads By Burt L. Standish +102--Dick Merriwell on the Gridiron By Burt L. Standish +103--Dick Merriwell's Disguise By Burt L. Standish +104--Dick Merriwell's Test By Burt L. Standish +105--Frank Merriwell's Trump Card By Burt L. Standish +106--Frank Merriwell's Strategy By Burt L. Standish +107--Frank Merriwell's Triumph By Burt L. Standish +108--Dick Merriwell's Grit By Burt L. Standish +109--Dick Merriwell's Assurance By Burt L. Standish +110--Dick Merriwell's Long Slide By Burt L. Standish +111--Frank Merriwell's Rough Deal By Burt L. Standish +112--Dick Merriwell's Threat By Burt L. Standish +113--Dick Merriwell's Persistence By Burt L. Standish +114--Dick Merriwell's Day By Burt L. Standish +115--Frank Merriwell's Peril By Burt L. Standish +116--Dick Merriwell's Downfall By Burt L. Standish +117--Frank Merriwell's Pursuit By Burt L. Standish + + +SPORTS + +There is a greater appreciation of athletic sports among Americans than +among people of any other nationality. + +We have had definite proof of this in the correspondence occasioned by +our publication of the adventures of Frank and Dick Merriwell. These two +boys are active athletes. They are proficient in every line of sport, +and they play fair or not at all. + +This last feature of the Merriwell stories fills our daily mail with +letters from readers who say that they appreciate the integrity and +fairness of the Merriwells more than words can tell. + +These books, while of greatest interest to the right-thinking boy are +educational and make for the development of a character which will +enable the average boy to meet his fellows fairly and squarely in the +battle of life. + +STREET & SMITH CORPORATION +79 Seventh Avenue New York City + + + + +Bill Cody + + +At a rough estimate there are 400 million civilized human beings who +have heard of Bill Cody, not under his real name, but by the name +everybody called him, "Buffalo Bill." + +His character made him an outstanding figure during a period of the +development of America when a strong character was a matter of vital +necessity. + +We doubt, however, whether the man's work is fully appreciated, or ever +has been. In the rush and bustle that followed the introduction of the +railroad to the West, the results of Buffalo Bill's work were more or +less overlooked, but a time is coming when this remarkable man's +achievements will be fully appreciated. + +This is the character whose adventures are dealt with in Buffalo Bill's +Border Stories. + +Read them. You will find them of true historical value. + +STREET & SMITH CORPORATION +79 Seventh Avenue New York City + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH LINKS OF STEEL*** + + +******* This file should be named 14096-8.txt or 14096-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/4/0/9/14096 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://www.gutenberg.org/about/contact + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: +https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + diff --git a/old/14096-8.zip b/old/14096-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..6bdec81 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/14096-8.zip diff --git a/old/14096-h.zip b/old/14096-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..bc724db --- /dev/null +++ b/old/14096-h.zip diff --git a/old/14096-h/14096-h.htm b/old/14096-h/14096-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e78305a --- /dev/null +++ b/old/14096-h/14096-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,8172 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" /> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of With Links of Steel, by Nicholas Carter</title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + } + hr { width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + } + body{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + + .toc {margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: center; } + .linenum {position: absolute; top: auto; left: 4%;} /* poetry number */ + .blockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%;} + .pagenum {position: absolute; left: 92%; font-size: smaller; text-align: right;} /* page numbers */ + .sidenote {width: 20%; padding-bottom: .5em; padding-top: .5em; + padding-left: .5em; padding-right: .5em; margin-left: 1em; + float: right; clear: right; margin-top: 1em; + font-size: smaller; background: #eeeeee; border: dashed 1px;} + + .bb {border-bottom: solid 2px;} + .bl {border-left: solid 2px;} + .bt {border-top: solid 2px;} + .br {border-right: solid 2px;} + .bbox {border: solid 2px;} + + .center {text-align: center;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + + .figleft {float: left; clear: left; margin-left: 0; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: + 1em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 0; text-align: center;} + + .figright {float: right; clear: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; + margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0; padding: 0; text-align: center;} + + .footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} + .footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + .footnote .label {position: absolute; left: 12%; text-align: left;} + + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} + .poem br {display: none;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem span {display: block; margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i2 {display: block; margin-left: 2em;} + .poem span.i4 {display: block; margin-left: 4em;} + hr.full { width: 100%; } + a:link {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + link {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + a:visited {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + a:hover {color:red} + pre {font-size: 8pt;} + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> +</head> +<body> +<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, With Links of Steel, by Nicholas Carter</h1> +<pre> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: With Links of Steel</p> +<p>Author: Nicholas Carter</p> +<p>Release Date: November 19, 2004 [eBook #14096]<br /> +Most recently updated July 28, 2011</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH LINKS OF STEEL***</p> +<p> </p> +<h3>E-text prepared Steven desJardins<br /> + and Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders</h3> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p> </p> +<h3>NEW MAGNET LIBRARY No. 1164</h3> + +<h1>With Links of Steel</h1> + +<h4>OR</h4> + +<h3>The Peril of the Unknown</h3> + +<h2>by Nicholas Carter</h2> + +<div class="toc"> +<span>Author of the celebrated stories of Nick Carter's adventures, +which are published exclusively in the NEW MAGNET LIBRARY, +conceded to be among the best detective tales ever written.</span> +</div> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 425px; margin-top: 1em;"> +<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="425" height="600" alt="Cover of With Links of Steel" title="" /> +</div> + + +<h6>STREET & SMITH CORPORATION<br /> +PUBLISHERS<br /> +79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York</h6> +<h5>1904</h5> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<div class="toc"> +<span>CHAPTER I <a href="#CHAPTER_I">A CRAFTY ROBBERY.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER II <a href="#CHAPTER_II">CONCERNING SEÑORA CERVERA.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER III <a href="#CHAPTER_III">THE KILGORE DIAMOND GANG.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER IV <a href="#CHAPTER_IV">GETTING DOWN TO WORK.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER V <a href="#CHAPTER_V">BEHIND THE SCENES.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER VI <a href="#CHAPTER_VI">A SHOT IN THE DARK.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER VII <a href="#CHAPTER_VII">A STRATEGIC MOVE.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER VIII <a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">FOUND DEAD.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER IX <a href="#CHAPTER_IX">NICK STRIKES A STARTLING CLEW.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER X <a href="#CHAPTER_X">ON THE TRAIL.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER XI <a href="#CHAPTER_XI">THE CRIME AND THE MEANS.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER XII <a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CLOSING IN.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER XIII <a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CRAFTY CERVERA.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER XIV <a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">IN A WARM CORNER.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER XV <a href="#CHAPTER_XV">THE DIAMOND PLANT.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER XVI <a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">THE CUNNING OF JEAN PYLOTTE.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER XVII <a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">THE GAME UNCOVERED.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER XVIII <a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">AT CROSS-PURPOSES.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER XIX <a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">HANDS SHOWED DOWN.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER XX <a href="#CHAPTER_XX">THE BOOT ON THE OTHER LEG.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER XXI <a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">AN ONLY RESOURCE.</a></span><br /> +<span>CHAPTER XXII <a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">THE LAST TRICK.</a></span> +</div> +<p> </p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p> </p> +<h2><a name="WITH_LINKS_OF_STEEL" id="WITH_LINKS_OF_STEEL" />WITH LINKS OF STEEL</h2> + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I" />CHAPTER I.</h2> + +<h3>A CRAFTY ROBBERY.</h3> + + +<p>"Mr. Venner, sir?"</p> + +<p>"Mr. Venner—yes, certainly. You will find him in his private +office—that way, sir. The door to the right. Venner is in his private +office, Joseph, is he not?"</p> + +<p>"I don't think so, Mr. Garside, unless he has just returned. I saw him +go out some time ago."</p> + +<p>"Is that so? Wait a moment, young man."</p> + +<p>The young man halted, and then turned back to face Mr. Garside, with an +inquiring look in his frank, brown eyes.</p> + +<p>"Not here, sir, do I understand?" he asked, politely.</p> + +<p>Mr. Garside shook his head. He was a tall, slender man of forty, and was +the junior partner of the firm of Rufus Venner & Co., a large retail +jewelry house in New York City, with a handsome store on Fifth Avenue, +not far from Madison Square.</p> + +<p>It was in their store that this introductory scene occurred, and proved +to be the initiatory step of one of the shrewdest and most cleverly +executed robberies on record.</p> + +<p>It was about eleven o'clock one April morning. The sun was shining +brightly outside, and at the curbing in front of the store were several +handsome private carriages, with stiff-backed, motionless coachmen, in +bottle-green livery, perched on their boxes, all of which plainly +indicated the very desirable patronage accorded the firm mentioned.</p> + +<p>In the store the glare of sun was subdued by partly drawn yellow +curtains, which lent a soft, amber light to the deep interior, and +enhanced the dazzling beauty of the merchandise there displayed.</p> + +<p>The store was a rather narrow one, but quite deep, with a long-counter +on each side, back of which were numerous clerks, some engaged in +waiting upon the several customers then present.</p> + +<p>At the rear of the store was an office inclosure, with a partition of +plate glass; while at either side of this inclosure was a smaller room, +entirely secluded, these being the private offices of the two members of +the firm.</p> + +<p>Mr. Garside was standing about in the middle of the store when the young +man entered and inquired for Mr. Venner. As he turned from the clerk who +had informed him of Venner's absence, he added, half in apology, to his +visitor:</p> + +<p>"I was mistaken, young man. My clerk tells me that Mr. Venner is out +just now. Do you know where he has gone, Joseph?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir, I do not."</p> + +<p>"I think he will presently return," said Garside, again reverting to the +caller. "Is there anything that I can do for you? Or will you wait +until Mr. Venner comes in?"</p> + +<p>"I will not wait, Mr. Garside, since you are one of the firm, and +probably know about this matter," replied the young man, drawing a small +cloth-covered package from his breast pocket. "Here are the ten diamonds +for which Mr. Venner sent us an order this morning. I come from Thomas +Hafferman, sir, and will leave the stones with you."</p> + +<p>The man mentioned was also a jeweler, and a large importer of diamonds +and costly gems.</p> + +<p>Mr. Garside's countenance took on an expression of mild surprise.</p> + +<p>"From Hafferman? An order from Venner?" he murmured, inquiringly. "I was +not aware that Venner sent out any order for diamonds this morning."</p> + +<p>"One of your clerks brought the order, sir, and requested Mr. Hafferman +to send the stones here as soon as convenient," replied the messenger. +"Mr. Hafferman did not know your clerk personally, so I was sent here to +deliver the stones."</p> + +<p>"What is your name, young man?"</p> + +<p>"Harry Boyden, sir. I have worked for Mr. Hafferman for nearly five +years. I think you will find that the order was properly sent."</p> + +<p>"Wait just a moment, Mr. Boyden," suggested Garside, smiling.</p> + +<p>Then he hastened to the rear of the store, and spoke through the open +window near the cashier's desk.</p> + +<p>"Do any of you know of an order sent out by Mr. Venner this morning?" +he inquired, addressing the several clerks at work in the office. "An +order to Thomas Hafferman for ten diamonds."</p> + +<p>Only a girl stenographer, seated at a typewriter near the office door, +replied:</p> + +<p>"I think Mr. Venner sent Spaulding out about half an hour ago, sir," she +replied. "I saw him give Spaulding several letters."</p> + +<p>"Ah, doubtless it's all right enough," bowed Garside; "yet I wonder that +I had heard nothing about it. Joseph, has Spaulding been here within a +few minutes?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir," replied the clerk, the same who had at first been questioned. +"I saw him go out just before Mr. Venner departed, and he has not yet +returned."</p> + +<p>Garside had now reached the middle of the store again, where Boyden was +still waiting.</p> + +<p>"Are you quite sure that the order came from Mr. Venner?" he again +inquired. "How long ago was the messenger at your store?"</p> + +<p>"About half an hour ago, sir," Boyden readily answered. "The order was, +I presume, signed by Mr. Venner."</p> + +<p>"Was it our man Spaulding who delivered the order? Do you know him by +sight?"</p> + +<p>"I do not, sir. Joseph Maynard, yonder, is the only clerk here with whom +I am acquainted, and I think he will vouch for me," said Boyden, now +beginning to smile at Garside's manifest caution over receiving the +diamonds. "Surely, sir, no harm can come from your keeping the stones +until Mr. Venner returns, since I am willing to leave them with you," he +added, laughing.</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, no—I wasn't thinking of that," Garside quickly answered. "I +wished only to avoid the needless trouble of returning them, in case the +order did not come from us."</p> + +<p>"I think the order was all right, Mr. Garside. Besides, sir, I saw Mr. +Venner yesterday at our store, examining some diamonds. Doubtless these +are the same."</p> + +<p>"Oh, if that's the case, leave them, by all means," Garside cried. "I +was not aware that he had called there. Probably they are for some order +of which he has personal charge. Yes, yes, Mr. Boyden, leave them, +certainly. Here, Joseph, place the package in one of the vault drawers, +and hand it to Mr. Venner when he returns. Sorry to have detained you so +long, Mr. Boyden. Had you begun by stating that Venner called yesterday +upon Mr. Hafferman, I should not have demurred over the matter."</p> + +<p>"There's no harm done, Mr. Garside, none whatever," replied Boyden, +bowing and smiling. "I appreciate your caution, sir. If there proves to +have been any mistake in ordering them, you can easily return the +stones. Good-morning, sir."</p> + +<p>Garside replied with a nod over his shoulder, having turned to hand the +parcel to his clerk back of the counter, and Boyden immediately +departed.</p> + +<p>"Is that young man an acquaintance of yours, Maynard?" inquired Mr. +Garside.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir. He has been with Hafferman for several years."</p> + +<p>"Doubtless it's all right, then. Odd, though, that Venner should have +made no mention to me of this order. Hand him the package as soon as he +comes in."</p> + +<p>"I will, sir, at once."</p> + +<p>Maynard had already placed the small parcel in a drawer of the huge +steel vault back of the counter, and he now resumed the work at which he +had been engaged.</p> + +<p>Mr. Garside sauntered toward the front of the store, and presently +greeted a lady who entered.</p> + +<p>Twenty minutes passed, and the incident of the diamonds was almost +forgotten by both employer and clerk.</p> + +<p>Soon both were reminded of it, however, by the entrance of another +man—a smooth-featured young fellow, with pale blue eyes, a sallow +complexion, slightly pock-marked. He was of medium height, and well put +together, and was clad in a neat business suit of fashionable +appearance.</p> + +<p>Quickly approaching Mr. Garside, who was then disengaged, he tendered +one of Thomas Hafferman's business cards, and said, glibly, while bowing +and laughing lightly:</p> + +<p>"Excuse me, Mr. Garside, but we rather owe you an apology. Our Mr. +Boyden left some diamonds with you a short time ago, which should have +been delivered to Tiffany & Co. Mr. Hafferman read the order without his +spectacles, and it's rather a good joke on him, for he thought it was +signed Venner & Co. The blunder was partly owing to the fact, no doubt, +that Mr. Venner called to see him yesterday about some diamonds."</p> + +<p>"There!" exclaimed Garside, as if quite pleased to discover that he had +been so nearly right. "I knew well enough that Venner had not sent out +any order without mentioning it to me. Yes, your Mr. Boyden left the +stones here. For Tiffany & Co., eh?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir, and they should have been delivered long ago," was the reply, +with a conventional laugh. "If you please, I'll leave them there on my +way back. Deucedly stupid blunder on Hafferman's part, I'm sure; and I +hope—"</p> + +<p>"Oh, there's no harm done, I guess, and but little time lost," +interrupted Garside, joining in the other's laugh. "You will deliver +them, you say?"</p> + +<p>"If you please."</p> + +<p>"Here, Joseph, hand me that package of diamonds left here by Boyden. +They were sent to us by mistake. I knew it well enough at the time. Here +you are, Mr. ——"</p> + +<p>"Raymond, sir. I am cashier at Hafferman's. Many thanks. Sorry to have +troubled you—very sorry."</p> + +<p>"No trouble at all," laughed Garside, accompanying Mr. Raymond toward +the street door. "The trouble has been all yours, sir."</p> + +<p>"That's quite true," smiled Raymond, as he bowed himself out with the +package of diamonds in his hand. "But now the pleasure is all mine!" he +added to himself, upon reaching the sidewalk.</p> + +<p>Then he strode rapidly away, quickly losing himself in the midday +stream of people thronging the famous New York thoroughfare.</p> + +<p>Less than five minutes later, before any misgivings had crept into the +mind of Mr. Garside, the senior member of the firm came hurrying into +the store.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I say, Venner!" exclaimed his partner, stopping him near the office +door. "What diamonds are you thinking of buying of Hafferman?"</p> + +<p>"Of Hafferman?" echoed Venner, with a look of surprise.</p> + +<p>"Weren't you looking at some stones there yesterday?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, certainly. Some very choice diamonds. I want ten of the first +water, a little larger and more perfectly matched than any we have in +stock at present. But how did you learn that I had called there?"</p> + +<p>Mr. Garside quickly informed him of the several incidents of the past +half hour, when, to his consternation and dismay a look of sudden +apprehension swept over Venner's face.</p> + +<p>"Raymond—the name of Hafferman's cashier!" he cried. "Nothing of the +sort, Philip. Their cashier is named Briggs. I know him well."</p> + +<p>"Briggs! Briggs!"</p> + +<p>"Briggs—yes, Briggs!" reiterated Mr. Venner, excitedly. "By Heaven, +there must be something wrong here!"</p> + +<p>"Dear me! If this Raymond was an impostor, we are done out of—"</p> + +<p>"Wait—wait!"</p> + +<p>Checking his partner with an impulsive gesture, Venner rushed into his +private office and seized his desk telephone, quickly calling up the +firm by which the diamonds had been sent.</p> + +<p>Garside followed him into the room, only to hear the questions hurriedly +asked over the wire by his excited partner, who presently dropped the +telephone and leaped to his feet, crying loudly, so loudly that his +voice filled the entire store, and brought all hands hurrying in his +direction:</p> + +<p>"There's no doubt of it, Garside, none whatever. You have been +duped—swindled—robbed of four thousand dollars' worth of gems! Raymond +was an impostor—a crook—"</p> + +<p>"Venner—hush! You are losing your head," protested Garside, white with +dismay. "It's enough that we have lost the stones, so at least keep your +head. Waste not a moment. Notify the police. Telephone at once for men +from the central office."</p> + +<p>"Blast the police! The central office be hanged!" cried Venner, choking +down an oath of wrathful contempt. "I'll have none of your police—none +of your central office men! I want a detective—not an effigy of one!"</p> + +<p>"Rufus—"</p> + +<p>"Silence, Garside, and leave this affair to me," Venner harshly +interrupted. "You've had fingers enough in it already."</p> + +<p>With which rebuke Mr. Rufus Venner strode passionately out of the office +and into the store proper, shouting loudly to the clerk previously +mentioned:</p> + +<p>"Maynard—here you, Maynard! Call a cab at once and go for Nick Carter! +Lose not a moment! Don't wait to ask questions, you blockhead! Away with +you, at once! Bring Nick Carter here with the least possible delay!"</p> + +<p>Maynard had already seized his coat and hat, and was hurrying out of the +store.</p> + +<p>And thus began one of the most stirring and extraordinary criminal cases +that ever fell within the broad experience of the famous New York +detective mentioned.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II" />CHAPTER II.</h2> + +<h3>CONCERNING SEÑORA CERVERA.</h3> + + +<p>Joseph Maynard arrived at Nick Carter's residence just as the famous New +York detective was about preparing for lunch, and quickly stated his +mission, disclosing the superficial features of the crime.</p> + +<p>Nick Carter habitually looked below the surface of things, however, and +in trifles he invariably discovered more than the ordinary man. Before +Maynard had fairly outlined the case Nick keenly discerned that the +robbery could not have been committed by any common criminals, and he at +once decided not only that he would take the case, but also that it gave +promise of something far more startling than then appeared aboveboard.</p> + +<p>Yet even Nick's keen discernment utterly failed, at this early stage of +the affair, to anticipate its actual magnitude and tragic possibilities.</p> + +<p>Having consented to accompany Maynard to the scene of the crime, Nick +turned to Chick Carter, his reliable chief assistant, who also had been +an attentive listener to Maynard's disclosures.</p> + +<p>"You had better come with me, Chick," said he. "This affair has rather a +bad look, and in case quick work is imperative, I may need your +assistance."</p> + +<p>"Go with you it is, Nick," Chick heartily cried, hastening to put on his +coat and hat.</p> + +<p>"From the circumstances disclosed by Maynard, however," added Nick, "I +am inclined to think that these rats have very carefully covered their +tracks, and that a still hunt for their trail may prove to be our stunt. +Yet you had better go along with me."</p> + +<p>"I'm ready when you are, Nick."</p> + +<p>"Very good. Come on, Mr. Maynard. I see you have a carriage at the door. +We will not delay even for lunch, but will snatch a bite later."</p> + +<p>Together the three men left the house, and it was precisely one o'clock +when Nick was ushered into the private office of Venner & Co., where the +two members of the firm then were seated, apparently still engaged in +discussing the audacious robbery.</p> + +<p>Mr. Rufus Venner, it may be here stated, was a man of about forty years +of age, and was a very well-known man about town. Darkly handsome, with +an erect and imposing figure, an <i>habitué</i> of the best clubs, a man +still unmarried, yet of whom hints were frequently dropped that he was +very popular with the fair sex, whom he was known to lavishly entertain +at times—this was the senior member of the firm of Venner & Co., and +the man who, quickly arose to greet Nick Carter and Chick when the two +detectives entered.</p> + +<p>"Your clerk has already given me the main facts of the case, Mr. Venner, +so we will dispense with any rehearsal of them, and get right down to +business," Nick crisply observed, immediately after their greeting. +"There are a few questions I wish to ask you, and concise replies may +expedite matters."</p> + +<p>"I will respond as briefly as possible, Mr. Carter," Venner quickly +rejoined, as they took chairs around the office table. "I do not fancy +being robbed in this scurvy fashion, sir, and you may go to any +reasonable expense to discover and arrest the thieves. Now, Detective +Carter, your questions?"</p> + +<p>"To begin with," asked Nick, with a steadfast scrutiny of Venner's +darkly attractive face, "what is the value of the stolen diamonds?"</p> + +<p>"About four thousand dollars."</p> + +<p>"Ten in number, I was told."</p> + +<p>"Precisely."</p> + +<p>"Are they of uniform value?"</p> + +<p>"Nearly so. They are splendid gems, and perfectly matched, and are worth +about four hundred dollars each. I wanted them for a special purpose, +which—"</p> + +<p>"Which I will presently arrive at," Nick courteously interposed. "I +understand, Mr. Venner, that you called yesterday at the store of Thomas +Hafferman and made some inquiries about these stones?"</p> + +<p>"I did, and also examined them."</p> + +<p>"In what part of Hafferman's store were you at the time?"</p> + +<p>"In his private office."</p> + +<p>"Were any of the clerks present?"</p> + +<p>"Not any—Stay! One of the clerks brought in the diamonds to Mr. +Hafferman, but he did not remain. Only Mr. Hafferman himself remained +with me while we discussed the matter."</p> + +<p>"Do you know the clerk's name?"</p> + +<p>"Boyden, I think, he was called."</p> + +<p>"The same who brought the diamonds here this morning," put in Mr. +Garside. "His name is Harry Boyden."</p> + +<p>Nick made a note of it in a small book which he drew from his pocket.</p> + +<p>"Did you make any deal at that time regarding the diamonds?" he +inquired.</p> + +<p>"I only had them reserved for me a day or two, stating that I would +either call again or send an order for them, if I decided to purchase +them," replied Venner.</p> + +<p>"Are you quite sure that only Mr. Hafferman heard you make that +statement?"</p> + +<p>"Sure only in that the office door was closed, and that he alone was +with me. If there were any eavesdroppers about I did not suspect it."</p> + +<p>"Naturally not," smiled Nick. "Now, then, for what special purpose did +you want those particular diamonds? I think you referred to one."</p> + +<p>A slight tinge of red appeared in Venner's cheeks when he replied, a +change which by no means escaped Nick's observation.</p> + +<p>"I wanted the stones, or then thought I might, for a customer who +contemplated giving me an order for a valuable diamond cross, to be worn +upon the stage. We happen to have in stock no diamonds perfectly adapted +to her requirements, and so I called upon Hafferman to learn if he could +supply me."</p> + +<p>"Who is the customer, Mr. Venner?"</p> + +<p>"I do not see how her identity can be at all essential to the +investigation of this affair, yet I have no objection to disclosing it," +said Venner, frowning slightly.</p> + +<p>"Why demur over it, then?" demanded Nick, bluntly.</p> + +<p>"Only because of an aversion to bringing the lady into the case, of +which she, of course, knows nothing," retorted Venner. "I expected the +order from Señora Cervera, the Spanish dancer."</p> + +<p>"Ah! Is she not a member of the Mammoth Vaudeville Troupe, which has +been playing here to packed houses for several months?"</p> + +<p>"She is, yes."</p> + +<p>"I have heard that she makes a great display of diamonds."</p> + +<p>"That is true, Mr. Carter. She possesses a magnificent collection of +jewels, and wears them with an abandon against which I frequently have +cautioned her."</p> + +<p>"By way of explanation," put in Mr. Garside, with an odd smile, "Venner +might add that he enjoys quite friendly relations with the Spanish +señora."</p> + +<p>"I see no occasion, Garside, for comments upon my interest in Sanetta +Cervera," declared Venner, with a frown at his partner. "My relations +with her, Detective Carter, are only those of a friend and a gentleman. +She called here several weeks ago to have some diamonds reset, when I +met her personally, and was deeply impressed with her extraordinary +grace and beauty. I since have shown her some attention."</p> + +<p>"Quite natural, I am sure," observed Nick, smiling indifferently. "As +you remarked, however, none of that appears to be material. I +understand, Mr. Venner, that you were absent when Boyden brought the +diamonds here this morning."</p> + +<p>"I was," bowed Venner. "I received a note from Señora Cervera this +morning, asking me to call upon her at eleven o'clock at her rooms, and +to bring with me a diamond pendant which we have in stock, and which I +had the pleasure of showing her a few days ago."</p> + +<p>"Ah, I see."</p> + +<p>"She stated in her note that if I would call upon her at the hour +mentioned, she would decide whether to purchase the pendant, or have us +make the diamond cross for her."</p> + +<p>"You complied with her request, Mr. Venner, and went to call upon her?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly."</p> + +<p>"Where is she quartered?"</p> + +<p>"She rents a furnished house uptown."</p> + +<p>"Does she live alone?"</p> + +<p>"With her servants only."</p> + +<p>"How many?"</p> + +<p>"She keeps a butler, a male cook, and two housemaids. Also a girl to +look after her wardrobe and act as her dresser at the theater."</p> + +<p>"Evidently Señora Cervera is wealthy," said Nick.</p> + +<p>"Well, not exactly wealthy," rejoined Venner. "She is the popular craze +just now, and from her professional work she derives a very large income +which she scatters as if dollars were dead leaves. In a word, Detective +Carter, Señora Cervera is an arrant spendthrift."</p> + +<p>"So I have heard," nodded Nick.</p> + +<p>"You have?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes!" laughed the detective. "That appears to surprise you. It +will not, when I tell you that there are very few public characters in +New York of whose general habits I am not tolerably well informed. Of +course, Mr. Venner, you have no doubt of this Spanish dancer's honesty?" +Nick added, bluntly.</p> + +<p>Venner flushed deeply, and instantly shook his head.</p> + +<p>"Most assuredly not," he cried, with some feeling. "Señora Cervera +dishonest? Impossible!"</p> + +<p>"Improbable, Mr. Venner, no doubt; but not impossible."</p> + +<p>"It is, sir," declared Venner, positively. "I know her well. Such an +idea is absurd. Drop it at once, Detective Carter. Indeed, sir, if I +thought her name was to be dragged into this affair, or her reputation +to be in any way imperiled, I would quietly suffer the loss of these +diamonds, and cease this investigation at once."</p> + +<p>Nick laughed softly, and suppressed the response that, nearly rose to +his lips.</p> + +<p>"Don't do it, Mr. Venner," said he, complacently. "My observation was +not intended to cast any reflection upon Señora Cervera. I have no doubt +that she is perfectly honest."</p> + +<p>"I should hope not, sir."</p> + +<p>"By the way, have you the note she sent to you this morning?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. Here it is."</p> + +<p>"By mail, or a messenger?"</p> + +<p>"A messenger brought it."</p> + +<p>"Ah!" murmured Nick, briefly studying the written page. "Plainly a +foreign hand. Very firm and forceful. It indicates a strong and +determined character. I should say that Señora Cervera is a woman of +rare qualities."</p> + +<p>"That is perfectly correct, sir. She is a woman of rare qualities."</p> + +<p>"What did she decide to do about the diamonds, Mr. Venner?"</p> + +<p>"She gave me an order for the cross, Detective Carter, to be made and +delivered as soon as possible."</p> + +<p>"This was during your call upon her this morning?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly."</p> + +<p>"You had previously sent no order to Hafferman for the stones?"</p> + +<p>"Surely not."</p> + +<p>"Yet a written order was received by him, or he would not have delivered +the goods."</p> + +<p>"In which case, then, it was a forgery."</p> + +<p>"No doubt of it," Nick readily admitted. "Chick."</p> + +<p>"Yes, Nick."</p> + +<p>"Take a carriage and go at once and interview Hafferman. See what you +can learn from him. Get the written order received by him, and bring it +here. Have a look at young Boyden, and see what you make of him. Also +get the written signature of Mr. Hafferman, and that of each person +employed in his store. Understand?"</p> + +<p>"Sure thing!" nodded Chick, already seeing clearly the line Nick's +investigation was taking, though neither Venner nor his partner yet +perceived it. "I will return as quickly as possible."</p> + +<p>"You will find me here," nodded Nick. "Wait a moment!"</p> + +<p>"Well?"</p> + +<p>"Also get a description of the party who delivered the written order at +Hafferman's store. Inquire what he said at the time, and why he did not +attempt securing the diamonds then and there."</p> + +<p>"Probably he was not known there, and knew he could not get them," +observed Venner, by way of explanation.</p> + +<p>Nick made no reply to this, however, and Chick hurriedly departed.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III" />CHAPTER III.</h2> + +<h3>THE KILGORE DIAMOND GANG.</h3> + + +<p>"Now, gentlemen, only a few more questions, and I then shall be ready to +go at this case in a more energetic fashion," said Nick Carter, +immediately after Chick's departure. "Were any of your clerks absent +from the store, Mr. Venner, at the time of this robbery?"</p> + +<p>"As I was absent myself, I cannot say," replied Venner, rather dryly. +"How about it, Garside?—you were here."</p> + +<p>"Only one clerk, a young man named Spaulding, was out of the store."</p> + +<p>"Was he out on business?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, under my instructions," Venner quickly explained. "We have +numerous old accounts on our books, and just before I went uptown I sent +Spaulding out to try to make a few collections. I think he has returned +by this time."</p> + +<p>"It does not matter, since he was out under your instructions," said +Nick, closing his notebook. "Now, Mr. Venner, who among your employees +knew you thought of buying this lot of diamonds from Hafferman, or that +you had called at his store to examine them?"</p> + +<p>"Not a soul," was the prompt reply.</p> + +<p>"Are you sure of that?"</p> + +<p>"Absolutely. I had said nothing of the matter, even to my partner, there +being nothing definite about it before I saw Señora Cervera this +morning. I am sure that none of my clerks had any idea of my +intentions."</p> + +<p>Nick was not so sure of it, yet he did not say so. He arose and took +from Venner's desk a block of plain paper, which he laid upon the table.</p> + +<p>"Gentlemen," said he, "I want the signature of your firm, in the +handwriting of each of you. Kindly let me have this."</p> + +<p>"What's that for?" demanded Venner, abruptly.</p> + +<p>"I wish to make a comparison with the forged order which my assistant +will presently bring from Mr. Hafferman," Nick coolly explained. "I +would suggest that you do not delay me."</p> + +<p>Venner made no reply, but took a pen and signed the firm's name upon the +blank paper.</p> + +<p>"Now yours, Mr. Garside."</p> + +<p>"Mine also, Detective Carter?" queried Garside, with a look of surprise.</p> + +<p>"If you please."</p> + +<p>"Surely," cried Venner, with some resentment, "you do not suspect that +Mr. Garside or myself—"</p> + +<p>"Pardon me!" Nick bluntly interrupted. "I am not in the habit of +discussing my suspicions. That I should suspect either of you, however, +is utterly absurd."</p> + +<p>"I should say so!"</p> + +<p>"Therefore do not argue with me over an absurdity. If I am to continue +this investigation, gentlemen, I must do it in my own way. Either that, +or I shall drop the case at once. Your signature, Mr. Garside."</p> + +<p>Garside hastened to take the pen, and dashed off the firm's signature +below that of his partner. Nick tore the page from the block, then +handed the latter to Venner.</p> + +<p>"Now, Mr. Venner," said he, "have each of your employees, from first to +last, write his name with pen and ink upon this paper. Don't overlook +one of them, not one, from your bookkeeper down to your office boy. If +Spaulding is still out, get his signature later, and send it to me by +mail. I will wait here while you are thus engaged."</p> + +<p>Venner now vaguely perceived Nick's suspicions and design, and he could +not consistently offer any remonstrance. Yet he plainly resented the +idea that any of his clerks could have been guilty of co-operation with +the criminals who had committed the robbery that morning, and his dark +features wore a grim and sullen expression when he took the block of +paper and repaired to his main office.</p> + +<p>Nick Carter sat and waited, silently sizing up the case as he then saw +it.</p> + +<p>Just as Venner returned with the numerous signatures, Chick also put in +an appearance again, bringing with him the forged order which had been +left at Hafferman's store. Nick merely glanced at it, then thrust it +into his pocket.</p> + +<p>"Did you see Boyden?" he inquired of Chick.</p> + +<p>"Yes, and spoke with him," nodded Chick.</p> + +<p>"What about him?"</p> + +<p>"He looks all right."</p> + +<p>"Did you get the signatures of Hafferman and his clerks?"</p> + +<p>"They are on this paper."</p> + +<p>"Good enough. Let me have those of your employees, Mr. Venner. Are they +all here?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, all of them."</p> + +<p>"Very good," said Nick, putting the several papers into his pocket. +"Now, Chick, what of the man who visited Hafferman's store with the +forged order?"</p> + +<p>"He merely left the order and asked that the diamonds should be sent +here at once."</p> + +<p>"What sort of a man?"</p> + +<p>"Dark, about fifty, with a heavy mustache and wavy hair," said Chick, +glibly. "Quite a big fellow, Hafferman states."</p> + +<p>"H'm!" ejaculated Nick, with a significant nod. "Now, Mr. Garside, +describe the man to whom you delivered the diamonds."</p> + +<p>"Raymond?"</p> + +<p>"If that is the name he gave you."</p> + +<p>"He is a well-built, smoothly shaven fellow, of about thirty years, with +a sallow complexion, slightly pock-marked—"</p> + +<p>"Ah, I thought so!" Nick curtly interrupted. "That's quite sufficient, +Mr. Garside."</p> + +<p>"What do you mean, Carter?" quickly demanded Venner. "Do you already +recognize these criminals?"</p> + +<p>"I recognize their work."</p> + +<p>"And the men?"</p> + +<p>"I've them in mind from the outset."</p> + +<p>"Impossible!"</p> + +<p>"Not so, Mr. Venner," Nick now declared, with emphasis. "Without a +shadow of doubt, sir, you have been victimized by the notorious Kilgore +diamond gang, a trio of the shrewdest and most daring scoundrels that +ever stood in leather."</p> + +<p>"You amaze me."</p> + +<p>"Do I?" inquired Nick, smiling softly. "Well, sir, if I were to tell you +the history of these rascals, you would be more than amazed—you would +be astounded. No crime is too desperate, no knavery too hazardous, no +villainy too despicable, for them to attempt, and too often successfully +execute. They have perpetrated their crimes over two continents, and are +known to the police the world over."</p> + +<p>"That is not very complimentary to the police," said Venner, dryly. "I +marvel that such distinguished scoundrels are still at large."</p> + +<p>"A fact which stamps them no ordinary criminals," replied Nick, +pointedly. "Nor are they, sir."</p> + +<p>"What do you know of them, Detective Carter?"</p> + +<p>"David Kilgore, the chief of the gang, is one of the shrewdest and most +daring of knaves, a man of splendid education, polished manners and +broad experience. He possesses nerves of steel, the cunning of a fox, +and would not shrink even from murder, if his designs required it. Yet +he invariably covers his tracks so cleverly, or so quickly vanishes when +hard pressed, that thus far he has successfully eluded the police. +That's David Kilgore, sir."</p> + +<p>"And what of his associates?" inquired Venner. "I think you spoke of a +trio."</p> + +<p>"His confederates are scamps of the same sort, and nearly his equal in +craft and daring," replied Nick. "Perry Dalton is one—the smooth, +pock-marked rascal whom you, Mr. Garside, had the pleasure of meeting +this morning. He is nicknamed Spotty Dalton, because of his slight +disfigurement."</p> + +<p>"And the other?"</p> + +<p>"Is a man named Matthew Stall, more commonly called Matt Stall. He is a +Western man, a graduate of a California university, and is an expert +electrician. Oh, I know all about them," laughed Nick, "although this is +the first time I have been up against them personally. I am rather glad +to discover that they are here in New York."</p> + +<p>"Why so, Detective Carter?" Venner carelessly inquired, with a subtle +gleam in the depths of his dark eyes.</p> + +<p>"Because I have long wanted to match my talents against those of Dave +Kilgore and his rascally push," declared Nick, with grim austerity. "The +last I knew of them they were in Amsterdam, Holland, where some of the +finest work in diamond cutting is done, as you doubtless know."</p> + +<p>"Indeed, yes."</p> + +<p>"They probably had to jump that country for obvious reasons, and very +likely the European continent," added Nick. "They have long avoided New +York, and the fact that they are now here is significant of—well, well, +we shall see! That's all, gentlemen!"</p> + +<p>"But what do you intend doing about this case?" demanded Venner, as Nick +abruptly rose to go.</p> + +<p>"All that can be done, sir," the famous detective bluntly rejoined. "I +accept the case, Mr. Venner, and will do my best with it. When I have +anything to report, you shall hear from me."</p> + +<p>"But—"</p> + +<p>"There really is nothing more to be said, gentlemen, and the sooner I +get to work the better," Nick gravely interposed.</p> + +<p>"But will you advise me of any steps that you may take?" persisted +Venner, briefly detaining him by the arm.</p> + +<p>"Very probably," nodded Nick, though really he probably would do nothing +of the kind. "And now good-day, gentlemen. If reporters call upon you, +you may give them all of the facts, and state that Nick Carter is at +work on the case. I want this Kilgore diamond gang to know at the outset +that I am after them—and fully resolved to land them where they +belong."</p> + +<p>"Behind prison bars, eh?" inquired Venner, with an odd smile.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir! Behind prison bars!" declared Nick, forcibly. "Again, +gentlemen, good-day. You will hear from me later."</p> + +<p>Mr. Rufus Venner, with his partner at his elbow, stood in the office +door and silently watched the two celebrated detectives as they strode +quickly through the elegant store, from which they presently vanished +into Fifth Avenue.</p> + +<p>There was a smile of subtle cunning, combined with cruel and malicious +determination, on Venner's dark face and he muttered under his breath, +as the store door closed upon Nick's imposing figure:</p> + +<p>"Hear from you later, eh? Very good. Very good, indeed, Mr. Detective +Carter! Hear from you again—that is precisely what I want! Early and +often, Detective Carter; early and often, if you please! It is precisely +for what the little robbery of this April morning was invented!"</p> + +<p>"But was it necessary—was it really necessary, Rufus?" whispered +Garside, who alone had overheard, and whose paler face and tremulous +figure betrayed fears which his swarthy senior partner would have +scorned to feel. "This Carter is a most artful and discerning man. I am +so afraid you have barked up the wrong tree. Was it necessary, really +necessary, Rufus?"</p> + +<p>Venner turned upon him with a half-smothered snarl of contempt.</p> + +<p>"Bah! You'd be afraid of your own shadow, Garside, if left alone with +it," he sneered, between his white, even teeth. "Necessary—of course it +was necessary! Otherwise, I should not have adopted the ruse. We are +about to attempt a big game—an infernally big game! When it matures, +when it is finally launched, the very first concern that finds itself +bitten will rush to Nick Carter for aid."</p> + +<p>"There is no doubt of that, Rufus."</p> + +<p>"Surely no doubt of it! He is the greatest detective in the country—and +the greatest will be none too clever, nor too expensive, for those who +find themselves duped by our unparalleled design."</p> + +<p>"I should say so."</p> + +<p>"What will be the result, Philip?—what will be the result?" added +Venner, with a curious mingling of exultation and asperity. "If our +victims appeal to Nick Carter for help—are we not also already in his +good graces? Have we not insured his confidence in us by this little +move of to-day? Will he not reveal himself and his suspicions to us, +just as I have designed, and keep us posted about his every move, and so +forewarned and forearmed? Of course he will—to be sure he will!"</p> + +<p>"But he is such a crafty and daring—"</p> + +<p>"Bah! Is he more crafty than Dave Kilgore?" demanded Venner, +significantly. "Is he more daring than Spotty Dalton, or more determined +than anyone of the Kilgore gang? Not by a long chalk, Philip, and I know +of them of whom I speak. Ay, as much and more of them than does +Detective Nick Carter."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you are right, Rufus," murmured Garside, nodding. "We certainly +are about launching a tremendous, an utterly unparalleled, swindle. The +like of it was never, never known. There should be millions in it. Yes, +yes, Rufus, you are right. It was wise to preface our gigantic +operations by getting well in touch with Nick Carter."</p> + +<p>"To be sure, it was wise, Philip, or I should not have taken the trouble +to do so," said Venner, with much less acrimony. "So be a man always, +Philip, and never a flunky. You have played your part admirably this +morning. Let it be played as well, Philip, even to the finish—even to +the last ditch!"</p> + +<p>Philip Garside's color had returned, and he smiled confidently and +nodded in approval.</p> + +<p>Plainly enough, this hushed yet emphatic intercourse between these two +indicated one fact—that Detective Nick Carter was up against a far +deeper game than he then imagined.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV" />CHAPTER IV.</h2> + +<h3>GETTING DOWN TO WORK.</h3> + + +<p>"Well, Nick, old man, what have you made of it?"</p> + +<p>The question came from Chick Carter, in his familiar and cheerful +fashion, several hours after the interview held by the two detectives +with Rufus Venner and his partner in their Fifth Avenue store.</p> + +<p>It was now about six o'clock in the evening, and Chick had just returned +from having a confidential talk with one of the stage hands of the +theater in which the then famous attraction, the mammoth European and +American vaudeville troupe, of which Señora Cervera was a star +attraction, had for several months been playing to crowded houses.</p> + +<p>Chick found Nick seated at the table in his library, with a powerful +magnifying glass in his hand, while the table was strewn with the papers +he that morning had brought from the office of Venner & Co.</p> + +<p>Nick looked up with a laugh, and knocked the ashes from his cigar.</p> + +<p>"Well, there's no doubt about it, Chick," he replied. "We are finally up +against them."</p> + +<p>"The Kilgore diamond gang?"</p> + +<p>"Precisely."</p> + +<p>"I'm glad of it, Nick, as you remarked this morning."</p> + +<p>"Well, I've not changed my mind since then. So am I."</p> + +<p>"We shall now find out whether they are as crafty and desperate as they +have been painted."</p> + +<p>"I guess there is no doubt about it, Chick."</p> + +<p>"Well, if we fail to throw them down, Nick, my money shall go on Kilgore +from that moment," declared Chick, with a grin. "What have you dug out +of that mess of papers, Nick? Have you arrived at any conclusions?"</p> + +<p>"Rather!" smiled Nick, significantly. "Did you ever know me to study for +five hours over anything of this kind without arriving at some +conclusion?"</p> + +<p>"Never!" laughed Chick. "And the best of it is, Nick, your conclusions +nearly always prove to be correct. What's the verdict, old man?"</p> + +<p>Nick glanced at the French clock on the mantel.</p> + +<p>"Sit down and light up," he replied. "We have half an hour before +getting down to work against this push. I will devote it to informing +you of the case as it now appears."</p> + +<p>"Good enough!" exclaimed Chick, drawing up a chair and lighting a cigar. +"Let her go, Nick. I am all ears, as the donkey said to the deacon."</p> + +<p>"To begin with," began Nick, more gravely, "this order sent to +Hafferman, for the diamonds which he delivered at Venner's store, is +merely a forgery. Neither Venner nor Garside wrote it, that's as plain +as the nose on an elephant's face."</p> + +<p>"Which is plain enough, surely," nodded Chick.</p> + +<p>"Furthermore," continued Nick, "the forgery was not the work of any +clerk employed in either store. I have compared the writing of each and +every clerk with that of the forged order, and I will stake my +reputation upon my conclusion. The forgery was committed by some outside +party."</p> + +<p>Nick was an expert chirographist. To have deceived him with a disguised +handwriting would have been utterly impossible, and none knew it better +than Chick, who now nodded approvingly.</p> + +<p>"Some outside party, eh?"</p> + +<p>"There is no doubt of it, Chick. And this conclusion at once suggests +two very natural questions," Nick went on. "First, was one of the +Kilgore gang in Hafferman's store when Venner went there yesterday, and +did he overhear enough of what passed between them to enable him to plan +the job done this morning?"</p> + +<p>"Possibly."</p> + +<p>"In opposition to that theory, however, is the fact that the forged +order is written on one of Venner's printed letter sheets."</p> + +<p>"By a little adroit work, Nick, one of the gang could have obtained a +sheet of Venner's office paper."</p> + +<p>"That is very true," admitted Nick. "But since this is a theory founded +only upon conjecture, with no positive evidence to back it up, the +stronger probability is rather to the contrary."</p> + +<p>"Right, Nick, as far as that goes."</p> + +<p>"I think so."</p> + +<p>"And what is the second theory suggested?"</p> + +<p>"That some clerk in one of the stores got wind of Venner's contemplated +purchase, and revealed the fact to one of the Kilgore gang, by whom I +am confident—bear in mind—that the crime was committed."</p> + +<p>"That theory seems plausible," nodded Chick. "There is young Boyden, you +know, at Hafferman's. He may have got wise to Venner's intentions. +Garside remarked that he appeared quite anxious to leave the diamonds +until Venner should return. That would have been very natural on his +part, in case he was then co-operating with the party who finally +secured them."</p> + +<p>"The same objection again arises, however," argued Nick. "Boyden is not +employed at Venner's, and therefore has not access to his letter paper. +Furthermore, Venner's visit was made only yesterday afternoon, less than +twenty-four hours before the robbery occurred. It seems hardly probable +that Boyden was already in league with the Kilgore gang; and, if he was +not, it is even less probable that he so quickly got in touch with +them."</p> + +<p>"By Jove! that's so," cried Chick. "As a matter of fact, then, neither +of these theories has a reliable leg to stand upon."</p> + +<p>"That's exactly my conclusion," laughed Nick.</p> + +<p>"And what then?"</p> + +<p>"Concerning that side of the affair," replied Nick, "several +irresistible convictions are therefore forced upon me. One of the +Kilgore gang certainly knew of Venner's visit, and of the request he +made Hafferman regarding the diamonds. Otherwise he could not have +planned the job so neatly. Somebody must have informed him. Somebody +must have provided him with one of Venner's letter sheets. If we +eliminate the clerks, and the members of both firms, we are left very +much in the dark."</p> + +<p>"I should say so," rejoined Chick. "The affair becomes a dense mystery."</p> + +<p>"It becomes a mystery that I don't quite fancy," declared Nick, with a +significant nod. "In fact, Chick, I'm not at all favorably impressed +with this robbery. To me it has a mighty fishy look."</p> + +<p>"Why so, Nick?"</p> + +<p>"It is not like this Kilgore gang, mark you, to have been dickering with +a dirty little job of this kind, netting them only a few thousands at +the best; yet a job in which they incurred as much danger of detection, +Chick, as in one infinitely greater."</p> + +<p>"By Jove! that's so. There's no getting away from that argument, Nick."</p> + +<p>"Instead of trying to get away from it, Chick, I'm going to stay with +it," continued Nick, with emphasis. "I am beginning to suspect that this +paltry little robbery may in some way make a far deeper and darker game. +At all events, Chick, we'll not wind ourselves in a search for those +diamonds, at least not before we have sifted these side issues a little +finer."</p> + +<p>"Good enough!" cried Chick, heartily. "I agree with you on every point. +Only your long head, Nick, old man, could have deduced such shrewd +conclusions; and I believe, by Jove! that you have hit the nail on the +head."</p> + +<p>"If I have," rejoined Nick, grimly, "we'll drive the nail home a little +later, and home to stay."</p> + +<p>"That we will."</p> + +<p>"There remains one other feature of the case," added Nick, "and, +starting from that, we will begin work upon the affair this very night."</p> + +<p>"You refer to that Spanish dancer, Cervera?"</p> + +<p>"Precisely."</p> + +<p>"And the fact that she requested Venner to call at her house this +morning?"</p> + +<p>"Exactly," nodded Nick. "She fixed the hour, mind you, probably knowing +that Venner would comply with her request. Hence there exists a +possibility that she designed to get him away from his store at just +that time, in order that the robbery could be successfully executed."</p> + +<p>"In which case, Nick, we necessarily must figure her in with the Kilgore +gang, despite Venner's declaration of her honesty."</p> + +<p>"Certainly we must, Chick, in case her note to Venner was written for +the purpose mentioned," nodded Nick. "Of that, however, we have no +positive evidence. It may have been purely accidental that her note was +sent to-day, and mentioned the very hour when the theft was committed. +Obviously, in that case, the thief outside was waiting for some +opportunity when Venner should be away from his store. Cervera would +then be out of the affair, as far as any criminal intent is concerned."</p> + +<p>"Very probably."</p> + +<p>"So there you are!" exclaimed Nick, with another glance at the clock. +"Our half hour is up. You now have my measure of the case, and next we +will get down to business. We will drop this fishy-looking robbery for +the present, Chick, and first of all make a move to learn something +about Señora Cervera, and her relations with Rufus Venner."</p> + +<p>"A good scheme, Nick, and I'm with you."</p> + +<p>"Have you been at the theater?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, and fixed things with Busby."</p> + +<p>"You can get in upon the stage to-night?"</p> + +<p>"Sure thing, as I told you," laughed Chick. "Busby is the boss scene +shifter there, and he consented to work me in as a stage hand."</p> + +<p>"Ah! very good."</p> + +<p>"I have got to make up for the part, however, and must soon be about it. +I am due there at half-past seven."</p> + +<p>"Get at it, then," said Nick, rising. "See what you can learn about +Cervera, and what you make of her from observation. In case Venner is +about there, keep your ears alert, so that you can overhear."</p> + +<p>"You trust me for that, Nick," cried Chick, laughing.</p> + +<p>"Meantime, Chick, I'll have a look at the show from the front," added +Nick. "And after Cervera does her turn, in case Venner is there, and she +departs with him, you then may leave the couple to me. I'll be waiting +for them at the stage door."</p> + +<p>"Right you are, Nick. So here goes!"</p> + +<p>Shrewd deductions, indeed, those of Nick Carter.</p> + +<p>Plainly enough, Garside was quite justified in his apprehension that +Rufus Venner had barked up the wrong tree.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V" />CHAPTER V.</h2> + +<h3>BEHIND THE SCENES.</h3> + + +<p>Nick Carter had a double object in the work laid out for that night. If +Señora Cervera was indeed in league with the Kilgore gang, and in any +way responsible for the diamond robbery, Nick was resolved to secure +positive evidence of it.</p> + +<p>While her letter to Venner appeared to implicate her, since it had taken +him from his store just at the time of the robbery, it seemed hardly +probable that this brilliant Spanish girl, whose extraordinary grace and +whirlwind dances had made her the talk of the town, could be identified +with a gang of criminals notorious the world over. Yet the bare +possibility existed, and Nick never ignored even the shadow of a clew.</p> + +<p>He further reasoned that, in case Cervera was in league with the +suspected gang, one or more of them might visit the theater in which she +was performing, and Nick decided to have a look at the audience that +evening. He was sure he could identify Kilgore or any of his gang, even +if disguised, as would be very probable.</p> + +<p>Nick's second object was that of learning the exact relations between +Señora Cervera and Rufus Venner, and a part of that work he confided to +Chick. With himself in the front of the house, and Chick on the stage, +Nick believed that nothing worth seeing would escape them.</p> + +<p>His own search early in the evening, however, proved futile. It was the +last week but one of the mammoth vaudeville attraction, and the theater +was densely crowded. Though Nick watched the lobbies and the smoking +room, and also made a systematic study of the auditorium, he could +discover no sign of the parties he was seeking.</p> + +<p>About nine o'clock he returned to his chair in the orchestra, and +settled himself to have a look at Cervera, whose act was one of the last +on the program.</p> + +<p>Just at that time Chick Carter, in the overalls and blouse of a scene +shifter, made his first pertinent discovery—that Rufus Venner, clad in +immaculate evening dress, and carrying an Inverness topcoat on his arm, +had arrived upon the stage.</p> + +<p>"He seems to be at home behind the scenes," soliloquized Chick, +furtively watching him. "Evidently he has some kind of a pull with the +manager, or he could not get admission to the stage. Probably through +his friend, the Spanish señora."</p> + +<p>Venner was then in one of the left wings, apparently indulging in small +talk with a handsome girl of about twenty, who had just finished her +turn upon the stage. She was rather simply clad, but was strikingly +pretty and modest appearing; and upon consulting a program with which he +had provided himself, Chick learned that her stage name was Violet +Marduke; and that she was cast as a singer of ballads.</p> + +<p>"Evidently employed to fill in," thought Chick, who had not been much +impressed with her songs, though he decided that the girl herself was a +beauty. "And by his admiring glances, Venner also thinks pretty well of +her," Chick mentally added.</p> + +<p>"Room here, mister," growled a voice at his elbow. "Make room for the +reptiles."</p> + +<p>Chick turned quickly about, and then involuntarily recoiled from the +startling object that met his gaze.</p> + +<p>In front of a scene then set in the second grooves of the Stage, the +continuous performance was still in progress. Meantime, several of the +stage hands were wheeling to the center of the stage, back of the scene, +the properties of the next performer on the program—and grewsome +properties they were.</p> + +<p>The object beheld by Chick was a huge, cagelike den, mounted on low +wheels, and having a broad front of plate glass. Inside of this den were +several wicker baskets, some of which were open, while others were +covered and locked.</p> + +<p>In the open baskets, or writhing freely about the floor of the den, were +fully fifty serpents of various sizes, many being only a foot or two +long, while several were as many yards in length.</p> + +<p>A more repulsive and blood-curdling sight Chick had never experienced, +and the stage hand who had asked him to move laughed at his look of +mingled horror and repugnance.</p> + +<p>"Ever seen any like 'em after a jamboree?" he inquired, good-naturedly.</p> + +<p>"Well, hardly," said Chick, subduing his aversion. "If I were to go on a +drunk and see anything like them, I'd sign the pledge the next morning."</p> + +<p>"A good scheme, too."</p> + +<p>"I should say so."</p> + +<p>"Some o' the crawling divils are as bad as they look," added the stage +hand, while he helped to place the snake den squarely on the stage.</p> + +<p>"What do you mean?" inquired Chick, still gingerly surveying them.</p> + +<p>"Pizen!"</p> + +<p>"Venomous?"</p> + +<p>"You bet! Durn 'em, I wouldn't touch one of them for the wealth of +Rockefeller."</p> + +<p>"Do you mean that some of them still have their fangs and poison bags?"</p> + +<p>"Sure! D'ye see that little copper-colored cuss down there in the +corner, not more'n a foot long? If he got a crack at you, you'd not live +ten seconds."</p> + +<p>"Well, I will take deuced good care that he gets no nip at me," declared +Chick, with a grin. "Why do they have such dangerous things around?"</p> + +<p>"H'm! What would be the excitement, or the credit of snake charming, if +the wriggling beasts were made harmless by pulling out their fangs?" +demanded the stage hand. "It would be like a dog fight, with the dogs +muzzled. These belong to that heathen Hindoo, the snake charmer. He +shows next."</p> + +<p>"Pandu Singe?" inquired Chick, glancing at the name on the program.</p> + +<p>"Sure. He handles 'em like so many babies. There he is now, just coming +from his dressing room. He looks a bit like a snake himself."</p> + +<p>Chick turned and gazed curiously at the approaching foreigner.</p> + +<p>Pandu Singe was a tall, swarthy man, with straight, black hair, an +Indian cast of features, and a pair of intensely black and piercing +eyes. Their glitter was indeed like that in the eyes of a snake, yet the +Hindoo, approaching without a word to anybody, or a glance to either +side, was not without a certain sort of savage dignity.</p> + +<p>He wore a red turban around his head, while a loose, black robe, belted +around his waist, reached nearly to his ankles. With a gesture he signed +the several men away from his hideous den of reptiles, and Chick retired +up the stage.</p> + +<p>The detective had barely made his change, when he heard the low voice of +Busby near by, the friend who had smuggled him upon the stage that +evening.</p> + +<p>"Hist! There she is, Chick!"</p> + +<p>"Cervera?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. Down yonder, just to the right of the electric switchboard. Slip +in back of this wood wing, and you can have a good look at her."</p> + +<p>"All right, Busby, old man," whispered Chick. "Don't you pay too much +attention to me, or it may be noticed. I'll see all there is to be seen, +old boy."</p> + +<p>Busby winked understandingly, and Chick stepped back of the scenery +mentioned, through a portion of which he could easily watch Cervera +unobserved.</p> + +<p>That she was a daughter of sunny Spain no man would have doubted. Her +wavy hair was as dark as night, and her eyes were as radiant as the +night stars. Her rich, olive complexion was much rouged, adding to the +brilliancy of her splendid beauty.</p> + +<p>She appeared to be about twenty-five, and was clad in her stage costume, +which combined all the bright hues of the rainbow, and was enlivened by +a myriad of dazzling jewels and diamonds.</p> + +<p>The costume served to display to advantage her matchless figure, +however, and Chick was fain to admit that he had never seen a much more +striking beauty.</p> + +<p>"She's a bird, all right, and no mistake," he said to himself, while +intently regarding her handsome face and jewel-bedecked figure. "Yet she +has a bad eye, despite her beauty, and a cruel mouth. She certainly +would put up a wicked fight, if once aroused. Yes, a deucedly bad eye! +What in thunder is she staring at, to look like that!"</p> + +<p>From her position near one of the lower wings, Sanetta Cervera was +gazing steadfastly across the stage at something which Chick could not +see.</p> + +<p>The dark eyes of the Spanish dancer had taken on a threatening glare. +Her curved brows had drooped and knit, until they formed a straight line +below her forehead, and her red lips were drawn and firmly compressed.</p> + +<p>Before Chick could discover any occasion for this mute display of +feeling, the performance in front of the set scene concluded, and the +act of the snake charmer was due to begin.</p> + +<p>Then came a rapid change of scenery, during which Chick was again +obliged to change his position, and for a time he lost sight of Cervera +in the stir and confusion of the busy stage.</p> + +<p>He did not succeed in locating her again until she began her +performance, when a full stage was given her for the marvelously +graceful and impassioned dances of which her act consisted, and which +had fairly turned half the heads in the city.</p> + +<p>In the white glare of the limelight, she certainly presented a wild and +dazzling picture. Her beauty was indescribably accentuated. She appeared +like a being ablaze with diamonds. Her every attitude was one of +seductive grace, her every movement as swift and light as those of a +startled leopard.</p> + +<p>At its conclusion her act evoked thunders of applause, and then Chick +saw her hastening toward her dressing room, flushed with excitement and +panting for breath.</p> + +<p>Suddenly she halted and her smile vanished.</p> + +<p>Then Chick saw her turn abruptly toward one of the wing scenes, where +she met Venner face to face.</p> + +<p>The wealthy Fifth Avenue jeweler laughed and extended his hand to greet +her, but she frowned and hesitated before accepting it; and Chick made a +quick move and stole back of the scenery, near which the two briefly +remained standing.</p> + +<p>He arrived in time to overhear only a few words, however, of which he +could make nothing bearing upon the diamond robbery, or relating to the +Kilgore gang.</p> + +<p>"Pshaw! You are entirely wrong, Sanetta," Venner was expostulating, with +voice lowered. "Your eyes have deceived you."</p> + +<p>The woman replied through her teeth, with a hiss like that of a snake.</p> + +<p>"My eyes deceived me? Never! You lie! I know what I see!" she fiercely +answered, with but a slight foreign accent.</p> + +<p>"You are wrong, Cervera," protested Venner. "I—"</p> + +<p>"I am not! I see—and I know!"</p> + +<p>"But—"</p> + +<p>"<i>Caramba!</i> I say you shall go with me!"</p> + +<p>"Why, certainly, if you wish it. Am I not here for that?"</p> + +<p>"You know that I wish it—and you shall go."</p> + +<p>"Whenever you are ready, Sanetta," replied Venner. "Yet your infernal—"</p> + +<p>"Silence! You shall wait here till I have changed my suit. Then we will +go—we will go together. You shall wait here."</p> + +<p>"Go and make the change, then," said Venner, bluntly. "I will be here +when you return."</p> + +<p>"H'm!" thought Chick, as he heard Cervera move quickly away. "Evidently +there is something amiss between them, but what the dickens is it?"</p> + +<p>Still watching, he soon saw Cervera return in her street attire, when +Venner quickly gave her his arm, and they departed by the stairs leading +to the stage door.</p> + +<p>Chick immediately recalled Nick's instructions—that the couple should +now be left to him.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI" />CHAPTER VI.</h2> + +<h3>A SHOT IN THE DARK.</h3> + + +<p>It was nearly eleven o'clock when Rufus Venner and Cervera, the latter +enveloped in a voluminous black cloak, emerged from the stage door of +the theater.</p> + +<p>As they made their way through the paved area leading out to the side +street, where a carriage was awaiting them, a sturdy, roughly clad +fellow in a red wig and croppy beard suddenly slouched out of a gloomy +corner near the stage stairway and followed them, with movements as +stealthy and silent as those of a cat.</p> + +<p>As the carriage containing Venner and the dancer rapidly whirled away, +this rough fellow darted swiftly across the street, and approached a +waiting cab, the door of which stood open.</p> + +<p>"After them, Patsy!" he softly cried, as he sprang in and closed the +door.</p> + +<p>The driver of the cab was one of Nick Carter's youthful yet exceedingly +clever assistants, and the rough fellow was Nick himself.</p> + +<p>He had left the theater the moment Cervera concluded her performance, +and since had completed a perfect disguise in the cab, which he had had +in waiting, with all the properties for effecting the change mentioned.</p> + +<p>That Patsy would constantly keep their quarry in view, and without being +suspected, Nick had not a doubt. Nor was he mistaken. At the end of +twenty minutes the clever young driver slowed down upon approaching an +uptown corner, and signaled Nick to get out.</p> + +<p>The detective alighted from the door on the side from which he had +received the signal, yet the cab did not stop. Nick trotted along beside +the vehicle for a rod or two, keeping it between him and the side street +into which Patsy quickly signed that the hack had turned.</p> + +<p>"Fourth house on the right," he softly cried. "I saw them pull up at it +just as I reached the corner, so I kept right on up the avenue. They've +not gone in yet."</p> + +<p>"Good enough," replied Nick, approvingly. "Take home the traps I have +left in the cab."</p> + +<p>"Sure thing. You don't want any help to-night against this push, do +you?"</p> + +<p>"No, indeed. There'll be but little doing to-night, I imagine. Remember +the house, however, in case I fail to show up."</p> + +<p>"You may gamble on that, sir. I have it down pat."</p> + +<p>They had now passed the upper corner of the side street, and Nick felt +sure that he had not been seen leaving the cab. He darted quickly back +of the vehicle and gained the sidewalk, then stole back and peered +around the corner.</p> + +<p>Cervera and her companion were just mounting the steps of an imposing +stone residence, entirely separate from its neighbors, and their +carriage was driving rapidly away.</p> + +<p>Nick waited until the couple had entered the house, then he crossed to +the gloom of a doorway on the opposite side and had a look at the +dwelling.</p> + +<p>From basement to roof there was no sign of a light. Even the hall +appeared to be in darkness, and Nick waited and watched for several +minutes, expecting to see at least one of the rooms lighted.</p> + +<p>Not a glimmer or gleam, however, appeared from any quarter.</p> + +<p>"H'm!" he presently muttered, a little perplexed. "Either they are +remaining in darkness, or else they have all of those windows heavily +curtained. If the latter is the case, I must discover for what reason.</p> + +<p>"Possibly they are entirely alone in there, and have gone to some room +at the rear of the house. Or maybe they have suspected an espionage, and +are now watching from the gloom of one of those front windows. I'll fool +them if that is so, and will also have a look at the rear of the house. +There is something out of the ordinary here, that's certain."</p> + +<p>Keeping well in the gloom of the block of dwellings near by, Nick +retraced his steps to the corner, then crossed the street and presently +approached a paved driveway leading to a small stable at the rear of the +suspected house.</p> + +<p>The high gate, composed of sharp iron pickets, was securely closed and +locked; so Nick returned to an alley which he had just passed, and which +ran back of a block of dwellings fronting on the avenue where he had +left the cab.</p> + +<p>Stealing into the alley, Nick quickly scaled the high, wooden fence, +crossed two adjoining back yards, and thus reached a wall near the +stable mentioned.</p> + +<p>To mount the wall and drop back of the stable was equally feasible, and +Nick then had the rear of Cervera's dwelling plainly in view.</p> + +<p>Then his searching gaze was rewarded. One of the rear rooms was brightly +lighted, with only the lace draperies at the two windows preventing +observation from outside.</p> + +<p>"Evidently a rear sitting room, or library," thought Nick, calculating +the arrangement of the house. "I will at least learn who is in there."</p> + +<p>He listened briefly for any sound in or about the stable, then stole +quickly across the gloomy, paved yard and approached the house.</p> + +<p>The windows of the lighted room were two feet or more above his head; +but having reached a position just below one of them, he sprang up and +seized the stone coping outside, and drew himself up to peer into the +room.</p> + +<p>Then, just as his head rose into the glow of light from within, clearly +revealing his location, Nick heard a sound the deadly nature of which he +instantly recognized.</p> + +<p>Ping!</p> + +<p>It was the short, sharp, peculiar song of a flying bullet—once heard, +always remembered.</p> + +<p>Then came the dull thud when the leaden ball beat itself shapeless +against the stone wall beside him.</p> + +<p>The bullet had passed within an inch of Nick's ribs, and he knew at once +that he was now a mark for hidden foes.</p> + +<p>Yet there had been no revolver report to suggest their location, and +Nick instantly surmised that the ball must have been discharged with an +air gun.</p> + +<p>He knew that it must have come from some quarter behind him, however. +And he knew, too, how to bring his murderous assailants from their +secret cover.</p> + +<p>As quick as a flash, the instant the ball smote the wall beside him, +Nick let go his hold upon the stone coping and dropped into the darkness +below the window, falling prostrate upon his back.</p> + +<p>As he lay there his hand touched something hot, and he drew it nearer to +examine it.</p> + +<p>It was the battered chunk of lead which had come within an inch of +ending his life.</p> + +<p>"They meant business, for sure," he said to himself, while waiting for +his quick-witted ruse to operate. "I'm blessed if this affair is not +taking on a new and lively interest. I reckon there'll be more doing +to-night than I gave Patsy to believe.</p> + +<p>"Ha, ha! The scoundrels are already breaking cover!"</p> + +<p>His alert ears had detected a sound from the direction of the stable, +and now he silently drew his revolver and held it gripped by his side.</p> + +<p>Presently the stable door was cautiously opened. Then a momentary beam +of light, evidently from a bull's-eye lantern, shot across the paved +area, and lingered for an instant upon Nick's prostrate figure.</p> + +<p>Nick remained as motionless as a corpse.</p> + +<p>Then two men, both large and powerful fellows, and both heavily bearded, +came quickly from the stable and hastened toward him.</p> + +<p>"Done for with a single shot," remarked one, as they approached.</p> + +<p>"Looks like it, Dave," was the reply. "When I piped his head in the +light from the window, I felt sure I could drop him."</p> + +<p>"Well done. 'Twas a good shot. Shove your hand inside his vest, and see +if his heart is beating. Then we shall know for sure whether he's down +and out. If not, we must—"</p> + +<p>"Throw up your hands, instead, both of you!" Nick sternly interrupted, +half rising with weapon leveled. "At the first move by either, I will +shoot to kill!"</p> + +<p>Nick had foreseen that his foxy strategy must be very quickly detected, +and he had resolved to take the bull by the horns, and attempt to arrest +both of his cowardly assailants.</p> + +<p>That he was up against uncommon men, however, men of extraordinary nerve +and reckless daring, appeared in what instantly followed, even under the +very muzzle of the detective's revolver.</p> + +<p>As quick as a flash, before Nick's threatening command was fairly out of +his mouth, the man called Dave made a kick at the detective's uplifted +arm, so swift and accurate and forceful that Nick felt the bones of his +wrist fairly crack under the blow, and the fingers of his hand gripping +the weapon turned numb and tingling as if from an electric shock.</p> + +<p>"At him!" snarled the ruffian, even while he kicked. "At him, I say! +Quick—the pear!"</p> + +<p>It was plain that these men were not doing such desperate work together +for the first time. Both fell upon Nick like wolves upon a stricken elk, +yet they found the detective waiting for them.</p> + +<p>Nick hurled one aside, unable to use his revolver, and grappled with the +second, both falling heavily to the pavement.</p> + +<p>Then number one was at him again, and got him by the throat, with a grip +from which Nick thrice wrenched himself free, at the same time fiercely +banging the head of the other upon the stones upon which the terrific +combat was being waged.</p> + +<p>An oath of vicious rage broke from the latter, and then he fiercely +cried again:</p> + +<p>"The pear! D—— you, be quick! The pear!—the pear!"</p> + +<p>As if in response to this, Nick, who was panting under his violent +efforts to overcome both powerful men, suddenly felt something thrust +forcibly into his mouth.</p> + +<p>Still manfully battling with his opponents, Nick tried to eject the +object, opening his jaws wider in the effort.</p> + +<p>The object, which was shaped like a solid pear, instantly expanded, and +Nick could not close his jaws.</p> + +<p>Again he tried, opening them still wider, and again the pear-shaped +object expanded and held them rigid.</p> + +<p>Then Nick guessed the truth.</p> + +<p>While struggling with might and main to beat these ruffians, he had been +made the victim of an infernal instrument but seldom seen in these days, +and one of the most agonizing and diabolical devices of man's perverted +ingenuity.</p> + +<p>The object in Nick's mouth was a "choke pear!"</p> + +<p>This vicious instrument of torture dates back to the time of Palioly, +the notorious French robber and renegade, when it was very worthily +called "the pear of anguish."</p> + +<p>It consists of a solid gag, so to speak, yet it is so constructed, with +interior springs, that, once thrust into a person's mouth, it expands as +fast as the mouth is opened, and rigidly distends the victim's jaws.</p> + +<p>The more widely the victim gapes to eject the "choke pear," or to cry +out for aid, the larger the hideous object becomes, until torture, +suffocation and death speedily ensue.</p> + +<p>Had this infernal device been generally available to modern criminals, +Nick would have been warned by the significant words he had heard, and +would have guarded himself against it.</p> + +<p>As it was, however, he had been caught; and in the mouth of any ordinary +man the "choke pear" would have been irresistible.</p> + +<p>But the muscles of Nick Carter's jaws were like fibers of steel, and the +instant he realized his situation he opened his mouth no wider. Instead, +while hands and arms were still engaged in the furious conflict with his +assailants, he brought his jaws together as if with superhuman power, +and with a force that crushed the infernal device between them, much as +if it had been little more than an eggshell.</p> + +<p>One of the ruffians heard the snapping crunch, and uttered a cry of +amazement.</p> + +<p>The cry was echoed by hurried footsteps in the house.</p> + +<p>Then a rear door was suddenly thrown open by Rufus Venner, and a flood +of light revealed the struggling men, still battling furiously on the +pavement.</p> + +<p>Nick now had both opponents down, and within another minute he would +have had them at his mercy, a fact which Venner instantly perceived.</p> + +<p>He sprang nearer, drew his revolver, and dealt the detective a single +swinging blow upon the head.</p> + +<p>Nick dropped like an ox struck down in the shambles.</p> + +<p>The darkness of night was as nothing to the darkness that instantly fell +upon him.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII" />CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<h3>A STRATEGIC MOVE.</h3> + + +<p>Nick Carter had a head that was used to hard knocks, and it required +more than one to put him down and out for any considerable period.</p> + +<p>The great detective recovered consciousness within half an hour after +the blow received from Rufus Venner, and he fell to taking the measure +of his situation the moment the cobwebs began to clear from his brain.</p> + +<p>He found himself bound hand and foot with ropes, and lying upon the +floor of a dark room. That he was in the dwelling occupied by the +Spanish dancer, Nick had not a doubt.</p> + +<p>As his mind became clearer and his eyes accustomed to the darkness, Nick +discovered a narrow thread of light some yards away and close to the +floor, and presently the sound of lowered voices faintly reached his +ears.</p> + +<p>"A light in the next room," he said to himself. "Probably the whole gang +is out there, sizing up my case, and deciding what to do with me. If +they are there, I must get a better look at those two ruffians. I owe +them something for their work of to-night, and I always mean to pay such +debts.</p> + +<p>"One of them was called Dave, and it may have been Dave Kilgore himself. +In which case, by Jove! I was right in thinking that this diamond +robbery only masks some deeper and bigger game.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if they suspect my identity. If not, what sort of a game have +they been playing here to-night?"</p> + +<p>Nick very quickly measured the various possibilities of the unusual +situation.</p> + +<p>If the man whose name he had heard was indeed David Kilgore, then Rufus +Venner, as well as Cervera, might be in league with the diamond gang, +and the pretended robbery only a move made with some secret design.</p> + +<p>On the other hand, Venner might be entirely ignorant of Kilgore's +identity, and without any serious suspicions of Cervera, being himself a +blind victim of these notorious criminals.</p> + +<p>"If the latter is the case," reasoned Nick, "the gang may stand in fear +of me, and perhaps are afraid that I shall foil some scheme they have in +operation, or are about to undertake. Then they to-night may have aimed +only to discover the extent and nature of my suspicions.</p> + +<p>"If that is the case, plainly it will become me to be a little foxy. I +will see if I can contrive to overhear anything from out yonder."</p> + +<p>Bent upon wriggling nearer the closed door revealed by the thread of +light near the floor, Nick quietly turned upon his side and cautiously +worked his way over the carpet.</p> + +<p>He had covered scarce a yard, however, when the sharp, metallic ring of +Cervera's voice fell plainly on his ears.</p> + +<p>"Look again, one of you," she curtly commanded. "See if that vagabond +has come to himself."</p> + +<p>"That's your humble servant!" thought Nick.</p> + +<p>He quickly rolled back to his former position on the floor, and prepared +to play the fox.</p> + +<p>In a moment the door was thrown open, admitting a flood of light, and a +man strode into the room and dropped to his knee beside the motionless +detective.</p> + +<p>"I say!" he harshly growled, shaking Nick roughly by the shoulder. +"Brace up, you dog! Brace up, d'ye hear?"</p> + +<p>Nick groaned deeply, then slowly opened his eyes.</p> + +<p>"Oh, my head—my poor head!" he muttered, like one dazed and in pain.</p> + +<p>"Your poor head, eh?" sneered the other. "You're dead lucky to have a +head left you. Pull yourself together, do you hear?"</p> + +<p>"Let me be! Where am I?"</p> + +<p>"You'll soon find out where you are. Sit up here!"</p> + +<p>"What do you say?" cried Venner, from the next room. "Has he come to?"</p> + +<p>The man at Nick's side turned his head to reply, and Nick then obtained +a clear view of his profile.</p> + +<p>"Humph!" he mentally ejaculated. "Matthew Stall in disguise! One of the +diamond gang, sure enough, and I now know I am on the right track."</p> + +<p>"Yes, he's finally coming to time," cried Stall, in reply to Venner. "He +will be all right in a minute."</p> + +<p>"Bring him out here," commanded Cervera, sharply. "Get the wretch up, +and bring him out here."</p> + +<p>This was precisely what Nick wanted.</p> + +<p>Stall immediately bent lower, and released the detective's ankles.</p> + +<p>"Get up, you varlet!" he then growled. "Get up, I say!"</p> + +<p>Still groaning, and incoherently muttering, Nick permitted himself to be +raised to his feet, and Stall then supported him and urged him out +through the open doorway and into the adjoining room.</p> + +<p>In his red wig and croppy head, together with his rough attire and dazed +aspect, Nick certainly presented a wretched appearance. He blinked +confusedly, glanced down at his bound wrists, yet at the same time took +in every feature of the brightly lighted room.</p> + +<p>It plainly was the library of the house, and both Rufus Venner and +Cervera were seated near a handsome center table. Upon it lay most of +the woman's jewels and diamonds, evidently lately removed, and +presenting in the rays of light from the chandelier above a dazzling +temptation to such a fellow as Nick then appeared to be.</p> + +<p>In an easy-chair, near the wall, sat the man called Dave, at the time +Nick was thought to be dead outside. Now, in the bright light of the +room, Nick instantly recognized him to be David Kilgore, despite a heavy +disguise which the criminal obviously believed to be impenetrable.</p> + +<p>Nick gave no sign of the recognition, however, being content to await +developments, and to shape his own course accordingly.</p> + +<p>From that moment, however, the name of neither criminal was once +mentioned; and Nick was compelled to infer that Venner might indeed be +entirely ignorant of their true identity and knavish character.</p> + +<p>The eyes of all were upon the detective, as he stood swaying slightly +on the floor; and Cervera sharply demanded, with a threatening frown:</p> + +<p>"Well, you vile miscreant, what can you say for yourself?"</p> + +<p>"Me?" queried Nick, pretending to pull himself together. "Nothing at +all."</p> + +<p>"I guess that's right."</p> + +<p>"What should I say? Why have you got me here, and tied up in this +fashion?"</p> + +<p>"You'll soon find out," cried Cervera, with vicious asperity. "What were +you doing out back of my house?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing much," Nick evasively growled, waiting to learn which way the +cat was about to jump.</p> + +<p>"Nothing much!" sneered Cervera. "You'll find that will not go down with +us."</p> + +<p>"I was looking for a chance to sleep in your stable," muttered Nick.</p> + +<p>"You lie, you dog!" cried Kilgore, fiercely. "You were at the back +window."</p> + +<p>"Was I?"</p> + +<p>"And your game was to rob me of my jewels," Cervera angrily added, with +her eyes emitting a gleam as fiery as the blazing gems at which she +pointed. "That was your game, you renegade!"</p> + +<p>"Do you think so?"</p> + +<p>"I know so!"</p> + +<p>Nick hoped she did.</p> + +<p>"And all I regret is," added the vixenish Spaniard, "that the bullet of +my watchman did not end your villainous life."</p> + +<p>"We can end it now, señora, if you say the word," put in Matthew Stall, +with grim readiness.</p> + +<p>Nick never accepted such scenes as this at their face value, for he had +witnessed many a similar game of bluff. This one might be all right and +on the level, he reasoned, yet there still existed the possibility that +he was recognized, and that these remarks implying the contrary were +only a part of some well-laid plan.</p> + +<p>"If you think I'm a thief, why don't you hand me over to the police?" he +shrewdly demanded.</p> + +<p>The ruse worked. For a moment Cervera was caught with no ready reply, +and Nick promptly decided that he was known, hence could not well be +given to the police.</p> + +<p>Yet these parties so obviously aimed to hide the fact that he was known +to be Nick Carter, that Nick quickly resolved to let them have all the +rope they wanted, and to meet them with a counter-move—that of boldly +declaring his own identity, and so disarming them of any misgiving that +he had recognized Kilgore and Matthew Stall, or even had any suspicions +of Señora Cervera.</p> + +<p>It was a very clever counter, and Nick went at it cleverly.</p> + +<p>"Why don't you give me to the police, if you think I'm a thief?" he +repeated, when Cervera made no reply.</p> + +<p>"The police?—bah!" she now cried, with a sneer. "For what? That you may +square yourself in some way, or make your escape, and then come back +here to attempt the job again?"</p> + +<p>"H'm!" thought Nick. "They don't want to let me go before learning what +I suspect. I won't do a thing but fool them in that."</p> + +<p>"Police be hanged!" Cervera quickly added. "In my country we have a +surer way of removing such villains as you."</p> + +<p>"What way?" queried Nick, coolly.</p> + +<p>"<i>Caramba!</i> The garrote!"</p> + +<p>"Choke 'em off, eh?"</p> + +<p>"Or the poniard!"</p> + +<p>"A stab between the ribs, I take it."</p> + +<p>"Yes! It is what you deserve."</p> + +<p>"But you will not try it on me," declared Nick, confidently.</p> + +<p>"Don't you be too sure of it."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I'm sure enough of it."</p> + +<p>"The law would never reach us—don't think that," cried Cervera, with a +passionate sneer. "<i>Caramba!</i> we'd plant your miserable bones where +they'd never be found. Don't think, you wretch, that we fear to do it."</p> + +<p>"Yet I don't fear that you will."</p> + +<p>"You don't?"</p> + +<p>"Not I, Señora Cervera."</p> + +<p>"How dare you utter my name with your foul mouth?" screamed the dancer, +with a vicious display of scornful resentment. "Not kill you? I've a +mind to order it done at once, you wretch! I hate such reptiles as you!"</p> + +<p>Nick laughed.</p> + +<p>"If you were to order it done, señora, and the knife were at my throat," +said he, "your order would certainly be countermanded."</p> + +<p>"What! By whom?" cried Cervera, with her passionate, dark eyes fiercely +blazing. "I'll have you know that I rule here—and not here alone!"</p> + +<p>"Yet your command would be revoked, señora."</p> + +<p>"For what reason, villain?"</p> + +<p>"It would be revoked at the request of our mutual friend, Mr. Rufus +Venner, to whom I presently shall explain my conduct, and also implore +your own pardon, señora, for having made you the mark of my very +unworthy suspicions," cried Nick, with a sudden dramatic display of +dignity and confidence.</p> + +<p>It brought Venner sharply to his feet.</p> + +<p>"Good heavens!" he cried. "What do you mean, sir?"</p> + +<p>"Ay, what do you mean?" roared Kilgore, bracing straight up in his chair +and reaching for his gun—a move Nick pretended he did not see.</p> + +<p>"I only mean, gentlemen, that I am no burglar," cried Nick, in his +natural voice, at the same time raising his bound hands to remove his +disguise. "Allow me, Mr. Venner, to present myself in proper person."</p> + +<p>"The devil and all his followers!" yelled Venner. "You're—you're Nick +Carter!"</p> + +<p>"None other," bowed Nick, smiling and tossing his disguise upon the +table. "Plainly, Venner, you are greatly surprised at seeing me—and I +do not wonder at it."</p> + +<p>Yet for all that Nick did wonder a little, since he could not yet +determine just how much of this scene was on the level.</p> + +<p>The faces of Kilgore and Matthew Stall, however, betrayed more secret +exultation than surprise. Plainly enough both were now convinced that +Nick did not recognize them, nor even suspect that he himself had been +recognized—and these were precisely the two convictions Nick had aimed +to convey by his masterly move in thus disclosing himself.</p> + +<p>"Yes, Señora Cervera," he hastened to add, before any of the startled +group could speak, "I owe you a profound apology. I did you the +injustice to suspect you, not only of being a thief, but also of being +identified with the notorious Kilgore gang, three of the cleverest and +most dangerous swindlers in the world."</p> + +<p>"Perdition!" gasped Cervera. "You astound me."</p> + +<p>"I was led to suspect you, señora, because your letter to Venner took +him from his store just at the time of the robbery," Nick quickly went +on to explain, thus putting his own strategy on a solid basis. "I +shadowed you from the theater to-night, intending to watch you and your +house, a design which has nearly cost me my life at the hands of your +faithful watchman.</p> + +<p>"I am glad to add, señora, that I now have completely changed my views, +and I trust that you will bear in mind that you were a stranger to me, +and so pardon my unworthy misgivings. It is impossible that you, Señora +Cervera, could be guilty of any evil, or know aught of so accomplished a +knave as David Kilgore, or any of his clever gang."</p> + +<p>A shrewder move could scarce have been conceived. That Nick would thus +have declared himself in the very presence of Kilgore, if known to him, +seemed utterly absurd; and the eyes of both Kilgore and Matt Stall were +aglow with a vicious amusement and satisfaction much too genuine to be +entirely concealed.</p> + +<p>"Well, Mr. Carter," cried Venner, now hastening to release the +defective's hands, "you certainly have had a close call, and are lucky +to come out of it with a whole skin. These two men are employed by +señora to guard her house at night, and they naturally mistook you for a +burglar."</p> + +<p>Despite his keen discernment, Nick could not determine whether this man +was lying, or was really as blind as his words implied. Content to await +further discoveries, however, Nick laughed quickly, and replied:</p> + +<p>"Well, well, Mr. Venner; I am quite accustomed to close calls and hard +knocks, and I assure you that I bear the señora's watchmen no ill will +for having done their duty as they saw it. Señora Cervera is to be +congratulated upon having secured the services of two such faithful +fellows."</p> + +<p>Kilgore had all he could do to keep from laughing aloud, so blinded was +he by Nick's artful duplicity.</p> + +<p>"And when I inform you, señora," cried Venner, "that Detective Carter is +in my employ, and is really a royal good friend, I am sure that you will +pardon him for having been so misled by your letter of this morning."</p> + +<p>Señora Cervera was blushing now, yet to Nick it appeared a little +forced, and there was in her evil, black eyes a gleam he did not like. +Yet she at once arose and came to shake the detective by the hand.</p> + +<p>"Oh, if my dear friend, Mr. Venner, says it is all right, I am sure it +must be so," she cried, smiling up at Nick. "But I am afraid, Detective +Carter, that you will now think me dreadfully severe, and my two +watchmen more brutal than bulldogs."</p> + +<p>Nick laughed deeply, and glanced at the display of diamonds on the +table.</p> + +<p>"When one has such valuable toys as those in her house, señora, bold men +and vigilant bulldogs are both essential," said he, heartily.</p> + +<p>"That's true, sir; indeed, it is."</p> + +<p>"And with your permission, señora, I will shake hands with your two +watchmen also, to show them I bear no resentment. After which I will +take myself home, to nurse my little tokens of their vigilance and +prowess."</p> + +<p>This brought a laugh from all, and Nick, ever shrewd and crafty, now +shook hands with the two criminals he fully intended to finally land +behind prison bars. Then he bowed himself out of the room, and was +accompanied by Rufus Venner to the front door of the house, where he +bade him a genial good-night and departed.</p> + +<p>When Venner returned to the room, he found Dave Kilgore seated on the +edge of the table, with his false beard in his hand, and a look of +intense distrust on his evil, forceful face.</p> + +<p>"Crafty—infernally crafty!" he cried, as Venner entered. "I tell you, +Rufe, that man must be watched. He is a man to be feared—constantly +feared! I'm cursed if I can tell whether he gave us that on the level or +not."</p> + +<p>"Pshaw!" sneered Venner, contemptuously. "Of course it was on the +level."</p> + +<p>"I'm not so sure of it—not so sure of it!" reiterated Kilgore, with +clouded brow. "I tell you, Venner, that he must be watched, and we must +be guarded. We have too much at stake to suffer Nick Carter to queer our +game."</p> + +<p>"There is one sure way of preventing it," cried Cervera, with passionate +vehemence.</p> + +<p>"Kill him?"</p> + +<p>"Yes! Take his life!" hissed the dancer, through her gleaming white +teeth. "You were fools to have missed it to-night. Even the law would +have acquitted you."</p> + +<p>"There are nights to come!" Kilgore grimly retorted.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII" />CHAPTER VIII.</h2> + +<h3>FOUND DEAD.</h3> + + +<p>"What's the trouble yonder, Nick?"</p> + +<p>"Where?"</p> + +<p>"In the park."</p> + +<p>"Humph! Something wrong, evidently. Come on, Chick, and we'll see."</p> + +<p>It was nearly sunset one Monday afternoon, and almost two weeks +subsequent to the incidents last depicted.</p> + +<p>That at least one of Dave Kilgore's suggestions had been adopted, and he +and his gang had become rigorously guarded, appears in that the Carters +had utterly failed to accomplish anything against them in the interval +mentioned. Despite constant vigilance and incessant work on the case, +neither Nick nor Chick had been able to secure an additional clew.</p> + +<p>Kilgore and Matt Stall had vanished as if the earth had swallowed them.</p> + +<p>The mammoth vaudeville troupe had completed its engagement, and was now +disbanded for the season.</p> + +<p>Señora Cervera still retained her uptown house, and frequently received +Venner as a visitor; but never a sign of the diamond gang, or of any +stranger, could the detectives discover, in or about her place.</p> + +<p>Rufus Venner was attending to his business as usual, and appeared all +aboveboard. Now and then he called upon Nick about the stolen diamonds, +expressing a hope that they would be recovered; but in no way did he +lay himself open to further suspicions than Nick had at first conceived.</p> + +<p>Yet Nick was too shrewd to press him with questions, and so perhaps +betray his own hand. As a matter of fact, the famous detective was in +quite a quandary over the case, because of his conviction that some big +game was secretly afoot, and his utter inability to strike any tangible +clew to it.</p> + +<p>Such a state of affairs was very unusual, and Nick chafed under it. It +indicated that he was up against men as good as himself, and his vain +work of the past ten days served only to aggravate him, and embitter his +grim and inflexible determination to unearth the whole business.</p> + +<p>This Monday afternoon, as Nick and Chick were passing Central Park, the +attention of the latter was drawn toward a group of men in one of the +park walks, somewhat removed from the street. A policeman was among +them, and they appeared to be gazing at something upon the ground.</p> + +<p>"It looks like the figure of a woman," said Nick, as he and Chick +entered the park. "Officer Fogarty is there, and—yes, by Jove! it is +the form of a woman."</p> + +<p>The two detectives quickly reached the scene, and the park officer at +once recognized Nick, respectfully touching his helmet.</p> + +<p>"What's amiss here, Fogarty?" inquired Nick.</p> + +<p>Fogarty pointed to the motionless form upon the ground.</p> + +<p>"Dead!" said he, tersely. "We've just found her."</p> + +<p>"Keep those people further away, Fogarty," said Nick, with a toss of +his head toward half a score of men gathered near by. "I will see what I +make of the case."</p> + +<p>The figure was that of a girl, rather than a woman, apparently about +eighteen years of age. She was lying partly upon her side upon the +greensward, and evidently had fallen from one of the park seats upon +which she had been resting, and upon which her straw shade hat was still +lying. She was neatly clad in a suit of dark blue, and her girlish face +indicated some culture and refinement.</p> + +<p>Near her, upon the grass, lay a piece of brown wrapping paper, and a +yard of two of string, evidently removed from a small, square box, which +she had dropped and partly fallen upon when stricken with sudden death.</p> + +<p>A mere glance gave Nick these superficial features, and he quickly knelt +beside the girl, and felt her hand and wrist.</p> + +<p>"Dead as a doornail," he murmured to Chick, who also had approached. "I +find her hand still warm, however. She can have been dead only a few +minutes."</p> + +<p>"Heart failure, perhaps," suggested Chick.</p> + +<p>"I don't think so."</p> + +<p>"Why?"</p> + +<p>"She doesn't look it. Her form is plump, her cheeks full, and she +appears to have been in perfect health."</p> + +<p>"Yet she is dead."</p> + +<p>"No doubt of it."</p> + +<p>"A pretty girl, too."</p> + +<p>"Very. See if there is any writing on that brown paper."</p> + +<p>"No, Nick; not a line."</p> + +<p>"Here, here, let me see it! What's this? It is punctured with tiny +holes, evidently made with a pin."</p> + +<p>"So it is, by Jove!"</p> + +<p>"Perhaps she made them with her hat pin, while sitting there on the +seat. See, Chick, there is the pin still in the hat."</p> + +<p>"I see it, Nick. What now?"</p> + +<p>Still kneeling beside the girl, Nick was holding the sheet of paper +between himself and the sky.</p> + +<p>"No, the punctures are not uniform," said he. "I thought that they +possibly had been made with some design, and perhaps formed some word or +sentence that would give us a clew to the mystery."</p> + +<p>"None such, eh?"</p> + +<p>"Not a sign of it. Evidently she jabbed the pin through the paper only +in idleness."</p> + +<p>"She is lying on a box of some kind, from which she probably had taken +this wrapping paper."</p> + +<p>"So I see," nodded Nick. "Lend me a hand, Chick, and we'll have a look +at the box."</p> + +<p>With gentle hands the two detectives moved the girl's lifeless form, and +Nick then took up the box mentioned.</p> + +<p>It was about four inches square, and was made of silver, with an open +work design of vines and leaves, which displayed a blue silk lining +through the metal apertures. Plainly enough it was a lady's jewel +casket, and one of considerable value; but it was entirely empty, and it +bore no name or inscription.</p> + +<p>For several moments Nick Carter examined it very intently, with his +brows gradually knitting closer and closer; and all the while Officer +Fogarty, and the group of men in the gravel walk a few yards distant, +mutely gazed and wondered.</p> + +<p>Chick Carter, however, who could read Nick's every change of expression, +saw at once that the great detective not only was making some startling +discoveries, but also was arriving at deductions far too subtle and +significant to have been reached by any less keen and practiced +observer.</p> + +<p>"What do you make of it, Nick?" whispered Chick, dropping to his knee +beside his companion.</p> + +<p>Nick also lowered his voice, and for several minutes the two conversed +in rapid whispers.</p> + +<p>"It is a jewel case, Chick; and quite a valuable one."</p> + +<p>"So I see."</p> + +<p>"I don't think it belonged to this girl. She looks as if she were the +maid, or possibly the companion, of some woman of wealth or distinction. +Her attire also indicates that. Hence so valuable a toy can hardly have +belonged to the girl, but more likely was the property of her mistress."</p> + +<p>"No name on it?"</p> + +<p>"Not even an initial. Not a mark of any kind."</p> + +<p>"It is empty."</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Can the girl have been robbed of its contents, here and in broad +daylight?"</p> + +<p>"Worse, Chick!" whispered Nick, between his teeth. "Worse even than +that."</p> + +<p>"Good heavens, Nick! What do you mean?"</p> + +<p>"Chick, this girl was foully murdered!"</p> + +<p>"Murdered!" echoed Chick, with an involuntary gasp. "Can it be +possible?"</p> + +<p>"It certainly appears so to me."</p> + +<p>"But the means?"</p> + +<p>"That is the mystery."</p> + +<p>"There are no signs of violence."</p> + +<p>"Wait a bit. Notice her right wrist, just back of the thumb and near the +pulse. Notice that tiny red spot, barely observable. It might have been +made with the point of a pin. Do you see, it?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, now that you call my attention to it."</p> + +<p>"It means something. I am convinced of that."</p> + +<p>"Others are not likely to discover it."</p> + +<p>"I hope they may not, Chick," Nick hurriedly rejoined. "I am flooded +with ideas and suspicions, which I wish to consider and put in order +before too much of this mystery leaks out. I'll explain later."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps her hat pin is poisoned," suggested Chick.</p> + +<p>"I don't think that."</p> + +<p>"Or possibly—"</p> + +<p>"Wait a moment. Look at this box."</p> + +<p>"Well?"</p> + +<p>"That wrapper was punctured while still on the box," explained Nick. +"Notice that the pin went through the spaces in this metal design, and +then through the silk lining inside."</p> + +<p>"Plainly enough, Nick."</p> + +<p>"Notice this particular puncture in the interior of the lining."</p> + +<p>"By Jove! there's a faint tinge of red around it."</p> + +<p>"Left when the pin was withdrawn," whispered Nick, significantly. +"Chick, it's a tinge of blood!"</p> + +<p>"I believe you're right, Nick."</p> + +<p>"I am convinced of it. Also that there's a mystery here which cannot be +solved in a moment," said Nick, impressively. "I wish to conceal these +discoveries until after I have considered them more fully, and also +identified this girl. See if you can find her purse, or anything that +will reveal her name."</p> + +<p>While Chick was thus engaged, Nick arose and glanced sharply around in +search of any evidence indicating that such a crime could have been +committed unobserved in so public a place.</p> + +<p>The seat which the girl had occupied stood on the greensward, about +eight feet from the gravel walk. By several clusters of shrubbery some +feet away at either side, the seat was somewhat obscured from the view +of persons approaching along the walk from either direction. Several +trees cast shadows nearly over the spot, which was one very likely to +have been selected by a couple desirous of being somewhat alone while +resting from an afternoon stroll.</p> + +<p>Nick quickly noted these several features, then glanced at Chick and +asked:</p> + +<p>"Do you find anything?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing by which to identify her."</p> + +<p>"Her purse?"</p> + +<p>"It contains only a few pieces of silver. No cards, nor so much as a +scrap of paper. Other than her purse, there is only a latchkey in her +pocket, and a perfectly plain handkerchief. Her identification must come +later."</p> + +<p>"I guess we have missed nothing here," nodded Nick. "I'll have just a +word with Fogarty, and then we'll go along."</p> + +<p>"What do you make of it, Detective Carter?" inquired the officer, as +Nick approached.</p> + +<p>"I am not prepared to say," replied Nick, ignoring the startled glances +of the several men who heard his name and now beheld the great detective +for the first time.</p> + +<p>"The girl is dead, sir, isn't she?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes; there is no doubt of that," bowed Nick. "It may be a case of +heart failure. You had better take the proper steps for the removal of +the body. This box and wrapping paper, however, I am going to take with +me, and will be responsible for them."</p> + +<p>"All right, sir."</p> + +<p>"By the way, Fogarty, how long ago did you discover the body?"</p> + +<p>"Scarce a minute before you came, sir."</p> + +<p>"Were you the first to see it?"</p> + +<p>"I was, sir."</p> + +<p>"Had you seen the girl about here before during the afternoon?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir."</p> + +<p>"Did you see anybody leaving here just before you arrived and discovered +the body?"</p> + +<p>"I did not, sir."</p> + +<p>"That's all, Fogarty. I'll get any other particulars later."</p> + +<p>Thereupon, as Nick was about to turn away, a young man in the crowd came +suddenly forth, and exclaimed:</p> + +<p>"One moment, Detective Carter, if you please! I saw that girl, about +half an hour ago, walking this way with a gentleman."</p> + +<p>Nick turned abruptly to the speaker.</p> + +<p>"What is your name?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Tom Jenkins, sir."</p> + +<p>"And your address?"</p> + +<p>"I live at the Hotel North, and am employed by Hentz Brothers, in Broad +Street."</p> + +<p>"You say that you saw the girl walking this way with a gentleman?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir."</p> + +<p>"Did they appear to be on good terms?"</p> + +<p>"Excellent, sir. They were talking and laughing, and seemed to be +enjoying themselves."</p> + +<p>"Do you know the girl's name, or where she lives?"</p> + +<p>"I do not, sir; nor anything about her."</p> + +<p>"Do you know anything about her companion, the gentleman you saw with +her?"</p> + +<p>For the bare fraction of a second Jenkins hesitated, as one might do who +was loath to bring trouble upon another. Then he replied, in faltering +tones:</p> + +<p>"Well, yes, sir, I know the name of the man who was with her."</p> + +<p>"State it, please."</p> + +<p>"His name, sir, is Harry Boyden."</p> + +<p>Nick felt his blood start slightly, yet his countenance did not change +by so much as a shadow.</p> + +<p>He glanced at Chick, however, and the same thought was in the mind of +each.</p> + +<p>"Harry Boyden! The clerk employed by Thomas Hafferman, the dealer in +diamonds!"</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX" />CHAPTER IX.</h2> + +<h3>NICK STRIKES A STARTLING CLEW.</h3> + + +<p>The mind of Nick Carter was, as he had remarked to Chick, stirred with a +flood of questions not easily or quickly answered.</p> + +<p>Who was this girl found dead in Central Park?</p> + +<p>Had she, indeed, been foully murdered? If so, by what mysterious means? +What had been the object? Who the perpetrator of the crime?</p> + +<p>Or, on the other hand, was the evidence itself misleading, and had the +unfortunate girl selected that sequestered seat in the park, and there +deliberately committed suicide? Even then, by what means had the deed +been accomplished? What had been the occasion?</p> + +<p>What, moreover, had become of her companion at just that time? Why had +he deserted her? What signified the pin-punctured wrapping paper, and +the empty jewel casket, in the dead girl's possession?</p> + +<p>Had the casket contained jewels of great value? Had the girl been robbed +of them, and then foully murdered in some mysterious way?</p> + +<p>Was Harry Boyden, the clerk employed by Hafferman, the last to leave the +girl that fateful afternoon? Was he responsible for her death? Was +robbery the incentive to the crime?</p> + +<p>Or, on the other hand, had Boyden left the girl alive and well, and was +the crime the work of another?</p> + +<p>Or, finally, was there some strange and startling connection between +this park murder and the robbery committed at Venner's store? Was there, +between the two crimes, some extraordinary bond yet to be +discovered—some tie uniting the two misdeeds as if with links of steel?</p> + +<p>These were some of the conflicting questions that occurred to Nick +Carter that afternoon, and in order to consider them before taking any +decided action in the matter, Nick had kept to himself his startling +discoveries, and left Officer Fogarty to take the customary steps in the +affair.</p> + +<p>At seven o'clock that evening, while Nick and Chick were seated at +dinner, and still engaged in discussing the conflicting circumstances, a +message was received from police headquarters, informing Nick that the +girl had been identified, and that Harry Boyden had been found and +arrested.</p> + +<p>"Very good," observed Nick. "We shall now get something to work upon. I +will go and question Boyden as soon as I finish my dinner."</p> + +<p>"By all means," nodded Chick.</p> + +<p>"Do you know," said Nick, "I am seriously impressed that there is some +strange connection between this girl's death and that robbery at +Venner's store. I believe that we have struck the very clew, or are +about to strike it, that we so long have been vainly seeking."</p> + +<p>"To the Kilgore gang?"</p> + +<p>"Exactly."</p> + +<p>"Egad, I hope so," laughed Chick, with a grimace. "I am beastly tired of +nosing about on a scentless trail."</p> + +<p>Nick joined in the laugh of his invariably cheerful associate.</p> + +<p>"Odds blood, Nick, as they say in the play," added Chick. "I'd welcome +any sort of stir and danger, in preference to this chasing a +will-o'-the-wisp."</p> + +<p>"There'll be enough doing, Chick, take my word for it, as soon as we +once more get on the track of Kilgore and his push."</p> + +<p>"Let it come, and God speed it," grinned Chick. "What's your idea, +Nick?"</p> + +<p>"This empty jewel casket, the possibility that it contained diamonds, of +which the girl was robbed and then murdered, and the fact that Harry +Boyden is the clerk who brought the stolen diamonds to Venner's +store—certainly the circumstances seem to point to some strange +relation between the two crimes."</p> + +<p>While Nick was thus expressing his views, a rapidly driven carriage +approached the residence of the famous detective, and a servant +presently entered the dining room and informed Nick that a lady wished +to see him.</p> + +<p>Nick glanced at her card.</p> + +<p>"Violet Page," he muttered. "I know no lady named Violet Page. Is she +young or old?"</p> + +<p>"Young, sir."</p> + +<p>"Did you admit her?"</p> + +<p>"She is in the library, sir."</p> + +<p>"Very well. I will see her presently. Request her to wait a few +moments."</p> + +<p>Nick delayed only to finish his dinner, then repaired to the library. As +he entered the attractively furnished room his visitor quickly arose +from one of the easy-chairs and hastened to approach him.</p> + +<p>Nick beheld a young lady of exquisite beauty and modest bearing, and +though her sweet face, then very pale and distressed, struck him as one +he had previously seen, he at first could not place her.</p> + +<p>"Are you Mr. Carter—Detective Carter?" she hurriedly, inquired, in +tremulous accents of appeal.</p> + +<p>Nick had a warm place in his heart for one so timid and distressed as +this girl appeared, and he bowed very kindly.</p> + +<p>"Yes, Miss Page," said he. "What can I do for you? You appear to be in +trouble."</p> + +<p>"I am in trouble—terrible trouble, sir," cried the girl, with a +half-choked sob. "Oh, Mr. Carter, I come to you in despair, a girl +without friends or advisers, and who knows not whither to turn. I have +been told that you have a kind heart, and that you are the one man able +to solve the dreadful mystery which—"</p> + +<p>Nick checked her pathetic flood of words with a kindly gesture.</p> + +<p>"Calm yourself, Miss Page," said he, in a sort of paternal way. "Resume +your chair, please. Though I am somewhat pressed for time just now I +will give you at least a few moments."</p> + +<p>"Oh, thank you, sir!"</p> + +<p>"Be calm, however, in order that we may accomplish all the more."</p> + +<p>"I will, sir."</p> + +<p>"To what mystery do you refer? What is the occasion of your terrible +distress?"</p> + +<p>Violet Page subdued her agitation and hastened to reply.</p> + +<p>"My maid and companion, a girl named Mary Barton," said she, "was found +dead in Central Park late this afternoon. Nor is that all, Detective +Carter. A very dear friend of mine, named Harry Boyden, has been +arrested, under suspicion of having killed her. Oh, sir, that could not +be possible!"</p> + +<p>Nick felt an immediate increase of interest.</p> + +<p>He decided that Miss Violet Page was the very person he wanted to +interview, and while he did not then exhibit any knowledge of the case, +he proceeded to question her with his own ends in view, at the same time +ringing a signal for Chick to join him, which the latter presently did.</p> + +<p>"Where do you live, Miss Page?" inquired Nick.</p> + +<p>"I board in Forty-second Street, sir. I have no living relatives, and +for about two years have employed a maid, or, I might better call her, a +companion."</p> + +<p>"The girl mentioned?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir. Her parents also are dead. The fact that we both are orphans +created a bond of sympathy between us."</p> + +<p>"Are you a person of much means, Miss Page?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, sir. I earn my living on the stage. I was a member of the big +vaudeville troupe, which lately disbanded for the season. My stage name +is Violet Marduke."</p> + +<p>"Ah! now I remember," remarked Nick. "I thought I had seen you before. I +happened to hear you sing one evening about two weeks ago."</p> + +<p>"I recognized her when I entered," observed Chick, who had taken a +chair near by.</p> + +<p>Nick came back to business.</p> + +<p>"Why are you so confident, Miss Page, that Boyden cannot have killed +Mary Barton?" he demanded.</p> + +<p>"Because, sir, Harry Boyden is a gentle, brave and honest man, and +utterly incapable of committing such a crime," cried Violet, with much +feeling. "Besides, sir, he can have had no possible reason for wishing +her dead."</p> + +<p>"Are you sure of that?"</p> + +<p>"Absolutely!"</p> + +<p>"What are your relations with Boyden?"</p> + +<p>"We are lovers, sir," admitted Violet, with a tinge of red dispelling +the paleness of her pretty cheeks. "We expect to be married the coming +summer."</p> + +<p>"Ah! I see," murmured Nick, thoughtfully. "How long have you been +acquainted with Boyden?"</p> + +<p>"For ten years, sir."</p> + +<p>"Then you have been able to form quite a reliable opinion of his +character."</p> + +<p>"Indeed, sir, I have!" cried Violet, warmly. "Detective Carter, I know +that Harry Boyden is far above any dishonorable action. I would trust +him with my life."</p> + +<p>Of the honesty of the girl herself Nick had not a doubt. It showed in +her eyes, sounded in her voice, and was pictured in her ever changing +expression. Nick was inclined to feel that her opinion of Boyden was +worthy of very serious consideration, despite that circumstances seemed +to implicate the young man in no less than two crimes.</p> + +<p>"Is the fact that you are engaged to Boyden generally known, Miss +Page?" Nick next asked.</p> + +<p>"It is not, sir. We have said nothing about it."</p> + +<p>"Ah, that opens the way for conjectures," cried Nick. "Is there any +person who knows of the engagement, or who suspects it, that would +jealously aim to injure Boyden by implicating him in a crime?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, I cannot think so, sir!" said Violet, with a look of horror. "I +certainly know of no such person."</p> + +<p>"Have you been accepting the attentions of any other young man?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir," smiled Violet. "That is not my style."</p> + +<p>"I am glad to hear you say so, yet I really might have known it," +laughed Nick.</p> + +<p>"Thank you, Detective Carter," bowed the girl, blushing warmly. Then she +hastened to add: "Still, I am not a prude, sir—don't think I mean that. +In my profession one is obliged to be on friendly terms with a great +many persons, both men and women. At the theater, for instance, I meet +many men and form many acquaintances, both agreeable and the reverse."</p> + +<p>"And sometimes have the attentions of men fairly forced upon you, I +imagine?" said Nick, inquiringly, with a brighter gleam lighting his +earnest eyes.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir; sometimes," Violet demurely admitted.</p> + +<p>Nick drew forward in his chair, and Chick saw that he had caught up the +thread at that moment suggested to himself.</p> + +<p>"Miss Page," said Nick, more impressively, "I now want you to answer me +without the slightest reserve."</p> + +<p>"I will, sir," bowed Violet, with a startled look.</p> + +<p>"Has any man of the late vaudeville company, or one connected with the +theater, endeavored to force his love upon you?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir; not one."</p> + +<p>"Or any visitor admitted to the stage?"</p> + +<p>"Well—yes, sir," faltered Violet, quite timidly. "Since you press me +thus gravely, I must admit that I have been obliged to repel the +affection of a certain man. Yet, please don't infer, sir, that he has +ever been ungentlemanly. He even has done me the honor, if one can so +term an undesired proposal, to protest that he wished to make me his +wife."</p> + +<p>"What is that man's name?" demanded Nick, quite bluntly.</p> + +<p>Yet both Nick and Chick already anticipated it.</p> + +<p>"Must I tell you his name, sir?" faltered Violet.</p> + +<p>"You may do so confidentially, Miss Page."</p> + +<p>"His name, sir, is Rufus Venner."</p> + +<p>"One more question, Miss Page," cried Nick, quickly, "Was there any +member of the vaudeville company who knew of Venner's proposal?"</p> + +<p>"I don't think so, sir. At least I know of none."</p> + +<p>Nick glanced at Chick and dryly remarked:</p> + +<p>"All under the surface, Chick."</p> + +<p>"Not a doubt of it, Nick."</p> + +<p>Violet looked surprised and alarmed at this, and hastened to ask:</p> + +<p>"Oh, Mr. Carter, is there something of which I am ignorant? Or have I +done wrong in any way?"</p> + +<p>Nick turned to her and gravely answered:</p> + +<p>"No, Miss Page, you have done nothing wrong—far from it! But there is +considerable of which you are ignorant."</p> + +<p>"Oh, sir, what do you mean?"</p> + +<p>"Wait just one moment, and I then may be able to tell you," said Nick, +rising. "I have something here that I wish to show you."</p> + +<p>He went to his library desk and took from a drawer the silver jewel +casket which he had brought from Central Park.</p> + +<p>When he turned he held it in his extended hand, and the eyes of the girl +suddenly fell upon it.</p> + +<p>Instantly she leaped to her feet, as pale as death itself.</p> + +<p>Then a scream, as of sudden, ungovernable terror, rose from her lips and +rang with piercing shrillness through the house.</p> + +<p>"Catch her, Chick—she's fainting!" yelled Nick, with eyes ablaze. "By +Heaven! we've struck the trail at last!"</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X" />CHAPTER X.</h2> + +<h3>ON THE TRAIL.</h3> + + +<p>Nick Carter was a little perplexed.</p> + +<p>Miss Violet Page had recovered from her sudden swoon, and although still +very pale she sat gazing calmly at the silver jewel casket, which Nick +was again displaying.</p> + +<p>Somewhat to Nick's surprise, considering the girl's abrupt collapse upon +first beholding the casket, Miss Page had just declared that she had +never seen it before that evening.</p> + +<p>"You never saw it before?" exclaimed Nick, almost incredulously.</p> + +<p>"Never until you produced it from your desk a few minutes ago," +reiterated Violet.</p> + +<p>"Why, then, were you so overcome upon seeing it?"</p> + +<p>"I will tell you why, Detective Carter, yet I fear that you will think +me very weak and foolish to have been so seriously affected."</p> + +<p>"No; I think not."</p> + +<p>"I had a terrible dream last night, sir," Violet now explained. "I +dreamed that I was alone in an enormous graveyard at midnight, with a +full moon revealing the dismal surroundings, the dark tombs, the +staring, white headstones and the silent graves."</p> + +<p>"Not very cheerful—certainly," smiled Nick.</p> + +<p>"What followed was infinitely more terrible," continued Violet, with an +irrepressible shudder.</p> + +<p>"What was that?"</p> + +<p>"I dreamed that I saw a grave near which I was standing suddenly begin +to open, as if a living being were pushing up the ground from within. +Then I saw a fleshless hand appear above the disturbed sods. Then a +sightless human skull thrust itself forth, and presently, filling me +with a terror I cannot describe, the entire skeleton emerged from the +partly open grave, and arose and approached me."</p> + +<p>"A grewsome dream, indeed," remarked Nick. "But what of the casket?"</p> + +<p>"This of the casket, sir," concluded Violet. "In the skeleton's right +hand, which was extended straight toward me while he approached, was a +silver box—the exact likeness of the one you hold, and which you so +abruptly showed me a short time ago."</p> + +<p>"Ah, I see," nodded Nick.</p> + +<p>"In my present nervous condition, Detective Carter, the sight of the +real casket, after so horrible a dream, was more than I could sustain. +Fairly before I knew it, I had fainted."</p> + +<p>"A curious dream and a startling sequence," said Nick. "Evidently coming +events have been casting their shadows before. I am sorry to have +shocked you so severely."</p> + +<p>"Pray don't speak of it, Mr. Carter," protested Violet. "I am now quite +recovered."</p> + +<p>"Then we will at once proceed to business again," said Nick. "Am I to +infer, Miss Page, that you know nothing at all about this casket?"</p> + +<p>"Absolutely nothing, sir," declared Violet.</p> + +<p>"Have you ever heard your maid, Mary Barton, speak of possessing such a +jewel box?"</p> + +<p>"Never, sir."</p> + +<p>"Nevertheless," said Nick, pointedly, "this casket was found beside her +dead body in Central Park this afternoon."</p> + +<p>A half-suppressed cry broke from Violet upon hearing this.</p> + +<p>"Oh, sir, then that must have been the package mentioned by Harry +Boyden," she cried, excitedly.</p> + +<p>"What's that?" demanded Nick. "Have you seen Boyden since his arrest?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir."</p> + +<p>"When and where?"</p> + +<p>"He was arrested at my home about half-past six, sir. When I learned for +what and heard the particulars, I was advised by my landlady to appeal +at once to you."</p> + +<p>"Did you come directly here?"</p> + +<p>"I did, sir; as fast as a carriage could bring me."</p> + +<p>"Ah, now we shall get at it," declared Nick. "Tell me, Miss Page, just +what Boyden said about Mary Barton."</p> + +<p>"Why, sir, he said he left her alive and well about half-past five."</p> + +<p>"Where?"</p> + +<p>"On her way through the park," replied Violet. "He had met her about +five o'clock, and they walked about in the park for a short time. Then +he told her that he had an errand to do, after which he was coming to +call upon me. Then Mary laughed and replied that she would see him +later."</p> + +<p>"That doesn't smack very strongly of suicide, Chick," remarked Nick, +with a glance at the former.</p> + +<p>"I should say not," replied Chick, with a shrug of his shoulders.</p> + +<p>"Did Boyden know where Mary went after he left her?" inquired Nick, +reverting to his visitor.</p> + +<p>"No, sir. He declared to the officer that he did not."</p> + +<p>"What mention did he make of a package carried by the girl?"</p> + +<p>"He stated that Mary had what appeared to be a small, square box, done +up in brown wrapping paper, and secured with a string."</p> + +<p>"Did he make any inquiries about it?"</p> + +<p>"He asked her what it was, and she told him it was for me."</p> + +<p>"Did she tell him where she got it?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir, she did; and I am quite mystified by it."</p> + +<p>"Please explain," said Nick. "What did the Barton girl say about the +parcel?"</p> + +<p>"She said it was given to her by a woman whom she had met on Fifth +Avenue a short time before."</p> + +<p>"An acquaintance?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir; a strange woman," continued Violet. "Yet the stranger must +have known Mary, and that she lived with me, for she asked her if I was +at home."</p> + +<p>"And then?"</p> + +<p>"When told that I was, she gave Mary the package and asked her to +deliver it to me, into my hands only, as it was a gift from a friend."</p> + +<p>"Was the name of the friend mentioned?"</p> + +<p>"I think not, sir. The woman cautioned Mary against opening the package, +stating in explanation that she wished me to be the first to see what it +contained."</p> + +<p>"These are the facts which Mary Barton told to Harry Boyden, are they?" +demanded Nick, with an ominous ring stealing into his voice.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir, they are."</p> + +<p>"And the statements which Boyden, in turn, made to the officer by whom +he was arrested at your home?"</p> + +<p>"That is right, sir. I heard them from Harry's own lips."</p> + +<p>"Did Mary Barton have any idea of the identity of the woman from whom +she received the package?"</p> + +<p>"I think not, sir. She told Harry that the woman was veiled, and that +she could not see her face. The incident seemed so strange, sir, that +Mary gave Harry Boyden all of these particulars."</p> + +<p>"Did she describe the strange woman, her form or her attire?"</p> + +<p>"I think she stated that the woman was plainly clad. Nothing more +definite that I know of."</p> + +<p>"In fact, Miss Page, you have now told me all that you know about the +case, haven't you?"</p> + +<p>"Really, sir, I think I have," admitted Violet, with a look of anxious +appeal.</p> + +<p>Nick drew out his watch and glanced quickly at it.</p> + +<p>"Ring for a carriage, Chick," said he abruptly. "We have no time to +lose."</p> + +<p>"I'll call one at once," nodded Chick, as he sprang up and hastened from +the room.</p> + +<p>"Am I to depart now, Detective Carter?" asked Violet, beginning to +tremble. "Oh, sir, will you not give me some word of encouragement +before I go? I am sure that Harry Boyden never committed—"</p> + +<p>"Hush!" interposed Nick, rising and taking her kindly by the hand.</p> + +<p>"I cannot at present tell you, Miss Page, what I think of this case. I +will say this, however, if Harry Boyden is, as you so firmly believe, +innocent of this crime, I will not rest until I have proved him +guiltless."</p> + +<p>"Oh, Detective Carter, how am I to thank you?" cried the girl, with her +tearful eyes raised to Nick's kindly face.</p> + +<p>"By not trying to do so," said he, smiling. "And by carefully following +a few directions which I shall now give you."</p> + +<p>"I will follow them to the very letter, sir," cried the grateful girl.</p> + +<p>"First, then, go home and borrow no further trouble about young Boyden," +said Nick, impressively. "Second, disclose to no person that you have +called upon me, or that I have any interest in the case. Third, say +nothing about the jewel casket, and display no personal knowledge of the +affair. Fourth, do not come here again unless I send for you. And, +finally, rest assured that I will do all in my power to have young +Boyden at liberty as soon as possible. To remain in custody a short +time, however, will not seriously harm him, and in a way it may do me +some service. Can you remember all that?"</p> + +<p>"Indeed I can, sir; and I will obey you in all!" cried Violet, with much +feeling.</p> + +<p>"That's right," smiled Nick, as he escorted her to the door. "You shall +not lose anything by so doing."</p> + +<p>"Ah, I am sure of that, sir. You are so very kind, and I am so glad that +I came to you."</p> + +<p>"Well, well, we shall see," laughed Nick, with a paternal caress of her +shapely white hand. "By the way, Miss Page, since I now happen to think +of it," the crafty detective indifferently added, "wasn't there a Hindoo +juggler, or snake charmer, or something of that sort, connected with +your late vaudeville company?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, sir! Pandu Singe."</p> + +<p>"Ah, that is his name, is it?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir."</p> + +<p>"Is he still in the city?"</p> + +<p>"I am not sure, Mr. Carter; but I think that he may be, for he is signed +with the company for next season."</p> + +<p>"Do you know where he has been living?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir. I have seen his house address on letters forwarded to the +theater. Do you want it, sir?"</p> + +<p>"If you can recall it, yes," smiled Nick, producing his notebook. "I am +making a study of the Hindoo language just at this time, and I would +like to consult Pandu Singe about certain books on the subject."</p> + +<p>Miss Page did not suspect any duplicity in this, and she cheerfully gave +Nick the address of the snake charmer, whereupon the detective +graciously thanked her, and then escorted her to her waiting carriage.</p> + +<p>As it rolled rapidly away a second hack came bowling up to the curbstone +in front of Nick's residence. It was the carriage for which Chick had +sent a call.</p> + +<p>"Don't cover your horses, cabbie!" cried Nick, sharply. "Wait about +three minutes, and we'll be with you."</p> + +<p>"Right, sir!"</p> + +<p>And Nick dashed back up the steps and into the house, meeting Chick in +the hall.</p> + +<p>"What do you make of it, Nick?"</p> + +<p>"Make of it?" cried Nick, with a laugh. "It's a cinch, Chick, dead open +and shut. Grab your hat and come with me. I'll explain in the carriage."</p> + +<p>"Good enough! I'm with you, old man!"</p> + +<p>"And we have no time to lose," cried Nick, "Now, then, we're off."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI" />CHAPTER XI.</h2> + +<h3>THE CRIME AND THE MEANS.</h3> + + +<p>"Yes, Chick, it's as simple as two plus two, and we'll presently try to +bag a part of our quarry. But first of all, I want a bit of +corroborative evidence which I expect to get from that Hindoo snake +charmer, Pandu Singe."</p> + +<p>"Going there first, Nick?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; it will not take long. Then I think we shall have the strands for +a rope strong enough to hold that she-devil who murdered Mary Barton," +grimly added Nick.</p> + +<p>These remarks were made while the carriage containing the two detectives +was speeding through the city streets, then bright with the light and +life of the early evening.</p> + +<p>"What a dastardly crime it was, Nick," observed Chick.</p> + +<p>"It was the crime of a treacherous demon."</p> + +<p>"With jealousy the chief motive, eh?"</p> + +<p>"No doubt of it."</p> + +<p>"Yet her venomous arrow found the wrong mark."</p> + +<p>"That's just the size of it," said Nick. "In the light of what you saw +and heard on the stage that night, it is plain that Cervera is +passionately in love with Venner."</p> + +<p>"Surely."</p> + +<p>"You remember that you saw him talking with Violet Page, and then +observed Cervera in the opposite wings, angrily watching something or +somebody out of your range of view. Plainly enough, now, she was +watching Venner and the singer."</p> + +<p>"No doubt of it," declared Chick. "And she looked fit to use a poniard +then and there."</p> + +<p>"Jealousy," growled Nick. "She had been secretly watching Venner. She +had discovered his love for Violet, and decided that the girl was a +rival to be feared. Her fiery Spanish blood would shrink at nothing. She +went the limit, and tried to murder her rival. In so doing, however, she +but killed another."</p> + +<p>"She must have worked adroitly to have accomplished what she did."</p> + +<p>"It may not have been so very difficult," replied Nick. "She was on the +stage each night, and also that infernal snake den. She quietly learned +which of the venomous reptiles would best serve her deadly purpose, and +then found an opportunity and a way by which to secretly steal it."</p> + +<p>"A hazardous job at that," muttered Chick.</p> + +<p>"The jealousy of such a woman fears nothing," Nick rejoined. "To lure +the desired snake into a box, and then take it home and confine it in +the jewel casket, may have been done quite easily."</p> + +<p>"It must have been done before the company closed its engagement."</p> + +<p>"No doubt," admitted Nick. "Then Cervera was too crafty to use it at +once. She waited nearly a week. Then she dressed herself in cheap +attire, put on a thick veil, and lay in wait for her rival's maid and +companion, to whom she gave the package and her instructions regarding +it."</p> + +<p>"What first led you to suspect the crime and the means, Nick?" inquired +Chick, curiously.</p> + +<p>"Several facts," explained Nick. "The girl's sudden death seemed +peculiar. The jewel casket beside her was empty, at once suggesting that +something had been removed or fallen from it. Yet nothing was to be +found."</p> + +<p>"That's true."</p> + +<p>"The paper wrapper was punctured with a pin in many places, the holes +running even through the lining of the casket. That fact, too, was +suggestive. People are not in the habit of doing up parcels and then +punching them full of holes with a pin."</p> + +<p>"Well, hardly."</p> + +<p>"Cervera made those holes, Chick, in order that her venomous captive +might not expire for want of air."</p> + +<p>"No doubt of it, Nick. But what do you think led Mary Barton to open the +package after having been told not to do so?"</p> + +<p>"Curiosity, perhaps," replied Nick. "Or possibly she considered the +circumstances to be so strange that she felt that she had a right to +open it. Be that as it may, it is plain that Mary Barton sat down on the +park seat, after leaving Boyden and there briefly considered the +matter."</p> + +<p>"How do you arrive at that deduction, Nick?"</p> + +<p>"From the tiny tinge of fresh blood about one of the pinholes on the +interior of the lining," explained Nick. "The stain must have come from +the point of the pin, and when the pin was drawn out of the box, not +when it was thrust into it. In the latter case the pin point would have +been cleansed before passing through the lining, and the stain would +have been on the outside rather than the inside."</p> + +<p>"Surely."</p> + +<p>"Then it at once became plain that Mary Barton, while sitting there, had +thrust her hat pin through one of the previously made apertures, +possibly aiming to discover in this way what the box contained, and in +so doing she probably pricked the confined reptile."</p> + +<p>"Ah, I see," nodded Chick. "All this strongly indicated that something +might have been confined in the casket."</p> + +<p>"Yes, certainly. Not thus learning what the box contained," continued +Nick, "Mary Barton decided to open it. The moment she raised the lid the +snake, probably angered by its wound and long confinement, instantly +struck at her hand, snake-fashion, and buried its fangs in her wrist."</p> + +<p>"Hence the tiny, red spot which you so quickly discovered."</p> + +<p>"Precisely."</p> + +<p>"Very shrewd of you, Nick."</p> + +<p>"Greatly frightened, the girl probably fainted, and fell to the ground," +added Nick, in conclusion of the deductions by which he had solved the +remarkable mystery. "The snake instantly scurried away through the +grass, and left no trail behind him. Before the girl could recover from +her swoon, the deadly poison had done its work. The venom of some of +these India snakes is horribly rapid in its action."</p> + +<p>"That's true," cried Chick. "I saw one at the theater that evening, the +venom of which would kill a man in ten seconds. A wee bit of a cuss at +that."</p> + +<p>"Probably this was one of the same breed," said Nick, grimly. "At all +events, I am sure that murder was the crime, and a snake the means."</p> + +<p>"And Sanetta Cervera the criminal."</p> + +<p>"Beyond the shadow of a doubt," declared Nick.</p> + +<p>"And what do you expect to learn from the Hindoo?"</p> + +<p>"I wish to know, in corroboration of my suspicions, whether Pandu Singe +has missed any of his infernal reptiles."</p> + +<p>"Ah, I see."</p> + +<p>"If he has, my theory is surely correct, and we next must fix the guilt +upon the guilty," said Nick, firmly. "I shall arrest Cervera this very +night, providing the Hindoo informs me that— Ah, here we are at his +door. Come into the house with me, Chick, and we'll see what he has to +say."</p> + +<p>They had stopped before an ordinary brick house on the East Side, and +Nick quickly mounted the steps and rang the bell. The summons brought a +corpulent English woman to the door, from whom Nick learned that the +Hindoo and his interpreter were still there.</p> + +<p>"Doesn't Pandu Singe speak English?" inquired Nick.</p> + +<p>"Dear me, no!" exclaimed the landlady, with a mute yet visible +laugh—visible in that her convolutions of flesh became observably +agitated. "Not the first word, sir. He talks only a blooming jargon fit +for snakes and spiders and that like."</p> + +<p>Nick laughed agreeably, having a request on his tongue's end.</p> + +<p>"He has moved his beastly den o' reptiles into my cellar to stay till +next season, sir, a 'orror I'd not stand for a minute, so I wouldn't, +only he pays me very 'andsome for the same."</p> + +<p>"Then he intends remaining here all summer, does he?"</p> + +<p>"He do," replied the woman, with startling terseness after the +foregoing.</p> + +<p>"I wish to see him briefly on business," said Nick. "Go and ask him if +he will receive us."</p> + +<p>The landlady complied, returning presently and inviting the two +detectives into the house. She led the way to a rear room off the hall, +at the door of which stood a swarthy foreigner, who bowed and smiled as +the callers approached.</p> + +<p>"'E's the hinterpreter," vouchsafed the landlady, in a wheezy whisper.</p> + +<p>Nick nodded understandingly.</p> + +<p>Reading by the light of a lamp on a table in the room sat the Hindoo +snake charmer himself, clad in a rich, loose robe of Oriental fashion. +He arose with much deliberation and dignity when the detectives entered, +and gravely bowed in greeting, while his interpreter hastened to place +chairs for the visitors.</p> + +<p>Through the interpreter Nick quickly explained his business, and saw a +look of surprise appear on the face of Pandu Singe when inquiries were +made about the loss of a snake.</p> + +<p>It took Nick but a short time to learn what he desired. Precisely as he +expected, the Hindoo had missed one of his snakes about ten days before, +one of the most venomous and dangerous of the lot.</p> + +<p>Hearing no reports or complaints about the missing reptile, however, +Pandu Singe had come to the conclusion that the snake had died in the +den and then been devoured by one of his companions in captivity. So the +Hindoo had let the matter drop, and had said nothing about it.</p> + +<p>Nick did not disclose the true occasion for his inquiries, but invented +a satisfactory explanation, and at the end of a quarter of an hour the +two detectives departed and entered their waiting carriage.</p> + +<p>"Rather a dignified chap, after all, that Pandu Singe," laughed Chick, +as they settled themselves on the cushions.</p> + +<p>"True," admitted Nick, thoughtfully. "Do you think, Chick, that we could +make up to pass for those two swarthy Orientals?"</p> + +<p>"Could we!" exclaimed Chick, promptly. "Well, Nick, I should say that we +could."</p> + +<p>"I think so, too."</p> + +<p>"You could do the snake charmer, all right, and easily gabble a lingo +that would pass for his."</p> + +<p>"Well, rather," laughed Nick.</p> + +<p>"And if I was wise to the game you wished to play I easily could act as +the interpreter, and run the conversation correctly on my own hook."</p> + +<p>"No doubt of it."</p> + +<p>"Do it? Why, surely we could," repeated Chick "Why did you ask?"</p> + +<p>"I think it may yet become necessary or desirable to make a move of +that kind," replied Nick.</p> + +<p>"Why so?"</p> + +<p>"Because, as I have suspected all along, I still think there is some big +game in the wind, with the Kilgore gang back of it, and that the murder +of this Barton girl may have some connection with it, or at least give +us a clew to it."</p> + +<p>"Egad! I hope so, Nick."</p> + +<p>"We soon shall see."</p> + +<p>"Going after Cervera now?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; at once," said Nick, with grim austerity. "We shall find her at +home, as usual. She'll not imagine that I can have got on her track as +quickly as this, so no doubt I can easily land her. Before midnight I +want bracelets on the white wrists of that Spanish dare-devil."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII" />CHAPTER XII.</h2> + +<h3>CLOSING IN.</h3> + + +<p>There was, indeed, as Nick Carter shrewdly suspected, a mysterious bond +between the several crimes thus far engaging his attention, and the +secret operations for which David Kilgore and his gang had ventured into +the city of New York.</p> + +<p>Nick had remarked, however, that the game would become as hazardous and +stirring as one could desire, as soon as it was fairly driven from +cover.</p> + +<p>And Nick began to drive it from cover that very night.</p> + +<p>Shortly before nine o'clock, and just as the two detectives were parting +from the Hindoo snake charmer, Mr. Rufus Venner rang the bell at the +door of Cervera's uptown residence.</p> + +<p>It was answered by Cervera herself, much to Venner's surprise.</p> + +<p>"Where's the butler to-night?" he abruptly demanded, as he entered and +closed the door.</p> + +<p>"Gone," said Cervera, curtly.</p> + +<p>"Gone?"</p> + +<p>"I've sacked him along with all the rest."</p> + +<p>"Not discharged all of your servants?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing less."</p> + +<p>"But why?" demanded Venner, with a frown settling about his dark eyes. +"You cannot remain here alone."</p> + +<p>"I don't intend to."</p> + +<p>"But what are you going to do? When are you going?"</p> + +<p>While thus speaking they had repaired to the library at the rear of the +house, the room in which Nick had encountered the gang nearly a +fortnight before. It was the only room then lighted. Even the hall +through which they had passed was in darkness.</p> + +<p>Yet Cervera was dressed in an elaborate evening gown, fitted close to +her lithe, nervous figure, and augmenting in a marked degree her +dangerous, dark beauty.</p> + +<p>"You know where I am going—or should!" she replied, facing Venner, with +an odd smile on her red lips.</p> + +<p>"Not to the diamond plant?" cried he, with a start.</p> + +<p>"To the diamond plant—yes!"</p> + +<p>"Impossible!"</p> + +<p>"You will find it's not impossible, Rufe," she retorted. "I generally go +where I wish, and do what I undertake. I have already sent my own jewels +and other valuables there by Pylotte. He was here this morning."</p> + +<p>"But consider, Sanetta," protested Venner, with a darker frown. "Think +of what chances you are taking."</p> + +<p>"Of what?"</p> + +<p>"Suppose Nick Carter suspects you, and has a shadow on your movements—"</p> + +<p>"Bah!" interrupted Cervera, with a snap and flash of her black eyes. "I +care nothing for Nick Carter. <i>Caramba!</i> do you think I fear him? I will +fool and foil Nick Carter as I have fooled and foiled his betters. I +shall go to the plant to-morrow, and that settles it."</p> + +<p>"Stop a bit," insisted Venner, almost angrily. "Do you forget that +Kilgore and all his gang are there? Do you forget that we are just +about launching our gigantic enterprise? We now have nearly a million +dollars' worth of diamonds manufactured, or in the process of making, +and I already have begun to distribute them on the market at a fabulous +profit."</p> + +<p>"Well, I know all that. What has it to do with my going there?"</p> + +<p>"Such a move on your part may give Carter a clew to our location," +declared Venner.</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, it won't," sneered Cervera, scornfully. "I'll look out for +that."</p> + +<p>"Discovery would ruin all, and possibly land the whole gang behind +prison bars."</p> + +<p>"Faugh! I'm as well at the plant as here, and there I am going. You let +me alone to evade the Carters."</p> + +<p>"But why in thunder are you so determined to make this change?" demanded +Venner.</p> + +<p>An amorous fire came stealing into the woman's resolute eyes, and she +shrugged her shapely shoulders significantly.</p> + +<p>"You should know why without asking," she slowly answered, with her gaze +fixed upon his changing countenance. "It is because I love you, Rufe, +and wish to be where you spend so much of your time."</p> + +<p>"So much of my time?" echoed Venner, inquiringly.</p> + +<p>"So at least you tell me."</p> + +<p>"Do you doubt it?"</p> + +<p>"I know that five days and nights have passed since you came here to see +me," cried Cervera, bitterly. "I have only your own word in explanation +of your neglect."</p> + +<p>"That should be enough," said Venner, curtly.</p> + +<p>"Yet a man after a new love does not shrink from lying to an old," +retorted Cervera.</p> + +<p>"Pshaw! You are jealous again."</p> + +<p>"A woman who loves as I love is always jealous."</p> + +<p>"Of whom now?"</p> + +<p>"You know of whom."</p> + +<p>"I tell you I have not seen Violet Page since the theater closed."</p> + +<p>"I have only your word for it," repeated Cervera, with incredulity +bright in her sensuous eyes. "You know what I told you, Rufe. I'll not +tamely permit that pale-faced nightingale to come between you and me. +You know what I told you. I would kill her as I would a—a snake!"</p> + +<p>Despite his own stiff nerves, Venner recoiled from the look on the +woman's desperate face. Her voice had fallen to a hiss like that of the +reptile mentioned.</p> + +<p>"You are mad, Sanetta," he cried, irritably. "You have no occasion for +this jealousy and hatred."</p> + +<p>"I have had! You know that I have had—and your face shows it!"</p> + +<p>"You have none now—absolutely none now!"</p> + +<p>His emphatic declaration fell upon Cervera with an effect which Venner +did not at first understand.</p> + +<p>She sprang quickly toward him, gripping him hard by the wrist, while her +every nerve seemed stimulated with sudden agitation.</p> + +<p>"None now? None now—now?" she fiercely reiterated, in inquiring +whispers. "Do you mean that—that it is done? that it is done?"</p> + +<p>"Done?" gasped Venner, amazedly. "Is what done? What the devil are you +driving at?"</p> + +<p>She drew back, searching his eyes with hers, and hers were like those of +a demon, in her momentary suspense.</p> + +<p>"Then it isn't—it isn't?" she hissed, through her white teeth. "I +thought from what you said that it was. I thought—"</p> + +<p>"Good God! what do you mean?" cried Venner, aghast for a moment.</p> + +<p>Then, struck with a sudden recollection, he turned and snatched an +evening paper from a pocket of his coat, which he had tossed on a chair. +He had recalled certain leader lines which had caught his eye earlier in +the evening, yet which he then had not had sufficient interest to +follow.</p> + +<p>Now he hurriedly opened the paper and read the story, or so much of it +as enabled him to guess the truth.</p> + +<p>It was the newspaper story of the girl found dead in Central Park that +afternoon, with the mystery involving the sudden fatality, and the names +of the murdered girl and her mistress, Violet Page.</p> + +<p>A half-smothered oath of horror and dismay broke from Venner, after a +moment.</p> + +<p>It brought Cervera to his side, and she snatched the paper from him and +read—the story of her own failure; the miscarriage of her own jealous +and murderous design.</p> + +<p>She suppressed the shriek of mingled disappointment and fury that rose +to her twitching lips, then passionately cast the paper upon the table.</p> + +<p>"Well, what do you make of it?" she demanded, glaring at Venner's +colorless face.</p> + +<p>"No need to ask," he replied, hoarsely. "You know what I make of it."</p> + +<p>"You think I did it?"</p> + +<p>"I know you did it!"</p> + +<p>"And killed the wrong girl?"</p> + +<p>"And killed the wrong girl!"</p> + +<p>"Can you guess how?"</p> + +<p>"I don't care how. I know that you did it."</p> + +<p>"You will not betray me?" hissed Cervera, crouching before him, with +eyes never leaving his.</p> + +<p>"I have no wish to betray you."</p> + +<p>"You dare not! you dare not!"</p> + +<p>"I shall not!"</p> + +<p>"If you do—"</p> + +<p>The woman checked her words for an instant, and ran her hand into the +bosom of her dress. When she drew it forth it gripped a naked poniard, +upon the polished blade of which the rays of light flashed with many a +wicked gleam and glint.</p> + +<p>"If you do," she repeated, "I will send you after her, Rufus Venner! I +will do even more! I will expose our whole game, and our whole gang!"</p> + +<p>"I have said that I shall not betray you, nor will I," cried Venner, +signing for her to put up the weapon. "Yet you were mad, Sanetta. You +had no grounds for such jealousy, no occasion for such a crime."</p> + +<p>"I had—and you know it! I told you I would do it."</p> + +<p>"Well, you have tried it, at least," growled Venner, forcing a smile to +his gray lips.</p> + +<p>"And you dare not betray me," repeated Cervera, thrusting the glittering +weapon within her dress. "I have not failed entirely, Rufe, since it +makes the criminal tie between you and me all the stronger. It binds us +together with links of steel, Rufe, and they are stronger far than any +marriage contract."</p> + +<p>"Then you love me like that, eh?"</p> + +<p>"You know that I do."</p> + +<p>"Yet your infernal jealousy, and your determination to quit this house +and go to the plant with the gang, may yet ruin us all. If Nick Carter +were to get a clew—"</p> + +<p>"Bah!" Cervera fiercely interrupted. "I despise him, not fear him! I +tell you again, I will fool and foil Nick Carter, as I have fooled and +foiled his betters!"</p> + +<p>"His better as a detective never lived, Sanetta."</p> + +<p>"I care not! I defy him, and will yet show you that—"</p> + +<p>"Hush! Hark! A cab has stopped outside!"</p> + +<p>Cervera changed like a flash.</p> + +<p>With the bound of a leopard, one of those lightning moves with which she +could electrify an audience from the stage, she crossed the adjoining +room, which was in darkness, and reached the front window.</p> + +<p>One glance through the lace draperies was enough.</p> + +<p>Nick Carter was just alighting from his carriage.</p> + +<p>Cervera darted back and rejoined Venner.</p> + +<p>"It is Carter—Nick Carter himself!" she fiercely whispered, with all +the fire of her passionate Spanish nature ablaze in her eyes.</p> + +<p>"Carter! Good God!"</p> + +<p>"Be off, Rufe, and leave him to me!"</p> + +<p>"To you alone?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"He already is on your track for this crime."</p> + +<p>"I'll foil him yet! Leave him to me alone!" Cervera fiercely cried. "Be +off by the back stairs, then through the stable and the side alley. Go +to your own home, and from there signal Kilgore to have the secret way +to the plant open for me. Here—the paper! Take it away with you! I'll +elude Carter—"</p> + +<p>"But he may arrest you at once," protested Venner, excitedly. "If he +does—"</p> + +<p>"<i>Caramba!</i> do you stop to question?" Cervera furiously interrupted. "If +he takes me from this house he will take me—dead!"</p> + +<p>"But—"</p> + +<p>"Quick—he's at the door! Leave him to me alone, and do what I told you! +Away! There's the bell!"</p> + +<p>Venner caught up his coat, darted down the back stairs and quickly +departed by the way mentioned.</p> + +<p>At the same time, while Nick's summons was still echoing through the +great house, Sanetta Cervera swept haughtily through the main hall, +switched on the electric light, and then opened the front door.</p> + +<p>She appeared as cool and composed as if she had just arisen from her +dinner.</p> + +<p>Yet in the vestibule stood the one man whom she had most cause to fear, +the man who now held her fate in his hand—Nick Carter.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII" />CHAPTER XIII.</h2> + +<h3>CRAFTY CERVERA.</h3> + + +<p>"Good-evening, Mr. Venner. Oh, it's not you!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, 'tis!" said Nick, dryly. "It's I all right, and I'm it. You +appear surprised at seeing me, Señora Cervera."</p> + +<p>Cervera had begun, then stopped, then uttered the startled exclamation; +and all with the utmost coolness, with the air of one stirred only by +genuine surprise, and as if without the slightest fear or dismay upon +beholding Nick Carter in the vestibule.</p> + +<p>So perfectly natural was her artful assumption, that it rather deceived +Nick for a short time.</p> + +<p>In response to his dry remarks, the artful jade now nodded and began to +laugh.</p> + +<p>"Surprised? Well, rather!" she exclaimed, in animated tones. "I was +expecting our mutual friend, dear Mr. Venner, and supposed it was he who +rang. But I'm just as pleased to see you."</p> + +<p>"Yes?"</p> + +<p>"Surely! Come in, Detective Carter. You are very, very welcome. I shall +be so glad to renew our brief acquaintance. In fact, Detective Carter, I +am quite charmed to see you."</p> + +<p>"You'll not feel so chipper and charmed when you learn my business," +said Nick to himself, as he entered and followed her to the library.</p> + +<p>"Take a chair, Detective Carter, and try to feel perfectly at home," +laughed Cervera, with bantering vivacity. "You have been here before, +you know."</p> + +<p>"Yes, indeed, I know," said Nick, dryly. "The night I had a taste of a +choke pear, at the hands of your faithful guardians."</p> + +<p>"Ah! but you shall be better treated this time," smiled Cervera, +dropping into a chair opposite the detective, and fixing her sensuous, +dark eyes on Nick's calm, unreadable face.</p> + +<p>"I hope so, señora," he replied. "By the way, what has become of those +two stalwart guardians of your treasures? Do you still retain them in +your employ?"</p> + +<p>It was second nature to Nick to feel his way in this crafty fashion, yet +he did not really expect any resistance in arresting Cervera, who now +laughed and shook her head, replying:</p> + +<p>"No, I have let them go."</p> + +<p>"That so?"</p> + +<p>"I have no use for them at present."</p> + +<p>"Why is that?"</p> + +<p>"My engagement at the theater has closed, and I seldom have occasion to +wear my diamonds. I have placed them all in a safe deposit vault."</p> + +<p>"Ah! I see."</p> + +<p>"So I have no need for my guardians, Detective Carter, with only myself +here. Nobody would want me personally, you know," she added, with a bold +laugh.</p> + +<p>Nick's firm lips drew a little closer.</p> + +<p>"On the contrary," said he, pointedly, "somebody does, want you +personally."</p> + +<p>"Oh! is that so?" cried Cervera, as if amused.</p> + +<p>"Very much so, señora."</p> + +<p>"And who does me the honor, pray?"</p> + +<p>"I want you," said Nick, bluntly.</p> + +<p>"You, Detective Carter! Why, sir, what an idea! I wouldn't have believed +it of you."</p> + +<p>"Yet it is true, nevertheless."</p> + +<p>"Well, well," repeated Cervera, with a pretty shrug, "I am really glad +to hear you say so. For what do you want me, Detective Carter?"</p> + +<p>Not once had Nick's searching gaze left her brazen countenance, and +despite her outward display of badinage, his steadfast and penetrating +eyes were making her secretly uneasy.</p> + +<p>"I want you," said Nick, pointedly, "for that ugly 'Jack-in-the-box' +trick which you perpetrated this afternoon."</p> + +<p>Cervera's eyes emitted a single swift, fiery gleam, and her red lips +drew closer. Yet she cried, still pleasantly:</p> + +<p>"What do you mean by that, Detective Carter? Is it a joke?"</p> + +<p>"You'll find it no joke."</p> + +<p>"If it is, sir, I don't see the point."</p> + +<p>"You will have a chance to look for it at the Tombs," replied Nick, with +grim quietude. "Señora Cervera, I want you to go along with me."</p> + +<p>"The Tombs! Go with you! What do you mean?"</p> + +<p>"I mean that you are now under arrest."</p> + +<p>"Arrest! For what?"</p> + +<p>"For the murder of a girl named Mary Barton," Nick bluntly rejoined, +ignoring the woman's increasing display of amazement and resentment.</p> + +<p>"Mary Barton!" cried Cervera. "I never heard of the girl."</p> + +<p>"Nevertheless," said Nick, sternly, "you met her on Fifth Avenue this +afternoon, and gave her a jewel casket containing a venomous snake, +which you had stolen from the den of Pandu Singe, and by which means you +inadvertently killed Mary Barton, instead of another for whom your +infernal design was intended. I am aware of all of your late movements, +señora, you see."</p> + +<p>"I see that you are a devil!" cried Cervera, with a sudden passionate +outburst. "How dare you come here with such a story as that?"</p> + +<p>For a moment at least, the fact that Nick already had discovered nearly +every detail of her infamous crime—though committed only a few hours +before—almost completely unnerved her, and her changing countenance, +her irrepressible outbreak, and the violent agitation of her lithe, +nervous figure, were tokens of self-betrayal by no means unobserved by +Nick.</p> + +<p>"You'll have a chance to refute the story before a judge and jury," Nick +curtly answered. "At present you are in my custody, however, and you +must go with me."</p> + +<p>Cervera rose to her feet, trembling visibly, and gripped the back of her +chair as if for support.</p> + +<p>"There must be some terrible mistake, Detective Carter," she now cried, +with well-feigned distress and alarm. "Surely you do not mean this, +sir? Surely you do but jest?"</p> + +<p>"On the contrary, señora, I mean every word that I have said."</p> + +<p>"That I am under arrest?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"And must go with you?"</p> + +<p>"Precisely."</p> + +<p>"To the Tombs?"</p> + +<p>"To the Tombs, señora."</p> + +<p>"Oh! this is dreadful—dreadful!" craftily moaned Cervera, with tears +now filling her eyes.</p> + +<p>"I am sorry for you, señora, but I must do my duty," said Nick, rising.</p> + +<p>"I know you must—but, oh! what shall I do? To whom can I appeal? Oh! if +Mr. Venner were only here!"</p> + +<p>"You can send a messenger for him later, or dispatch one of your +servants from here," suggested Nick.</p> + +<p>"I have none here," sobbed Cervera. "They are all out, and I am alone. I +have no one—"</p> + +<p>She suddenly stopped, then drew herself up with resentful dignity, and +wiped the tears from her eyes.</p> + +<p>"I am a fool to be so weak!" she exclaimed, bitterly. "Detective Carter, +I know nothing of the crime you mention. I never heard of Mary Barton. +This arrest is an outrage, and I will appeal to the highest court in the +land for vindication!"</p> + +<p>"That's your privilege," said Nick, shortly. "But at present you must go +with me."</p> + +<p>"I cannot go as I am," declared Cervera, passionately stamping her +foot. "I am in evening dress—attired to receive a caller. I shall take +cold if I go out of doors in—"</p> + +<p>"Oh, you may change your dress," Nick curtly interrupted, the need of +which was decidedly obvious. "I'll give you time for that."</p> + +<p>"How very kind," sneered Cervera, with a bitter flash of her black eyes. +"You shall yet suffer for this affront, Detective Carter."</p> + +<p>"All right," said Nick. "But I have no time to speculate upon it now, so +get yourself ready. Wait a bit, my lady! I'll go along with you!"</p> + +<p>"With me? You insult me!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, I don't. I want a look at your chamber before letting you out +of my sight. I've seen rooms with more than one way out, and I don't +intend that you shall elude me."</p> + +<p>"You're a suspicious coward, sir!"</p> + +<p>"Stow all that, señora, and lead the way," commanded Nick, bluntly.</p> + +<p>Pale and resentful, with a sneer on her lips, Cervera led the way +through, the hall, playing her part so artfully that Nick, ignorant of +her late interview with Rufus Venner, was not much inclined to suspect +her of duplicity just then.</p> + +<p>Upon reaching the top of the hall stairs, Cervera switched on another +light, and then that which illumined her chamber, into which she +haughtily led the detective.</p> + +<p>"A fine affront to suffer," she bitterly exclaimed, throwing herself +into a chair. "Your conduct is despicable! You are no gentleman!"</p> + +<p>"I am a detective," retorted Nick, "and I come pretty near knowing my +business."</p> + +<p>"Oh! you do," sneered Cervera. "Plainly that is the limit of your +knowledge. You may not be as wise as you think."</p> + +<p>Nick made no reply, but looked sharply about the room.</p> + +<p>It was a large, square chamber, and elaborately furnished. The two +windows were well above the street, and offered no chance for escape. +There were but two doors, that leading into the hall and the one leading +into a large closet in the opposite wall.</p> + +<p>Nick opened the latter, and found the closet hung with Cervera's +extensive wardrobe. He thrust his arm along the garments hanging at +either side, and sounded the three walls, and then the closet floor, all +of which appeared perfectly firm and solid.</p> + +<p>Even these precautions seemed quite needless to Nick, however, it being +a rented house, and Cervera presumably uninformed of his coming.</p> + +<p>"Now, señora, you may have just ten minutes to make ready," said he, as +he rejoined her. "I shall leave this chamber door open, and will wait +for you in the adjoining hall. Can you whistle?"</p> + +<p>"Whistle?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, whistle! You know what it is to whistle, don't you?"</p> + +<p>The sneer on Cervera's red lips, as she arose from her chair, became +almost a smile.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I can whistle after a fashion," she admitted.</p> + +<p>"Well, then, you keep whistling all the time you are alone here," Nick +sternly commanded. "I will let you out of my sight to make these +changes, but not out of my hearing."</p> + +<p>"Suspicious fool!"</p> + +<p>"Fool or not, you keep whistling," said Nick, bluntly. "If you let up +for so long as a second, I'll come over yonder threshold in a way that +you'll not fancy."</p> + +<p>"But suppose I want to brush my teeth?" inquired Cervera, with a +vixenish light in her evil eyes. "I cannot whistle and brush my teeth, +Detective Carter."</p> + +<p>"You'll have plenty of time to brush your teeth at the Tombs," said +Nick, sharply. "Now look lively, mark you, and—keep whistling."</p> + +<p>Cervera at once began to whistle.</p> + +<p>Nick removed the key from the chamber door, and sauntered out into the +hall, where he kept his ears constantly alert.</p> + +<p>Not for a moment did the whistling cease, nor was there the slightest +change in tone or character.</p> + +<p>Nick could not have taken a more effective method to serve his present +purpose.</p> + +<p>At the end of eight minutes the whistling ceased, and Cervera coldly +cried:</p> + +<p>"Now you may come in, Detective Carter. I am about ready to go with +you."</p> + +<p>Nick at once entered the chamber.</p> + +<p>Cervera had changed her evening dress for a complete suit of black, and +was standing in the middle of the room.</p> + +<p>"I suppose," said she, staring icily at the detective, "that I ought to +thank you for your consideration."</p> + +<p>"Don't trouble yourself," said Nick, curtly. "I have no time to waste."</p> + +<p>"Yet just one word, Detective Carter, before we go."</p> + +<p>"Let it be brief, then."</p> + +<p>"You are said to be a very clever man, and no doubt you think you have +me dead to rights in this case," said Cervera, with a mocking curl of +her thin lips.</p> + +<p>"Decidedly so."</p> + +<p>"Yet you will find, Detective Carter, that a clever woman can always +fool and foil a clever man."</p> + +<p>"But you, my lady, are very far from being a clever woman," retorted +Nick, with a gesture of impatience, signifying that he wished to leave +with her at once.</p> + +<p>"Nevertheless, I shall beat you at the finish, make no mistake about +that," cried Cervera, scornfully. "Now, sir, I will put on my wrap, and +go with you where you please."</p> + +<p>With the last remark, she approached a peg in the open closet, as if to +take down a dark shawl.</p> + +<p>Instead, she suddenly turned quickly around and cried, with a taunting +laugh:</p> + +<p>"So long, Detective Carter! I really feel quite sorry to bid +you—good-by!"</p> + +<p>Nick started like a man electrified.</p> + +<p>Cervera merely had pressed the peg on which the shawl hung, whereupon +the whole back of the closet seemed to fall away instantly, disclosing a +lighted passage beyond.</p> + +<p>Nick caught a glimpse of it, and of the woman darting toward it, and he +followed her like a shot from a gun.</p> + +<p>As Cervera passed through the further opening and gained the lighted +passage, she seized and threw a short lever just beyond the closet wall.</p> + +<p>At the same moment Nick's weight fell upon the closet floor behind her.</p> + +<p>It was like treading upon air.</p> + +<p>The lever, like the peg, did not work in an instant.</p> + + +<p>Nick felt himself falling, and made a desperate clutch at the door +jamb—only to miss it.</p> + +<p>Then the closet floor, with the detective upon it, went speeding down +like an elevator cut loose from a top story.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV" />CHAPTER XIV.</h2> + +<h3>IN A WARM CORNER.</h3> + + +<p>The crash with which Nick Carter vaguely expected his career might be +abruptly ended, as the floor upon which he had fallen prostrate rapidly +descended, did not come.</p> + +<p>The terrific downward speed suddenly decreased, then became more +gradual, all in the bare fraction of a second; and then the rushing +sound of compressed air escaping through narrow crevices fell upon the +detective's ears.</p> + +<p>Nick immediately guessed the truth.</p> + +<p>The falling closet floor was that of an elevator, no longer in use as +such, yet which still worked on the slides of the elevator well, and +evidently had been cleverly adjusted for just such an emergency as that +depicted.</p> + +<p>Presently there came a heavy jar, and then the downward motion ceased. +The close-fitting floor at first had fallen so swiftly that the confined +air in the well beneath it had become so compressed as to form an air +cushion, which finally let the floor completely down only after the air +had gradually escaped. It was this escaping air Nick heard during the +last moments of his fall.</p> + +<p>The entire episode began and ended in but little more than a moment, +however. Though considerably jarred, Nick pulled himself together, and +gazed up through the darkness at the bottom of the well.</p> + +<p>Cervera was peering down from the lighted passage three stories above +him, Nick having made a clean drop into the cellar of the imposing +residence.</p> + +<p>That this entire contrivance was the work of the Kilgore gang, devised +while they masqueraded at Cervera's house, Nick was thoroughly +convinced.</p> + +<p>"Hello!" Cervera suddenly cried, still gazing down into the darkness +enveloping Nick. "Are you there, Mr. Carter?"</p> + +<p>Nick stared up at her, but made no answer.</p> + +<p>At the same time he felt quietly over the walls of the well, in the hope +of finding some way of escape.</p> + +<p>It riled him not a little, the thought of having been so deftly caught +in a trap, almost entirely owing to his having been overconfident, an +assurance only very natural under the circumstances.</p> + +<p>The possibility that this woman might now elude him for a time was also +a thorn in Nick's mind.</p> + +<p>"<i>Caramba!</i>" cried Cervera, with a mocking laugh. "Aren't you going to +speak?"</p> + +<p>Still no answer.</p> + +<p>"Have you lost your tongue, Detective Carter? If you don't speak out, +Mr. Smart Fellow, I shall drop something down that will light you up. I +want a look at you, to know whether you're afoot or on horseback."</p> + +<p>Nick remained in perfect silence.</p> + +<p>Then Cervera disappeared.</p> + +<p>"The she-devil!" muttered the detective. "What move next, I wonder?"</p> + +<p>Again he felt quickly over the walls of the well, in the hope of finding +some avenue of escape.</p> + +<p>With a thrill of satisfaction, he now discovered one of the vertical +strips of iron which are attached to two opposite walls of an elevator +well, to steady the car and serve as slides for it to run upon. These +iron strips are usually regularly notched to the depth of an inch or +more, for the admission of an automatic break in the event of the rope +parting.</p> + +<p>"By Jove! this is not so bad," thought Nick. "It might serve for a +ladder.</p> + +<p>"To climb three stories with the tips of one's fingers and toes, +however, and by means of a notched iron on the bare face of a wall, is a +herculean and hazardous undertaking."</p> + +<p>While he stood, measuring the altitude with his eyes, Nick heard Cervera +returning.</p> + +<p>Then a great bunch of flaming paper came flying down the well, and the +detective was forced to leap aside to escape it.</p> + +<p>She-devil, indeed, Cervera had set fire to a crumpled newspaper, with +which to illuminate the bottom of the well.</p> + +<p>"Ah, there you are!" she exultingly cried, on discovering Nick in the +glare of the light. "On your feet, eh? You were lucky to escape, +Detective Carter."</p> + +<p>"And you'll be lucky if you escape Detective Carter," sternly retorted +Nick, quickly stamping out the fire. "I'll finally land you, my crafty +young woman, though I lie awake nights to devise a way."</p> + +<p>Cervera gave vent to a shrill, vindictive laugh.</p> + +<p>"Do you think you can do it?" she demanded, mockingly.</p> + +<p>"You'll find that I can."</p> + +<p>"Better men than you have tried—and failed."</p> + +<p>"Yet I shall succeed."</p> + +<p>"Do you feel quite sure of it?"</p> + +<p>"Absolutely."</p> + +<p>"Then I think I'd better see your finish this very night, since I now +have you cornered!" cried Cervera, in taunting tones, "It may not be +wise to defer it."</p> + +<p>Then Nick beheld a second burning newspaper coming his way.</p> + +<p>"Let up, you demon!" he shouted, angrily. "You'll set the house afire."</p> + +<p>"Wouldn't it be a shame! And what would become of you?"</p> + +<p>"Don't try it again, young woman, or worse may be your fate."</p> + +<p>"Oh! is that so?" sneered Cervera, maliciously. "We'll see."</p> + +<p>Down came another burning paper, and by the light of it Nick now +discovered a closed door in one of the walls. It was directly under the +closet door in Cervera's chamber, both of which evidently had once been +used for entering the elevator.</p> + +<p>The fact chiefly observed by Nick, however, was that the sill of the +door was wide enough to offer him a safe footing. Though it was fully +eight feet above his head, Nick resolved to attempt to reach it by means +of the notched iron on the side wall.</p> + +<p>Gripping the rough notches with his muscular fingers, and using those +lower down for a foothold, as best he could, Nick hurriedly began the +difficult ascent.</p> + +<p>By the light from a fragment of burning paper, Cervera perceived his +design, and greeted it with a scream of derision.</p> + +<p>"I'll soon stop that, my fine fellow," she shouted, with vicious +asperity. "Look out for yourself!"</p> + +<p>White speaking, she touched a match to one of her dresses, which hung +from a near peg on the closet wall, and dropped it blazing down the +well.</p> + +<p>Nick saw it coming, and was forced to drop back to the cellar floor.</p> + +<p>"You vicious demon!" he cried, angrily. "Let up! You'll have the house +on fire!"</p> + +<p>"That's just what I intend doing—and you with it!" screamed Cervera, +with a laugh. "I'll not leave you alive to get the best of me at some +later day."</p> + +<p>Then she set fire to a silk skirt, and dropped it after the other.</p> + +<p>Nick had not yet been able to extinguish the first, and the situation +was momentarily becoming more desperate. A cloud of smoke was filling +the well, with no draft to carry it away, and the heat was already very +oppressive.</p> + +<p>Crouching on the curb of the lighted passage three floors above him, +Cervera was laughing wildly, with her handsome face reflecting the +bitter hatred by which she was inspired, as she hurriedly set fire to a +third garment and dropped it down the well.</p> + +<p>The smoke at the bottom had become so dense that Nick no longer could +see her, but he felt quite sure that he could put an end to her present +murderous game.</p> + +<p>He drew his revolver and fired two quick shots in her direction. One +bullet crashed through the ceiling above her. The second clipped a lock +of hair from over the vixen's ear.</p> + +<p>It brought a shriek of alarm to her lips, and she sprang quickly back +from the curb over which she was stooping.</p> + +<p>"<i>Caramba!</i>" she yelled, excitedly. "That's your game, is it?"</p> + +<p>"You'll find it is, if you approach that opening again!" cried Nick, +half choked with smoke, while he fiercely strove to extinguish the +blazing garments.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I'll not give you another chance at me!" screamed Cervera. "I'll +push over something heavier, and crush out your life with—"</p> + +<p>She suddenly stopped, then held her breath and listened.</p> + +<p>The crash of a breaking door reached her ears, then hurried footsteps +began falling on the main stairway leading to her chamber.</p> + +<p>"Some one is coming!" she fiercely muttered. "Perhaps another detective! +I must be off!"</p> + +<p>Yet so bitter was her hatred of Nick, and so intensely enjoyable to her +the trick she had served him, that she lingered for an instant in the +face of the impending danger, and screamed down the well, with a mocking +laugh:</p> + +<p>"I'm obliged to leave you, Detective Carter! While I'm gone—keep +whistling!"</p> + +<p>At the same moment Chick Carter rushed into the chamber and caught a +glimpse of her through the wreathing smoke, as she fled through the +lighted passage.</p> + +<p>One glance at the scene gave Chick the entire situation.</p> + +<p>He drew back, took a short run, and with a magnificent bound cleared the +open well, and leaped squarely through the closet and into the lighted +passage.</p> + +<p>Then the crash of a heavy door, suddenly closed, and the shooting of +bolts, told him that Cervera had prevented pursuit for a time at least, +and Chick swung round to the open well, to see if Nick needed him.</p> + +<p>"Hello, Nick!" he shouted. "The woman—"</p> + +<p>"Let her go!" roared Nick, still fiercely fighting the flames that +threatened the woodwork of the well. "Let her go—we'll get her later! +First save the house!"</p> + +<p>"How can I reach you?"</p> + +<p>"Through a door under the one in her chamber," shouted Nick. "Try that."</p> + +<p>Chick cleared the well with another leap, then dashed downstairs and +into the parlor, which was lighted by the glare from both hall and +library.</p> + +<p>He quickly discovered the door—only to find it locked and the key +removed.</p> + +<p>Chick was promptly equal to so slight an emergency, however. Grasping a +heavy stool near the piano, he swung it above his head, and with half a +dozen rapid blows demolished most of the door, and forced it open.</p> + +<p>A cloud of smoke floated into the room, but a glance showed Chick that +Nick now had the flames extinguished.</p> + +<p>"Are you all right, old man?" he demanded.</p> + +<p>"Only a little in need of fresh air," gasped Nick. "You cannot reach +down to me."</p> + +<p>"Wait a bit, then. This will do the business!"</p> + +<p>Chick had turned and snatched off the thick cloth covering of the piano, +which he quickly twisted and lowered over the doorsill, and then braced +himself to sustain Nick's weight.</p> + +<p>"All right?" cried Nick.</p> + +<p>"Yes. Come on!"</p> + +<p>Nick drew himself up until he could grasp the sill of the door, then +easily reached the floor and the clearer atmosphere of the parlor.</p> + +<p>"Well, here's a pretty mess!" he growled, in tones of self-condemnation. +"If ever I was done by a crafty jade, I've been done by one this night."</p> + +<p>"How in thunder did it happen, Nick?" demanded Chick, with no little +amazement.</p> + +<p>Nick very quickly told him, and explained the occasion of his own lack +of distrust and caution.</p> + +<p>"It being a rented house, I did not look for any such trap as this," +said he. "Furthermore, I did not believe that Cervera had any warning of +my coming, and I felt satisfied that she was alone here. Have you seen +anything of Venner while waiting in the cab?"</p> + +<p>"Not a sign of him."</p> + +<p>"It's odds, then, that he was here when I arrived, and made his escape +by a back door," growled Nick. "If so, it goes to show that he is in +with her and the Kilgore push, and not a blind victim to their cunning. +We now must get some proof of that, Chick, and force that gang and +their game to light. We at least have made a beginning, and now for +another move."</p> + +<p>"To-night?"</p> + +<p>"At once!" declared Nick. "Cervera must find shelter somewhere, and it's +very likely she will go to Venner's house. That must be our next point, +and we will lose no time. Possibly we yet may land her before she finds +cover."</p> + +<p>"We can give it a try," cried Chick.</p> + +<p>"Help me extinguish these lights, and then we'll be off again."</p> + +<p>"I'm with you."</p> + +<p>"What sent you into the house so suddenly?"</p> + +<p>"The reports of your revolver," explained Chick. "I at once recognized +its bark, and knew something was wrong."</p> + +<p>"Ah! I see."</p> + +<p>"I saw the light in the chamber, and supposed you might be letting the +woman prepare to go with you," added Chick. "That was while I sat in the +cab. But when I heard your gun, I smashed open the front door and bolted +upstairs."</p> + +<p>"Very lucky, too," nodded Nick. "That she-devil would have burned the +house, and me in the bargain. But the end is not yet."</p> + +<p>"Well, hardly!" laughed Chick, as they descended the front stairs and +extinguished the last light.</p> + +<p>"We'll stop an officer, and send him here to watch the house," said +Nick. "Then we'll have a look at Venner's dwelling. It's my opinion, +Chick, that our work has now begun in good earnest."</p> + +<p>"Well, I reckon we shall prove equal to it," smiled Chick, rather +grimly, as they hastened to enter the waiting carriage.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV" />CHAPTER XV.</h2> + +<h3>THE DIAMOND PLANT.</h3> + + +<p>"This does settle it!"</p> + +<p>"What do you mean, Dave?"</p> + +<p>"It must be done?"</p> + +<p>"We must get these Carters—that's what! If we don't get them, +Spotty—you take my word for it—they'll get us!"</p> + +<p>"Do you really think so, Dave?"</p> + +<p>"Not think, but know so!" declared Kilgore, with emphasis. "I know these +Carters, root and branch. They have now struck our trail, and they'll +stick to it like bloodhounds till they run us down—unless we get them! +It must be done, I say, and done promptly."</p> + +<p>"Put them down and out?"</p> + +<p>"Exactly. It's them—or us!"</p> + +<p>"And why do you think, all of a sudden, Dave, that Nick Carter is so hot +on our heels?"</p> + +<p>"I'll tell you why, Spotty."</p> + +<p>And Mr. David Kilgore, chief of the notorious diamond gang bearing his +name, and one of the keenest and coolest criminals in or out of prison +walls, removed his pipe from his mouth and his heels from the edge of +the table, and drew forward in his chair to explain.</p> + +<p>It was a curious place, that in which the speakers of the above were +seated, in the bright glare of an electric light.</p> + +<p>It was inclosed with four solid stone walls, with not a window or +aperture through which a ray of light could be detected from outside.</p> + +<p>Yet in one of the walls was a low, narrow door, also of stone, and so +cleverly constructed and fitted that, when swung into place in the wall, +it was comparatively beyond the detection of anybody ignorant of its +existence. This door then stood open, but the aperture through the wall +was heavily curtained.</p> + +<p>Three of these walls formed the original foundation of an old and +extensive suburban mansion, the location, ownership and present use of +which will presently appear. The fourth wall, that with the door, was of +more recent construction, and was built squarely across the original +cellar of the house. It had been made to mask this secret subterranean +chamber in which the Kilgore gang was then gathered.</p> + +<p>The place was commodious, and contained some noteworthy objects. In one +corner was a powerful hydraulic press. Near by was a splendid electrical +furnace, capable of generating an extraordinary degree of heat. Against +the adjoining wall were several barrels of sulphur, of which only one +was unheaded. Near by was a large box of anthracite coal, black and +glistening in the rays of the arc light.</p> + +<p>Parallel with the opposite wall was a workbench, laden with curious +retorts, crucibles, test tubes, metal molds, and no end of tools, all of +which plainly suggested the work of one versed both in chemistry and +some mechanical art.</p> + +<p>In the middle of the room was a square deal table, at which Kilgore was +seated, with Matt Stall and Spotty Dalton, the original three of the +Kilgore gang.</p> + +<p>Two other persons were present, however, and they were engaged in +examining some work on the bench mentioned.</p> + +<p>One of them was a tall, angular Frenchman, about sixty years of age, +named Jean Pylotte. He had a slender figure, somewhat bowed; but his +head was massive, in which his gleaming, gray eyes were deeply sunk, +like those of a tireless student and hard worker.</p> + +<p>His companion at the bench just then was Sanetta Cervera, the Spanish +dancer—the murderess of Mary Barton—the vicious dare-devil who had +served Nick Carter one of her evil tricks that very evening.</p> + +<p>Cervera had arrived at the diamond plant less than an hour before, and +had hurriedly told her confederates the whole story of her crime and her +adventure with Nick.</p> + +<p>Crime was too common with these outlaws, however, and loyalty to one +another too natural, for Kilgore to censure his only female confederate +very severely. Yet as Kilgore now proceeded to explain, her crime had +rendered their situation decidedly more alarming.</p> + +<p>"I'll tell you why these Carters are now to be seriously feared," said +he, nodding grimly at his hearers. "This last move of Cervera has hurt +us severely."</p> + +<p>"In what way?" demanded Spotty Dalton, the pock-marked chap who had +relieved Venner's partner of the Hafferman diamonds about two weeks +before. "I don't see just how, Dave."</p> + +<p>"No more do I," put in Matt Stall.</p> + +<p>"You'll see," replied Kilgore, "when I run over a few facts which led +to our being here, and at work on our present game."</p> + +<p>"Well, Dave, we're listening."</p> + +<p>"One year ago we three were in Amsterdam, Holland, weren't we?"</p> + +<p>"Sure."</p> + +<p>"At work on a different kind of a game?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Only we three were then in the gang."</p> + +<p>"That's right, Dave. Now there are seven of us, counting Venner and his +partner."</p> + +<p>"It was in Amsterdam that we first met her nibs," continued Kilgore, +with a jerk of his thumb in the direction of Cervera, who was so engaged +with Pylotte that neither heeded the talk at the table.</p> + +<p>"Yes, Dave, we met her just a year ago," nodded Dalton.</p> + +<p>"She was then doing her dances in a theater there, and we naturally got +our peepers onto her diamonds," Kilgore went on to narrate. "You fellows +already know the scheme by which we tried to relieve her of them, which +we came so near doing."</p> + +<p>"Well, rather," grinned Dalton, as if the reminiscence was amusing.</p> + +<p>"Then we learned from her own lips, and greatly to our surprise, that +her sparks were not the real thing," smiled Kilgore. "At first we could +not believe it. The goods deceived even us, old hands though we are. It +was only when she told us about Pylotte, and the secret process by +which he makes such extraordinary imitations, that we could believe +her."</p> + +<p>"That's right, Dave."</p> + +<p>"She had stumbled by chance upon this clever French chemist and diamond +cutter, and was working him to the extent of her ability. She even had +got wise to his secret, and he was loading her with his marvelous gems +in return for her affection. But we at once saw the way to something +much more profitable, a game for making millions out of Pylotte's great +discovery."</p> + +<p>"Right again, Dave."</p> + +<p>"So we told them about it, and found them willing," continued Kilgore. +"We rung them into our gang, and planned the whole deal. We knew it +would be dead easy to work off such clever stones for genuine goods. +With plenty of such sparks on hand, and one big and reputable jeweler to +help us work the market, the distribution of our goods and their +substitution for genuine stones would quickly throw a cool million or +two our way."</p> + +<p>"Dead easy, Dave."</p> + +<p>"But we decided that New York was the best field for such a gigantic +enterprise," added Kilgore. "So we came here. With the help of Cervera, +we got our grip on Venner, and then on his avaricious partner, Garside, +whose business happened to be on its last legs. So they snapped like +hungry fish at this chance to square themselves, by secretly swindling +their own customers, and shoving our manufactured diamonds upon the +entire market."</p> + +<p>"Like hungry fish—h'm! that's no name for it," cried Matt Stall, with +a mingled growl and laugh. "Rufe Venner was as ready to become a knave +as any covey I ever crossed."</p> + +<p>"So we established this plant for Pylotte to do his clever work in," +continued Kilgore, disregarding the interruption. "Luckily, Venner +already owned this old mansion, as well as that in which he lives; and +fortunately, both places are somewhat secluded, with extensive grounds +abutting. That enabled us to frame up a very snug and safe retreat."</p> + +<p>"Sure it did."</p> + +<p>"So we went to work," Kilgore proceeded, discursively. "We built our +plant, placed our machinery, rigged a private telephone between this +house and Venner's, and tapped the electric conduit with a secret wire, +to give us light and feed our furnace."</p> + +<p>"That was my work," nodded Stall, with a touch of pride.</p> + +<p>"Right you are, Matt, and mighty good work, too," bowed Kilgore. "In a +nutshell, boys, after two months' secret work, we have accomplished all +we planned, and now have Venner sliding our goods upon the market at a +fabulous profit. In a single year, barring these infernal Carters, every +man of us should be a millionaire."</p> + +<p>"But why this sudden fear of the Carters?" growled Dalton, impatiently.</p> + +<p>"I'll now tell you why," cried Kilgore, with voice lowered, and an ugly +gleam in his frowning eyes. "We cannot sack Cervera, nor put out her +light, for she's too good and strong a card for us to lose. But in +losing her head over Venner, and jealously doing up that girl to-day, +she has given the Carters a clew by which to track us."</p> + +<p>"How so, Dave?" muttered Stall, growing a bit pale.</p> + +<p>"Through Venner, of course!" Kilgore forcibly argued. "Until this job of +to-day, Carter has had no definite suspicion of Venner, a possibility +which we headed off with that fake robbery. Now, however, since Cervera +must lie low, and Carter knows of her relations with Venner, he will +suspect the latter and make him a constant mark, in the hope of landing +the girl."</p> + +<p>"By Heaven, that's so!" snarled Dalton, quickly seeing the point.</p> + +<p>"And that's not the worst of it," added Kilgore. "The moment he suspects +Venner, Carter will connect him with us, and know that that robbery was +a put-up job. Then he'll begin to seek us and our game."</p> + +<p>"But how can he locate us?"</p> + +<p>"Locate us?" sneered Kilgore, acidly. "You don't know Nick Carter! I'll +tell you, Spotty, he can smell a rat further than any ferret that ever +shoved his nose under a miller's barn. As sure as death and taxes, Nick +Carter will run us down and land us, every mother's son of us—unless we +can get him, and put him down and out."</p> + +<p>"By Heaven, I begin to think so myself," growled Stall. "If we—"</p> + +<p>"There are no ifs, ands or buts about it, Matt," interrupted Kilgore, +decisively. "We must down them both, Nick and Chick Carter, or our game +is as good as done for."</p> + +<p>"But how can we land them, Dave, and when?"</p> + +<p>"I already have a plan, and I think the first move may be made this +very night."</p> + +<p>"What's the plan, Dave?"</p> + +<p>"To lure both detectives into Venner's house, and there do them up. If +we can get them to come there voluntarily, their fate may never be +learned, and our tracks will be better covered than by doing the job +elsewhere."</p> + +<p>"That's true enough, since they're not likely to disclose their +intentions, and if they come in disguise, no one about here will have +recognized them."</p> + +<p>"That's just my theory."</p> + +<p>"But how can we lure them to Venner's house?"</p> + +<p>"With the help of Pylotte, whom they do not know, nor ever heard of. +He's a brainy dog, moreover, and crafty enough to blind them."</p> + +<p>"But what's your scheme for to-night?" demanded Dalton.</p> + +<p>"After what has happened," replied Kilgore, "it's a safe gamble that the +Carters are at this moment watching Venner's house. If they are—but +wait a bit! First hear my whole plan."</p> + +<p>The three criminals drew their chairs closer, and in a very few minutes +Kilgore had disclosed his entire design, a scheme so recklessly bold +that it brought murmurs of amazement and misgivings from both his +hearers, daring knaves though they were.</p> + +<p>"It strikes me, Dave, that it's too long a chance for us to take, this +giving Nick Carter a genuine clew to our game," objected Dalton, +doubtfully.</p> + +<p>"But no other clew will answer," declared Kilgore, forcibly. "You +cannot fool Nick Carter with any false move or faked story; I'm already +sure of that."</p> + +<p>"So am I," nodded Stall. "He's too wise a guy to fool with."</p> + +<p>"We are compelled to give him the real thing, and make him feel that he +is up against a square deal, or no man among us can work the racket," +added Kilgore. "With my scheme, however, Pylotte is just the covey to do +the job, and land both Carters where we want them."</p> + +<p>"And then?"</p> + +<p>"Then it's our ability against theirs," snarled Kilgore, "If we go lame, +with the odds all in our favor, we deserve to be thrown down."</p> + +<p>"That's right, too," admitted Dalton.</p> + +<p>"Will Pylotte undertake this sort of a job, think you?" inquired Matt +Stall.</p> + +<p>"Will he?" rejoined Kilgore, with an ugly gleam in his determined eyes. +"He will, or—well, you know! Yes, Matt, he will; and he's just the man +for the job."</p> + +<p>The vicious significance with which he spoke plainly indicated that, +though Cervera may have ruled her own roost, there was but one chief of +this gang, and that was Mr. David Kilgore.</p> + +<p>He turned sharply about in his chair, and cried:</p> + +<p>"Here you, Pylotte! Come and give us your ear! I have work for you +to-night!"</p> + +<p>Both Pylotte and Cervera quickly turned and hastened to join the gang at +the table.</p> + +<p>For twenty minutes Kilgore's project for outwitting and securing Nick +Carter was earnestly discussed, and every detail of the plan carefully +laid.</p> + +<p>Then the four men stole quietly out of the house in company.</p> + +<p>It then was a little after midnight.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI" />CHAPTER XVI.</h2> + +<h3>THE CUNNING OF JEAN PYLOTTE.</h3> + + +<p>Kilgore had reasoned shrewdly, in so quickly suspecting that Nick Carter +would lose no time in getting a line on the Venner residence. Even while +the diamond gang were discussing the plan by which to capture the +Carters, the two detectives were at times within a hundred yards of the +secret plant.</p> + +<p>It was dark out of doors that night, with only a few stars in the +clouded sky, and the wooded locality and neighboring streets were but +poorly lighted.</p> + +<p>It was in a northern suburb of New York, a section not yet much +encroached upon by the spreading city, and the dwelling owned and +occupied by Rufus Venner was that in which three generations of his +family had lived and died.</p> + +<p>It was a square, old house of brick, set fifty yards from the suburban +street, and was flanked in either direction by extensive, ill-kept +grounds, made damp and dark by the huge, old trees, which nearly covered +the estate.</p> + +<p>Back of the house, and off to one side, was a large wooden stable, fast +running to ruin; while a rusty iron fence, falling to fragments in +places, skirted the dismal grounds in front.</p> + +<p>Beyond the trees, far to the rear, could be seen the roof and chimneys +of an old, wooden mansion, fronting on another street, and having a very +similar environment. There, too, the house and grounds were running to +ruin and decay, both places being but crumbling monuments of former +opulence and grandeur.</p> + +<p>It was upon this scene that Nick Carter and Chick arrived just before +midnight, having left their carriage at a remote corner, to await their +return.</p> + +<p>"Yonder is Venner's house, Chick," said Nick, as they picked their way +along the unpaved sidewalk. "We'll vault this iron fence and steal +across the grounds."</p> + +<p>"It doesn't look much as if our quarry was there," observed Chick, as +they scaled the fence.</p> + +<p>"Their deeds are dark, and like seeks like," replied Nick. "They now may +be making darkness their cover."</p> + +<p>"Not a light in the house, is there?"</p> + +<p>"None visible from this side. We'll steal between the house and stable, +and have a look at the opposite elevation."</p> + +<p>"Not much danger of being seen. It's as dark as a nigger's pocket under +these trees."</p> + +<p>"So much the better in case anyone is watching."</p> + +<p>"Who lives here with Venner?"</p> + +<p>"Only an elderly housekeeper, of whom I don't hear anything very good," +replied Nick. "Venner is here but part of the time, I am told. In fact, +I don't quite fathom his habits."</p> + +<p>"Why so?"</p> + +<p>"I can't learn what takes him from home so much of the time. He does not +leave the city, nor patronize any hotel that I can discover, yet he +frequently is away from this house overnight."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps he secretly keeps another house, and is leading a double life."</p> + +<p>"Possibly," admitted Nick. "He is on friendly terms with numerous women, +I learn, and other quarters may be essential to designs of some kind. +Quietly, now, and we'll slip across the back lawn."</p> + +<p>Like shadows, as dark as the night itself, they silently reached a point +from which they could view the north side of the house. Here they +discovered that one of the lower rooms was lighted, with the curtain at +the single window nearly drawn.</p> + +<p>"Somebody is up," murmured Chick.</p> + +<p>"We'll learn who, if possible."</p> + +<p>"Going to have a look?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. Come, if you like, but don't get into the glare from the curtain. +Kilgore has a very wicked air gun, and if he and his gang are about +here, we might invite a bullet."</p> + +<p>"I'll have a care."</p> + +<p>Stealing closer over the damp greensward, they approached the house and +peered beneath the curtain mentioned. There was but one occupant of the +room, which was a small library.</p> + +<p>In an easy-chair near the table, with a newspaper fallen across his +knees, sat Rufus Venner, apparently sound asleep.</p> + +<p>This was only a part of the game, however, for Venner was wide awake. +By means of their secret wire, he had been informed of Cervera's arrival +at the diamond plant, and of Kilgore's designs upon Nick, and Venner at +that moment suspected that he might be under the eye of the detective.</p> + +<p>For nearly half an hour Nick waited for some sign of this artifice, but +Venner in no way betrayed it.</p> + +<p>Presently a clock on the mantel struck the half after one, and the sound +appeared to awake him. He yawned, glanced at the clock, then took the +lamp from the table and went up to bed. But never so much as a glance +toward the window.</p> + +<p>Nick led Chick away, and they returned across the lawn to a point beyond +the stable.</p> + +<p>"It rather looks as if Cervera had been here, doesn't it?" inquired +Chick, with a grin.</p> + +<p>"Yes," admitted Nick. "Two facts are very significant of it. First, that +Venner is at home on this particular night; and, second, that he should +be asleep in his chair after midnight. It has a fishy look."</p> + +<p>"That's my idea, Nick, exactly."</p> + +<p>"Yet the way to prove it doesn't appear quite easy."</p> + +<p>"Not just yet. But who occupies that house over yonder, where the roof +shows above the trees?"</p> + +<p>And Chick pointed to the distant dwelling, little dreaming that the +diamond plant and the gang they sought were established under its +many-gabled roof.</p> + +<p>This was not the first night Nick had watched Venner's house since the +diamond robbery, the doubtful character of which he had suspected at the +outset, and incidentally he had informed himself concerning Venner's +neighbors.</p> + +<p>"One Dr. Magruder, I am told, a retired physician from Illinois," he +replied. "He bought the place at a forced sale some little time ago."</p> + +<p>Nor did Nick, when thus replying, dream that Dr. Magruder and Rufus +Venner were one and the same; or that, in attributing to him a double +life of shameful iniquity, Chick had hit the nail squarely on the head.</p> + +<p>"Come this way," added Nick.</p> + +<p>"Where now?"</p> + +<p>"We'll go down to the corner of the grounds, and watch the house for a +time."</p> + +<p>Before Nick's reply was fairly uttered, however, both detectives were +startled by distant cries, which fell with frantic appeal on the +midnight air.</p> + +<p>"Help! Help! Help!"</p> + +<p>The startling cry was thrice repeated, the last time as if choked in the +speaker's throat, yet the direction of the sound was unmistakable.</p> + +<p>"Something's up!" muttered Nick. "This way!"</p> + +<p>With Chick at his heels, he tore across the wooded grounds and bounded +over the iron fence at the street.</p> + +<p>Then the occasion of the outcry at once became apparent.</p> + +<p>Some two hundred yards away, in the yellow glare of one of the +incandescent lights by which the little-frequented street was illumined, +a man was battling desperately with three assailants, one of whom he +had knocked to the ground.</p> + +<p>Without a word, both detectives rushed down the road to his assistance.</p> + +<p>As they drew nearer there came a flash of light, then the report of a +pistol, followed by another shriek for help.</p> + +<p>Then Nick saw one of the ruffians reel a little, as if shot, while a +second hurled their victim to the ground. The third leaped to his feet +at the same moment, yelling wildly:</p> + +<p>"Look out! Scatter, boys! The cops are upon us!"</p> + +<p>"Kilgore's voice, or I'm a liar," muttered Nick, over his shoulder.</p> + +<p>Both detectives were still fifty yards from the scene of the furious +conflict, and were running at the top of their speed along the rough +road.</p> + +<p>Before they could come near enough to use a weapon, however, the three +ruffians scattered like frightened cats, leaping the wall near an +adjoining woodland, into the gloom of which they speedily vanished.</p> + +<p>It was obvious to Nick that pursuit would be vain, so he hastened to the +side of the fallen man, who had been left prostrate in the road, and +helped him to his feet.</p> + +<p>The man was Jean Pylotte.</p> + +<p>He was panting hard after the conflict, the fake character of which Nick +could not then foresee. His coat was ripped up the back, his linen +collar torn off, and he was deathly pale, with a smutch of blood across +his cheek. In one hand he held a revolver, and in the other—a chunk of +coal.</p> + +<p>"Are you wounded, stranger?" Nick quickly demanded, as he studied the +man's pale face.</p> + +<p>"Not much—not badly, I think," gasped Pylotte, trembling violently. +"But it's lucky you came. They'd surely have killed me."</p> + +<p>Nick noticed that he spoke with a slight foreign accent, and was a man +of considerable physical prowess.</p> + +<p>"There's blood on your face," said he.</p> + +<p>"It came from one of them, I think," said Pylotte, drawing his sleeve +across his cheek to remove the stain. "I must have wounded one of them."</p> + +<p>"It's a pity you did not kill him," said Nick, bluntly. "Was it you who +fired the gun?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. I tried to fire again, but one of them struck me down before I +could do so. The ruffians came upon me before I fairly realized it."</p> + +<p>"Do you know them?" inquired Chick.</p> + +<p>"Only one of them, a man named John David," replied Pylotte, now +appearing to pull himself together.</p> + +<p>"John David, eh?" grunted Nick.</p> + +<p>"He has swindled me, and I—I saw him at a theater to-night, and +afterward followed him out here."</p> + +<p>"For what? If he has swindled you, why didn't you have him arrested at +the theater?" demanded Nick.</p> + +<p>"Well, I—I wanted to learn where he lives. He must have discovered +that he was being followed, and then tried to do me up."</p> + +<p>Nick observed the speaker's faltering manner, and it increased his +curiosity.</p> + +<p>"Why do you wish to know where he lives?" he demanded.</p> + +<p>Pylotte hesitated, and shrugged his shoulders.</p> + +<p>"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," said he, after a moment.</p> + +<p>"Not believe you?"</p> + +<p>"I hardly think so."</p> + +<p>"Suppose you tell me, and see," suggested Nick, with a faint smile.</p> + +<p>"I have no objection to telling you, none at all," Pylotte now replied. +"The man I spoke of, John David, swindled me yesterday with two +artificial diamonds."</p> + +<p>"Ah! is that so?" cried Nick, with a significant glance at Chick. "What +is your name, my man?"</p> + +<p>"Jean Pylotte, sir."</p> + +<p>"Who are you, and where do you live?"</p> + +<p>"I am a Frenchman by birth, and arrived in New York only this week. My +home is in Denver. I am a diamond cutter by trade, and came here to buy +some gems for a Denver woman of wealth, who wishes to obtain a certain +size and quality."</p> + +<p>"Then you are a judge of diamonds?"</p> + +<p>"One of the best," Pylotte modestly admitted, with a faint smile. "I am +an expert judge of diamonds, and so it happened that I discovered the +swindle of which I am a victim."</p> + +<p>"Then you bought a diamond of the man who said his name was John David, +did you?"</p> + +<p>"I bought two, sir," nodded Pylotte. "They appeared like natural and +very perfect stones when I first examined them, but after subjecting +them to more careful tests, I found them to be the most extraordinary +imitations I ever beheld."</p> + +<p>"Artificial diamonds, were they?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, artificial. But only the best of experts, and after the most rigid +tests, could discover the fraud. I never saw such imitations. The stones +are really almost as good as natural ones."</p> + +<p>"Have you them with you?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"You feel quite confident that they were manufactured, do you?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, I am positive of it," cried Pylotte, with emphasis. "That is why I +was secretly following the swindler."</p> + +<p>"You wanted to discover his house, and learn how he made such perfect +imitations, eh? Was that your motive, instead of having him arrested at +the theater?"</p> + +<p>"Well, yes, it was," admitted Pylotte, with feigned reluctance.</p> + +<p>"Do you know any process for manufacturing diamonds?" Nick next +demanded.</p> + +<p>"I am pretty well informed on the subject."</p> + +<p>"Quite an art, isn't it?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, it is."</p> + +<p>"And one that could be made very profitable, perhaps?"</p> + +<p>"I judge so."</p> + +<p>"Put up your revolver," said Nick, abruptly. "What's that black object +you dropped just now?"</p> + +<p>Pylotte glanced down at his feet, then laughed faintly.</p> + +<p>"That's odd," said he. "It's a piece of coal. I must have seized it from +the road, thinking to defend myself with it."</p> + +<p>"What is there odd in that?"</p> + +<p>Pylotte laughed again.</p> + +<p>"Diamonds may be made from coal," said he. "The fact that I should have +got hold of a piece in the road here, while tracking that diamond +swindler in search of his house, strikes me as being rather odd."</p> + +<p>"So it was," said Nick, a bit dryly, thinking of Venner's house in the +near distance.</p> + +<p>Then he added, decisively:</p> + +<p>"Put up your gun, Mr. Pylotte. I want you to go with me. I think you are +the very man I want."</p> + +<p>"Go with you!" exclaimed Pylotte, drawing back.</p> + +<p>"If you please," said Nick, politely. "I want, at least, to hear more of +your story."</p> + +<p>"But who are you, sir?"</p> + +<p>"My name is Nick Carter."</p> + +<p>"Not the celebrated detective?" cried Pylotte, with feigned amazement.</p> + +<p>"Precisely."</p> + +<p>"That's quite sufficient, Mr. Carter!" the Frenchman now cried, with +much bowing and scraping. "I'll go with you when and where you wish. If +any man can run down these swindling ruffians, sir, you certainly are +the man."</p> + +<p>"Thanks," said Nick, dryly. "I'll take you home with me for the night."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII" />CHAPTER XVII.</h2> + +<h3>THE GAME UNCOVERED.</h3> + + +<p>The following morning.</p> + +<p>The clock in Nick Carter's library was striking nine.</p> + +<p>Nick and Chick were seated at one side of the table, and Jean Pylotte +occupied a chair at the opposite side.</p> + +<p>Upon the dark cloth top of the table between them lay two large +diamonds, declared by Pylotte to have been artificially made, the two +with which he claimed to have been swindled.</p> + +<p>Yet to the eyes of a layman they had all the qualities of natural gems, +gleaming and glistening with magnificent fire in the cheerful sunlight +of Nick's library.</p> + +<p>Pylotte had invented a very clever and consistent story about himself +and his mission in New York, as well as about the meeting and being +victimized by the counterfeit diamond shover, and Nick as yet saw no +occasion for seriously distrusting him, or connecting him with the +Kilgore gang.</p> + +<p>He rather suspected, in fact, that Pylotte had shadowed the swindler, +whom Nick felt sure was Kilgore, with a view to learning just how the +diamonds had been manufactured, and possibly with a design to turn the +discovery to his own advantage.</p> + +<p>This was, indeed, the most natural deduction for Nick to arrive at, +after considering all the circumstances.</p> + +<p>"So you are confident that these stones are works of art, rather than +of nature, are you?" inquired Nick, who had been carefully examining the +gems.</p> + +<p>"I am absolutely sure of it, Mr. Carter," declared Pylotte.</p> + +<p>"Have you any idea how such counterfeits can be made?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes."</p> + +<p>"By what process and means, Mr. Pylotte?"</p> + +<p>Pylotte hastened to explain.</p> + +<p>"A natural diamond, Mr. Carter, is pure carbon, crystallized under +enormous heat and pressure in the bowels of the earth."</p> + +<p>"I am aware of that."</p> + +<p>"Charcoal and graphite are also pure carbon, but not in a crystallized +condition," continued Pylotte. "If that condition could be imparted to +the substances mentioned, we should have the artificial diamond."</p> + +<p>"How may that be done?" inquired Nick.</p> + +<p>"By subjecting the substance to the same condition under which the +natural diamond was crystallized."</p> + +<p>"Heat and pressure?"</p> + +<p>"Precisely," bowed Pylotte. "Attempts to thus manufacture diamonds have +frequently been made. A Mr. Acheson, of Pittsburg, while so engaged, and +in obtaining graphite from coal by the heat of an electric furnace, +discovered that combination of silicon and carbon now known as +carborundum, which has commercial value as an abrasive."</p> + +<p>"I know about that," bowed Nick.</p> + +<p>"Now, then," continued Pylotte, with an unconscious display of +enthusiasm; "while diamonds certainly have been made by artificial +means, the great difficulty has been that of producing them at a low +cost. Moissan, in my country, produced diamonds by heating charcoal and +iron to a high degree, and letting the mixture cool under enormous +pressure. He succeeded in obtaining very small crystals, or diamonds, +but the cost of production made his method impracticable from a +commercial standpoint."</p> + +<p>"Ah! I see."</p> + +<p>"In 1872 a chemist named Rose converted graphite into diamonds by a +similar process, but with the same result."</p> + +<p>"The cost of production being too great?" observed Nick.</p> + +<p>"Precisely."</p> + +<p>"Do you think that difficulty has now been overcome?"</p> + +<p>"I am compelled to think so, Mr. Carter," cried Pylotte, pointing to the +two diamonds on the table.</p> + +<p>"You purchased them at a price compelling that belief?"</p> + +<p>"Exactly."</p> + +<p>"Then you think the man of whom you got them has discovered a way to +make such perfect artificial diamonds at a low price?"</p> + +<p>"I certainly do, Mr. Carter."</p> + +<p>"Have you any idea of the machinery and ingredients he might require?" +asked Nick, with a view to getting points by which to locate the diamond +plant.</p> + +<p>Pylotte could easily inform him, and he promptly did so, following the +instructions given him by Dave Kilgore.</p> + +<p>"He would require an electric furnace and a hydraulic press," said he. +"Also the tools for cutting the crude crystals. The ingredients used +would depend upon the process he has discovered, probably coal or +charcoal, and possibly some quantities of iron salts and sulphur."</p> + +<p>"In brief, then, Mr. Pylotte," said Nick, pointing to the diamonds on +the table, "if those stones were made as cheaply as you think, the +diamond market offers the manufacturers of them a field for a most +gigantic swindle, does it not?"</p> + +<p>"Indeed it does!" exclaimed Pylotte, throwing up both hands. "Enormous! +Enormous! Millions could be made by so unparalleled a fraud!"</p> + +<p>"It opens the way, in fact, to the most colossal swindle on record?"</p> + +<p>"Undoubtedly."</p> + +<p>Nick glanced significantly at Chick, then abruptly rose to his feet. +That he had struck the big game which from the first he had suspected, +he now had not a doubt.</p> + +<p>"I require no more of you at present, Mr. Pylotte," said he, with +courteous firmness. "I shall do all in my power to remedy your loss by +this swindle, and to secure the perpetrators of it."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, Detective Carter," bowed Pylotte, with a crafty display of +appreciation and humility.</p> + +<p>"Meantime," added Nick, "you will please take no action in the case, but +leave it entirely to me."</p> + +<p>"I will do so, sir."</p> + +<p>"If you will leave me your city address, or call here again in a few +days, I shall have something to report to you."</p> + +<p>"I will call the day after to-morrow, Detective Carter," said Pylotte, +promptly, too cunning to give Nick a fictitious address.</p> + +<p>"Very well," said Nick. "Call in the evening. And now, Mr. Pylotte, we +will bid you good-morning, and get to work at once upon the case."</p> + +<p>Pylotte bowed very agreeably, taking his artificial diamonds from the +table and replacing them in his pocket; and Nick then conducted him to +the door, again assuring him that no efforts in his behalf should be +spared.</p> + +<p>Pylotte once more expressed his thanks, bowing and smiling as he +descended the steps, and Nick closed the door and returned to the +library.</p> + +<p>"Well, Chick, the bag is open and the cat out," he cried, as he entered.</p> + +<p>"Right you are, Nick."</p> + +<p>"And a monstrous cat it is!"</p> + +<p>"Never a larger one," declared Chick, with a laugh. "By Jove! Nick, if +Kilgore has really found a way to produce such perfect counterfeit +diamonds, his gang could work the greatest swindle ever known, unless +headed off."</p> + +<p>"That is their game, all right," said Nick. "From the very first I have +suspected something extraordinary. They are not the stamp of criminals +to dicker with petty jobs."</p> + +<p>"I should say not."</p> + +<p>"Far from it."</p> + +<p>"One thing is plain."</p> + +<p>"Namely?"</p> + +<p>"Where Cervera gets her diamonds, and of what they consist."</p> + +<p>"True. She certainly is one of the gang."</p> + +<p>"With such counterfeits as those worked upon Pylotte, and one big +jewelry concern to help market the goods, they could clean up millions +in a very short time."</p> + +<p>"No doubt of it. And they have their jewelry concern, all right."</p> + +<p>"Venner & Co.?"</p> + +<p>"Surely."</p> + +<p>"We must get absolute proof of it."</p> + +<p>"That's just what I intend doing, now that we have the game uncovered," +said Nick, grimly.</p> + +<p>"And then proceed to locate the plant where the goods are made, eh?"</p> + +<p>"Precisely."</p> + +<p>"What are your plans?"</p> + +<p>"We'll first get a line on Venner, and see to what it leads," replied +Nick. "There now is a way by which we can call the turn on him, and get +proof of his co-operation with Kilgore and his gang."</p> + +<p>"By getting him to sell us some diamonds?"</p> + +<p>"Exactly."</p> + +<p>"And then proving them to be artificial?"</p> + +<p>"That's the idea."</p> + +<p>"Can you get at him in a way to trap him?"</p> + +<p>"What do you mean?"</p> + +<p>"He may fight shy of us," suggested Chick, "in case he knows of +Pylotte's scrap with the gang last night. He may fear that Pylotte has +discovered the fraud, and reported it to the police."</p> + +<p>"There's not much danger of that," replied Nick. "So stupendous a fraud +would at once be given publicity through the press."</p> + +<p>"That's true."</p> + +<p>"In either case," added Nick, abruptly, "there's a way by which we can +fool him. I'll explain it on the way. Get your make-up box and prepare +to go with me. Since we have the game uncovered, we'll lose no time in +rounding up these accomplished rascals."</p> + +<p>"Good enough!" exclaimed Chick, as he hurriedly arose. "The sooner the +better."</p> + +<p>"We may have ragged work before the job is completed," added Nick. "So +provide yourself with a brace of guns. I'll be ready when you are."</p> + +<p>"Where first?"</p> + +<p>"To the house of Pandu Singe, the snake charmer."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII" />CHAPTER XVIII.</h2> + +<h3>AT CROSS-PURPOSES.</h3> + + +<p>It was not quite noon when Nick Carter and Chick arrived at the house of +the Hindoo snake charmer.</p> + +<p>They found Pandu Singe at home with his interpreter, and the two +detectives were very cordially received.</p> + +<p>Nick quickly disclosed his business.</p> + +<p>"We wish to borrow your personalities for a short time, also some of +your curious garments," he explained to Pandu Singe, through his +interpreter, who also was a Hindoo of superior education.</p> + +<p>The snake charmer appeared greatly surprised at such a request, but Nick +readily invented a very plausible story to serve his purpose, without +disclosing the true occasion.</p> + +<p>He soon persuaded the foreigner to grant his request, moreover, and the +amazement of Pandu Singe and the interpreter were redoubled when they +beheld what followed.</p> + +<p>This was the extraordinary transformation of their visitors.</p> + +<p>Nick had already outlined his plans to Chick, and they at once began +operations.</p> + +<p>First they placed the two Hindoos in chairs near the windows, where the +light revealed every peculiarity of their swarthy features.</p> + +<p>Nick next adjusted a large mirror upon the table, and placed his make-up +box near by.</p> + +<p>Using the interpreter for his pattern, Nick then set to work with +grease paints, powders, false hair, and the like, and at the end of +twenty minutes he had, with most artistic skill, converted himself into +a startling likeness of his model.</p> + +<p>The addition of the garments already provided for him made the +remarkable transformation absolutely complete.</p> + +<p>Chick had not been idle meantime, but with equally clever manipulation +had made himself into a counterfeit presentment of Pandu Singe.</p> + +<p>The astonishment of the two Hindoos, and their delight as they beheld +the progressive changes so artistically made, could scarcely find +expression in words.</p> + +<p>At the end of an hour, when the two detectives stood robed in their +strange Indian attire, one would readily have declared that four genuine +Hindoos, rather than two, occupied the apartment.</p> + +<p>Having thus paved the way to his next move, Nick easily prevailed upon +the Hindoos to remain indoors for a day or two, lest the deception +should be discovered and his designs perverted.</p> + +<p>He and Chick then returned to their waiting carriage, and half an hour +later it drew up at the Fifth Avenue store of Venner & Co.</p> + +<p>Chick alighted and led the way in.</p> + +<p>In order that he might do most of the talking, and shape his course by +whatever might occur, Nick had decided to personate the interpreter.</p> + +<p>Yet both detectives had carefully noticed the peculiar characteristics +of the Hindoo tongue, and believed that they could imitate it so +cleverly as to prevent detection.</p> + +<p>Several facts, which Nick then had no way of knowing, however, operated +very quickly to betray him and the crafty ruse he had adopted, when +Venner personally met them at the store door.</p> + +<p>First, Kilgore had shrewdly reasoned that Nick's first move, after the +disclosures made by Pylotte, would be that of thus getting positive +evidence against Venner; and the crafty diamond swindler had warned +Venner to be on the watch for the detective, and to handle him in a way +to serve their own designs.</p> + +<p>Furthermore, when visiting the theater with Cervera, Venner frequently +had heard Pandu Singe talking with his interpreter; and before Nick +fairly had begun speaking, Venner penetrated his disguise and saw that +he was up against the two detectives.</p> + +<p>Yet, despite the unexpected characters in which he now beheld them, the +nerve of the polished knave did not weaken, nor his countenance in any +way betray him. He at once proceeded to follow Kilgore's instructions.</p> + +<p>"Ah! yes, I recognize both you and your interpreter," said he, in reply +to Nick's dignified greeting. "I have frequently seen Pandu Singe at the +theater, where I am admitted to the stage with Señora Cervera, the +famous Spanish dancer. Perhaps Pandu Singe may have seen me there."</p> + +<p>Nick gravely bowed, then pretended to interpret the remarks to Chick; +who immediately began to bow and smile, at the same time glibly +responding in a jargon that would have staggered a Chinese laundryman, +yet which sounded as much like Hindoo as anything.</p> + +<p>Had his own situation been less serious, and the entire outlook less +desperate, Venner would have laughed at the consummate dignity and +soberness with which the two detectives co-operated in their exchange of +unintelligible talk.</p> + +<p>"My employer, the great Pandu Singe," bowed Nick, "says he remembers the +friend of the great Cervera."</p> + +<p>"Ah! I am glad to hear it," cried Venner, shaking hands with Chick.</p> + +<p>"He has seen the splendid diamonds of the great señora, and has heard +that they came from your magnificent store," Nick then went on to +explain.</p> + +<p>"That is quite right," bowed Venner. "Many of them did come from here. +Is Pandu Singe looking for some diamonds?"</p> + +<p>Nick promptly bowed, and noted a gleam of satisfaction in the depths of +Venner's eyes.</p> + +<p>"The great Pandu Singe soon returns to his own country," replied Nick. +"He wishes to take with him, as a gift to her august excellency, the +Empress of all the Indies, six fine jewels of equal weight and value. He +calls here to learn if you can provide him with them."</p> + +<p>Venner plainly saw the game that was being attempted, and it suited him +to the very letter.</p> + +<p>"Does the great Pandu Singe wish to purchase diamonds?" he asked, +bowing.</p> + +<p>"Diamonds, yes! Are they not for the empress?"</p> + +<p>"I should have thought of that, certainly."</p> + +<p>"Only diamonds will answer."</p> + +<p>"Of large size and the first water?"</p> + +<p>"The great Pandu Singe would consider no other."</p> + +<p>"Alas, then, this is most unfortunate!" Venner now exclaimed, glancing +about the store. "You see that we are making some repairs here, in the +walls of our store and vault."</p> + +<p>"That is plain," bowed Nick. "But what has that to do with the +diamonds?"</p> + +<p>"Only this," replied Venner, with feigned regret. "During these repairs +I have removed all of my most valuable diamonds to a vault in my private +residence."</p> + +<p>"For safer keeping?"</p> + +<p>"Exactly."</p> + +<p>"I will explain to Pandu Singe."</p> + +<p>"Wait a moment," Venner quickly interposed. "Tell him, also, that I have +at my residence the very gems he desires, six magnificent diamonds, +precisely alike in weight, purity and cutting. They cannot be equaled in +New York City, if in the entire country."</p> + +<p>"Are they fit for an empress?"</p> + +<p>"They are fit for a goddess."</p> + +<p>"Ah! that will please Pandu Singe."</p> + +<p>"Tell him, also, that he can purchase them at a marvelously low price," +cried Venner. "Now, if Pandu Singe will come to my house, say early this +evening, he may see the diamonds and examine them at his leisure. Tell +him that, Mr. Interpreter, and say that I will send my carriage for him +immediately after dinner. Say, too, that he may then see the diamonds +both by daylight and lamplight, and so observe all the variety of their +magnificent fire. Really, this will be greatly to the advantage of Pandu +Singe."</p> + +<p>Nick gravely heard him to a finish, and with never a change of +countenance.</p> + +<p>Yet, like a flash, one of those marvelous intuitions characteristic of +this great detective, Nick Carter had suddenly grasped the whole truth.</p> + +<p>That conflict of the previous night, the flight of three of the diamond +gang, Pylotte left comparatively uninjured in the road, his subsequent +disclosures, his extensive knowledge of the diamond-making art, the +hints he had imparted, and now this manifest eagerness of Venner to lure +his ostensible customers to his suburban house—all combined to reveal +to Nick's keen mind the shrewd game by which Kilgore was hoping to +entrap him.</p> + +<p>Nick now knew that Venner recognized both Chick and himself, and was +serving only the Kilgore gang.</p> + +<p>Yet Nick bowed without the slightest self-betrayal, and said, gravely:</p> + +<p>"I will explain the situation to Pandu Singe."</p> + +<p>For several minutes the two detectives maintained their curious game of +talk.</p> + +<p>Then Nick, who had speedily planned his own counter-move, again turned +to Rufus Venner.</p> + +<p>"The great Pandu Singe will do what you suggest," said he. "He wishes to +see the diamonds, and will be pleased to come to your house."</p> + +<p>Venner had felt sure of this to start with, though he little dreamed +that Nick had guessed the truth, and knew that he was recognized.</p> + +<p>"Let it be to-day, then," said he, quickly.</p> + +<p>"At your own pleasure," bowed Nick.</p> + +<p>"I will send my carriage far you at seven this evening," cried Venner, +with secret exultation.</p> + +<p>Nick gravely tendered one of the snake charmer's cards.</p> + +<p>"The great Pandu Singe will not keep your carriage waiting!" said he, +with a dryness to which Venner then was blind.</p> + +<p>"Well, Chick, what say you to that?" demanded Nick, as they were +returning to the house of the snake charmer.</p> + +<p>Chick laughed grimly.</p> + +<p>"I say that we are now up against it."</p> + +<p>"Right! There's a mighty wicked crisis near at hand."</p> + +<p>"No doubt of it, Nick. Venner knew us all right."</p> + +<p>"But he does not suspect that we are aware that he knew us, and in that +at least we have the best of him."</p> + +<p>"We'll turn it to a good account, too."</p> + +<p>"Do you see the game this Kilgore gang is playing?"</p> + +<p>"Plainly, Nick."</p> + +<p>"They aim to lure us both to Venner's house, and there trap us and do us +up."</p> + +<p>"To which latter," said Chick, dryly, "we shall strenuously object."</p> + +<p>"Well, rather!" laughed Nick. "Still, I can see nothing in evading this +question or in making a raid upon Venner's house. If the Kilgore gang +are about to lay for us there, it is evident that their diamond plant is +located elsewhere. They would not take chances of failing to down us, +and then having their plant discovered in the house where they slipped +up."</p> + +<p>"Surely not," admitted Chick. "Kilgore is too shrewd to take those +chances."</p> + +<p>"Undoubtedly."</p> + +<p>For several minutes Nick calmly considered the situation, then bluntly +observed:</p> + +<p>"Chick, I see but one course for us. We must go up against the game, and +give this gang what rope they want."</p> + +<p>"That's just my idea, Nick."</p> + +<p>"In no other way can we make sure of nailing the entire gang, and also +locating their plant. Raiding Venner's house would not accomplish it. +Some of the gang might not be there, or possibly escape us, and we might +search in vain for their plant. Then we should have most of our work to +do over again."</p> + +<p>"That's right, Nick."</p> + +<p>"So we'll take the one sure way, Chick," said Nick, decisively. "We'll +let this gang continue to think they are fooling us, and go up against +them till we get the whole truth."</p> + +<p>"That's good enough for me, Nick," nodded Chick. "I'm with you."</p> + +<p>"It may prove to be a desperate game, but we'll take our chances. Before +night I'll have laid such plans as will best serve us, and possibly +circumvent these scoundrels. Here we are at the house of Pandu Singe."</p> + +<p>Nick dismissed their carriage, and entered the dwelling, where they +decided to remain until evening. Meantime Nick perfected his plans and +discussed them with Chick.</p> + +<p>Then a wire was sent to Patsy, the detective's younger assistant, with +careful instructions.</p> + +<p>Seven o'clock came, then half-past seven, but no sign of Venner's +carriage.</p> + +<p>Nick readily suspected the true reason for the delay.</p> + +<p>"They are waiting until dark," he observed to Chick. "They don't want +our arrival at Venner's house to be observed. A crafty dog, this +Kilgore!"</p> + +<p>"That he is."</p> + +<p>"Never mind. Darkness will serve us best, as well as them."</p> + +<p>"Hark! There's a carriage."</p> + +<p>Nick glanced from the front window.</p> + +<p>"A landau!" he muttered, with grim satisfaction. "Yes, and with Spotty +Dalton on the seat. I know him, despite his disguise. Come on, Chick! +There's rough work to be done in the next two hours."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX" />CHAPTER XIX.</h2> + +<h3>HANDS SHOWED DOWN.</h3> + + +<p>Spotty Dalton stood at the door of the open carriage when Nick and Chick +emerged from the house, still clad in the character of Hindoos.</p> + +<p>"Are you sent here by Mr. Venner?" inquired Nick.</p> + +<p>Dalton touched the cloth cap drawn low over his brow, and stroked his +dark, false beard as he replied:</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," said he, half in his throat. "You're the interpreter, I take +it."</p> + +<p>"At your service."</p> + +<p>"I'm a bit late, but it couldn't be helped. We'll not be long in getting +there."</p> + +<p>"Time does not matter to the great Pandu Singe," replied Nick, as he +followed Chick into the open landau. "The night is still long."</p> + +<p>"It'll be infernally long for you two meddlers," Dalton grimly said to +himself, as he banged the carriage door and mounted to the box.</p> + +<p>Then they rolled rapidly away toward a northern suburb of the city.</p> + +<p>The dusk of evening was already deepening to darkness, a gloom more +noticeable far up in the heavens than among the myriad of lights in the +city streets. For not a star was visible in the murky sky, and away in +the west huge banks of inky clouds were sweeping up toward the zenith, +indicating the rapid approach of a sudden storm.</p> + +<p>"Do you think it is going to rain, driver?" called Nick, from the rear +seat of the carriage.</p> + +<p>"Not soon," Dalton turned to answer; and then he added with grim +significance, which he did not dream would be appreciated: "Whether it +rains or not, you'll be brought back home in a closed carriage."</p> + +<p>"It's my private opinion that the boot will be on the other leg," +thought Nick, smiling faintly at the scoundrel's grim levity.</p> + +<p>For Dalton had implied that Nick would be brought back in a hearse.</p> + +<p>From that time but few words were spoken during the ride, though the +detectives occasionally passed a remark in their meaningless lingo, +merely to keep up appearances.</p> + +<p>At eight o'clock they had left the throbbing body of the city behind +them, and at half-past eight they were speeding along the deserted +suburban road leading to Venner's rather isolated homestead.</p> + +<p>Only the yellow glare of an incandescent lamp here and there now +relieved the terrestrial gloom, but across the distant heavens +intermittent flashes of light, followed by the low, sullen roll of +thunder, told of the approaching storm.</p> + +<p>Soon the lighted windows of Venner's house came into view through the +woodland, and Nick now murmured softly to Chick:</p> + +<p>"If I fail to rejoin you in ten minutes, you will know what to do."</p> + +<p>"You bet!" whispered Chick. "Trust me to do it, too!"</p> + +<p>"Here we are, sirs," cried Dalton, as he pulled up at the gate of the +gravel walk. "You can go right in, while I wait to look after my +horses."</p> + +<p>Chick—as Pandu Singe—pretended to give Nick a brief command, and Nick +alone sprang out upon the sidewalk.</p> + +<p>"Wait here, driver," said he, curtly. "I will return for Pandu Singe in +a few minutes."</p> + +<p>Dalton instantly became suspicious.</p> + +<p>"What's that for?" he abruptly demanded. "Why doesn't his nibs go in +with you now?"</p> + +<p>"It is for me to obey the great Pandu Singe, not question his commands," +replied Nick, with an air of offended dignity. "I shall return for him +when I have followed his instructions."</p> + +<p>"Hold on a bit! I want to know—"</p> + +<p>But Nick had already turned, and was striding up the long gravel walk +leading to the front door of the house.</p> + +<p>Dalton then swung round and began to address Chick, who quickly +signified that he could not understand; whereupon the puzzled scoundrel +remained doubtfully on the box, growling under his breath, and quite at +a loss just what he should do.</p> + +<p>Chick was now counting the seconds and minutes, until he should arrive +at ten.</p> + +<p>Venner, who was waiting with the gang in the house, heard Nick's step on +the wooden veranda, and he hastened to admit him.</p> + +<p>"What's this!" he at once exclaimed, starting. "Where is your master? +You did not come here alone!"</p> + +<p>"No, not alone," replied Nick, entering the hall. "Pandu Singe waits in +the carriage."</p> + +<p>"Waits in the carriage! For what?"</p> + +<p>"He fears the storm may break."</p> + +<p>"Fears the storm!" exclaimed Venner, with a blaze of suspicion leaping +up in his dark eyes. "Surely, then, he will not remain out there."</p> + +<p>"You don't understand," coolly answered Nick, quickly sizing up +everything in view.</p> + +<p>"Don't understand?"</p> + +<p>"Pandu Singe thinks of returning home before the storm shall break. He +has first sent me in to see the diamonds, as I know just what he wants. +If I think well of them, I am to return to the carriage and bring him in +to see them."</p> + +<p>"Oh, that's it, eh?" cried Venner, with unabated misgivings.</p> + +<p>"Am I to see the stones?" demanded Nick. "Pandu Singe will not care to +wait long."</p> + +<p>"Yes, yes," replied Venner, as perplexed as Dalton by Nick's unexpected +move. "Come out this way, where I have them ready to show you."</p> + +<p>Nick bowed and followed him through the hall, and a glance into the two +front rooms, both of which were well lighted, told him they were vacant.</p> + +<p>Nick knew that he was entering a trap, however, and possibly carried +his life in his hand. Yet he had several shrewd designs in the plan of +operations adopted.</p> + +<p>He aimed to prevent both Chick and himself being cornered, and possibly +caught at the same time. Not wishing to evade this gang, and thus reveal +his own knowledge and suspicions, he designed to leave Chick free to act +in case of his own downfall.</p> + +<p>Nick knew that he alone could force Venner and the gang to show their +hands, even if it resulted in his own capture. He rather invited the +latter, in fact, for he knew that the gang would see the need of +instantly removing him from Venner's house, at least until they could +lay hands upon Chick. In this case Nick believed that they might be +compelled to confine him at their diamond plant, the location of which +he thus hoped to discover.</p> + +<p>For these reasons Nick was coolly taking very long chances, at the same +time leaving Chick free to quickly get in his work, in case he himself +went down at the outset.</p> + +<p>Yet there was not a sign of any person save Venner, as Nick followed him +through the hall and into a side room near the rear of the house, +evidently a dining room.</p> + +<p>Nick sized it up with a glance. Electric chandelier; two doors, one by +which he had entered from the hall, and the other leading into a dark +kitchen; two windows, with the curtains closely drawn; several chairs, a +handsome sideboard, and in the middle of the room a large, square table, +covered with a rich damask cloth hanging nearly to the floor.</p> + +<p>Upon the table was also spread a piece of black velvet, on which was +displayed nearly a score of blazing diamonds—the most magnificent +artificial stones ever born of man's restless genius.</p> + +<p>Nick rightly guessed their true character, yet he allowed an ejaculation +of admiration to escape him.</p> + +<p>"Ah! Magnificent!"</p> + +<p>"Look them over," cried Venner, with a swift scrutiny of Nick's swarthy +features. "You'll excuse me for a minute or two. I wish to make sure +that my rear windows and doors are locked. Such gems are a terrible +temptation to thieves."</p> + +<p>"True, sir," bowed Nick. "Take your time. Meanwhile I'll examine the +diamonds. They are splendid! magnificent!"</p> + +<p>Nick rightly guessed that Venner wished to consult some of the gang. He +saw that his entering the house without Chick had thrown their plans +badly out of gear, as he had designed for it to do.</p> + +<p>Venner went into the dark kitchen, rattled a doorknob merely for a +bluff, then crossed the hall and entered the library, closing the door +behind him.</p> + +<p>The room was but dimly lighted, and on the floor stood Dave Kilgore and +Matthew Stall, each with a drawn revolver.</p> + +<p>"What's the meaning of this, Rufe?" Kilgore instantly demanded, in +passionate whispers.</p> + +<p>"How do I know?" Venner hurriedly rejoined, scarce above his breath. +"You heard what he said?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, curse him, but I don't swallow it."</p> + +<p>"Nor I."</p> + +<p>"I can't see into his game."</p> + +<p>"That's just my trouble," cried Venner. "Can he have discovered that we +recognize him?"</p> + +<p>"Impossible! Pylotte is too cunning to have betrayed us in any way."</p> + +<p>This was very true, in fact; but Venner himself had blindly done the +betraying.</p> + +<p>"It doesn't matter, Rufe," Kilgore fiercely added. "We must get them +both."</p> + +<p>"That's my idea."</p> + +<p>"And it's all the easier to get them one at a time."</p> + +<p>"Right you are, Dave."</p> + +<p>"Has he discovered Pylotte?"</p> + +<p>"Surely not!"</p> + +<p>"Go back there, then," hissed Kilgore. "Learn what his game is, if you +can. Force him to show his hand."</p> + +<p>"Leave that to me."</p> + +<p>"Waste no time, however, and on no pretext let him leave the house to +return to the carriage."</p> + +<p>"Not on our lives."</p> + +<p>"A warning whistle will start Pylotte, and we'll be on hand to do our +part," added Kilgore, hurriedly. "Go back at once, and waste not a +moment in getting at his game."</p> + +<p>"Trust me, Dave."</p> + +<p>"We must land Nick Carter and get him away from here before that +running mate of his can make any move against us."</p> + +<p>"That's the stuff."</p> + +<p>"And then we'll plan to get the other. Away with you!"</p> + +<p>These forcible measures were precisely what Nick had felt sure would be +adopted by the gang, and were the very steps to which he had so shrewdly +planned to force them.</p> + +<p>Venner darted softly across the hall and returned to the dining room.</p> + +<p>Nick was still examining the diamonds.</p> + +<p>He stood near the table, at a point midway between the two open doors. +He had selected this position for a very good reason. He was inviting +capture and removal, which he knew must be preceded by an assault; and +he therefore laid himself open from either side, aiming to be put down +and out with as little violence as possible.</p> + +<p>He wanted all his resources for what he knew was very likely to follow.</p> + +<p>Nick was quite as anxious as the gang to force matters, moreover; for at +the end of ten minutes, in case he did not return to the carriage, Chick +was to begin getting in his work.</p> + +<p>Therefore the climax came quickly.</p> + +<p>Six minutes had already passed.</p> + +<p>"Well, sir, what do you think of them?" cried Venner, as he returned to +the room.</p> + +<p>"The diamonds?" queried Nick, tossing several of them back upon the +table.</p> + +<p>"Certainly. What else?"</p> + +<p>"They are all right, Mr. Venner."</p> + +<p>"I thought you would say so."</p> + +<p>"Yes, indeed. They are all right—for what they are!"</p> + +<p>"For what they are?"</p> + +<p>"Precisely."</p> + +<p>"What do you mean by that?"</p> + +<p>"You know what I mean."</p> + +<p>"I do?" snarled Venner, inquiringly, with his frowning eyes shrinking +from Nick's steadfast gaze.</p> + +<p>"Certainly you do," declared Nick. "These diamonds are imitations, not +natural stones. They are the most perfect and marvelous artificial +diamonds ever made.</p> + +<p>"Artificial!" cried Venner, now drawing back. "You are mad, sir! Why, +man, you are away off the track!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, I'm not."</p> + +<p>"You are!"</p> + +<p>"Not off the track at all, but very squarely on it," Nick now retorted, +speaking in his own sternly resonant tones. "Hark you, Venner, I am the +one to ask the meaning of this, not you!"</p> + +<p>Venner's hand went stealing toward his hip pocket.</p> + +<p>"So you are showing your true colors, are you?" he cried, with +threatening significance. "By Heaven, you are no Hindoo!"</p> + +<p>"That's right, Venner, I am not," said Nick, quickly throwing off the +loose robe that hid his own apparel, fearing it might impede his +movements. "I am no Hindoo, but am—"</p> + +<p>"Nick Carter!"</p> + +<p>"Exactly!"</p> + +<p>"So this is your game, is it?" Venner fiercely began. "If you think—"</p> + +<p>"Stop right there, Venner," Nick sternly commanded. "Speaking of games, +I am here to discover what sort of a rascally game you and this Kilgore +gang are playing. I have learned enough to show me that you are a knave +and a—"</p> + +<p>"By heavens, Carter—"</p> + +<p>"Stop!" thundered Nick. "Don't pull a gun! If you do, I'll end your—"</p> + +<p>But he got no further, for there the climax came.</p> + +<p>A single sharp whistle sounded from the kitchen.</p> + +<p>Instantly Nick felt a rope noose jerked taut around his ankles, nearly +throwing him from his feet.</p> + +<p>From beneath the table, the hanging cover of which had effectually +concealed him, Jean Pylotte had managed to adjust the noose upon the +floor about Nick's legs. At the signal given him, he had quickly drawn +it taut.</p> + +<p>At the same moment Kilgore and Matt Stall leaped upon Nick from the +kitchen and hall doors, bearing him heavily to the floor, while Venner +ran to clap a revolver to the detective's head.</p> + +<p>"Hang to his feet, Pylotte," cried Kilgore, fiercely.</p> + +<p>"I've got 'em fast," shouted the diamond maker, from under the table.</p> + +<p>"Quit, Carter, or I'll blow your brains out," commanded Venner, with his +pistol at Nick's head.</p> + +<p>Nick had been making a great bluff at putting up an ugly fight, but now +he very agreeably subsided.</p> + +<p>The affair was going precisely as he desired, yet for the sake of +appearances he angrily snarled:</p> + +<p>"Let up, you dogs! So this is your game, is it? Turn that gun another +way, Venner, you miscreant! It might go off, and I'm not fool enough to +invite its contents. This dirty game that you've played—"</p> + +<p>"Dry up!" Kilgore sharply interrupted, while he and Stall quickly +secured Nick's arms with a rope. "You'll not live to know the game that +we have played, Nick Carter."</p> + +<p>"Won't I?"</p> + +<p>"Not if I live!" cried Kilgore, with vicious significance.</p> + +<p>"Well, maybe you'll not live long," retorted Nick.</p> + +<p>"I'll close that saucy trap of yours, at all events," sneered Kilgore. +"Give me that gag, Matt—quick."</p> + +<p>Nick no longer resisted. A glance at the clock on the mantel told him +that nearly ten minutes had passed since he left Chick. He suffered +himself to be gagged, then raised to his feet, from which Pylotte now +cast the line and emerged from under the table.</p> + +<p>Nick bestowed one look upon him, from which the rascal shrank and +shuddered.</p> + +<p>Kilgore now turned quickly to Venner, and hurriedly cried:</p> + +<p>"You remain here, Rufe, and leave us to dispose of this fellow. We'll +run him over yonder, and return as quickly as possible. It's not safe to +keep him here until we have landed his running mate."</p> + +<p>"But—"</p> + +<p>"Don't stop for buts!" cried Kilgore, fiercely. "Go see if you can sight +Chick Carter. If he is still in the carriage, we are all right up to +now. In six or eight minutes go down there and give him to understand +that his interpreter wants him to come in here. Before you reach this +room with him, we three will be back to help you turn him down. Do you +understand?"</p> + +<p>"Sure!" cried Venner, thrusting his weapon back in his pocket. "He +cannot suspect that we have recognized Nick, and he'll come in, all +right."</p> + +<p>"Go, then! We'll be back here in six minutes."</p> + +<p>Venner hastened to one of the front windows of the house and peered out +toward the street. At that moment a flash of lightning, followed by the +nearer roll of thunder, dispelled for an instant the intense gloom of +the night.</p> + +<p>A growl of profound satisfaction broke from Venner while he gazed, and +he muttered exultingly:</p> + +<p>"By Heaven! we're all right! He's waiting in the carriage, and Dalton is +still on the box!"</p> + +<p>Nick was being pushed out of a back door of the house, meantime, and +then across the lawn and through the dark stable.</p> + +<p>The ruffians who were hurrying him away did not stop there, however. +Pylotte ran on ahead, while Kilgore and Matt Stall continued urging the +detective across the grounds, making toward the old wooden mansion in +which their secret plant was located.</p> + +<p>It seemed to them the safest place in which to confine Nick, pending the +delay in getting hands upon Chick.</p> + +<p>Presently they came to a dry ditch, walled at each side, and originally +built for draining the low meadows between the two estates. Into this +they plunged, following it until they arrived near a wooden bulkhead in +the foundation wall of the house. This was the secret way of entering, +to which Cervera had referred the previous night.</p> + +<p>Pylotte already had opened it, and Nick was quickly forced through a +dark cellar.</p> + +<p>"All right," cried Kilgore. "Let us in."</p> + +<p>Instantly the secret stone door was thrown open, and Nick was nearly +blinded by the flood of light in the room into which he was abruptly +thrust.</p> + +<p>He stood in the subterranean chamber of the diamond plant.</p> + +<p>And there, erect on the floor, with her evil countenance a picture of +malicious triumph, stood his crafty combatant of the previous +night—Sanetta Cervera.</p> + +<p>"<i>Caramba!</i>" she cried, shrilly, with a vicious laugh. "So you've got +him! Well done, Dave! Well done!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, and we'll presently have the other," cried Kilgore, panting hard +after his exertions.</p> + +<p>"Good for you, Dave," screamed Cervera, exultingly. "But this is the one +I want most—this is the one!"</p> + +<p>"Look lively, Matt. Lend a hand here, and we'll bind him to yonder +chair."</p> + +<p>"And leave Cervera to guard him, eh?"</p> + +<p>"That's the stuff."</p> + +<p>"Can she do it?"</p> + +<p>"Can she!" growled Kilgore, with derisive vehemence. "You let her alone +for that."</p> + +<p>"Yes, yes, let me alone for that!"</p> + +<p>"We must get back to stand by Venner. That Chick Carter is nearly as +tough a customer as this fellow."</p> + +<p>"I guess you'll find that that's no dream," said Nick to himself, as the +ruffians bound him to the chair mentioned.</p> + +<p>Cervera was laughing and capering around as if about to have a fit—yet +her laugh had a terrible and chilling ring.</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, I'll guard him, Dave," she shrilly cried, with a frightful +menace in her strained voice. "<i>Caramba</i>, yes! let me alone for that."</p> + +<p>"So I do," snarled Kilgore.</p> + +<p>"Knot the line fast, Matt—make sure of that," the woman fiercely added. +"Yes, I'll keep him quiet—never doubt that, boys! He shall be like a +baby taking milk. Perdition! but you shall have a sweet time, Mr. Nick, +alone here with Sanetta Cervera!"</p> + +<p>Kilgore paid but little attention to any of this, and only now and then +bestowed a glance upon the vicious woman.</p> + +<p>Within a minute after their arrival at the plant, the gang had Nick +securely bound to a common wooden chair, when they condescended to +remove the gag from his mouth.</p> + +<p>"He may shout himself hoarse here, if he likes," growled Kilgore. "There +will be none to hear him."</p> + +<p>Then he hurried Pylotte and Matt Stall back to the Venner house, to +land Chick Carter.</p> + +<p>Left alone with Nick, Cervera darted to the stone door in the solid +wall, and secured it within.</p> + +<p>There was murder in her glittering eyes when she shot the heavy bolts +into their iron sockets.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX" />CHAPTER XX.</h2> + +<h3>THE BOOT ON THE OTHER LEG.</h3> + + +<p>In the heat of action and excitement ten minutes are as nothing.</p> + +<p>The time seems longer, however, when one sits waiting in a motionless +carriage, enveloped in the gloom of night, with grim distrust and +uncertainty acting like spurs in the sides of one's impatience.</p> + +<p>Before five minutes had fairly passed, after Nick's departure, Spotty +Dalton had suffered his misgivings to the very limit of his endurance.</p> + +<p>Chick sat mentally counting the passing seconds, then scoring each +departed minute with his fingers, of which he had exhausted four and a +thumb, the entire complement of one hand; and all the while his eyes +were riveted with intense vigilance upon the growling ruffian on the +seat above him.</p> + +<p>Had Dalton ventured so much as a move to leave his perch, Chick would +have been after him like a terrier after a rat.</p> + +<p>At the end of five minutes, however, Dalton made a preliminary move. He +hitched the reins around the whipstock, then stared for a second or two +toward Venner's house, fifty yards away through the surrounding park.</p> + +<p>Then he suddenly swung round on his seat, and growled ferociously at +Chick, at the same time signifying with gestures the communication he +imagined would not be verbally understood:</p> + +<p>"See here, you swarthy-faced snake fiend, I'm bound up yonder, to see +what's going on! You sit where you are, d'ye hear, and I'll be back in a +jiffy, if things are all right! If they're not, —— you, I'll be back +just the same—with a gun!"</p> + +<p>As if moved by a wish to understand him, Chick arose in the body of the +carriage while Dalton was thus declaring himself. He heard and +understood, all right, and it necessitated his getting in his work a +little earlier than was planned. For Chick would take no such chances as +this that Nick's operations in the house would be interfered with.</p> + +<p>As the last word left Dalton's lips, the arm of the detective shot out +through the darkness, and closed with the grip of a vise around the +ruffian's neck, throttling him to silence.</p> + +<p>"With a gun, eh?" Chick fiercely muttered, yanking Dalton backward into +the body of the carriage. "You open your lips again for so much as a +whisper, and I'll close them with six inches of cold steel."</p> + +<p>In the glare of a distant lightning flash, Dalton, though struggling +furiously, caught the gleam of a polished blade at his throat, and a +glimpse of the flaming eyes in the face above him.</p> + +<p>He shrank, gasping for breath, as the truth dawned upon him; and then +the voice of another sounded close beside the open carriage.</p> + +<p>"Want any help, Chick?"</p> + +<p>Nick's youthful assistant, to whom a wire had been sent from the house +of the snake charmer, had appeared like an apparition out of the +roadside gloom.</p> + +<p>"Ah! you're here, Patsy!" muttered Chick. "Yes. Clap a gag into this +cur's mouth. We'll choke off his pipes first of all."</p> + +<p>Dalton uttered a vicious growl, then felt the point of the knife pierce +the skin at his throat, and he wisely relapsed into silence.</p> + +<p>For Patsy to fish out a gag, and bind it securely in the scoundrel's +mouth, was the work of a few moments only.</p> + +<p>Then Chick jerked Dalton up from the rear cushion and out into the road, +in far less time than is taken to record it.</p> + +<p>"Off with his coat and hat, Patsy," he hurriedly commanded. "Now the +false beard, my lad. Now get into them yourself, as quickly as you can."</p> + +<p>"I'm all in, Chick," chuckled Patsy, working like a trooper.</p> + +<p>"Got all the traps with you?"</p> + +<p>"Sure!"</p> + +<p>"Clap the bracelets on him, then. Now give me a second pair, and a strip +of line. That's the stuff."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I brought the whole shooting match," laughed Patsy.</p> + +<p>"Good for you! Now mount to the box, and leave this dog to me. I'll +return in half a minute."</p> + +<p>Patsy climbed up to the seat from which Dalton had been so speedily +snatched and overcome, and Chick now ran the rascal a rod or more into +the woodland on the opposite side of the road.</p> + +<p>There he threw him to the ground beside a small oak, around the trunk of +which he quickly twined Dalton's legs, and then fastened them at the +ankles with a pair of irons.</p> + +<p>"I reckon you'll stay there quietly until I want you, barring that you +pull up the tree," he grimly remarked, as he turned to hasten back to +the carriage, in which he quickly resumed his seat.</p> + +<p>A moment later Venner peered from the distant window—and was satisfied +with what he saw.</p> + +<p>Five minutes later he came striding down the walk and approached the +carriage. Without a word to the driver, whom he supposed to be Dalton, +he opened the carriage door and laid his hand on Chick's arm, at the +same time pointing toward the house.</p> + +<p>Chick signified that he understood, and held out both hands, as if he +wished to be helped to the sidewalk.</p> + +<p>Venner promptly raised both of his—only to suddenly hear a quick, +metallic snap, and feel links of cold steel confining his wrists. Their +icy chill went through him like a knife, and he reeled as if stricken a +blow.</p> + +<p>"Good God!" he gasped, hoarsely. "What's this?"</p> + +<p>Chick and Patsy were already beside him.</p> + +<p>"This," said Chick, sternly, "is your wind-up!"</p> + +<p>"My—"</p> + +<p>"Stop! Not a loud word, Mr. Venner, or worse will be yours! Now tell me +in whispers—where is Nick Carter?"</p> + +<p>The sight of a revolver thrust under his nose had a potent effect upon +the dismayed man, yet even while he saw that he was cornered, he seized +upon the hope that Kilgore and the gang might discover and release him.</p> + +<p>"Find him yourself, if you want him!" he hissed through his teeth, with +an ugly frown. "I'm cursed if I'll inform you!"</p> + +<p>Chick did not delay for arguments or persuasion. With Patsy's help he +speedily put Venner in the same helpless condition in which he had left +Dalton, stretched upon the ground, within a rod of one another.</p> + +<p>Then he threw off his disguise, and shifted his revolvers to his side +pockets.</p> + +<p>"Now for yonder house, Patsy, and to see what the remainder of this gang +are at," said he. "Come with me, and have your guns ready."</p> + +<p>"I'm with you," cried Patsy, coolly. "Guns and all."</p> + +<p>A dash up the gravel walk brought them to the front door, which Venner +had left partly open.</p> + +<p>There they paused and listened.</p> + +<p>Not a sound came from within the house; but overhead the tempest now was +breaking, with frequent crashing peals of thunder, and flashes of +lightning that illumined all the landscape. Rain, too, now began pelting +down on the veranda roof.</p> + +<p>"We'll steal in and see what we can find," whispered Chick, drawing one +of his revolvers.</p> + +<p>"Go it, then."</p> + +<p>He led the way, and Patsy followed. The silence in the house mystified +them at first. It appeared to have been entirely deserted.</p> + +<p>When they reached the door of the dining room, however, Chick discovered +on the floor the disguise which Nick had discarded.</p> + +<p>"I have it, Patsy," he cried, softly. "They have nailed Nick, just as he +expected, and have taken him somewhere to confine him."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps in the cellar," suggested Patsy.</p> + +<p>"I hardly think so, yet we'll have a look."</p> + +<p>Moving as quietly as shadows, they entered the kitchen and easily +located the cellar door. It was closed and locked, with the key +remaining.</p> + +<p>"Evidently they're not down there," whispered Chick.</p> + +<p>"Let's try the upper floors," suggested Patsy. "They may be laying for +us up there, but I reckon we're good for them."</p> + +<p>"We'll take the chance, surely. Come on."</p> + +<p>They crept through the hall again, and then mounted the broad stairway, +which led to the next floor.</p> + +<p>There the utter silence and the semidarkness quickly convinced them that +they were on the wrong track.</p> + +<p>"The stable," muttered Chick, suddenly. "We'll try the stable."</p> + +<p>"They certainly have vamosed this ranch," remarked Patsy.</p> + +<p>"Plainly. Come on, then, and we'll try the stable."</p> + +<p>Together they started downstairs.</p> + +<p>A moment later Kilgore, Pylotte and Matt Stall came flurrying into the +house by the rear door.</p> + +<p>In the bright light of the broad hall each party discovered the other +at precisely the same moment, and Kilgore instantly guessed the truth.</p> + +<p>With a cry of rage, he whipped out his revolver and fired point-blank at +the two men on the stairs.</p> + +<p>"Down 'em, boys!" he yelled furiously. "Down 'em, or our game is done +for!"</p> + +<p>His bullet glanced from the baluster rail near Chick, and buried itself +in the wall behind him.</p> + +<p>"Drop them, Patsy!" he shouted, instantly. "Shoot to kill! It's them or +us!"</p> + +<p>"Let her go, Gallagher!" roared Patsy, pulling both guns.</p> + +<p>Then, amid the tumult of the breaking tempest outside, there began a +fusillade the thunder of which rivaled that of the night, and which, +though comparatively brief, was as fast and furious as any man there had +ever experienced.</p> + +<p>Pylotte went down at the first shot from Chick, however, with a bullet +in his brain.</p> + +<p>Then shot followed shot with lightning rapidity.</p> + +<p>Both detectives sprang down several stairs to evade the rain of lead, +for both Kilgore and Stall were rapidly emptying two revolvers.</p> + +<p>A bullet singed Patsy's ear.</p> + +<p>Another dislodged Chick's hat.</p> + +<p>Then Kilgore reeled with a slight wound in his left arm.</p> + +<p>A score of shots were fired and wasted, meantime, for all hands were +dodging about the hall and stairs in an utterly indescribable fashion.</p> + +<p>It was the warmest kind of a fight for fully three minutes.</p> + +<p>Then Chick got a line on Matt Stall from behind the baluster post, and +dropped him with a ragged wound in his hip.</p> + +<p>Stall fell with a yell of rage and pain, and Kilgore found himself +alone, and against odds.</p> + +<p>He turned like a flash, and darted out of the rear door of the house.</p> + +<p>He knew that the game was up, his confederates done for, and his own +chances of escape but small; and the situation stirred to their very +depths the worst elements of this lifelong criminal.</p> + +<p>But one thought possessed him—that of revenge, that of destroying the +chief cause of his downfall—Nick Carter.</p> + +<p>With this end in view, Kilgore tore like a madman through the blinding +rain of that tempestuous night, and shaped his course back to the +diamond plant.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI" />CHAPTER XXI.</h2> + +<h3>AN ONLY RESOURCE.</h3> + + +<p>Despite the corner in which he had placed himself, a situation far more +desperate than he at first imagined, Nick Carter was congratulating +himself upon the success of his ruse by which he had so quickly located +the secret plant of the diamond swindlers, even at the sacrifice of his +personal freedom.</p> + +<p>The fact that he now sat bound in a chair in the hidden stronghold of +the gang, watched only by Cervera, did not seriously disturb the +fearless detective.</p> + +<p>Nick had been in many a worse corner than this, or in corners believed +to be worse, and he felt confident of pulling out of the scrape with a +whole skin, and with most of the gang in custody.</p> + +<p>He had surveyed his surroundings with more than cursory interest, +therefore, while Kilgore and his confederates were binding his arms to +the rounds of the chair back, and his ankles to the legs of the same.</p> + +<p>The rough foundation walls of the house, the massive stone wall built +across the cellar to mask the secret chamber, the elaborate electric +furnace, the huge hydraulic press, the workbench and tools, the powerful +arc light pendent from the ceiling—half an eye would have convinced +Nick that he occupied the workroom of that master craftsman whose +chemical knowledge and inventive genius had given birth to a most +marvelous production, long, earnestly, yet vainly, sought by others—</p> + +<p>The production of an artificial diamond!</p> + +<p>Not until Nick heard the stone door forcibly closed, and its iron bolts +shot violently into their sockets, did he pay serious attention to +Cervera, the venomous Spanish vixen left to guard him.</p> + +<p>Then, as she swung round toward him, he took a sharper look at her +darkly magnificent face, and was thrilled despite him by the +extraordinary changes it had undergone.</p> + +<p>It had lost its beauty. Its olive flush had given place to a chalky +whiteness. The radiance of her eyes had become a merciless glitter, like +the glint cast from the eyes of a serpent. The reflection of a consuming +passion for vengeance had transfigured her countenance, till it had +become like the face of a fiend.</p> + +<p>Though Nick saw at a glance that his situation had taken on an +unexpected and desperate phase, he suppressed any betrayal of it. He met +the woman eye to eye, while she briefly paused and faced him, with a +cruel smile curling her gray lips.</p> + +<p>"So I have you now, Nick Carter," she cried, with mocking significance.</p> + +<p>"Well, yes, in a way," admitted Nick, coolly.</p> + +<p>"I have you in my power," hissed Cervera, with a vicious display of +satisfaction.</p> + +<p>"Ah! that's different," said Nick.</p> + +<p>"How different?"</p> + +<p>"That you have me in your power remains to be demonstrated."</p> + +<p>"Are we not alone here, you fool?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, very much alone."</p> + +<p>"And you helpless?"</p> + +<p>"Apparently."</p> + +<p>"If I wish, Nick Carter, I can kill you."</p> + +<p>"Then pray don't wish it," said Nick. "I am still too young to be +heartlessly slain, even by so beautiful and accomplished a woman."</p> + +<p>"<i>Caramba!</i> you mock me!" cried Cervera, darting toward him with eyes +ablaze and her lithe figure quivering with passion. "You mock me!—you +shall repent it! Perdition! you shall repent it!"</p> + +<p>"Is that so?"</p> + +<p>"You shall repent it, I say!"</p> + +<p>"In this world, or in the next?" inquired Nick, bent upon prolonging the +scene as much as possible, with a hope that Chick might suddenly turn +up.</p> + +<p>Cervera did not answer him immediately. She wheeled again and darted to +the door, once more to make sure that she had secured its bolts.</p> + +<p>She was clad in the black dress in which she had escaped from Nick the +previous night, the somber hue of which was relieved only by occasional +flashes of her dainty white lace underskirts, as she swept quickly from +place to place, with her lithe figure crouching at times, and her every +movement as swift and impulsive as that of a startled leopard.</p> + +<p>As he sat watching her, Nick was reminded of her matchless work upon +the stage, thrilling men and women alike with her wild grace and the +fiery passion of her indescribable dances.</p> + +<p>She returned to confront him after a moment, crouching before him, with +her glowing eyes fixed on his.</p> + +<p>"In the next world—not in this!" she now replied, with a voice that cut +the air like the snap of a whip. "You'd have brief time for repentance +in this."</p> + +<p>"So you've decided to do the job, have you?" Nick coolly demanded.</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Well, I'm sorry to hear it."</p> + +<p>"Here is where we even up accounts."</p> + +<p>"Even them up, eh?"</p> + +<p>"You heard what I said."</p> + +<p>"But I wasn't aware that I have so very much the best of you."</p> + +<p>"You have."</p> + +<p>"How so?"</p> + +<p>"<i>Caramba!</i> you know too much!"</p> + +<p>"Ah! you mean about that girl."</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"I see," nodded Nick, secretly working in vain to loose the ropes +confining his arms. "Well, señora, as a matter of fact, I am rather +likely to make things unpleasant for you one of these days."</p> + +<p>"It will be this day, or never. You'll not live to see another."</p> + +<p>"Possibly not."</p> + +<p>"<i>Caramba!</i> do you doubt it?"</p> + +<p>She darted nearer to him, with her hand tearing open the waist of her +dress, and then the gleam of a poniard met Nick's gaze. She swept it +before his eyes with a wild gesture, and gave vent to a mocking laugh.</p> + +<p>"Do you doubt that I can slay you?"</p> + +<p>"Not at all," answered Nick. "It's very evident."</p> + +<p>"Or that I will?"</p> + +<p>"That appears equally manifest."</p> + +<p>"So it is!" hissed Cervera, with vicious intensity. "I intend to do it! +Do you hear, Nick Carter? I intend to do it!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, I hear you."</p> + +<p>"Why don't you shrink? Why don't you plead for mercy?"</p> + +<p>"What's the use?"</p> + +<p>She answered him with a laugh that made the room ring.</p> + +<p>"Besides," added Nick, "it's not my style to show the white feather."</p> + +<p>"We'll see! <i>Caramba!</i> we will see!"</p> + +<p>She came nearer to him, crouching before him, so near that her breath +fell hot upon his cheeks. Then, with a quick movement, she pressed the +point of the blade through his clothing, till it pricked the flesh above +his heart.</p> + +<p>With his arms bound, with his ankles secured to the legs of the chair, +Nick appeared utterly at her mercy—of which she had none.</p> + +<p>Despite himself, Nick shrank slightly from the wound, and for the first +time shuddered at the peril by which he was menaced, and from which +there seemed to be no avenue of escape.</p> + +<p>Cervera laughed again, a laugh freighted with the terrible ring of +madness.</p> + +<p>"Did it hurt you?" she screamed, with her glittering eyes raised to +search his. "Perdition! I hope so! You have tortured me with a thousand +fears. I'd like to repay you with a thousand pangs!"</p> + +<p>Nick's eyes took on an ugly gleam.</p> + +<p>"Why don't you do so, then?" he growled.</p> + +<p>"I would, if I had the time," cried Cervera, through her teeth.</p> + +<p>"You have all there is."</p> + +<p>"Ten thousand times I'd thrust it into you—thus! thus!"</p> + +<p>Nick set his jaws and met the blade without flinching.</p> + +<p>Twice the vicious demon thrust it through his clothing, and now two +crimson stains of blood on his shirt front followed the withdrawal of +the weapon.</p> + +<p>"See! see!" screamed Cervera, triumphantly, with her terrible face +upturned to his gaze. "You're beginning to bleed! Did you know that the +sight of blood affects me as it does a leopard? I thirst for more—if +that of one I hate! When next I strike you, I shall strike deeper!"</p> + +<p>That she fully intended to murder him, Nick now, had not a doubt. The +homicidal madness was in her eyes, in her every feature, her every +motion, and it rang in every word that fell from her bloodless lips.</p> + +<p>Yet the inflexible nerve of the detective did not for a moment desert +him.</p> + +<p>"Send the blade home at once, if you like," he said, with a scornful +frown.</p> + +<p>"Not yet—not yet!" she cried, shrilly. "There'll be time for that."</p> + +<p>"Time and to spare," sneered Nick.</p> + +<p>"I first wish to torture you, as you've tortured me!"</p> + +<p>"Go ahead, then."</p> + +<p>"Once more! Are you ready?"</p> + +<p>"Let it come."</p> + +<p>Again she drew back the glittering blade, only to mock him with several +pretended thrusts, hoping thus to create and prolong an agony of fear +and suspense.</p> + +<p>A more viciously cruel and vindictive creature never drew the breath of +life.</p> + +<p>She laughed again, and slowly pressed the weapon closer—and then, with +a sudden startled cry, she drew back and leaped to her feet.</p> + +<p>A noise like that of a mighty cannonade seemed to shake even the solid +walls of this buried chamber.</p> + +<p>It was the crash of thunder in the heavens overhead.</p> + +<p>It was Cervera's first intimation of the terrible tempest that had been +gathering outside.</p> + +<p>At first she thought the sound was that of revolvers, and she darted to +the door and listened, pressing her ear to the wall.</p> + +<p>The instant her back was turned, Nick made a desperate attempt to free +himself, straining cords and muscles under the determined effort. It +proved vain, however. The ropes held him as if made of twisted steel.</p> + +<p>Yet in his brief but desperate struggle his right arm came in contact +with an object in the side pocket of his sack coat.</p> + +<p>The object was a box nearly filled with parlor matches—one of the most +dangerous and treacherous creations of man's inventive genius.</p> + +<p>Like a sudden revelation, or a bolt out of the blue, there leaped up in +Nick's mind a possible way of escape.</p> + +<p>He thought of Cervera's garments, of the fluffy lace skirts beneath her +gown, to which a single flash of fire would instantly prove fatal.</p> + +<p>The resort to such means seemed horrible—yet Nick well knew it was the +one and only resource left him.</p> + +<p>He glanced sharply at Cervera. She was still listening at the door, with +her evil face a picture of intense suspense.</p> + +<p>With a quick turn of his wrist, Nick succeeded in extracting the box +from his pocket. Then he forced it open, and with a move of his hand he +scattered its entire contents over the floor around his chair. The tiny +matches fell with scarce a sound, and Cervera, ten feet away, failed to +hear them.</p> + +<p>Then Nick quietly worked his chair back a foot or two, in order to bring +some of the fateful things upon the floor directly in front of him.</p> + +<p>A moment later Cervera turned from the door.</p> + +<p>"Thunder—it was thunder," she muttered, under her breath. "There's a +storm outside."</p> + +<p>"Somebody coming?" queried Nick, with taunting accents.</p> + +<p>He now aimed to provoke her, to force the situation to a climax, lest +any mischance should have befallen Chick, or perverted in any way his +own designs upon Kilgore and the gang. His taunting remark proved +effective, moreover.</p> + +<p>With a snarl of rage Cervera darted toward him, with eyes for him alone, +never for the floor.</p> + +<p>"You dog!" she cried, through her white teeth.</p> + +<p>"Do you mock me again?"</p> + +<p>"Oh! no, of course not," sneered Nick.</p> + +<p>"You lie! You do! You think some one will come—that you will then +escape me," screamed Cervera, quivering through and through with +venomous passion.</p> + +<p>Nick watched her as a cat watches a mouse.</p> + +<p>Her face was ghastly and distorted, her breast heaving, her every nerve +quivering, and her eyes were like balls of fire under their knitted +brows.</p> + +<p>Still clutching the poniard, her jeweled fingers worked convulsively +around its haft, like those of one who fain would strike a death blow, +yet whose hand was briefly held by consuming horror.</p> + +<p>Suddenly she darted nearer, with a vicious snarl.</p> + +<p>"You think you'll escape me," she screamed, with bitter ferocity. "It +shows in your eyes. I'll make sure that you don't. Let come who may, you +shall be found—dead! Dead!—do you hear?"</p> + +<p>"Oh! yes, I hear."</p> + +<p>"Yet you do not fear? We'll see—we'll see!"</p> + +<p>She darted closer to him, with the weapon raised, above her head, and +her knee touched Nick's knee. He swung quickly around toward her, and +scraped his feet over the floor below her skirts.</p> + +<p>Then came a quick, furious snapping, like the noise of a miniature +fusillade. A score of the matches had been ignited by Nick's swift move.</p> + +<p>Almost instantly a shriek of terror broke from Cervera's lips, and she +reeled back, clutching wildly at her skirts.</p> + +<p>"My God! I'm on fire!—on fire!" she screamed, with a voice so intense +in its agony as to have chilled a man of stone.</p> + +<p>A roar came from Nick as he sighted the flames under her gown.</p> + +<p>"Release me! Release me!" he thundered, furiously, with a voice that +drowned her frightful screams. "Cut me loose—loose! It's your only +hope—your only hope!"</p> + +<p>She heard him like one in a nightmare of agony and terror, and her +instinct rather than her reason responded to his thundering commands.</p> + +<p>Still with the poniard in her jeweled hand, still shrieking wildly, she +leaped to his side, and with a single sweep of the keen weapon severed +the rope binding his arms.</p> + +<p>Then Nick snatched the poniard from her hand. With several swift cuts +and slashes he released his limbs, and sprang quickly to his feet.</p> + +<p>He had already shaped his course. He had observed on the sulphur +barrels, near the wall, a strip of matting, used as a cover for them. +Nick snatched it from the barrels, and rushed to wrap it around the +skirts and limbs of the terror-stricken woman.</p> + +<p>For several moments the result seemed doubtful, so doubtful that Nick +finally threw Cervera heavily to the floor, the better to press the +matting closely around her and so smother the flames. In this he +presently succeeded, but not before she was so severely burned as to be +rendered utterly helpless.</p> + +<p>When Nick arose to his feet Cervera remained lying prostrate on the +floor, moaning with pain, yet in a state of semi-consciousness only. A +glance told Nick that she could make no move to escape, and he now had +other work than that of looking to her comfort.</p> + +<p>He ran to the stone door, threw the bolts, and quickly dragged it open.</p> + +<p>Even as he did so, from out of the gloom of the adjoining cellar, a man +came into view, as if suddenly arisen from the ground.</p> + +<p>The man was Dave Kilgore.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII" />CHAPTER XXII.</h2> + +<h3>THE LAST TRICK.</h3> + + +<p>"Carter!"</p> + +<p>"Kilgore!"</p> + +<p>Each man uttered the name of the other, as if with the same breath. The +meeting came so suddenly that, for the bare fraction of a second, both +men were nonplused.</p> + +<p>Then both whipped out a weapon.</p> + +<p>Crack!</p> + +<p>Bang!</p> + +<p>They fired together, and both missed, Nick's usually accurate aim being +spoiled by the gloom of the cellar.</p> + +<p>Kilgore instantly sprang further away in the darkness, and aimed again.</p> + +<p>The hammer of his weapon fell as usual, but there was no report. In his +recent fight at the Venner house he had emptied both of his revolvers, +save the one bullet that had just missed Nick Carter.</p> + +<p>Then Kilgore, failing to have found Nick at his mercy, thought only of +making his own escape. He turned and ran toward the open door by which +he had entered.</p> + +<p>At that moment Chick's ringing voice sounded from outside.</p> + +<p>"This way! this way, Patsy!" he cried, louder than the rolling thunder +overhead. "I've found the rat hole!"</p> + +<p>"I'm with you," yelled Patsy.</p> + +<p>They were already at the door.</p> + +<p>By the frequent flashes of lightning they had, after the fight at +Venner's, succeeded in following Kilgore across the meadows, and they +well knew that he was headed to get even with Nick.</p> + +<p>Now Nick's voice rang through the cellar.</p> + +<p>"Look out for him, Chick," he commanded. "He's coming that way. Look out +for his gun."</p> + +<p>"Hurrah!" roared Chick, the moment he heard Nick's voice. "Let him come, +gun and all!"</p> + +<p>Kilgore saw his flight cut off in that direction, but he knew every inch +of the house. He turned like a rat in the darkness, and made for the +stairs leading to the floor above. Up these he hurriedly scrambled.</p> + +<p>Nick heard him through the gloom, and followed him, pitching headlong at +the foot of the stairs just as Kilgore opened the door leading to the +hall above.</p> + +<p>There the dim rays from a hall lamp revealed the man for an instant, and +showed Nick the way. He was up again and after Kilgore like a hound +after a fox.</p> + +<p>Kilgore dashed through the hall, but dared not take time to unlock and +open the front door of the house. He had a profound respect for the +revolver in the hand of his pursuer, who already had reached the hall.</p> + +<p>It was a flight for life, and Kilgore knew it.</p> + +<p>He turned like a flash and darted up the stairs, making for the second +floor. Three at a stride he covered, and succeeded in reaching the +corridor above before Nick could get a line on him.</p> + +<p>Nick followed, gun in hand.</p> + +<p>On the second floor Kilgore darted into a dark chamber, and then +through that to one adjoining it, where he waited till he heard Nick +plunging into the one first mentioned.</p> + +<p>Then Kilgore slipped out into the hall again, hoping to retrace his +steps downstairs and escape by the front door.</p> + +<p>In the way of that, however, Chick and Patsy were now in the lower hall, +the former shouting lustily up the stairs:</p> + +<p>"Run him down, Nick! Run him down! We'll cover this way of escape!"</p> + +<p>An involuntary oath broke from Kilgore's lips, and at the same moment a +vivid flash of lightning from the inky heavens illumined all the house.</p> + +<p>From the chamber in which he stood, Nick again caught sight of his man, +and was after him in an instant.</p> + +<p>Kilgore heard him coming, and again fled through the hall and up another +flight of stairs.</p> + +<p>"You'd better throw up your hands," roared Nick, as he followed.</p> + +<p>The answer came back with a yell of defiance:</p> + +<p>"Not on your life!"</p> + +<p>"You're a lost dog," cried Nick, hoping to keep him replying.</p> + +<p>"You'll not get me alive!"</p> + +<p>"Then I'll get you dead!" cried Nick, as he mounted the stairs.</p> + +<p>"You haven't got me yet!"</p> + +<p>"Next door to it, my man."</p> + +<p>This brought no answer.</p> + +<p>In a moment Nick reached the second hall, where he briefly paused to +listen. Save the rain beating on the roof of the house, only one sound +reached his strained ears. It was like that of some one hammering +against the side of the house with some heavy object. For a moment the +detective was puzzled. He could not fathom the meaning of such a sound.</p> + +<p>Then a gust of damp night air rushed through the hall and swept Nick's +cheek.</p> + +<p>"Ah! an open window!" he muttered. "That's easily located."</p> + +<p>He groped his way into one of the rear chambers. There the night air was +sweeping in through an open window, to the sill of which Nick quickly +sprang.</p> + +<p>Now the noise he had heard was instantly explained.</p> + +<p>Cornered like a rat, yet viciously resolute to the last, Kilgore had, in +order to make his escape, resorted to a means from which a less cool and +nervy scoundrel would have shrunk on such a night as that.</p> + +<p>He had, by reaching far out of the window, been able to grasp an +old-fashioned lightning rod with which the ancient wooden mansion was +provided, and by which he proposed to descend to the ground. Under the +swindler's weight, the beating of this swaying rod against the side of +the house was the sound Nick had heard.</p> + +<p>Kilgore, whose courage was worthy a far better cause, already was +halfway to the ground.</p> + +<p>Yet Nick had no idea of letting the knave escape thus, and he raised his +weapon to fire.</p> + +<p>There was no need for a bullet, however, for the hand of the Almighty +did the work.</p> + +<p>From the black vault of the heavens a bolt of liquid fire suddenly shot +earthward, with a crash of thunder that seemed to rend the entire +firmament.</p> + +<p>The fiery bolt reached the earth—but it reached it through the rod to +which Dave Kilgore was desperately clinging.</p> + +<p>Not a sound came from the doomed man as he went down—or if there was a +sound, it was drowned by the deafening crash and successive +reverberations of thunder.</p> + +<p>Before Nick had fairly recovered from the blinding light and terrific +concussion, he heard the voice of Chick yelling loudly from below:</p> + +<p>"Nick, Nick, come down here! The house is afire. The whole house is +afire!"</p> + +<p>Nick heard and darted for the stairs, at once realizing how well the +lightning had done its terrific work. Before he could reach the lower +hall, dense volumes of smoke were pouring through the house, and one +entire side of the fated dwelling was in flames.</p> + +<p>Nick thought of the woman in the cellar below, and, with Chick and Patsy +at his heels, he led the way to the diamond plant. The electric light +had been extinguished by the lightning stroke, but Nick soon located the +body of Cervera, and together the detectives brought her out and laid +her upon the ground some rods away from the burning dwelling.</p> + +<p>"She's done for, poor wretch!" muttered Nick, as he looked at her +bloodless face.</p> + +<p>He was right.</p> + +<p>Señora Cervera had danced her last dance—a terrible one it was! She +had lapsed into a merciful unconsciousness, from which she never +emerged.</p> + +<p>Next came Kilgore, and they easily found him. He lay stretched upon the +ground, dead and scorched almost beyond recognition, at the base of the +metallic rod through which he had met his fate.</p> + +<p>"Lend a hand here," said Nick. "We'll place him with his confederate +until we can have them properly removed."</p> + +<p>"So be it," said Chick, gravely. "It's about the last we can do for +them, and this nearly ends our work on this job."</p> + +<p>"You've got the others?"</p> + +<p>"Every man of them."</p> + +<p>"Well done!" nodded Nick, as they raised the lifeless form between them. +"Behold the way of the transgressor."</p> + +<p>"Hark!" exclaimed Patsy. "There goes the fire alarm. In three minutes +there'll be a mob about here."</p> + +<p>"Much good the firemen will do," rejoined Nick. "That house is doomed, +and all that's in it."</p> + +<p>He was right. With the passing of the tempest, and the first sign of a +star in the eastern sky, all that remained of the house above the +diamond plant was a heap of red, smoldering embers, filling the cellar +and the secret chamber—and blotting out, though perhaps not forever, +the secret art of that misguided genius, Jean Pylotte, dead with a +bullet in his brain, on the floor of Rufus Venner's hall.</p> + +<p>There remains but little to complete the record of this strange and +stirring case.</p> + +<p>Before morning Nick had lodged Venner and Spotty Dalton in the Tombs, +and had Garside arrested at his residence. The lifeless bodies of their +three confederates,—Cervera having died at dawn—were taken to the +Morgue.</p> + +<p>Early the following day, Harry Boyden, the young man arrested for the +murder of Mary Barton, was discharged from custody, and hastened to the +home of Violet Page, to make her happy with the news of his release and +his story of Nick Carter's extraordinary work. Both called upon Nick a +day or two later, and expressed their gratitude and affection in terms +which here need no recital. Incidentally it may be added that they were +married, as planned, the following summer.</p> + +<p>How strangely the circumstances and experiences of life are knit and +bound together. But for the vicious crime of a jealous woman, Nick might +have labored long, and possibly vainly, to run down the Kilgore gang and +their extraordinary criminal project, in which Cervera so strongly +figured. It was as Nick said, the two crimes seemed bound together as if +with links of steel.</p> + +<p>In the trial which preceded the conviction and punishment of the three +living members of the gang, Nick learned all of the facts of the case.</p> + +<p>Venner & Co., it appeared, were on their last legs, and went into the +game to square themselves, the design being to market vast quantities of +the artificial diamonds. With this project in view, Venner had purchased +the house at the rear of his own, under the name of Dr. Magruder, and +there had established the plant. How well the scheme would have +succeeded, but for Nick Carter, will never be known.</p> + +<p>At all events, in the stock of Venner & Co. were found numerous stones +which only the most proficient experts could prove to be artificial; and +even to this day it is intimated that, among the bejeweled women of New +York there are some unconsciously wearing the manufactured diamonds of +Jean Pylotte. What matters, however, since where ignorance is bliss it +is folly to be wise?</p> + +<p>Jean Pylotte: His art died with him, alas! For in the ruins of the +diamond plant there could be found no evidence sufficient to reveal his +great secret.</p> + +<p>Surely it had opened the way to a great swindle, the possibilities of +which can hardly be conceived. But, fortunately, in the way of it had +come—</p> + +<p>Nick Carter.</p> + + +<h5>THE END.</h5> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="NICK_CARTER_STORIES" id="NICK_CARTER_STORIES" />NICK CARTER STORIES</h3> + +<h2>New Magnet Library</h2> + +<h3>PRICE, FIFTEEN CENTS</h3> + +<h4><i>Not a Dull Book in This List</i></h4> + + +<p>Nick Carter stands for an interesting detective story. The fact that the +books in this line are so uniformly good is entirely due to the work of +a specialist. The man who wrote these stories produced no other type of +fiction. His mind was concentrated upon the creation of new plots and +situations in which his hero emerged triumphantly from all sorts of +trouble, and landed the criminal just where he should be—behind the +bars.</p> + +<p>The author of these stories knew more about writing detective stories +than any other single person.</p> + +<p>Following is a list of the best Nick Carter stories. They have been +selected with extreme care, and we unhesitatingly recommend each of them +as being fully as interesting as any detective story between cloth +covers which sells at ten times the price.</p> + +<p>If you do not know Nick Carter, buy a copy of any of the New Magnet +Library books, and get acquainted. He will surprise and delight you.</p> + +<h4><i>ALL TITLES ALWAYS IN PRINT</i></h4> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> +<tr><td align='left'>850—Wanted: A Clew</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>851—A Tangled Skein</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>852—The Bullion Mystery</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>853—The Man of Riddles</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>854—A Miscarriage of Justice</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>855—The Gloved Hand</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>856—Spoilers and the Spoils</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>857—The Deeper Game</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>858—Bolts from Blue Skies</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>859—Unseen Foes</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>860—Knaves in High Places</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>861—The Microbe of Crime</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>862—In the Toils of Fear</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>863—A Heritage of Trouble</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>864—Called to Account</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>865—The Just and the Unjust</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>866—Instinct at Fault</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>867—A Rogue Worth Trapping</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>868—A Rope of Slender Threads</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>869—The Last Call</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>870—The Spoils of Chance</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>871—A Struggle With Destiny</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>872—The Slave of Crime</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>873—The Crook's Blind</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>874—A Rascal of Quality</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>875—With Shackles of Fire</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>876—The Man Who Changed Faces</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>877—The Fixed Alibi</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>878—Out With the Tide</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>879—The Soul Destroyers</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>880—The Wages of Rascality</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>881—Birds of Prey</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>882—When Destruction Threatens</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>883—The Keeper of Black Hounds</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>884—The Door of Doubt</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>885—The Wolf Within</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>886—A Perilous Parole</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>887—The Trail of the Fingerprints</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>888—Dodging the Law</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>889—A Crime in Paradise</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>890—On the Ragged Edge</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>891—The Red God of Tragedy</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>892—The Man Who Paid</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>893—The Blind Man's Daughter</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>894—One Object in Life</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>895—As a Crook Sows</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>896—In Record Time</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>897—Held in Suspense</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>898—The $100,000 Kiss</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>890—Just One Slip</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>900—On a Million-dollar Trail</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>901—A Weird Treasure</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>902—The Middle Link</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>903—To the Ends of the Earth</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>904—When Honors Pall</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>905—The Yellow Brand</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>906—A New Serpent in Eden</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>907—When Brave Men Tremble</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>908—A Test of Courage</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>909—Where Peril Beckons</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>910—The Gargoni Girdle</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>911—Rascals & Co.</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>912—Too Late to Talk</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>913—Satan's Apt Pupil</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>914—The Girl Prisoner</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>915—The Danger of Folly</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>916—One Shipwreck Too Many</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>917—Scourged by Fear</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>918—The Red Plague</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>919—Scoundrels Rampant</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>920—From Clew to Clew</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>921—When Rogues Conspire</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>922—Twelve in a Grave</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>923—The Great Opium Case</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>924—A Conspiracy of Rumors</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>925—A Klondike Claim</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>926—The Evil Formula</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>927—The Man of Many Faces</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>928—The Great Enigma</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>929—The Burden of Proof</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>930—The Stolen Brain</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>931—A Titled Counterfeiter</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>932—The Magic Necklace</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>933—'Round the World for a Quarter</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>934—Over the Edge of the World</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>935—In the Grip of Fate</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>936—The Case of Many Clews</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>937—The Sealed Door</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>938—Nick Carter and the Green Goods Men</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>939—The Man Without a Will</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>940—Tracked Across the Atlantic</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>941—A Clew From the Unknown</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>942—The Crime of a Countess</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>943—A Mixed Up Mess</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>944—The Great Money Order Swindle</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>945—The Adder's Brood</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>946—A Wall Street Haul</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>947—For a Pawned Crown</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>948—Sealed Orders</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>949—The Hate That Kills</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>950—The American Marquis</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>951—The Needy Nine</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>952—Fighting Against Millions</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>953—Outlaws of the Blue</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>954—The Old Detective's Pupil</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>955—Found in the Jungle</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>956—The Mysterious Mail Robbery</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>957—Broken Bars</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>958—A Fair Criminal</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>959—Won by Magic</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>960—The Piano Box Mystery</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>961—The Man They Held Back</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>962—A Millionaire Partner</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>963—A Pressing Peril</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>964—An Australian Klondyke</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>965—The Sultan's Pearls</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>966—The Double Shuffle Club</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>967—Paying the Price</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>968—A Woman's Hand</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>969—A Network of Crime</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>970—At Thompson's Ranch</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>971—The Crossed Needles</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>972—The Diamond Mine Case</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>973—Blood Will Tell</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>974—An Accidental Password</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>975—The Crook's Bauble</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>976—Two Plus Two</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>977—The Yellow Label</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>978—The Clever Celestial</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>979—The Amphitheater Plot</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>980—Gideon Drexel's Millions</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>981—Death in Life</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>982—A Stolen Identity</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>983—Evidence by Telephone</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>984—The Twelve Tin Boxes</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>985—Clew Against Clew</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>986—Lady Velvet</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>987—Playing a Bold Game</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>988—A Dead Man's Grip</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>989—Snarled Identities</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>990—A Deposit Vault Puzzle</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>991—The Crescent Brotherhood</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>992—The Stolen Pay Train</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>993—The Sea Fox</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>994—Wanted by Two Clients</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>995—The Van Alstine Case</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>996—Check No. 777</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>997—Partners in Peril</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>998—Nick Carter's Clever Protégé</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>999—The Sign of the Crossed Knives</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1000—The Man Who Vanished</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1001—A Battle for the Right</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1002—A Game of Craft</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1003—Nick Carter's Retainer</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1004—Caught in the Toils</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1005—A Broken Bond</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1006—The Crime of the French Café</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1007—The Man Who Stole Millions</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1008—The Twelve Wise Men</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1009—Hidden Foes</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1010—A Gamblers' Syndicate</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1011—A Chance Discovery</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1012—Among the Counterfeiters</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1013—A Threefold Disappearance</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1014—At Odds With Scotland Yard</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1015—A Princess of Crime</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1016—Found on the Beach</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1017—A Spinner of Death</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1018—The Detective's Pretty Neighbor</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1019—A Bogus Clew</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1020—The Puzzle of Five Pistols</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1021—The Secret of the Marble Mantel</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1022—A Bite of an Apple</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1023—A Triple Crime</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1024—The Stolen Race Horse</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1025—Wildfire</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1026—A <i>Herald</i> Personal</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1027—The Finger of Suspicion</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1028—The Crimson Clew</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1029—Nick Carter Down East</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1030—The Chain of Clews</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1031—A Victim of Circumstances</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1032—Brought to Bay</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1033—The Dynamite Trap</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1034—A Scrap of Black Lace</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1035—The Woman of Evil</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1036—A Legacy of Hate</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1037—A Trusted Rogue</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1038—Man Against Man</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1039—The Demons of the Night</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1040—The Brotherhood of Death</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1041—At the Knife's Point</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1042—A Cry for Help</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1043—A Stroke of Policy</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1044—Hounded to Death</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1045—A Bargain in Crime</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1046—The Fatal Prescription</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1047—The Man of Iron</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1048—An Amazing Scoundrel</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1049—The Chain of Evidence</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1050—Paid with Death</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1051—A Fight for a Throne</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1052—The Woman of Steel</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1053—The Seal of Death</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1054—The Human Fiend</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1055—A Desperate Chance</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1056—A Chase in the Dark</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1057—The Snare and the Game</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1058—The Murray Hill Mystery</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1059—Nick Carter's Close Call</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1060—The Missing Cotton King</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1061—A Game of Plots</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1062—The Prince of Liars</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1063—The Man at the Window</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1064—The Red League</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1065—The Price of a Secret</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1066—The Worst Case on Record</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1067—From Peril to Peril</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1068—The Seal of Silence</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1069—Nick Carter's Chinese Puzzle</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1070—A Blackmailer's Bluff</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1071—Heard in the Dark</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1072—A Checkmated Scoundrel</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1073—The Cashier's Secret</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1074—Behind a Mask</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1075—The Cloak of Guilt</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1076—Two Villains in One</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1077—The Hot Air Clew</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1078—Run to Earth</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1079—The Certified Check</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1080—Weaving the Web</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1081—Beyond Pursuit</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1082—The Claws of the Tiger</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1083—Driven From Cover</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1084—A Deal in Diamonds</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1085—The Wizard of the Cue</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1086—A Race for Ten Thousand</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1087—The Criminal Link</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1088—The Red Signal</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1089—The Secret Panel</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1090—A Bonded Villain</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1091—A Move in the Dark</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1092—Against Desperate Odds</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1093—The Telltale Photographs</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1094—The Ruby Pin</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1095—The Queen of Diamonds</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1096—A Broken Trail</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1097—An Ingenious Stratagem</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1098—A Sharper's Downfall</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1099—A Race Track Gamble</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1100—Without a Clew</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1101—The Council of Death</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1102—The Hole in the Vault</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1103—In Death's Grip</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1104—A Great Conspiracy</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1105—The Guilty Governor</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1106—A Ring of Rascals</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1107—A Masterpiece of Crime</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1108—A Blow For Vengeance</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1109—Tangled Threads</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1110—The Crime of the Camera</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1111—The Sign of the Dagger</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1112—Nick Carter's Promise</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1113—Marked for Death</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1114—The Limited Holdup</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1115—When the Trap Was Sprung</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1116—Through the Cellar Wall</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1117—Under the Tiger's Claws</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1118—The Girl in the Case</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1119—Behind a Throne</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1120—The Lure of Gold</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1121—Hand to Hand</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1122—From a Prison Cell</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1123—Dr. Quartz, Magician</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1124—Into Nick Carter's Web</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1125—The Mystic Diagram</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1126—The Hand That Won</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1127—Playing a Lone Hand</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1128—The Master Villain</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1129—The False Claimant</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1130—The Living Mask</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1131—The Crime and the Motive</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1132—A Mysterious Foe</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1133—A Missing Man</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1134—A Game Well Played</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1135—A Cigarette Clew</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1136—The Diamond Trail</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1137—The Silent Guardian</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1138—The Dead Stranger</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1140—The Doctor's Stratagem</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1141—Following a Chance Clew</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1142—The Bank Draft Puzzle</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1143—The Price of Treachery</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1144—The Silent Partner</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1145—Ahead of the Game</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1146—A Trap of Tangled Wire</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1147—In the Gloom of Night</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1148—The Unaccountable Crook</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1149—A Bundle of Clews</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1150—The Great Diamond Syndicate</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1151—The Death Circle</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1152—The Toss of a Penny</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1153—One Step Too Far</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1154—The Terrible Thirteen</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1155—A Detective's Theory</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1156—Nick Carter's Auto Trail</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1157—A Triple Identity</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1158—A Mysterious Graft</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1159—A Carnival of Crime</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1160—The Bloodstone Terror</td><td align='left'>By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> +</table> + + +<h2>10,000,000</h2> + +<p>copies of the works of Nick Carter in the New Magnet Library have been +sold. Millions more are going to be sold, not because the line +represents forbidden literature, but because it fills a large and +growing demand for recreational reading.</p> + +<p>Nick Carter is justly famous. He stands as one of America's foremost +literary characters. He is the close companion of some of America's +leading professional and business men. Statesmen of high and low degree +have called him "Nick," and do not hesitate to say that he has given +them more satisfaction and pleasure than any other character in fiction.</p> + +<p>The Nick Carter stories, therefore, hold a great deal for you. Any in +the foregoing list are worth while.</p> + +<h4>STREET & SMITH CORPORATION</h4> +<h5>79 Seventh Avenue New York City</h5> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="BOOKS_FOR_YOUNG_MEN" id="BOOKS_FOR_YOUNG_MEN" />BOOKS FOR YOUNG MEN</h3> + +<h2>MERRIWELL SERIES</h2> + +<h4>Stories of Frank and Dick Merriwell</h4> + +<h3>PRICE, FIFTEEN CENTS</h3> + +<h4><i>Fascinating Stories of Athletics</i></h4> + +<hr style="width: 25%;" /> +<p>A half million enthusiastic followers of the Merriwell brothers will +attest the unfailing interest and wholesomeness of these adventures of +two lads of high ideals, who play fair with themselves, as well as with +the rest of the world.</p> + +<p>These stories are rich in fun and thrills in all branches of sports and +athletics. They are extremely high in moral tone, and cannot fail to be +of immense benefit to every boy who reads them.</p> + +<p>They have the splendid quality of firing a boy's ambition to become a +good athlete, in order that he may develop into a strong, vigorous +right-thinking man.</p> + + +<h5><i>ALL TITLES ALWAYS IN PRINT</i></h5> + + +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> +<tr><td align='left'>1—Frank Merriwell's School Days</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>2—Frank Merriwell's Chums</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>3—Frank Merriwell's Foes</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>4—Frank Merriwell's Trip West</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>5—Frank Merriwell Down South</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>6—Frank Merriwell's Bravery</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>7—Frank Merriwell's Hunting Tour</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>8—Frank Merriwell in Europe</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>9—Frank Merriwell at Yale</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>10—Frank Merriwell's Sports Afield</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>11—Frank Merriwell's Races</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>12—Frank Merriwell's Party</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>13—Frank Merriwell's Bicycle Tour</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>14—Frank Merriwell's Courage</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>15—Frank Merriwell's Daring</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>16—Frank Merriwell's Alarm</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>17—Frank Merriwell's Athletes</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>18—Frank Merriwell's Skill</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>19—Frank Merriwell's Champions</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>20—Frank Merriwell's Return to Yale</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>21—Frank Merriwell's Secret</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>22—Frank Merriwell's Danger</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>23—Frank Merriwell's Loyalty</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>24—Frank Merriwell in Camp</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>25—Frank Merriwell's Vacation</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>26—Frank Merriwell's Cruise</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>27—Frank Merriwell's Chase</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>28—Frank Merriwell in Maine</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>29—Frank Merriwell's Struggle</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>30—Frank Merriwell's First Job</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>31—Frank Merriwell's Opportunity</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>32—Frank Merriwell's Hard Luck</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>33—Frank Merriwell's Protégé</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>34—Frank Merriwell on the Road</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>35—Frank Merriwell's Own Company</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>36—Frank Merriwell's Fame</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>37—Frank Merriwell's College Chums</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>38—Frank Merriwell's Problem</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>39—Frank Merriwell's Fortune</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>40—Frank Merriwell's New Comedian</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>41—Frank Merriwell's Prosperity</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>42—Frank Merriwell's Stage Hit</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>43—Frank Merriwell's Great Scheme</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>44—Frank Merriwell in England</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>45—Frank Merriwell on the Boulevards</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>46—Frank Merriwell's Duel</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>47—Frank Merriwell's Double Shot</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>48—Frank Merriwell's Baseball Victories</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>49—Frank Merriwell's Confidence</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>50—Frank Merriwell's Auto</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>51—Frank Merriwell's Fun</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>52—Frank Merriwell's Generosity</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>53—Frank Merriwell's Tricks</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>54—Frank Merriwell's Temptation</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>55—Frank Merriwell on Top</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>56—Frank Merriwell's Luck</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>57—Frank Merriwell's Mascot</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>58—Frank Merriwell's Reward</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>59—Frank Merriwell's Phantom</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>60—Frank Merriwell's Faith</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>61—Frank Merriwell's Victories</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>62—Frank Merriwell's Iron Nerve</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>63—Frank Merriwell in Kentucky</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>64—Frank Merriwell's Power</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>65—Frank Merriwell's Shrewdness</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>66—Frank Merriwell's Set Back</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>67—Frank Merriwell's Search</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>68—Frank Merriwell's Club</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>69—Frank Merriwell's Trust</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>70—Frank Merriwell's False Friend</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>71—Frank Merriwell's Strong Arm</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>72—Frank Merriwell As Coach</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>73—Frank Merriwell's Brother</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>74—Frank Merriwell's Marvel</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>75—Frank Merriwell's Support</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>76—Dick Merriwell At Fardale</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>77—Dick Merriwell's Glory</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>78—Dick Merriwell's Promise</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>79—Dick Merriwell's Rescue</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>80—Dick Merriwell's Narrow Escape</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>81—Dick Merriwell's Racket</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>82—Dick Merriwell's Revenge</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>83—Dick Merriwell's Ruse</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>84—Dick Merriwell's Delivery</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>85—Dick Merriwell's Wonders</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>86—Frank Merriwell's Honor</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>87—Dick Merriwell's Diamond</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>88—Frank Merriwell's Winners</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>89—Dick Merriwell's Dash</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>90—Dick Merriwell's Ability</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>91—Dick Merriwell's Trap</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>92—Dick Merriwell's Defense</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>93—Dick Merriwell's Model</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>94—Dick Merriwell's Mystery</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>95—Frank Merriwell's Backers</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>96—Dick Merriwell's Backstop</td><td align='left'>By Burt. L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>97—Dick Merriwell's Western Mission</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>98—Frank Merriwell's Rescue</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>99—Frank Merriwell's Encounter</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>100—Dick Merriwell's Marked Money</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>101—Frank Merriwell's Nomads</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>102—Dick Merriwell on the Gridiron</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>103—Dick Merriwell's Disguise</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>104—Dick Merriwell's Test</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>105—Frank Merriwell's Trump Card</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>106—Frank Merriwell's Strategy</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>107—Frank Merriwell's Triumph</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>108—Dick Merriwell's Grit</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>109—Dick Merriwell's Assurance</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>110—Dick Merriwell's Long Slide</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>111—Frank Merriwell's Rough Deal</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>112—Dick Merriwell's Threat</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>113—Dick Merriwell's Persistence</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>114—Dick Merriwell's Day</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>115—Frank Merriwell's Peril</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>116—Dick Merriwell's Downfall</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>117—Frank Merriwell's Pursuit</td><td align='left'>By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> +</table> + + +<h2>SPORTS</h2> + +<p>There is a greater appreciation of athletic sports among Americans than +among people of any other nationality.</p> + +<p>We have had definite proof of this in the correspondence occasioned by +our publication of the adventures of Frank and Dick Merriwell. These two +boys are active athletes. They are proficient in every line of sport, +and they play fair or not at all.</p> + +<p>This last feature of the Merriwell stories fills our daily mail with +letters from readers who say that they appreciate the integrity and +fairness of the Merriwells more than words can tell.</p> + +<p>These books, while of greatest interest to the right-thinking boy are +educational and make for the development of a character which will +enable the average boy to meet his fellows fairly and squarely in the +battle of life.</p> + +<h3>STREET & SMITH CORPORATION</h3> +<h4>79 Seventh Avenue New York City</h4> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Bill_Cody" id="Bill_Cody" />Bill Cody</h2> + + +<p>At a rough estimate there are 400 million civilized human beings who +have heard of Bill Cody, not under his real name, but by the name +everybody called him, "Buffalo Bill."</p> + +<p>His character made him an outstanding figure during a period of the +development of America when a strong character was a matter of vital +necessity.</p> + +<p>We doubt, however, whether the man's work is fully appreciated, or ever +has been. In the rush and bustle that followed the introduction of the +railroad to the West, the results of Buffalo Bill's work were more or +less overlooked, but a time is coming when this remarkable man's +achievements will be fully appreciated.</p> + +<p>This is the character whose adventures are dealt with in Buffalo Bill's +Border Stories.</p> + +<p>Read them. You will find them of true historical value.</p> + +<h3>STREET & SMITH CORPORATION</h3> +<h4>79 Seventh Avenue New York City</h4> + +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH LINKS OF STEEL***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 14096-h.txt or 14096-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/4/0/9/14096">https://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/0/9/14096</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution.</p> + + + +<pre> +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +<a href="https://gutenberg.org/license">https://gutenberg.org/license)</a>. + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS,' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://www.gutenberg.org/about/contact + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: +https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Each eBook is in a subdirectory of the same number as the eBook's +eBook number, often in several formats including plain vanilla ASCII, +compressed (zipped), HTML and others. + +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks replace the old file and take over +the old filename and etext number. The replaced older file is renamed. +VERSIONS based on separate sources are treated as new eBooks receiving +new filenames and etext numbers. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + +<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">https://www.gutenberg.org</a> + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + +EBooks posted prior to November 2003, with eBook numbers BELOW #10000, +are filed in directories based on their release date. If you want to +download any of these eBooks directly, rather than using the regular +search system you may utilize the following addresses and just +download by the etext year. + +<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext06/">https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext06/</a> + + (Or /etext 05, 04, 03, 02, 01, 00, 99, + 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 92, 91 or 90) + +EBooks posted since November 2003, with etext numbers OVER #10000, are +filed in a different way. The year of a release date is no longer part +of the directory path. The path is based on the etext number (which is +identical to the filename). The path to the file is made up of single +digits corresponding to all but the last digit in the filename. For +example an eBook of filename 10234 would be found at: + +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/0/2/3/10234 + +or filename 24689 would be found at: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/6/8/24689 + +An alternative method of locating eBooks: +<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/GUTINDEX.ALL">https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/GUTINDEX.ALL</a> + +*** END: FULL LICENSE *** +</pre> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/old/14096-h/images/cover.jpg b/old/14096-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..616b8e3 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/14096-h/images/cover.jpg diff --git a/old/14096.txt b/old/14096.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ec0aa68 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/14096.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8068 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, With Links of Steel, by Nicholas Carter + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: With Links of Steel + +Author: Nicholas Carter + +Release Date: November 19, 2004 [eBook #14096] +Most recently updated July 28, 2011 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH LINKS OF STEEL*** + + +E-text prepared Steven desJardins and Project Gutenberg Distributed +Proofreaders + + + +WITH LINKS OF STEEL + +Or, The Peril of the Unknown + +New Magnet Library No. 1164 + +by + +NICHOLAS CARTER + +Author of the celebrated stories of Nick Carter's adventures, +which are published exclusively in the NEW MAGNET LIBRARY, +conceded to be among the best detective tales ever written. + +Street & Smith Corporation Publishers +79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York + +1904 + + + + + + + +[Illustration: Cover of With Links of Steel] + + + + +CHAPTER I A CRAFTY ROBBERY. +CHAPTER II CONCERNING SENORA CERVERA. +CHAPTER III THE KILGORE DIAMOND GANG. +CHAPTER IV GETTING DOWN TO WORK. +CHAPTER V BEHIND THE SCENES. +CHAPTER VI A SHOT IN THE DARK. +CHAPTER VII A STRATEGIC MOVE. +CHAPTER VIII FOUND DEAD. +CHAPTER IX NICK STRIKES A STARTLING CLEW. +CHAPTER X ON THE TRAIL. +CHAPTER XI THE CRIME AND THE MEANS. +CHAPTER XII CLOSING IN. +CHAPTER XIII CRAFTY CERVERA. +CHAPTER XIV IN A WARM CORNER. +CHAPTER XV THE DIAMOND PLANT. +CHAPTER XVI THE CUNNING OF JEAN PYLOTTE. +CHAPTER XVII THE GAME UNCOVERED. +CHAPTER XVIII AT CROSS-PURPOSES. +CHAPTER XIX HANDS SHOWED DOWN. +CHAPTER XX THE BOOT ON THE OTHER LEG. +CHAPTER XXI AN ONLY RESOURCE. +CHAPTER XXII THE LAST TRICK. + + + + +WITH LINKS OF STEEL + +CHAPTER I. + +A CRAFTY ROBBERY. + + +"Mr. Venner, sir?" + +"Mr. Venner--yes, certainly. You will find him in his private +office--that way, sir. The door to the right. Venner is in his private +office, Joseph, is he not?" + +"I don't think so, Mr. Garside, unless he has just returned. I saw him +go out some time ago." + +"Is that so? Wait a moment, young man." + +The young man halted, and then turned back to face Mr. Garside, with an +inquiring look in his frank, brown eyes. + +"Not here, sir, do I understand?" he asked, politely. + +Mr. Garside shook his head. He was a tall, slender man of forty, and was +the junior partner of the firm of Rufus Venner & Co., a large retail +jewelry house in New York City, with a handsome store on Fifth Avenue, +not far from Madison Square. + +It was in their store that this introductory scene occurred, and proved +to be the initiatory step of one of the shrewdest and most cleverly +executed robberies on record. + +It was about eleven o'clock one April morning. The sun was shining +brightly outside, and at the curbing in front of the store were several +handsome private carriages, with stiff-backed, motionless coachmen, in +bottle-green livery, perched on their boxes, all of which plainly +indicated the very desirable patronage accorded the firm mentioned. + +In the store the glare of sun was subdued by partly drawn yellow +curtains, which lent a soft, amber light to the deep interior, and +enhanced the dazzling beauty of the merchandise there displayed. + +The store was a rather narrow one, but quite deep, with a long-counter +on each side, back of which were numerous clerks, some engaged in +waiting upon the several customers then present. + +At the rear of the store was an office inclosure, with a partition of +plate glass; while at either side of this inclosure was a smaller room, +entirely secluded, these being the private offices of the two members of +the firm. + +Mr. Garside was standing about in the middle of the store when the young +man entered and inquired for Mr. Venner. As he turned from the clerk who +had informed him of Venner's absence, he added, half in apology, to his +visitor: + +"I was mistaken, young man. My clerk tells me that Mr. Venner is out +just now. Do you know where he has gone, Joseph?" + +"No, sir, I do not." + +"I think he will presently return," said Garside, again reverting to the +caller. "Is there anything that I can do for you? Or will you wait +until Mr. Venner comes in?" + +"I will not wait, Mr. Garside, since you are one of the firm, and +probably know about this matter," replied the young man, drawing a small +cloth-covered package from his breast pocket. "Here are the ten diamonds +for which Mr. Venner sent us an order this morning. I come from Thomas +Hafferman, sir, and will leave the stones with you." + +The man mentioned was also a jeweler, and a large importer of diamonds +and costly gems. + +Mr. Garside's countenance took on an expression of mild surprise. + +"From Hafferman? An order from Venner?" he murmured, inquiringly. "I was +not aware that Venner sent out any order for diamonds this morning." + +"One of your clerks brought the order, sir, and requested Mr. Hafferman +to send the stones here as soon as convenient," replied the messenger. +"Mr. Hafferman did not know your clerk personally, so I was sent here to +deliver the stones." + +"What is your name, young man?" + +"Harry Boyden, sir. I have worked for Mr. Hafferman for nearly five +years. I think you will find that the order was properly sent." + +"Wait just a moment, Mr. Boyden," suggested Garside, smiling. + +Then he hastened to the rear of the store, and spoke through the open +window near the cashier's desk. + +"Do any of you know of an order sent out by Mr. Venner this morning?" +he inquired, addressing the several clerks at work in the office. "An +order to Thomas Hafferman for ten diamonds." + +Only a girl stenographer, seated at a typewriter near the office door, +replied: + +"I think Mr. Venner sent Spaulding out about half an hour ago, sir," she +replied. "I saw him give Spaulding several letters." + +"Ah, doubtless it's all right enough," bowed Garside; "yet I wonder that +I had heard nothing about it. Joseph, has Spaulding been here within a +few minutes?" + +"No, sir," replied the clerk, the same who had at first been questioned. +"I saw him go out just before Mr. Venner departed, and he has not yet +returned." + +Garside had now reached the middle of the store again, where Boyden was +still waiting. + +"Are you quite sure that the order came from Mr. Venner?" he again +inquired. "How long ago was the messenger at your store?" + +"About half an hour ago, sir," Boyden readily answered. "The order was, +I presume, signed by Mr. Venner." + +"Was it our man Spaulding who delivered the order? Do you know him by +sight?" + +"I do not, sir. Joseph Maynard, yonder, is the only clerk here with whom +I am acquainted, and I think he will vouch for me," said Boyden, now +beginning to smile at Garside's manifest caution over receiving the +diamonds. "Surely, sir, no harm can come from your keeping the stones +until Mr. Venner returns, since I am willing to leave them with you," he +added, laughing. + +"Oh, no, no--I wasn't thinking of that," Garside quickly answered. "I +wished only to avoid the needless trouble of returning them, in case the +order did not come from us." + +"I think the order was all right, Mr. Garside. Besides, sir, I saw Mr. +Venner yesterday at our store, examining some diamonds. Doubtless these +are the same." + +"Oh, if that's the case, leave them, by all means," Garside cried. "I +was not aware that he had called there. Probably they are for some order +of which he has personal charge. Yes, yes, Mr. Boyden, leave them, +certainly. Here, Joseph, place the package in one of the vault drawers, +and hand it to Mr. Venner when he returns. Sorry to have detained you so +long, Mr. Boyden. Had you begun by stating that Venner called yesterday +upon Mr. Hafferman, I should not have demurred over the matter." + +"There's no harm done, Mr. Garside, none whatever," replied Boyden, +bowing and smiling. "I appreciate your caution, sir. If there proves to +have been any mistake in ordering them, you can easily return the +stones. Good-morning, sir." + +Garside replied with a nod over his shoulder, having turned to hand the +parcel to his clerk back of the counter, and Boyden immediately +departed. + +"Is that young man an acquaintance of yours, Maynard?" inquired Mr. +Garside. + +"Yes, sir. He has been with Hafferman for several years." + +"Doubtless it's all right, then. Odd, though, that Venner should have +made no mention to me of this order. Hand him the package as soon as he +comes in." + +"I will, sir, at once." + +Maynard had already placed the small parcel in a drawer of the huge +steel vault back of the counter, and he now resumed the work at which he +had been engaged. + +Mr. Garside sauntered toward the front of the store, and presently +greeted a lady who entered. + +Twenty minutes passed, and the incident of the diamonds was almost +forgotten by both employer and clerk. + +Soon both were reminded of it, however, by the entrance of another +man--a smooth-featured young fellow, with pale blue eyes, a sallow +complexion, slightly pock-marked. He was of medium height, and well put +together, and was clad in a neat business suit of fashionable +appearance. + +Quickly approaching Mr. Garside, who was then disengaged, he tendered +one of Thomas Hafferman's business cards, and said, glibly, while bowing +and laughing lightly: + +"Excuse me, Mr. Garside, but we rather owe you an apology. Our Mr. +Boyden left some diamonds with you a short time ago, which should have +been delivered to Tiffany & Co. Mr. Hafferman read the order without his +spectacles, and it's rather a good joke on him, for he thought it was +signed Venner & Co. The blunder was partly owing to the fact, no doubt, +that Mr. Venner called to see him yesterday about some diamonds." + +"There!" exclaimed Garside, as if quite pleased to discover that he had +been so nearly right. "I knew well enough that Venner had not sent out +any order without mentioning it to me. Yes, your Mr. Boyden left the +stones here. For Tiffany & Co., eh?" + +"Yes, sir, and they should have been delivered long ago," was the reply, +with a conventional laugh. "If you please, I'll leave them there on my +way back. Deucedly stupid blunder on Hafferman's part, I'm sure; and I +hope--" + +"Oh, there's no harm done, I guess, and but little time lost," +interrupted Garside, joining in the other's laugh. "You will deliver +them, you say?" + +"If you please." + +"Here, Joseph, hand me that package of diamonds left here by Boyden. +They were sent to us by mistake. I knew it well enough at the time. Here +you are, Mr. ----" + +"Raymond, sir. I am cashier at Hafferman's. Many thanks. Sorry to have +troubled you--very sorry." + +"No trouble at all," laughed Garside, accompanying Mr. Raymond toward +the street door. "The trouble has been all yours, sir." + +"That's quite true," smiled Raymond, as he bowed himself out with the +package of diamonds in his hand. "But now the pleasure is all mine!" he +added to himself, upon reaching the sidewalk. + +Then he strode rapidly away, quickly losing himself in the midday +stream of people thronging the famous New York thoroughfare. + +Less than five minutes later, before any misgivings had crept into the +mind of Mr. Garside, the senior member of the firm came hurrying into +the store. + +"Oh, I say, Venner!" exclaimed his partner, stopping him near the office +door. "What diamonds are you thinking of buying of Hafferman?" + +"Of Hafferman?" echoed Venner, with a look of surprise. + +"Weren't you looking at some stones there yesterday?" + +"Yes, certainly. Some very choice diamonds. I want ten of the first +water, a little larger and more perfectly matched than any we have in +stock at present. But how did you learn that I had called there?" + +Mr. Garside quickly informed him of the several incidents of the past +half hour, when, to his consternation and dismay a look of sudden +apprehension swept over Venner's face. + +"Raymond--the name of Hafferman's cashier!" he cried. "Nothing of the +sort, Philip. Their cashier is named Briggs. I know him well." + +"Briggs! Briggs!" + +"Briggs--yes, Briggs!" reiterated Mr. Venner, excitedly. "By Heaven, +there must be something wrong here!" + +"Dear me! If this Raymond was an impostor, we are done out of--" + +"Wait--wait!" + +Checking his partner with an impulsive gesture, Venner rushed into his +private office and seized his desk telephone, quickly calling up the +firm by which the diamonds had been sent. + +Garside followed him into the room, only to hear the questions hurriedly +asked over the wire by his excited partner, who presently dropped the +telephone and leaped to his feet, crying loudly, so loudly that his +voice filled the entire store, and brought all hands hurrying in his +direction: + +"There's no doubt of it, Garside, none whatever. You have been +duped--swindled--robbed of four thousand dollars' worth of gems! Raymond +was an impostor--a crook--" + +"Venner--hush! You are losing your head," protested Garside, white with +dismay. "It's enough that we have lost the stones, so at least keep your +head. Waste not a moment. Notify the police. Telephone at once for men +from the central office." + +"Blast the police! The central office be hanged!" cried Venner, choking +down an oath of wrathful contempt. "I'll have none of your police--none +of your central office men! I want a detective--not an effigy of one!" + +"Rufus--" + +"Silence, Garside, and leave this affair to me," Venner harshly +interrupted. "You've had fingers enough in it already." + +With which rebuke Mr. Rufus Venner strode passionately out of the office +and into the store proper, shouting loudly to the clerk previously +mentioned: + +"Maynard--here you, Maynard! Call a cab at once and go for Nick Carter! +Lose not a moment! Don't wait to ask questions, you blockhead! Away with +you, at once! Bring Nick Carter here with the least possible delay!" + +Maynard had already seized his coat and hat, and was hurrying out of the +store. + +And thus began one of the most stirring and extraordinary criminal cases +that ever fell within the broad experience of the famous New York +detective mentioned. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +CONCERNING SENORA CERVERA. + + +Joseph Maynard arrived at Nick Carter's residence just as the famous New +York detective was about preparing for lunch, and quickly stated his +mission, disclosing the superficial features of the crime. + +Nick Carter habitually looked below the surface of things, however, and +in trifles he invariably discovered more than the ordinary man. Before +Maynard had fairly outlined the case Nick keenly discerned that the +robbery could not have been committed by any common criminals, and he at +once decided not only that he would take the case, but also that it gave +promise of something far more startling than then appeared aboveboard. + +Yet even Nick's keen discernment utterly failed, at this early stage of +the affair, to anticipate its actual magnitude and tragic possibilities. + +Having consented to accompany Maynard to the scene of the crime, Nick +turned to Chick Carter, his reliable chief assistant, who also had been +an attentive listener to Maynard's disclosures. + +"You had better come with me, Chick," said he. "This affair has rather a +bad look, and in case quick work is imperative, I may need your +assistance." + +"Go with you it is, Nick," Chick heartily cried, hastening to put on his +coat and hat. + +"From the circumstances disclosed by Maynard, however," added Nick, "I +am inclined to think that these rats have very carefully covered their +tracks, and that a still hunt for their trail may prove to be our stunt. +Yet you had better go along with me." + +"I'm ready when you are, Nick." + +"Very good. Come on, Mr. Maynard. I see you have a carriage at the door. +We will not delay even for lunch, but will snatch a bite later." + +Together the three men left the house, and it was precisely one o'clock +when Nick was ushered into the private office of Venner & Co., where the +two members of the firm then were seated, apparently still engaged in +discussing the audacious robbery. + +Mr. Rufus Venner, it may be here stated, was a man of about forty years +of age, and was a very well-known man about town. Darkly handsome, with +an erect and imposing figure, an _habitue_ of the best clubs, a man +still unmarried, yet of whom hints were frequently dropped that he was +very popular with the fair sex, whom he was known to lavishly entertain +at times--this was the senior member of the firm of Venner & Co., and +the man who, quickly arose to greet Nick Carter and Chick when the two +detectives entered. + +"Your clerk has already given me the main facts of the case, Mr. Venner, +so we will dispense with any rehearsal of them, and get right down to +business," Nick crisply observed, immediately after their greeting. +"There are a few questions I wish to ask you, and concise replies may +expedite matters." + +"I will respond as briefly as possible, Mr. Carter," Venner quickly +rejoined, as they took chairs around the office table. "I do not fancy +being robbed in this scurvy fashion, sir, and you may go to any +reasonable expense to discover and arrest the thieves. Now, Detective +Carter, your questions?" + +"To begin with," asked Nick, with a steadfast scrutiny of Venner's +darkly attractive face, "what is the value of the stolen diamonds?" + +"About four thousand dollars." + +"Ten in number, I was told." + +"Precisely." + +"Are they of uniform value?" + +"Nearly so. They are splendid gems, and perfectly matched, and are worth +about four hundred dollars each. I wanted them for a special purpose, +which--" + +"Which I will presently arrive at," Nick courteously interposed. "I +understand, Mr. Venner, that you called yesterday at the store of Thomas +Hafferman and made some inquiries about these stones?" + +"I did, and also examined them." + +"In what part of Hafferman's store were you at the time?" + +"In his private office." + +"Were any of the clerks present?" + +"Not any--Stay! One of the clerks brought in the diamonds to Mr. +Hafferman, but he did not remain. Only Mr. Hafferman himself remained +with me while we discussed the matter." + +"Do you know the clerk's name?" + +"Boyden, I think, he was called." + +"The same who brought the diamonds here this morning," put in Mr. +Garside. "His name is Harry Boyden." + +Nick made a note of it in a small book which he drew from his pocket. + +"Did you make any deal at that time regarding the diamonds?" he +inquired. + +"I only had them reserved for me a day or two, stating that I would +either call again or send an order for them, if I decided to purchase +them," replied Venner. + +"Are you quite sure that only Mr. Hafferman heard you make that +statement?" + +"Sure only in that the office door was closed, and that he alone was +with me. If there were any eavesdroppers about I did not suspect it." + +"Naturally not," smiled Nick. "Now, then, for what special purpose did +you want those particular diamonds? I think you referred to one." + +A slight tinge of red appeared in Venner's cheeks when he replied, a +change which by no means escaped Nick's observation. + +"I wanted the stones, or then thought I might, for a customer who +contemplated giving me an order for a valuable diamond cross, to be worn +upon the stage. We happen to have in stock no diamonds perfectly adapted +to her requirements, and so I called upon Hafferman to learn if he could +supply me." + +"Who is the customer, Mr. Venner?" + +"I do not see how her identity can be at all essential to the +investigation of this affair, yet I have no objection to disclosing it," +said Venner, frowning slightly. + +"Why demur over it, then?" demanded Nick, bluntly. + +"Only because of an aversion to bringing the lady into the case, of +which she, of course, knows nothing," retorted Venner. "I expected the +order from Senora Cervera, the Spanish dancer." + +"Ah! Is she not a member of the Mammoth Vaudeville Troupe, which has +been playing here to packed houses for several months?" + +"She is, yes." + +"I have heard that she makes a great display of diamonds." + +"That is true, Mr. Carter. She possesses a magnificent collection of +jewels, and wears them with an abandon against which I frequently have +cautioned her." + +"By way of explanation," put in Mr. Garside, with an odd smile, "Venner +might add that he enjoys quite friendly relations with the Spanish +senora." + +"I see no occasion, Garside, for comments upon my interest in Sanetta +Cervera," declared Venner, with a frown at his partner. "My relations +with her, Detective Carter, are only those of a friend and a gentleman. +She called here several weeks ago to have some diamonds reset, when I +met her personally, and was deeply impressed with her extraordinary +grace and beauty. I since have shown her some attention." + +"Quite natural, I am sure," observed Nick, smiling indifferently. "As +you remarked, however, none of that appears to be material. I +understand, Mr. Venner, that you were absent when Boyden brought the +diamonds here this morning." + +"I was," bowed Venner. "I received a note from Senora Cervera this +morning, asking me to call upon her at eleven o'clock at her rooms, and +to bring with me a diamond pendant which we have in stock, and which I +had the pleasure of showing her a few days ago." + +"Ah, I see." + +"She stated in her note that if I would call upon her at the hour +mentioned, she would decide whether to purchase the pendant, or have us +make the diamond cross for her." + +"You complied with her request, Mr. Venner, and went to call upon her?" + +"Certainly." + +"Where is she quartered?" + +"She rents a furnished house uptown." + +"Does she live alone?" + +"With her servants only." + +"How many?" + +"She keeps a butler, a male cook, and two housemaids. Also a girl to +look after her wardrobe and act as her dresser at the theater." + +"Evidently Senora Cervera is wealthy," said Nick. + +"Well, not exactly wealthy," rejoined Venner. "She is the popular craze +just now, and from her professional work she derives a very large income +which she scatters as if dollars were dead leaves. In a word, Detective +Carter, Senora Cervera is an arrant spendthrift." + +"So I have heard," nodded Nick. + +"You have?" + +"Oh, yes!" laughed the detective. "That appears to surprise you. It +will not, when I tell you that there are very few public characters in +New York of whose general habits I am not tolerably well informed. Of +course, Mr. Venner, you have no doubt of this Spanish dancer's honesty?" +Nick added, bluntly. + +Venner flushed deeply, and instantly shook his head. + +"Most assuredly not," he cried, with some feeling. "Senora Cervera +dishonest? Impossible!" + +"Improbable, Mr. Venner, no doubt; but not impossible." + +"It is, sir," declared Venner, positively. "I know her well. Such an +idea is absurd. Drop it at once, Detective Carter. Indeed, sir, if I +thought her name was to be dragged into this affair, or her reputation +to be in any way imperiled, I would quietly suffer the loss of these +diamonds, and cease this investigation at once." + +Nick laughed softly, and suppressed the response that, nearly rose to +his lips. + +"Don't do it, Mr. Venner," said he, complacently. "My observation was +not intended to cast any reflection upon Senora Cervera. I have no doubt +that she is perfectly honest." + +"I should hope not, sir." + +"By the way, have you the note she sent to you this morning?" + +"Yes. Here it is." + +"By mail, or a messenger?" + +"A messenger brought it." + +"Ah!" murmured Nick, briefly studying the written page. "Plainly a +foreign hand. Very firm and forceful. It indicates a strong and +determined character. I should say that Senora Cervera is a woman of +rare qualities." + +"That is perfectly correct, sir. She is a woman of rare qualities." + +"What did she decide to do about the diamonds, Mr. Venner?" + +"She gave me an order for the cross, Detective Carter, to be made and +delivered as soon as possible." + +"This was during your call upon her this morning?" + +"Certainly." + +"You had previously sent no order to Hafferman for the stones?" + +"Surely not." + +"Yet a written order was received by him, or he would not have delivered +the goods." + +"In which case, then, it was a forgery." + +"No doubt of it," Nick readily admitted. "Chick." + +"Yes, Nick." + +"Take a carriage and go at once and interview Hafferman. See what you +can learn from him. Get the written order received by him, and bring it +here. Have a look at young Boyden, and see what you make of him. Also +get the written signature of Mr. Hafferman, and that of each person +employed in his store. Understand?" + +"Sure thing!" nodded Chick, already seeing clearly the line Nick's +investigation was taking, though neither Venner nor his partner yet +perceived it. "I will return as quickly as possible." + +"You will find me here," nodded Nick. "Wait a moment!" + +"Well?" + +"Also get a description of the party who delivered the written order at +Hafferman's store. Inquire what he said at the time, and why he did not +attempt securing the diamonds then and there." + +"Probably he was not known there, and knew he could not get them," +observed Venner, by way of explanation. + +Nick made no reply to this, however, and Chick hurriedly departed. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE KILGORE DIAMOND GANG. + + +"Now, gentlemen, only a few more questions, and I then shall be ready to +go at this case in a more energetic fashion," said Nick Carter, +immediately after Chick's departure. "Were any of your clerks absent +from the store, Mr. Venner, at the time of this robbery?" + +"As I was absent myself, I cannot say," replied Venner, rather dryly. +"How about it, Garside?--you were here." + +"Only one clerk, a young man named Spaulding, was out of the store." + +"Was he out on business?" + +"Yes, under my instructions," Venner quickly explained. "We have +numerous old accounts on our books, and just before I went uptown I sent +Spaulding out to try to make a few collections. I think he has returned +by this time." + +"It does not matter, since he was out under your instructions," said +Nick, closing his notebook. "Now, Mr. Venner, who among your employees +knew you thought of buying this lot of diamonds from Hafferman, or that +you had called at his store to examine them?" + +"Not a soul," was the prompt reply. + +"Are you sure of that?" + +"Absolutely. I had said nothing of the matter, even to my partner, there +being nothing definite about it before I saw Senora Cervera this +morning. I am sure that none of my clerks had any idea of my +intentions." + +Nick was not so sure of it, yet he did not say so. He arose and took +from Venner's desk a block of plain paper, which he laid upon the table. + +"Gentlemen," said he, "I want the signature of your firm, in the +handwriting of each of you. Kindly let me have this." + +"What's that for?" demanded Venner, abruptly. + +"I wish to make a comparison with the forged order which my assistant +will presently bring from Mr. Hafferman," Nick coolly explained. "I +would suggest that you do not delay me." + +Venner made no reply, but took a pen and signed the firm's name upon the +blank paper. + +"Now yours, Mr. Garside." + +"Mine also, Detective Carter?" queried Garside, with a look of surprise. + +"If you please." + +"Surely," cried Venner, with some resentment, "you do not suspect that +Mr. Garside or myself--" + +"Pardon me!" Nick bluntly interrupted. "I am not in the habit of +discussing my suspicions. That I should suspect either of you, however, +is utterly absurd." + +"I should say so!" + +"Therefore do not argue with me over an absurdity. If I am to continue +this investigation, gentlemen, I must do it in my own way. Either that, +or I shall drop the case at once. Your signature, Mr. Garside." + +Garside hastened to take the pen, and dashed off the firm's signature +below that of his partner. Nick tore the page from the block, then +handed the latter to Venner. + +"Now, Mr. Venner," said he, "have each of your employees, from first to +last, write his name with pen and ink upon this paper. Don't overlook +one of them, not one, from your bookkeeper down to your office boy. If +Spaulding is still out, get his signature later, and send it to me by +mail. I will wait here while you are thus engaged." + +Venner now vaguely perceived Nick's suspicions and design, and he could +not consistently offer any remonstrance. Yet he plainly resented the +idea that any of his clerks could have been guilty of co-operation with +the criminals who had committed the robbery that morning, and his dark +features wore a grim and sullen expression when he took the block of +paper and repaired to his main office. + +Nick Carter sat and waited, silently sizing up the case as he then saw +it. + +Just as Venner returned with the numerous signatures, Chick also put in +an appearance again, bringing with him the forged order which had been +left at Hafferman's store. Nick merely glanced at it, then thrust it +into his pocket. + +"Did you see Boyden?" he inquired of Chick. + +"Yes, and spoke with him," nodded Chick. + +"What about him?" + +"He looks all right." + +"Did you get the signatures of Hafferman and his clerks?" + +"They are on this paper." + +"Good enough. Let me have those of your employees, Mr. Venner. Are they +all here?" + +"Yes, all of them." + +"Very good," said Nick, putting the several papers into his pocket. +"Now, Chick, what of the man who visited Hafferman's store with the +forged order?" + +"He merely left the order and asked that the diamonds should be sent +here at once." + +"What sort of a man?" + +"Dark, about fifty, with a heavy mustache and wavy hair," said Chick, +glibly. "Quite a big fellow, Hafferman states." + +"H'm!" ejaculated Nick, with a significant nod. "Now, Mr. Garside, +describe the man to whom you delivered the diamonds." + +"Raymond?" + +"If that is the name he gave you." + +"He is a well-built, smoothly shaven fellow, of about thirty years, with +a sallow complexion, slightly pock-marked--" + +"Ah, I thought so!" Nick curtly interrupted. "That's quite sufficient, +Mr. Garside." + +"What do you mean, Carter?" quickly demanded Venner. "Do you already +recognize these criminals?" + +"I recognize their work." + +"And the men?" + +"I've them in mind from the outset." + +"Impossible!" + +"Not so, Mr. Venner," Nick now declared, with emphasis. "Without a +shadow of doubt, sir, you have been victimized by the notorious Kilgore +diamond gang, a trio of the shrewdest and most daring scoundrels that +ever stood in leather." + +"You amaze me." + +"Do I?" inquired Nick, smiling softly. "Well, sir, if I were to tell you +the history of these rascals, you would be more than amazed--you would +be astounded. No crime is too desperate, no knavery too hazardous, no +villainy too despicable, for them to attempt, and too often successfully +execute. They have perpetrated their crimes over two continents, and are +known to the police the world over." + +"That is not very complimentary to the police," said Venner, dryly. "I +marvel that such distinguished scoundrels are still at large." + +"A fact which stamps them no ordinary criminals," replied Nick, +pointedly. "Nor are they, sir." + +"What do you know of them, Detective Carter?" + +"David Kilgore, the chief of the gang, is one of the shrewdest and most +daring of knaves, a man of splendid education, polished manners and +broad experience. He possesses nerves of steel, the cunning of a fox, +and would not shrink even from murder, if his designs required it. Yet +he invariably covers his tracks so cleverly, or so quickly vanishes when +hard pressed, that thus far he has successfully eluded the police. +That's David Kilgore, sir." + +"And what of his associates?" inquired Venner. "I think you spoke of a +trio." + +"His confederates are scamps of the same sort, and nearly his equal in +craft and daring," replied Nick. "Perry Dalton is one--the smooth, +pock-marked rascal whom you, Mr. Garside, had the pleasure of meeting +this morning. He is nicknamed Spotty Dalton, because of his slight +disfigurement." + +"And the other?" + +"Is a man named Matthew Stall, more commonly called Matt Stall. He is a +Western man, a graduate of a California university, and is an expert +electrician. Oh, I know all about them," laughed Nick, "although this is +the first time I have been up against them personally. I am rather glad +to discover that they are here in New York." + +"Why so, Detective Carter?" Venner carelessly inquired, with a subtle +gleam in the depths of his dark eyes. + +"Because I have long wanted to match my talents against those of Dave +Kilgore and his rascally push," declared Nick, with grim austerity. "The +last I knew of them they were in Amsterdam, Holland, where some of the +finest work in diamond cutting is done, as you doubtless know." + +"Indeed, yes." + +"They probably had to jump that country for obvious reasons, and very +likely the European continent," added Nick. "They have long avoided New +York, and the fact that they are now here is significant of--well, well, +we shall see! That's all, gentlemen!" + +"But what do you intend doing about this case?" demanded Venner, as Nick +abruptly rose to go. + +"All that can be done, sir," the famous detective bluntly rejoined. "I +accept the case, Mr. Venner, and will do my best with it. When I have +anything to report, you shall hear from me." + +"But--" + +"There really is nothing more to be said, gentlemen, and the sooner I +get to work the better," Nick gravely interposed. + +"But will you advise me of any steps that you may take?" persisted +Venner, briefly detaining him by the arm. + +"Very probably," nodded Nick, though really he probably would do nothing +of the kind. "And now good-day, gentlemen. If reporters call upon you, +you may give them all of the facts, and state that Nick Carter is at +work on the case. I want this Kilgore diamond gang to know at the outset +that I am after them--and fully resolved to land them where they +belong." + +"Behind prison bars, eh?" inquired Venner, with an odd smile. + +"Yes, sir! Behind prison bars!" declared Nick, forcibly. "Again, +gentlemen, good-day. You will hear from me later." + +Mr. Rufus Venner, with his partner at his elbow, stood in the office +door and silently watched the two celebrated detectives as they strode +quickly through the elegant store, from which they presently vanished +into Fifth Avenue. + +There was a smile of subtle cunning, combined with cruel and malicious +determination, on Venner's dark face and he muttered under his breath, +as the store door closed upon Nick's imposing figure: + +"Hear from you later, eh? Very good. Very good, indeed, Mr. Detective +Carter! Hear from you again--that is precisely what I want! Early and +often, Detective Carter; early and often, if you please! It is precisely +for what the little robbery of this April morning was invented!" + +"But was it necessary--was it really necessary, Rufus?" whispered +Garside, who alone had overheard, and whose paler face and tremulous +figure betrayed fears which his swarthy senior partner would have +scorned to feel. "This Carter is a most artful and discerning man. I am +so afraid you have barked up the wrong tree. Was it necessary, really +necessary, Rufus?" + +Venner turned upon him with a half-smothered snarl of contempt. + +"Bah! You'd be afraid of your own shadow, Garside, if left alone with +it," he sneered, between his white, even teeth. "Necessary--of course it +was necessary! Otherwise, I should not have adopted the ruse. We are +about to attempt a big game--an infernally big game! When it matures, +when it is finally launched, the very first concern that finds itself +bitten will rush to Nick Carter for aid." + +"There is no doubt of that, Rufus." + +"Surely no doubt of it! He is the greatest detective in the country--and +the greatest will be none too clever, nor too expensive, for those who +find themselves duped by our unparalleled design." + +"I should say so." + +"What will be the result, Philip?--what will be the result?" added +Venner, with a curious mingling of exultation and asperity. "If our +victims appeal to Nick Carter for help--are we not also already in his +good graces? Have we not insured his confidence in us by this little +move of to-day? Will he not reveal himself and his suspicions to us, +just as I have designed, and keep us posted about his every move, and so +forewarned and forearmed? Of course he will--to be sure he will!" + +"But he is such a crafty and daring--" + +"Bah! Is he more crafty than Dave Kilgore?" demanded Venner, +significantly. "Is he more daring than Spotty Dalton, or more determined +than anyone of the Kilgore gang? Not by a long chalk, Philip, and I know +of them of whom I speak. Ay, as much and more of them than does +Detective Nick Carter." + +"Perhaps you are right, Rufus," murmured Garside, nodding. "We certainly +are about launching a tremendous, an utterly unparalleled, swindle. The +like of it was never, never known. There should be millions in it. Yes, +yes, Rufus, you are right. It was wise to preface our gigantic +operations by getting well in touch with Nick Carter." + +"To be sure, it was wise, Philip, or I should not have taken the trouble +to do so," said Venner, with much less acrimony. "So be a man always, +Philip, and never a flunky. You have played your part admirably this +morning. Let it be played as well, Philip, even to the finish--even to +the last ditch!" + +Philip Garside's color had returned, and he smiled confidently and +nodded in approval. + +Plainly enough, this hushed yet emphatic intercourse between these two +indicated one fact--that Detective Nick Carter was up against a far +deeper game than he then imagined. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +GETTING DOWN TO WORK. + + +"Well, Nick, old man, what have you made of it?" + +The question came from Chick Carter, in his familiar and cheerful +fashion, several hours after the interview held by the two detectives +with Rufus Venner and his partner in their Fifth Avenue store. + +It was now about six o'clock in the evening, and Chick had just returned +from having a confidential talk with one of the stage hands of the +theater in which the then famous attraction, the mammoth European and +American vaudeville troupe, of which Senora Cervera was a star +attraction, had for several months been playing to crowded houses. + +Chick found Nick seated at the table in his library, with a powerful +magnifying glass in his hand, while the table was strewn with the papers +he that morning had brought from the office of Venner & Co. + +Nick looked up with a laugh, and knocked the ashes from his cigar. + +"Well, there's no doubt about it, Chick," he replied. "We are finally up +against them." + +"The Kilgore diamond gang?" + +"Precisely." + +"I'm glad of it, Nick, as you remarked this morning." + +"Well, I've not changed my mind since then. So am I." + +"We shall now find out whether they are as crafty and desperate as they +have been painted." + +"I guess there is no doubt about it, Chick." + +"Well, if we fail to throw them down, Nick, my money shall go on Kilgore +from that moment," declared Chick, with a grin. "What have you dug out +of that mess of papers, Nick? Have you arrived at any conclusions?" + +"Rather!" smiled Nick, significantly. "Did you ever know me to study for +five hours over anything of this kind without arriving at some +conclusion?" + +"Never!" laughed Chick. "And the best of it is, Nick, your conclusions +nearly always prove to be correct. What's the verdict, old man?" + +Nick glanced at the French clock on the mantel. + +"Sit down and light up," he replied. "We have half an hour before +getting down to work against this push. I will devote it to informing +you of the case as it now appears." + +"Good enough!" exclaimed Chick, drawing up a chair and lighting a cigar. +"Let her go, Nick. I am all ears, as the donkey said to the deacon." + +"To begin with," began Nick, more gravely, "this order sent to +Hafferman, for the diamonds which he delivered at Venner's store, is +merely a forgery. Neither Venner nor Garside wrote it, that's as plain +as the nose on an elephant's face." + +"Which is plain enough, surely," nodded Chick. + +"Furthermore," continued Nick, "the forgery was not the work of any +clerk employed in either store. I have compared the writing of each and +every clerk with that of the forged order, and I will stake my +reputation upon my conclusion. The forgery was committed by some outside +party." + +Nick was an expert chirographist. To have deceived him with a disguised +handwriting would have been utterly impossible, and none knew it better +than Chick, who now nodded approvingly. + +"Some outside party, eh?" + +"There is no doubt of it, Chick. And this conclusion at once suggests +two very natural questions," Nick went on. "First, was one of the +Kilgore gang in Hafferman's store when Venner went there yesterday, and +did he overhear enough of what passed between them to enable him to plan +the job done this morning?" + +"Possibly." + +"In opposition to that theory, however, is the fact that the forged +order is written on one of Venner's printed letter sheets." + +"By a little adroit work, Nick, one of the gang could have obtained a +sheet of Venner's office paper." + +"That is very true," admitted Nick. "But since this is a theory founded +only upon conjecture, with no positive evidence to back it up, the +stronger probability is rather to the contrary." + +"Right, Nick, as far as that goes." + +"I think so." + +"And what is the second theory suggested?" + +"That some clerk in one of the stores got wind of Venner's contemplated +purchase, and revealed the fact to one of the Kilgore gang, by whom I +am confident--bear in mind--that the crime was committed." + +"That theory seems plausible," nodded Chick. "There is young Boyden, you +know, at Hafferman's. He may have got wise to Venner's intentions. +Garside remarked that he appeared quite anxious to leave the diamonds +until Venner should return. That would have been very natural on his +part, in case he was then co-operating with the party who finally +secured them." + +"The same objection again arises, however," argued Nick. "Boyden is not +employed at Venner's, and therefore has not access to his letter paper. +Furthermore, Venner's visit was made only yesterday afternoon, less than +twenty-four hours before the robbery occurred. It seems hardly probable +that Boyden was already in league with the Kilgore gang; and, if he was +not, it is even less probable that he so quickly got in touch with +them." + +"By Jove! that's so," cried Chick. "As a matter of fact, then, neither +of these theories has a reliable leg to stand upon." + +"That's exactly my conclusion," laughed Nick. + +"And what then?" + +"Concerning that side of the affair," replied Nick, "several +irresistible convictions are therefore forced upon me. One of the +Kilgore gang certainly knew of Venner's visit, and of the request he +made Hafferman regarding the diamonds. Otherwise he could not have +planned the job so neatly. Somebody must have informed him. Somebody +must have provided him with one of Venner's letter sheets. If we +eliminate the clerks, and the members of both firms, we are left very +much in the dark." + +"I should say so," rejoined Chick. "The affair becomes a dense mystery." + +"It becomes a mystery that I don't quite fancy," declared Nick, with a +significant nod. "In fact, Chick, I'm not at all favorably impressed +with this robbery. To me it has a mighty fishy look." + +"Why so, Nick?" + +"It is not like this Kilgore gang, mark you, to have been dickering with +a dirty little job of this kind, netting them only a few thousands at +the best; yet a job in which they incurred as much danger of detection, +Chick, as in one infinitely greater." + +"By Jove! that's so. There's no getting away from that argument, Nick." + +"Instead of trying to get away from it, Chick, I'm going to stay with +it," continued Nick, with emphasis. "I am beginning to suspect that this +paltry little robbery may in some way make a far deeper and darker game. +At all events, Chick, we'll not wind ourselves in a search for those +diamonds, at least not before we have sifted these side issues a little +finer." + +"Good enough!" cried Chick, heartily. "I agree with you on every point. +Only your long head, Nick, old man, could have deduced such shrewd +conclusions; and I believe, by Jove! that you have hit the nail on the +head." + +"If I have," rejoined Nick, grimly, "we'll drive the nail home a little +later, and home to stay." + +"That we will." + +"There remains one other feature of the case," added Nick, "and, +starting from that, we will begin work upon the affair this very night." + +"You refer to that Spanish dancer, Cervera?" + +"Precisely." + +"And the fact that she requested Venner to call at her house this +morning?" + +"Exactly," nodded Nick. "She fixed the hour, mind you, probably knowing +that Venner would comply with her request. Hence there exists a +possibility that she designed to get him away from his store at just +that time, in order that the robbery could be successfully executed." + +"In which case, Nick, we necessarily must figure her in with the Kilgore +gang, despite Venner's declaration of her honesty." + +"Certainly we must, Chick, in case her note to Venner was written for +the purpose mentioned," nodded Nick. "Of that, however, we have no +positive evidence. It may have been purely accidental that her note was +sent to-day, and mentioned the very hour when the theft was committed. +Obviously, in that case, the thief outside was waiting for some +opportunity when Venner should be away from his store. Cervera would +then be out of the affair, as far as any criminal intent is concerned." + +"Very probably." + +"So there you are!" exclaimed Nick, with another glance at the clock. +"Our half hour is up. You now have my measure of the case, and next we +will get down to business. We will drop this fishy-looking robbery for +the present, Chick, and first of all make a move to learn something +about Senora Cervera, and her relations with Rufus Venner." + +"A good scheme, Nick, and I'm with you." + +"Have you been at the theater?" + +"Yes, and fixed things with Busby." + +"You can get in upon the stage to-night?" + +"Sure thing, as I told you," laughed Chick. "Busby is the boss scene +shifter there, and he consented to work me in as a stage hand." + +"Ah! very good." + +"I have got to make up for the part, however, and must soon be about it. +I am due there at half-past seven." + +"Get at it, then," said Nick, rising. "See what you can learn about +Cervera, and what you make of her from observation. In case Venner is +about there, keep your ears alert, so that you can overhear." + +"You trust me for that, Nick," cried Chick, laughing. + +"Meantime, Chick, I'll have a look at the show from the front," added +Nick. "And after Cervera does her turn, in case Venner is there, and she +departs with him, you then may leave the couple to me. I'll be waiting +for them at the stage door." + +"Right you are, Nick. So here goes!" + +Shrewd deductions, indeed, those of Nick Carter. + +Plainly enough, Garside was quite justified in his apprehension that +Rufus Venner had barked up the wrong tree. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +BEHIND THE SCENES. + + +Nick Carter had a double object in the work laid out for that night. If +Senora Cervera was indeed in league with the Kilgore gang, and in any +way responsible for the diamond robbery, Nick was resolved to secure +positive evidence of it. + +While her letter to Venner appeared to implicate her, since it had taken +him from his store just at the time of the robbery, it seemed hardly +probable that this brilliant Spanish girl, whose extraordinary grace and +whirlwind dances had made her the talk of the town, could be identified +with a gang of criminals notorious the world over. Yet the bare +possibility existed, and Nick never ignored even the shadow of a clew. + +He further reasoned that, in case Cervera was in league with the +suspected gang, one or more of them might visit the theater in which she +was performing, and Nick decided to have a look at the audience that +evening. He was sure he could identify Kilgore or any of his gang, even +if disguised, as would be very probable. + +Nick's second object was that of learning the exact relations between +Senora Cervera and Rufus Venner, and a part of that work he confided to +Chick. With himself in the front of the house, and Chick on the stage, +Nick believed that nothing worth seeing would escape them. + +His own search early in the evening, however, proved futile. It was the +last week but one of the mammoth vaudeville attraction, and the theater +was densely crowded. Though Nick watched the lobbies and the smoking +room, and also made a systematic study of the auditorium, he could +discover no sign of the parties he was seeking. + +About nine o'clock he returned to his chair in the orchestra, and +settled himself to have a look at Cervera, whose act was one of the last +on the program. + +Just at that time Chick Carter, in the overalls and blouse of a scene +shifter, made his first pertinent discovery--that Rufus Venner, clad in +immaculate evening dress, and carrying an Inverness topcoat on his arm, +had arrived upon the stage. + +"He seems to be at home behind the scenes," soliloquized Chick, +furtively watching him. "Evidently he has some kind of a pull with the +manager, or he could not get admission to the stage. Probably through +his friend, the Spanish senora." + +Venner was then in one of the left wings, apparently indulging in small +talk with a handsome girl of about twenty, who had just finished her +turn upon the stage. She was rather simply clad, but was strikingly +pretty and modest appearing; and upon consulting a program with which he +had provided himself, Chick learned that her stage name was Violet +Marduke; and that she was cast as a singer of ballads. + +"Evidently employed to fill in," thought Chick, who had not been much +impressed with her songs, though he decided that the girl herself was a +beauty. "And by his admiring glances, Venner also thinks pretty well of +her," Chick mentally added. + +"Room here, mister," growled a voice at his elbow. "Make room for the +reptiles." + +Chick turned quickly about, and then involuntarily recoiled from the +startling object that met his gaze. + +In front of a scene then set in the second grooves of the Stage, the +continuous performance was still in progress. Meantime, several of the +stage hands were wheeling to the center of the stage, back of the scene, +the properties of the next performer on the program--and grewsome +properties they were. + +The object beheld by Chick was a huge, cagelike den, mounted on low +wheels, and having a broad front of plate glass. Inside of this den were +several wicker baskets, some of which were open, while others were +covered and locked. + +In the open baskets, or writhing freely about the floor of the den, were +fully fifty serpents of various sizes, many being only a foot or two +long, while several were as many yards in length. + +A more repulsive and blood-curdling sight Chick had never experienced, +and the stage hand who had asked him to move laughed at his look of +mingled horror and repugnance. + +"Ever seen any like 'em after a jamboree?" he inquired, good-naturedly. + +"Well, hardly," said Chick, subduing his aversion. "If I were to go on a +drunk and see anything like them, I'd sign the pledge the next morning." + +"A good scheme, too." + +"I should say so." + +"Some o' the crawling divils are as bad as they look," added the stage +hand, while he helped to place the snake den squarely on the stage. + +"What do you mean?" inquired Chick, still gingerly surveying them. + +"Pizen!" + +"Venomous?" + +"You bet! Durn 'em, I wouldn't touch one of them for the wealth of +Rockefeller." + +"Do you mean that some of them still have their fangs and poison bags?" + +"Sure! D'ye see that little copper-colored cuss down there in the +corner, not more'n a foot long? If he got a crack at you, you'd not live +ten seconds." + +"Well, I will take deuced good care that he gets no nip at me," declared +Chick, with a grin. "Why do they have such dangerous things around?" + +"H'm! What would be the excitement, or the credit of snake charming, if +the wriggling beasts were made harmless by pulling out their fangs?" +demanded the stage hand. "It would be like a dog fight, with the dogs +muzzled. These belong to that heathen Hindoo, the snake charmer. He +shows next." + +"Pandu Singe?" inquired Chick, glancing at the name on the program. + +"Sure. He handles 'em like so many babies. There he is now, just coming +from his dressing room. He looks a bit like a snake himself." + +Chick turned and gazed curiously at the approaching foreigner. + +Pandu Singe was a tall, swarthy man, with straight, black hair, an +Indian cast of features, and a pair of intensely black and piercing +eyes. Their glitter was indeed like that in the eyes of a snake, yet the +Hindoo, approaching without a word to anybody, or a glance to either +side, was not without a certain sort of savage dignity. + +He wore a red turban around his head, while a loose, black robe, belted +around his waist, reached nearly to his ankles. With a gesture he signed +the several men away from his hideous den of reptiles, and Chick retired +up the stage. + +The detective had barely made his change, when he heard the low voice of +Busby near by, the friend who had smuggled him upon the stage that +evening. + +"Hist! There she is, Chick!" + +"Cervera?" + +"Yes. Down yonder, just to the right of the electric switchboard. Slip +in back of this wood wing, and you can have a good look at her." + +"All right, Busby, old man," whispered Chick. "Don't you pay too much +attention to me, or it may be noticed. I'll see all there is to be seen, +old boy." + +Busby winked understandingly, and Chick stepped back of the scenery +mentioned, through a portion of which he could easily watch Cervera +unobserved. + +That she was a daughter of sunny Spain no man would have doubted. Her +wavy hair was as dark as night, and her eyes were as radiant as the +night stars. Her rich, olive complexion was much rouged, adding to the +brilliancy of her splendid beauty. + +She appeared to be about twenty-five, and was clad in her stage costume, +which combined all the bright hues of the rainbow, and was enlivened by +a myriad of dazzling jewels and diamonds. + +The costume served to display to advantage her matchless figure, +however, and Chick was fain to admit that he had never seen a much more +striking beauty. + +"She's a bird, all right, and no mistake," he said to himself, while +intently regarding her handsome face and jewel-bedecked figure. "Yet she +has a bad eye, despite her beauty, and a cruel mouth. She certainly +would put up a wicked fight, if once aroused. Yes, a deucedly bad eye! +What in thunder is she staring at, to look like that!" + +From her position near one of the lower wings, Sanetta Cervera was +gazing steadfastly across the stage at something which Chick could not +see. + +The dark eyes of the Spanish dancer had taken on a threatening glare. +Her curved brows had drooped and knit, until they formed a straight line +below her forehead, and her red lips were drawn and firmly compressed. + +Before Chick could discover any occasion for this mute display of +feeling, the performance in front of the set scene concluded, and the +act of the snake charmer was due to begin. + +Then came a rapid change of scenery, during which Chick was again +obliged to change his position, and for a time he lost sight of Cervera +in the stir and confusion of the busy stage. + +He did not succeed in locating her again until she began her +performance, when a full stage was given her for the marvelously +graceful and impassioned dances of which her act consisted, and which +had fairly turned half the heads in the city. + +In the white glare of the limelight, she certainly presented a wild and +dazzling picture. Her beauty was indescribably accentuated. She appeared +like a being ablaze with diamonds. Her every attitude was one of +seductive grace, her every movement as swift and light as those of a +startled leopard. + +At its conclusion her act evoked thunders of applause, and then Chick +saw her hastening toward her dressing room, flushed with excitement and +panting for breath. + +Suddenly she halted and her smile vanished. + +Then Chick saw her turn abruptly toward one of the wing scenes, where +she met Venner face to face. + +The wealthy Fifth Avenue jeweler laughed and extended his hand to greet +her, but she frowned and hesitated before accepting it; and Chick made a +quick move and stole back of the scenery, near which the two briefly +remained standing. + +He arrived in time to overhear only a few words, however, of which he +could make nothing bearing upon the diamond robbery, or relating to the +Kilgore gang. + +"Pshaw! You are entirely wrong, Sanetta," Venner was expostulating, with +voice lowered. "Your eyes have deceived you." + +The woman replied through her teeth, with a hiss like that of a snake. + +"My eyes deceived me? Never! You lie! I know what I see!" she fiercely +answered, with but a slight foreign accent. + +"You are wrong, Cervera," protested Venner. "I--" + +"I am not! I see--and I know!" + +"But--" + +"_Caramba!_ I say you shall go with me!" + +"Why, certainly, if you wish it. Am I not here for that?" + +"You know that I wish it--and you shall go." + +"Whenever you are ready, Sanetta," replied Venner. "Yet your infernal--" + +"Silence! You shall wait here till I have changed my suit. Then we will +go--we will go together. You shall wait here." + +"Go and make the change, then," said Venner, bluntly. "I will be here +when you return." + +"H'm!" thought Chick, as he heard Cervera move quickly away. "Evidently +there is something amiss between them, but what the dickens is it?" + +Still watching, he soon saw Cervera return in her street attire, when +Venner quickly gave her his arm, and they departed by the stairs leading +to the stage door. + +Chick immediately recalled Nick's instructions--that the couple should +now be left to him. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +A SHOT IN THE DARK. + + +It was nearly eleven o'clock when Rufus Venner and Cervera, the latter +enveloped in a voluminous black cloak, emerged from the stage door of +the theater. + +As they made their way through the paved area leading out to the side +street, where a carriage was awaiting them, a sturdy, roughly clad +fellow in a red wig and croppy beard suddenly slouched out of a gloomy +corner near the stage stairway and followed them, with movements as +stealthy and silent as those of a cat. + +As the carriage containing Venner and the dancer rapidly whirled away, +this rough fellow darted swiftly across the street, and approached a +waiting cab, the door of which stood open. + +"After them, Patsy!" he softly cried, as he sprang in and closed the +door. + +The driver of the cab was one of Nick Carter's youthful yet exceedingly +clever assistants, and the rough fellow was Nick himself. + +He had left the theater the moment Cervera concluded her performance, +and since had completed a perfect disguise in the cab, which he had had +in waiting, with all the properties for effecting the change mentioned. + +That Patsy would constantly keep their quarry in view, and without being +suspected, Nick had not a doubt. Nor was he mistaken. At the end of +twenty minutes the clever young driver slowed down upon approaching an +uptown corner, and signaled Nick to get out. + +The detective alighted from the door on the side from which he had +received the signal, yet the cab did not stop. Nick trotted along beside +the vehicle for a rod or two, keeping it between him and the side street +into which Patsy quickly signed that the hack had turned. + +"Fourth house on the right," he softly cried. "I saw them pull up at it +just as I reached the corner, so I kept right on up the avenue. They've +not gone in yet." + +"Good enough," replied Nick, approvingly. "Take home the traps I have +left in the cab." + +"Sure thing. You don't want any help to-night against this push, do +you?" + +"No, indeed. There'll be but little doing to-night, I imagine. Remember +the house, however, in case I fail to show up." + +"You may gamble on that, sir. I have it down pat." + +They had now passed the upper corner of the side street, and Nick felt +sure that he had not been seen leaving the cab. He darted quickly back +of the vehicle and gained the sidewalk, then stole back and peered +around the corner. + +Cervera and her companion were just mounting the steps of an imposing +stone residence, entirely separate from its neighbors, and their +carriage was driving rapidly away. + +Nick waited until the couple had entered the house, then he crossed to +the gloom of a doorway on the opposite side and had a look at the +dwelling. + +From basement to roof there was no sign of a light. Even the hall +appeared to be in darkness, and Nick waited and watched for several +minutes, expecting to see at least one of the rooms lighted. + +Not a glimmer or gleam, however, appeared from any quarter. + +"H'm!" he presently muttered, a little perplexed. "Either they are +remaining in darkness, or else they have all of those windows heavily +curtained. If the latter is the case, I must discover for what reason. + +"Possibly they are entirely alone in there, and have gone to some room +at the rear of the house. Or maybe they have suspected an espionage, and +are now watching from the gloom of one of those front windows. I'll fool +them if that is so, and will also have a look at the rear of the house. +There is something out of the ordinary here, that's certain." + +Keeping well in the gloom of the block of dwellings near by, Nick +retraced his steps to the corner, then crossed the street and presently +approached a paved driveway leading to a small stable at the rear of the +suspected house. + +The high gate, composed of sharp iron pickets, was securely closed and +locked; so Nick returned to an alley which he had just passed, and which +ran back of a block of dwellings fronting on the avenue where he had +left the cab. + +Stealing into the alley, Nick quickly scaled the high, wooden fence, +crossed two adjoining back yards, and thus reached a wall near the +stable mentioned. + +To mount the wall and drop back of the stable was equally feasible, and +Nick then had the rear of Cervera's dwelling plainly in view. + +Then his searching gaze was rewarded. One of the rear rooms was brightly +lighted, with only the lace draperies at the two windows preventing +observation from outside. + +"Evidently a rear sitting room, or library," thought Nick, calculating +the arrangement of the house. "I will at least learn who is in there." + +He listened briefly for any sound in or about the stable, then stole +quickly across the gloomy, paved yard and approached the house. + +The windows of the lighted room were two feet or more above his head; +but having reached a position just below one of them, he sprang up and +seized the stone coping outside, and drew himself up to peer into the +room. + +Then, just as his head rose into the glow of light from within, clearly +revealing his location, Nick heard a sound the deadly nature of which he +instantly recognized. + +Ping! + +It was the short, sharp, peculiar song of a flying bullet--once heard, +always remembered. + +Then came the dull thud when the leaden ball beat itself shapeless +against the stone wall beside him. + +The bullet had passed within an inch of Nick's ribs, and he knew at once +that he was now a mark for hidden foes. + +Yet there had been no revolver report to suggest their location, and +Nick instantly surmised that the ball must have been discharged with an +air gun. + +He knew that it must have come from some quarter behind him, however. +And he knew, too, how to bring his murderous assailants from their +secret cover. + +As quick as a flash, the instant the ball smote the wall beside him, +Nick let go his hold upon the stone coping and dropped into the darkness +below the window, falling prostrate upon his back. + +As he lay there his hand touched something hot, and he drew it nearer to +examine it. + +It was the battered chunk of lead which had come within an inch of +ending his life. + +"They meant business, for sure," he said to himself, while waiting for +his quick-witted ruse to operate. "I'm blessed if this affair is not +taking on a new and lively interest. I reckon there'll be more doing +to-night than I gave Patsy to believe. + +"Ha, ha! The scoundrels are already breaking cover!" + +His alert ears had detected a sound from the direction of the stable, +and now he silently drew his revolver and held it gripped by his side. + +Presently the stable door was cautiously opened. Then a momentary beam +of light, evidently from a bull's-eye lantern, shot across the paved +area, and lingered for an instant upon Nick's prostrate figure. + +Nick remained as motionless as a corpse. + +Then two men, both large and powerful fellows, and both heavily bearded, +came quickly from the stable and hastened toward him. + +"Done for with a single shot," remarked one, as they approached. + +"Looks like it, Dave," was the reply. "When I piped his head in the +light from the window, I felt sure I could drop him." + +"Well done. 'Twas a good shot. Shove your hand inside his vest, and see +if his heart is beating. Then we shall know for sure whether he's down +and out. If not, we must--" + +"Throw up your hands, instead, both of you!" Nick sternly interrupted, +half rising with weapon leveled. "At the first move by either, I will +shoot to kill!" + +Nick had foreseen that his foxy strategy must be very quickly detected, +and he had resolved to take the bull by the horns, and attempt to arrest +both of his cowardly assailants. + +That he was up against uncommon men, however, men of extraordinary nerve +and reckless daring, appeared in what instantly followed, even under the +very muzzle of the detective's revolver. + +As quick as a flash, before Nick's threatening command was fairly out of +his mouth, the man called Dave made a kick at the detective's uplifted +arm, so swift and accurate and forceful that Nick felt the bones of his +wrist fairly crack under the blow, and the fingers of his hand gripping +the weapon turned numb and tingling as if from an electric shock. + +"At him!" snarled the ruffian, even while he kicked. "At him, I say! +Quick--the pear!" + +It was plain that these men were not doing such desperate work together +for the first time. Both fell upon Nick like wolves upon a stricken elk, +yet they found the detective waiting for them. + +Nick hurled one aside, unable to use his revolver, and grappled with the +second, both falling heavily to the pavement. + +Then number one was at him again, and got him by the throat, with a grip +from which Nick thrice wrenched himself free, at the same time fiercely +banging the head of the other upon the stones upon which the terrific +combat was being waged. + +An oath of vicious rage broke from the latter, and then he fiercely +cried again: + +"The pear! D---- you, be quick! The pear!--the pear!" + +As if in response to this, Nick, who was panting under his violent +efforts to overcome both powerful men, suddenly felt something thrust +forcibly into his mouth. + +Still manfully battling with his opponents, Nick tried to eject the +object, opening his jaws wider in the effort. + +The object, which was shaped like a solid pear, instantly expanded, and +Nick could not close his jaws. + +Again he tried, opening them still wider, and again the pear-shaped +object expanded and held them rigid. + +Then Nick guessed the truth. + +While struggling with might and main to beat these ruffians, he had been +made the victim of an infernal instrument but seldom seen in these days, +and one of the most agonizing and diabolical devices of man's perverted +ingenuity. + +The object in Nick's mouth was a "choke pear!" + +This vicious instrument of torture dates back to the time of Palioly, +the notorious French robber and renegade, when it was very worthily +called "the pear of anguish." + +It consists of a solid gag, so to speak, yet it is so constructed, with +interior springs, that, once thrust into a person's mouth, it expands as +fast as the mouth is opened, and rigidly distends the victim's jaws. + +The more widely the victim gapes to eject the "choke pear," or to cry +out for aid, the larger the hideous object becomes, until torture, +suffocation and death speedily ensue. + +Had this infernal device been generally available to modern criminals, +Nick would have been warned by the significant words he had heard, and +would have guarded himself against it. + +As it was, however, he had been caught; and in the mouth of any ordinary +man the "choke pear" would have been irresistible. + +But the muscles of Nick Carter's jaws were like fibers of steel, and the +instant he realized his situation he opened his mouth no wider. Instead, +while hands and arms were still engaged in the furious conflict with his +assailants, he brought his jaws together as if with superhuman power, +and with a force that crushed the infernal device between them, much as +if it had been little more than an eggshell. + +One of the ruffians heard the snapping crunch, and uttered a cry of +amazement. + +The cry was echoed by hurried footsteps in the house. + +Then a rear door was suddenly thrown open by Rufus Venner, and a flood +of light revealed the struggling men, still battling furiously on the +pavement. + +Nick now had both opponents down, and within another minute he would +have had them at his mercy, a fact which Venner instantly perceived. + +He sprang nearer, drew his revolver, and dealt the detective a single +swinging blow upon the head. + +Nick dropped like an ox struck down in the shambles. + +The darkness of night was as nothing to the darkness that instantly fell +upon him. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +A STRATEGIC MOVE. + + +Nick Carter had a head that was used to hard knocks, and it required +more than one to put him down and out for any considerable period. + +The great detective recovered consciousness within half an hour after +the blow received from Rufus Venner, and he fell to taking the measure +of his situation the moment the cobwebs began to clear from his brain. + +He found himself bound hand and foot with ropes, and lying upon the +floor of a dark room. That he was in the dwelling occupied by the +Spanish dancer, Nick had not a doubt. + +As his mind became clearer and his eyes accustomed to the darkness, Nick +discovered a narrow thread of light some yards away and close to the +floor, and presently the sound of lowered voices faintly reached his +ears. + +"A light in the next room," he said to himself. "Probably the whole gang +is out there, sizing up my case, and deciding what to do with me. If +they are there, I must get a better look at those two ruffians. I owe +them something for their work of to-night, and I always mean to pay such +debts. + +"One of them was called Dave, and it may have been Dave Kilgore himself. +In which case, by Jove! I was right in thinking that this diamond +robbery only masks some deeper and bigger game. + +"I wonder if they suspect my identity. If not, what sort of a game have +they been playing here to-night?" + +Nick very quickly measured the various possibilities of the unusual +situation. + +If the man whose name he had heard was indeed David Kilgore, then Rufus +Venner, as well as Cervera, might be in league with the diamond gang, +and the pretended robbery only a move made with some secret design. + +On the other hand, Venner might be entirely ignorant of Kilgore's +identity, and without any serious suspicions of Cervera, being himself a +blind victim of these notorious criminals. + +"If the latter is the case," reasoned Nick, "the gang may stand in fear +of me, and perhaps are afraid that I shall foil some scheme they have in +operation, or are about to undertake. Then they to-night may have aimed +only to discover the extent and nature of my suspicions. + +"If that is the case, plainly it will become me to be a little foxy. I +will see if I can contrive to overhear anything from out yonder." + +Bent upon wriggling nearer the closed door revealed by the thread of +light near the floor, Nick quietly turned upon his side and cautiously +worked his way over the carpet. + +He had covered scarce a yard, however, when the sharp, metallic ring of +Cervera's voice fell plainly on his ears. + +"Look again, one of you," she curtly commanded. "See if that vagabond +has come to himself." + +"That's your humble servant!" thought Nick. + +He quickly rolled back to his former position on the floor, and prepared +to play the fox. + +In a moment the door was thrown open, admitting a flood of light, and a +man strode into the room and dropped to his knee beside the motionless +detective. + +"I say!" he harshly growled, shaking Nick roughly by the shoulder. +"Brace up, you dog! Brace up, d'ye hear?" + +Nick groaned deeply, then slowly opened his eyes. + +"Oh, my head--my poor head!" he muttered, like one dazed and in pain. + +"Your poor head, eh?" sneered the other. "You're dead lucky to have a +head left you. Pull yourself together, do you hear?" + +"Let me be! Where am I?" + +"You'll soon find out where you are. Sit up here!" + +"What do you say?" cried Venner, from the next room. "Has he come to?" + +The man at Nick's side turned his head to reply, and Nick then obtained +a clear view of his profile. + +"Humph!" he mentally ejaculated. "Matthew Stall in disguise! One of the +diamond gang, sure enough, and I now know I am on the right track." + +"Yes, he's finally coming to time," cried Stall, in reply to Venner. "He +will be all right in a minute." + +"Bring him out here," commanded Cervera, sharply. "Get the wretch up, +and bring him out here." + +This was precisely what Nick wanted. + +Stall immediately bent lower, and released the detective's ankles. + +"Get up, you varlet!" he then growled. "Get up, I say!" + +Still groaning, and incoherently muttering, Nick permitted himself to be +raised to his feet, and Stall then supported him and urged him out +through the open doorway and into the adjoining room. + +In his red wig and croppy head, together with his rough attire and dazed +aspect, Nick certainly presented a wretched appearance. He blinked +confusedly, glanced down at his bound wrists, yet at the same time took +in every feature of the brightly lighted room. + +It plainly was the library of the house, and both Rufus Venner and +Cervera were seated near a handsome center table. Upon it lay most of +the woman's jewels and diamonds, evidently lately removed, and +presenting in the rays of light from the chandelier above a dazzling +temptation to such a fellow as Nick then appeared to be. + +In an easy-chair, near the wall, sat the man called Dave, at the time +Nick was thought to be dead outside. Now, in the bright light of the +room, Nick instantly recognized him to be David Kilgore, despite a heavy +disguise which the criminal obviously believed to be impenetrable. + +Nick gave no sign of the recognition, however, being content to await +developments, and to shape his own course accordingly. + +From that moment, however, the name of neither criminal was once +mentioned; and Nick was compelled to infer that Venner might indeed be +entirely ignorant of their true identity and knavish character. + +The eyes of all were upon the detective, as he stood swaying slightly +on the floor; and Cervera sharply demanded, with a threatening frown: + +"Well, you vile miscreant, what can you say for yourself?" + +"Me?" queried Nick, pretending to pull himself together. "Nothing at +all." + +"I guess that's right." + +"What should I say? Why have you got me here, and tied up in this +fashion?" + +"You'll soon find out," cried Cervera, with vicious asperity. "What were +you doing out back of my house?" + +"Nothing much," Nick evasively growled, waiting to learn which way the +cat was about to jump. + +"Nothing much!" sneered Cervera. "You'll find that will not go down with +us." + +"I was looking for a chance to sleep in your stable," muttered Nick. + +"You lie, you dog!" cried Kilgore, fiercely. "You were at the back +window." + +"Was I?" + +"And your game was to rob me of my jewels," Cervera angrily added, with +her eyes emitting a gleam as fiery as the blazing gems at which she +pointed. "That was your game, you renegade!" + +"Do you think so?" + +"I know so!" + +Nick hoped she did. + +"And all I regret is," added the vixenish Spaniard, "that the bullet of +my watchman did not end your villainous life." + +"We can end it now, senora, if you say the word," put in Matthew Stall, +with grim readiness. + +Nick never accepted such scenes as this at their face value, for he had +witnessed many a similar game of bluff. This one might be all right and +on the level, he reasoned, yet there still existed the possibility that +he was recognized, and that these remarks implying the contrary were +only a part of some well-laid plan. + +"If you think I'm a thief, why don't you hand me over to the police?" he +shrewdly demanded. + +The ruse worked. For a moment Cervera was caught with no ready reply, +and Nick promptly decided that he was known, hence could not well be +given to the police. + +Yet these parties so obviously aimed to hide the fact that he was known +to be Nick Carter, that Nick quickly resolved to let them have all the +rope they wanted, and to meet them with a counter-move--that of boldly +declaring his own identity, and so disarming them of any misgiving that +he had recognized Kilgore and Matthew Stall, or even had any suspicions +of Senora Cervera. + +It was a very clever counter, and Nick went at it cleverly. + +"Why don't you give me to the police, if you think I'm a thief?" he +repeated, when Cervera made no reply. + +"The police?--bah!" she now cried, with a sneer. "For what? That you may +square yourself in some way, or make your escape, and then come back +here to attempt the job again?" + +"H'm!" thought Nick. "They don't want to let me go before learning what +I suspect. I won't do a thing but fool them in that." + +"Police be hanged!" Cervera quickly added. "In my country we have a +surer way of removing such villains as you." + +"What way?" queried Nick, coolly. + +"_Caramba!_ The garrote!" + +"Choke 'em off, eh?" + +"Or the poniard!" + +"A stab between the ribs, I take it." + +"Yes! It is what you deserve." + +"But you will not try it on me," declared Nick, confidently. + +"Don't you be too sure of it." + +"Oh, I'm sure enough of it." + +"The law would never reach us--don't think that," cried Cervera, with a +passionate sneer. "_Caramba!_ we'd plant your miserable bones where +they'd never be found. Don't think, you wretch, that we fear to do it." + +"Yet I don't fear that you will." + +"You don't?" + +"Not I, Senora Cervera." + +"How dare you utter my name with your foul mouth?" screamed the dancer, +with a vicious display of scornful resentment. "Not kill you? I've a +mind to order it done at once, you wretch! I hate such reptiles as you!" + +Nick laughed. + +"If you were to order it done, senora, and the knife were at my throat," +said he, "your order would certainly be countermanded." + +"What! By whom?" cried Cervera, with her passionate, dark eyes fiercely +blazing. "I'll have you know that I rule here--and not here alone!" + +"Yet your command would be revoked, senora." + +"For what reason, villain?" + +"It would be revoked at the request of our mutual friend, Mr. Rufus +Venner, to whom I presently shall explain my conduct, and also implore +your own pardon, senora, for having made you the mark of my very +unworthy suspicions," cried Nick, with a sudden dramatic display of +dignity and confidence. + +It brought Venner sharply to his feet. + +"Good heavens!" he cried. "What do you mean, sir?" + +"Ay, what do you mean?" roared Kilgore, bracing straight up in his chair +and reaching for his gun--a move Nick pretended he did not see. + +"I only mean, gentlemen, that I am no burglar," cried Nick, in his +natural voice, at the same time raising his bound hands to remove his +disguise. "Allow me, Mr. Venner, to present myself in proper person." + +"The devil and all his followers!" yelled Venner. "You're--you're Nick +Carter!" + +"None other," bowed Nick, smiling and tossing his disguise upon the +table. "Plainly, Venner, you are greatly surprised at seeing me--and I +do not wonder at it." + +Yet for all that Nick did wonder a little, since he could not yet +determine just how much of this scene was on the level. + +The faces of Kilgore and Matthew Stall, however, betrayed more secret +exultation than surprise. Plainly enough both were now convinced that +Nick did not recognize them, nor even suspect that he himself had been +recognized--and these were precisely the two convictions Nick had aimed +to convey by his masterly move in thus disclosing himself. + +"Yes, Senora Cervera," he hastened to add, before any of the startled +group could speak, "I owe you a profound apology. I did you the +injustice to suspect you, not only of being a thief, but also of being +identified with the notorious Kilgore gang, three of the cleverest and +most dangerous swindlers in the world." + +"Perdition!" gasped Cervera. "You astound me." + +"I was led to suspect you, senora, because your letter to Venner took +him from his store just at the time of the robbery," Nick quickly went +on to explain, thus putting his own strategy on a solid basis. "I +shadowed you from the theater to-night, intending to watch you and your +house, a design which has nearly cost me my life at the hands of your +faithful watchman. + +"I am glad to add, senora, that I now have completely changed my views, +and I trust that you will bear in mind that you were a stranger to me, +and so pardon my unworthy misgivings. It is impossible that you, Senora +Cervera, could be guilty of any evil, or know aught of so accomplished a +knave as David Kilgore, or any of his clever gang." + +A shrewder move could scarce have been conceived. That Nick would thus +have declared himself in the very presence of Kilgore, if known to him, +seemed utterly absurd; and the eyes of both Kilgore and Matt Stall were +aglow with a vicious amusement and satisfaction much too genuine to be +entirely concealed. + +"Well, Mr. Carter," cried Venner, now hastening to release the +defective's hands, "you certainly have had a close call, and are lucky +to come out of it with a whole skin. These two men are employed by +senora to guard her house at night, and they naturally mistook you for a +burglar." + +Despite his keen discernment, Nick could not determine whether this man +was lying, or was really as blind as his words implied. Content to await +further discoveries, however, Nick laughed quickly, and replied: + +"Well, well, Mr. Venner; I am quite accustomed to close calls and hard +knocks, and I assure you that I bear the senora's watchmen no ill will +for having done their duty as they saw it. Senora Cervera is to be +congratulated upon having secured the services of two such faithful +fellows." + +Kilgore had all he could do to keep from laughing aloud, so blinded was +he by Nick's artful duplicity. + +"And when I inform you, senora," cried Venner, "that Detective Carter is +in my employ, and is really a royal good friend, I am sure that you will +pardon him for having been so misled by your letter of this morning." + +Senora Cervera was blushing now, yet to Nick it appeared a little +forced, and there was in her evil, black eyes a gleam he did not like. +Yet she at once arose and came to shake the detective by the hand. + +"Oh, if my dear friend, Mr. Venner, says it is all right, I am sure it +must be so," she cried, smiling up at Nick. "But I am afraid, Detective +Carter, that you will now think me dreadfully severe, and my two +watchmen more brutal than bulldogs." + +Nick laughed deeply, and glanced at the display of diamonds on the +table. + +"When one has such valuable toys as those in her house, senora, bold men +and vigilant bulldogs are both essential," said he, heartily. + +"That's true, sir; indeed, it is." + +"And with your permission, senora, I will shake hands with your two +watchmen also, to show them I bear no resentment. After which I will +take myself home, to nurse my little tokens of their vigilance and +prowess." + +This brought a laugh from all, and Nick, ever shrewd and crafty, now +shook hands with the two criminals he fully intended to finally land +behind prison bars. Then he bowed himself out of the room, and was +accompanied by Rufus Venner to the front door of the house, where he +bade him a genial good-night and departed. + +When Venner returned to the room, he found Dave Kilgore seated on the +edge of the table, with his false beard in his hand, and a look of +intense distrust on his evil, forceful face. + +"Crafty--infernally crafty!" he cried, as Venner entered. "I tell you, +Rufe, that man must be watched. He is a man to be feared--constantly +feared! I'm cursed if I can tell whether he gave us that on the level or +not." + +"Pshaw!" sneered Venner, contemptuously. "Of course it was on the +level." + +"I'm not so sure of it--not so sure of it!" reiterated Kilgore, with +clouded brow. "I tell you, Venner, that he must be watched, and we must +be guarded. We have too much at stake to suffer Nick Carter to queer our +game." + +"There is one sure way of preventing it," cried Cervera, with passionate +vehemence. + +"Kill him?" + +"Yes! Take his life!" hissed the dancer, through her gleaming white +teeth. "You were fools to have missed it to-night. Even the law would +have acquitted you." + +"There are nights to come!" Kilgore grimly retorted. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +FOUND DEAD. + + +"What's the trouble yonder, Nick?" + +"Where?" + +"In the park." + +"Humph! Something wrong, evidently. Come on, Chick, and we'll see." + +It was nearly sunset one Monday afternoon, and almost two weeks +subsequent to the incidents last depicted. + +That at least one of Dave Kilgore's suggestions had been adopted, and he +and his gang had become rigorously guarded, appears in that the Carters +had utterly failed to accomplish anything against them in the interval +mentioned. Despite constant vigilance and incessant work on the case, +neither Nick nor Chick had been able to secure an additional clew. + +Kilgore and Matt Stall had vanished as if the earth had swallowed them. + +The mammoth vaudeville troupe had completed its engagement, and was now +disbanded for the season. + +Senora Cervera still retained her uptown house, and frequently received +Venner as a visitor; but never a sign of the diamond gang, or of any +stranger, could the detectives discover, in or about her place. + +Rufus Venner was attending to his business as usual, and appeared all +aboveboard. Now and then he called upon Nick about the stolen diamonds, +expressing a hope that they would be recovered; but in no way did he +lay himself open to further suspicions than Nick had at first conceived. + +Yet Nick was too shrewd to press him with questions, and so perhaps +betray his own hand. As a matter of fact, the famous detective was in +quite a quandary over the case, because of his conviction that some big +game was secretly afoot, and his utter inability to strike any tangible +clew to it. + +Such a state of affairs was very unusual, and Nick chafed under it. It +indicated that he was up against men as good as himself, and his vain +work of the past ten days served only to aggravate him, and embitter his +grim and inflexible determination to unearth the whole business. + +This Monday afternoon, as Nick and Chick were passing Central Park, the +attention of the latter was drawn toward a group of men in one of the +park walks, somewhat removed from the street. A policeman was among +them, and they appeared to be gazing at something upon the ground. + +"It looks like the figure of a woman," said Nick, as he and Chick +entered the park. "Officer Fogarty is there, and--yes, by Jove! it is +the form of a woman." + +The two detectives quickly reached the scene, and the park officer at +once recognized Nick, respectfully touching his helmet. + +"What's amiss here, Fogarty?" inquired Nick. + +Fogarty pointed to the motionless form upon the ground. + +"Dead!" said he, tersely. "We've just found her." + +"Keep those people further away, Fogarty," said Nick, with a toss of +his head toward half a score of men gathered near by. "I will see what I +make of the case." + +The figure was that of a girl, rather than a woman, apparently about +eighteen years of age. She was lying partly upon her side upon the +greensward, and evidently had fallen from one of the park seats upon +which she had been resting, and upon which her straw shade hat was still +lying. She was neatly clad in a suit of dark blue, and her girlish face +indicated some culture and refinement. + +Near her, upon the grass, lay a piece of brown wrapping paper, and a +yard of two of string, evidently removed from a small, square box, which +she had dropped and partly fallen upon when stricken with sudden death. + +A mere glance gave Nick these superficial features, and he quickly knelt +beside the girl, and felt her hand and wrist. + +"Dead as a doornail," he murmured to Chick, who also had approached. "I +find her hand still warm, however. She can have been dead only a few +minutes." + +"Heart failure, perhaps," suggested Chick. + +"I don't think so." + +"Why?" + +"She doesn't look it. Her form is plump, her cheeks full, and she +appears to have been in perfect health." + +"Yet she is dead." + +"No doubt of it." + +"A pretty girl, too." + +"Very. See if there is any writing on that brown paper." + +"No, Nick; not a line." + +"Here, here, let me see it! What's this? It is punctured with tiny +holes, evidently made with a pin." + +"So it is, by Jove!" + +"Perhaps she made them with her hat pin, while sitting there on the +seat. See, Chick, there is the pin still in the hat." + +"I see it, Nick. What now?" + +Still kneeling beside the girl, Nick was holding the sheet of paper +between himself and the sky. + +"No, the punctures are not uniform," said he. "I thought that they +possibly had been made with some design, and perhaps formed some word or +sentence that would give us a clew to the mystery." + +"None such, eh?" + +"Not a sign of it. Evidently she jabbed the pin through the paper only +in idleness." + +"She is lying on a box of some kind, from which she probably had taken +this wrapping paper." + +"So I see," nodded Nick. "Lend me a hand, Chick, and we'll have a look +at the box." + +With gentle hands the two detectives moved the girl's lifeless form, and +Nick then took up the box mentioned. + +It was about four inches square, and was made of silver, with an open +work design of vines and leaves, which displayed a blue silk lining +through the metal apertures. Plainly enough it was a lady's jewel +casket, and one of considerable value; but it was entirely empty, and it +bore no name or inscription. + +For several moments Nick Carter examined it very intently, with his +brows gradually knitting closer and closer; and all the while Officer +Fogarty, and the group of men in the gravel walk a few yards distant, +mutely gazed and wondered. + +Chick Carter, however, who could read Nick's every change of expression, +saw at once that the great detective not only was making some startling +discoveries, but also was arriving at deductions far too subtle and +significant to have been reached by any less keen and practiced +observer. + +"What do you make of it, Nick?" whispered Chick, dropping to his knee +beside his companion. + +Nick also lowered his voice, and for several minutes the two conversed +in rapid whispers. + +"It is a jewel case, Chick; and quite a valuable one." + +"So I see." + +"I don't think it belonged to this girl. She looks as if she were the +maid, or possibly the companion, of some woman of wealth or distinction. +Her attire also indicates that. Hence so valuable a toy can hardly have +belonged to the girl, but more likely was the property of her mistress." + +"No name on it?" + +"Not even an initial. Not a mark of any kind." + +"It is empty." + +"Yes." + +"Can the girl have been robbed of its contents, here and in broad +daylight?" + +"Worse, Chick!" whispered Nick, between his teeth. "Worse even than +that." + +"Good heavens, Nick! What do you mean?" + +"Chick, this girl was foully murdered!" + +"Murdered!" echoed Chick, with an involuntary gasp. "Can it be +possible?" + +"It certainly appears so to me." + +"But the means?" + +"That is the mystery." + +"There are no signs of violence." + +"Wait a bit. Notice her right wrist, just back of the thumb and near the +pulse. Notice that tiny red spot, barely observable. It might have been +made with the point of a pin. Do you see, it?" + +"Yes, now that you call my attention to it." + +"It means something. I am convinced of that." + +"Others are not likely to discover it." + +"I hope they may not, Chick," Nick hurriedly rejoined. "I am flooded +with ideas and suspicions, which I wish to consider and put in order +before too much of this mystery leaks out. I'll explain later." + +"Perhaps her hat pin is poisoned," suggested Chick. + +"I don't think that." + +"Or possibly--" + +"Wait a moment. Look at this box." + +"Well?" + +"That wrapper was punctured while still on the box," explained Nick. +"Notice that the pin went through the spaces in this metal design, and +then through the silk lining inside." + +"Plainly enough, Nick." + +"Notice this particular puncture in the interior of the lining." + +"By Jove! there's a faint tinge of red around it." + +"Left when the pin was withdrawn," whispered Nick, significantly. +"Chick, it's a tinge of blood!" + +"I believe you're right, Nick." + +"I am convinced of it. Also that there's a mystery here which cannot be +solved in a moment," said Nick, impressively. "I wish to conceal these +discoveries until after I have considered them more fully, and also +identified this girl. See if you can find her purse, or anything that +will reveal her name." + +While Chick was thus engaged, Nick arose and glanced sharply around in +search of any evidence indicating that such a crime could have been +committed unobserved in so public a place. + +The seat which the girl had occupied stood on the greensward, about +eight feet from the gravel walk. By several clusters of shrubbery some +feet away at either side, the seat was somewhat obscured from the view +of persons approaching along the walk from either direction. Several +trees cast shadows nearly over the spot, which was one very likely to +have been selected by a couple desirous of being somewhat alone while +resting from an afternoon stroll. + +Nick quickly noted these several features, then glanced at Chick and +asked: + +"Do you find anything?" + +"Nothing by which to identify her." + +"Her purse?" + +"It contains only a few pieces of silver. No cards, nor so much as a +scrap of paper. Other than her purse, there is only a latchkey in her +pocket, and a perfectly plain handkerchief. Her identification must come +later." + +"I guess we have missed nothing here," nodded Nick. "I'll have just a +word with Fogarty, and then we'll go along." + +"What do you make of it, Detective Carter?" inquired the officer, as +Nick approached. + +"I am not prepared to say," replied Nick, ignoring the startled glances +of the several men who heard his name and now beheld the great detective +for the first time. + +"The girl is dead, sir, isn't she?" + +"Oh, yes; there is no doubt of that," bowed Nick. "It may be a case of +heart failure. You had better take the proper steps for the removal of +the body. This box and wrapping paper, however, I am going to take with +me, and will be responsible for them." + +"All right, sir." + +"By the way, Fogarty, how long ago did you discover the body?" + +"Scarce a minute before you came, sir." + +"Were you the first to see it?" + +"I was, sir." + +"Had you seen the girl about here before during the afternoon?" + +"No, sir." + +"Did you see anybody leaving here just before you arrived and discovered +the body?" + +"I did not, sir." + +"That's all, Fogarty. I'll get any other particulars later." + +Thereupon, as Nick was about to turn away, a young man in the crowd came +suddenly forth, and exclaimed: + +"One moment, Detective Carter, if you please! I saw that girl, about +half an hour ago, walking this way with a gentleman." + +Nick turned abruptly to the speaker. + +"What is your name?" he asked. + +"Tom Jenkins, sir." + +"And your address?" + +"I live at the Hotel North, and am employed by Hentz Brothers, in Broad +Street." + +"You say that you saw the girl walking this way with a gentleman?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Did they appear to be on good terms?" + +"Excellent, sir. They were talking and laughing, and seemed to be +enjoying themselves." + +"Do you know the girl's name, or where she lives?" + +"I do not, sir; nor anything about her." + +"Do you know anything about her companion, the gentleman you saw with +her?" + +For the bare fraction of a second Jenkins hesitated, as one might do who +was loath to bring trouble upon another. Then he replied, in faltering +tones: + +"Well, yes, sir, I know the name of the man who was with her." + +"State it, please." + +"His name, sir, is Harry Boyden." + +Nick felt his blood start slightly, yet his countenance did not change +by so much as a shadow. + +He glanced at Chick, however, and the same thought was in the mind of +each. + +"Harry Boyden! The clerk employed by Thomas Hafferman, the dealer in +diamonds!" + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +NICK STRIKES A STARTLING CLEW. + + +The mind of Nick Carter was, as he had remarked to Chick, stirred with a +flood of questions not easily or quickly answered. + +Who was this girl found dead in Central Park? + +Had she, indeed, been foully murdered? If so, by what mysterious means? +What had been the object? Who the perpetrator of the crime? + +Or, on the other hand, was the evidence itself misleading, and had the +unfortunate girl selected that sequestered seat in the park, and there +deliberately committed suicide? Even then, by what means had the deed +been accomplished? What had been the occasion? + +What, moreover, had become of her companion at just that time? Why had +he deserted her? What signified the pin-punctured wrapping paper, and +the empty jewel casket, in the dead girl's possession? + +Had the casket contained jewels of great value? Had the girl been robbed +of them, and then foully murdered in some mysterious way? + +Was Harry Boyden, the clerk employed by Hafferman, the last to leave the +girl that fateful afternoon? Was he responsible for her death? Was +robbery the incentive to the crime? + +Or, on the other hand, had Boyden left the girl alive and well, and was +the crime the work of another? + +Or, finally, was there some strange and startling connection between +this park murder and the robbery committed at Venner's store? Was there, +between the two crimes, some extraordinary bond yet to be +discovered--some tie uniting the two misdeeds as if with links of steel? + +These were some of the conflicting questions that occurred to Nick +Carter that afternoon, and in order to consider them before taking any +decided action in the matter, Nick had kept to himself his startling +discoveries, and left Officer Fogarty to take the customary steps in the +affair. + +At seven o'clock that evening, while Nick and Chick were seated at +dinner, and still engaged in discussing the conflicting circumstances, a +message was received from police headquarters, informing Nick that the +girl had been identified, and that Harry Boyden had been found and +arrested. + +"Very good," observed Nick. "We shall now get something to work upon. I +will go and question Boyden as soon as I finish my dinner." + +"By all means," nodded Chick. + +"Do you know," said Nick, "I am seriously impressed that there is some +strange connection between this girl's death and that robbery at +Venner's store. I believe that we have struck the very clew, or are +about to strike it, that we so long have been vainly seeking." + +"To the Kilgore gang?" + +"Exactly." + +"Egad, I hope so," laughed Chick, with a grimace. "I am beastly tired of +nosing about on a scentless trail." + +Nick joined in the laugh of his invariably cheerful associate. + +"Odds blood, Nick, as they say in the play," added Chick. "I'd welcome +any sort of stir and danger, in preference to this chasing a +will-o'-the-wisp." + +"There'll be enough doing, Chick, take my word for it, as soon as we +once more get on the track of Kilgore and his push." + +"Let it come, and God speed it," grinned Chick. "What's your idea, +Nick?" + +"This empty jewel casket, the possibility that it contained diamonds, of +which the girl was robbed and then murdered, and the fact that Harry +Boyden is the clerk who brought the stolen diamonds to Venner's +store--certainly the circumstances seem to point to some strange +relation between the two crimes." + +While Nick was thus expressing his views, a rapidly driven carriage +approached the residence of the famous detective, and a servant +presently entered the dining room and informed Nick that a lady wished +to see him. + +Nick glanced at her card. + +"Violet Page," he muttered. "I know no lady named Violet Page. Is she +young or old?" + +"Young, sir." + +"Did you admit her?" + +"She is in the library, sir." + +"Very well. I will see her presently. Request her to wait a few +moments." + +Nick delayed only to finish his dinner, then repaired to the library. As +he entered the attractively furnished room his visitor quickly arose +from one of the easy-chairs and hastened to approach him. + +Nick beheld a young lady of exquisite beauty and modest bearing, and +though her sweet face, then very pale and distressed, struck him as one +he had previously seen, he at first could not place her. + +"Are you Mr. Carter--Detective Carter?" she hurriedly, inquired, in +tremulous accents of appeal. + +Nick had a warm place in his heart for one so timid and distressed as +this girl appeared, and he bowed very kindly. + +"Yes, Miss Page," said he. "What can I do for you? You appear to be in +trouble." + +"I am in trouble--terrible trouble, sir," cried the girl, with a +half-choked sob. "Oh, Mr. Carter, I come to you in despair, a girl +without friends or advisers, and who knows not whither to turn. I have +been told that you have a kind heart, and that you are the one man able +to solve the dreadful mystery which--" + +Nick checked her pathetic flood of words with a kindly gesture. + +"Calm yourself, Miss Page," said he, in a sort of paternal way. "Resume +your chair, please. Though I am somewhat pressed for time just now I +will give you at least a few moments." + +"Oh, thank you, sir!" + +"Be calm, however, in order that we may accomplish all the more." + +"I will, sir." + +"To what mystery do you refer? What is the occasion of your terrible +distress?" + +Violet Page subdued her agitation and hastened to reply. + +"My maid and companion, a girl named Mary Barton," said she, "was found +dead in Central Park late this afternoon. Nor is that all, Detective +Carter. A very dear friend of mine, named Harry Boyden, has been +arrested, under suspicion of having killed her. Oh, sir, that could not +be possible!" + +Nick felt an immediate increase of interest. + +He decided that Miss Violet Page was the very person he wanted to +interview, and while he did not then exhibit any knowledge of the case, +he proceeded to question her with his own ends in view, at the same time +ringing a signal for Chick to join him, which the latter presently did. + +"Where do you live, Miss Page?" inquired Nick. + +"I board in Forty-second Street, sir. I have no living relatives, and +for about two years have employed a maid, or, I might better call her, a +companion." + +"The girl mentioned?" + +"Yes, sir. Her parents also are dead. The fact that we both are orphans +created a bond of sympathy between us." + +"Are you a person of much means, Miss Page?" + +"Oh, no, sir. I earn my living on the stage. I was a member of the big +vaudeville troupe, which lately disbanded for the season. My stage name +is Violet Marduke." + +"Ah! now I remember," remarked Nick. "I thought I had seen you before. I +happened to hear you sing one evening about two weeks ago." + +"I recognized her when I entered," observed Chick, who had taken a +chair near by. + +Nick came back to business. + +"Why are you so confident, Miss Page, that Boyden cannot have killed +Mary Barton?" he demanded. + +"Because, sir, Harry Boyden is a gentle, brave and honest man, and +utterly incapable of committing such a crime," cried Violet, with much +feeling. "Besides, sir, he can have had no possible reason for wishing +her dead." + +"Are you sure of that?" + +"Absolutely!" + +"What are your relations with Boyden?" + +"We are lovers, sir," admitted Violet, with a tinge of red dispelling +the paleness of her pretty cheeks. "We expect to be married the coming +summer." + +"Ah! I see," murmured Nick, thoughtfully. "How long have you been +acquainted with Boyden?" + +"For ten years, sir." + +"Then you have been able to form quite a reliable opinion of his +character." + +"Indeed, sir, I have!" cried Violet, warmly. "Detective Carter, I know +that Harry Boyden is far above any dishonorable action. I would trust +him with my life." + +Of the honesty of the girl herself Nick had not a doubt. It showed in +her eyes, sounded in her voice, and was pictured in her ever changing +expression. Nick was inclined to feel that her opinion of Boyden was +worthy of very serious consideration, despite that circumstances seemed +to implicate the young man in no less than two crimes. + +"Is the fact that you are engaged to Boyden generally known, Miss +Page?" Nick next asked. + +"It is not, sir. We have said nothing about it." + +"Ah, that opens the way for conjectures," cried Nick. "Is there any +person who knows of the engagement, or who suspects it, that would +jealously aim to injure Boyden by implicating him in a crime?" + +"Oh, I cannot think so, sir!" said Violet, with a look of horror. "I +certainly know of no such person." + +"Have you been accepting the attentions of any other young man?" + +"No, sir," smiled Violet. "That is not my style." + +"I am glad to hear you say so, yet I really might have known it," +laughed Nick. + +"Thank you, Detective Carter," bowed the girl, blushing warmly. Then she +hastened to add: "Still, I am not a prude, sir--don't think I mean that. +In my profession one is obliged to be on friendly terms with a great +many persons, both men and women. At the theater, for instance, I meet +many men and form many acquaintances, both agreeable and the reverse." + +"And sometimes have the attentions of men fairly forced upon you, I +imagine?" said Nick, inquiringly, with a brighter gleam lighting his +earnest eyes. + +"Yes, sir; sometimes," Violet demurely admitted. + +Nick drew forward in his chair, and Chick saw that he had caught up the +thread at that moment suggested to himself. + +"Miss Page," said Nick, more impressively, "I now want you to answer me +without the slightest reserve." + +"I will, sir," bowed Violet, with a startled look. + +"Has any man of the late vaudeville company, or one connected with the +theater, endeavored to force his love upon you?" + +"No, sir; not one." + +"Or any visitor admitted to the stage?" + +"Well--yes, sir," faltered Violet, quite timidly. "Since you press me +thus gravely, I must admit that I have been obliged to repel the +affection of a certain man. Yet, please don't infer, sir, that he has +ever been ungentlemanly. He even has done me the honor, if one can so +term an undesired proposal, to protest that he wished to make me his +wife." + +"What is that man's name?" demanded Nick, quite bluntly. + +Yet both Nick and Chick already anticipated it. + +"Must I tell you his name, sir?" faltered Violet. + +"You may do so confidentially, Miss Page." + +"His name, sir, is Rufus Venner." + +"One more question, Miss Page," cried Nick, quickly, "Was there any +member of the vaudeville company who knew of Venner's proposal?" + +"I don't think so, sir. At least I know of none." + +Nick glanced at Chick and dryly remarked: + +"All under the surface, Chick." + +"Not a doubt of it, Nick." + +Violet looked surprised and alarmed at this, and hastened to ask: + +"Oh, Mr. Carter, is there something of which I am ignorant? Or have I +done wrong in any way?" + +Nick turned to her and gravely answered: + +"No, Miss Page, you have done nothing wrong--far from it! But there is +considerable of which you are ignorant." + +"Oh, sir, what do you mean?" + +"Wait just one moment, and I then may be able to tell you," said Nick, +rising. "I have something here that I wish to show you." + +He went to his library desk and took from a drawer the silver jewel +casket which he had brought from Central Park. + +When he turned he held it in his extended hand, and the eyes of the girl +suddenly fell upon it. + +Instantly she leaped to her feet, as pale as death itself. + +Then a scream, as of sudden, ungovernable terror, rose from her lips and +rang with piercing shrillness through the house. + +"Catch her, Chick--she's fainting!" yelled Nick, with eyes ablaze. "By +Heaven! we've struck the trail at last!" + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +ON THE TRAIL. + + +Nick Carter was a little perplexed. + +Miss Violet Page had recovered from her sudden swoon, and although still +very pale she sat gazing calmly at the silver jewel casket, which Nick +was again displaying. + +Somewhat to Nick's surprise, considering the girl's abrupt collapse upon +first beholding the casket, Miss Page had just declared that she had +never seen it before that evening. + +"You never saw it before?" exclaimed Nick, almost incredulously. + +"Never until you produced it from your desk a few minutes ago," +reiterated Violet. + +"Why, then, were you so overcome upon seeing it?" + +"I will tell you why, Detective Carter, yet I fear that you will think +me very weak and foolish to have been so seriously affected." + +"No; I think not." + +"I had a terrible dream last night, sir," Violet now explained. "I +dreamed that I was alone in an enormous graveyard at midnight, with a +full moon revealing the dismal surroundings, the dark tombs, the +staring, white headstones and the silent graves." + +"Not very cheerful--certainly," smiled Nick. + +"What followed was infinitely more terrible," continued Violet, with an +irrepressible shudder. + +"What was that?" + +"I dreamed that I saw a grave near which I was standing suddenly begin +to open, as if a living being were pushing up the ground from within. +Then I saw a fleshless hand appear above the disturbed sods. Then a +sightless human skull thrust itself forth, and presently, filling me +with a terror I cannot describe, the entire skeleton emerged from the +partly open grave, and arose and approached me." + +"A grewsome dream, indeed," remarked Nick. "But what of the casket?" + +"This of the casket, sir," concluded Violet. "In the skeleton's right +hand, which was extended straight toward me while he approached, was a +silver box--the exact likeness of the one you hold, and which you so +abruptly showed me a short time ago." + +"Ah, I see," nodded Nick. + +"In my present nervous condition, Detective Carter, the sight of the +real casket, after so horrible a dream, was more than I could sustain. +Fairly before I knew it, I had fainted." + +"A curious dream and a startling sequence," said Nick. "Evidently coming +events have been casting their shadows before. I am sorry to have +shocked you so severely." + +"Pray don't speak of it, Mr. Carter," protested Violet. "I am now quite +recovered." + +"Then we will at once proceed to business again," said Nick. "Am I to +infer, Miss Page, that you know nothing at all about this casket?" + +"Absolutely nothing, sir," declared Violet. + +"Have you ever heard your maid, Mary Barton, speak of possessing such a +jewel box?" + +"Never, sir." + +"Nevertheless," said Nick, pointedly, "this casket was found beside her +dead body in Central Park this afternoon." + +A half-suppressed cry broke from Violet upon hearing this. + +"Oh, sir, then that must have been the package mentioned by Harry +Boyden," she cried, excitedly. + +"What's that?" demanded Nick. "Have you seen Boyden since his arrest?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"When and where?" + +"He was arrested at my home about half-past six, sir. When I learned for +what and heard the particulars, I was advised by my landlady to appeal +at once to you." + +"Did you come directly here?" + +"I did, sir; as fast as a carriage could bring me." + +"Ah, now we shall get at it," declared Nick. "Tell me, Miss Page, just +what Boyden said about Mary Barton." + +"Why, sir, he said he left her alive and well about half-past five." + +"Where?" + +"On her way through the park," replied Violet. "He had met her about +five o'clock, and they walked about in the park for a short time. Then +he told her that he had an errand to do, after which he was coming to +call upon me. Then Mary laughed and replied that she would see him +later." + +"That doesn't smack very strongly of suicide, Chick," remarked Nick, +with a glance at the former. + +"I should say not," replied Chick, with a shrug of his shoulders. + +"Did Boyden know where Mary went after he left her?" inquired Nick, +reverting to his visitor. + +"No, sir. He declared to the officer that he did not." + +"What mention did he make of a package carried by the girl?" + +"He stated that Mary had what appeared to be a small, square box, done +up in brown wrapping paper, and secured with a string." + +"Did he make any inquiries about it?" + +"He asked her what it was, and she told him it was for me." + +"Did she tell him where she got it?" + +"Yes, sir, she did; and I am quite mystified by it." + +"Please explain," said Nick. "What did the Barton girl say about the +parcel?" + +"She said it was given to her by a woman whom she had met on Fifth +Avenue a short time before." + +"An acquaintance?" + +"No, sir; a strange woman," continued Violet. "Yet the stranger must +have known Mary, and that she lived with me, for she asked her if I was +at home." + +"And then?" + +"When told that I was, she gave Mary the package and asked her to +deliver it to me, into my hands only, as it was a gift from a friend." + +"Was the name of the friend mentioned?" + +"I think not, sir. The woman cautioned Mary against opening the package, +stating in explanation that she wished me to be the first to see what it +contained." + +"These are the facts which Mary Barton told to Harry Boyden, are they?" +demanded Nick, with an ominous ring stealing into his voice. + +"Yes, sir, they are." + +"And the statements which Boyden, in turn, made to the officer by whom +he was arrested at your home?" + +"That is right, sir. I heard them from Harry's own lips." + +"Did Mary Barton have any idea of the identity of the woman from whom +she received the package?" + +"I think not, sir. She told Harry that the woman was veiled, and that +she could not see her face. The incident seemed so strange, sir, that +Mary gave Harry Boyden all of these particulars." + +"Did she describe the strange woman, her form or her attire?" + +"I think she stated that the woman was plainly clad. Nothing more +definite that I know of." + +"In fact, Miss Page, you have now told me all that you know about the +case, haven't you?" + +"Really, sir, I think I have," admitted Violet, with a look of anxious +appeal. + +Nick drew out his watch and glanced quickly at it. + +"Ring for a carriage, Chick," said he abruptly. "We have no time to +lose." + +"I'll call one at once," nodded Chick, as he sprang up and hastened from +the room. + +"Am I to depart now, Detective Carter?" asked Violet, beginning to +tremble. "Oh, sir, will you not give me some word of encouragement +before I go? I am sure that Harry Boyden never committed--" + +"Hush!" interposed Nick, rising and taking her kindly by the hand. + +"I cannot at present tell you, Miss Page, what I think of this case. I +will say this, however, if Harry Boyden is, as you so firmly believe, +innocent of this crime, I will not rest until I have proved him +guiltless." + +"Oh, Detective Carter, how am I to thank you?" cried the girl, with her +tearful eyes raised to Nick's kindly face. + +"By not trying to do so," said he, smiling. "And by carefully following +a few directions which I shall now give you." + +"I will follow them to the very letter, sir," cried the grateful girl. + +"First, then, go home and borrow no further trouble about young Boyden," +said Nick, impressively. "Second, disclose to no person that you have +called upon me, or that I have any interest in the case. Third, say +nothing about the jewel casket, and display no personal knowledge of the +affair. Fourth, do not come here again unless I send for you. And, +finally, rest assured that I will do all in my power to have young +Boyden at liberty as soon as possible. To remain in custody a short +time, however, will not seriously harm him, and in a way it may do me +some service. Can you remember all that?" + +"Indeed I can, sir; and I will obey you in all!" cried Violet, with much +feeling. + +"That's right," smiled Nick, as he escorted her to the door. "You shall +not lose anything by so doing." + +"Ah, I am sure of that, sir. You are so very kind, and I am so glad that +I came to you." + +"Well, well, we shall see," laughed Nick, with a paternal caress of her +shapely white hand. "By the way, Miss Page, since I now happen to think +of it," the crafty detective indifferently added, "wasn't there a Hindoo +juggler, or snake charmer, or something of that sort, connected with +your late vaudeville company?" + +"Oh, yes, sir! Pandu Singe." + +"Ah, that is his name, is it?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Is he still in the city?" + +"I am not sure, Mr. Carter; but I think that he may be, for he is signed +with the company for next season." + +"Do you know where he has been living?" + +"Yes, sir. I have seen his house address on letters forwarded to the +theater. Do you want it, sir?" + +"If you can recall it, yes," smiled Nick, producing his notebook. "I am +making a study of the Hindoo language just at this time, and I would +like to consult Pandu Singe about certain books on the subject." + +Miss Page did not suspect any duplicity in this, and she cheerfully gave +Nick the address of the snake charmer, whereupon the detective +graciously thanked her, and then escorted her to her waiting carriage. + +As it rolled rapidly away a second hack came bowling up to the curbstone +in front of Nick's residence. It was the carriage for which Chick had +sent a call. + +"Don't cover your horses, cabbie!" cried Nick, sharply. "Wait about +three minutes, and we'll be with you." + +"Right, sir!" + +And Nick dashed back up the steps and into the house, meeting Chick in +the hall. + +"What do you make of it, Nick?" + +"Make of it?" cried Nick, with a laugh. "It's a cinch, Chick, dead open +and shut. Grab your hat and come with me. I'll explain in the carriage." + +"Good enough! I'm with you, old man!" + +"And we have no time to lose," cried Nick, "Now, then, we're off." + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +THE CRIME AND THE MEANS. + + +"Yes, Chick, it's as simple as two plus two, and we'll presently try to +bag a part of our quarry. But first of all, I want a bit of +corroborative evidence which I expect to get from that Hindoo snake +charmer, Pandu Singe." + +"Going there first, Nick?" + +"Yes; it will not take long. Then I think we shall have the strands for +a rope strong enough to hold that she-devil who murdered Mary Barton," +grimly added Nick. + +These remarks were made while the carriage containing the two detectives +was speeding through the city streets, then bright with the light and +life of the early evening. + +"What a dastardly crime it was, Nick," observed Chick. + +"It was the crime of a treacherous demon." + +"With jealousy the chief motive, eh?" + +"No doubt of it." + +"Yet her venomous arrow found the wrong mark." + +"That's just the size of it," said Nick. "In the light of what you saw +and heard on the stage that night, it is plain that Cervera is +passionately in love with Venner." + +"Surely." + +"You remember that you saw him talking with Violet Page, and then +observed Cervera in the opposite wings, angrily watching something or +somebody out of your range of view. Plainly enough, now, she was +watching Venner and the singer." + +"No doubt of it," declared Chick. "And she looked fit to use a poniard +then and there." + +"Jealousy," growled Nick. "She had been secretly watching Venner. She +had discovered his love for Violet, and decided that the girl was a +rival to be feared. Her fiery Spanish blood would shrink at nothing. She +went the limit, and tried to murder her rival. In so doing, however, she +but killed another." + +"She must have worked adroitly to have accomplished what she did." + +"It may not have been so very difficult," replied Nick. "She was on the +stage each night, and also that infernal snake den. She quietly learned +which of the venomous reptiles would best serve her deadly purpose, and +then found an opportunity and a way by which to secretly steal it." + +"A hazardous job at that," muttered Chick. + +"The jealousy of such a woman fears nothing," Nick rejoined. "To lure +the desired snake into a box, and then take it home and confine it in +the jewel casket, may have been done quite easily." + +"It must have been done before the company closed its engagement." + +"No doubt," admitted Nick. "Then Cervera was too crafty to use it at +once. She waited nearly a week. Then she dressed herself in cheap +attire, put on a thick veil, and lay in wait for her rival's maid and +companion, to whom she gave the package and her instructions regarding +it." + +"What first led you to suspect the crime and the means, Nick?" inquired +Chick, curiously. + +"Several facts," explained Nick. "The girl's sudden death seemed +peculiar. The jewel casket beside her was empty, at once suggesting that +something had been removed or fallen from it. Yet nothing was to be +found." + +"That's true." + +"The paper wrapper was punctured with a pin in many places, the holes +running even through the lining of the casket. That fact, too, was +suggestive. People are not in the habit of doing up parcels and then +punching them full of holes with a pin." + +"Well, hardly." + +"Cervera made those holes, Chick, in order that her venomous captive +might not expire for want of air." + +"No doubt of it, Nick. But what do you think led Mary Barton to open the +package after having been told not to do so?" + +"Curiosity, perhaps," replied Nick. "Or possibly she considered the +circumstances to be so strange that she felt that she had a right to +open it. Be that as it may, it is plain that Mary Barton sat down on the +park seat, after leaving Boyden and there briefly considered the +matter." + +"How do you arrive at that deduction, Nick?" + +"From the tiny tinge of fresh blood about one of the pinholes on the +interior of the lining," explained Nick. "The stain must have come from +the point of the pin, and when the pin was drawn out of the box, not +when it was thrust into it. In the latter case the pin point would have +been cleansed before passing through the lining, and the stain would +have been on the outside rather than the inside." + +"Surely." + +"Then it at once became plain that Mary Barton, while sitting there, had +thrust her hat pin through one of the previously made apertures, +possibly aiming to discover in this way what the box contained, and in +so doing she probably pricked the confined reptile." + +"Ah, I see," nodded Chick. "All this strongly indicated that something +might have been confined in the casket." + +"Yes, certainly. Not thus learning what the box contained," continued +Nick, "Mary Barton decided to open it. The moment she raised the lid the +snake, probably angered by its wound and long confinement, instantly +struck at her hand, snake-fashion, and buried its fangs in her wrist." + +"Hence the tiny, red spot which you so quickly discovered." + +"Precisely." + +"Very shrewd of you, Nick." + +"Greatly frightened, the girl probably fainted, and fell to the ground," +added Nick, in conclusion of the deductions by which he had solved the +remarkable mystery. "The snake instantly scurried away through the +grass, and left no trail behind him. Before the girl could recover from +her swoon, the deadly poison had done its work. The venom of some of +these India snakes is horribly rapid in its action." + +"That's true," cried Chick. "I saw one at the theater that evening, the +venom of which would kill a man in ten seconds. A wee bit of a cuss at +that." + +"Probably this was one of the same breed," said Nick, grimly. "At all +events, I am sure that murder was the crime, and a snake the means." + +"And Sanetta Cervera the criminal." + +"Beyond the shadow of a doubt," declared Nick. + +"And what do you expect to learn from the Hindoo?" + +"I wish to know, in corroboration of my suspicions, whether Pandu Singe +has missed any of his infernal reptiles." + +"Ah, I see." + +"If he has, my theory is surely correct, and we next must fix the guilt +upon the guilty," said Nick, firmly. "I shall arrest Cervera this very +night, providing the Hindoo informs me that-- Ah, here we are at his +door. Come into the house with me, Chick, and we'll see what he has to +say." + +They had stopped before an ordinary brick house on the East Side, and +Nick quickly mounted the steps and rang the bell. The summons brought a +corpulent English woman to the door, from whom Nick learned that the +Hindoo and his interpreter were still there. + +"Doesn't Pandu Singe speak English?" inquired Nick. + +"Dear me, no!" exclaimed the landlady, with a mute yet visible +laugh--visible in that her convolutions of flesh became observably +agitated. "Not the first word, sir. He talks only a blooming jargon fit +for snakes and spiders and that like." + +Nick laughed agreeably, having a request on his tongue's end. + +"He has moved his beastly den o' reptiles into my cellar to stay till +next season, sir, a 'orror I'd not stand for a minute, so I wouldn't, +only he pays me very 'andsome for the same." + +"Then he intends remaining here all summer, does he?" + +"He do," replied the woman, with startling terseness after the +foregoing. + +"I wish to see him briefly on business," said Nick. "Go and ask him if +he will receive us." + +The landlady complied, returning presently and inviting the two +detectives into the house. She led the way to a rear room off the hall, +at the door of which stood a swarthy foreigner, who bowed and smiled as +the callers approached. + +"'E's the hinterpreter," vouchsafed the landlady, in a wheezy whisper. + +Nick nodded understandingly. + +Reading by the light of a lamp on a table in the room sat the Hindoo +snake charmer himself, clad in a rich, loose robe of Oriental fashion. +He arose with much deliberation and dignity when the detectives entered, +and gravely bowed in greeting, while his interpreter hastened to place +chairs for the visitors. + +Through the interpreter Nick quickly explained his business, and saw a +look of surprise appear on the face of Pandu Singe when inquiries were +made about the loss of a snake. + +It took Nick but a short time to learn what he desired. Precisely as he +expected, the Hindoo had missed one of his snakes about ten days before, +one of the most venomous and dangerous of the lot. + +Hearing no reports or complaints about the missing reptile, however, +Pandu Singe had come to the conclusion that the snake had died in the +den and then been devoured by one of his companions in captivity. So the +Hindoo had let the matter drop, and had said nothing about it. + +Nick did not disclose the true occasion for his inquiries, but invented +a satisfactory explanation, and at the end of a quarter of an hour the +two detectives departed and entered their waiting carriage. + +"Rather a dignified chap, after all, that Pandu Singe," laughed Chick, +as they settled themselves on the cushions. + +"True," admitted Nick, thoughtfully. "Do you think, Chick, that we could +make up to pass for those two swarthy Orientals?" + +"Could we!" exclaimed Chick, promptly. "Well, Nick, I should say that we +could." + +"I think so, too." + +"You could do the snake charmer, all right, and easily gabble a lingo +that would pass for his." + +"Well, rather," laughed Nick. + +"And if I was wise to the game you wished to play I easily could act as +the interpreter, and run the conversation correctly on my own hook." + +"No doubt of it." + +"Do it? Why, surely we could," repeated Chick "Why did you ask?" + +"I think it may yet become necessary or desirable to make a move of +that kind," replied Nick. + +"Why so?" + +"Because, as I have suspected all along, I still think there is some big +game in the wind, with the Kilgore gang back of it, and that the murder +of this Barton girl may have some connection with it, or at least give +us a clew to it." + +"Egad! I hope so, Nick." + +"We soon shall see." + +"Going after Cervera now?" + +"Yes; at once," said Nick, with grim austerity. "We shall find her at +home, as usual. She'll not imagine that I can have got on her track as +quickly as this, so no doubt I can easily land her. Before midnight I +want bracelets on the white wrists of that Spanish dare-devil." + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +CLOSING IN. + + +There was, indeed, as Nick Carter shrewdly suspected, a mysterious bond +between the several crimes thus far engaging his attention, and the +secret operations for which David Kilgore and his gang had ventured into +the city of New York. + +Nick had remarked, however, that the game would become as hazardous and +stirring as one could desire, as soon as it was fairly driven from +cover. + +And Nick began to drive it from cover that very night. + +Shortly before nine o'clock, and just as the two detectives were parting +from the Hindoo snake charmer, Mr. Rufus Venner rang the bell at the +door of Cervera's uptown residence. + +It was answered by Cervera herself, much to Venner's surprise. + +"Where's the butler to-night?" he abruptly demanded, as he entered and +closed the door. + +"Gone," said Cervera, curtly. + +"Gone?" + +"I've sacked him along with all the rest." + +"Not discharged all of your servants?" + +"Nothing less." + +"But why?" demanded Venner, with a frown settling about his dark eyes. +"You cannot remain here alone." + +"I don't intend to." + +"But what are you going to do? When are you going?" + +While thus speaking they had repaired to the library at the rear of the +house, the room in which Nick had encountered the gang nearly a +fortnight before. It was the only room then lighted. Even the hall +through which they had passed was in darkness. + +Yet Cervera was dressed in an elaborate evening gown, fitted close to +her lithe, nervous figure, and augmenting in a marked degree her +dangerous, dark beauty. + +"You know where I am going--or should!" she replied, facing Venner, with +an odd smile on her red lips. + +"Not to the diamond plant?" cried he, with a start. + +"To the diamond plant--yes!" + +"Impossible!" + +"You will find it's not impossible, Rufe," she retorted. "I generally go +where I wish, and do what I undertake. I have already sent my own jewels +and other valuables there by Pylotte. He was here this morning." + +"But consider, Sanetta," protested Venner, with a darker frown. "Think +of what chances you are taking." + +"Of what?" + +"Suppose Nick Carter suspects you, and has a shadow on your movements--" + +"Bah!" interrupted Cervera, with a snap and flash of her black eyes. "I +care nothing for Nick Carter. _Caramba!_ do you think I fear him? I will +fool and foil Nick Carter as I have fooled and foiled his betters. I +shall go to the plant to-morrow, and that settles it." + +"Stop a bit," insisted Venner, almost angrily. "Do you forget that +Kilgore and all his gang are there? Do you forget that we are just +about launching our gigantic enterprise? We now have nearly a million +dollars' worth of diamonds manufactured, or in the process of making, +and I already have begun to distribute them on the market at a fabulous +profit." + +"Well, I know all that. What has it to do with my going there?" + +"Such a move on your part may give Carter a clew to our location," +declared Venner. + +"Oh, no, it won't," sneered Cervera, scornfully. "I'll look out for +that." + +"Discovery would ruin all, and possibly land the whole gang behind +prison bars." + +"Faugh! I'm as well at the plant as here, and there I am going. You let +me alone to evade the Carters." + +"But why in thunder are you so determined to make this change?" demanded +Venner. + +An amorous fire came stealing into the woman's resolute eyes, and she +shrugged her shapely shoulders significantly. + +"You should know why without asking," she slowly answered, with her gaze +fixed upon his changing countenance. "It is because I love you, Rufe, +and wish to be where you spend so much of your time." + +"So much of my time?" echoed Venner, inquiringly. + +"So at least you tell me." + +"Do you doubt it?" + +"I know that five days and nights have passed since you came here to see +me," cried Cervera, bitterly. "I have only your own word in explanation +of your neglect." + +"That should be enough," said Venner, curtly. + +"Yet a man after a new love does not shrink from lying to an old," +retorted Cervera. + +"Pshaw! You are jealous again." + +"A woman who loves as I love is always jealous." + +"Of whom now?" + +"You know of whom." + +"I tell you I have not seen Violet Page since the theater closed." + +"I have only your word for it," repeated Cervera, with incredulity +bright in her sensuous eyes. "You know what I told you, Rufe. I'll not +tamely permit that pale-faced nightingale to come between you and me. +You know what I told you. I would kill her as I would a--a snake!" + +Despite his own stiff nerves, Venner recoiled from the look on the +woman's desperate face. Her voice had fallen to a hiss like that of the +reptile mentioned. + +"You are mad, Sanetta," he cried, irritably. "You have no occasion for +this jealousy and hatred." + +"I have had! You know that I have had--and your face shows it!" + +"You have none now--absolutely none now!" + +His emphatic declaration fell upon Cervera with an effect which Venner +did not at first understand. + +She sprang quickly toward him, gripping him hard by the wrist, while her +every nerve seemed stimulated with sudden agitation. + +"None now? None now--now?" she fiercely reiterated, in inquiring +whispers. "Do you mean that--that it is done? that it is done?" + +"Done?" gasped Venner, amazedly. "Is what done? What the devil are you +driving at?" + +She drew back, searching his eyes with hers, and hers were like those of +a demon, in her momentary suspense. + +"Then it isn't--it isn't?" she hissed, through her white teeth. "I +thought from what you said that it was. I thought--" + +"Good God! what do you mean?" cried Venner, aghast for a moment. + +Then, struck with a sudden recollection, he turned and snatched an +evening paper from a pocket of his coat, which he had tossed on a chair. +He had recalled certain leader lines which had caught his eye earlier in +the evening, yet which he then had not had sufficient interest to +follow. + +Now he hurriedly opened the paper and read the story, or so much of it +as enabled him to guess the truth. + +It was the newspaper story of the girl found dead in Central Park that +afternoon, with the mystery involving the sudden fatality, and the names +of the murdered girl and her mistress, Violet Page. + +A half-smothered oath of horror and dismay broke from Venner, after a +moment. + +It brought Cervera to his side, and she snatched the paper from him and +read--the story of her own failure; the miscarriage of her own jealous +and murderous design. + +She suppressed the shriek of mingled disappointment and fury that rose +to her twitching lips, then passionately cast the paper upon the table. + +"Well, what do you make of it?" she demanded, glaring at Venner's +colorless face. + +"No need to ask," he replied, hoarsely. "You know what I make of it." + +"You think I did it?" + +"I know you did it!" + +"And killed the wrong girl?" + +"And killed the wrong girl!" + +"Can you guess how?" + +"I don't care how. I know that you did it." + +"You will not betray me?" hissed Cervera, crouching before him, with +eyes never leaving his. + +"I have no wish to betray you." + +"You dare not! you dare not!" + +"I shall not!" + +"If you do--" + +The woman checked her words for an instant, and ran her hand into the +bosom of her dress. When she drew it forth it gripped a naked poniard, +upon the polished blade of which the rays of light flashed with many a +wicked gleam and glint. + +"If you do," she repeated, "I will send you after her, Rufus Venner! I +will do even more! I will expose our whole game, and our whole gang!" + +"I have said that I shall not betray you, nor will I," cried Venner, +signing for her to put up the weapon. "Yet you were mad, Sanetta. You +had no grounds for such jealousy, no occasion for such a crime." + +"I had--and you know it! I told you I would do it." + +"Well, you have tried it, at least," growled Venner, forcing a smile to +his gray lips. + +"And you dare not betray me," repeated Cervera, thrusting the glittering +weapon within her dress. "I have not failed entirely, Rufe, since it +makes the criminal tie between you and me all the stronger. It binds us +together with links of steel, Rufe, and they are stronger far than any +marriage contract." + +"Then you love me like that, eh?" + +"You know that I do." + +"Yet your infernal jealousy, and your determination to quit this house +and go to the plant with the gang, may yet ruin us all. If Nick Carter +were to get a clew--" + +"Bah!" Cervera fiercely interrupted. "I despise him, not fear him! I +tell you again, I will fool and foil Nick Carter, as I have fooled and +foiled his betters!" + +"His better as a detective never lived, Sanetta." + +"I care not! I defy him, and will yet show you that--" + +"Hush! Hark! A cab has stopped outside!" + +Cervera changed like a flash. + +With the bound of a leopard, one of those lightning moves with which she +could electrify an audience from the stage, she crossed the adjoining +room, which was in darkness, and reached the front window. + +One glance through the lace draperies was enough. + +Nick Carter was just alighting from his carriage. + +Cervera darted back and rejoined Venner. + +"It is Carter--Nick Carter himself!" she fiercely whispered, with all +the fire of her passionate Spanish nature ablaze in her eyes. + +"Carter! Good God!" + +"Be off, Rufe, and leave him to me!" + +"To you alone?" + +"Yes." + +"He already is on your track for this crime." + +"I'll foil him yet! Leave him to me alone!" Cervera fiercely cried. "Be +off by the back stairs, then through the stable and the side alley. Go +to your own home, and from there signal Kilgore to have the secret way +to the plant open for me. Here--the paper! Take it away with you! I'll +elude Carter--" + +"But he may arrest you at once," protested Venner, excitedly. "If he +does--" + +"_Caramba!_ do you stop to question?" Cervera furiously interrupted. "If +he takes me from this house he will take me--dead!" + +"But--" + +"Quick--he's at the door! Leave him to me alone, and do what I told you! +Away! There's the bell!" + +Venner caught up his coat, darted down the back stairs and quickly +departed by the way mentioned. + +At the same time, while Nick's summons was still echoing through the +great house, Sanetta Cervera swept haughtily through the main hall, +switched on the electric light, and then opened the front door. + +She appeared as cool and composed as if she had just arisen from her +dinner. + +Yet in the vestibule stood the one man whom she had most cause to fear, +the man who now held her fate in his hand--Nick Carter. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +CRAFTY CERVERA. + + +"Good-evening, Mr. Venner. Oh, it's not you!" + +"Oh, yes, 'tis!" said Nick, dryly. "It's I all right, and I'm it. You +appear surprised at seeing me, Senora Cervera." + +Cervera had begun, then stopped, then uttered the startled exclamation; +and all with the utmost coolness, with the air of one stirred only by +genuine surprise, and as if without the slightest fear or dismay upon +beholding Nick Carter in the vestibule. + +So perfectly natural was her artful assumption, that it rather deceived +Nick for a short time. + +In response to his dry remarks, the artful jade now nodded and began to +laugh. + +"Surprised? Well, rather!" she exclaimed, in animated tones. "I was +expecting our mutual friend, dear Mr. Venner, and supposed it was he who +rang. But I'm just as pleased to see you." + +"Yes?" + +"Surely! Come in, Detective Carter. You are very, very welcome. I shall +be so glad to renew our brief acquaintance. In fact, Detective Carter, I +am quite charmed to see you." + +"You'll not feel so chipper and charmed when you learn my business," +said Nick to himself, as he entered and followed her to the library. + +"Take a chair, Detective Carter, and try to feel perfectly at home," +laughed Cervera, with bantering vivacity. "You have been here before, +you know." + +"Yes, indeed, I know," said Nick, dryly. "The night I had a taste of a +choke pear, at the hands of your faithful guardians." + +"Ah! but you shall be better treated this time," smiled Cervera, +dropping into a chair opposite the detective, and fixing her sensuous, +dark eyes on Nick's calm, unreadable face. + +"I hope so, senora," he replied. "By the way, what has become of those +two stalwart guardians of your treasures? Do you still retain them in +your employ?" + +It was second nature to Nick to feel his way in this crafty fashion, yet +he did not really expect any resistance in arresting Cervera, who now +laughed and shook her head, replying: + +"No, I have let them go." + +"That so?" + +"I have no use for them at present." + +"Why is that?" + +"My engagement at the theater has closed, and I seldom have occasion to +wear my diamonds. I have placed them all in a safe deposit vault." + +"Ah! I see." + +"So I have no need for my guardians, Detective Carter, with only myself +here. Nobody would want me personally, you know," she added, with a bold +laugh. + +Nick's firm lips drew a little closer. + +"On the contrary," said he, pointedly, "somebody does, want you +personally." + +"Oh! is that so?" cried Cervera, as if amused. + +"Very much so, senora." + +"And who does me the honor, pray?" + +"I want you," said Nick, bluntly. + +"You, Detective Carter! Why, sir, what an idea! I wouldn't have believed +it of you." + +"Yet it is true, nevertheless." + +"Well, well," repeated Cervera, with a pretty shrug, "I am really glad +to hear you say so. For what do you want me, Detective Carter?" + +Not once had Nick's searching gaze left her brazen countenance, and +despite her outward display of badinage, his steadfast and penetrating +eyes were making her secretly uneasy. + +"I want you," said Nick, pointedly, "for that ugly 'Jack-in-the-box' +trick which you perpetrated this afternoon." + +Cervera's eyes emitted a single swift, fiery gleam, and her red lips +drew closer. Yet she cried, still pleasantly: + +"What do you mean by that, Detective Carter? Is it a joke?" + +"You'll find it no joke." + +"If it is, sir, I don't see the point." + +"You will have a chance to look for it at the Tombs," replied Nick, with +grim quietude. "Senora Cervera, I want you to go along with me." + +"The Tombs! Go with you! What do you mean?" + +"I mean that you are now under arrest." + +"Arrest! For what?" + +"For the murder of a girl named Mary Barton," Nick bluntly rejoined, +ignoring the woman's increasing display of amazement and resentment. + +"Mary Barton!" cried Cervera. "I never heard of the girl." + +"Nevertheless," said Nick, sternly, "you met her on Fifth Avenue this +afternoon, and gave her a jewel casket containing a venomous snake, +which you had stolen from the den of Pandu Singe, and by which means you +inadvertently killed Mary Barton, instead of another for whom your +infernal design was intended. I am aware of all of your late movements, +senora, you see." + +"I see that you are a devil!" cried Cervera, with a sudden passionate +outburst. "How dare you come here with such a story as that?" + +For a moment at least, the fact that Nick already had discovered nearly +every detail of her infamous crime--though committed only a few hours +before--almost completely unnerved her, and her changing countenance, +her irrepressible outbreak, and the violent agitation of her lithe, +nervous figure, were tokens of self-betrayal by no means unobserved by +Nick. + +"You'll have a chance to refute the story before a judge and jury," Nick +curtly answered. "At present you are in my custody, however, and you +must go with me." + +Cervera rose to her feet, trembling visibly, and gripped the back of her +chair as if for support. + +"There must be some terrible mistake, Detective Carter," she now cried, +with well-feigned distress and alarm. "Surely you do not mean this, +sir? Surely you do but jest?" + +"On the contrary, senora, I mean every word that I have said." + +"That I am under arrest?" + +"Yes." + +"And must go with you?" + +"Precisely." + +"To the Tombs?" + +"To the Tombs, senora." + +"Oh! this is dreadful--dreadful!" craftily moaned Cervera, with tears +now filling her eyes. + +"I am sorry for you, senora, but I must do my duty," said Nick, rising. + +"I know you must--but, oh! what shall I do? To whom can I appeal? Oh! if +Mr. Venner were only here!" + +"You can send a messenger for him later, or dispatch one of your +servants from here," suggested Nick. + +"I have none here," sobbed Cervera. "They are all out, and I am alone. I +have no one--" + +She suddenly stopped, then drew herself up with resentful dignity, and +wiped the tears from her eyes. + +"I am a fool to be so weak!" she exclaimed, bitterly. "Detective Carter, +I know nothing of the crime you mention. I never heard of Mary Barton. +This arrest is an outrage, and I will appeal to the highest court in the +land for vindication!" + +"That's your privilege," said Nick, shortly. "But at present you must go +with me." + +"I cannot go as I am," declared Cervera, passionately stamping her +foot. "I am in evening dress--attired to receive a caller. I shall take +cold if I go out of doors in--" + +"Oh, you may change your dress," Nick curtly interrupted, the need of +which was decidedly obvious. "I'll give you time for that." + +"How very kind," sneered Cervera, with a bitter flash of her black eyes. +"You shall yet suffer for this affront, Detective Carter." + +"All right," said Nick. "But I have no time to speculate upon it now, so +get yourself ready. Wait a bit, my lady! I'll go along with you!" + +"With me? You insult me!" + +"Oh, no, I don't. I want a look at your chamber before letting you out +of my sight. I've seen rooms with more than one way out, and I don't +intend that you shall elude me." + +"You're a suspicious coward, sir!" + +"Stow all that, senora, and lead the way," commanded Nick, bluntly. + +Pale and resentful, with a sneer on her lips, Cervera led the way +through, the hall, playing her part so artfully that Nick, ignorant of +her late interview with Rufus Venner, was not much inclined to suspect +her of duplicity just then. + +Upon reaching the top of the hall stairs, Cervera switched on another +light, and then that which illumined her chamber, into which she +haughtily led the detective. + +"A fine affront to suffer," she bitterly exclaimed, throwing herself +into a chair. "Your conduct is despicable! You are no gentleman!" + +"I am a detective," retorted Nick, "and I come pretty near knowing my +business." + +"Oh! you do," sneered Cervera. "Plainly that is the limit of your +knowledge. You may not be as wise as you think." + +Nick made no reply, but looked sharply about the room. + +It was a large, square chamber, and elaborately furnished. The two +windows were well above the street, and offered no chance for escape. +There were but two doors, that leading into the hall and the one leading +into a large closet in the opposite wall. + +Nick opened the latter, and found the closet hung with Cervera's +extensive wardrobe. He thrust his arm along the garments hanging at +either side, and sounded the three walls, and then the closet floor, all +of which appeared perfectly firm and solid. + +Even these precautions seemed quite needless to Nick, however, it being +a rented house, and Cervera presumably uninformed of his coming. + +"Now, senora, you may have just ten minutes to make ready," said he, as +he rejoined her. "I shall leave this chamber door open, and will wait +for you in the adjoining hall. Can you whistle?" + +"Whistle?" + +"Yes, whistle! You know what it is to whistle, don't you?" + +The sneer on Cervera's red lips, as she arose from her chair, became +almost a smile. + +"Yes, I can whistle after a fashion," she admitted. + +"Well, then, you keep whistling all the time you are alone here," Nick +sternly commanded. "I will let you out of my sight to make these +changes, but not out of my hearing." + +"Suspicious fool!" + +"Fool or not, you keep whistling," said Nick, bluntly. "If you let up +for so long as a second, I'll come over yonder threshold in a way that +you'll not fancy." + +"But suppose I want to brush my teeth?" inquired Cervera, with a +vixenish light in her evil eyes. "I cannot whistle and brush my teeth, +Detective Carter." + +"You'll have plenty of time to brush your teeth at the Tombs," said +Nick, sharply. "Now look lively, mark you, and--keep whistling." + +Cervera at once began to whistle. + +Nick removed the key from the chamber door, and sauntered out into the +hall, where he kept his ears constantly alert. + +Not for a moment did the whistling cease, nor was there the slightest +change in tone or character. + +Nick could not have taken a more effective method to serve his present +purpose. + +At the end of eight minutes the whistling ceased, and Cervera coldly +cried: + +"Now you may come in, Detective Carter. I am about ready to go with +you." + +Nick at once entered the chamber. + +Cervera had changed her evening dress for a complete suit of black, and +was standing in the middle of the room. + +"I suppose," said she, staring icily at the detective, "that I ought to +thank you for your consideration." + +"Don't trouble yourself," said Nick, curtly. "I have no time to waste." + +"Yet just one word, Detective Carter, before we go." + +"Let it be brief, then." + +"You are said to be a very clever man, and no doubt you think you have +me dead to rights in this case," said Cervera, with a mocking curl of +her thin lips. + +"Decidedly so." + +"Yet you will find, Detective Carter, that a clever woman can always +fool and foil a clever man." + +"But you, my lady, are very far from being a clever woman," retorted +Nick, with a gesture of impatience, signifying that he wished to leave +with her at once. + +"Nevertheless, I shall beat you at the finish, make no mistake about +that," cried Cervera, scornfully. "Now, sir, I will put on my wrap, and +go with you where you please." + +With the last remark, she approached a peg in the open closet, as if to +take down a dark shawl. + +Instead, she suddenly turned quickly around and cried, with a taunting +laugh: + +"So long, Detective Carter! I really feel quite sorry to bid +you--good-by!" + +Nick started like a man electrified. + +Cervera merely had pressed the peg on which the shawl hung, whereupon +the whole back of the closet seemed to fall away instantly, disclosing a +lighted passage beyond. + +Nick caught a glimpse of it, and of the woman darting toward it, and he +followed her like a shot from a gun. + +As Cervera passed through the further opening and gained the lighted +passage, she seized and threw a short lever just beyond the closet wall. + +At the same moment Nick's weight fell upon the closet floor behind her. + +It was like treading upon air. + +The lever, like the peg, did not work in an instant. + + +Nick felt himself falling, and made a desperate clutch at the door +jamb--only to miss it. + +Then the closet floor, with the detective upon it, went speeding down +like an elevator cut loose from a top story. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +IN A WARM CORNER. + + +The crash with which Nick Carter vaguely expected his career might be +abruptly ended, as the floor upon which he had fallen prostrate rapidly +descended, did not come. + +The terrific downward speed suddenly decreased, then became more +gradual, all in the bare fraction of a second; and then the rushing +sound of compressed air escaping through narrow crevices fell upon the +detective's ears. + +Nick immediately guessed the truth. + +The falling closet floor was that of an elevator, no longer in use as +such, yet which still worked on the slides of the elevator well, and +evidently had been cleverly adjusted for just such an emergency as that +depicted. + +Presently there came a heavy jar, and then the downward motion ceased. +The close-fitting floor at first had fallen so swiftly that the confined +air in the well beneath it had become so compressed as to form an air +cushion, which finally let the floor completely down only after the air +had gradually escaped. It was this escaping air Nick heard during the +last moments of his fall. + +The entire episode began and ended in but little more than a moment, +however. Though considerably jarred, Nick pulled himself together, and +gazed up through the darkness at the bottom of the well. + +Cervera was peering down from the lighted passage three stories above +him, Nick having made a clean drop into the cellar of the imposing +residence. + +That this entire contrivance was the work of the Kilgore gang, devised +while they masqueraded at Cervera's house, Nick was thoroughly +convinced. + +"Hello!" Cervera suddenly cried, still gazing down into the darkness +enveloping Nick. "Are you there, Mr. Carter?" + +Nick stared up at her, but made no answer. + +At the same time he felt quietly over the walls of the well, in the hope +of finding some way of escape. + +It riled him not a little, the thought of having been so deftly caught +in a trap, almost entirely owing to his having been overconfident, an +assurance only very natural under the circumstances. + +The possibility that this woman might now elude him for a time was also +a thorn in Nick's mind. + +"_Caramba!_" cried Cervera, with a mocking laugh. "Aren't you going to +speak?" + +Still no answer. + +"Have you lost your tongue, Detective Carter? If you don't speak out, +Mr. Smart Fellow, I shall drop something down that will light you up. I +want a look at you, to know whether you're afoot or on horseback." + +Nick remained in perfect silence. + +Then Cervera disappeared. + +"The she-devil!" muttered the detective. "What move next, I wonder?" + +Again he felt quickly over the walls of the well, in the hope of finding +some avenue of escape. + +With a thrill of satisfaction, he now discovered one of the vertical +strips of iron which are attached to two opposite walls of an elevator +well, to steady the car and serve as slides for it to run upon. These +iron strips are usually regularly notched to the depth of an inch or +more, for the admission of an automatic break in the event of the rope +parting. + +"By Jove! this is not so bad," thought Nick. "It might serve for a +ladder. + +"To climb three stories with the tips of one's fingers and toes, +however, and by means of a notched iron on the bare face of a wall, is a +herculean and hazardous undertaking." + +While he stood, measuring the altitude with his eyes, Nick heard Cervera +returning. + +Then a great bunch of flaming paper came flying down the well, and the +detective was forced to leap aside to escape it. + +She-devil, indeed, Cervera had set fire to a crumpled newspaper, with +which to illuminate the bottom of the well. + +"Ah, there you are!" she exultingly cried, on discovering Nick in the +glare of the light. "On your feet, eh? You were lucky to escape, +Detective Carter." + +"And you'll be lucky if you escape Detective Carter," sternly retorted +Nick, quickly stamping out the fire. "I'll finally land you, my crafty +young woman, though I lie awake nights to devise a way." + +Cervera gave vent to a shrill, vindictive laugh. + +"Do you think you can do it?" she demanded, mockingly. + +"You'll find that I can." + +"Better men than you have tried--and failed." + +"Yet I shall succeed." + +"Do you feel quite sure of it?" + +"Absolutely." + +"Then I think I'd better see your finish this very night, since I now +have you cornered!" cried Cervera, in taunting tones, "It may not be +wise to defer it." + +Then Nick beheld a second burning newspaper coming his way. + +"Let up, you demon!" he shouted, angrily. "You'll set the house afire." + +"Wouldn't it be a shame! And what would become of you?" + +"Don't try it again, young woman, or worse may be your fate." + +"Oh! is that so?" sneered Cervera, maliciously. "We'll see." + +Down came another burning paper, and by the light of it Nick now +discovered a closed door in one of the walls. It was directly under the +closet door in Cervera's chamber, both of which evidently had once been +used for entering the elevator. + +The fact chiefly observed by Nick, however, was that the sill of the +door was wide enough to offer him a safe footing. Though it was fully +eight feet above his head, Nick resolved to attempt to reach it by means +of the notched iron on the side wall. + +Gripping the rough notches with his muscular fingers, and using those +lower down for a foothold, as best he could, Nick hurriedly began the +difficult ascent. + +By the light from a fragment of burning paper, Cervera perceived his +design, and greeted it with a scream of derision. + +"I'll soon stop that, my fine fellow," she shouted, with vicious +asperity. "Look out for yourself!" + +White speaking, she touched a match to one of her dresses, which hung +from a near peg on the closet wall, and dropped it blazing down the +well. + +Nick saw it coming, and was forced to drop back to the cellar floor. + +"You vicious demon!" he cried, angrily. "Let up! You'll have the house +on fire!" + +"That's just what I intend doing--and you with it!" screamed Cervera, +with a laugh. "I'll not leave you alive to get the best of me at some +later day." + +Then she set fire to a silk skirt, and dropped it after the other. + +Nick had not yet been able to extinguish the first, and the situation +was momentarily becoming more desperate. A cloud of smoke was filling +the well, with no draft to carry it away, and the heat was already very +oppressive. + +Crouching on the curb of the lighted passage three floors above him, +Cervera was laughing wildly, with her handsome face reflecting the +bitter hatred by which she was inspired, as she hurriedly set fire to a +third garment and dropped it down the well. + +The smoke at the bottom had become so dense that Nick no longer could +see her, but he felt quite sure that he could put an end to her present +murderous game. + +He drew his revolver and fired two quick shots in her direction. One +bullet crashed through the ceiling above her. The second clipped a lock +of hair from over the vixen's ear. + +It brought a shriek of alarm to her lips, and she sprang quickly back +from the curb over which she was stooping. + +"_Caramba!_" she yelled, excitedly. "That's your game, is it?" + +"You'll find it is, if you approach that opening again!" cried Nick, +half choked with smoke, while he fiercely strove to extinguish the +blazing garments. + +"Oh, I'll not give you another chance at me!" screamed Cervera. "I'll +push over something heavier, and crush out your life with--" + +She suddenly stopped, then held her breath and listened. + +The crash of a breaking door reached her ears, then hurried footsteps +began falling on the main stairway leading to her chamber. + +"Some one is coming!" she fiercely muttered. "Perhaps another detective! +I must be off!" + +Yet so bitter was her hatred of Nick, and so intensely enjoyable to her +the trick she had served him, that she lingered for an instant in the +face of the impending danger, and screamed down the well, with a mocking +laugh: + +"I'm obliged to leave you, Detective Carter! While I'm gone--keep +whistling!" + +At the same moment Chick Carter rushed into the chamber and caught a +glimpse of her through the wreathing smoke, as she fled through the +lighted passage. + +One glance at the scene gave Chick the entire situation. + +He drew back, took a short run, and with a magnificent bound cleared the +open well, and leaped squarely through the closet and into the lighted +passage. + +Then the crash of a heavy door, suddenly closed, and the shooting of +bolts, told him that Cervera had prevented pursuit for a time at least, +and Chick swung round to the open well, to see if Nick needed him. + +"Hello, Nick!" he shouted. "The woman--" + +"Let her go!" roared Nick, still fiercely fighting the flames that +threatened the woodwork of the well. "Let her go--we'll get her later! +First save the house!" + +"How can I reach you?" + +"Through a door under the one in her chamber," shouted Nick. "Try that." + +Chick cleared the well with another leap, then dashed downstairs and +into the parlor, which was lighted by the glare from both hall and +library. + +He quickly discovered the door--only to find it locked and the key +removed. + +Chick was promptly equal to so slight an emergency, however. Grasping a +heavy stool near the piano, he swung it above his head, and with half a +dozen rapid blows demolished most of the door, and forced it open. + +A cloud of smoke floated into the room, but a glance showed Chick that +Nick now had the flames extinguished. + +"Are you all right, old man?" he demanded. + +"Only a little in need of fresh air," gasped Nick. "You cannot reach +down to me." + +"Wait a bit, then. This will do the business!" + +Chick had turned and snatched off the thick cloth covering of the piano, +which he quickly twisted and lowered over the doorsill, and then braced +himself to sustain Nick's weight. + +"All right?" cried Nick. + +"Yes. Come on!" + +Nick drew himself up until he could grasp the sill of the door, then +easily reached the floor and the clearer atmosphere of the parlor. + +"Well, here's a pretty mess!" he growled, in tones of self-condemnation. +"If ever I was done by a crafty jade, I've been done by one this night." + +"How in thunder did it happen, Nick?" demanded Chick, with no little +amazement. + +Nick very quickly told him, and explained the occasion of his own lack +of distrust and caution. + +"It being a rented house, I did not look for any such trap as this," +said he. "Furthermore, I did not believe that Cervera had any warning of +my coming, and I felt satisfied that she was alone here. Have you seen +anything of Venner while waiting in the cab?" + +"Not a sign of him." + +"It's odds, then, that he was here when I arrived, and made his escape +by a back door," growled Nick. "If so, it goes to show that he is in +with her and the Kilgore push, and not a blind victim to their cunning. +We now must get some proof of that, Chick, and force that gang and +their game to light. We at least have made a beginning, and now for +another move." + +"To-night?" + +"At once!" declared Nick. "Cervera must find shelter somewhere, and it's +very likely she will go to Venner's house. That must be our next point, +and we will lose no time. Possibly we yet may land her before she finds +cover." + +"We can give it a try," cried Chick. + +"Help me extinguish these lights, and then we'll be off again." + +"I'm with you." + +"What sent you into the house so suddenly?" + +"The reports of your revolver," explained Chick. "I at once recognized +its bark, and knew something was wrong." + +"Ah! I see." + +"I saw the light in the chamber, and supposed you might be letting the +woman prepare to go with you," added Chick. "That was while I sat in the +cab. But when I heard your gun, I smashed open the front door and bolted +upstairs." + +"Very lucky, too," nodded Nick. "That she-devil would have burned the +house, and me in the bargain. But the end is not yet." + +"Well, hardly!" laughed Chick, as they descended the front stairs and +extinguished the last light. + +"We'll stop an officer, and send him here to watch the house," said +Nick. "Then we'll have a look at Venner's dwelling. It's my opinion, +Chick, that our work has now begun in good earnest." + +"Well, I reckon we shall prove equal to it," smiled Chick, rather +grimly, as they hastened to enter the waiting carriage. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +THE DIAMOND PLANT. + + +"This does settle it!" + +"What do you mean, Dave?" + +"It must be done?" + +"We must get these Carters--that's what! If we don't get them, +Spotty--you take my word for it--they'll get us!" + +"Do you really think so, Dave?" + +"Not think, but know so!" declared Kilgore, with emphasis. "I know these +Carters, root and branch. They have now struck our trail, and they'll +stick to it like bloodhounds till they run us down--unless we get them! +It must be done, I say, and done promptly." + +"Put them down and out?" + +"Exactly. It's them--or us!" + +"And why do you think, all of a sudden, Dave, that Nick Carter is so hot +on our heels?" + +"I'll tell you why, Spotty." + +And Mr. David Kilgore, chief of the notorious diamond gang bearing his +name, and one of the keenest and coolest criminals in or out of prison +walls, removed his pipe from his mouth and his heels from the edge of +the table, and drew forward in his chair to explain. + +It was a curious place, that in which the speakers of the above were +seated, in the bright glare of an electric light. + +It was inclosed with four solid stone walls, with not a window or +aperture through which a ray of light could be detected from outside. + +Yet in one of the walls was a low, narrow door, also of stone, and so +cleverly constructed and fitted that, when swung into place in the wall, +it was comparatively beyond the detection of anybody ignorant of its +existence. This door then stood open, but the aperture through the wall +was heavily curtained. + +Three of these walls formed the original foundation of an old and +extensive suburban mansion, the location, ownership and present use of +which will presently appear. The fourth wall, that with the door, was of +more recent construction, and was built squarely across the original +cellar of the house. It had been made to mask this secret subterranean +chamber in which the Kilgore gang was then gathered. + +The place was commodious, and contained some noteworthy objects. In one +corner was a powerful hydraulic press. Near by was a splendid electrical +furnace, capable of generating an extraordinary degree of heat. Against +the adjoining wall were several barrels of sulphur, of which only one +was unheaded. Near by was a large box of anthracite coal, black and +glistening in the rays of the arc light. + +Parallel with the opposite wall was a workbench, laden with curious +retorts, crucibles, test tubes, metal molds, and no end of tools, all of +which plainly suggested the work of one versed both in chemistry and +some mechanical art. + +In the middle of the room was a square deal table, at which Kilgore was +seated, with Matt Stall and Spotty Dalton, the original three of the +Kilgore gang. + +Two other persons were present, however, and they were engaged in +examining some work on the bench mentioned. + +One of them was a tall, angular Frenchman, about sixty years of age, +named Jean Pylotte. He had a slender figure, somewhat bowed; but his +head was massive, in which his gleaming, gray eyes were deeply sunk, +like those of a tireless student and hard worker. + +His companion at the bench just then was Sanetta Cervera, the Spanish +dancer--the murderess of Mary Barton--the vicious dare-devil who had +served Nick Carter one of her evil tricks that very evening. + +Cervera had arrived at the diamond plant less than an hour before, and +had hurriedly told her confederates the whole story of her crime and her +adventure with Nick. + +Crime was too common with these outlaws, however, and loyalty to one +another too natural, for Kilgore to censure his only female confederate +very severely. Yet as Kilgore now proceeded to explain, her crime had +rendered their situation decidedly more alarming. + +"I'll tell you why these Carters are now to be seriously feared," said +he, nodding grimly at his hearers. "This last move of Cervera has hurt +us severely." + +"In what way?" demanded Spotty Dalton, the pock-marked chap who had +relieved Venner's partner of the Hafferman diamonds about two weeks +before. "I don't see just how, Dave." + +"No more do I," put in Matt Stall. + +"You'll see," replied Kilgore, "when I run over a few facts which led +to our being here, and at work on our present game." + +"Well, Dave, we're listening." + +"One year ago we three were in Amsterdam, Holland, weren't we?" + +"Sure." + +"At work on a different kind of a game?" + +"Yes." + +"Only we three were then in the gang." + +"That's right, Dave. Now there are seven of us, counting Venner and his +partner." + +"It was in Amsterdam that we first met her nibs," continued Kilgore, +with a jerk of his thumb in the direction of Cervera, who was so engaged +with Pylotte that neither heeded the talk at the table. + +"Yes, Dave, we met her just a year ago," nodded Dalton. + +"She was then doing her dances in a theater there, and we naturally got +our peepers onto her diamonds," Kilgore went on to narrate. "You fellows +already know the scheme by which we tried to relieve her of them, which +we came so near doing." + +"Well, rather," grinned Dalton, as if the reminiscence was amusing. + +"Then we learned from her own lips, and greatly to our surprise, that +her sparks were not the real thing," smiled Kilgore. "At first we could +not believe it. The goods deceived even us, old hands though we are. It +was only when she told us about Pylotte, and the secret process by +which he makes such extraordinary imitations, that we could believe +her." + +"That's right, Dave." + +"She had stumbled by chance upon this clever French chemist and diamond +cutter, and was working him to the extent of her ability. She even had +got wise to his secret, and he was loading her with his marvelous gems +in return for her affection. But we at once saw the way to something +much more profitable, a game for making millions out of Pylotte's great +discovery." + +"Right again, Dave." + +"So we told them about it, and found them willing," continued Kilgore. +"We rung them into our gang, and planned the whole deal. We knew it +would be dead easy to work off such clever stones for genuine goods. +With plenty of such sparks on hand, and one big and reputable jeweler to +help us work the market, the distribution of our goods and their +substitution for genuine stones would quickly throw a cool million or +two our way." + +"Dead easy, Dave." + +"But we decided that New York was the best field for such a gigantic +enterprise," added Kilgore. "So we came here. With the help of Cervera, +we got our grip on Venner, and then on his avaricious partner, Garside, +whose business happened to be on its last legs. So they snapped like +hungry fish at this chance to square themselves, by secretly swindling +their own customers, and shoving our manufactured diamonds upon the +entire market." + +"Like hungry fish--h'm! that's no name for it," cried Matt Stall, with +a mingled growl and laugh. "Rufe Venner was as ready to become a knave +as any covey I ever crossed." + +"So we established this plant for Pylotte to do his clever work in," +continued Kilgore, disregarding the interruption. "Luckily, Venner +already owned this old mansion, as well as that in which he lives; and +fortunately, both places are somewhat secluded, with extensive grounds +abutting. That enabled us to frame up a very snug and safe retreat." + +"Sure it did." + +"So we went to work," Kilgore proceeded, discursively. "We built our +plant, placed our machinery, rigged a private telephone between this +house and Venner's, and tapped the electric conduit with a secret wire, +to give us light and feed our furnace." + +"That was my work," nodded Stall, with a touch of pride. + +"Right you are, Matt, and mighty good work, too," bowed Kilgore. "In a +nutshell, boys, after two months' secret work, we have accomplished all +we planned, and now have Venner sliding our goods upon the market at a +fabulous profit. In a single year, barring these infernal Carters, every +man of us should be a millionaire." + +"But why this sudden fear of the Carters?" growled Dalton, impatiently. + +"I'll now tell you why," cried Kilgore, with voice lowered, and an ugly +gleam in his frowning eyes. "We cannot sack Cervera, nor put out her +light, for she's too good and strong a card for us to lose. But in +losing her head over Venner, and jealously doing up that girl to-day, +she has given the Carters a clew by which to track us." + +"How so, Dave?" muttered Stall, growing a bit pale. + +"Through Venner, of course!" Kilgore forcibly argued. "Until this job of +to-day, Carter has had no definite suspicion of Venner, a possibility +which we headed off with that fake robbery. Now, however, since Cervera +must lie low, and Carter knows of her relations with Venner, he will +suspect the latter and make him a constant mark, in the hope of landing +the girl." + +"By Heaven, that's so!" snarled Dalton, quickly seeing the point. + +"And that's not the worst of it," added Kilgore. "The moment he suspects +Venner, Carter will connect him with us, and know that that robbery was +a put-up job. Then he'll begin to seek us and our game." + +"But how can he locate us?" + +"Locate us?" sneered Kilgore, acidly. "You don't know Nick Carter! I'll +tell you, Spotty, he can smell a rat further than any ferret that ever +shoved his nose under a miller's barn. As sure as death and taxes, Nick +Carter will run us down and land us, every mother's son of us--unless we +can get him, and put him down and out." + +"By Heaven, I begin to think so myself," growled Stall. "If we--" + +"There are no ifs, ands or buts about it, Matt," interrupted Kilgore, +decisively. "We must down them both, Nick and Chick Carter, or our game +is as good as done for." + +"But how can we land them, Dave, and when?" + +"I already have a plan, and I think the first move may be made this +very night." + +"What's the plan, Dave?" + +"To lure both detectives into Venner's house, and there do them up. If +we can get them to come there voluntarily, their fate may never be +learned, and our tracks will be better covered than by doing the job +elsewhere." + +"That's true enough, since they're not likely to disclose their +intentions, and if they come in disguise, no one about here will have +recognized them." + +"That's just my theory." + +"But how can we lure them to Venner's house?" + +"With the help of Pylotte, whom they do not know, nor ever heard of. +He's a brainy dog, moreover, and crafty enough to blind them." + +"But what's your scheme for to-night?" demanded Dalton. + +"After what has happened," replied Kilgore, "it's a safe gamble that the +Carters are at this moment watching Venner's house. If they are--but +wait a bit! First hear my whole plan." + +The three criminals drew their chairs closer, and in a very few minutes +Kilgore had disclosed his entire design, a scheme so recklessly bold +that it brought murmurs of amazement and misgivings from both his +hearers, daring knaves though they were. + +"It strikes me, Dave, that it's too long a chance for us to take, this +giving Nick Carter a genuine clew to our game," objected Dalton, +doubtfully. + +"But no other clew will answer," declared Kilgore, forcibly. "You +cannot fool Nick Carter with any false move or faked story; I'm already +sure of that." + +"So am I," nodded Stall. "He's too wise a guy to fool with." + +"We are compelled to give him the real thing, and make him feel that he +is up against a square deal, or no man among us can work the racket," +added Kilgore. "With my scheme, however, Pylotte is just the covey to do +the job, and land both Carters where we want them." + +"And then?" + +"Then it's our ability against theirs," snarled Kilgore, "If we go lame, +with the odds all in our favor, we deserve to be thrown down." + +"That's right, too," admitted Dalton. + +"Will Pylotte undertake this sort of a job, think you?" inquired Matt +Stall. + +"Will he?" rejoined Kilgore, with an ugly gleam in his determined eyes. +"He will, or--well, you know! Yes, Matt, he will; and he's just the man +for the job." + +The vicious significance with which he spoke plainly indicated that, +though Cervera may have ruled her own roost, there was but one chief of +this gang, and that was Mr. David Kilgore. + +He turned sharply about in his chair, and cried: + +"Here you, Pylotte! Come and give us your ear! I have work for you +to-night!" + +Both Pylotte and Cervera quickly turned and hastened to join the gang at +the table. + +For twenty minutes Kilgore's project for outwitting and securing Nick +Carter was earnestly discussed, and every detail of the plan carefully +laid. + +Then the four men stole quietly out of the house in company. + +It then was a little after midnight. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +THE CUNNING OF JEAN PYLOTTE. + + +Kilgore had reasoned shrewdly, in so quickly suspecting that Nick Carter +would lose no time in getting a line on the Venner residence. Even while +the diamond gang were discussing the plan by which to capture the +Carters, the two detectives were at times within a hundred yards of the +secret plant. + +It was dark out of doors that night, with only a few stars in the +clouded sky, and the wooded locality and neighboring streets were but +poorly lighted. + +It was in a northern suburb of New York, a section not yet much +encroached upon by the spreading city, and the dwelling owned and +occupied by Rufus Venner was that in which three generations of his +family had lived and died. + +It was a square, old house of brick, set fifty yards from the suburban +street, and was flanked in either direction by extensive, ill-kept +grounds, made damp and dark by the huge, old trees, which nearly covered +the estate. + +Back of the house, and off to one side, was a large wooden stable, fast +running to ruin; while a rusty iron fence, falling to fragments in +places, skirted the dismal grounds in front. + +Beyond the trees, far to the rear, could be seen the roof and chimneys +of an old, wooden mansion, fronting on another street, and having a very +similar environment. There, too, the house and grounds were running to +ruin and decay, both places being but crumbling monuments of former +opulence and grandeur. + +It was upon this scene that Nick Carter and Chick arrived just before +midnight, having left their carriage at a remote corner, to await their +return. + +"Yonder is Venner's house, Chick," said Nick, as they picked their way +along the unpaved sidewalk. "We'll vault this iron fence and steal +across the grounds." + +"It doesn't look much as if our quarry was there," observed Chick, as +they scaled the fence. + +"Their deeds are dark, and like seeks like," replied Nick. "They now may +be making darkness their cover." + +"Not a light in the house, is there?" + +"None visible from this side. We'll steal between the house and stable, +and have a look at the opposite elevation." + +"Not much danger of being seen. It's as dark as a nigger's pocket under +these trees." + +"So much the better in case anyone is watching." + +"Who lives here with Venner?" + +"Only an elderly housekeeper, of whom I don't hear anything very good," +replied Nick. "Venner is here but part of the time, I am told. In fact, +I don't quite fathom his habits." + +"Why so?" + +"I can't learn what takes him from home so much of the time. He does not +leave the city, nor patronize any hotel that I can discover, yet he +frequently is away from this house overnight." + +"Perhaps he secretly keeps another house, and is leading a double life." + +"Possibly," admitted Nick. "He is on friendly terms with numerous women, +I learn, and other quarters may be essential to designs of some kind. +Quietly, now, and we'll slip across the back lawn." + +Like shadows, as dark as the night itself, they silently reached a point +from which they could view the north side of the house. Here they +discovered that one of the lower rooms was lighted, with the curtain at +the single window nearly drawn. + +"Somebody is up," murmured Chick. + +"We'll learn who, if possible." + +"Going to have a look?" + +"Yes. Come, if you like, but don't get into the glare from the curtain. +Kilgore has a very wicked air gun, and if he and his gang are about +here, we might invite a bullet." + +"I'll have a care." + +Stealing closer over the damp greensward, they approached the house and +peered beneath the curtain mentioned. There was but one occupant of the +room, which was a small library. + +In an easy-chair near the table, with a newspaper fallen across his +knees, sat Rufus Venner, apparently sound asleep. + +This was only a part of the game, however, for Venner was wide awake. +By means of their secret wire, he had been informed of Cervera's arrival +at the diamond plant, and of Kilgore's designs upon Nick, and Venner at +that moment suspected that he might be under the eye of the detective. + +For nearly half an hour Nick waited for some sign of this artifice, but +Venner in no way betrayed it. + +Presently a clock on the mantel struck the half after one, and the sound +appeared to awake him. He yawned, glanced at the clock, then took the +lamp from the table and went up to bed. But never so much as a glance +toward the window. + +Nick led Chick away, and they returned across the lawn to a point beyond +the stable. + +"It rather looks as if Cervera had been here, doesn't it?" inquired +Chick, with a grin. + +"Yes," admitted Nick. "Two facts are very significant of it. First, that +Venner is at home on this particular night; and, second, that he should +be asleep in his chair after midnight. It has a fishy look." + +"That's my idea, Nick, exactly." + +"Yet the way to prove it doesn't appear quite easy." + +"Not just yet. But who occupies that house over yonder, where the roof +shows above the trees?" + +And Chick pointed to the distant dwelling, little dreaming that the +diamond plant and the gang they sought were established under its +many-gabled roof. + +This was not the first night Nick had watched Venner's house since the +diamond robbery, the doubtful character of which he had suspected at the +outset, and incidentally he had informed himself concerning Venner's +neighbors. + +"One Dr. Magruder, I am told, a retired physician from Illinois," he +replied. "He bought the place at a forced sale some little time ago." + +Nor did Nick, when thus replying, dream that Dr. Magruder and Rufus +Venner were one and the same; or that, in attributing to him a double +life of shameful iniquity, Chick had hit the nail squarely on the head. + +"Come this way," added Nick. + +"Where now?" + +"We'll go down to the corner of the grounds, and watch the house for a +time." + +Before Nick's reply was fairly uttered, however, both detectives were +startled by distant cries, which fell with frantic appeal on the +midnight air. + +"Help! Help! Help!" + +The startling cry was thrice repeated, the last time as if choked in the +speaker's throat, yet the direction of the sound was unmistakable. + +"Something's up!" muttered Nick. "This way!" + +With Chick at his heels, he tore across the wooded grounds and bounded +over the iron fence at the street. + +Then the occasion of the outcry at once became apparent. + +Some two hundred yards away, in the yellow glare of one of the +incandescent lights by which the little-frequented street was illumined, +a man was battling desperately with three assailants, one of whom he +had knocked to the ground. + +Without a word, both detectives rushed down the road to his assistance. + +As they drew nearer there came a flash of light, then the report of a +pistol, followed by another shriek for help. + +Then Nick saw one of the ruffians reel a little, as if shot, while a +second hurled their victim to the ground. The third leaped to his feet +at the same moment, yelling wildly: + +"Look out! Scatter, boys! The cops are upon us!" + +"Kilgore's voice, or I'm a liar," muttered Nick, over his shoulder. + +Both detectives were still fifty yards from the scene of the furious +conflict, and were running at the top of their speed along the rough +road. + +Before they could come near enough to use a weapon, however, the three +ruffians scattered like frightened cats, leaping the wall near an +adjoining woodland, into the gloom of which they speedily vanished. + +It was obvious to Nick that pursuit would be vain, so he hastened to the +side of the fallen man, who had been left prostrate in the road, and +helped him to his feet. + +The man was Jean Pylotte. + +He was panting hard after the conflict, the fake character of which Nick +could not then foresee. His coat was ripped up the back, his linen +collar torn off, and he was deathly pale, with a smutch of blood across +his cheek. In one hand he held a revolver, and in the other--a chunk of +coal. + +"Are you wounded, stranger?" Nick quickly demanded, as he studied the +man's pale face. + +"Not much--not badly, I think," gasped Pylotte, trembling violently. +"But it's lucky you came. They'd surely have killed me." + +Nick noticed that he spoke with a slight foreign accent, and was a man +of considerable physical prowess. + +"There's blood on your face," said he. + +"It came from one of them, I think," said Pylotte, drawing his sleeve +across his cheek to remove the stain. "I must have wounded one of them." + +"It's a pity you did not kill him," said Nick, bluntly. "Was it you who +fired the gun?" + +"Yes. I tried to fire again, but one of them struck me down before I +could do so. The ruffians came upon me before I fairly realized it." + +"Do you know them?" inquired Chick. + +"Only one of them, a man named John David," replied Pylotte, now +appearing to pull himself together. + +"John David, eh?" grunted Nick. + +"He has swindled me, and I--I saw him at a theater to-night, and +afterward followed him out here." + +"For what? If he has swindled you, why didn't you have him arrested at +the theater?" demanded Nick. + +"Well, I--I wanted to learn where he lives. He must have discovered +that he was being followed, and then tried to do me up." + +Nick observed the speaker's faltering manner, and it increased his +curiosity. + +"Why do you wish to know where he lives?" he demanded. + +Pylotte hesitated, and shrugged his shoulders. + +"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," said he, after a moment. + +"Not believe you?" + +"I hardly think so." + +"Suppose you tell me, and see," suggested Nick, with a faint smile. + +"I have no objection to telling you, none at all," Pylotte now replied. +"The man I spoke of, John David, swindled me yesterday with two +artificial diamonds." + +"Ah! is that so?" cried Nick, with a significant glance at Chick. "What +is your name, my man?" + +"Jean Pylotte, sir." + +"Who are you, and where do you live?" + +"I am a Frenchman by birth, and arrived in New York only this week. My +home is in Denver. I am a diamond cutter by trade, and came here to buy +some gems for a Denver woman of wealth, who wishes to obtain a certain +size and quality." + +"Then you are a judge of diamonds?" + +"One of the best," Pylotte modestly admitted, with a faint smile. "I am +an expert judge of diamonds, and so it happened that I discovered the +swindle of which I am a victim." + +"Then you bought a diamond of the man who said his name was John David, +did you?" + +"I bought two, sir," nodded Pylotte. "They appeared like natural and +very perfect stones when I first examined them, but after subjecting +them to more careful tests, I found them to be the most extraordinary +imitations I ever beheld." + +"Artificial diamonds, were they?" + +"Yes, artificial. But only the best of experts, and after the most rigid +tests, could discover the fraud. I never saw such imitations. The stones +are really almost as good as natural ones." + +"Have you them with you?" + +"Yes." + +"You feel quite confident that they were manufactured, do you?" + +"Oh, I am positive of it," cried Pylotte, with emphasis. "That is why I +was secretly following the swindler." + +"You wanted to discover his house, and learn how he made such perfect +imitations, eh? Was that your motive, instead of having him arrested at +the theater?" + +"Well, yes, it was," admitted Pylotte, with feigned reluctance. + +"Do you know any process for manufacturing diamonds?" Nick next +demanded. + +"I am pretty well informed on the subject." + +"Quite an art, isn't it?" + +"Yes, it is." + +"And one that could be made very profitable, perhaps?" + +"I judge so." + +"Put up your revolver," said Nick, abruptly. "What's that black object +you dropped just now?" + +Pylotte glanced down at his feet, then laughed faintly. + +"That's odd," said he. "It's a piece of coal. I must have seized it from +the road, thinking to defend myself with it." + +"What is there odd in that?" + +Pylotte laughed again. + +"Diamonds may be made from coal," said he. "The fact that I should have +got hold of a piece in the road here, while tracking that diamond +swindler in search of his house, strikes me as being rather odd." + +"So it was," said Nick, a bit dryly, thinking of Venner's house in the +near distance. + +Then he added, decisively: + +"Put up your gun, Mr. Pylotte. I want you to go with me. I think you are +the very man I want." + +"Go with you!" exclaimed Pylotte, drawing back. + +"If you please," said Nick, politely. "I want, at least, to hear more of +your story." + +"But who are you, sir?" + +"My name is Nick Carter." + +"Not the celebrated detective?" cried Pylotte, with feigned amazement. + +"Precisely." + +"That's quite sufficient, Mr. Carter!" the Frenchman now cried, with +much bowing and scraping. "I'll go with you when and where you wish. If +any man can run down these swindling ruffians, sir, you certainly are +the man." + +"Thanks," said Nick, dryly. "I'll take you home with me for the night." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +THE GAME UNCOVERED. + + +The following morning. + +The clock in Nick Carter's library was striking nine. + +Nick and Chick were seated at one side of the table, and Jean Pylotte +occupied a chair at the opposite side. + +Upon the dark cloth top of the table between them lay two large +diamonds, declared by Pylotte to have been artificially made, the two +with which he claimed to have been swindled. + +Yet to the eyes of a layman they had all the qualities of natural gems, +gleaming and glistening with magnificent fire in the cheerful sunlight +of Nick's library. + +Pylotte had invented a very clever and consistent story about himself +and his mission in New York, as well as about the meeting and being +victimized by the counterfeit diamond shover, and Nick as yet saw no +occasion for seriously distrusting him, or connecting him with the +Kilgore gang. + +He rather suspected, in fact, that Pylotte had shadowed the swindler, +whom Nick felt sure was Kilgore, with a view to learning just how the +diamonds had been manufactured, and possibly with a design to turn the +discovery to his own advantage. + +This was, indeed, the most natural deduction for Nick to arrive at, +after considering all the circumstances. + +"So you are confident that these stones are works of art, rather than +of nature, are you?" inquired Nick, who had been carefully examining the +gems. + +"I am absolutely sure of it, Mr. Carter," declared Pylotte. + +"Have you any idea how such counterfeits can be made?" + +"Oh, yes." + +"By what process and means, Mr. Pylotte?" + +Pylotte hastened to explain. + +"A natural diamond, Mr. Carter, is pure carbon, crystallized under +enormous heat and pressure in the bowels of the earth." + +"I am aware of that." + +"Charcoal and graphite are also pure carbon, but not in a crystallized +condition," continued Pylotte. "If that condition could be imparted to +the substances mentioned, we should have the artificial diamond." + +"How may that be done?" inquired Nick. + +"By subjecting the substance to the same condition under which the +natural diamond was crystallized." + +"Heat and pressure?" + +"Precisely," bowed Pylotte. "Attempts to thus manufacture diamonds have +frequently been made. A Mr. Acheson, of Pittsburg, while so engaged, and +in obtaining graphite from coal by the heat of an electric furnace, +discovered that combination of silicon and carbon now known as +carborundum, which has commercial value as an abrasive." + +"I know about that," bowed Nick. + +"Now, then," continued Pylotte, with an unconscious display of +enthusiasm; "while diamonds certainly have been made by artificial +means, the great difficulty has been that of producing them at a low +cost. Moissan, in my country, produced diamonds by heating charcoal and +iron to a high degree, and letting the mixture cool under enormous +pressure. He succeeded in obtaining very small crystals, or diamonds, +but the cost of production made his method impracticable from a +commercial standpoint." + +"Ah! I see." + +"In 1872 a chemist named Rose converted graphite into diamonds by a +similar process, but with the same result." + +"The cost of production being too great?" observed Nick. + +"Precisely." + +"Do you think that difficulty has now been overcome?" + +"I am compelled to think so, Mr. Carter," cried Pylotte, pointing to the +two diamonds on the table. + +"You purchased them at a price compelling that belief?" + +"Exactly." + +"Then you think the man of whom you got them has discovered a way to +make such perfect artificial diamonds at a low price?" + +"I certainly do, Mr. Carter." + +"Have you any idea of the machinery and ingredients he might require?" +asked Nick, with a view to getting points by which to locate the diamond +plant. + +Pylotte could easily inform him, and he promptly did so, following the +instructions given him by Dave Kilgore. + +"He would require an electric furnace and a hydraulic press," said he. +"Also the tools for cutting the crude crystals. The ingredients used +would depend upon the process he has discovered, probably coal or +charcoal, and possibly some quantities of iron salts and sulphur." + +"In brief, then, Mr. Pylotte," said Nick, pointing to the diamonds on +the table, "if those stones were made as cheaply as you think, the +diamond market offers the manufacturers of them a field for a most +gigantic swindle, does it not?" + +"Indeed it does!" exclaimed Pylotte, throwing up both hands. "Enormous! +Enormous! Millions could be made by so unparalleled a fraud!" + +"It opens the way, in fact, to the most colossal swindle on record?" + +"Undoubtedly." + +Nick glanced significantly at Chick, then abruptly rose to his feet. +That he had struck the big game which from the first he had suspected, +he now had not a doubt. + +"I require no more of you at present, Mr. Pylotte," said he, with +courteous firmness. "I shall do all in my power to remedy your loss by +this swindle, and to secure the perpetrators of it." + +"Thank you, Detective Carter," bowed Pylotte, with a crafty display of +appreciation and humility. + +"Meantime," added Nick, "you will please take no action in the case, but +leave it entirely to me." + +"I will do so, sir." + +"If you will leave me your city address, or call here again in a few +days, I shall have something to report to you." + +"I will call the day after to-morrow, Detective Carter," said Pylotte, +promptly, too cunning to give Nick a fictitious address. + +"Very well," said Nick. "Call in the evening. And now, Mr. Pylotte, we +will bid you good-morning, and get to work at once upon the case." + +Pylotte bowed very agreeably, taking his artificial diamonds from the +table and replacing them in his pocket; and Nick then conducted him to +the door, again assuring him that no efforts in his behalf should be +spared. + +Pylotte once more expressed his thanks, bowing and smiling as he +descended the steps, and Nick closed the door and returned to the +library. + +"Well, Chick, the bag is open and the cat out," he cried, as he entered. + +"Right you are, Nick." + +"And a monstrous cat it is!" + +"Never a larger one," declared Chick, with a laugh. "By Jove! Nick, if +Kilgore has really found a way to produce such perfect counterfeit +diamonds, his gang could work the greatest swindle ever known, unless +headed off." + +"That is their game, all right," said Nick. "From the very first I have +suspected something extraordinary. They are not the stamp of criminals +to dicker with petty jobs." + +"I should say not." + +"Far from it." + +"One thing is plain." + +"Namely?" + +"Where Cervera gets her diamonds, and of what they consist." + +"True. She certainly is one of the gang." + +"With such counterfeits as those worked upon Pylotte, and one big +jewelry concern to help market the goods, they could clean up millions +in a very short time." + +"No doubt of it. And they have their jewelry concern, all right." + +"Venner & Co.?" + +"Surely." + +"We must get absolute proof of it." + +"That's just what I intend doing, now that we have the game uncovered," +said Nick, grimly. + +"And then proceed to locate the plant where the goods are made, eh?" + +"Precisely." + +"What are your plans?" + +"We'll first get a line on Venner, and see to what it leads," replied +Nick. "There now is a way by which we can call the turn on him, and get +proof of his co-operation with Kilgore and his gang." + +"By getting him to sell us some diamonds?" + +"Exactly." + +"And then proving them to be artificial?" + +"That's the idea." + +"Can you get at him in a way to trap him?" + +"What do you mean?" + +"He may fight shy of us," suggested Chick, "in case he knows of +Pylotte's scrap with the gang last night. He may fear that Pylotte has +discovered the fraud, and reported it to the police." + +"There's not much danger of that," replied Nick. "So stupendous a fraud +would at once be given publicity through the press." + +"That's true." + +"In either case," added Nick, abruptly, "there's a way by which we can +fool him. I'll explain it on the way. Get your make-up box and prepare +to go with me. Since we have the game uncovered, we'll lose no time in +rounding up these accomplished rascals." + +"Good enough!" exclaimed Chick, as he hurriedly arose. "The sooner the +better." + +"We may have ragged work before the job is completed," added Nick. "So +provide yourself with a brace of guns. I'll be ready when you are." + +"Where first?" + +"To the house of Pandu Singe, the snake charmer." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +AT CROSS-PURPOSES. + + +It was not quite noon when Nick Carter and Chick arrived at the house of +the Hindoo snake charmer. + +They found Pandu Singe at home with his interpreter, and the two +detectives were very cordially received. + +Nick quickly disclosed his business. + +"We wish to borrow your personalities for a short time, also some of +your curious garments," he explained to Pandu Singe, through his +interpreter, who also was a Hindoo of superior education. + +The snake charmer appeared greatly surprised at such a request, but Nick +readily invented a very plausible story to serve his purpose, without +disclosing the true occasion. + +He soon persuaded the foreigner to grant his request, moreover, and the +amazement of Pandu Singe and the interpreter were redoubled when they +beheld what followed. + +This was the extraordinary transformation of their visitors. + +Nick had already outlined his plans to Chick, and they at once began +operations. + +First they placed the two Hindoos in chairs near the windows, where the +light revealed every peculiarity of their swarthy features. + +Nick next adjusted a large mirror upon the table, and placed his make-up +box near by. + +Using the interpreter for his pattern, Nick then set to work with +grease paints, powders, false hair, and the like, and at the end of +twenty minutes he had, with most artistic skill, converted himself into +a startling likeness of his model. + +The addition of the garments already provided for him made the +remarkable transformation absolutely complete. + +Chick had not been idle meantime, but with equally clever manipulation +had made himself into a counterfeit presentment of Pandu Singe. + +The astonishment of the two Hindoos, and their delight as they beheld +the progressive changes so artistically made, could scarcely find +expression in words. + +At the end of an hour, when the two detectives stood robed in their +strange Indian attire, one would readily have declared that four genuine +Hindoos, rather than two, occupied the apartment. + +Having thus paved the way to his next move, Nick easily prevailed upon +the Hindoos to remain indoors for a day or two, lest the deception +should be discovered and his designs perverted. + +He and Chick then returned to their waiting carriage, and half an hour +later it drew up at the Fifth Avenue store of Venner & Co. + +Chick alighted and led the way in. + +In order that he might do most of the talking, and shape his course by +whatever might occur, Nick had decided to personate the interpreter. + +Yet both detectives had carefully noticed the peculiar characteristics +of the Hindoo tongue, and believed that they could imitate it so +cleverly as to prevent detection. + +Several facts, which Nick then had no way of knowing, however, operated +very quickly to betray him and the crafty ruse he had adopted, when +Venner personally met them at the store door. + +First, Kilgore had shrewdly reasoned that Nick's first move, after the +disclosures made by Pylotte, would be that of thus getting positive +evidence against Venner; and the crafty diamond swindler had warned +Venner to be on the watch for the detective, and to handle him in a way +to serve their own designs. + +Furthermore, when visiting the theater with Cervera, Venner frequently +had heard Pandu Singe talking with his interpreter; and before Nick +fairly had begun speaking, Venner penetrated his disguise and saw that +he was up against the two detectives. + +Yet, despite the unexpected characters in which he now beheld them, the +nerve of the polished knave did not weaken, nor his countenance in any +way betray him. He at once proceeded to follow Kilgore's instructions. + +"Ah! yes, I recognize both you and your interpreter," said he, in reply +to Nick's dignified greeting. "I have frequently seen Pandu Singe at the +theater, where I am admitted to the stage with Senora Cervera, the +famous Spanish dancer. Perhaps Pandu Singe may have seen me there." + +Nick gravely bowed, then pretended to interpret the remarks to Chick; +who immediately began to bow and smile, at the same time glibly +responding in a jargon that would have staggered a Chinese laundryman, +yet which sounded as much like Hindoo as anything. + +Had his own situation been less serious, and the entire outlook less +desperate, Venner would have laughed at the consummate dignity and +soberness with which the two detectives co-operated in their exchange of +unintelligible talk. + +"My employer, the great Pandu Singe," bowed Nick, "says he remembers the +friend of the great Cervera." + +"Ah! I am glad to hear it," cried Venner, shaking hands with Chick. + +"He has seen the splendid diamonds of the great senora, and has heard +that they came from your magnificent store," Nick then went on to +explain. + +"That is quite right," bowed Venner. "Many of them did come from here. +Is Pandu Singe looking for some diamonds?" + +Nick promptly bowed, and noted a gleam of satisfaction in the depths of +Venner's eyes. + +"The great Pandu Singe soon returns to his own country," replied Nick. +"He wishes to take with him, as a gift to her august excellency, the +Empress of all the Indies, six fine jewels of equal weight and value. He +calls here to learn if you can provide him with them." + +Venner plainly saw the game that was being attempted, and it suited him +to the very letter. + +"Does the great Pandu Singe wish to purchase diamonds?" he asked, +bowing. + +"Diamonds, yes! Are they not for the empress?" + +"I should have thought of that, certainly." + +"Only diamonds will answer." + +"Of large size and the first water?" + +"The great Pandu Singe would consider no other." + +"Alas, then, this is most unfortunate!" Venner now exclaimed, glancing +about the store. "You see that we are making some repairs here, in the +walls of our store and vault." + +"That is plain," bowed Nick. "But what has that to do with the +diamonds?" + +"Only this," replied Venner, with feigned regret. "During these repairs +I have removed all of my most valuable diamonds to a vault in my private +residence." + +"For safer keeping?" + +"Exactly." + +"I will explain to Pandu Singe." + +"Wait a moment," Venner quickly interposed. "Tell him, also, that I have +at my residence the very gems he desires, six magnificent diamonds, +precisely alike in weight, purity and cutting. They cannot be equaled in +New York City, if in the entire country." + +"Are they fit for an empress?" + +"They are fit for a goddess." + +"Ah! that will please Pandu Singe." + +"Tell him, also, that he can purchase them at a marvelously low price," +cried Venner. "Now, if Pandu Singe will come to my house, say early this +evening, he may see the diamonds and examine them at his leisure. Tell +him that, Mr. Interpreter, and say that I will send my carriage for him +immediately after dinner. Say, too, that he may then see the diamonds +both by daylight and lamplight, and so observe all the variety of their +magnificent fire. Really, this will be greatly to the advantage of Pandu +Singe." + +Nick gravely heard him to a finish, and with never a change of +countenance. + +Yet, like a flash, one of those marvelous intuitions characteristic of +this great detective, Nick Carter had suddenly grasped the whole truth. + +That conflict of the previous night, the flight of three of the diamond +gang, Pylotte left comparatively uninjured in the road, his subsequent +disclosures, his extensive knowledge of the diamond-making art, the +hints he had imparted, and now this manifest eagerness of Venner to lure +his ostensible customers to his suburban house--all combined to reveal +to Nick's keen mind the shrewd game by which Kilgore was hoping to +entrap him. + +Nick now knew that Venner recognized both Chick and himself, and was +serving only the Kilgore gang. + +Yet Nick bowed without the slightest self-betrayal, and said, gravely: + +"I will explain the situation to Pandu Singe." + +For several minutes the two detectives maintained their curious game of +talk. + +Then Nick, who had speedily planned his own counter-move, again turned +to Rufus Venner. + +"The great Pandu Singe will do what you suggest," said he. "He wishes to +see the diamonds, and will be pleased to come to your house." + +Venner had felt sure of this to start with, though he little dreamed +that Nick had guessed the truth, and knew that he was recognized. + +"Let it be to-day, then," said he, quickly. + +"At your own pleasure," bowed Nick. + +"I will send my carriage far you at seven this evening," cried Venner, +with secret exultation. + +Nick gravely tendered one of the snake charmer's cards. + +"The great Pandu Singe will not keep your carriage waiting!" said he, +with a dryness to which Venner then was blind. + +"Well, Chick, what say you to that?" demanded Nick, as they were +returning to the house of the snake charmer. + +Chick laughed grimly. + +"I say that we are now up against it." + +"Right! There's a mighty wicked crisis near at hand." + +"No doubt of it, Nick. Venner knew us all right." + +"But he does not suspect that we are aware that he knew us, and in that +at least we have the best of him." + +"We'll turn it to a good account, too." + +"Do you see the game this Kilgore gang is playing?" + +"Plainly, Nick." + +"They aim to lure us both to Venner's house, and there trap us and do us +up." + +"To which latter," said Chick, dryly, "we shall strenuously object." + +"Well, rather!" laughed Nick. "Still, I can see nothing in evading this +question or in making a raid upon Venner's house. If the Kilgore gang +are about to lay for us there, it is evident that their diamond plant is +located elsewhere. They would not take chances of failing to down us, +and then having their plant discovered in the house where they slipped +up." + +"Surely not," admitted Chick. "Kilgore is too shrewd to take those +chances." + +"Undoubtedly." + +For several minutes Nick calmly considered the situation, then bluntly +observed: + +"Chick, I see but one course for us. We must go up against the game, and +give this gang what rope they want." + +"That's just my idea, Nick." + +"In no other way can we make sure of nailing the entire gang, and also +locating their plant. Raiding Venner's house would not accomplish it. +Some of the gang might not be there, or possibly escape us, and we might +search in vain for their plant. Then we should have most of our work to +do over again." + +"That's right, Nick." + +"So we'll take the one sure way, Chick," said Nick, decisively. "We'll +let this gang continue to think they are fooling us, and go up against +them till we get the whole truth." + +"That's good enough for me, Nick," nodded Chick. "I'm with you." + +"It may prove to be a desperate game, but we'll take our chances. Before +night I'll have laid such plans as will best serve us, and possibly +circumvent these scoundrels. Here we are at the house of Pandu Singe." + +Nick dismissed their carriage, and entered the dwelling, where they +decided to remain until evening. Meantime Nick perfected his plans and +discussed them with Chick. + +Then a wire was sent to Patsy, the detective's younger assistant, with +careful instructions. + +Seven o'clock came, then half-past seven, but no sign of Venner's +carriage. + +Nick readily suspected the true reason for the delay. + +"They are waiting until dark," he observed to Chick. "They don't want +our arrival at Venner's house to be observed. A crafty dog, this +Kilgore!" + +"That he is." + +"Never mind. Darkness will serve us best, as well as them." + +"Hark! There's a carriage." + +Nick glanced from the front window. + +"A landau!" he muttered, with grim satisfaction. "Yes, and with Spotty +Dalton on the seat. I know him, despite his disguise. Come on, Chick! +There's rough work to be done in the next two hours." + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +HANDS SHOWED DOWN. + + +Spotty Dalton stood at the door of the open carriage when Nick and Chick +emerged from the house, still clad in the character of Hindoos. + +"Are you sent here by Mr. Venner?" inquired Nick. + +Dalton touched the cloth cap drawn low over his brow, and stroked his +dark, false beard as he replied: + +"Yes, sir," said he, half in his throat. "You're the interpreter, I take +it." + +"At your service." + +"I'm a bit late, but it couldn't be helped. We'll not be long in getting +there." + +"Time does not matter to the great Pandu Singe," replied Nick, as he +followed Chick into the open landau. "The night is still long." + +"It'll be infernally long for you two meddlers," Dalton grimly said to +himself, as he banged the carriage door and mounted to the box. + +Then they rolled rapidly away toward a northern suburb of the city. + +The dusk of evening was already deepening to darkness, a gloom more +noticeable far up in the heavens than among the myriad of lights in the +city streets. For not a star was visible in the murky sky, and away in +the west huge banks of inky clouds were sweeping up toward the zenith, +indicating the rapid approach of a sudden storm. + +"Do you think it is going to rain, driver?" called Nick, from the rear +seat of the carriage. + +"Not soon," Dalton turned to answer; and then he added with grim +significance, which he did not dream would be appreciated: "Whether it +rains or not, you'll be brought back home in a closed carriage." + +"It's my private opinion that the boot will be on the other leg," +thought Nick, smiling faintly at the scoundrel's grim levity. + +For Dalton had implied that Nick would be brought back in a hearse. + +From that time but few words were spoken during the ride, though the +detectives occasionally passed a remark in their meaningless lingo, +merely to keep up appearances. + +At eight o'clock they had left the throbbing body of the city behind +them, and at half-past eight they were speeding along the deserted +suburban road leading to Venner's rather isolated homestead. + +Only the yellow glare of an incandescent lamp here and there now +relieved the terrestrial gloom, but across the distant heavens +intermittent flashes of light, followed by the low, sullen roll of +thunder, told of the approaching storm. + +Soon the lighted windows of Venner's house came into view through the +woodland, and Nick now murmured softly to Chick: + +"If I fail to rejoin you in ten minutes, you will know what to do." + +"You bet!" whispered Chick. "Trust me to do it, too!" + +"Here we are, sirs," cried Dalton, as he pulled up at the gate of the +gravel walk. "You can go right in, while I wait to look after my +horses." + +Chick--as Pandu Singe--pretended to give Nick a brief command, and Nick +alone sprang out upon the sidewalk. + +"Wait here, driver," said he, curtly. "I will return for Pandu Singe in +a few minutes." + +Dalton instantly became suspicious. + +"What's that for?" he abruptly demanded. "Why doesn't his nibs go in +with you now?" + +"It is for me to obey the great Pandu Singe, not question his commands," +replied Nick, with an air of offended dignity. "I shall return for him +when I have followed his instructions." + +"Hold on a bit! I want to know--" + +But Nick had already turned, and was striding up the long gravel walk +leading to the front door of the house. + +Dalton then swung round and began to address Chick, who quickly +signified that he could not understand; whereupon the puzzled scoundrel +remained doubtfully on the box, growling under his breath, and quite at +a loss just what he should do. + +Chick was now counting the seconds and minutes, until he should arrive +at ten. + +Venner, who was waiting with the gang in the house, heard Nick's step on +the wooden veranda, and he hastened to admit him. + +"What's this!" he at once exclaimed, starting. "Where is your master? +You did not come here alone!" + +"No, not alone," replied Nick, entering the hall. "Pandu Singe waits in +the carriage." + +"Waits in the carriage! For what?" + +"He fears the storm may break." + +"Fears the storm!" exclaimed Venner, with a blaze of suspicion leaping +up in his dark eyes. "Surely, then, he will not remain out there." + +"You don't understand," coolly answered Nick, quickly sizing up +everything in view. + +"Don't understand?" + +"Pandu Singe thinks of returning home before the storm shall break. He +has first sent me in to see the diamonds, as I know just what he wants. +If I think well of them, I am to return to the carriage and bring him in +to see them." + +"Oh, that's it, eh?" cried Venner, with unabated misgivings. + +"Am I to see the stones?" demanded Nick. "Pandu Singe will not care to +wait long." + +"Yes, yes," replied Venner, as perplexed as Dalton by Nick's unexpected +move. "Come out this way, where I have them ready to show you." + +Nick bowed and followed him through the hall, and a glance into the two +front rooms, both of which were well lighted, told him they were vacant. + +Nick knew that he was entering a trap, however, and possibly carried +his life in his hand. Yet he had several shrewd designs in the plan of +operations adopted. + +He aimed to prevent both Chick and himself being cornered, and possibly +caught at the same time. Not wishing to evade this gang, and thus reveal +his own knowledge and suspicions, he designed to leave Chick free to act +in case of his own downfall. + +Nick knew that he alone could force Venner and the gang to show their +hands, even if it resulted in his own capture. He rather invited the +latter, in fact, for he knew that the gang would see the need of +instantly removing him from Venner's house, at least until they could +lay hands upon Chick. In this case Nick believed that they might be +compelled to confine him at their diamond plant, the location of which +he thus hoped to discover. + +For these reasons Nick was coolly taking very long chances, at the same +time leaving Chick free to quickly get in his work, in case he himself +went down at the outset. + +Yet there was not a sign of any person save Venner, as Nick followed him +through the hall and into a side room near the rear of the house, +evidently a dining room. + +Nick sized it up with a glance. Electric chandelier; two doors, one by +which he had entered from the hall, and the other leading into a dark +kitchen; two windows, with the curtains closely drawn; several chairs, a +handsome sideboard, and in the middle of the room a large, square table, +covered with a rich damask cloth hanging nearly to the floor. + +Upon the table was also spread a piece of black velvet, on which was +displayed nearly a score of blazing diamonds--the most magnificent +artificial stones ever born of man's restless genius. + +Nick rightly guessed their true character, yet he allowed an ejaculation +of admiration to escape him. + +"Ah! Magnificent!" + +"Look them over," cried Venner, with a swift scrutiny of Nick's swarthy +features. "You'll excuse me for a minute or two. I wish to make sure +that my rear windows and doors are locked. Such gems are a terrible +temptation to thieves." + +"True, sir," bowed Nick. "Take your time. Meanwhile I'll examine the +diamonds. They are splendid! magnificent!" + +Nick rightly guessed that Venner wished to consult some of the gang. He +saw that his entering the house without Chick had thrown their plans +badly out of gear, as he had designed for it to do. + +Venner went into the dark kitchen, rattled a doorknob merely for a +bluff, then crossed the hall and entered the library, closing the door +behind him. + +The room was but dimly lighted, and on the floor stood Dave Kilgore and +Matthew Stall, each with a drawn revolver. + +"What's the meaning of this, Rufe?" Kilgore instantly demanded, in +passionate whispers. + +"How do I know?" Venner hurriedly rejoined, scarce above his breath. +"You heard what he said?" + +"Yes, curse him, but I don't swallow it." + +"Nor I." + +"I can't see into his game." + +"That's just my trouble," cried Venner. "Can he have discovered that we +recognize him?" + +"Impossible! Pylotte is too cunning to have betrayed us in any way." + +This was very true, in fact; but Venner himself had blindly done the +betraying. + +"It doesn't matter, Rufe," Kilgore fiercely added. "We must get them +both." + +"That's my idea." + +"And it's all the easier to get them one at a time." + +"Right you are, Dave." + +"Has he discovered Pylotte?" + +"Surely not!" + +"Go back there, then," hissed Kilgore. "Learn what his game is, if you +can. Force him to show his hand." + +"Leave that to me." + +"Waste no time, however, and on no pretext let him leave the house to +return to the carriage." + +"Not on our lives." + +"A warning whistle will start Pylotte, and we'll be on hand to do our +part," added Kilgore, hurriedly. "Go back at once, and waste not a +moment in getting at his game." + +"Trust me, Dave." + +"We must land Nick Carter and get him away from here before that +running mate of his can make any move against us." + +"That's the stuff." + +"And then we'll plan to get the other. Away with you!" + +These forcible measures were precisely what Nick had felt sure would be +adopted by the gang, and were the very steps to which he had so shrewdly +planned to force them. + +Venner darted softly across the hall and returned to the dining room. + +Nick was still examining the diamonds. + +He stood near the table, at a point midway between the two open doors. +He had selected this position for a very good reason. He was inviting +capture and removal, which he knew must be preceded by an assault; and +he therefore laid himself open from either side, aiming to be put down +and out with as little violence as possible. + +He wanted all his resources for what he knew was very likely to follow. + +Nick was quite as anxious as the gang to force matters, moreover; for at +the end of ten minutes, in case he did not return to the carriage, Chick +was to begin getting in his work. + +Therefore the climax came quickly. + +Six minutes had already passed. + +"Well, sir, what do you think of them?" cried Venner, as he returned to +the room. + +"The diamonds?" queried Nick, tossing several of them back upon the +table. + +"Certainly. What else?" + +"They are all right, Mr. Venner." + +"I thought you would say so." + +"Yes, indeed. They are all right--for what they are!" + +"For what they are?" + +"Precisely." + +"What do you mean by that?" + +"You know what I mean." + +"I do?" snarled Venner, inquiringly, with his frowning eyes shrinking +from Nick's steadfast gaze. + +"Certainly you do," declared Nick. "These diamonds are imitations, not +natural stones. They are the most perfect and marvelous artificial +diamonds ever made. + +"Artificial!" cried Venner, now drawing back. "You are mad, sir! Why, +man, you are away off the track!" + +"Oh, no, I'm not." + +"You are!" + +"Not off the track at all, but very squarely on it," Nick now retorted, +speaking in his own sternly resonant tones. "Hark you, Venner, I am the +one to ask the meaning of this, not you!" + +Venner's hand went stealing toward his hip pocket. + +"So you are showing your true colors, are you?" he cried, with +threatening significance. "By Heaven, you are no Hindoo!" + +"That's right, Venner, I am not," said Nick, quickly throwing off the +loose robe that hid his own apparel, fearing it might impede his +movements. "I am no Hindoo, but am--" + +"Nick Carter!" + +"Exactly!" + +"So this is your game, is it?" Venner fiercely began. "If you think--" + +"Stop right there, Venner," Nick sternly commanded. "Speaking of games, +I am here to discover what sort of a rascally game you and this Kilgore +gang are playing. I have learned enough to show me that you are a knave +and a--" + +"By heavens, Carter--" + +"Stop!" thundered Nick. "Don't pull a gun! If you do, I'll end your--" + +But he got no further, for there the climax came. + +A single sharp whistle sounded from the kitchen. + +Instantly Nick felt a rope noose jerked taut around his ankles, nearly +throwing him from his feet. + +From beneath the table, the hanging cover of which had effectually +concealed him, Jean Pylotte had managed to adjust the noose upon the +floor about Nick's legs. At the signal given him, he had quickly drawn +it taut. + +At the same moment Kilgore and Matt Stall leaped upon Nick from the +kitchen and hall doors, bearing him heavily to the floor, while Venner +ran to clap a revolver to the detective's head. + +"Hang to his feet, Pylotte," cried Kilgore, fiercely. + +"I've got 'em fast," shouted the diamond maker, from under the table. + +"Quit, Carter, or I'll blow your brains out," commanded Venner, with his +pistol at Nick's head. + +Nick had been making a great bluff at putting up an ugly fight, but now +he very agreeably subsided. + +The affair was going precisely as he desired, yet for the sake of +appearances he angrily snarled: + +"Let up, you dogs! So this is your game, is it? Turn that gun another +way, Venner, you miscreant! It might go off, and I'm not fool enough to +invite its contents. This dirty game that you've played--" + +"Dry up!" Kilgore sharply interrupted, while he and Stall quickly +secured Nick's arms with a rope. "You'll not live to know the game that +we have played, Nick Carter." + +"Won't I?" + +"Not if I live!" cried Kilgore, with vicious significance. + +"Well, maybe you'll not live long," retorted Nick. + +"I'll close that saucy trap of yours, at all events," sneered Kilgore. +"Give me that gag, Matt--quick." + +Nick no longer resisted. A glance at the clock on the mantel told him +that nearly ten minutes had passed since he left Chick. He suffered +himself to be gagged, then raised to his feet, from which Pylotte now +cast the line and emerged from under the table. + +Nick bestowed one look upon him, from which the rascal shrank and +shuddered. + +Kilgore now turned quickly to Venner, and hurriedly cried: + +"You remain here, Rufe, and leave us to dispose of this fellow. We'll +run him over yonder, and return as quickly as possible. It's not safe to +keep him here until we have landed his running mate." + +"But--" + +"Don't stop for buts!" cried Kilgore, fiercely. "Go see if you can sight +Chick Carter. If he is still in the carriage, we are all right up to +now. In six or eight minutes go down there and give him to understand +that his interpreter wants him to come in here. Before you reach this +room with him, we three will be back to help you turn him down. Do you +understand?" + +"Sure!" cried Venner, thrusting his weapon back in his pocket. "He +cannot suspect that we have recognized Nick, and he'll come in, all +right." + +"Go, then! We'll be back here in six minutes." + +Venner hastened to one of the front windows of the house and peered out +toward the street. At that moment a flash of lightning, followed by the +nearer roll of thunder, dispelled for an instant the intense gloom of +the night. + +A growl of profound satisfaction broke from Venner while he gazed, and +he muttered exultingly: + +"By Heaven! we're all right! He's waiting in the carriage, and Dalton is +still on the box!" + +Nick was being pushed out of a back door of the house, meantime, and +then across the lawn and through the dark stable. + +The ruffians who were hurrying him away did not stop there, however. +Pylotte ran on ahead, while Kilgore and Matt Stall continued urging the +detective across the grounds, making toward the old wooden mansion in +which their secret plant was located. + +It seemed to them the safest place in which to confine Nick, pending the +delay in getting hands upon Chick. + +Presently they came to a dry ditch, walled at each side, and originally +built for draining the low meadows between the two estates. Into this +they plunged, following it until they arrived near a wooden bulkhead in +the foundation wall of the house. This was the secret way of entering, +to which Cervera had referred the previous night. + +Pylotte already had opened it, and Nick was quickly forced through a +dark cellar. + +"All right," cried Kilgore. "Let us in." + +Instantly the secret stone door was thrown open, and Nick was nearly +blinded by the flood of light in the room into which he was abruptly +thrust. + +He stood in the subterranean chamber of the diamond plant. + +And there, erect on the floor, with her evil countenance a picture of +malicious triumph, stood his crafty combatant of the previous +night--Sanetta Cervera. + +"_Caramba!_" she cried, shrilly, with a vicious laugh. "So you've got +him! Well done, Dave! Well done!" + +"Yes, and we'll presently have the other," cried Kilgore, panting hard +after his exertions. + +"Good for you, Dave," screamed Cervera, exultingly. "But this is the one +I want most--this is the one!" + +"Look lively, Matt. Lend a hand here, and we'll bind him to yonder +chair." + +"And leave Cervera to guard him, eh?" + +"That's the stuff." + +"Can she do it?" + +"Can she!" growled Kilgore, with derisive vehemence. "You let her alone +for that." + +"Yes, yes, let me alone for that!" + +"We must get back to stand by Venner. That Chick Carter is nearly as +tough a customer as this fellow." + +"I guess you'll find that that's no dream," said Nick to himself, as the +ruffians bound him to the chair mentioned. + +Cervera was laughing and capering around as if about to have a fit--yet +her laugh had a terrible and chilling ring. + +"Oh, yes, I'll guard him, Dave," she shrilly cried, with a frightful +menace in her strained voice. "_Caramba_, yes! let me alone for that." + +"So I do," snarled Kilgore. + +"Knot the line fast, Matt--make sure of that," the woman fiercely added. +"Yes, I'll keep him quiet--never doubt that, boys! He shall be like a +baby taking milk. Perdition! but you shall have a sweet time, Mr. Nick, +alone here with Sanetta Cervera!" + +Kilgore paid but little attention to any of this, and only now and then +bestowed a glance upon the vicious woman. + +Within a minute after their arrival at the plant, the gang had Nick +securely bound to a common wooden chair, when they condescended to +remove the gag from his mouth. + +"He may shout himself hoarse here, if he likes," growled Kilgore. "There +will be none to hear him." + +Then he hurried Pylotte and Matt Stall back to the Venner house, to +land Chick Carter. + +Left alone with Nick, Cervera darted to the stone door in the solid +wall, and secured it within. + +There was murder in her glittering eyes when she shot the heavy bolts +into their iron sockets. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +THE BOOT ON THE OTHER LEG. + + +In the heat of action and excitement ten minutes are as nothing. + +The time seems longer, however, when one sits waiting in a motionless +carriage, enveloped in the gloom of night, with grim distrust and +uncertainty acting like spurs in the sides of one's impatience. + +Before five minutes had fairly passed, after Nick's departure, Spotty +Dalton had suffered his misgivings to the very limit of his endurance. + +Chick sat mentally counting the passing seconds, then scoring each +departed minute with his fingers, of which he had exhausted four and a +thumb, the entire complement of one hand; and all the while his eyes +were riveted with intense vigilance upon the growling ruffian on the +seat above him. + +Had Dalton ventured so much as a move to leave his perch, Chick would +have been after him like a terrier after a rat. + +At the end of five minutes, however, Dalton made a preliminary move. He +hitched the reins around the whipstock, then stared for a second or two +toward Venner's house, fifty yards away through the surrounding park. + +Then he suddenly swung round on his seat, and growled ferociously at +Chick, at the same time signifying with gestures the communication he +imagined would not be verbally understood: + +"See here, you swarthy-faced snake fiend, I'm bound up yonder, to see +what's going on! You sit where you are, d'ye hear, and I'll be back in a +jiffy, if things are all right! If they're not, ---- you, I'll be back +just the same--with a gun!" + +As if moved by a wish to understand him, Chick arose in the body of the +carriage while Dalton was thus declaring himself. He heard and +understood, all right, and it necessitated his getting in his work a +little earlier than was planned. For Chick would take no such chances as +this that Nick's operations in the house would be interfered with. + +As the last word left Dalton's lips, the arm of the detective shot out +through the darkness, and closed with the grip of a vise around the +ruffian's neck, throttling him to silence. + +"With a gun, eh?" Chick fiercely muttered, yanking Dalton backward into +the body of the carriage. "You open your lips again for so much as a +whisper, and I'll close them with six inches of cold steel." + +In the glare of a distant lightning flash, Dalton, though struggling +furiously, caught the gleam of a polished blade at his throat, and a +glimpse of the flaming eyes in the face above him. + +He shrank, gasping for breath, as the truth dawned upon him; and then +the voice of another sounded close beside the open carriage. + +"Want any help, Chick?" + +Nick's youthful assistant, to whom a wire had been sent from the house +of the snake charmer, had appeared like an apparition out of the +roadside gloom. + +"Ah! you're here, Patsy!" muttered Chick. "Yes. Clap a gag into this +cur's mouth. We'll choke off his pipes first of all." + +Dalton uttered a vicious growl, then felt the point of the knife pierce +the skin at his throat, and he wisely relapsed into silence. + +For Patsy to fish out a gag, and bind it securely in the scoundrel's +mouth, was the work of a few moments only. + +Then Chick jerked Dalton up from the rear cushion and out into the road, +in far less time than is taken to record it. + +"Off with his coat and hat, Patsy," he hurriedly commanded. "Now the +false beard, my lad. Now get into them yourself, as quickly as you can." + +"I'm all in, Chick," chuckled Patsy, working like a trooper. + +"Got all the traps with you?" + +"Sure!" + +"Clap the bracelets on him, then. Now give me a second pair, and a strip +of line. That's the stuff." + +"Oh, I brought the whole shooting match," laughed Patsy. + +"Good for you! Now mount to the box, and leave this dog to me. I'll +return in half a minute." + +Patsy climbed up to the seat from which Dalton had been so speedily +snatched and overcome, and Chick now ran the rascal a rod or more into +the woodland on the opposite side of the road. + +There he threw him to the ground beside a small oak, around the trunk of +which he quickly twined Dalton's legs, and then fastened them at the +ankles with a pair of irons. + +"I reckon you'll stay there quietly until I want you, barring that you +pull up the tree," he grimly remarked, as he turned to hasten back to +the carriage, in which he quickly resumed his seat. + +A moment later Venner peered from the distant window--and was satisfied +with what he saw. + +Five minutes later he came striding down the walk and approached the +carriage. Without a word to the driver, whom he supposed to be Dalton, +he opened the carriage door and laid his hand on Chick's arm, at the +same time pointing toward the house. + +Chick signified that he understood, and held out both hands, as if he +wished to be helped to the sidewalk. + +Venner promptly raised both of his--only to suddenly hear a quick, +metallic snap, and feel links of cold steel confining his wrists. Their +icy chill went through him like a knife, and he reeled as if stricken a +blow. + +"Good God!" he gasped, hoarsely. "What's this?" + +Chick and Patsy were already beside him. + +"This," said Chick, sternly, "is your wind-up!" + +"My--" + +"Stop! Not a loud word, Mr. Venner, or worse will be yours! Now tell me +in whispers--where is Nick Carter?" + +The sight of a revolver thrust under his nose had a potent effect upon +the dismayed man, yet even while he saw that he was cornered, he seized +upon the hope that Kilgore and the gang might discover and release him. + +"Find him yourself, if you want him!" he hissed through his teeth, with +an ugly frown. "I'm cursed if I'll inform you!" + +Chick did not delay for arguments or persuasion. With Patsy's help he +speedily put Venner in the same helpless condition in which he had left +Dalton, stretched upon the ground, within a rod of one another. + +Then he threw off his disguise, and shifted his revolvers to his side +pockets. + +"Now for yonder house, Patsy, and to see what the remainder of this gang +are at," said he. "Come with me, and have your guns ready." + +"I'm with you," cried Patsy, coolly. "Guns and all." + +A dash up the gravel walk brought them to the front door, which Venner +had left partly open. + +There they paused and listened. + +Not a sound came from within the house; but overhead the tempest now was +breaking, with frequent crashing peals of thunder, and flashes of +lightning that illumined all the landscape. Rain, too, now began pelting +down on the veranda roof. + +"We'll steal in and see what we can find," whispered Chick, drawing one +of his revolvers. + +"Go it, then." + +He led the way, and Patsy followed. The silence in the house mystified +them at first. It appeared to have been entirely deserted. + +When they reached the door of the dining room, however, Chick discovered +on the floor the disguise which Nick had discarded. + +"I have it, Patsy," he cried, softly. "They have nailed Nick, just as he +expected, and have taken him somewhere to confine him." + +"Perhaps in the cellar," suggested Patsy. + +"I hardly think so, yet we'll have a look." + +Moving as quietly as shadows, they entered the kitchen and easily +located the cellar door. It was closed and locked, with the key +remaining. + +"Evidently they're not down there," whispered Chick. + +"Let's try the upper floors," suggested Patsy. "They may be laying for +us up there, but I reckon we're good for them." + +"We'll take the chance, surely. Come on." + +They crept through the hall again, and then mounted the broad stairway, +which led to the next floor. + +There the utter silence and the semidarkness quickly convinced them that +they were on the wrong track. + +"The stable," muttered Chick, suddenly. "We'll try the stable." + +"They certainly have vamosed this ranch," remarked Patsy. + +"Plainly. Come on, then, and we'll try the stable." + +Together they started downstairs. + +A moment later Kilgore, Pylotte and Matt Stall came flurrying into the +house by the rear door. + +In the bright light of the broad hall each party discovered the other +at precisely the same moment, and Kilgore instantly guessed the truth. + +With a cry of rage, he whipped out his revolver and fired point-blank at +the two men on the stairs. + +"Down 'em, boys!" he yelled furiously. "Down 'em, or our game is done +for!" + +His bullet glanced from the baluster rail near Chick, and buried itself +in the wall behind him. + +"Drop them, Patsy!" he shouted, instantly. "Shoot to kill! It's them or +us!" + +"Let her go, Gallagher!" roared Patsy, pulling both guns. + +Then, amid the tumult of the breaking tempest outside, there began a +fusillade the thunder of which rivaled that of the night, and which, +though comparatively brief, was as fast and furious as any man there had +ever experienced. + +Pylotte went down at the first shot from Chick, however, with a bullet +in his brain. + +Then shot followed shot with lightning rapidity. + +Both detectives sprang down several stairs to evade the rain of lead, +for both Kilgore and Stall were rapidly emptying two revolvers. + +A bullet singed Patsy's ear. + +Another dislodged Chick's hat. + +Then Kilgore reeled with a slight wound in his left arm. + +A score of shots were fired and wasted, meantime, for all hands were +dodging about the hall and stairs in an utterly indescribable fashion. + +It was the warmest kind of a fight for fully three minutes. + +Then Chick got a line on Matt Stall from behind the baluster post, and +dropped him with a ragged wound in his hip. + +Stall fell with a yell of rage and pain, and Kilgore found himself +alone, and against odds. + +He turned like a flash, and darted out of the rear door of the house. + +He knew that the game was up, his confederates done for, and his own +chances of escape but small; and the situation stirred to their very +depths the worst elements of this lifelong criminal. + +But one thought possessed him--that of revenge, that of destroying the +chief cause of his downfall--Nick Carter. + +With this end in view, Kilgore tore like a madman through the blinding +rain of that tempestuous night, and shaped his course back to the +diamond plant. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +AN ONLY RESOURCE. + + +Despite the corner in which he had placed himself, a situation far more +desperate than he at first imagined, Nick Carter was congratulating +himself upon the success of his ruse by which he had so quickly located +the secret plant of the diamond swindlers, even at the sacrifice of his +personal freedom. + +The fact that he now sat bound in a chair in the hidden stronghold of +the gang, watched only by Cervera, did not seriously disturb the +fearless detective. + +Nick had been in many a worse corner than this, or in corners believed +to be worse, and he felt confident of pulling out of the scrape with a +whole skin, and with most of the gang in custody. + +He had surveyed his surroundings with more than cursory interest, +therefore, while Kilgore and his confederates were binding his arms to +the rounds of the chair back, and his ankles to the legs of the same. + +The rough foundation walls of the house, the massive stone wall built +across the cellar to mask the secret chamber, the elaborate electric +furnace, the huge hydraulic press, the workbench and tools, the powerful +arc light pendent from the ceiling--half an eye would have convinced +Nick that he occupied the workroom of that master craftsman whose +chemical knowledge and inventive genius had given birth to a most +marvelous production, long, earnestly, yet vainly, sought by others-- + +The production of an artificial diamond! + +Not until Nick heard the stone door forcibly closed, and its iron bolts +shot violently into their sockets, did he pay serious attention to +Cervera, the venomous Spanish vixen left to guard him. + +Then, as she swung round toward him, he took a sharper look at her +darkly magnificent face, and was thrilled despite him by the +extraordinary changes it had undergone. + +It had lost its beauty. Its olive flush had given place to a chalky +whiteness. The radiance of her eyes had become a merciless glitter, like +the glint cast from the eyes of a serpent. The reflection of a consuming +passion for vengeance had transfigured her countenance, till it had +become like the face of a fiend. + +Though Nick saw at a glance that his situation had taken on an +unexpected and desperate phase, he suppressed any betrayal of it. He met +the woman eye to eye, while she briefly paused and faced him, with a +cruel smile curling her gray lips. + +"So I have you now, Nick Carter," she cried, with mocking significance. + +"Well, yes, in a way," admitted Nick, coolly. + +"I have you in my power," hissed Cervera, with a vicious display of +satisfaction. + +"Ah! that's different," said Nick. + +"How different?" + +"That you have me in your power remains to be demonstrated." + +"Are we not alone here, you fool?" + +"Yes, very much alone." + +"And you helpless?" + +"Apparently." + +"If I wish, Nick Carter, I can kill you." + +"Then pray don't wish it," said Nick. "I am still too young to be +heartlessly slain, even by so beautiful and accomplished a woman." + +"_Caramba!_ you mock me!" cried Cervera, darting toward him with eyes +ablaze and her lithe figure quivering with passion. "You mock me!--you +shall repent it! Perdition! you shall repent it!" + +"Is that so?" + +"You shall repent it, I say!" + +"In this world, or in the next?" inquired Nick, bent upon prolonging the +scene as much as possible, with a hope that Chick might suddenly turn +up. + +Cervera did not answer him immediately. She wheeled again and darted to +the door, once more to make sure that she had secured its bolts. + +She was clad in the black dress in which she had escaped from Nick the +previous night, the somber hue of which was relieved only by occasional +flashes of her dainty white lace underskirts, as she swept quickly from +place to place, with her lithe figure crouching at times, and her every +movement as swift and impulsive as that of a startled leopard. + +As he sat watching her, Nick was reminded of her matchless work upon +the stage, thrilling men and women alike with her wild grace and the +fiery passion of her indescribable dances. + +She returned to confront him after a moment, crouching before him, with +her glowing eyes fixed on his. + +"In the next world--not in this!" she now replied, with a voice that cut +the air like the snap of a whip. "You'd have brief time for repentance +in this." + +"So you've decided to do the job, have you?" Nick coolly demanded. + +"Yes." + +"Well, I'm sorry to hear it." + +"Here is where we even up accounts." + +"Even them up, eh?" + +"You heard what I said." + +"But I wasn't aware that I have so very much the best of you." + +"You have." + +"How so?" + +"_Caramba!_ you know too much!" + +"Ah! you mean about that girl." + +"Yes." + +"I see," nodded Nick, secretly working in vain to loose the ropes +confining his arms. "Well, senora, as a matter of fact, I am rather +likely to make things unpleasant for you one of these days." + +"It will be this day, or never. You'll not live to see another." + +"Possibly not." + +"_Caramba!_ do you doubt it?" + +She darted nearer to him, with her hand tearing open the waist of her +dress, and then the gleam of a poniard met Nick's gaze. She swept it +before his eyes with a wild gesture, and gave vent to a mocking laugh. + +"Do you doubt that I can slay you?" + +"Not at all," answered Nick. "It's very evident." + +"Or that I will?" + +"That appears equally manifest." + +"So it is!" hissed Cervera, with vicious intensity. "I intend to do it! +Do you hear, Nick Carter? I intend to do it!" + +"Oh, yes, I hear you." + +"Why don't you shrink? Why don't you plead for mercy?" + +"What's the use?" + +She answered him with a laugh that made the room ring. + +"Besides," added Nick, "it's not my style to show the white feather." + +"We'll see! _Caramba!_ we will see!" + +She came nearer to him, crouching before him, so near that her breath +fell hot upon his cheeks. Then, with a quick movement, she pressed the +point of the blade through his clothing, till it pricked the flesh above +his heart. + +With his arms bound, with his ankles secured to the legs of the chair, +Nick appeared utterly at her mercy--of which she had none. + +Despite himself, Nick shrank slightly from the wound, and for the first +time shuddered at the peril by which he was menaced, and from which +there seemed to be no avenue of escape. + +Cervera laughed again, a laugh freighted with the terrible ring of +madness. + +"Did it hurt you?" she screamed, with her glittering eyes raised to +search his. "Perdition! I hope so! You have tortured me with a thousand +fears. I'd like to repay you with a thousand pangs!" + +Nick's eyes took on an ugly gleam. + +"Why don't you do so, then?" he growled. + +"I would, if I had the time," cried Cervera, through her teeth. + +"You have all there is." + +"Ten thousand times I'd thrust it into you--thus! thus!" + +Nick set his jaws and met the blade without flinching. + +Twice the vicious demon thrust it through his clothing, and now two +crimson stains of blood on his shirt front followed the withdrawal of +the weapon. + +"See! see!" screamed Cervera, triumphantly, with her terrible face +upturned to his gaze. "You're beginning to bleed! Did you know that the +sight of blood affects me as it does a leopard? I thirst for more--if +that of one I hate! When next I strike you, I shall strike deeper!" + +That she fully intended to murder him, Nick now, had not a doubt. The +homicidal madness was in her eyes, in her every feature, her every +motion, and it rang in every word that fell from her bloodless lips. + +Yet the inflexible nerve of the detective did not for a moment desert +him. + +"Send the blade home at once, if you like," he said, with a scornful +frown. + +"Not yet--not yet!" she cried, shrilly. "There'll be time for that." + +"Time and to spare," sneered Nick. + +"I first wish to torture you, as you've tortured me!" + +"Go ahead, then." + +"Once more! Are you ready?" + +"Let it come." + +Again she drew back the glittering blade, only to mock him with several +pretended thrusts, hoping thus to create and prolong an agony of fear +and suspense. + +A more viciously cruel and vindictive creature never drew the breath of +life. + +She laughed again, and slowly pressed the weapon closer--and then, with +a sudden startled cry, she drew back and leaped to her feet. + +A noise like that of a mighty cannonade seemed to shake even the solid +walls of this buried chamber. + +It was the crash of thunder in the heavens overhead. + +It was Cervera's first intimation of the terrible tempest that had been +gathering outside. + +At first she thought the sound was that of revolvers, and she darted to +the door and listened, pressing her ear to the wall. + +The instant her back was turned, Nick made a desperate attempt to free +himself, straining cords and muscles under the determined effort. It +proved vain, however. The ropes held him as if made of twisted steel. + +Yet in his brief but desperate struggle his right arm came in contact +with an object in the side pocket of his sack coat. + +The object was a box nearly filled with parlor matches--one of the most +dangerous and treacherous creations of man's inventive genius. + +Like a sudden revelation, or a bolt out of the blue, there leaped up in +Nick's mind a possible way of escape. + +He thought of Cervera's garments, of the fluffy lace skirts beneath her +gown, to which a single flash of fire would instantly prove fatal. + +The resort to such means seemed horrible--yet Nick well knew it was the +one and only resource left him. + +He glanced sharply at Cervera. She was still listening at the door, with +her evil face a picture of intense suspense. + +With a quick turn of his wrist, Nick succeeded in extracting the box +from his pocket. Then he forced it open, and with a move of his hand he +scattered its entire contents over the floor around his chair. The tiny +matches fell with scarce a sound, and Cervera, ten feet away, failed to +hear them. + +Then Nick quietly worked his chair back a foot or two, in order to bring +some of the fateful things upon the floor directly in front of him. + +A moment later Cervera turned from the door. + +"Thunder--it was thunder," she muttered, under her breath. "There's a +storm outside." + +"Somebody coming?" queried Nick, with taunting accents. + +He now aimed to provoke her, to force the situation to a climax, lest +any mischance should have befallen Chick, or perverted in any way his +own designs upon Kilgore and the gang. His taunting remark proved +effective, moreover. + +With a snarl of rage Cervera darted toward him, with eyes for him alone, +never for the floor. + +"You dog!" she cried, through her white teeth. + +"Do you mock me again?" + +"Oh! no, of course not," sneered Nick. + +"You lie! You do! You think some one will come--that you will then +escape me," screamed Cervera, quivering through and through with +venomous passion. + +Nick watched her as a cat watches a mouse. + +Her face was ghastly and distorted, her breast heaving, her every nerve +quivering, and her eyes were like balls of fire under their knitted +brows. + +Still clutching the poniard, her jeweled fingers worked convulsively +around its haft, like those of one who fain would strike a death blow, +yet whose hand was briefly held by consuming horror. + +Suddenly she darted nearer, with a vicious snarl. + +"You think you'll escape me," she screamed, with bitter ferocity. "It +shows in your eyes. I'll make sure that you don't. Let come who may, you +shall be found--dead! Dead!--do you hear?" + +"Oh! yes, I hear." + +"Yet you do not fear? We'll see--we'll see!" + +She darted closer to him, with the weapon raised, above her head, and +her knee touched Nick's knee. He swung quickly around toward her, and +scraped his feet over the floor below her skirts. + +Then came a quick, furious snapping, like the noise of a miniature +fusillade. A score of the matches had been ignited by Nick's swift move. + +Almost instantly a shriek of terror broke from Cervera's lips, and she +reeled back, clutching wildly at her skirts. + +"My God! I'm on fire!--on fire!" she screamed, with a voice so intense +in its agony as to have chilled a man of stone. + +A roar came from Nick as he sighted the flames under her gown. + +"Release me! Release me!" he thundered, furiously, with a voice that +drowned her frightful screams. "Cut me loose--loose! It's your only +hope--your only hope!" + +She heard him like one in a nightmare of agony and terror, and her +instinct rather than her reason responded to his thundering commands. + +Still with the poniard in her jeweled hand, still shrieking wildly, she +leaped to his side, and with a single sweep of the keen weapon severed +the rope binding his arms. + +Then Nick snatched the poniard from her hand. With several swift cuts +and slashes he released his limbs, and sprang quickly to his feet. + +He had already shaped his course. He had observed on the sulphur +barrels, near the wall, a strip of matting, used as a cover for them. +Nick snatched it from the barrels, and rushed to wrap it around the +skirts and limbs of the terror-stricken woman. + +For several moments the result seemed doubtful, so doubtful that Nick +finally threw Cervera heavily to the floor, the better to press the +matting closely around her and so smother the flames. In this he +presently succeeded, but not before she was so severely burned as to be +rendered utterly helpless. + +When Nick arose to his feet Cervera remained lying prostrate on the +floor, moaning with pain, yet in a state of semi-consciousness only. A +glance told Nick that she could make no move to escape, and he now had +other work than that of looking to her comfort. + +He ran to the stone door, threw the bolts, and quickly dragged it open. + +Even as he did so, from out of the gloom of the adjoining cellar, a man +came into view, as if suddenly arisen from the ground. + +The man was Dave Kilgore. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +THE LAST TRICK. + + +"Carter!" + +"Kilgore!" + +Each man uttered the name of the other, as if with the same breath. The +meeting came so suddenly that, for the bare fraction of a second, both +men were nonplused. + +Then both whipped out a weapon. + +Crack! + +Bang! + +They fired together, and both missed, Nick's usually accurate aim being +spoiled by the gloom of the cellar. + +Kilgore instantly sprang further away in the darkness, and aimed again. + +The hammer of his weapon fell as usual, but there was no report. In his +recent fight at the Venner house he had emptied both of his revolvers, +save the one bullet that had just missed Nick Carter. + +Then Kilgore, failing to have found Nick at his mercy, thought only of +making his own escape. He turned and ran toward the open door by which +he had entered. + +At that moment Chick's ringing voice sounded from outside. + +"This way! this way, Patsy!" he cried, louder than the rolling thunder +overhead. "I've found the rat hole!" + +"I'm with you," yelled Patsy. + +They were already at the door. + +By the frequent flashes of lightning they had, after the fight at +Venner's, succeeded in following Kilgore across the meadows, and they +well knew that he was headed to get even with Nick. + +Now Nick's voice rang through the cellar. + +"Look out for him, Chick," he commanded. "He's coming that way. Look out +for his gun." + +"Hurrah!" roared Chick, the moment he heard Nick's voice. "Let him come, +gun and all!" + +Kilgore saw his flight cut off in that direction, but he knew every inch +of the house. He turned like a rat in the darkness, and made for the +stairs leading to the floor above. Up these he hurriedly scrambled. + +Nick heard him through the gloom, and followed him, pitching headlong at +the foot of the stairs just as Kilgore opened the door leading to the +hall above. + +There the dim rays from a hall lamp revealed the man for an instant, and +showed Nick the way. He was up again and after Kilgore like a hound +after a fox. + +Kilgore dashed through the hall, but dared not take time to unlock and +open the front door of the house. He had a profound respect for the +revolver in the hand of his pursuer, who already had reached the hall. + +It was a flight for life, and Kilgore knew it. + +He turned like a flash and darted up the stairs, making for the second +floor. Three at a stride he covered, and succeeded in reaching the +corridor above before Nick could get a line on him. + +Nick followed, gun in hand. + +On the second floor Kilgore darted into a dark chamber, and then +through that to one adjoining it, where he waited till he heard Nick +plunging into the one first mentioned. + +Then Kilgore slipped out into the hall again, hoping to retrace his +steps downstairs and escape by the front door. + +In the way of that, however, Chick and Patsy were now in the lower hall, +the former shouting lustily up the stairs: + +"Run him down, Nick! Run him down! We'll cover this way of escape!" + +An involuntary oath broke from Kilgore's lips, and at the same moment a +vivid flash of lightning from the inky heavens illumined all the house. + +From the chamber in which he stood, Nick again caught sight of his man, +and was after him in an instant. + +Kilgore heard him coming, and again fled through the hall and up another +flight of stairs. + +"You'd better throw up your hands," roared Nick, as he followed. + +The answer came back with a yell of defiance: + +"Not on your life!" + +"You're a lost dog," cried Nick, hoping to keep him replying. + +"You'll not get me alive!" + +"Then I'll get you dead!" cried Nick, as he mounted the stairs. + +"You haven't got me yet!" + +"Next door to it, my man." + +This brought no answer. + +In a moment Nick reached the second hall, where he briefly paused to +listen. Save the rain beating on the roof of the house, only one sound +reached his strained ears. It was like that of some one hammering +against the side of the house with some heavy object. For a moment the +detective was puzzled. He could not fathom the meaning of such a sound. + +Then a gust of damp night air rushed through the hall and swept Nick's +cheek. + +"Ah! an open window!" he muttered. "That's easily located." + +He groped his way into one of the rear chambers. There the night air was +sweeping in through an open window, to the sill of which Nick quickly +sprang. + +Now the noise he had heard was instantly explained. + +Cornered like a rat, yet viciously resolute to the last, Kilgore had, in +order to make his escape, resorted to a means from which a less cool and +nervy scoundrel would have shrunk on such a night as that. + +He had, by reaching far out of the window, been able to grasp an +old-fashioned lightning rod with which the ancient wooden mansion was +provided, and by which he proposed to descend to the ground. Under the +swindler's weight, the beating of this swaying rod against the side of +the house was the sound Nick had heard. + +Kilgore, whose courage was worthy a far better cause, already was +halfway to the ground. + +Yet Nick had no idea of letting the knave escape thus, and he raised his +weapon to fire. + +There was no need for a bullet, however, for the hand of the Almighty +did the work. + +From the black vault of the heavens a bolt of liquid fire suddenly shot +earthward, with a crash of thunder that seemed to rend the entire +firmament. + +The fiery bolt reached the earth--but it reached it through the rod to +which Dave Kilgore was desperately clinging. + +Not a sound came from the doomed man as he went down--or if there was a +sound, it was drowned by the deafening crash and successive +reverberations of thunder. + +Before Nick had fairly recovered from the blinding light and terrific +concussion, he heard the voice of Chick yelling loudly from below: + +"Nick, Nick, come down here! The house is afire. The whole house is +afire!" + +Nick heard and darted for the stairs, at once realizing how well the +lightning had done its terrific work. Before he could reach the lower +hall, dense volumes of smoke were pouring through the house, and one +entire side of the fated dwelling was in flames. + +Nick thought of the woman in the cellar below, and, with Chick and Patsy +at his heels, he led the way to the diamond plant. The electric light +had been extinguished by the lightning stroke, but Nick soon located the +body of Cervera, and together the detectives brought her out and laid +her upon the ground some rods away from the burning dwelling. + +"She's done for, poor wretch!" muttered Nick, as he looked at her +bloodless face. + +He was right. + +Senora Cervera had danced her last dance--a terrible one it was! She +had lapsed into a merciful unconsciousness, from which she never +emerged. + +Next came Kilgore, and they easily found him. He lay stretched upon the +ground, dead and scorched almost beyond recognition, at the base of the +metallic rod through which he had met his fate. + +"Lend a hand here," said Nick. "We'll place him with his confederate +until we can have them properly removed." + +"So be it," said Chick, gravely. "It's about the last we can do for +them, and this nearly ends our work on this job." + +"You've got the others?" + +"Every man of them." + +"Well done!" nodded Nick, as they raised the lifeless form between them. +"Behold the way of the transgressor." + +"Hark!" exclaimed Patsy. "There goes the fire alarm. In three minutes +there'll be a mob about here." + +"Much good the firemen will do," rejoined Nick. "That house is doomed, +and all that's in it." + +He was right. With the passing of the tempest, and the first sign of a +star in the eastern sky, all that remained of the house above the +diamond plant was a heap of red, smoldering embers, filling the cellar +and the secret chamber--and blotting out, though perhaps not forever, +the secret art of that misguided genius, Jean Pylotte, dead with a +bullet in his brain, on the floor of Rufus Venner's hall. + +There remains but little to complete the record of this strange and +stirring case. + +Before morning Nick had lodged Venner and Spotty Dalton in the Tombs, +and had Garside arrested at his residence. The lifeless bodies of their +three confederates,--Cervera having died at dawn--were taken to the +Morgue. + +Early the following day, Harry Boyden, the young man arrested for the +murder of Mary Barton, was discharged from custody, and hastened to the +home of Violet Page, to make her happy with the news of his release and +his story of Nick Carter's extraordinary work. Both called upon Nick a +day or two later, and expressed their gratitude and affection in terms +which here need no recital. Incidentally it may be added that they were +married, as planned, the following summer. + +How strangely the circumstances and experiences of life are knit and +bound together. But for the vicious crime of a jealous woman, Nick might +have labored long, and possibly vainly, to run down the Kilgore gang and +their extraordinary criminal project, in which Cervera so strongly +figured. It was as Nick said, the two crimes seemed bound together as if +with links of steel. + +In the trial which preceded the conviction and punishment of the three +living members of the gang, Nick learned all of the facts of the case. + +Venner & Co., it appeared, were on their last legs, and went into the +game to square themselves, the design being to market vast quantities of +the artificial diamonds. With this project in view, Venner had purchased +the house at the rear of his own, under the name of Dr. Magruder, and +there had established the plant. How well the scheme would have +succeeded, but for Nick Carter, will never be known. + +At all events, in the stock of Venner & Co. were found numerous stones +which only the most proficient experts could prove to be artificial; and +even to this day it is intimated that, among the bejeweled women of New +York there are some unconsciously wearing the manufactured diamonds of +Jean Pylotte. What matters, however, since where ignorance is bliss it +is folly to be wise? + +Jean Pylotte: His art died with him, alas! For in the ruins of the +diamond plant there could be found no evidence sufficient to reveal his +great secret. + +Surely it had opened the way to a great swindle, the possibilities of +which can hardly be conceived. But, fortunately, in the way of it had +come-- + +Nick Carter. + + +THE END. + + + + +NICK CARTER STORIES + +New Magnet Library + +PRICE, FIFTEEN CENTS + +_Not a Dull Book in This List_ + + +Nick Carter stands for an interesting detective story. The fact that the +books in this line are so uniformly good is entirely due to the work of +a specialist. The man who wrote these stories produced no other type of +fiction. His mind was concentrated upon the creation of new plots and +situations in which his hero emerged triumphantly from all sorts of +trouble, and landed the criminal just where he should be--behind the +bars. + +The author of these stories knew more about writing detective stories +than any other single person. + +Following is a list of the best Nick Carter stories. They have been +selected with extreme care, and we unhesitatingly recommend each of them +as being fully as interesting as any detective story between cloth +covers which sells at ten times the price. + +If you do not know Nick Carter, buy a copy of any of the New Magnet +Library books, and get acquainted. He will surprise and delight you. + +_ALL TITLES ALWAYS IN PRINT_ + + +850--Wanted: A Clew By Nicholas Carter +851--A Tangled Skein By Nicholas Carter +852--The Bullion Mystery By Nicholas Carter +853--The Man of Riddles By Nicholas Carter +854--A Miscarriage of Justice By Nicholas Carter +855--The Gloved Hand By Nicholas Carter +856--Spoilers and the Spoils By Nicholas Carter +857--The Deeper Game By Nicholas Carter +858--Bolts from Blue Skies By Nicholas Carter +859--Unseen Foes By Nicholas Carter +860--Knaves in High Places By Nicholas Carter +861--The Microbe of Crime By Nicholas Carter +862--In the Toils of Fear By Nicholas Carter +863--A Heritage of Trouble By Nicholas Carter +864--Called to Account By Nicholas Carter +865--The Just and the Unjust By Nicholas Carter +866--Instinct at Fault By Nicholas Carter +867--A Rogue Worth Trapping By Nicholas Carter +868--A Rope of Slender Threads By Nicholas Carter +869--The Last Call By Nicholas Carter +870--The Spoils of Chance By Nicholas Carter +871--A Struggle With Destiny By Nicholas Carter +872--The Slave of Crime By Nicholas Carter +873--The Crook's Blind By Nicholas Carter +874--A Rascal of Quality By Nicholas Carter +875--With Shackles of Fire By Nicholas Carter +876--The Man Who Changed Faces By Nicholas Carter +877--The Fixed Alibi By Nicholas Carter +878--Out With the Tide By Nicholas Carter +879--The Soul Destroyers By Nicholas Carter +880--The Wages of Rascality By Nicholas Carter +881--Birds of Prey By Nicholas Carter +882--When Destruction Threatens By Nicholas Carter +883--The Keeper of Black Hounds By Nicholas Carter +884--The Door of Doubt By Nicholas Carter +885--The Wolf Within By Nicholas Carter +886--A Perilous Parole By Nicholas Carter +887--The Trail of the Fingerprints By Nicholas Carter +888--Dodging the Law By Nicholas Carter +889--A Crime in Paradise By Nicholas Carter +890--On the Ragged Edge By Nicholas Carter +891--The Red God of Tragedy By Nicholas Carter +892--The Man Who Paid By Nicholas Carter +893--The Blind Man's Daughter By Nicholas Carter +894--One Object in Life By Nicholas Carter +895--As a Crook Sows By Nicholas Carter +896--In Record Time By Nicholas Carter +897--Held in Suspense By Nicholas Carter +898--The $100,000 Kiss By Nicholas Carter +890--Just One Slip By Nicholas Carter +900--On a Million-dollar Trail By Nicholas Carter +901--A Weird Treasure By Nicholas Carter +902--The Middle Link By Nicholas Carter +903--To the Ends of the Earth By Nicholas Carter +904--When Honors Pall By Nicholas Carter +905--The Yellow Brand By Nicholas Carter +906--A New Serpent in Eden By Nicholas Carter +907--When Brave Men Tremble By Nicholas Carter +908--A Test of Courage By Nicholas Carter +909--Where Peril Beckons By Nicholas Carter +910--The Gargoni Girdle By Nicholas Carter +911--Rascals & Co. By Nicholas Carter +912--Too Late to Talk By Nicholas Carter +913--Satan's Apt Pupil By Nicholas Carter +914--The Girl Prisoner By Nicholas Carter +915--The Danger of Folly By Nicholas Carter +916--One Shipwreck Too Many By Nicholas Carter +917--Scourged by Fear By Nicholas Carter +918--The Red Plague By Nicholas Carter +919--Scoundrels Rampant By Nicholas Carter +920--From Clew to Clew By Nicholas Carter +921--When Rogues Conspire By Nicholas Carter +922--Twelve in a Grave By Nicholas Carter +923--The Great Opium Case By Nicholas Carter +924--A Conspiracy of Rumors By Nicholas Carter +925--A Klondike Claim By Nicholas Carter +926--The Evil Formula By Nicholas Carter +927--The Man of Many Faces By Nicholas Carter +928--The Great Enigma By Nicholas Carter +929--The Burden of Proof By Nicholas Carter +930--The Stolen Brain By Nicholas Carter +931--A Titled Counterfeiter By Nicholas Carter +932--The Magic Necklace By Nicholas Carter +933--'Round the World for a Quarter By Nicholas Carter +934--Over the Edge of the World By Nicholas Carter +935--In the Grip of Fate By Nicholas Carter +936--The Case of Many Clews By Nicholas Carter +937--The Sealed Door By Nicholas Carter +938--Nick Carter and the Green Goods Men By Nicholas Carter +939--The Man Without a Will By Nicholas Carter +940--Tracked Across the Atlantic By Nicholas Carter +941--A Clew From the Unknown By Nicholas Carter +942--The Crime of a Countess By Nicholas Carter +943--A Mixed Up Mess By Nicholas Carter +944--The Great Money Order Swindle By Nicholas Carter +945--The Adder's Brood By Nicholas Carter +946--A Wall Street Haul By Nicholas Carter +947--For a Pawned Crown By Nicholas Carter +948--Sealed Orders By Nicholas Carter +949--The Hate That Kills By Nicholas Carter +950--The American Marquis By Nicholas Carter +951--The Needy Nine By Nicholas Carter +952--Fighting Against Millions By Nicholas Carter +953--Outlaws of the Blue By Nicholas Carter +954--The Old Detective's Pupil By Nicholas Carter +955--Found in the Jungle By Nicholas Carter +956--The Mysterious Mail Robbery By Nicholas Carter +957--Broken Bars By Nicholas Carter +958--A Fair Criminal By Nicholas Carter +959--Won by Magic By Nicholas Carter +960--The Piano Box Mystery By Nicholas Carter +961--The Man They Held Back By Nicholas Carter +962--A Millionaire Partner By Nicholas Carter +963--A Pressing Peril By Nicholas Carter +964--An Australian Klondyke By Nicholas Carter +965--The Sultan's Pearls By Nicholas Carter +966--The Double Shuffle Club By Nicholas Carter +967--Paying the Price By Nicholas Carter +968--A Woman's Hand By Nicholas Carter +969--A Network of Crime By Nicholas Carter +970--At Thompson's Ranch By Nicholas Carter +971--The Crossed Needles By Nicholas Carter +972--The Diamond Mine Case By Nicholas Carter +973--Blood Will Tell By Nicholas Carter +974--An Accidental Password By Nicholas Carter +975--The Crook's Bauble By Nicholas Carter +976--Two Plus Two By Nicholas Carter +977--The Yellow Label By Nicholas Carter +978--The Clever Celestial By Nicholas Carter +979--The Amphitheater Plot By Nicholas Carter +980--Gideon Drexel's Millions By Nicholas Carter +981--Death in Life By Nicholas Carter +982--A Stolen Identity By Nicholas Carter +983--Evidence by Telephone By Nicholas Carter +984--The Twelve Tin Boxes By Nicholas Carter +985--Clew Against Clew By Nicholas Carter +986--Lady Velvet By Nicholas Carter +987--Playing a Bold Game By Nicholas Carter +988--A Dead Man's Grip By Nicholas Carter +989--Snarled Identities By Nicholas Carter +990--A Deposit Vault Puzzle By Nicholas Carter +991--The Crescent Brotherhood By Nicholas Carter +992--The Stolen Pay Train By Nicholas Carter +993--The Sea Fox By Nicholas Carter +994--Wanted by Two Clients By Nicholas Carter +995--The Van Alstine Case By Nicholas Carter +996--Check No. 777 By Nicholas Carter +997--Partners in Peril By Nicholas Carter +998--Nick Carter's Clever Protege By Nicholas Carter +999--The Sign of the Crossed Knives By Nicholas Carter +1000--The Man Who Vanished By Nicholas Carter +1001--A Battle for the Right By Nicholas Carter +1002--A Game of Craft By Nicholas Carter +1003--Nick Carter's Retainer By Nicholas Carter +1004--Caught in the Toils By Nicholas Carter +1005--A Broken Bond By Nicholas Carter +1006--The Crime of the French Cafe By Nicholas Carter +1007--The Man Who Stole Millions By Nicholas Carter +1008--The Twelve Wise Men By Nicholas Carter +1009--Hidden Foes By Nicholas Carter +1010--A Gamblers' Syndicate By Nicholas Carter +1011--A Chance Discovery By Nicholas Carter +1012--Among the Counterfeiters By Nicholas Carter +1013--A Threefold Disappearance By Nicholas Carter +1014--At Odds With Scotland Yard By Nicholas Carter +1015--A Princess of Crime By Nicholas Carter +1016--Found on the Beach By Nicholas Carter +1017--A Spinner of Death By Nicholas Carter +1018--The Detective's Pretty Neighbor By Nicholas Carter +1019--A Bogus Clew By Nicholas Carter +1020--The Puzzle of Five Pistols By Nicholas Carter +1021--The Secret of the Marble Mantel By Nicholas Carter +1022--A Bite of an Apple By Nicholas Carter +1023--A Triple Crime By Nicholas Carter +1024--The Stolen Race Horse By Nicholas Carter +1025--Wildfire By Nicholas Carter +1026--A _Herald_ Personal By Nicholas Carter +1027--The Finger of Suspicion By Nicholas Carter +1028--The Crimson Clew By Nicholas Carter +1029--Nick Carter Down East By Nicholas Carter +1030--The Chain of Clews By Nicholas Carter +1031--A Victim of Circumstances By Nicholas Carter +1032--Brought to Bay By Nicholas Carter +1033--The Dynamite Trap By Nicholas Carter +1034--A Scrap of Black Lace By Nicholas Carter +1035--The Woman of Evil By Nicholas Carter +1036--A Legacy of Hate By Nicholas Carter +1037--A Trusted Rogue By Nicholas Carter +1038--Man Against Man By Nicholas Carter +1039--The Demons of the Night By Nicholas Carter +1040--The Brotherhood of Death By Nicholas Carter +1041--At the Knife's Point By Nicholas Carter +1042--A Cry for Help By Nicholas Carter +1043--A Stroke of Policy By Nicholas Carter +1044--Hounded to Death By Nicholas Carter +1045--A Bargain in Crime By Nicholas Carter +1046--The Fatal Prescription By Nicholas Carter +1047--The Man of Iron By Nicholas Carter +1048--An Amazing Scoundrel By Nicholas Carter +1049--The Chain of Evidence By Nicholas Carter +1050--Paid with Death By Nicholas Carter +1051--A Fight for a Throne By Nicholas Carter +1052--The Woman of Steel By Nicholas Carter +1053--The Seal of Death By Nicholas Carter +1054--The Human Fiend By Nicholas Carter +1055--A Desperate Chance By Nicholas Carter +1056--A Chase in the Dark By Nicholas Carter +1057--The Snare and the Game By Nicholas Carter +1058--The Murray Hill Mystery By Nicholas Carter +1059--Nick Carter's Close Call By Nicholas Carter +1060--The Missing Cotton King By Nicholas Carter +1061--A Game of Plots By Nicholas Carter +1062--The Prince of Liars By Nicholas Carter +1063--The Man at the Window By Nicholas Carter +1064--The Red League By Nicholas Carter +1065--The Price of a Secret By Nicholas Carter +1066--The Worst Case on Record By Nicholas Carter +1067--From Peril to Peril By Nicholas Carter +1068--The Seal of Silence By Nicholas Carter +1069--Nick Carter's Chinese Puzzle By Nicholas Carter +1070--A Blackmailer's Bluff By Nicholas Carter +1071--Heard in the Dark By Nicholas Carter +1072--A Checkmated Scoundrel By Nicholas Carter +1073--The Cashier's Secret By Nicholas Carter +1074--Behind a Mask By Nicholas Carter +1075--The Cloak of Guilt By Nicholas Carter +1076--Two Villains in One By Nicholas Carter +1077--The Hot Air Clew By Nicholas Carter +1078--Run to Earth By Nicholas Carter +1079--The Certified Check By Nicholas Carter +1080--Weaving the Web By Nicholas Carter +1081--Beyond Pursuit By Nicholas Carter +1082--The Claws of the Tiger By Nicholas Carter +1083--Driven From Cover By Nicholas Carter +1084--A Deal in Diamonds By Nicholas Carter +1085--The Wizard of the Cue By Nicholas Carter +1086--A Race for Ten Thousand By Nicholas Carter +1087--The Criminal Link By Nicholas Carter +1088--The Red Signal By Nicholas Carter +1089--The Secret Panel By Nicholas Carter +1090--A Bonded Villain By Nicholas Carter +1091--A Move in the Dark By Nicholas Carter +1092--Against Desperate Odds By Nicholas Carter +1093--The Telltale Photographs By Nicholas Carter +1094--The Ruby Pin By Nicholas Carter +1095--The Queen of Diamonds By Nicholas Carter +1096--A Broken Trail By Nicholas Carter +1097--An Ingenious Stratagem By Nicholas Carter +1098--A Sharper's Downfall By Nicholas Carter +1099--A Race Track Gamble By Nicholas Carter +1100--Without a Clew By Nicholas Carter +1101--The Council of Death By Nicholas Carter +1102--The Hole in the Vault By Nicholas Carter +1103--In Death's Grip By Nicholas Carter +1104--A Great Conspiracy By Nicholas Carter +1105--The Guilty Governor By Nicholas Carter +1106--A Ring of Rascals By Nicholas Carter +1107--A Masterpiece of Crime By Nicholas Carter +1108--A Blow For Vengeance By Nicholas Carter +1109--Tangled Threads By Nicholas Carter +1110--The Crime of the Camera By Nicholas Carter +1111--The Sign of the Dagger By Nicholas Carter +1112--Nick Carter's Promise By Nicholas Carter +1113--Marked for Death By Nicholas Carter +1114--The Limited Holdup By Nicholas Carter +1115--When the Trap Was Sprung By Nicholas Carter +1116--Through the Cellar Wall By Nicholas Carter +1117--Under the Tiger's Claws By Nicholas Carter +1118--The Girl in the Case By Nicholas Carter +1119--Behind a Throne By Nicholas Carter +1120--The Lure of Gold By Nicholas Carter +1121--Hand to Hand By Nicholas Carter +1122--From a Prison Cell By Nicholas Carter +1123--Dr. Quartz, Magician By Nicholas Carter +1124--Into Nick Carter's Web By Nicholas Carter +1125--The Mystic Diagram By Nicholas Carter +1126--The Hand That Won By Nicholas Carter +1127--Playing a Lone Hand By Nicholas Carter +1128--The Master Villain By Nicholas Carter +1129--The False Claimant By Nicholas Carter +1130--The Living Mask By Nicholas Carter +1131--The Crime and the Motive By Nicholas Carter +1132--A Mysterious Foe By Nicholas Carter +1133--A Missing Man By Nicholas Carter +1134--A Game Well Played By Nicholas Carter +1135--A Cigarette Clew By Nicholas Carter +1136--The Diamond Trail By Nicholas Carter +1137--The Silent Guardian By Nicholas Carter +1138--The Dead Stranger By Nicholas Carter +1140--The Doctor's Stratagem By Nicholas Carter +1141--Following a Chance Clew By Nicholas Carter +1142--The Bank Draft Puzzle By Nicholas Carter +1143--The Price of Treachery By Nicholas Carter +1144--The Silent Partner By Nicholas Carter +1145--Ahead of the Game By Nicholas Carter +1146--A Trap of Tangled Wire By Nicholas Carter +1147--In the Gloom of Night By Nicholas Carter +1148--The Unaccountable Crook By Nicholas Carter +1149--A Bundle of Clews By Nicholas Carter +1150--The Great Diamond Syndicate By Nicholas Carter +1151--The Death Circle By Nicholas Carter +1152--The Toss of a Penny By Nicholas Carter +1153--One Step Too Far By Nicholas Carter +1154--The Terrible Thirteen By Nicholas Carter +1155--A Detective's Theory By Nicholas Carter +1156--Nick Carter's Auto Trail By Nicholas Carter +1157--A Triple Identity By Nicholas Carter +1158--A Mysterious Graft By Nicholas Carter +1159--A Carnival of Crime By Nicholas Carter +1160--The Bloodstone Terror By Nicholas Carter + + +10,000,000 + +copies of the works of Nick Carter in the New Magnet Library have been +sold. Millions more are going to be sold, not because the line +represents forbidden literature, but because it fills a large and +growing demand for recreational reading. + +Nick Carter is justly famous. He stands as one of America's foremost +literary characters. He is the close companion of some of America's +leading professional and business men. Statesmen of high and low degree +have called him "Nick," and do not hesitate to say that he has given +them more satisfaction and pleasure than any other character in fiction. + +The Nick Carter stories, therefore, hold a great deal for you. Any in +the foregoing list are worth while. + +STREET & SMITH CORPORATION +79 Seventh Avenue New York City + + + + +BOOKS FOR YOUNG MEN + +MERRIWELL SERIES + +Stories of Frank and Dick Merriwell + +PRICE, FIFTEEN CENTS + +_Fascinating Stories of Athletics_ + + +A half million enthusiastic followers of the Merriwell brothers will +attest the unfailing interest and wholesomeness of these adventures of +two lads of high ideals, who play fair with themselves, as well as with +the rest of the world. + +These stories are rich in fun and thrills in all branches of sports and +athletics. They are extremely high in moral tone, and cannot fail to be +of immense benefit to every boy who reads them. + +They have the splendid quality of firing a boy's ambition to become a +good athlete, in order that he may develop into a strong, vigorous +right-thinking man. + + +_ALL TITLES ALWAYS IN PRINT_ + + +1--Frank Merriwell's School Days By Burt L. Standish +2--Frank Merriwell's Chums By Burt L. Standish +3--Frank Merriwell's Foes By Burt L. Standish +4--Frank Merriwell's Trip West By Burt L. Standish +5--Frank Merriwell Down South By Burt L. Standish +6--Frank Merriwell's Bravery By Burt L. Standish +7--Frank Merriwell's Hunting Tour By Burt L. Standish +8--Frank Merriwell in Europe By Burt L. Standish +9--Frank Merriwell at Yale By Burt L. Standish +10--Frank Merriwell's Sports Afield By Burt L. Standish +11--Frank Merriwell's Races By Burt L. Standish +12--Frank Merriwell's Party By Burt L. Standish +13--Frank Merriwell's Bicycle Tour By Burt L. Standish +14--Frank Merriwell's Courage By Burt L. Standish +15--Frank Merriwell's Daring By Burt L. Standish +16--Frank Merriwell's Alarm By Burt L. Standish +17--Frank Merriwell's Athletes By Burt L. Standish +18--Frank Merriwell's Skill By Burt L. Standish +19--Frank Merriwell's Champions By Burt L. Standish +20--Frank Merriwell's Return to Yale By Burt L. Standish +21--Frank Merriwell's Secret By Burt L. Standish +22--Frank Merriwell's Danger By Burt L. Standish +23--Frank Merriwell's Loyalty By Burt L. Standish +24--Frank Merriwell in Camp By Burt L. Standish +25--Frank Merriwell's Vacation By Burt L. Standish +26--Frank Merriwell's Cruise By Burt L. Standish +27--Frank Merriwell's Chase By Burt L. Standish +28--Frank Merriwell in Maine By Burt L. Standish +29--Frank Merriwell's Struggle By Burt L. Standish +30--Frank Merriwell's First Job By Burt L. Standish +31--Frank Merriwell's Opportunity By Burt L. Standish +32--Frank Merriwell's Hard Luck By Burt L. Standish +33--Frank Merriwell's Protege By Burt L. Standish +34--Frank Merriwell on the Road By Burt L. Standish +35--Frank Merriwell's Own Company By Burt L. Standish +36--Frank Merriwell's Fame By Burt L. Standish +37--Frank Merriwell's College Chums By Burt L. Standish +38--Frank Merriwell's Problem By Burt L. Standish +39--Frank Merriwell's Fortune By Burt L. Standish +40--Frank Merriwell's New Comedian By Burt L. Standish +41--Frank Merriwell's Prosperity By Burt L. Standish +42--Frank Merriwell's Stage Hit By Burt L. Standish +43--Frank Merriwell's Great Scheme By Burt L. Standish +44--Frank Merriwell in England By Burt L. Standish +45--Frank Merriwell on the Boulevards By Burt L. Standish +46--Frank Merriwell's Duel By Burt L. Standish +47--Frank Merriwell's Double Shot By Burt L. Standish +48--Frank Merriwell's Baseball Victories By Burt L. Standish +49--Frank Merriwell's Confidence By Burt L. Standish +50--Frank Merriwell's Auto By Burt L. Standish +51--Frank Merriwell's Fun By Burt L. Standish +52--Frank Merriwell's Generosity By Burt L. Standish +53--Frank Merriwell's Tricks By Burt L. Standish +54--Frank Merriwell's Temptation By Burt L. Standish +55--Frank Merriwell on Top By Burt L. Standish +56--Frank Merriwell's Luck By Burt L. Standish +57--Frank Merriwell's Mascot By Burt L. Standish +58--Frank Merriwell's Reward By Burt L. Standish +59--Frank Merriwell's Phantom By Burt L. Standish +60--Frank Merriwell's Faith By Burt L. Standish +61--Frank Merriwell's Victories By Burt L. Standish +62--Frank Merriwell's Iron Nerve By Burt L. Standish +63--Frank Merriwell in Kentucky By Burt L. Standish +64--Frank Merriwell's Power By Burt L. Standish +65--Frank Merriwell's Shrewdness By Burt L. Standish +66--Frank Merriwell's Set Back By Burt L. Standish +67--Frank Merriwell's Search By Burt L. Standish +68--Frank Merriwell's Club By Burt L. Standish +69--Frank Merriwell's Trust By Burt L. Standish +70--Frank Merriwell's False Friend By Burt L. Standish +71--Frank Merriwell's Strong Arm By Burt L. Standish +72--Frank Merriwell As Coach By Burt L. Standish +73--Frank Merriwell's Brother By Burt L. Standish +74--Frank Merriwell's Marvel By Burt L. Standish +75--Frank Merriwell's Support By Burt L. Standish +76--Dick Merriwell At Fardale By Burt L. Standish +77--Dick Merriwell's Glory By Burt L. Standish +78--Dick Merriwell's Promise By Burt L. Standish +79--Dick Merriwell's Rescue By Burt L. Standish +80--Dick Merriwell's Narrow Escape By Burt L. Standish +81--Dick Merriwell's Racket By Burt L. Standish +82--Dick Merriwell's Revenge By Burt L. Standish +83--Dick Merriwell's Ruse By Burt L. Standish +84--Dick Merriwell's Delivery By Burt L. Standish +85--Dick Merriwell's Wonders By Burt L. Standish +86--Frank Merriwell's Honor By Burt L. Standish +87--Dick Merriwell's Diamond By Burt L. Standish +88--Frank Merriwell's Winners By Burt L. Standish +89--Dick Merriwell's Dash By Burt L. Standish +90--Dick Merriwell's Ability By Burt L. Standish +91--Dick Merriwell's Trap By Burt L. Standish +92--Dick Merriwell's Defense By Burt L. Standish +93--Dick Merriwell's Model By Burt L. Standish +94--Dick Merriwell's Mystery By Burt L. Standish +95--Frank Merriwell's Backers By Burt L. Standish +96--Dick Merriwell's Backstop By Burt. L. Standish +97--Dick Merriwell's Western Mission By Burt L. Standish +98--Frank Merriwell's Rescue By Burt L. Standish +99--Frank Merriwell's Encounter By Burt L. Standish +100--Dick Merriwell's Marked Money By Burt L. Standish +101--Frank Merriwell's Nomads By Burt L. Standish +102--Dick Merriwell on the Gridiron By Burt L. Standish +103--Dick Merriwell's Disguise By Burt L. Standish +104--Dick Merriwell's Test By Burt L. Standish +105--Frank Merriwell's Trump Card By Burt L. Standish +106--Frank Merriwell's Strategy By Burt L. Standish +107--Frank Merriwell's Triumph By Burt L. Standish +108--Dick Merriwell's Grit By Burt L. Standish +109--Dick Merriwell's Assurance By Burt L. Standish +110--Dick Merriwell's Long Slide By Burt L. Standish +111--Frank Merriwell's Rough Deal By Burt L. Standish +112--Dick Merriwell's Threat By Burt L. Standish +113--Dick Merriwell's Persistence By Burt L. Standish +114--Dick Merriwell's Day By Burt L. Standish +115--Frank Merriwell's Peril By Burt L. Standish +116--Dick Merriwell's Downfall By Burt L. Standish +117--Frank Merriwell's Pursuit By Burt L. Standish + + +SPORTS + +There is a greater appreciation of athletic sports among Americans than +among people of any other nationality. + +We have had definite proof of this in the correspondence occasioned by +our publication of the adventures of Frank and Dick Merriwell. These two +boys are active athletes. They are proficient in every line of sport, +and they play fair or not at all. + +This last feature of the Merriwell stories fills our daily mail with +letters from readers who say that they appreciate the integrity and +fairness of the Merriwells more than words can tell. + +These books, while of greatest interest to the right-thinking boy are +educational and make for the development of a character which will +enable the average boy to meet his fellows fairly and squarely in the +battle of life. + +STREET & SMITH CORPORATION +79 Seventh Avenue New York City + + + + +Bill Cody + + +At a rough estimate there are 400 million civilized human beings who +have heard of Bill Cody, not under his real name, but by the name +everybody called him, "Buffalo Bill." + +His character made him an outstanding figure during a period of the +development of America when a strong character was a matter of vital +necessity. + +We doubt, however, whether the man's work is fully appreciated, or ever +has been. In the rush and bustle that followed the introduction of the +railroad to the West, the results of Buffalo Bill's work were more or +less overlooked, but a time is coming when this remarkable man's +achievements will be fully appreciated. + +This is the character whose adventures are dealt with in Buffalo Bill's +Border Stories. + +Read them. You will find them of true historical value. + +STREET & SMITH CORPORATION +79 Seventh Avenue New York City + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH LINKS OF STEEL*** + + +******* This file should be named 14096.txt or 14096.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/4/0/9/14096 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://www.gutenberg.org/about/contact + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: +https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + diff --git a/old/14096.zip b/old/14096.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1548d9b --- /dev/null +++ b/old/14096.zip |
