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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf 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..25c885a --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #65783 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65783) diff --git a/old/65783-0.txt b/old/65783-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c1c78b6..0000000 --- a/old/65783-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8303 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Twin Mystery, by Nicholas Carter - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Twin Mystery - A Dashing Rescue - -Author: Nicholas Carter - -Release Date: July 6, 2021 [eBook #65783] - -Language: English - -Produced by: David Edwards, Stephen Hutcheson, and the Online - Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TWIN MYSTERY *** - - - - - - MAGNET LIBRARY No. 304 - A weekly publication devoted to Detective literature. - September 2, 1903. - - - - - THE TWIN MYSTERY; - OR, - A Dashing Rescue - - - BY - NICHOLAS CARTER - AUTHOR OF -“A Chance Discovery,” “At the Knife’s Point,” “Lady Velvet,” “A Game of - Craft,” “A Klondike Claim,” “A Blow for Vengeance,” etc. - - - NEW YORK - STREET & SMITH, Publishers - 238 William Street - - Copyright, 1903 - By STREET & SMITH - - - - - CONTENTS - - - I. The Brown Robin 5 - II. The Way of the Robin 14 - III. A Blind Chase 24 - IV. The Real Thing 33 - V. The Brown Robin Dines 43 - VI. An Audacious Visitor 53 - VII. Chick’s Great Discovery 61 - VIII. A Deep Game 71 - IX. The Trap 81 - X. How the Trap Was Sprung 90 - XI. At the Dog Show 101 - XII. Dead in Her Carriage 111 - XIII. Possibilities 123 - XIV. A Change of Front 132 - XV. Closer to Masson 146 - XVI. Ida in Trouble 154 - XVII. A New Side 164 - XVIII. In Durance Vile 172 - XIX. A Dashing Rescue 180 - XX. Patsy’s Triumph 190 - XXI. The Murderer 200 - - - - - THE TWIN MYSTERY. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - THE BROWN ROBIN. - - - “Mr. Nick Carter: I have come to town to do business. I give you - notice before I begin, because I am quite certain you will be informed - immediately after I commence operations. It really makes little - difference; you cannot reach me. Really, my dear Nick, I have a - contempt for the so-called detective ability. You, with your Ida, - Chick and Patsy, are a little better than the rest, but you are in the - same running when you undertake to stop me. - - “The Brown Robin.” - -This letter Nick Carter found in his mail one morning a short time ago, -on coming to his breakfast table. - -He read the letter with some interest, noting that it had been mailed -late the afternoon before, and in the sub-district in which he lived. - -Tossing it over to his wife, Edith, to read, he said: - -“That might be taken for a challenge, I suppose.” - -Edith read it, and replied that she should take it for an impertinence. - -“Who is the Brown Robin?” she asked. - -“Ah! That is the great mystery,” answered Nick. - -“A woman?” asked Edith. - -“When you ask that question in that way,” replied Nick, “you mean to -make the statement that you believe it to be a woman.” - -“Well, yes; I judge the writer of this is a woman.” - -“Why?” - -“The writing, in the first place.” - -“That will hardly do. It might be taken for the writing of a woman a -little more masculine than is usual, or of a man a little more feminine -than is usual. I carefully examined the writing before I gave you the -letter, and could not determine satisfactorily to myself which it was.” - -Edith again examined the letter, and said that she should be afraid, -after a second look, to stand on either side. - -“The truth is, Edith,” said Nick, “it is an assumed hand, not the -natural one of the person who wrote it, and is not always employed by -that person. That is my belief.” - -Again Edith studied the letter. - -“There is something about the whole thing,” she said, “that impresses me -with the notion that the writer of this is a woman. But if you were to -ask me why, I could not tell you.” - -Nick laughed. - -“It is the same old story of puzzling mystery.” - -“Then you know something of the Brown Robin?” - -“I know that the Brown Robin puzzled and mystified the police of Chicago -two winters ago. I was appealed to then to go to Chicago, take up the -case, and ferret out the mystery, but then I was engaged in an important -matter here and could not go. - -“Suddenly the Brown Robin disappeared from Chicago and turned up in -Boston, where the police were put at their wits’ end in an endeavor to -detect the person. - -“As suddenly he, she or it flitted to Philadelphia, with a like result, -and then back again to Chicago. Now it would seem that the Brown Robin -is making New York its roosting place.” - -“But who is the Brown Robin, and what does it do?” - -“As I said, who the Brown Robin is—whether a he, she, or it—is a -mystery. What the Brown Robin does is to extort money from various kinds -of people, and most successfully, by blackmail. - -“The Brown Robin moves about so skillfully and shows up in so many -guises, that he, she or it has always escaped detection, and has left -the police of each place where it has operated in doubt whether it is a -man, or a woman, or a lot of men and women, moving under the directions -of a very skillful person. - -“That is all I can tell you, for I have not looked deeply into the -matter.” - -“This is a direct challenge to you.” - -“Yes, but I shall not accept it, unless I am retained by a victim of the -Brown Robin’s arts, and then only if the victim will consent to be -guided wholly by me in the matter.” - -He tossed the letter aside and finished his breakfast. He had hardly -time to open his morning paper, when the servant entered with a note, -which, she said, had been brought by a messenger boy. - -Opening it, Nick read: - - “My Dear Carter: Very shortly after receiving this you will have a - call from Mr. Alpheus Cary. He is my first victim in New York. I - should judge by this experience that New York is very easy to work. - The incident afforded me a good deal of amusement, for Mr. Alpheus - Cary hates to give up. - - “He was in a panic when he did, but regretted it a minute after. - Indeed, my operation came perilously near robbery, for his hesitancy - began before he really handed the money over. - - “The only regret I have is that the sum was so small. In that sense it - was not a brilliant beginning in New York. But you can complete the - operation by getting a stiff retainer out of him. Then, if you choose - to “whack up,” why, you can send me half. That proposition is the - reason why I write. - - “Really, Carter, there is quite a stroke of business to be done by us - in this way. I know you pose as an honest man, but, pshaw! let there - be no nonsense between us. - - “The Brown Robin.” - -The first sensation Nick experienced on reading this letter was that of -anger. Then the audacity of the writer excited his sense of humor. - -“You thought the other letter was impertinent,” said he, handing the -last one to Edith, “but what do you think of this one?” - -Edith read it with flushed face, but, inspired by an idea, she said: - -“Nick, if I were you I would capture that person, no matter what I did -to accomplish it.” - -“What would you do?” - -“I’d pretend to enter into a bargain with the Brown Robin, such as is -here proposed.” - -Nick did not reply at once. When he did, he said: - -“Do you know, Edith, I am under the impression that this is an impudent -and audacious beginning of an effort to blackmail me.” - -“Nick Carter!” - -“Yes, a trap is being laid for me to walk into, of which this is only -one of the strings.” - -“But why should they attempt to blackmail you?” - -“I suppose my money is as good to them as that of any other person. But -what a triumph it would be to have the boast that Nick Carter had been -trapped that way!” - -“True.” - -“Edith, let me warn you to be prepared for any trick. Whether I will or -not, the Brown Robin has thrown down the gauntlet.” - -“Do you know Mr. Alpheus Cary?” - -“I only know that there is a person of that name, who is a man of wealth -and the president of a bank in this city—a man of some prominence, but -that is all I do know of him.” - -“Where does he live?” - -“Somewhere in Central Park West, but just where I don’t know. What are -you thinking of?” - -“I was thinking that perhaps the Cary whom you are told will call on you -might be the Brown Robin made up, and that it would be well to send -Chick or Patsy to find if he is at home.” - -“Good, Edith,” cried Nick, with a laugh, “you are getting to be a great -detective. Well, I shall act on your suggestion, only I shall send Ida -to Mr. Cary’s house, for she is near by.” - -He went to the ’phone and rang up Ida, and received an immediate -response. But Edith, closely watching, saw him start as a look of deep -suspicion came over his face. - -He made a quick signal to his wife. Asking through the ’phone whether he -was talking to Ida, he received an answer which brought again the -suspicious look to his face. But he continued, as usual, though his -message was a surprise to Edith. He said: - -“As soon as you can, Ida, I want you to go to Herman Hartwig, and, -giving him the word ‘Passen,’ tell him to give you his report. Then -bring it to me. Do you understand?” - -Waiting for a response, he said: - -“Then repeat what I have said.” - -He listened, and, as he did, a broad smile came over his face. He hung -up the ’phone and rang off, turning to his wife with a queer light in -his eyes. - -“Why, Nick,” asked Edith, “who is Herman Hartwig?” - -“I don’t know.” - -“And what is the word ‘Passen?’” - -“Never heard of it before.” - -“Then what is the meaning of your message?” - -“Nothing. It was diamond cut diamond. That was not Ida on the other end -of the line.” - -“Who, then?” - -“I don’t know. Perhaps the Brown Robin. The wires have been tampered -with in some way. It was not Ida for, if it had been, she would have -wanted to know where Herman Hartwig was to be found, since she had never -heard of him before, because I invented the name at the moment.” - -“Then your suspicions were excited at once?” - -“Yes; it was a good imitation of Ida’s voice, but a certain trick of -Ida’s speech was wanting, and I was watching for it.” - -Nick thought a moment; then, hastily stepping to the ’phone, he cut the -connecting wires. - -“It is the safest way,” he said. “Now, Edith, hurry to the drug store on -the corner and send for Chick, Patsy and Ida.” - -As Edith went out, Nick sat down to his paper again, but he had read a -short time only when the servant entered with a card, saying that a -caller was in the parlor. - -He read the card. The name on it was Mr. Alpheus Cary. - -Bidding the servant to tell the gentleman that Mr. Carter was engaged -for the present, but would see him presently, he continued to read his -paper. - -His intention was not to see his caller until his aids should arrive, -for he meant that Chick should be present at the interview, and Patsy -should shadow the caller when he left. - -He was thus engaged when Edith returned. - -She bore in her hand a card and note, and, as she entered the room, she -was about to speak, but Nick checked her with a gesture. - -She handed Nick the card and note. Reading the card, Nick looked up with -surprise and compared it with one he had just received. It was the same -exactly. - -Tearing open the note, he read: - - “Dear Mr. Carter: I beg you will call on me at the Zetler Bank, on a - matter of importance, at your earliest convenience. I do not call on - you for the reason that I fear the call would become known to a person - I desire to keep in the dark. Respectfully, - - Alpheus Cary.” - -“Where did you get these?” whispered Nick. - -“At the drug store,” returned Edith, also in a whisper. “I was about -going out when the druggist called me by name. An elderly gentleman, -standing near, started and spoke in a low tone to the druggist, asking -if I was Nick Carter’s wife. - -“Being told that I was, he came to me, handing me his card and this -note, with the request that I should give it to you. - -“He said that he had intended to call, had even driven past the door, -but, on second thought, believed it were not best, and had gone to the -drug store, where he was known, and had written the note there.” - -“And you came directly back with it?” - -“Directly.” - -“Where did Mr. Cary go?” - -“He got into a cab and drove down Columbus Avenue.” - -Nick thought a moment, and said, in a whisper: - -“This must have occurred about the time my caller handed in the other -card.” - -He sprang to his feet and hurried to the parlor. - -But it was empty. The waiting caller had left without a word. - -Nick, calling the servant, inquired if she had seen the caller leave, -but she had not, nor could she give any information. - -Pursuing his inquiries, all that he could learn was that a moment after -Mrs. Carter was seen to enter the front door an elderly-appearing man -had darted from it and had gone down the street, hastily, to the west. - -Satisfied that a spurious Mr. Cary had called on him that morning, and -that the genuine Mr. Cary had accosted his wife in the drug store, Nick -returned to his room to await the arrival of his assistants, Chick, -Patsy and Ida. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - THE WAY OF THE ROBIN. - - -Nick’s passage to the Zetler Bank to see the real Mr. Alpheus Cary was -in the nature of a procession. - -He had been impressed with the idea that the caller who had announced -himself as Mr. Alpheus Cary, had, by some means, come to know that the -real Mr. Cary was in the neighborhood, and had fled because of that. - -His fleeing seemed to Nick to suggest that in some way this person was -either the Brown Robin or some one connected with that person. - -The audacity of the effort to impersonate Cary in an interview with Nick -further suggested that the person had much confidence in his own skill, -and was rather conceited about it. - -He thought it probable that he would be put under observation in his -next attempt to leave the house. - -So he directed Chick to go out and post himself so that he could shadow -Nick and see whether he was followed. And, having respect for the skill -of this Brown Robin, he sent Patsy out charged with the duty of -following Chick, and Ida later to follow Patsy. - -Thus it was that when, an hour later, he went out into the street, his -passage to the Zetler Bank was in the nature of a procession. - -Nick’s passage, however, was not direct, for he received a signal from -Chick that the latter thought a person was on the track of his chief. - -Consequently he took a devious route, turning into many strange places, -doubling on his track and doing a number of strange things. - -All this time he paid not the slightest attention as to whether or not -another person was doing these strange things, for he was relying upon -Chick to determine whether any one was on his track. - -“Gee!” said Patsy, when, in these doubling turns, he came upon Ida, -“what is this game we’re getting this morning?” - -However, Chick had seen a young man about twenty-five or six, who had -made his appearance only as Nick had shown on the street, and whose -route was the same as that of the chief. - -When Nick had taken to his devious ways on hearing a peculiar huckster’s -cry behind him, which he knew to be from Chick, this young man had taken -to the same devious ways. - -When Nick started straight for the bank, this young man had followed, -and Chick saw him walk to the very door of the Zetler Bank to watch Nick -enter. - -Summoning Patsy by signal, he sent him on the trail of this young man, -while he awaited the appearance of Nick from the bank. - -The wait was a long one. - -When Nick presented his name, Mr. Cary came forward in such excitement -that Nick thought he would betray himself to every one within hearing. - -“I am glad to see you, Mr. Carter,” he said. “My business is most -important, yet I have been warned——” - -“I know,” said Nick, calmly, “the Brown Robin. You have been told not to -dare to talk to me.” - -“Why,” exclaimed Mr. Cary, “how do you know that?” - -“I guessed it,” said Nick, with a smile. “But take me somewhere where we -can talk aloud and unheard.” - -Mr. Cary led the way into an inner room, closing the door after him. - -“Now,” said Nick, “there are certain things I know of this case, but I -want you to tell me everything, concealing nothing, not even when it -tells against yourself. I shall regard it as a confidential -communication. Make neither excuses, nor apologies, but tell the plain -truth.” - -“But I have been warned not to talk to you at all.” - -“By whom?” asked Nick. - -“By some one who signs the letter ‘The Brown Robin.’” - -“Let me see that letter,” demanded Nick. - -“Well, I don’t know that I ought.” - -“Now, Mr. Cary,” said Nick, sternly, “you were blackmailed last night; -indeed, it was more nearly like robbery, for the money was taken from -your hands while you were hesitating whether you would pay it over or -not.” - -“You know that? How?” asked Mr. Cary. - -“Never mind how I know,” replied Nick, sternly. “It is my business to -know a great many things. But I want to say this: I mean to investigate -this matter to the bottom. If you help me by giving me all the -information in your possession, so much the better, but whether you do -or not I shall find all out. Now choose which you will do.” - -“Well, I had intended to retain you, but this letter——” - -“Let me see it,” demanded Nick, in a decided tone. - -Mr. Cary yielded, and, taking the letter from his breast pocket, handed -it to Nick. - -At a glance the famous detective saw that it was the same handwriting, -on the same kind of paper, as the two letters he had received in the -morning. It read: - - “Dear Papa Cary: I want to warn you against a very bad man. His name - is Nick Carter. You will only get yourself into trouble if you don’t - take my warning. You are in a good deal of trouble now, for you stand - in danger of exposure. Fie! Such a naughty Papa Cary! But you must not - talk to Nick Carter. You must not talk to him of our pleasant - experiences last night. And, Papa Cary, you must come again, and bring - some more of the stuff that makes the mare go. I shall tell you when - and where. And you must, or there will be pretty photographs sent to - Mamma Cary and the little Carys, and to the bank officials, and so - there will if you talk to Nick Carter. - - “The Brown Robin.” - -Nick folded up the letter and placed it in his pocket, saying: - -“This letter will be safer with you than with me. Now tell me how you -met the woman.” - -“How do you know——” - -“I would rather you would answer my question,” interrupted Nick, -sternly, “and please waste no time with questions. You met a woman last -night. Where? How? When?” - -“Well, it was in the Rideau restaurant—that is a——” - -“I know—in Fourth Avenue. How came you to be there?” - -“Some business took me on the East Side yesterday afternoon, on which I -was delayed beyond my own dinner hour. I had heard of this place and -thought I would like to visit it. So I went there to dine. It was -crowded, few seats being vacant. - -“As I passed down the rows of tables I came to one at which was seated a -young woman of attractive appearance, dressed like a lady, in brown, on -whose hat was a robin. - -“The seat opposite her was vacant, and, bowing, I asked if I could -occupy it. She consented by saying that she could not prevent me, as it -was free to any one to take. - -“Seating myself, it was not long before I was in conversation with her.” - -“I see,” said Nick. “Did she know who you were?” - -“Why, no.” - -“Then how did she come to know?” - -“That is where I was a fool. I told her.” - -“On her inquiry?” - -“No, confound it. A bottle of wine and a pretty woman let loose my -tongue, and I babbled like an infant.” - -Nick had difficulty in keeping a straight face over this frank -confession and the disgusted face that accompanied it. - -“Of course you didn’t know her?” asked Nick. - -“No; she told me she was but recently from Chicago; that she was -married; that her husband had been detained at the last moment, but -would soon follow her.” - -“Well, what then?” - -“It ended in my paying for her supper, and we arose from the table -together, leaving the restaurant together. - -“In the street I asked her direction, and proposed to accompany her as -far as her door.” - -“It would seem as if, then, you took the lead in this thing.” - -“That is true in a way, yet she encouraged every step.” - -“Of course. Go on.” - -“She took me into Seventeenth street, and toward the east, to a -respectable-looking house, which she said was one in which she was -staying, and asked, indeed coaxed, me to enter. - -“Well, like a fool, I consented. She took me into the front parlor, and, -asking me to be seated, went off, saying that she would return in a -moment.” - -“She did, having changed her street dress for a flowing wrapper. Seating -herself, she began a series of questions about myself that I, fool that -I was, answered. - -“Suddenly, and without intimation of her purpose, she arose, and, coming -to me, threw her arms about my neck, seating herself on my lap. - -“I was so astonished at this for a moment I was helpless, and in that -moment there was a flash of light that blinded me. - -“The woman laughed gayly, and, jumping up, ran into the other room. A -moment later she returned, saying: - -“‘Come, Papa Cary. I don’t give my pleasant company for nothing. You’ve -enjoyed my society for two or three hours. You must pay for it. Come! -Shell out!’ - -“‘What is this?’ I cried, ‘blackmail?’ - -“‘Some unpleasant people call it that, I believe,’ she said. ‘But -whatever it is, you must submit.’ - -“‘Not by any means,’ I said. ‘You have attacked the wrong person.’ - -“Again she laughed, and, springing up, ran into the next room, to return -in a moment, bringing with her a photograph plate. - -“‘You may look at that,’ she said, holding it up before me. Over the rim -she pointed a small revolver. - -“I looked to see that a photograph of myself, with her on my lap, her -arms about my neck, had been taken. - -“I fairly staggered back in alarm, and with a merry, mocking laugh, she -hurried with the plate into the other room. When she came back, she -said: - -“‘I’m a business woman, Papa Cary. A short horse is soon curried. Out -with your money, or, as soon as these photos are printed they will be -sent to decorate your home and your office.’ - -“In my first fright over this threat I took some money from my pocket, -but the thought came that payment wouldn’t end it, and that I ought to -bargain with her in a way that would secure me. - -“While I hesitated, thinking what to do, by a quick movement she -snatched the money from my hand, crying, with a laugh: ‘Thank you.’ - -“I protested—demanded its return. But she said: - -“‘Oh, no! You have given me this, and it will not be the last that you -will give me, either. This is only the beginning. And I will pay you for -it by always keeping those photographs.’ - -“All this time she was laughing, but I could see in her right hand her -revolver. I suddenly jumped forward to seize her revolver arm, when she -sprang back and in an instant everything was dark. The lights went out. - -“Then I was pushed forward and out of the room by more than one, through -a hall and into the street. - -“In my anger I threatened that I would put you, Mr. Carter, on her -track, and when I was in the street I rushed about, trying to find a -policeman. - -“By and by, however, my common sense came uppermost, and I saw that by -appealing to a policeman I should only make public what I should, in my -own interests, keep quiet. - -“So, determining to see you as soon as I could, I went home. - -“This morning, on reaching the bank, I found the letter which you now -have in your possession.” - -“How much money did she take?” - -“A little less than a hundred dollars—I cannot tell exactly; between -ninety and a hundred.” - -“Did you see any one else then?” - -“No.” - -“You could go again to that house?” - -“No doubt of it.” - -“Have you told me everything that occurred?” - -“Everything, reserved nothing. Now, I want those photographs, Mr. -Carter. I want you to get them. I’ll pay for them; but I won’t be -blackmailed.” - -Nick was silent a moment or two, thinking. Then he said: - -“On your recital it seems to be merely a vulgar panel game. But I think -there is more back of it than that. However, I will take the case. I -will think it over. Do nothing, however, until you see me again. I shall -probably be back again in an hour or two, possibly with my plan of -action worked out.” - -Nick left the banking house, and, going into the street met Chick and -Ida. - -“Was I followed?” - -“Yes,” replied Chick. “Followed to these doors by a young fellow of -twenty-five, stylishly dressed. He was like a woman more than a man; -that is, his face was so fine and handsome.” - -“What became of him?” - -“He went off after seeing you, with a curious smile on his face. Patsy -is on his trail.” - -“Then that is all right,” said Nick. “Come with me. I think we have got -a case well worth looking on. We will go somewhere where we can talk it -over.” - -The three then went to a neighboring hotel. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - A BLIND CHASE. - - -When Patsy took the trail of the young man who had followed Nick to the -doors of the bank, the only purpose of it was to find out who he was and -with whom he had connection. - -In taking up the trail Patsy was wary. His first effort was to determine -whether the young man feared shadowing, and, if he did, whether he -believed himself to be shadowed. - -For the first ten minutes there were no indications of any kind on the -part of the young man. - -He took up a bee line for Broadway, and, turning into that thoroughfare, -walked to the south with a rapid gait and a businesslike manner, turning -neither to the right nor the left, nor giving any heed to persons behind -him. - -Thus they went, the followed and the follower, down Broadway, when, the -building of the New York Life being reached, the young man suddenly -turned into it with quickened pace. - -Patsy broke into a sharp run. He quickly appreciated the danger he was -in of losing his man. It seemed to him that these great big buildings, -with their numerous elevators, many stairs and entrances and exits, were -especially contrived to favor escaping crooks. - -As he dashed through the entrance, he saw his man turning, on a run, -into the rotunda, which is circled by elevators. - -“The deuce!” cried Patsy. “My one chance is that he can’t get an -elevator before I get to him.” - -He ran like a deer down the long corridor, to the amazement of those who -were passing. - -He turned the corner just in time to see the gates of the elevator -close, as it shot upward, and in it was the man he had followed. - -This was almost too much for Patsy, and he gave an exclamation of -chagrin. But he rapidly took in the fact that the elevator that had just -gone up was the one that did not stop short of the tenth floor, and that -one was to follow, stopping at each. - -Into this he plunged, concealing himself from view, but in such a way -that he himself could watch. - -Passing the ninth floor, he saw the young man eagerly watching the -elevator that followed. - -Patsy could not get out on the ninth, but he did on the tenth, and -hurried down the stairs. Some one was descending the stairs to the -eighth floor. Leaning over the balustrades, Patsy saw a man descending -rapidly. - -This one wore a dark beard and mustache, and his hair was of the same -color. The man he had followed had been beardless and his hair was quite -light. But there was something in the carriage of the shoulders of the -man descending the steps that suggested the one he had followed down -Broadway. - -Springing to the head of the stairs, Patsy flung himself on the -balustrades, sliding down thence to gain time. - -The man followed quickened his pace and fairly flew down the steps two -at a time. Patsy was gaining on him, for he was more reckless in his -pursuit than the man was in his flight—taking more chances. - -Thus the chase continued until the floor on which the great offices of -the insurance company were reached, when the followed man plunged into -them, with Patsy close on his heels. - -Then the man stopped, faced about and waited for Patsy to come up. To -the lad’s astonishment, he was not in disguise. He looked at Patsy with -a sarcastic smile, and asked: - -“Are you following me?” - -“Yes,” replied Patsy, carefully sizing up his man. - -“You could be in better business,” replied the other. “What are you -doing it for?” - -“You know very well,” replied Patsy. - -“Now that you have got up to me, what are you going to do?” he asked. - -That was just exactly what Patsy was asking himself. What was he going -to do? But he made a bluff, and said: - -“I am going to find out who you are, and what your name is.” - -“That’s easy,” replied the other. “But what do you want to know for?” - -“That’s my business,” replied Patsy. - -The fact was, Patsy didn’t really know why he had been ordered to follow -the man. He suspected that it was because the man had followed Nick, and -that there was a desire to know who he was. - -“Of course, that is your business,” replied the other. “Very well, my -name is George Vernon; I am one of the secret inspectors of this -company. I followed Nick Carter this morning, thinking he touched the -case I am on, until I found he did not. Then I sheered off. I take it I -am a good deal in the same business you are.” - -All the time he was talking this way he had been edging toward a door. - -This seemed to be so straight that Patsy could not deny it, though he -believed the fellow was lying. He looked around to the clerks for -confirmation, but they were all behind high desks and railings, and he -could not get to them except by leaving his man. - -A high official of the company approached, one Patsy knew well. - -Patsy hailed him, and asked him if the man calling himself Vernon was in -the employ of the company. - -“Well, that’s a hard one for me,” said the official, good-naturedly. “I -should be greatly puzzled to identify all of our employees.” - -The man said, respectfully: - -“I am in the inspectors’ department.” - -The official, however, became suddenly serious, and asked: - -“But what is it? Anything wrong with him, Patsy?” - -The other now turned on the lad with a start, his eyes intently fixed on -Patsy, and the lad, as much as he respected the high official, could -have kicked him for letting out his name. - -But the high official did worse. Saying to the one who called himself -Vernon to stand where he was, he seized Patsy by the arm to lead him to -a gentleman sitting at a desk within a railing. - -The impulse was a kindly one, for the high official wanted to serve -Patsy, but it was a mistaken one, since the other, seizing his -opportunity, dashed through the door, near which he was standing, into a -big office beyond. - -Patsy broke from the grasp of the high official and jumped after him. -There was a second’s delay as the door swung back on him, but when he -had passed through he saw the other running down the long room. - -The sight of a man flying frantically through the room, with another -plunging along as frantically, followed closely by a high official of -the company, excited all the clerks, and they thronged into the narrow -way, so impeding Patsy’s pursuit that, by the time he had reached the -door at the end of the room through which the other disappeared, his man -was nowhere to be seen. - -He ran hither and thither toward all the outlets, but quickly recognized -the futility of further effort. - -He went back to the high official, who had followed him out of the room. -Patsy was considerably nettled, but, choking down his anger, said: - -“He’s a crook, all right, or he wouldn’t have wanted to get away from -me. But now I want to ask you whether there is a George Vernon in the -employ of the company.” - -“What department does he say he is employed in?” asked the official. - -“In the inspector’s department.” - -“Come with me,” said the official. - -Patsy was led to a room where a man, busily engaged, was seated at a -desk. He arose immediately on the approach of the high official, -answering promptly the question whether there was a George Vernon in his -employ. - -“Yes; there is such a person, and he is in the next room at this -moment.” - -“Call him,” said the official. - -A tall, thin, intelligent-looking young man, the very opposite in -appearance of the one whom Patsy had followed, reported. - -What was apparent was that the man followed had known of this George -Vernon, and had seized on his name to throw Patsy off. - -When the real George Vernon was told of the occurrence and of the man -who had taken his name, he said that on the day previous he had fallen -in with a man of the description given in an uptown hotel, who had -expressed a wish to take out a policy on his life. The real Vernon had -talked with him on that line and given him his name and department. - -“Well,” said Patsy, to the high official, “my man got away, but one -thing is settled, he’s a crook, and the other thing is that I have him -so well sized up that I’ll know him, I don’t care how he is disguised.” - -Patsy left the offices of the company, and as he did so, he said to -himself: - -“My man carries his shoulders as not one man in a thousand does. He has -a short step and a knock-kneed gait; he has no beard and a small mole -under his chin, on the left side.” - -He stopped in the corridor suddenly, slapped his thigh with his hand, -stood still a moment, thinking earnestly. Finally he exclaimed aloud: - -“Holy smoke! I’ll bet that’s the way of it.” - -Seeking a retired spot, in a corner, he made a rapid change in his -appearance. - -He had entered the building a smartly dressed young fellow. He left it -looking like a broken-down man of sixty, limping in gait and with bowed -shoulders, racked with a cough. - -But he did not leave it until he had stood some time in the entrance -holding out his hands and asking for money of every one that entered nor -until he had been fairly driven from it by the officer in charge. - -Then he stood on the sidewalk, still begging, and continued to do so -until the officer drove him away by threatening him with arrest. - -All the while he was thus engaged his eyes had been busy, and he saw a -man standing on the opposite side of the street, occupying a position -that commanded a view of the main entrance. - -When driven from the sidewalk in front of the building he crossed the -street and took up a position near this man. - -A moment was sufficient to satisfy Patsy that he was disguised. Half an -hour passed, during which Patsy begged, when he could without being -discovered by policemen, and still shadowed the disguised man, who was -watching the main entrance. - -Finally this man strolled away like one who did so reluctantly. Patsy -watched him with a thrill of delight. - -He had found his man again. - -The man went to a hotel, where he sat down in the writing-room and, -taking paper and envelope from his pocket, began to write letters. - -Patsy slipped away and made another change in his appearance, and, -coming back, set out to write letters himself. - -When the other had written two letters, he got up and went out, followed -by Patsy. - -This time he went to an American District Telegraph office, handing the -letters in and paying the fee. - -Leaving the office he went directly back to the hotel where he had -written his letters, and, calling for the key of room ninety-eight, said -to the clerk: - -“I am tired and shall lie down for a nap. Call me by two o’clock. Not -later.” - -He went to his room. Patsy turned over the register and found the name -of Harold Stanton, and opposite the number ninety-eight. - -“How long has Stanton been staying with you?” asked Patsy. - -“Only since last night.” - -“What do you know of him?” - -“Nothing. He paid for his room for two nights. But he wasn’t in his room -last night.” - -Patsy went away, saying: - -“What next? I’ve run him down to this place, and know he figures as -Harold Stanton.” - -He went back to the American District Telegraph office and persuaded the -man in charge to give him the names of the persons to whom Stanton had -written letters. - -One was Nick Carter, the other was Alpheus Cary. - -Patsy gave a long whistle, and set out to find his chief. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - THE REAL THING. - - -After Nick had talked over the case with Chick and Ida, he had sent -Chick to the house in Seventeenth Street to take stock of it and to make -inquiries. - -“Chick,” he had said, “I don’t think you will learn much, for I fancy -the house has been abandoned by these people. However, you may learn -something in looking it up.” - -He then went to his house, to find a caller awaiting him. Nick looked at -the card, but did not recognize the name. It was Richard F. Mountain. - -He sent for the caller to come to his own room. - -Mr. Mountain was one who showed in his movements that he was a man of -business, and accustomed to affairs. - -“Are we alone, Mr. Carter?” he added, on entering. “What I have to say -is strictly confidential.” - -“We cannot be overheard here,” replied Nick. - -“Then the next question is, can I rely upon you to take my case?” - -“I never decide to take a case until I hear the story,” said Nick, “but -whatever confidence you give me will be respected.” - -“It’s a case of attempted blackmail,” replied Mr. Mountain. - -“The Brown Robin?” asked Nick. - -Mr. Mountain stared a moment before he replied: - -“Yes, that name has cropped up in the case.” - -“Then I take your case,” said Nick, “for I am already engaged. Go on -with the story.” - -“I am an insurance agent and real estate broker,” said Mr. Mountain, -plunging at once into his story, “and frequently have sums of money in -my hands for investment belonging to other people. My reputation is good -and my standing high. - -“Some time ago I was caught in a speculation in which I had ventured -rather recklessly. I reached a point where, unless I could put up a very -considerable sum, I was likely to lose all I had ventured—lose -everything. - -“In this strait I used the money of an estate I was managing, and saved -myself for that time. It was wrong and was something that people did not -believe I would be guilty of. - -“After I had passed this money out of my hands an accounting was -suddenly and unexpectedly demanded of me. I was in a corner, likely to -be exposed and ruined. The facts were not suspected, however, and a day -or two intervened. I tried to extricate myself, but could not. - -“In my distress I determined on suicide, and drew up a statement which -was a confession, placing it in my desk, to be found when my death was -announced. - -“On the day I had fixed for my death—the day of accounting, I was given -a respite by a postponement for one week. - -“During that week the speculation I was engaged in was brought to an -unexpected and successful conclusion and realization. I was in funds -again—in fact, a rich man. - -“During the few days left me before the accounting, I was so busy in -preparing for it and buying back securities that I had used, that the -confession passed from my mind. - -“After I had passed through the accounting triumphantly, I looked for -it. It was gone. I searched and inquired, but without success. - -“For a long time it worried me greatly, but as time went on and nothing -came of it, I began to think that I must have destroyed it and forgotten -I had done so. - -“But yesterday a copy of it was presented to me, and I was told that I -could have the copy and the original for fifty thousand dollars. - -“I temporized and put off further negotiations until to-morrow. Now, -that is the whole story. And, Mr. Carter, I am here to say that I will -not pay the sum. I will not be blackmailed. I don’t want to be exposed, -either; I do not want the disgrace that would follow. My business would -be ruined. That is a small matter in one way, for I am a wealthy man, -but I do not want to lose the respect and confidence I enjoy. - -“In my whole business life I have made this one false step. But, all the -same, I will not be blackmailed. - -“Now, with handing you this letter, received this morning, I have stated -my case.” - -He took a letter from his pocket and handed it to Nick. At a glance Nick -recognized the paper and the handwriting. It read: - - “Mr. Richard F. Mountain: Contrary to my custom, I gave you two days - to comply with my demands. Then I thought you asked for time to gather - the money required. Reviewing our talk, I see now that you made no - promise. I have been lax. I shall not be again. To-morrow you must be - prepared to comply. I shall call you to a place to pay the money. Be - prompt in your coming. But heed this. Do not call in the services of - Nick Carter. Do not talk to him at all. - - “The Brown Robin.” - -Holding the letter in his hand, Nick asked: - -“How was this demand made?” - -“By a young man who called on me at my office yesterday afternoon.” - -“What name did he give?” - -“None. He approached when I was engaged with some people I was doing -business with, merely saying: - -“This is a copy, but important enough to demand your immediate -attention.” - -“I read it, of course, and, getting up from my seat, took him aside, -demanding to know what was wanted. - -“His answer was that he was acting for another person, who wanted fifty -thousand dollars for the original. Situated as I was, surrounded by -people who were at the time placing financial trust in me, I could do -nothing but fight for delay and postponement.” - -“I see,” said Nick. “Now, have you any idea who this young man was?” - -“No.” - -“Nor who it is he says he represents?” - -“No knowledge.” - -“Do you suspect any one?” - -“Well, I hardly know how to reply. I had a typewriter—a young woman in -my employ, who left me suddenly just before I missed that paper. Time -and time again my mind has gone back to her in suspicion with nothing to -support it. Her name was Alberta Curtis.” - -“Have you heard of her since she left you?” - -“In a way, immediately after her disappearance. She was a Southern girl -of a good but impoverished family. She eloped with a married man. That -was the cause of her leaving me. I heard of it from her family, who cast -her off for the act.” - -“With whom did she elope?” - -“I only know his name—Charles Stymer.” - -Just then Patsy came in, and Nick sent for him. - -“This is Patsy Murphy, Mr. Mountain,” said Nick. “One of my most trusted -aids. I want to question him on some business he has on hand.” - -Turning to Patsy, he asked: - -“Did you follow your man?” - -“Yes. He gave me a chase, too.” - -“Did you get close to him—close enough to know what he looks like?” - -“I had a talk with him.” - -“Describe him to me?” - -Patsy gave an elaborate description of the man that had figured before -him both as George Vernon and Harold Stanton. - -As Patsy talked, Nick, closely watching Mr. Mountain, saw him show signs -of increasing excitement, until he finally burst out: - -“Why, he is describing the very man who called on me yesterday.” - -“Then,” said Nick, with a smile, “the Brown Robin is both a man and a -woman.” - -“I do not understand you,” said Mr. Mountain. - -“Probably not,” said Nick. “I am not far enough in the case to -understand it myself. We are already engaged on one case of blackmail in -which the Brown Robin figures as a woman. Now you give us one in which -it figures as a man. - -“The Brown Robin has given a good deal of trouble in Chicago, Boston and -Philadelphia without being detected. - -“It has just begun operations in New York. I imagine your case is the -first one of its operations, and the other we have the second. - -“Whether it is a he or a she, or a gang, it is bold, audacious and -skillful, working in a new way.” - -“By the way, chief,” asked Patsy, “have you received another letter from -the Brown Robin?” - -“Yes; why do you ask?” - -“Because this fellow I followed sent you one.” - -Nick picked a letter from the table and handed it to Patsy. It read: - - “My Dear Uncle: Really, you are much better than I supposed. It is - worth while working against you. You’re not easy, but keep me at work. - What a dance you gave me this morning. And your Patsy is a regular - laloo. He ran me down and cornered me this morning. If he had dared to - arrest me he would have done so, but he had no right to do that, so, - of course, he didn’t. I slipped away from him only by accident. The - above is only by the way. I write to say that you are not serving Papa - Cary well. Drop him for his own sake. Even if you do stop him from - giving me more, I’ll ruin him. That is my rule. His safety is in - submitting to me. - - “The Brown Robin.” - -Patsy folded the letter, and handed it back to Nick, saying: - -“He wrote another to the other.” - -“Who?” - -Patsy wrote the name of Alpheus Cary on a slip of paper, handing it to -Nick. - -“Ah! I must know what it said,” said Nick, as he glanced at it. - -Turning to Mr. Mountain, Nick said: - -“One of the peculiar features of this affair is the frequent and -impudent letters that are written to me. - -“Until you came with your story, I was at a loss to understand the -reason of them. I do now. Your case is the big one. While it is being -worked the Brown Robin would have us think that the other case is the -only one it is working on. - -“It is quite ingenious and a new way of working. Leaving a trail open on -the second, they will carefully make those to the first blind. - -“Now, Mr. Mountain, return to your office. Another aid of mine will call -on you as soon as he can. His sole business will be to study your -appearance. Give him every opportunity. - -“If you receive another letter, let him have it. If you receive a notice -from the Brown Robin to go to any particular place, tell him of it. That -I must know of at the earliest moment. - -“Now, Patsy, Chick is over somewhere in Seventeenth Street. Find him and -send him to Mr. Mountain’s office. Now get away, please, both of you, -for I must go out.” - -Mr. Mountain returned to his office, feeling a weight off his shoulders, -since the celebrated Nick Carter had the case in hand. - -Patsy hurried off to find Chick. - -Nick himself made his way to the Zetler Bank to find Mr. Cary almost in -a state of collapse. - -A messenger had brought him a letter from the Brown Robin. - -It read: - - “Dear Papa Cary: Your little present of last night only went a little - way. I want more for some expenses I have. You must be at the corner - of Fourth Avenue and Twenty-eighth Street this afternoon at five - o’clock. Be prompt, now, because there will be some one there to bring - you to me. And bring some money. A nice good lot. Don’t fail, if you - do—— - - “The Brown Robin.” - -When Nick had read this letter, Mr. Cary handed him a photograph which -he said had been brought in but a short time before, carefully wrapped -up. - -Nick saw that it was one taken by flashlight. It showed a woman sitting -on Mr. Cary’s knee, her arms about his neck, his face showing plainly. - -Nick thought it was about as compromising a picture as a respectable -elderly gentleman of family could be tortured with, and one of which -clearly no explanation could be given to offset or contradict the story -it told. He studied the woman’s face, or so much as she showed. There -was art in the way it was shown, yet concealed. - -“Tear it up and burn it,” he said. “You must not have it lying about -your desk.” - -And while Mr. Cary was engaged in the work of destroying the damaging -photograph, Nick was busily thinking. - -Finally he asked: - -“Have you nerve enough to keep this engagement with the Brown Robin and -carry her another hundred dollars?” - -Against this Mr. Alpheus Cary protested warmly, declaring that he never -again would voluntarily see the woman. - -But Nick’s persuasive powers must have been great, for shortly after -four o’clock Mr. Cary was seen to leave the bank, and had he been -followed, it would have been seen that his way was up Fourth Avenue. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - THE BROWN ROBIN DINES. - - -As the hour of five approached, an elderly gentleman who would have been -recognized by any of the directors of the Zetler Bank as Mr. Alpheus -Cary, its president, could be seen on the corner of Twenty-eighth Street -and Fourth Avenue. - -He was looking in every direction, and peering into the face of every -man who approached him, exhibiting a nervousness and an anxiety which -showed that he regarded his mission at that place as everything but -pleasant. - -Frequently he took out his handkerchief and mopped his face; altogether, -he made himself rather conspicuous on the corner. - -Finally, as five o’clock was reached, a young man Patsy would have -recognized as the one who went to sleep in the hotel after writing two -letters, came up from some unknown place, for Mr. Alpheus Cary thought -he sprang from the earth. - -“Mr. Cary, I believe,” said this young man, addressing the elderly -gentleman. - -“That is my name,” replied Mr. Cary, nervously. - -“I thought that I recognized you,” said the young man. - -“Are you the one——” - -But he was interrupted. - -“How is the market to-day, Mr. Cary?” asked the young man. “My eye has -been off the tape to-day, and I am carrying a lot of U. P.” - -Could any one have been close enough, they would have seen that while -the young man was asking this question, and others, and receiving -nervous and embarrassed answers to them, he was closely watching the -elderly man. - -If Mr. Cary had been a sharp detective, he would have thought that these -sharp looks meant something, but as he was not, of course, he apparently -did not observe them. - -Finally the young man said: - -“Are you prepared to follow me?” - -“Why, yes; that is why I am here, I suppose. Are you the one who was to -meet me here?” - -“Mr. Cary, are you acting in good faith?” - -“Why, yes, what do you mean?” - -“Did you come here alone?” - -“Entirely so.” - -“Did any one know of your coming here besides yourself?” - -“Not a single person.” - -“Will you give your word that Nick Carter is not in concealment here to -see us go off together and to follow us?” - -“I will swear that I am here alone; that neither Nick Carter nor any one -else is in concealment here to follow us.” - -“Very good; I’ll take your word for it. But let me tell you that if you -have deceived me in any way, that you will be punished in a way that you -will not like.” - -“I have not deceived you. No one is with me, and no one could suspect -that I was to be here.” - -“Come along, then.” - -The young man led Mr. Cary down Twenty-eighth Street to Lexington -Avenue, and, turning the corner, hurried him into a nearby doorway. - -“I do not disbelieve you, Mr. Cary, but I am going to be satisfied.” - -They stood there a while. Evidently satisfied that they were not -followed, he motioned for Mr. Cary to follow him. - -Their way now was to a rather plain house at the other end of the block. - -Reaching it, they mounted the steps, the young man tapping at the door. -It was opened immediately, and the young man motioned for Mr. Cary to -enter. - -Then he followed, closing the door after him. - -“Enter the parlor, Mr. Cary,” he said, “and I will call the one you came -to see.” - -He disappeared, running up the stairs. - -Mr. Cary had a long time to think over the wisdom or unwisdom of his -step in again putting himself in the power of the woman who had, the -night previous, played him such a scurvy trick. - -For one who wanted to see him so badly as she had written, the Brown -Robin was slow in making her appearance. - -By and by, however, there was a movement on the stairs, in the hall, and -Mr. Cary anxiously waiting, heard the Brown Robin’s voice saying, rather -commandingly: - -“You will be here promptly at nine in the morning?” - -The voice of the young man who had brought him to the house was heard in -reply. - -“Yes, my sister; but you will not see me until that time.” - -The other door opened and closed with a bang. - -Mr. Cary grinned on hearing this. But whether in satisfaction of the -departure of the young man, or in pleased anticipation of a -_tête-à-tête_ with the Brown Robin, did not appear. - -His face, however, was perfectly composed when the Brown Robin, very -cool and elegant in appearance, entered the parlor. - -“How good of you, Papa Cary, to come and see me again,” she cried. “You -may kiss me.” - -She offered her cheek to Mr. Cary, who hesitated a moment and then, as -if he could not resist the temptation, awkwardly kissed her, to her -great amusement. - -She sat down opposite him, saying: - -“I was afraid that you would be angry with me for playing that trick on -you.” - -“Then you mean to give me back that money?” said Mr. Cary. - -“Oh, dear no,” she cried. “I couldn’t do that. You see, I have spent all -that money. We had to move this morning, and then my brother, Harold, -had some debts that I had to pay. New York is an awfully expensive -place, and I want money. You have brought me some, haven’t you?” - -“I should suppose your husband would supply your needs?” said Mr. Cary. -“When does he reach here from Chicago?” - -“I hope not soon, Papa Cary, for then I would have to stop seeing you. -And I mean to see a good deal of you. Do you know what I am going to do -this afternoon? I am going to give you a nice dinner. You gave me a nice -one yesterday. Only you’ll pay for this one, just as you did for the one -yesterday. That is, if you have brought me some money. Have you?” - -“Have I?” asked Mr. Cary. “Well, yes, I have brought you some. Here is a -hundred dollars.” - -He handed the roll to her. - -“Only a hundred,” she said, as she took it. “That is not handsome, Papa -Cary. I thought it would be five times as much. But I’ll take this, and -you will have to give me more money five times as often, if you only -give it in such little bits.” - -“I’ll give you a good deal more if you will do something for me I want -you to.” - -“What is that?” - -“Give me that photograph plate and the pictures you have had printed.” - -The Brown Robin laid her shapely head back on the cushions of her chair -and laughed long and heartily. Then she said: - -“Oh, that poor little trick! You want to bargain with me, Papa Cary. -Now, what will you give for them?” - -“What would you have the heart to demand?” - -“Well, Papa Cary, I have such a soft heart that I am afraid I must let -you put the figure on them.” - -“I will give you a thousand dollars for them.” - -“Have you the money here?” - -“No. I have no more than I gave you. But I would give it on delivery of -the plate and pictures.” - -“And do you think I would give up the pleasure of seeing you for a -thousand dollars?” - -“That isn’t the question.” - -“Oh, yes it is. Don’t you see that it is owing to my having those -pictures that you are here to-day? If I hadn’t them, you wouldn’t be -here now, would you?” - -“Yes, I think I should, if you had sent for me to come.” - -The Brown Robin threw her head to one side and eyed the elderly -gentleman shrewdly for a while. - -“I am afraid you are fibbing, Papa Cary,” she said. “And I am getting -afraid of you, too. I fear instead of being a respectable, elderly -gentleman, ready to give aid and protection to unprotected females, you -are a gay old dog. - -“No, I can’t sell that pretty picture for a thousand dollars. It’s too -cheap. It cost me too much pains to get it. And then, how do I know but -that you will take it to your club, show it around to other gay old -dogs, as your last conquest?” - -Mr. Cary grinned delightedly over being called a gay old dog, but shook -his head and protested with his hands. - -“But come,” said the Brown Robin, as a servant entered from the rear. -“Come to dinner all by our two selves.” - -She led the way, and Mr. Cary followed into a rear room, where a dinner -table was laid. - -The dinner was a good one, and Mr. Cary evidently enjoyed it, for he ate -heartily, getting quite gay over it. - -Of wine, however, he was sparing in use, though urged often to drink. - -When the dinner was over Mr. Cary renewed his efforts to get the -photographic plate, but the Brown Robin was not to be cajoled into a -bargain. - -She evaded in every way coming to close quarters, laughing and joking. - -Finally she put an end to it all by saying that she must go out, and -that Papa Cary could accompany her a part of the way. - -She went to the upper part of the house, and while she was gone Mr. Cary -seemed to show a most inexcusable curiosity as to the room he was left -in and what it contained, for he examined everything in it, picking up a -few things which he put in his pocket. - -When the Brown Robin returned she was dressed for the street. - -“Am I pretty enough to walk with you?” she asked. - -“I don’t know in which costume you are the prettiest,” replied Mr. Cary, -“but there is a strange thing,” he continued. “I do not yet know your -name.” - -“You shall call me Mrs. Clymer,” she said, as she led him out of the -door. - -She walked with him up Lexington Avenue as far as Thirtieth Street, into -which street she turned, going toward Fourth Avenue. She stopped before -a certain house and looked at its front carefully. - -“Let us go in here,” she said. - -“What for?” - -“To look at it. It is empty. One of those furnished houses to rent. I -like to look at them.” - -Mr. Cary followed her up the stoop. The door was opened by a caretaker -who had seen them ascend the steps. Mrs. Clymer, if that was her name, -was contented with looking at the parlors. - -She went out, and, walking up to Fourth Avenue, turned to the south, Mr. -Cary obediently following her. - -At Twenty-third Street she turned the corner, going to a real estate -office, where she entered into conversation with the broker. Mr. Cary, -meantime, looked out of the window into the street. - -If he had known them, he would have recognized in the two men standing -on the pavement near the door, Chick and Patsy. - -But the Brown Robin called him to her, saying: - -“I must have twenty-five dollars. I want to pay it to this man.” - -“I haven’t that amount with me,” replied Mr. Cary. - -“Give me your check, then.” - -“Oh, I can’t do that. But wait a minute. I can get the money.” - -He hurried out, going quickly to the corner. Here he stopped, sounding a -signal. Chick and Patsy, hearing it, went quickly to the corner. - -As they came up, Mr. Cary said: - -“Follow when I come out of the real estate office.” - -He went back, handing to the Brown Robin twenty-five dollars. - -Finishing her business, she went out, followed by Mr. Cary. On the -sidewalk she said: - -“Now, Papa Cary, you must leave me. But you must come promptly when I -send for you. Perhaps it will be to-morrow. Our fun is only beginning.” - -She asked Mr. Cary to stop a Lexington Avenue car for her and got aboard -it when it came, bidding the elderly gentleman good-by at the car, very -sweetly. - -Mr. Cary, regaining the sidewalk, turned the corner, walking down Fourth -Avenue to Twenty-second Street. - -There he stopped, waiting for Chick and Patsy to come apace, and, when -they did, he said: - -“I want to get this makeup off as soon as I can.” - -“It’s a pity to take it off,” said Patsy. “It’s great.” - -“Boys,” said the elderly gentleman, “that woman is the Brown Robin.” - -“The devil!” exclaimed Patsy. - -“I am the only detective, or police officer, that has ever spoken to the -Brown Robin, knowing it to be her. I have her measure.” - -“Why didn’t you nab her, then, chief?” asked Chick. - -“Because she has worked the Cary matter so skillfully that I could not -convict her. I want to get her foul on the Mountain case. But the Brown -Robin is a woman.” - -“Then who the devil is Harold Stanton?” asked Patsy. - -“I’ll tell you that later. There are others, and we must capture them. -But come with me.” - -They hurried to a neighboring hotel, where the Alpheus Cary who had -dined with the Brown Robin quickly came out as Nick Carter, the famous -detective. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - AN AUDACIOUS VISITOR. - - -After he had removed his disguise, Nick said to his two aids: - -“The Cary case will give us little trouble after this. I shall probably -continue to play his part in it, but it will amount to little more than -shelling out some money. She thinks she has captured him. - -“She is a wonderfully clever woman, and is using the Cary incident -merely as a cover to the big strike on Mountain. - -“Now, Chick, tell me what you found in Seventeenth Street?” - -“That the house was empty; that it had been occupied but two or three -days; that the rent had been paid for a month; but possession has not -been given up.” - -“Do you know who rented it?” - -“A woman who gave the name of Mrs. Stanton.” - -“Hum! I fancy that she has rented another house this evening, the one in -Thirtieth Street. In my way of thinking, that house is to be the scene -of the strike on Mountain. - -“That is a job for you, Patsy,” continued Nick. “Watch that house from -early to-morrow morning and settle who goes in and all about it. Nothing -will be done there to-night. - -“I must go to Cary’s club and quiet him for the night. He is nearly in a -collapse. How about Mountain, Chick?” - -“I saw him. He is game, chief. Nothing came for him from the Brown Robin -up to the time of his leaving his office. He will not yield. He is going -to the theatre to-night.” - -“Do you know where?” - -“Yes; at the Empire.” - -“Ah, ha! Be in the neighborhood, boys, and keep him under watch if you -can. He is quite as likely to get his notice there as anywhere.” - -Nick went home satisfied that if there was any movement made that night, -it would be only in the way he indicated. - -“A lady is waiting to see you in the parlor, Nick,” said Edith, as he -entered. - -“Who is it?” - -“She would give no name,” replied Edith. “She is young, pretty, and has -asked me a lot of questions about you.” - -“Of course you gave me a good character,” laughed Nick. - -“I told the truth about you, and you can guess what it was, for I won’t -tell you,” laughed Edith, in reply. “But hurry and get rid of her, for I -want you to go out a ways with me.” - -Nick went to the parlor. - -No man ever had a greater control of his features than the famous -detective. He always maintained his self-control under the most trying -circumstances. He had more than once looked certain death in the face -without blinking. - -But he had as narrow an escape from betraying himself as he ever met -with, when, on opening the parlor door, he saw the Brown Robin occupying -one of his sofas. - -The shock was momentary and not observed by the other. - -Nick crossed the room, bowing before his visitor, gravely, and said: - -“I am Mr. Carter, madam.” - -The Brown Robin arose from her seat and looked most keenly and curiously -into his face. Nick would have been dull indeed, if he had not also seen -the look of admiration that grew on the face of his visitor. - -But it did not affect him. Indeed he was just then striving to guess -what the game of the Brown Robin was in seeking him at his own home. - -“I should be much pleased, Mr. Carter,” said the Brown Robin, “if you -would listen to what I have to say and give me your advice.” - -“I certainly will listen to you,” replied Nick, “but as to the advice I -cannot tell yet. But, be seated and begin.” - -The Brown Robin sat down, and, taking from her pocket a letter, she -said: - -“If you will read that it will be a good beginning.” - -She handed it to him, and at a glance Nick saw that it was one of the -kind with which now he was familiar. He read it: - - “Mrs. Ansel: I have named my figures. I have only this to say further: - If the money is not at the place to be mentioned, and at the time, - your letters will be in the hands of your husband in the evening. - - “The Brown Robin.” - -Nick handed the letter back and waited for the Brown Robin to speak. -Apparently she was much embarrassed, and Nick, studying her, thought she -was an admirable actress. - -Finally she burst out: - -“You are not at all sympathetic, Mr. Carter. Cannot you help me by -asking questions?” - -Nick smiled. Her acting pleased him, it was so good. - -“I presume I can,” he said. “I suppose this is a case of blackmail.” - -“Horrid blackmail.” - -“What are the letters referred to?” - -“Mine, written before I was married.” - -“Why, then, should you fear to have your husband see them?” - -“Well, they are compromising—that is, some of them—that is, in a way. -They were written while I was engaged to the one who is now my husband, -to a man of whom my husband is now and always has been desperately -jealous.” - -“Who is this Brown Robin?” - -“Don’t you know?” - -“I was asking if you knew.” - -“I only know that it is a name under which some one is making my life -miserable. Who and what is the Brown Robin?” - -“A blackmailer, evidently. I have heard of the name as used by a person -in various cities, and latterly in New York.” - -“Is it a man or a woman?” - -“The Brown Robin, I should judge, is a name used by a man and a woman, -working together.” - -A faint smile flitted over the face of the lady. - -There was a moment’s silence. Then Nick asked: - -“How did these letters get into the possession of the Brown Robin?” - -“They were stolen from Mr. Collins.” - -“The man to whom they were written?” - -“Yes.” - -“By whom?” - -“By the Brown Robin, I suppose.” - -“How much money does she want?” - -“One thousand dollars.” - -“And you cannot pay it?” - -“I have no more money than my husband gives me, and he would find it -difficult to raise so large a sum.” - -“Now, then, what is it you wish from me?” - -“Well, what am I to do?” - -“I think I should say that it is simply impossible—that you would find -it difficult to raise a thousand cents. Convince these people of your -inability to raise the money, and, as a rule, they drop the thing. It is -the hope of getting money that makes them hold on.” - -“But cannot you give me some way of getting back those letters?” - -“Frankly, Mrs. Ansel, for that I take to be your name,” said Nick, “I -don’t think the game is worth the candle. - -“If I were in your place, I should take a detective of the regular force -with me to the appointed place, and when the blackmailer appeared, put -him, or her, or them, under arrest. They would give up the letters to be -released.” - -“Wouldn’t you go with me?” - -Immediately Nick thought he saw through the purpose of the call. It was -the audacious effort of which he had spoken to Edith, of leading him -into a compromising trap. - -It did not anger him, for he rather admired the boldness and audacity of -it. - -However, his first impulse was to refuse, but his second thought was to -see it out. He said: - -“I am a very busy man just now, and cannot control my time. What is the -hour of this meeting, and where is it to be?” - -“The hour is eleven to-morrow, but I am to be informed early to-morrow -morning of the place.” - -“Very well, I will go with you, if you inform me early enough.” - -The Brown Robin arose, apparently much pleased with the success of her -visit, and shortly after left. - -Nick went back to Edith, telling her to prepare herself for her walk and -saying that he wanted to go in the neighborhood of the Festus Club, for -a moment’s word with one of his clients. - -When she came back, ready for her walk, she asked: - -“Who was your caller, Nick?” - -“The Brown Robin.” - -“Nick! You don’t mean that that pretty woman is the Brown Robin?” - -“No doubt of it!” - -“How do you know?” - -“I called on the Brown Robin to-day, disguised as Alpheus Cary.” - -“And she had the audacity to come and see you, knowing you are retained -to expose her?” - -“Boldness and audacity are her weapons.” - -“What did she want?” - -“She pretended that she was a Mrs. Ansel, who was being blackmailed by -the Brown Robin.” - -“She came to measure you, Nick, to size you up, as you call it.” - -“Perhaps that was her game. She has never seen me, I suppose. But, -Edith, I think she was laying the trap of which I spoke this morning.” - -“How?” - -“She wanted me to accompany her as Mrs. Ansel to meet the Brown Robin -and compel the giving up of the letters.” - -“Ah! and you do not walk into the trap.” - -“But I will. Something of value may come out of it. I will escape it, -never fear. Chick and Patsy will not be far off, I can tell you.” - -Edith made no reply. Quite evidently she did not like it, but she knew -it was useless to combat Nick when he had made up his mind. - -So she held her peace and went out for her walk with him. - -During their walk they stopped at the door of the Festus Club, where -Nick told Mr. Cary that he had his case so well in hand that the old -gentleman could go home and sleep in comfort. - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - CHICK’S GREAT DISCOVERY. - - -When Nick had left Chick and Patsy at the hotel, where he had taken off -the disguise of Mr. Cary, the two young detectives discussed their own -details for the night. - -“We’re to keep a watch over Mountain,” said Chick. - -“He seems able to watch over himself,” replied Patsy. - -“Oh, he’s able enough,” said Chick. “It isn’t that. The chief wants to -know the moment he gets the word from the Brown Robin. He believes that -the Brown Robin will show up to-night.” - -“Then we must be on,” said Patsy. “It’s up to us to decorate the lobby -of the Empire with our beauty. Say, Chick, it’s the old story. We’ve -swung about the Tenderloin so much lately that too many know us.” - -“And we’ll have to look different. Well, Patsy, let’s swing out as swell -Willie boys.” - -Patsy laughed heartily, pounding the pillar against which he had been -leaning. - -“A sweet Willie boy you’ll make Chick,” he said, after a while, “with -those broad shoulders of yours. No, no, Chick. Do your own act. Swing -out as a regular swell.” - -Chick looked at his watch, and said: - -“It is nearly time to rig, then. But come with me first. I want to look -over that Seventeenth Street house again. Though the people in the -neighborhood say the folks who were in it for three days have left it, -I’ve a notion it’s still in the game.” - -The two moved off in the direction of the house in question, and had -reached the corner of Twenty-third Street and Lexington Avenue on their -way, when a young man in a blue flannel shirt and a coil of wire about -his shoulder, stopped Chick and asked: - -“Ain’t you Chickering Carter?” - -“Yes,” replied Chick, eying the young man keenly. - -“Well, say,” said the young man, “it’s up to me to tell you something. -Say, I’ve been chewing on it all day, and just as soon as I was cleaned -up I was going to hunt up Nick Carter and give it away, if it did fling -me out of a job.” - -“Can you tell me?” asked Chick. - -“That’s what I hollered whoa on you for. You’ll do just as well.” - -“Step aside, then,” said Chick. - -Chick led the way to a place near the corner, where they could talk -unobserved, followed by both Patsy and the young man. - -“Now, then, what is it?” asked Chick - -“I’ve been dead wrong,” said the young man, “and I’m going to square it, -even if you fling me over to the company. It’s this way. I’m lineman for -the telephone company. See? - -“I know all about Nick Carter, and you, and Patsy and Ida. See? Well, I -was working on the line up by Ida’s house this morning, where a break -had been reported, and I had to go on to the top of a house right by -hers. - -“Well, I found a wire had been rung in on it, and I followed it to see -that it run over the gutter and to a window on the third floor. See? - -“I went down to that room, and there was a young woman, and she was a -peach, all smiles. See? - -“‘You’ve found it,’ she says, ‘and caught me. Now don’t give me away, -’cause there’s nothing in it. I was only trying to get on to my best -feller.’ See? - -“Anyhow, she give me the great jolly and I went in up to my neck. I was -soft as butter. When she flung up a fiver at me, hanged if I didn’t do -what she wanted, and fixed the wire to an old ’phone she had in the -room. - -“She jollied me into it. See? After I got away from her, I began to -think, and the more I thought the more wrong it was to me, and I saw -what mush I’d been in the hands of a pretty woman. - -“So, after I’d been thinking an hour, I went back to unfix it. Say! Just -as I got to her door I heard her say: ‘All right, chief, this is Ida.’ -Then I took a big tumble. I listened and heard her say over what the one -at the other end had been saying, something about ‘Herman Hartwig’ and -‘Passen.’ She had got on to Nick Carter’s talk and was a crook playing -Ida. - -“I took a sneak up to the roof, cut the leak wire, and switched the -other over so that the crook couldn’t get at it again. - -“That’s all there is of it. I’ve squared it with you, and, if you want -to, you can report me to the company and get me sacked. I won’t squeal.” - -“Well,” cried Chick, “I wouldn’t do that, anyway. And now that you’ve -squared yourself this way, I wouldn’t think of it. - -“It was the chief she was talking with over the wire, but there wasn’t -any harm done, for he dropped right away that it wasn’t Ida on the other -end, and gave the other a throw-off. He cut the connections with his own -’phone. - -“If you want to square it right with the chief, go to his place -to-morrow morning and put the connections on. I’ll see him to-night and -square you with him.” - -The young man, expressing satisfaction with this arrangement, went off, -after shaking hands with both Chick and Patsy. - -But he had gotten no farther than the corner when he stopped short, -peered forward eagerly, and came back to the young detectives on a run. - -“Say,” he cried. “Come. The young woman is going down the av’noo. Sure, -it’s her.” - -“Who?” asked Patsy. - -“The one who worked me on the wires.” - -The two followed quickly to the corner, where the man pointed out a -woman moving along at a brisk gait down Lexington Avenue. - -“Come on, Patsy,” cried Chick. - -The young man evidently thought he was in it, too, for he followed -after. - -The woman, plainly unconscious that she was followed, went on until she -reached Twenty-first Street, when she was stopped by Grammery Park. - -She turned to the right, or toward the west, and went around the park to -Twentieth Street, and so down to Irving place. - -Into this short street she turned, continuing on to Seventeenth Street. - -“Hide!” cried Chick, just as she reached the corner, springing over the -fence into a courtyard. - -Patsy obeyed immediately and the lineman caught on quickly enough to -prevent himself from being seen. - -As Chick had anticipated, the woman had stood still on the corner and -looked back. - -As no one was to be seen, she was apparently satisfied that she was -unobserved, for she turned to the left and went out of sight. - -The three came from their hiding places, and, at Chick’s suggestion, -Patsy stole up to the corner, peering around it. - -He signaled for Chick to come, and dashed across Seventeenth Street. - -The woman was pursuing her way toward Third Avenue on the upper side of -Seventeenth Street. - -“Keep back, out of sight,” said Chick to the lineman. - -The young man fell back, and Chick advanced cautiously, taking advantage -of every obstruction of which he could make use. - -Patsy was pursuing the same tactics on the other side of the street. - -When within a few doors of Third Avenue, the woman again stopped and -looked back. - -This had been anticipated by Chick, too, and he was out of sight when -she turned. - -Nor was Patsy to be seen. The only one in the vista was a man—the -lineman—and his back was turned, as if he were walking toward Irving -Place. - -Hastily she ran up the steps of the house in front of which she had -stopped, and disappeared through the door. - -Chick and Patsy both appeared at the same instant. Chick sounded a -signal, and Patsy came running to him. - -“Is it the house, Chick?” he asked. - -“The same one, Patsy,” replied Chick. - -“Then it is the Brown Robin.” - -“Perhaps. We’ll pipe off the house for a while.” - -The lineman came back to them, and learning what they were about to do, -concluded to go off, but Chick persuaded him to stay. - -While he had every reason to believe that the young fellow was honest, -yet he would not take the chance of having him give warning. - -The wait was half an hour in length, during which time the three were -completely concealed under the areaway of a vacant house. - -About the time that Patsy expressed the opinion that the woman was -settled for the night, a form was seen to appear on the stoop from -within the house they were watching. - -“Here she comes!” cried Patsy. - -The figure descended the steps. - -“It’s a man,” said the lineman, “not a woman.” - -The figure turned from the house toward the west, approaching closely to -the spot where the three were hidden. - -As the man passed them, the light of a street lamp fell upon him. - -Patsy caught the arm of Chick in a firm grip, and held it until the -figure of the man passed far enough along to be beyond the possibility -of hearing. - -“It is the one I followed this morning,” he whispered. - -“The deuce!” exclaimed Chick. “The one who wrote the letter—who went to -sleep in the hotel?” - -“Yes; in the disguise he put on after he ran away from the insurance -building.” - -“Get out and watch him,” said Chick to the lineman. - -The young fellow did as he was told, and presently reported that the man -was crossing Irving Place and going up Seventeenth Street to the west. - -“Patsy,” said Chick, “go and rig yourself for the night’s work. I’ll -take up the shadow and will give you the trail.” - -Patsy was about to go off, but he waited to hear Chick say to the -lineman: - -“It isn’t worth your while to follow us longer.” - -But at the moment the lineman said: - -“The fellow is coming back.” - -Again the three went into hiding to see that the young fellow stopped at -the corner of Irving Place. - -He stood there a moment or two, looking down the street, and passed out -of sight. - -Patsy stole up to the corner, and lightly leaping into the courtyard of -the house on the corner, threw himself on the ground and wriggled to the -corner, to see the man standing nearby, leaning against the fence. - -Patsy wriggled back, and signaled to Chick that the man was there yet. - -Chick gave the return signal to keep up the watch, and himself stole -down the street to the house whence the man had come. - -Looking up at it, there were no indications that it was occupied. - -Pulling from his pocket a false mustache and a wig, he donned them -quickly, keenly alive to any signal Patsy might give, and, mounting the -steps, rang the bell. - -Chick had a notion in his head that he wanted to satisfy. - -There was no response, though he rang several times. - -Then he tried the outer door. It opened to him, and he found himself in -a vestibule. The inner doors were locked. - -He picked the lock quickly and stepped into a dark hall. There were no -signs or sounds of life within the house, but all was darkness. - -Chick drew his revolver, and then took from his coat pocket his lantern. - -Feeling for the parlor door, he entered that room and listened. Then he -flashed his lantern. It was empty. By the light he located the stairs, -and shutting it off, cautiously climbed them to the second floor, where -he listened again. - -There was no sound of anything. Again flashing his light, he found an -open door in front of him. - -He entered. On the bed was a lot of women’s clothes. He examined them. -It was a complete woman’s costume. - -On a chair was some men’s apparel. - -Chick went back to the woman’s clothes and muttered: - -“It is just what I thought.” - -He gave a hasty glance at the bureau. On it was a lot of paint and -cosmetic; several false beards, mustaches and wigs. - -“I’ve got this for a certainty.” - -He bounded out of the room, going hurriedly into every part of the -house. It was empty; not a soul in it. - -He went to the front door, and as he did so he heard some one on the -outside. - -He darted into the parlor and not a moment too soon, for some one -entered and hastily ran upstairs in the dark. - -Quick as a flash and as a light shone forth on the second floor, Chick -slipped out of the front doors and down the steps. - -Reaching the sidewalk, he sounded a low whistle. - -Promptly came the response; Chick bounded in its direction. - -Patsy appeared from under a stoop; Chick went to him. - -“Who went into that house?” he asked. - -“The same one who came out. He came back all of a sudden, as if he had -just thought of something, nearly catching me. Who came out just now?” - -“I did.” - -“The devil!” - -“Yes; I’ve been through the house. There wasn’t a soul in it.” - -“But the woman who went in?” - -“Patsy, I’ve tumbled to a big thing. The woman who went in and the man -who came out are the same person. But hurry off, Patsy, rig up and find -my trail. There’s business on hand.” - -Patsy dashed away and was hardly out of sight, when Chick saw the young -man come from the house and hurriedly pass up Seventeenth Street. - -Chick was after him quickly, a piece of red chalk in his hand. The -lineman had disappeared. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - A DEEP GAME. - - -For some time, as a matter of convenience for making changes and as a -meeting place for himself and aids, Nick had maintained a room in the -hotel where, in the late afternoon of the day in which these events took -place, he had taken off his makeup as Mr. Cary. - -It was to this place that Patsy hurried to make the change that would -prevent him from being recognized by the Brown Robin. - -It did not take him long, and when he turned out into the street again, -in his dress suit and mustache, he looked like a veritable young man -about town—a handsome swell. - -He had supposed when he left the room where he made the change that he -would have to return to the neighborhood where Chick had made his great -discovery, to pick up Chick’s trail. - -But he had barely stepped through the main entrance to the hotel when he -saw, on the pavement directly in front, a roughly-drawn arrow in red -chalk, the head pointing to the north. - -It was Chick’s trail. - -“Great luck!” exclaimed Patsy to himself, as he hurried up to the -corner. “I’m on as the flag falls.” - -At the corner the sign showed that Chick had crossed the street to the -west side of Broadway, but on reaching the corner on that side, Patsy -could see nothing that indicated further direction. - -“Great Scott!” exclaimed Patsy. “They have taken a car.” - -He went back to the middle of the street, and, looking about carefully, -saw some pieces of paper. - -He looked for a trail of them, but the wind had evidently blown them -away. - -Searching further, Patsy’s eye was caught by an upright form which -fluttered a small red flag, a signal of some kind, used in the operation -of the street railway. - -This upright was a slender rod of iron, but about it was tied a small -bit of red cloth. - -Patsy went to it, to recognize it as one of Chick’s signs. - -A railroad man came up, warning Patsy away from the signal. - -“Now, who the deuce did that?” he exclaimed, tearing off Chick’s signal. - -But Patsy had seen it, and knew that Chick had taken an upbound car. - -So he mounted the next one, quite certain that Chick’s destination was -the Empire Theatre. - -But, all the same, he kept a sharp lookout for any signal that might -have been left by Chick on the way. - -He saw none, however, until in passing the Empire Theatre, his eye -caught a strip of red cloth, a foot long, fluttering from the billboard -of the theatre. - -“Chick’s there,” he muttered. - -At Fortieth Street he got out and walked back to the theatre, taking off -the strip of cloth which had been fastened by a pin, as he entered, -placing it in his pocket. - -As he entered the lobby, a man in ordinary clothes passed out, making a -signal to Patsy. - -Even before Patsy saw the signal he had recognized Chick, though he was -disguised by a false mustache and wig. - -He followed Chick out, and when he came up, Chick said: - -“My man, who is a woman—the Brown Robin—is in there, looking at the -play. The second act is on. - -“Mountain is in there, too. The Brown Robin talked with Mountain after -the first act. What was said between them I don’t know, but whatever it -was, the Brown Robin asked something from Mountain which he refused to -give or do. - -“I couldn’t get to him before he went back to his seat.” - -“Catch him after this act,” said Patsy. - -“That’s what I want to do,” said Chick, “and I have been thinking it -over and how to do it. You see, if we talk with Mountain in the open, -the Brown Robin will drop, and that is what we don’t want. - -“Say, Patsy, you know the manager, don’t you?” - -“Yes; he’s all right—nice fellow.” - -“Well, can’t you see him now, and ask him to let us into a room and send -for Mr. Mountain?” - -“Sure.” - -Patsy went off, and in a few moments was back again, saying it was all -arranged. He led Chick into a room opening off the lobby, and when the -door was closed Patsy laughed and said: - -“This job was easy enough, Chick, but the hard part was to convince our -friend that I was the one I said I was. He knows Mountain, so that is -all right.” - -At this moment the door opened, and a short, rather stout man, with a -sharp, bright, masterful face, entered, looking keenly about. - -“The great mogul over all here,” whispered Patsy. - -It was indeed the great theatrical manager of the day. - -“Which one is Patsy?” he asked. - -Patsy stood up, and the great manager looked him over keenly. - -Then he laughed heartily, and shook hands with the lad. - -“Patsy,” he said, “I think I shall have to engage you to teach makeup to -my young people. Yours is a triumph of art.” - -Directing the boy in attendance to make the two comfortable, he went -out. - -Shortly after, a bell sounded in the room. - -“The act is over,” said Chick; “now for Mountain.” - -They did not wait long, for the door soon opened and Mr. Mountain, in -evening attire, entered. - -He looked at the two with the air of one who had expected to find -acquaintances and had met strangers. - -“Mr. Mountain,” said Chick, “we are two of Nick Carter’s men.” - -“The woods are full of them, then,” said Mr. Mountain, seriously, “for -this is the second time I have been accosted by them.” - -“Do you mean,” asked Chick, “that the one who spoke to you after the -first act said he was one of Nick Carter’s men?” - -“That’s what he did.” - -“For Heaven’s sake!” exclaimed Chick. “I hope you gave him no -confidence.” - -“I did not. I told him that I did not know whether he was or not, and I -would not talk to him until I knew or he proved it. Then I told him that -when I knew him to be one of Nick Carter’s men I would have nothing to -do with him, or Nick Carter, either, for I had been warned against all. -And that’s what I say to you.” - -“You do not recognize me, then, Mr. Mountain?” - -“I do not.” - -Chick stood up, and quickly removed his mustache and wig. - -“How now, Mr. Mountain?” - -“There’s no doubt of it now,” laughed Mr. Mountain. - -“I am Patsy, Mr. Mountain,” said the lad, “but I can’t take off my -makeup so quickly or put it on again.” - -“Well, boys,” said Mr. Mountain, “what’s in the wind?” - -“We have been detailed by the chief to watch over you, Mr. Mountain,” -said Chick. “He had a notion that you would get your notice to-night.” - -“He was right. I did.” - -“When?” - -“See here, Chick,” said Mr. Mountain, “Carter told me that if I was -questioned I must deny having anything to do with him or his men.” - -“That’s all right, Mr. Mountain,” said Chick. “The chief has a notion -that they do not know that you have retained him, and he wants to keep -the thing quiet. I hope you did not let on to that young man that you -had relations with us.” - -“Why?” - -“Because that was the Brown Robin.” - -“The devil! I saw Nick Carter only a couple of hours ago, and he told me -the Brown Robin was a woman.” - -“The person speaking to you after the first act was a woman.” - -“What? Are you sure?” - -“Certain. Now, then, what did she want?” - -“Say, Chick,” exclaimed Patsy. “Hold on! Mr. Mountain has seen her in -the makeup she had when she left Seventeenth Street.” - -“That’s all right, Patsy, but she made a change on her way up here. Now, -Mr. Mountain, what did she want?” - -“Well, after telling me she was one of Nick Carter’s men, she asked if I -had got my notice. I refused to say anything to her on the subject, and -when she talked Nick Carter I told her, as Mr. Carter had instructed me, -that I had nothing to do with him, and wanted to have nothing to do. - -“He—that is, she, if it is a she—began to threaten me with Nick Carter’s -power, but I wouldn’t have it. I stood pat on Mr. Carter’s -instructions.” - -“That is first-rate,” said Chick. “I see the game through and through. -It was an effort to be satisfied whether or not Nick Carter is employed -by you.” - -“Well, then, she is satisfied that he is not, for I lied like a -trooper.” - -“Good! Now, then, you have got your notice?” - -“Yes.” - -“How?” - -“By letter. It was thrust into my hand as I entered the theatre here.” - -“May I see it?” - -Mr. Mountain took a letter from his pocket, handing it to Chick, who, -after reading it, passed it to Patsy. It read: - - “Mr. M.: To-morrow at 5 P. M. Be at the entrance of the Park Avenue - Hotel, prepared to do business, as I require. Make no mistake as to - the amount. You will be met by one who will bring you to me. If you - are accompanied by any one, or, if any one is concealed there to watch - and follow, I shall know it, and if you play tricks the game will be - up. Be prompt. - - “The Brown Robin.” - -“So it’s business to-morrow,” said Chick. - -“It seems so,” replied Mr. Mountain. “I want to see Carter on this -business; I meant to go to him after the theatre.” - -“Don’t; let him go to you,” said Chick. “You will be seen and followed -if you go. He will get to you unseen.” - -“I suppose that is so,” said Mr. Mountain, thoughtfully. “You will -inform him then?” - -“Yes; I will take this letter to him.” - -Chick was thoughtful a moment, then handed the letter back, saying: - -“On second thoughts, Mr. Mountain, keep that letter in your pocket. You -may be required to show it, and it may be well to do it, if so.” - -“How?” - -“The man who first came to you may show up before the evening is over.” - -“I see.” - -“A lot may be done to find out whether you are acting in good faith -before they put their heads in the trap.” - -“I follow you. Good! I am to act as I meant to come down in earnest.” - -“That is it.” - -The bell sounded again to notify of the raising of the curtain. - -“Go back, Mr. Mountain, as if nothing had occurred here,” said Chick. - -Mr. Mountain went into the lobby, and Chick asked an attendant if there -was a way out of the room except through the lobby. - -An unknown way was pointed out, and through it Chick and Patsy went out -to Broadway. - -Here Chick said: - -“Now, Patsy, go into the theatre and keep up the watch. I think Mountain -will be shadowed home; follow if he is. I shall hunt up the chief.” - -Patsy obeyed, and went into the theatre, paying his admission, to see -the man he had followed earlier in the day, in the same disguise in -which he had come from the Seventeenth Street house; that is to say, the -Brown Robin, standing just within the audience hall. - -He took up a standing position near her. - -Chick hurried across town to Nick’s apartments and arrived a few minutes -after Nick had returned from his walk with Edith. - -The famous detective listened intently to what Chick had to tell. - -“This is great work of yours, Chick,” he said. “You have proved -satisfactorily what I have suspected ever since I was at the Brown -Robin’s house as Mr. Cary. - -“The suspicion that the man that followed me this morning and was -followed by Patsy afterward was a woman came to me when he took me to -the Lexington house.” - -“I was looking for the knock-kneed gait that the keen-witted Patsy spoke -of, and then it struck me it was a woman, well padded and made up.” - -“But, chief, you saw the man go out of the Lexington Avenue house just -as the Brown Robin came to you.” - -“No, I didn’t, Chick,” replied Nick, with a smile. “I heard it. But I -dropped then, or thought I did, that the two voices were from the same -person—a little play played for my benefit. - -“She is a great actress, Chick, and a thundering smart woman. She has -the energy of the devil. When she left me, as Mr. Cary, in Twenty-third -Street, she must have come straight over here. Leaving here, she made -for the Seventeenth Street house, to make her change for the night’s -work. - -“That was a great piece of work of yours to go into that house. It -proved the fact, and shows up her game. - -“I can see now how she baffled all the others. She has three houses to -work in, and in the Lexington Avenue house she is seen only as a woman, -except as she ordered it to-day. - -“She is great on makeup, and she plays the game herself. Well, she makes -the big strike to-morrow, and we’ll have her. - -“We’ll meet her with her own cunning. - -“But come, we’ll go to Mr. Mountain’s house, to be there before he gets -back from the theatre. - -“Take my word for it, Chick, the Thirtieth Street house is to be the -scene of the big strike.” - -With this, the two detectives set out for Mr. Mountain’s residence. - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - THE TRAP. - - -Patsy arrived early the next morning to report to Nick that on the night -previous the Brown Robin, still in male attire, had followed Mr. -Mountain to his home, after that gentleman had left the theatre with his -family. - -She had been around the front of the house for some little time, and -then, as if satisfied that Mr. Mountain was housed for the night, had -left, going directly to the corner of Thirty-fourth Street and Sixth -Avenue, where she met two men, evidently awaiting her coming. - -Only a word or two was exchanged between them, and they then set off at -a quick pace, going straight to the Thirtieth Street house, where the -Brown Robin had unlocked the doors and let the two men in. - -She did not enter the house herself, but now hurried to Lexington -Avenue, where she took the car, getting off at Twenty-third Street, and -going to the Seventeenth Street house, which she entered some time after -midnight. - -She was there but a short time, when she came out clad in woman’s -clothes, and went straight to the Lexington Avenue house, evidently her -day’s work done. - -“Well,” said Nick, “it was a hard day’s work, and she filled in all her -time. - -“She was arranging her programme for to-morrow. We have arranged our -programme, too. Those two men that she let into the Thirtieth Street -house are there to help her in the strike on Mr. Mountain. - -“I doubt if there will be any others on hand. You need not watch it this -morning. My plans have been slightly changed since my talk with Mr. -Mountain last night. - -“But I want you to put yourself in a place outside where you can follow -me this morning when I go out: I suppose the Brown Robin will try to -spring her trap on me this morning.” - -Patsy had been gone but a few moments when a messenger boy arrived with -a letter for Nick. - -It was signed by Mrs. Ansel, and said that the place appointed for her -in which to meet the Brown Robin was in Seventeenth Street at eleven -o’clock, and it asked if Mr. Carter would meet the writer at a -well-known department store in Sixth Avenue at 10 A. M., naming the -entrance at which Mrs. Ansel would be waiting. - -Nick carefully examined the letter and noted several things. The -stationery was not the same as that which had been used for the former -letters; the handwriting was not the same, and the letter was framed so -skillfully that it was made to look like the letter of a woman asking an -assignation with a man. - -Nick called Edith and asked her to read the letter. As Edith was doing -so he took some papers from his pocket, and from these selected a blank -sheet and an envelope. - -“Compare this blank paper and the paper on which this note is written,” -said Nick. - -“It is the same,” said Edith. - -“Even the most cunning make their slips,” said Nick. “I found this blank -paper on a table in the parlor of the Brown Robin in Lexington Avenue, -as I did also a sheet of the other paper. Keep them, and the letter as -well. - -“I am off to meet this very cunning person and see what her little game -is. I confess I can’t quite see through it.” - -He went away, and promptly at ten appeared at the entrance of the -department store named. - -The Brown Robin was waiting, and, as he approached, Nick did not fail to -observe a flash of triumph in the eyes of that person. - -She arose to meet him, and welcomed him cordially. - -“I was very much afraid that you would fail me,” she said. - -“Oh, no,” he said, carelessly. “I am quite anxious to see this Brown -Robin.” - -“Why, indeed!” - -“She must be an attractive person. An old gentleman who ought to know -better was caught by her, and rushed off to me to get him out of his -trouble. But before I could get to work, he backed out of the matter, -and, I think, because she has entangled him in her charms.” - -The one beside him looked up quickly at Nick, but she could not read his -face. - -“They say,” said she, “that there is no fool like an old fool. I suppose -you could not be caught that way.” - -“A man is very foolish to boast of his ability to resist the charms of a -pretty woman,” said Nick, gravely. “I have seen too many strong men -caught to be boastful myself.” - -“Perhaps it is the story of her charms that makes you so willing to go -with me?” - -“Perhaps,” replied Nick, “but I think it is more out of curiosity to see -the woman who has baffled the police forces of so many large cities. It -might be useful, you know, to me some time. There’s no knowing how soon -a case in which she is operating may be given me.” - -To this the pretended Mrs. Ansel made no reply. - -After a moment Nick said: - -“Ought we not to go?” - -“As it draws near to the time, I am a little frightened,” she said. - -Nevertheless she made preparations to start. - -They went out of the store, walking down Sixth Avenue to Eighteenth -Street, and then through that street to Fifth Avenue. - -On the corner of that street the pretended Mrs. Ansel suddenly gave a -little scream, clung tightly to Nick for a moment, and then leaped into -a doorway, hiding herself. - -Nick did not follow her, but stood still, watching her. The woman peered -out cautiously; finally she came with a greatly frightened air to him, -gasping out: - -“My husband! He just crossed the street.” - -“What then?” asked Nick. - -“Oh, if he had seen you with me there would have been such a row. He is -so jealous—so suspicious!” - -“Come along and point him out to me.” - -He fairly pulled her to the corner, but, reaching it, the pretended Mrs. -Ansel could not see her husband. - -“That frightens me,” she said. “He may have seen me. He may be hiding to -watch me. Oh, come away!” - -She hurried across the street, Nick following her. - -From that time on she kept up her nervous, frightened manner, until the -door of the Seventeenth Street house was reached. - -“What an admirable actress she is!” thought Nick. “She is wasting great -talents in a dangerous game when she might win fame on the stage.” - -At this house, looking up at the number, she said: - -“This is the place. Shall we go in?” - -“That is what we came for, isn’t it?” asked Nick. - -Without another word, the pretended Mrs. Ansel mounted the steps and -rang the bell. Nick followed her up leisurely. - -The door was opened promptly by a large, stalwart woman dressed as a -servant. - -To this person the pretended Mrs. Ansel said: - -“Mrs. Ansel and Mr. Nicholas Carter, to see the person named on this.” - -She handed a small slip of paper to the servant. - -The servant closed the door and ushered them into the parlor, going out -into another part of the house. - -She was back again in a few moments to say that the lady of the house -was engaged for the present, but would see them shortly. - -Nick said to himself: - -“All this is well done, but what is the game?” - -In the meantime the pretended Mrs. Ansel showed every evidence of the -natural nervousness that a woman placed in the position she pretended to -be in might show. - -Nick had seated himself at a little distance from her, but shortly she -beckoned him to a seat beside her on the sofa. - -“I don’t think I can stand this suspense,” she said. “It is all I can do -to keep from fainting.” - -And no sooner had she said this than she reeled over, falling completely -into Nick’s arms. - -At that very moment, a man whose face was blazing with anger, rushed -into the room, crying: - -“So, I have tracked you at last. I have you with your paramour, in fact. -You wretch!” - -To all appearances the woman had fainted dead away and did not hear the -angry words. - -Nick lifted her up and laid her on the sofa where she lay as he put her, -and stood up. - -“Who are you?” asked Nick. - -“Who am I?” repeated the other. “The deceived husband.” - -“Is your name Ansel?” - -“Yes. I am the husband of that wretched woman.” - -“Well, is the fact that a woman faints evidence against her?” - -“Don’t trifle with me, sir. I have followed you here. I knew she had an -appointment with some one this morning. I watched and have found her in -her guilt.” - -“In the house of the blackmailer known as the Brown Robin?” sneered -Nick. - -At this moment the pretended Mrs. Ansel opened her eyes, started up, and -cried out: - -“My husband! I am ruined!” - -Again she toppled off into a faint. - -“I suppose this is a well-worked game?” said Nick. “Well, play it to the -end. How much do you want? Make it as easy as you can. I can’t afford -much, but I can’t afford a scandal about my name.” - -As he said this, Nick carefully watched the Brown Robin, and was certain -he saw first a look of surprise and then of triumph on what was supposed -to be an unconscious face. - -“Money,” cried the man, “I want no money. Would money restore my -wretched home, my happiness, the mother of my children?” - -Nick could hardly restrain a smile, for the man was clearly over-acting. -But Nick kept up the pretense, for he wanted to see where the game was -to lead to. - -“No; but you shall sign a confession. You shall give me the proof. You -shall give me the means of tearing asunder these bonds that have now -become hateful to me. - -“Here, sign this!” - -He drew a paper from his pocket, and, spreading it on a table, gestured -in the most melodramatic manner to Nick to sign it. - -Nick crossed the room and took up the paper. - -As he lifted it to read he saw that the pretended Mrs. Ansel had -recovered consciousness, and was sitting upright on the sofa. - -As soon as she saw Nick had observed her, she began to play her part. - -“Oh, my husband!” she cried; “be merciful. I know appearances are -against me, but you are mistaken. I have done no wrong. Listen to -reason. This is not a lover. It is Mr. Carter, the great detective.” - -“I care not who he is,” cried the other, in a great pretense of fury. -“You met him by appointment. I watched you send the letter. I saw him -meet you. I tracked you here. I saw you in his arms. I have witnesses. -Sign you, sir!” - -It was very cheap acting, but through it all Nick had read the paper, -and saw that it was an effort to make him compromise himself by signing -it. - -“I shall sign nothing of this kind!” he said, quietly. - -“You won’t. You won’t give me justice!” cried the man, in a very tempest -of fury. - -“I won’t sign this ridiculous document,” said Nick, “for it is not -true.” - -“Then I will take action at once. You must stay here. What, ho, my -friends!” - -Three men, thorough ruffians, looking like dissipated prize-fighters, -appeared. - -“You will watch this man until I return. I go for my lawyer and a -magistrate. Hold this man until I return. Come with me, you faithless -woman!” - -He sprang at the pretended Mrs. Ansel, and, seizing her by the arm, -whirled her out of the room. - - - - - CHAPTER X. - HOW THE TRAP WAS SPRUNG. - - -Nick sat down and laughed. The over-acting of the cheap actor, hired for -the occasion, was ludicrous. But the three ruffians, armed with -revolvers, were ugly facts. - -He now saw the game. The trap had been sprung. It was a device to get -him under control while the big strike on Mountain was being worked. - -Either the Brown Robin feared he had been retained by Mr. Mountain, or -she had learned, despite his efforts to the contrary, that he really had -been. - -“Well,” he said, looking at the three brutes, “what is your game?” - -“To keep you here all day,” replied one of them. - -“Oh, is it?” asked Nick. “What has become of the woman that was here?” - -“She has gone out with her husband.” - -“Oh, drop that, my lads,” said Nick. “That was the Brown Robin. I knew -that when I came in here with her.” - -The three men grinned, and one said to the other: - -“I told her she couldn’t fool him.” - -“I suppose you mean to earn your money by keeping me here?” said Nick. - -“Yer right, guv-ner.” - -“Well, I don’t know that I can blame you,” said Nick, “but I want to -know for sure that the woman is gone.” - -“She’s gone, all right.” - -“Well, take me through the house, and let me be certain.” - -“There can’t be any harm in that,” said one. “Go ahead quietly, me and -Smithy’ll go behind.” - -Thus escorted, Nick went through and made sure the Brown Robin had fled -the house. - -After all, it was a vulgar trap which had been laid for him. - -He returned to the parlors and sat down a while. Then he asked one of -the men to open a window and let a little air in. - -When this was done, he took some cigars from his pocket and handed them -to his guards. - -Then he went to the piano, and, seating himself, to the great pleasure -of the three brutes, he sang: - - “Come to me, darling, I’m lonely without thee, - Daytime and nighttime I’m dreaming about thee.” - -He knew Patsy, and probably Chick, were without and would take his song -as a call for them. - -Nor was he mistaken. But a few minutes passed when his quick ears heard -a sound at the front door that told him the lock was being picked. - -Again he seated himself at the piano, and began to sing and play. The -brutes were attentive upon him. - -But, through the corner of his eye, he saw Chick at the hall door. - -Wheeling about on the piano stool, he sprang to his feet, and, drawing -his revolver, cried out: - -“Down, you dogs!” - -Chick sprang into the room from the front door and Patsy came in from -the rear room, revolvers up. - -The brutes, taken by astonishment, could not rally in time, and, seeing -they were powerless, threw up their hands. - -“Take their guns, Patsy,” said Nick. - -This the lad quickly did, while Nick and Chick covered them. - -“Boys,” said Nick, “I’m sorry to treat you so, but I must. You must be -bound and gagged, but I’ll let you loose in time.” - -The three did not dare to make resistance, and, making them as -comfortable as circumstances would permit, the three detectives took -care to carefully lock the house up. Then they quietly departed. - -“It was a stupid way,” said Nick to Patsy and Chick, as they walked -away, “and more like a cheap melodrama than anything else. Really, I -believe the Brown Robin has been an actress some time in her life.” - - * * * * * * * * - -Shortly before five o’clock that afternoon Mr. Mountain, with a small -package under his arm, appeared on the steps of the Park Avenue Hotel. - -He had not been there long before the young man who had first called on -him came up. - -It was, of course, the Brown Robin. Her tactics were precisely the same -as they had been with Mr. Cary the day before, that is, with Nick -disguised as Mr. Cary. - -And the same questions were put to him as to any person being in -concealment. - -When these had been answered as the person desired, Mr. Mountain was -asked if he was ready to go and see the Brown Robin. - -“Yes,” replied Mr. Mountain, “if it is to be done, let us do it right -away. But first let me go into the hotel with this.” - -The young man was reluctant, but yet he followed and Mr. Mountain, going -to the desk, asked the clerk to place it in the safe and give it to no -one but himself. - -This done, the two walked out of the hotel. - -As Nick had foreseen, their way was up to the Thirtieth Street house. -What the young man did not see was a trick played by Mr. Mountain, a -trick taught him by Nick. - -Every three or four steps they took, a small piece of paper fluttered -from Mr. Mountain’s hand. It was thus Nick could ascertain that the -Thirtieth Street house was their destination. - -Everything moved precisely as it had the day before. The young man -showed Mr. Mountain into the parlor and disappeared to call the person -Mr. Mountain had come to see. - -There was a wait for some time, and then the Brown Robin swept into the -room. - -“I am very glad to renew your acquaintance, Mr. Mountain,” said the -Brown Robin. - -Mr. Mountain fairly staggered in his surprise. - -“Why! Why!” he exclaimed. “Alberta Curtis!” - -“The same,” said the Brown Robin. “Although I have had many experiences -since I was your typewriter, my name has remained the same through it -all.” - -“Then it was you, after all, that stole the confession,” blurted out Mr. -Mountain. - -“Stole is an ugly word, my dear old employer,” said the Brown Robin. “Be -more polite. Say I confiscated it when I found it among loose papers.” - -Mr. Mountain, though he had suspected this, yet, when he learned that it -was so, seemed amazed and stupefied. - -But the Brown Robin soon brought him to his senses by asking if he had -come to do business. - -In her dealings with Mr. Mountain, there was none of the coquetry she -had displayed with Mr. Cary. - -Thus aroused, Mr. Mountain said: - -“Your terms are outrageous!” - -“Let us be plain and brief, Mr. Mountain. You have become a very rich -man. Fifty thousand dollars will not even embarrass you. I have informed -myself exactly as to your financial condition. - -“You can afford to pay that to preserve your good name and your -reputation. - -“Now, read this.” - -She took from her pocket a typewritten roll of paper, and extended it to -Mr. Mountain. - -“You will see that it is a carefully-prepared newspaper article, which -embraces your confession. - -“If you refuse to pay what I believe is the value of that confession, in -your handwriting, to you, that will be published.” - -Mr. Mountain read it over, and saw with what skill it was prepared, and -how eagerly a paper would seize on it. - -“You would not have the cruelty to do that?” - -“You are mistaken,” said the Brown Robin, coldly. “I would have and will -do what I say I will. Make not the least mistake about that.” - -“But you will do it for less?” - -“Fifty thousand or nothing.” - -This was said with the utmost firmness. Then she added: - -“But why shuffle? The very fact you are here shows that you are here to -comply.” - -“I am to have the original confession for that payment?” - -“Yes.” - -“Must I trust to your honor to get it?” - -“Show me the money and I will show you the document.” - -“Very well.” - -“Understand,” said the Brown Robin. “I am well guarded. I can defend -myself with this.” - -She displayed a revolver. - -“I stand on a push-button,” she went on, “and the slightest pressure -will summon to my aid, if you attempt any tricks, those who will defend -me.” - -“Very good!” - -Mr. Mountain placed his hand in his pocket, and, taking out an envelope, -took out a check, holding it in his hand. - -The Brown Robin, in the act of drawing a paper from the breast of her -dress, stopped. - -“A check! Is this a trick, or is it your ignorance?” - -“Why, yes, a check drawn to my own order for fifty thousand dollars, and -indorsed by me. You did not tell me in what shape you wanted it.” - -“True. But you must have understood.” - -Suddenly she flew into a violent passion, in which she declared that she -would ruin him, really frightening Mr. Mountain. - -He tried to soothe her, and in doing so admitted that he had thought a -check would not do. - -“I did bring fifty thousand in bills with me. It is in a package that I -left in the Park Avenue Hotel. I can destroy this, and get the package -in ten minutes.” - -“And bring a horde of officers down on me?” - -“No; you can accompany me, or that young man who brought me here can.” - -“That young man was myself, you fool.” - -“Then go with me yourself.” - -The Brown Robin thought a moment, and finally said: - -“I will.” - -She called for her hat and coat, which was brought by a servant, and to -that servant she handed the confession, to retain until she returned. - -She led the way out of the house in an energetic way, and, when they -reached the hotel, entered the office with the broker. - -“Now get it,” she said, stopping within twenty feet of the desk. “No -tricks. I shall watch, and my punishment will be swift, no matter what -occurs to me.” - -Mr. Mountain went off and passed into the private office behind the -counter or desk, and for a brief second was lost to sight to the Brown -Robin, as he passed behind a high safe. - -But she saw him go with the clerk to the safe and receive a package, and -return with it to her. - -Without a word she led the way out of the hotel and back to the house -they had just left. - -Entering the parlor again, Mr. Mountain tore off the wrapper to show the -bills within, and held it out to her. - -She called for the confession, and, receiving it from the servant, held -it out to Mr. Mountain, who took it as she took the package of bills. - -Mr. Mountain assured himself it was the original by a hasty glance. The -Brown Robin was tearing the wrapper from the package. - -When she opened it and shifted the bills she fairly screamed. - -The package was a dummy, only one bill being on the top. - -She sprang forward, but she faced two revolvers leveled at her. - -“You are my prisoner, Brown Robin. I am not Mr. Mountain, but Chick -Carter, the detective. Mr. Mountain stayed at the hotel that he went to -with you. I came in his place.” - -The woman stepped on the button she had boasted of, and bells sounded in -the house. - -At the same instant Chick gave a shrill whistle. - -A door crashed in and the plate glass of a front window was broken by -the heavy blows of a hammer. - -Patsy sprang through the window, with revolvers up, and Nick Carter -through the door, followed by Mr. Mountain. - -Nick met two men dashing down the stairs, the first one of whom he -struck in the face with the butt of his revolver, knocking him -senseless, and grappled with the other. - -Patsy had sprung at the servant woman, who had shown fight, to find she -was a man in woman’s clothes, and he found his hands full. - -Chick had easy work in overcoming the Brown Robin. - -It was a fight soon over, however. The two men Nick had attacked in the -hall, finding the door open, fled through it. - -The other man, in woman’s clothes, was overcome by Patsy, and, with -Nick’s aid, bound. - -Though beaten, the Brown Robin was game. - -“Well, Mr. Carter,” she said, “I have come to the end. I was told you -would overreach me if I met you. You have. I did not think you would. I -thought myself smarter than you.” - -“You were very easy,” said Nick, quietly. “I could have taken you -yesterday, when I dined with you, in the Lexington Avenue house, as Mr. -Cary.” - -“You?” she cried. “You did that?” - -“Oh, yes, Mrs. Clymer. You do not offer your cheek to me to-day.” - -He imitated perfectly Mr. Cary’s voice. - -This was too much for the Brown Robin. She seemed to feel worse over -this deception than over her arrest and defeat. Nick saw that she had -been wounded in her conceit. Finally she said: - -“Well, if I am no better than that, I deserve to fail. Lock me up.” - -The Brown Robin and her servant were taken to the station house and -locked up. - -“Your imitation of me,” said Mr. Mountain to Chick, “was so good that -when I passed behind that safe and saw you there waiting for me I was -startled, though I expected to find you there. It was capitally done. I -congratulate you.” - -“Congratulate the chief, Mr. Mountain. It was his play from start to -finish, and he made me up.” - -The compromising photographs of Mr. Cary, together with the plate, were -easily recovered in the house in which they were taken. - -Nick’s inquiries into the life of the Brown Robin showed that she had -been engaged in a criminal career almost from the moment that she had -eloped with the man Stymers from Mr. Mountain’s employ, though at one -time she had been on the stage and at another time a newspaper writer. - -Stymers was a bank burglar, who had led her into crime. Her criminal -career had been most successful, and the first check called in it was -when she met Nick Carter and his faithful band. - -She received a long sentence, and it is hardly likely that she will ever -again embark on a career of wickedness. - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - AT THE DOG SHOW. - - -Next day was “blue Monday” with Nick, and he decided to try the Dog Show -at Madison Square Garden as a cure for the “dumps.” - -After luncheon he set out to visit the Garden, little dreaming what -fresh adventures were in store for him as the result of that visit. - -He had barely entered the hall than a prominent banker, known for the -keen interest he took in the development of the dog, and who was one of -the officers of the society under whose auspices the dog show was held, -greeted him with the remark: - -“Of all men, Mr. Carter, you are the man I most wish to see. Some -miscreant is poisoning our dogs here. The fourth animal is just now -dying from a dose—all valuable animals.” - -“Have you suspicions?” asked Nick, scenting mystery at once, and nothing -loath to tackle another puzzle now that he had placed the Brown Robin -behind prison bars. - -“Not the slightest suspicions,” replied the banker, “although the owner -is making wild charges and threats, but, then, that is from her grief.” - -“Her?” asked Nick, in surprise. - -“Yes; Mrs. Constant—poor Al Constant’s widow.” - -“Were all the dogs poisoned owned by her?” - -“All of them.” - -“Do you think it possible that rivalry or jealousy could be at the -bottom of it?” - -“In the contest here for prizes, do you mean?” - -“Yes.” - -“I cannot believe it.” - -Nick asked no more questions, and looked over the room. - -“Come with me and look at the dog,” said the banker. - -Nick nodded, and the banker led the detective to a rear room, where he -saw a noble setter dog writhing in agony on a blanket on the floor. - -A well-known veterinary surgeon was laboring over the dog, and a -beautiful woman of thirty, regardless of her costly raiment, was -kneeling at the dog’s head, soothing and petting him, the tears -streaming from her eyes, while she murmured: - -“My old Don! My poor old Don!” - -The dog’s eyes were glazed, and Nick saw at a glance as he came up that -the dog was dying. - -But from time to time, the poor beast would turn a look of deep -affection on the beautiful woman and lick the hand that soothed and -petted him. - -“Mrs. Constant.” said the banker, “here is Mr. Carter, the celebrated -detective. I have hopes that I can persuade him to look into this case.” - -“It is too late to save my poor old Don,” said Mrs. Constant, looking -up. “As for the miscreant, I know him. He is——” - -“One moment,” hastily interrupted the banker. “What you have to say as -to charges and suspicions say to Mr. Carter alone. He is to be trusted, -and his advice will be well worth following.” - -Mrs. Constant looked up at Nick, smiling through her tears, and said: - -“Very well. When can I talk to you, Mr. Carter?” - -Handing her his card, Nick said: - -“Come to my house when you can.” - -“I will do so,” said Mrs. Constant, “as soon as I have seen poor old Don -cared for and my other dogs out of harm’s way.” - -Now the dog had another spasm, and it proved to be his last. He -stiffened out and died. - -Nick turned away and went into the show room to inquire as to the manner -in which the dogs on exhibition were guarded and cared for, and in doing -so passed half an hour inspecting the dogs. - -At the end of that time, as he approached the center division, he saw -Mrs. Constant standing beside a dog with her hand upon its head. - -He lifted his hat in salutation, and was surprised to see her state of -wonder and doubtful return of the recognition. - -He smiled as he thought swift forgetfulness of himself was not -flattering. Excusing it on the ground that she was troubled over the -death of her favorites, he passed on into the street and went home, -where he related the peculiar occurrence that had successfully driven -away his fit of the “blues.” - -A short time after his arrival the servant announced Mrs. Constant. - -Nick directed that the lady should be shown into the room he was -occupying. - -Edith, Nick Carter’s wife, who was also in the room, arose to go, but -before she could leave the apartment, Mrs. Constant entered, and -exclaimed: - -“Why, Edith!” - -Edith responded by running across the room to Mrs. Constant, crying: - -“Why, Blanche!” - -All this was very surprising to Nick, who could not imagine how it was -that his wife knew his client. - -But, as he listened, he found that before Edith’s marriage Mrs. Constant -had been a member of the same theatrical company with Edith, and, like -Edith, had left the stage when she married. - -Then that which had before puzzled him was made plain. - -He knew that he had seen Mrs. Constant before when presented to her by -the banker at the dog show. It was all explained. He had seen her on the -stage as Blanche Romney. - -When at length the ladies had finished their renewal of old times, Mrs. -Constant turned to that which had brought her to Nick. - -“I hardly know how to begin my story, Mr. Carter,” she said, “but I will -tell you how I came to be an exhibitor of dogs at the show. My late -husband was much interested in developing a certain strain of setters. - -“As I am a great lover of dogs, I took a vast interest in the kennel, -and soon came to know quite as much about it as he, taking my part in -the management and supervision of it. - -“I came to know what he was striving to do, and so, when he died and -left all his dogs to me, I determined to carry out his plans and -continue the kennel. - -“Mr. Constant died very suddenly. The doctors called it apoplexy. He was -in good health and was stricken down without warning. - -“It is too late now to determine it, but I cannot rid myself of the idea -that foul play was at the bottom of his death.” - -“When did he die?” asked Nick. - -“Nearly two years ago.” - -“At his home?” - -“He was brought home, but was taken ill at his club. I had gone over to -Philadelphia early in the morning, not to return until the next day, so -he dined at his club. The doctors insisted that he had been imprudent at -the table, eating and drinking too much. - -“Mr. Constant was a free liver, and that gave a basis for their -decision. But if I tell you that Mr. Constant was a wine-drinker, do not -believe that he used it in excess. He did not. - -“Now I come to that which is unpleasant. His marriage to me was not -agreeable to his family. They opposed it bitterly. - -“I did not know that until after marriage. Whether it would have changed -my course if I had, I don’t know. His family is very aristocratic, and I -was a poor girl, of humble origin, working for wages on the stage. - -“We were happy in our life together, but our marriage separated him from -his family. He was independent in having a small competence, and a share -in the income of a large estate, held in trust, his for life and to be -his children’s after him, if he had them, which, by the way, he had not. - -“I was telegraphed for, and reached him in time to have him die in my -arms, but he never recognized me. - -“When he was dead I found that he had left his own small fortune to me, -but his share in the income of the estate did not become mine. - -“I have been advised that I have a right to it, but to get it would mean -a lawsuit, and I am comfortable and in plenty without it. - -“Now, then; at the time of my marriage there was a man, Eric Masson, -moving in the same club and social circle with my husband, who, while -pretending to be on friendly terms with him, was his bitter enemy. - -“He wanted to marry me. From the first I had disliked him. It was not -indifference to him; it was positive dislike for him on my part. - -“I had rejected him before I met Mr. Constant. When he learned that Mr. -Constant was attentive to me, and that I was likely to marry, Masson -warned me not to do it, saying it would be well for neither Albert nor -myself. - -“He circulated stories as to myself, which had much to do with my -husband’s family’s opposition, and one of them reaching my husband’s -ears, who was then my _fiancée_, resulted in a violent quarrel between -the two, ending in Albert giving Masson a thrashing. - -“Though the differences were afterward healed, I know that he worked to -my husband’s injury always. - -“Masson was one of the party with whom my husband dined on his last day. - -“My husband had not been dead two months when he renewed his attentions -to me, declaring that he had been waiting for Albert’s death to step -into his shoes. - -“I drove him away from me angrily, telling him that I loved the memory -of my husband too well to insult it by taking Masson as his successor. - -“Since then he has been my vindictive enemy, making trouble for me when -and where he could, starting scandals as to myself. - -“He tried to take my kennel of dogs from me, declaring that Albert had -sold them to him on the day of his death. - -“He began a suit at law to obtain the dogs, going so far as to intrigue -to get me to hire some creatures of his about the kennel, so that they -might steal the dogs for him. - -“In short, I have been persecuted by him ever since my husband’s death. -He is the only enemy in life that I have, and I know he is at the bottom -of the poisoning of my dogs.” - -“I suppose,” said Nick, “that this Eric Masson is the broker of that -name—the yachtsman?” - -“The same person,” replied Mrs. Constant. - -“Are you prepared to tell me the nature of his persecutions of you?” - -“Yes; at any time.” - -“I do not want them now,” said Nick, as Mrs. Constant showed signs of -attempting to recite them. “Now, as to the injuries he attempted to do -your husband. Can you prove those charges?” - -“Yes; after my husband’s death I found among his private papers a -package, which tells it all. My husband must have gathered them for a -purpose that his death defeated.” - -“Can you let me have that package?” - -“Yes; whenever you like.” - -“Will you let me have it at once?” - -“I will bring it to you to-night.” - -“Very well, Mrs. Constant. Say nothing to anybody that you have given -the case to me.” - -“Masson will know it.” - -“Why?” - -“If he does not know now, he will in a short time, that I have come to -see you. He has me under espionage—every step I take he has followed.” - -“So bad as that?” asked Nick. - -With this Mrs. Constant went away, after saying to Edith, who had been -an interested listener, that now, having met again, they must not lose -sight of each other. - -“What do you think of it, Nick?” asked Edith. - -“A rather strange story, but there is more behind it than she has -told—perhaps more than she really knows. When you knew her what sort of -reputation did she bear?” - -“The very best,” declared Edith. “Blanche was a good girl, Nick. She was -so light-hearted and full of spirits in those days, so gay, that -sometimes she was misunderstood, but there was not the least harm in -her.” - -“Well, Edith, I fancy you will have some detective work to do.” - -“In what way?” - -“She knows more than she thinks she does. You must get her to talk -confidentially to you, and these things may crop out. - -“Again, there are things she shied away from telling me, especially when -you were present, but she will tell them to you.” - -“I’ll do what I can.” - -After dinner that evening Nick went out for a short time, and, -returning, as he was about entering his house a carriage drove up and -some one, leaning from it, called him by name. - -Turning back, he saw Mrs. Constant. He went to the carriage door, and -the lady thrust out a package to him, saying: - -“I am so glad to have seen you here. I am so hurried—so little time. -It’s the package—Blanche, that is, Mrs. Constant, you know. By-bye, I -must hurry. Please tell the driver to go on.” - -Nick did so, wondering at her haste, and as the carriage drove off -entered his house. - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - DEAD IN HER CARRIAGE. - - -Nick sat down to study the package Mrs. Constant had given him, having -some knowledge of the persons the package was supposed to tell about. - -He knew Albert Constant had been a man of no occupation in life, living -on his income; that his family was wealthy, and about the most exclusive -in the city. - -That his marriage to Blanche had been violently opposed by it, not alone -because she was an actress, but because she was of that rank of life -which his family believed was much below his own. - -He also knew that Albert Constant had quarreled with his family because -of this marriage, and as a consequence had withdrawn from society. - -Of Eric Masson he knew less. That he moved in the same social circle as -that in which the Constants were leaders he did know, and that he was -not a popular member of it. - -He also knew that he was a broker in Wall Street, and, if there were not -charges of sharp practice against him, there were mutterings of them, -while it was whispered that at poker with his friends he won too -steadily and too heavily. - -There were scandals also rumored about as to his private life, all of -which, however, had not as yet affected his standing in the social -world. - -The papers of the package were not easy of understanding, nor did they -tell a complete story. - -Among them were letters from Masson to Albert Constant and copies of -replies from Constant to the same. But the package was principally made -up of memoranda in the handwriting of Constant, which was disjointed and -seemed to be mere guides for the memory of Constant to be used at some -future time. - -It all indicated, however, as Mrs. Constant had said, that at some prior -time Masson had done Constant an injury, and that, though Masson denied -it, Constant was gathering the proof of that injury. - -Nick spent the evening over the package, and at bed-time laid it away -with a dissatisfied feeling that it did not confirm the charges Mrs. -Constant had made. - -The next morning, on coming down to the breakfast table, he found Edith -sitting horror-stricken over the newspaper. - -In answer to his anxious inquiry, his wife extended to him the -newspaper, pointing to an article, the mere glance at which informed him -that Mrs. Constant had been killed in her carriage the night previous. - -Reading the account attentively, Nick found that it was a murder, but by -whom it was not even suggested. - -Beyond the fact that when the driver arrived at the destination he had -been given, he discovered that the person he had driven was dead within -the carriage, and that the surgeon, on being called, had quickly -discovered that death was the result of a bullet from a small revolver -entering the brain immediately back of the left ear. None of the -circumstances were given. - -Comparing the time, Nick concluded that the murder must have been -committed between thirty minutes and an hour after she had driven up to -his door to give him the package of papers over which he had spent the -time just prior to going to his bed the night before. - -The account was not informing, and was but little more than mere -announcement of the discovery of the murder, except that it told who the -dead woman was and who her husband had been. - -Edith was much distressed over the fact that death should have come in -such shocking form to her friend, and so shortly after her old -associations had been renewed. - -Nick devoted some time to soothing and calming Edith, and then sat down -to his breakfast, determining that as soon as it was over he would begin -an investigation. - -But before his breakfast was over he received another shock, though of a -different kind. - -A note was brought him, evidently written that morning, from Mrs. Albert -Constant, asking him to call upon her at once to consult with her on the -new horror that had come into her life. - -He was astounded. He picked up the paper again to read the article -telling of Mrs. Albert Constant’s murder. There was no mistake. He had -read aright. - -It was distinctly stated that the murdered woman was the widow of the -late Mr. Albert Constant, and even the poisoning of her dogs at the dog -show was talked of. And yet he held in his hand, written that morning, a -letter from the woman the paper said had been murdered in her carriage -the night before. - -“It is incomprehensible, Edith,” he said. “There can be no doubt about -this letter, and it speaks of a new horror.” - -“Perhaps,” said Edith, “she was not killed, but only wounded.” - -“The newspaper account particularly says that the ball entered the brain -behind the ear,” said Nick. “Any one receiving such a wound as that -could not write a letter within twelve hours, if she ever could. No; it -is not to be accounted for on that ground. I fear this letter was -written prior to her murder, for early delivery this morning, on the -discovery of some new happening like that of the poisoning of her dogs.” - -He arose from the breakfast table, saying: - -“I shall go to her home at once and try to reconcile what now seems to -be a mystery.” - -He went out of the house at once, and to the residence of Mrs. Constant, -which was in the lower part of West End Avenue. - -Arriving, there were unmistakable evidences of a tragedy within the -house. - -In front of it, on the pavement, were a number of people gazing with -idle curiosity at the front of the house. - -Drawn up at the curbing was the undertaker’s wagon, sure testimony that -some one within the house was dead. - -As Nick mounted the steps, the door opened and the coroner came forth. - -“Ah, Mr. Carter,” said that official, “you are expected. I have done all -that I can do here at present. I presume you will begin an -investigation. I hope that you will. - -“At present it is a dense mystery. I cannot give you a single point. All -that we know is that the woman was killed somewhere between nine and -half-past nine last night; that she was shot in the back of the head, -and that death followed immediately. But who shot her we have no more -idea after working all night than we had in the beginning.” - -“What are the circumstances?” asked Nick. - -“Very meager,” promptly responded the coroner. “The lady came from a -dressmaker’s establishment, and before entering her carriage told her -driver to drive directly home to this place. - -“As soon as he heard the door close, he drove off, making but one stop -on his way here, and that at Fifty-eighth Street, where his carriage was -blocked for a minute or two. - -“Arriving here, as the lady did not get out, he got down from his box -and opened the door, to find her unconscious. He gave the alarm; the -woman was carried into her home, and a doctor soon coming pronounced her -dead.” - -“No one was known to have been in the carriage with her?” asked Nick. - -“No. That is the great mystery. I was disposed at first to look upon it -as suicide. I have not abandoned that idea entirely yet, though all the -physicians and surgeons who have examined the body say it is not -probable. - -“However, the body lies in the parlor. Go and look at it, and after you -have made your first investigation, I shall be obliged if you will come -and talk with me about it.” - -The coroner stepped back and opened the door for Nick to pass through, -closing the door after him and going his way. - -Nick passed into the parlor, and there found Mrs. Constant lying in the -box the undertaker had provided. - -He stood looking down upon her face, thinking that death had brought its -changes and sharpened peculiarities of features that he had not noticed -in life. - -While he looked, the undertaker came from a rear room, looking at him -inquiringly. Nick said, quietly: - -“I am Mr. Carter, the detective.” - -“Oh, yes; Mrs. Constant is expecting you. Indeed, she is very anxious to -see you.” - -Nick looked up in great surprise, saying: - -“Mrs. Constant?” - -He pointed to the body lying within the box. - -The undertaker smiled in a melancholy way, and said: - -“That is what has puzzled and confused people so. But let me take you to -Mrs. Constant. She has been asking every minute if you have come.” - -Nick followed the undertaker up the stairs to the door of a room in the -front of the house, at which the undertaker rapped lightly. - -A maidservant opened the door, and when the undertaker said that Mr. -Carter was there, flung it wide open, saying: - -“Come, Mr. Carter, Mrs. Constant will be glad to see you.” - -As Nick stepped into the room, the maidservant spoke to a lady sitting -in the corner, telling her that Mr. Carter was there. - -The lady arose immediately, and advanced to meet Nick. - -At once Nick saw that she was Mrs. Constant in the life. Her face showed -the distress she was suffering, for it was pale and haggard, and its -lines deeply marked. - -The resemblance between the woman before him and the one lying still in -death in the room below was astonishing. - -Mrs. Constant took Nick’s hand, attempting to speak, but broke into -uncontrollable sobs. - -However, she controlled herself in a few minutes, and said: - -“This is the end, Mr. Carter. It is the last. It can go no further.” - -“I cannot understand it,” said Nick. “The paper said it was you who was -killed.” - -“I wish it was myself who had been killed,” cried Mrs. Constant. “It was -my twin sister, Ethel. But it was I he intended to kill.” - -The word twin sister explained everything that had bewildered him, as in -a flash. - -“I did not know that you had a twin sister,” said Nick. - -“Yes, I had,” said Mrs. Constant, sadly. “She came to live with me a -week ago. She was so happy to come, and this is the end. She died for -me.” - -“Prior to her coming to live with you,” asked Nick, “where did she -live?” - -“In Philadelphia.” - -“Had she spent much time in New York with you?” - -“Not much time,” replied Mrs. Constant. “Only for short visits at long -intervals.” - -“Did she have many acquaintances in this city?” - -Mrs. Constant, as in a flash, saw the end toward which Nick’s questions -were tending, and said, hurriedly and impatiently: - -“Waste no time on that, Mr. Carter. Ethel had no acquaintances in New -York, except a very few that she had made within the past week. She was -killed because the one who killed her thought it was I who was in the -carriage.” - -“I know that you think so,” said Nick. “But I was trying to explore the -possibility of the other view.” - -“It is wasted time, Mr. Carter. Ethel knew no one in New York, nor had -relations with any one who would do such a thing.” - -“Could any one have followed her from Philadelphia?” - -“No,” said Mrs. Constant, earnestly. “Ethel was a good girl; she had no -secrets apart from me, and no man had entered into her life in any way. -She lived a very quiet life at home, and if there had been any love -affair of hers or any one persecuting her, I should have known it. My -secrets were hers and hers were mine.” - -“It was not you, then,” asked Nick, “who came to me with that package -last night?” - -“No. I was detained at home by a caller, and as Ethel was going over to -a dressmaker’s in Sixth Avenue, I asked her to take that package to you -first.” - -“What time did she leave here to go?” - -“It must have been nearly eight o’clock. We were going out last evening, -but the dress Ethel was to wear had not been sent home as promised, and -Ethel wanted to go for it.” - -“When she gave me that package,” said Nick, “she said she was much -hurried. But all the time I thought it was you.” - -“Yes, the resemblance between us was so great that all our lives we have -been mistaken for each other, even by intimate friends. This resemblance -is the cause of the announcement in the papers this morning that it was -I who had been killed.” - -“There was no one in the carriage with her when I saw her,” said Nick. - -“And no one when the carriage arrived home,” replied Mrs. Constant. “But -a man did get into that carriage, supposing I was in it, and killed her. -I know who it was, and so do you.” - -Nick raised his hand, warningly, and said: - -“Mention no names, Mrs. Constant. Charge no one with so awful a deed. -Trust to me. I will investigate that line to the end, but let your -suspicions be unsaid, or, if you must talk of them, talk only to me.” - -Mrs. Constant first turned impatiently away, but as impulsively turned -back and placed her hand in Nick’s, saying: - -“You are Edith’s husband as well. I will trust everything to you.” - -“That is good,” said Nick. “Now a practical question. The driver of that -coach, who was he?” - -“The same as my own coachman. I have an arrangement with a livery stable -near by, by which I have the same carriage, horses and driver by the -month. The carriage is used by no one but me, and the coachman drives -nobody but me.” - -Securing the address of this livery stable and the name of the driver, -Nick hurried to the stable, telling Mrs. Constant that he would return -soon. - -He found the driver without difficulty, and from him learned the course -taken by Ethel Romney and the places she had called at. - -The story he told was a straight one. - -He had been summoned shortly before eight o’clock, and had turned out so -quickly that he was at the Constant residence a few minutes before eight -o’clock. - -He had first driven Miss Romney to the dressmaker’s, in Sixth Avenue, -where she had got out. She was gone but a few minutes, and, coming out, -said that she would have to return to that place. Then she had -instructed him to drive to Mr. Carter’s house, where she had seen Mr. -Carter without getting out of the coach. - -After that she had driven back again to the dressmaker’s, where she -remained possibly twenty minutes, and, coming from there, she had seemed -quite vexed. - -She told him to drive directly home, and he had followed Sixth Avenue, -intending to go up by way of Fifty-ninth Street. - -She had made no stop on the way thither, and the carriage had not -stopped except for a minute or two at Fifty-eighth Street, where the way -had been blocked. - -Arriving in front of the Constant residence, as she made no effort to -get out, he had got down to see what the matter was. - -Then he thought she had fainted, and, making an outcry, people had come -from the house. They had carried her in, and he had driven off to the -stable. - -The man, whose name was Rawson, was positive that no man talked to Miss -Romney, except Nick himself, during the ride. He was positive that no -one had entered the coach with Miss Romney at any time. - -“Are you certain,” asked Nick, “that while you were standing in front of -the dressmaker’s the second time that some one did not enter the coach?” - -The man replied that he had seen no one attempt to. - -“But it is possible, isn’t it,” asked Nick, “that a man might have got -in there and you not know it?” - -“It might be, sir,” said Rawson, “but it isn’t likely.” - -Nick turned away. The man had evidently given all the information he -had. - -He went back to Mrs. Constant, with no light shed on the mystery. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII. - POSSIBILITIES. - - -Nick had summoned his faithful aids, Chick, Ida, and Patsy, to meet him -at his apartments on his arrival. He found them awaiting him when he got -home, and, without waste of time, sat down to tell them the incidents of -the new case they were engaged on. - -“Of course,” he said, in conclusion, “you will see that in the -occurrence of this murder, the poisoning of the dogs slips away into -minor importance. - -“Yet, if Mrs. Constant’s suspicions are correct, the same person is -responsible for both. - -“In that way, or that view of it, it becomes important to trace out that -poisoning.” - -“The thing stands this way, then,” said Chick. “If Mrs. Constant is -right about the murder of her sister, she is right about the dogs; if -she is wrong about the dogs, she is wrong about the murder.” - -“As usual, Chick,” said Nick, “you state the whole thing in a nutshell. -So, as the dog business is more easily followed than anything else, we -will get into that investigation first.” - -“Don’t treat Mrs. Constant’s suspicions too lightly,” said Ida. “I think -you will find that she has kept back her strongest reasons for -suspecting Masson. She has wanted you to guess them. Edith, as her -friend, could get them from her.” - -Nick looked up at Ida, sharply, and said: - -“That is very shrewd, Ida.” - -Turning to Patsy, he went on: - -“I want you to take up the dog end of this case, Patsy.” - -“I am aching for that,” replied Patsy. “I’d rather run down a man who -would kill a dog like that than anything else. But I say, chief, put me -next to that swell banker. He’s one of my kind.” - -Chick and Ida laughed at this, and Nick said: - -“You shall have a note to him. As for you, Ida, you must go to -Philadelphia. - -“There is this possibility, that the murder of Ethel Romney came out of -her life in that city, before she came to New York—some trouble that she -had there. - -“You must look into that, and we must know all about the life, habits, -and even the romances, if any there are, of Ethel Romney. Here is a list -of people who would be likely to know about her.” - -He handed her a slip of paper he had prepared for her, and went on: - -“There are other possibilities that we must look into. There is that of -suicide. - -“It is possible, but not probable. - -“Unless the girl had something back in her life, Ethel was more likely -to look to the future with pleasure than otherwise. - -“She had come to live in plenty and elegance with a sister to whom she -was much attached. - -“Then, there is the possibility that the murder was the outcome of an -attempt by some fellow, bolder than usual, who managed to get into the -carriage, supposing that the woman in it had money or jewelry with her. - -“All these possibilities must be examined and run down before I am -willing to take up the suspicions of Mrs. Constant as to Masson. But -that does not mean that we shall not keep Masson in view. - -“These things will be undertaken by Chick and I.” - -Nick now went to the desk, and, writing a letter, handed it to Patsy, -saying: - -“You want to get to work at once, Patsy, while the trail is warm.” - -Patsy hurried away, and Ida, saying that, unless the chief had further -instructions, she would go, too, followed the lad out of the apartment. - -“Now, Chick,” said Nick. “To send Edith to Mrs. Constant, and then you -and I will take up the most difficult part of the work.” - -In a few moments these two shrewd detectives were on their way to the -neighborhood of the Constant residence. As they were riding uptown in -the car, Nick said: - -“Mrs. Constant’s theory is that Ethel was killed by a person who had -intended to kill her, but was misled by the strong resemblance between -Ethel and herself. - -“That resemblance is great,” admitted Nick. “I was misled by it myself -twice—once shortly after I had been introduced to Mrs. Constant, and -again when Ethel brought that package to me from Blanche Constant.” - -“But, chief,” said Chick, “you did not know at that time that Mrs. -Constant had a twin sister; the mistake was a natural one. But if Masson -was as well acquainted with Mrs. Constant as he seems to be it would be -strange if he did not know of that twin sister.” - -“And would not have been easily misled,” said Nick. “You have struck a -point that must be investigated.” - -“And there is a point on the other side,” said Chick. “The hard thing in -adopting the theory of Mrs. Constant is that a man of the kind Masson is -should commit murder, especially in cold blood. - -“Now, suppose that Masson did not know of the twin sister, suppose he -climbed into that coach under the notion that Mrs. Constant was in it. -Since it was Ethel Romney, she, of course, denied that she was Blanche -or that she knew Masson, perhaps, to his anger, leading to the murder -and the reason for it.” - -“That is,” said Nick, “supposing it to have been Masson, and that he -lost his temper, he lost control of himself, in that denial.” - -“Yes, that is what I mean,” said Chick. - -“Well,” said Nick, “it all means that we have plenty of work to do and a -lot of vexatious little inquiries. Whoever it was that got into that -coach, whether it was Masson or some one else, in my opinion crept into -the coach while it was standing in front of that dressmaker’s -establishment to which Ethel Romney went.” - -This conversation had occupied the greater portion of their trip uptown. - -As they stepped off the car, Nick saw the man Rawson, who was the driver -for Mrs. Constant. He appeared to be looking for some one. - -Rawson brightened up as Nick approached, and said: - -“I have been looking for you, Mr. Carter, because I have got something -to say. I have been thinking over that ride last night, and especially -since you asked me to-day about its being likely that any one got into -that carriage.” - -“Yes, have you thought of anything more?” said Nick. - -“Well, yes,” said Rawson. “It isn’t much, but, then, I ought to tell -you. You see, I didn’t think much when you asked me that question, but -since I have. - -“The lady was in a great hurry to get back home, and as soon as she got -into the carriage from that dressmaker’s I touched up the horses and -started off at a good gait. - -“I didn’t think much then of it, but I am thinking now that as the lady -got into the coach I heard a sort of cry or scream from her, but the -door slammed shut right after it, and I was off at once.” - -Nick looked at Chick, and the latter said: - -“It looks, chief, as if you were right as to when the person got into -the coach.” - -“Yes,” said Nick; “that would look as if the man was already in the -coach, and the noise that Ethel made was a cry of surprise at finding -some one there.” - -Turning to Rawson, he said: - -“It looks like a very important point, Rawson, and I wish you would keep -up thinking about it. Any little thing about the whole matter tell me -of.” - -What answer Rawson might have made to this was prevented by a man who -was evidently a stableman, coming up and addressing Rawson, not knowing -who the two were the coachman was talking to. He said: - -“I say, Rawson, it’s true, isn’t it, that you drove the woman that was -killed in the coach yesterday?” - -“Yes, it’s true; worse luck,” said Rawson. - -“Well, say,” said the man, “the papers say there wasn’t any man with the -woman in that coach. I say there was. What do you say?” - -“I say there wasn’t,” said Rawson. - -“Well, you’re wrong there.” - -Rawson was about to deny this somewhat strongly, but Nick stopped him, -and said to the man: - -“What do you know about it?” - -“I know there was a man ridin’ with her.” - -“How do you know it?” asked Nick. - -“Why,” said the man, “I was standin’ in Sixth Avenue talkin’ with a -friend when I saw my friend here, Rawson, pulled up in front of a swell -dressmaker’s. - -“Then I see his lady, the one he drives for, get out and go into the -dressmaker’s. - -“Well, ’twan’t any of my biz, and I wasn’t lookin’ sharp. By and by I -happened to look at the coach, and there was a swell in it.” - -“Are you sure of that?” asked Chick. - -“Sure. But, anyhow, my friend breaks away and I gets on the trolley to -go to the stable. When I gets up to Fifty-eighth Street I goes into a -saloon. - -“When I had put away a couple of beers, I comes out and I stands in -front lookin’ at a block a big truck loaded with iron had made, when I -see Rawson pulled up. - -“Then I see my swell guy in the coach open the door on the other side, -get out, shut the door after him, and slip over to the other side.” - -“What’s your name?” sharply asked Nick. - -“What’s that to you?” replied the other. - -“Johnny,” said Rawson, “this is Mr. Carter, the celebrated detective.” - -The man started, a little frightened, and immediately became far more -respectful. - -“My name is Johnny Moran,” he said. - -“What is your business, Moran?” asked Nick. - -“I am a stableman, sometimes drivin’ for a livery stable right near -where Rawson works.” - -“He’s all right,” said Rawson. “We worked together in the same stables -before, and he is a good man.” - -“I have no doubt of that. He looks like it,” said Nick. “Now, Moran, -what did this man you saw in the coach look like?” - -“Well, he was a swell.” - -“Describe him as near as you can.” - -The man seemed to be embarrassed, and hung his head, as if trying to -think hard. - -“I didn’t just see his face,” he said, at length. “He had on a shiny -hat, and whiskers all around his face, that were dark, and the clothes -he had on were swell.” - -“Would you know him again if you were to see him?” - -The man shook his head doubtfully, and finally said: - -“I don’t know about that. You see, I didn’t think anything was wrong -then, and I wasn’t stagging him off for anything. If he was dressed just -the same maybe I would, but I wouldn’t want to swear to it.” - -He thought a little while, and then said: - -“He was about as tall as him,” he pointed to Chick. - -Then he went on: - -“Seems to me, as he went across the street with his back to me, he had a -trick of hitching up his right shoulder.” - -“How hitching it up?” asked Chick. - -“It was more than that—it was a kind of a jerk.” - -“Is that all you can tell us?” asked Nick. - -“It is all that I can think of now.” - -“If we should want you to go with us some time, where could we find -you?” asked Nick. - -“You can find me at the stable most any time, and I’ll go with you -whenever you want me to.” - -“What you have already told us, Moran,” said Nick, “is very important. -It has settled one question that we were in great doubt about.” - -The two detectives turned away, and, as they walked off in the direction -of the Constant house, Nick said: - -“Chick, luck’s with us.” - -“Nick Carter’s luck,” Chick said, with a laugh. - -“It’s luck, whosever it is,” said Nick, “for we might have hunted a long -time before we got such direct evidence of the correctness of our -theory, that the man entered that coach when it stood in front of the -dressmaker’s.” - -“I suppose that we must assume that he did enter there,” said Chick, -“but we are weak on that evidence.” - -“We have direct evidence as to how he left the coach after the murder,” -said Nick. “I think we can safely assume that there is where he did -enter the coach. However, there is something for you to do, and that is -to go down into that neighborhood and see if you can establish the fact -for a certainty that he did enter there.” - -“Then I had better do it without loss of time,” said Chick. “I will go -right away.” - -Thus it was that the detectives separated at that point. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV. - A CHANGE OF FRONT. - - -Patsy had made his way to the Madison Square Garden at once, and -presented his letter to the prominent banker. - -“I should think,” said the banker, as he folded up the letter, after -reading it, “that Mr. Carter would devote his energies rather to finding -out who killed Mrs. Constant than to finding out who poisoned her dogs.” - -“Oh, Mrs. Constant is all right,” replied Patsy. “She wasn’t killed.” - -“Not killed?” replied the banker. “The papers said so.” - -“All a mistake,” said Patsy. “Mrs. Constant is well, though she ain’t -happy, for the reason that it was her sister who was killed.” - -“That beautiful girl!” exclaimed the banker, eager to know all that -Patsy could tell him. - -Though the lad was anxious to get to work, he was compelled to delay -while he satisfied the banker’s curiosity. - -When he was finally released, which he was with full authority to go to -all parts of the huge building, he hurried out into the space where the -dogs were benched. - -As fond as he was of the animals, however, he paid little attention to -them, for he was anxious to make himself acquainted with the attendants. - -It was the last day of the show, and the attendance, especially at that -hour in the afternoon when Patsy reached the building, was very large. - -If thereby movement about the building was made difficult, it was all -the better for Patsy, for he was less likely to be recognized. - -He spent an hour of close examination without hitting upon anything -which could serve as an opening to him. - -Finally he engaged in conversation a well-known kennelman of a prominent -breeder, leading it to the poisoning of the dogs by degrees. - -“Yes,” said the kennelman, in answer to Patsy’s question, “there was a -nasty case of poisoning here. You can bet that it was outside of the -bunch.” - -“What do you mean by that?” asked Patsy. - -“I mean it was none of the doggy men that did it, and it wasn’t for any -show reasons. A breeder, or a man in the business, thinks too much of a -dog to do him in that way. - -“Setters are not my line. We were only competing in the fox-terriers. So -we hadn’t especial interest in setters. But I felt as bad over the -deaths of those setters as if they had been the dogs I had brought up -and cared for. - -“It’s a mean man that can kill a dog, anyhow—dogs as gentle and -sweet-tempered as setters are. - -“So I say some one was trying to get square on the lady that owned those -dogs, and for reasons away from this show. - -“Say, if they ever get down to the truth of it, see if it don’t turn out -to be a woman that did the business.” - -This was a new idea to Patsy, and he stood still thinking of it. -Suddenly a voice fell on his ear. - -“It’s him, I’m telling you. Sure. Get out of sight!” - -Patsy looked around, without seeing whence came the voice, though two of -the attendants were walking off hastily. - -Rather from curiosity than from any other reason, Patsy followed them, -carefully preventing himself from being seen by them. - -When they had reached the end of the aisle, they turned, taking up a -position behind a bench, where they thought they were concealed from -view. - -Patsy crept up as closely as he could, and under the pretense of petting -one of the dogs, then listened to their further talk. - -“I heard that Nick Carter was onto the case,” said the voice Patsy had -heard before. “Now his young assistant, Patsy, comes around on the -sneak.” - -“But you ain’t sure he’s onto the case. Likely he’s only come in to have -a look at the dogs.” - -“Look nawthin’! He’s here for biz. I am going to get out.” - -“If you do, you lose your pay. If you drop out now, you get nothing.” - -“The whack on the other thing is good. Anyhow, I don’t want that fellow -to get his peepers on me.” - -“You haven’t got the whack, an’ I’m ready to bet that we’ll get t’rown -down yet.” - -“Go wan,” said the other, incredulously. - -Patsy cautiously climbed upon the bench and peeped over the division. - -Two men in the dress of the hired attendants stood with their backs to -him. - -As he looked, trying to fix upon some peculiarity by which he could -recognize them when in a position to see their faces, a man, who was in -his manner and dress of some consequence, approached. - -He eyed the two keenly, and the two straightened up as if they expected -recognition from the person. - -Apparently this person was about to pass by, but he suddenly halted, -turned from his path, and went quickly to the bench near where the two -were standing, pretending to be much interested in the dogs there. - -All of this was seen by the keen-eyed Patsy, and he also saw that as -this consequential-appearing person reached the bench, he slipped -something deftly into the hands of the two standing ready to receive it. - -Not a word was spoken between the three. The passage made, the -consequential-appearing man turned from the bench and sauntered on. - -Dropping from his perch and keeping his eye on this person, Patsy -followed him down, keeping in his own aisle. - -As the end was reached, Patsy hurried forward, and, getting close to -this person, kept him in sight until he met an acquaintance. - -“Who is that person?” asked Patsy, pointing out the man he had been -following. - -“Don’t know,” replied the one he accosted. “There’s Herrick over there. -He knows everybody, and if you want to know badly I’ll find out for -you.” - -“Do,” said Patsy. “And hurry!” - -Patsy’s acquaintance hurried off and came back in a moment, saying: - -“The man’s name is Eric Masson.” - -Though Patsy was rather expecting that reply, yet when he received it, -it was with a sort of a shock. - -However, firmly fixing in his memory the features of the man Masson by a -close inspection of them, he hurried back to the part of the building -where he had left the attendants. - -They were still in the places where they had stood when Masson came to -them and passed to them the mysterious something. - -He made a wide circle so that he could come in front of them to observe -their faces. - -Then he worked up to them gradually, using the passing people skillfully -as a screen for himself. - -Thus he obtained an excellent view of their faces, and it seemed to him -that he recognized one of them, but it was difficult for him to fix it. - -He was about to turn away, in an effort to learn who they were, how and -under what circumstances they had obtained employment there, when he saw -Masson again approaching. - -This time he seemed to be stopping for an instant before each of the -dogs, but yet steadily edging along to where the two men stood. - -Patsy took a chance and moved closer, concealed only by a lady and -gentleman, whose next movements might disclose him to the very persons -of whom he was trying to keep out of sight. - -Finally Masson reached the spot where the two men were standing. - -“This dog is not a prize winner,” he said, to the one nearest him, who -proved to be the one whose features were somewhat familiar to Patsy. - -“No; he didn’t win anything,” replied the man. - -Then, in a lower tone of voice, Masson said: - -“I want to see you.” - -“When?” replied the attendant, in the same tone. - -“Right away.” - -“Where?” - -“Follow me out and to a place I shall go to.” - -“Say, boss,” replied the other, “if we skip the place now we lose our -bones for the four days’ hustle.” - -“Never mind that. I’ll make it good. You must get out to me. There’s -trouble.” - -“All right,” said the other, who had not yet spoken. “If you make good, -what you say goes. But it’s a ten-case note for each of us.” - -“All the same. Get off those clothes and get to me.” - -As the two made a movement as if to go away from the spot, Patsy fell -back to a point where he could observe without being seen. - -The two went off toward the rear of the hall, and Eric Masson sauntered -off toward the main entrance. - -There he took a stand as if he was merely watching the passing show. - -At once Patsy took in the situation. The men had gone to change their -clothes, and Masson was waiting for them to return. - -“I must follow them,” muttered Patsy. “To do so I must make a change, -and I’ve got to make it quick.” - -Near where he stood was a door which he thought led into the offices of -the kennel club. He dodged through it to find he was correct in his -surmise as well as to face the prominent banker. - -“What now, Patsy?” asked the banker. - -“Only a little makeup,” replied Patsy. “I think I’m on to something, and -am going to try it.” - -Much to the interest and amusement of the banker, he drew from his -pocket a wig, which he slipped on, and a false mustache, using some -color to change his face and eyebrows. - -“Oh, for another coat and hat!” cried Patsy, casting longing eyes on -those worn by the banker. - -“I’ll swap with you, Patsy,” cried the banker, laughing heartily, as he -threw off his coat. - -The exchange was quickly made, and as Patsy dashed out, the banker, -following, cried out: - -“I shan’t swap back, Patsy, because as it stands now I got the best of -the trade.” - -Patsy laughed, but made no reply. Hurrying out, he found Masson still in -the place where he left him. - -He passed close to him, and went into the hallway, standing just within -the gate, waiting until Masson appeared. - -As this person showed up, Patsy sauntered through the gate and down to -the outer doors. - -Looking back, he saw the two men, now in their street clothes, following -at a respectful distance. - -Patsy went out on the sidewalk. - -When Masson reached it, he turned toward Twenty-seventh Street and -rounded the corner. - -Patsy was close behind him. Walking at a brisk gait, which he quickened -to pass Masson, he saw that that person was going to Fourth Avenue. - -Nearing the corner of Fourth Avenue, Patsy put himself in concealment, -quite certain that he had not been observed by Masson or the two men. - -And from that point he saw Masson turn up Fourth Avenue, followed by the -two men. - -Now Patsy trailed in behind them. - -The way was up Fourth Avenue, only a few blocks, when Masson turned into -a saloon on the corner, making a signal for the two men to follow him. - -The young detective passed in close behind the two. - -A hasty glance about the room showed him that it was well thronged by -customers, something he had hoped for. - -It also showed him that a partition formed a small room in the corner on -the side on which was the bar. - -At the end of the bar, nearest this small room, was a large and rather -ornamental icebox. At the end of the box, furthest from the bar, and out -of sight of it, was a door leading into the hall by which the upper -floors of the house were reached. - -This door was open and swung back against the partition, leaving a space -behind it. - -Masson made his way through the customers to this small room, followed -by the two men. - -He ordered drinks for them, and when they had been served and paid for, -he closed the door, shutting himself up with them. - -Patsy slipped behind the hall door. He could hear nothing, however. - -By dint of climbing upon the door, resting a foot on the door-knob, he -brought his ear on a level with the top of the partition. - -The effort paid him. - -“There’s a lot of trouble,” said Masson’s voice, quickly recognized by -Patsy. “In the first place, Nick Carter has been put on the case.” - -“That’s bad,” said one of the others. - -“Why bad?” asked Masson. - -“Because he’s a wizard to get at the bottom of things.” - -“Well, it isn’t likely he’ll spend much time on this matter, for he’s -got something bigger on hand. But that isn’t what I am after just now. -Listen to me. - -“Nick Carter was put on the case. The woman has charged me with being at -the bottom of the thing. However, there was a change, and that gives me -a chance to do a thing I want to have done. - -“Nick Carter won’t pay much attention to this thing for a while.” - -“That’s where you’re off,” interrupted the voice Patsy had first heard. -“One of his best men was in the Garden this afternoon. He’s there now on -the snoop.” - -“You’re wrong, old man,” muttered Patsy to himself. “I’m here, on the -sneak.” - -“Who?” asked Masson, anxiously. - -“Patsy Murphy,” replied the other. “I dropped to him as soon as I saw -him.” - -“Are you sure?” asked Masson. - -“You bet he’s sure,” said the other. “He’s been through Patsy’s hands, -and he knows him.” - -“That’s so,” said the first one, “and he left his mark on me so he’d -know me again. I sneaked when I saw him.” - -“Well, if that’s so,” said Masson, “it makes it all the more necessary -that the thing moves as I have planned. - -“This woman’s sister was killed last night.” - -“No; the woman herself,” said one of the voices. - -“Don’t contradict me,” said Masson. “It was the woman’s sister. I’ve got -it straight. That may make some little trouble for me, but not much. It -will make more if they get onto the other job. - -“But I want you two out of the way to make sure that they don’t get on. -Take a trip to Chicago, St. Louis, or the devil, for four or five weeks. -I’ll pay for it. - -“Now, then, you see what I mean. Will you get out right away? I’ll stake -you well.” - -“I’m game to go on the next train,” said one of the two. - -“I ain’t so ready to go,” said the other, “but if it cuts any ice I’ll -do it.” - -“Well,” said Masson, “it will cut a good deal of ice with me. I can’t -afford to take any chances now. I wish now that I’d never gone into the -job, seeing what turn things have taken. - -“But the thing is, are you ready to go?” - -“Yes.” - -“When will you go? To-night?” - -“Yes.” - -“Where to?” - -“Chicago, if you say so.” - -“Well, I do. It is now near five o’clock. Meet me at half-past seven at -the Forty-second Street Station, and I’ll hand you the tickets and the -stake. Is that settled?” - -There was a movement of chairs as if the three men were rising, and -Patsy slipped down from his perch and from behind the door. - -He was out in the saloon in a position to see them when they came from -the room. - -“I needn’t worry about Masson,” said Patsy to himself. “He can be picked -up at the station. I’ll follow the others to find out who they are.” - -His chase after these two was not a long one, though it did carry him to -the Bowery, to which place the two hurried. - -The two toughs, for such, indeed, they were, reaching that famous -thoroughfare, quickly made for a saloon which was well known to Patsy -through frequent visits to it in the way of business. - -So skillfully had his shadow work been done that neither of the two -toughs had even seen him. - -Entering this place close behind them, Patsy was surprised and not -gratified to see within it an old acquaintance, Bally Morris. - -But what had rather annoyed him he quickly saw was likely to turn out to -his advantage. - -No sooner had this Bally Morris seen the two Patsy was following enter, -than he went up to them and began a quarrel with them, charging them -with having gone back on him in some matter. - -It was clear to Patsy that the two had no wish for a quarrel at the -time, and he saw them get out of the place as soon as they could. - -And he changed his tactics at once. Slipping out, he tore off his beard -and false mustache, letting the two go where they would, believing that -he would get trace of them at half-past seven at the Grand Central -Station. - -Having got into his own proper person, he went back into the saloon to -find Bally Morris. - -That amiable young person recognized Patsy at once, and was not, -apparently, anxious to see the young detective. - -“Oh, ho,” thought Patsy. “He’s afraid of me. He’s been up to something -and thinks I am on.” - -Asking Morris to take a drink with him, he said: - -“Who were the two guys you were wanting to scrap wid, Bally?” - -“I don’t know who dey is. I hed a muss wid ’em las’ night to a rag -spiel.” - -“Oh, come off, Bally. Don’t play me dat way. Gimme it straight.” - -“Honest, I don’t.” - -“Say, Bally, you couldn’t be honest if you tried. Well, I ain’t on to -anythin’ you’ve been doin’, but I want to know who dose fellers are, -see! If you don’t give it, why——” - -He stopped, looking Bally in the face, steadily and threateningly. - -“Well,” at length said the East Side tough, “dey ain’t no fr’en’s of -mine. Dere names is Al Crummie and Bill Graff.” - -“Crooks?” - -“Well, dey ain’t straight goods.” - -“Where is dere hang-out?” - -“On de block below. What dey been doin’?” - -“Poisoning dogs, I guess.” - -Bally looked up at Patsy with a laugh, as if he did not believe him. - -“Dat’s all I know,” continued Patsy. “Up to the dog show. Dey was hired -there.” - -“Well,” said Bally, “de’re mean enough.” - -Patsy had now gotten all he wanted, and he hurried off to find Nick -Carter and to report. - - - - - CHAPTER XV. - CLOSER TO MASSON. - - -Chick was present when Patsy made his report of the afternoon’s work, -and listened with interest to the remarks Nick made on it. - -“Patsy has settled one end of the case in pretty short order,” said -Nick. “The dogs were poisoned by these two men, Crummie and Graff, who -were hired to do it by Masson. What further work there is to be done on -that line is only that of making the proof strong. Patsy’s work was -quickly done, and well done.” - -“I had a good deal of luck with me,” said Patsy, modestly, though much -pleased with the praise of his chief. - -“Luck, Patsy,” said Nick, “usually comes from the right use of your -head, and seizing hold of opportunities when they present themselves.” - -“Well, chief,” asked Chick, “how does this triumph of Patsy hitch on to -the murder end of the case?” - -“There is where the puzzle is,” remarked Nick, thoughtfully. - -“This morning,” said Chick, “we said that if we found that Masson was -not responsible for the death of the dogs it would go far toward putting -Masson out from under the suspicion of murder. Does it work the other -way when we find that he is responsible for the poisoning?” - -“I am afraid that is the way we figured this morning,” said Nick, with a -smile. “But after hearing Patsy’s report, I am even more puzzled as to -Masson. - -“If he was guilty of that murder, he is a cool-blooded wretch to talk of -it, as Patsy reports he did.” - -“Yes,” said Chick, “his nerve is great. It seems he knew it was not -Blanche, but Ethel Romney that was killed.” - -“Don’t forget, Chick, that at the time he was talking to these men all -the world knew. The evening papers by that time had corrected the error -of the morning.” - -“True enough,” said Chick, “I had forgotten that. So there is no point -in that.” - -“But, chief,” cried Patsy, “what are we to do about the lads that are -going to Chicago to-night?” - -“Let them go,” replied Nick, quietly. - -“Let them go?” repeated Chick and Patsy in the same breath. - -“Yes; it will be easy enough to get them when we want them. The chief -thing is that I want Masson to think that he is right; that we are not -paying any attention to the dog end of the case; and, to convince him, -if we can, by our action that we have no suspicion as to him as the -murderer.” - -“And then?” asked Chick, who was at a loss to follow his chief, who was -laying out a plan so different from his usual course. - -“Then I shall have every step he takes shadowed and every move he makes -watched.” - -“And yet you do not believe that Masson killed Ethel Romney?” - -“It will not do to say that, Chick. I have told you that I am more -puzzled over this case than any I ever had to do with. I will admit to -you that, starting with the suspicions of Mrs. Constant, and her -reasons, all the indications are just as she suggests—that Ethel Romney -was killed by Eric Masson, supposing her to be Blanche Constant. But -when it is all done, I cannot make up my mind that he did do it. - -“Now, I propose to settle that question beyond dispute.” - -“Patsy,” said Chick, suddenly, “what sort of looking man is Eric -Masson?” - -“About your height,” said Patsy, “brown beard and hair, straight nose, -pretty high, eyes close together, so dark as to look black, set well -back in his head, dresses very swell.” - -“Good!” exclaimed Chick. “Now, chief, a man of exactly that description -appeared in front of that dressmaker’s place in Sixth Avenue, to which -Ethel Romney went, just after Ethel was there the first time, and hung -around there so long that three people had their attention attracted to -him. - -“One of them saw the carriage drive up a second time, saw the lady it -carried get out a second time, saw this man dart out of an adjoining -doorway and follow her as she passed through into the place, speak to -her, come out again and get into that carriage. - -“This same person saw the lady come out and attempt to enter the -carriage, heard a little cry from her as she stepped in, and saw the man -hurriedly close the door of the coach. - -“There is something for you to crack, chief.” - -“That is what you picked up this afternoon when you left me?” calmly -asked Nick. - -“Yes.” - -“It confirms the stories of both Moran and Rawson. It makes the -indications point all the stronger toward Masson. - -“Now, I’ll give you something stronger than that. Ten minutes after -Ethel Romney drove away from home, Eric Masson called at the Constant -residence, asking to see Mrs. Constant. - -“The servant who opened the door told him the lady had just driven away -in her carriage. - -“The servant supposed she was telling the truth, for she had mistaken -Ethel for Mrs. Constant. In response to the question as to whether Mrs. -Constant had gone out for the evening, the servant replied she thought -not, as she had heard Mrs. Constant was going to her dressmaker.” - -“Knowing all this you still have doubts, chief?” asked Chick. - -“Patsy,” asked Nick, “does Eric Masson walk with a hitch or a jerk to -his right shoulder?” - -“I saw nothing of it?” replied the lad. - -“Chick,” said Nick, “Masson was in his club from six o’clock in the -evening until ten at night. Three men stand to swear to it.” - -“What time did Ethel Romney leave her home last night?” asked Chick. - -“About eight o’clock.” - -“It’s a puzzle; more puzzling the deeper you get into it,” said Chick. -“If these three men stand firm, Masson can prove an alibi, if charged.” - -“Chick, one man stands ready to swear that he saw Eric Masson in -Fifty-eighth Street at nine o’clock, for he had just looked at his watch -as he saluted Masson. - -“Another stands ready to swear that he met and spoke to Eric Masson at -about half-past nine, at the corner of Fifty-seventh Street and Fifth -Avenue.” - -“And this is the result of your inquiries since I parted with you?” -asked Chick. - -“You think that instead of clearing things they are worse muddled.” - -“It would look that way.” - -“Well, you’re right. I can’t even imagine an explanation of these -contradictions.” - -Further conversation on this line was interrupted by the coming of Mrs. -Carter, who had been spending the afternoon with Blanche Constant. - -She was quite excited, saying: - -“It has been a distressing afternoon. Blanche’s grief is almost robbing -her of her senses. She blames herself so much that she did not guard -Ethel against the dangers she was exposed to.” - -Turning suddenly to her husband, she said: - -“Nick, how is it that you can doubt for a moment that Masson is the man -that murdered Ethel, thinking she was Blanche?” - -Chick was about to speak, but Nick checked him, saying: - -“Edith, you know, I usually want proof before I believe a man guilty.” -Continuing, he said: - -“When, having been rejected, Masson learns that Blanche Romney was about -to marry Albert Constant, he tells her it will be well neither for -herself nor for Constant if she does. It was not nice or manly, yet -there is nothing in that to justify a belief in murder.” - -“But——” - -“Blanche thinks he injured her husband. That is only suspicion. She -hints at foul play in Constant’s death, but it is based only on the fact -that Masson dined at the same table. At the very best, it is only -suspicion. - -“She thinks that Masson killed her dogs, but she has no proof. It is -only suspicion.” - -Patsy looked up in great surprise at Nick when he said the last words. -Then he saw that Nick had a purpose in the way he was replying to Edith. - -“Well, it is not suspicion when he entices Blanche into an empty house, -where he is alone, is it?” cried Edith, quite heatedly. - -“What is that you are saying?” asked Nick. - -“I didn’t mean to speak of it,” said Edith, “for Blanche is so afraid of -the scandal of it. But the grass was hardly green over the grave of her -husband when Masson renewed his attentions to Blanche. That was bad -enough in itself. - -“She drove him away angrily, and yet he persisted in writing to her -until she returned his letters unopened. - -“Then one day, having by some means learned that Blanche was befriending -a poor family, he enticed her to go to see that poor family at a certain -house. - -“When she entered the house the poor family was not there, but Masson -was, and he was alone. - -“Then he told her that she was compromised by entering that house, for -every one in the neighborhood knew that a bachelor lived there, and had -seen her enter. - -“Blanche only got out of the house by drawing her revolver and fighting -her way out. - -“One day, when Blanche was giving a reception, for which she had issued -cards, five or six most notorious women entered, having received cards, -to scandalize her, and one acknowledged that she had been hired by -Masson to go there. - -“Then, when Blanche sent for him and threatened him with arrest and -prosecution if he continued the persecutions, he declared that he would -continue them until she married him; that if she wanted to live it could -only be as his wife——” - -“Now,” said Nick, springing to his feet, “we have something substantial -to go upon. I knew there was something back of all this indefinite -suspicion of Mrs. Constant. - -“It required Edith’s sympathy to get it out. - -“What an infernal scoundrel the fellow is! - -“What is true,” he continued, “is that we have for the first time -knowledge of a threat on the part of Masson to kill Mrs. Constant. - -“That becomes serious. Now we have a new motive for work. - -“Patsy, you must be at the Grand Central Station to see your friends, -Crummie and Graff, off to Chicago. Let them go, thinking that nobody -suspects them. - -“Then take up Masson’s shadow. That is to be your work for the present. - -“In the meantime, I am growing alarmed about Ida. She was to wire me -before this from Philadelphia.” - -“Don’t worry, chief,” said Chick. “Ida knows how to take care of -herself. If she has not wired you, it is because she means to turn up -from that city this evening.” - -“I hope so,” said Nick, uneasily. - -Then the four went to dinner. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI. - IDA IN TROUBLE. - - -When Patsy set out to be present at the departure for Chicago of his two -new acquaintances, Crummie and Graff, Nick and Chick accompanied him to -the station, in order that they might become familiar with the -appearance of Masson. - -Under Edith’s recital of the tale told her by Blanche Constant of -Masson’s persecutions, the latter person had assumed a new importance in -Nick’s eye. - -Arriving at the station, Patsy quickly espied the two East Side toughs. - -They were roaming about the large room, evidently looking for some one, -and not finding him. - -“It begins to look,” said Patsy, “as if Masson had thrown ’em down.” - -“Yet,” said Nick, “when you heard him talking to them, he seemed to be -most anxious to have them get out of town, didn’t he?” - -“Yes,” replied Patsy. “It was his idea. He proposed it to them.” - -“There may have been a new turn in the game,” said Nick. - -He had hardly said this when a man stepped out from a group of persons -and walked over to the two, speaking to them. - -Surprise was plainly shown on the faces of the two toughs when they were -addressed, but the expression quickly changed to one of recognition. - -This man was about the height of Chick, but he was smooth-shaven. - -The three detectives, moving up more closely, saw this smooth-shaven -stranger hand a small envelope to one of the two. Then he took from his -pocket two small packages, handing one to each. - -Patsy, who had edged away, so that he could get a clear view of the -stranger’s face, came back to Nick, saying: - -“Great Scott! The fellow has given himself a clean shave.” - -“Shaved off his whiskers and mustache?” asked Nick. - -“Sure,” said Patsy. - -Nick made no reply, but Chick said: - -“If the fellow looked no better before than he does after shaving, I -pity him.” - -“He looks a lot worse,” said Patsy. - -Chick laughed, and Nick remarked: - -“He is a foolish man.” - -The doors leading to the train shed were now thrown open, and the -gatemen began to call the train. - -The two toughs shook hands with Masson and passed through the gate, on -their way to the train they were to take. - -Masson turned to go to the exit to the street, and in doing so passed -close to the three detectives, apparently without recognizing them. If -he did, he made no sign of it. - -He had gone but a few steps beyond this little group of detectives when -he encountered a party of travelers, consisting of two ladies and two -gentlemen. To this party he lifted his hat. - -All of the four looked with some surprise upon him, and then one of the -gentlemen broke into a laugh, saying: - -“Why, you have made an astonishing change in your appearance, Masson.” - -“Yes,” replied Masson, fully at ease. “And not for the better, I -imagine.” - -To this remark no one made reply, but the other gentleman said, lightly: - -“It was a reckless thing to do—making such a complete change.” - -“It was forced on me,” said Masson. “A fellow that looks like me has -been going about town representing himself to be me, and causing me a -good deal of trouble. The only way in which I could stop him was to -destroy the resemblance.” - -“Perhaps he will shave, too,” said one of the ladies. - -“But he will not restore the resemblance,” replied Masson. “It was the -whiskers that did the trick.” - -Their conversation was changed with this, and Nick said to his -companion: - -“Was that said by Masson for our benefit, think you?” - -“It sounded like a throw off,” said Chick. - -The three detectives passed out of the building, and stood on the -sidewalk in front of the main doors, waiting for Masson to make his -appearance. - -“You must follow Masson when he shows up, Patsy,” said Nick. - -Patsy moved away, to be prepared for this duty, and Chick said: - -“If Masson’s words were not intended for us, then they were important in -showing that there is another man on the carpet who might be confused -with him.” - -“And,” added Nick, “it would afford an explanation of the contradictions -that now bother us.” - -At this moment Masson came through the door and walked briskly up -Forty-second Street, Patsy following. - -Nick made a signal to Chick, and started after. - -Thus Masson was followed to Fifth Avenue, when he turned to the south, -going down that avenue, to all appearance unconscious that he was -followed. - -At Thirty-seventh Street Nick stopped, Chick halting with him. - -“I have followed as far as I want,” said Nick. “I wanted to see whether -he walked with a hitch or jerk of his shoulders.” - -“Did you notice it?” asked Chick. - -“No,” said Nick. “I noticed nothing in the man’s habits of movement that -indicated it.” - -The two now turned to the west, leaving Patsy to continue his shadow of -Masson alone. - -This shadow led to a club some distance down Fifth Avenue, in front of -which stood two men, one of whom respectfully saluted Masson as he came -up. - -Masson walked directly to the man, and said, abruptly: - -“There will be nothing doing, Denton, until to-morrow night. Then I want -steam up and everything ready for a three or four weeks’ cruise. I want -the launch to be at the old pier as early as eight o’clock, although I -may not be there to meet it until ten. - -“Now, Denton, I want no mistakes. The same men manning the launch that -we have had before. I want the crew off the deck when I go aboard. You -alone are to have the watch from nine to twelve. - -“I shall be here at the club until midnight. After that I shall be at -home until to-morrow. You can reach me any time to-morrow here at the -club if you have need to.” - -Masson was about to go into the clubhouse, and the two men to whom he -was talking had moved off a short distance, when a third man came -running up, saying: - -“There is a mistake, Mr. Masson. The funeral does not take place -to-morrow, but the day after.” - -“Are you sure,” asked Masson. - -“Sure. I got it from the undertaker in charge.” - -Masson hurriedly called the two men back, and said to them: - -“Wait! There may be a change of orders.” - -Turning to the third man who had come up, he asked: - -“What are the arrangements?” - -“The funeral is at eleven, and the burial will be at Greenwood as soon -thereafter as it can take place.” - -“Hum!” exclaimed Masson, thoughtfully. “Day after to-morrow then. That -changes all arrangements.” - -He walked off to the two men who had come back and were patiently -waiting for him to speak. To them he said: - -“The orders I gave you are all off. Come to me to-morrow here for -further orders. In the meantime, you can continue preparations for a -long cruise. That’s all for the present.” - -The two men went away, and Masson, taking the other by the arm, led him -into the house. - -Patsy had overheard the whole of this conversation by slipping out into -the middle of the street, behind the four persons and climbing into a -cab standing empty before the door. - -When all had disappeared, he crawled out again and crossed to the other -side of the street. - -“Now, what does all that mean?” said Patsy to himself. “The first two -men were from his yacht. That’s clear. And Masson is going on a long -cruise. That’s clear, too. But who was the other man, and what’s that -about a funeral?” - -He stood thinking a little while, and then suddenly exclaimed: - -“Gee! what if it’s the funeral of that Miss Romney? Well, I’ll shadow -him for a while if he comes out, for Masson’s going to stay in the -club.” - -Shortly after the man who had entered with Masson came out, and -leisurely walked off into the direction of Broadway, closely followed by -Patsy. It soon became apparent that he had no particular business on -hand, nor any special place to go to, but was lounging from saloon to -saloon. - -“It’s eating up time for nothing following this chap,” said Patsy, to -himself. “I’ll give him the drop, and start after the chief to find -him.” - -Acting upon this thought, Patsy hurried to his chief’s residence, to -find that Nick had just come in with Chick. - -He reported the conversation between Masson and the three men that he -had overheard, to the great interest of the two elder detectives. - -When he was through, Nick said: - -“Masson has shipped off to Chicago the two men who were his instruments -in the dog poisoning affair. Now he is going away for a long cruise -himself.” - -“But, chief,” said Chick, eagerly; “how about that funeral? His going -away seems to be tied up with that.” - -“I was coming to that,” said Nick, “and it is the most important thing. -The undertaker, having been given full charge, had appointed to-morrow -as the day of the funeral, but Mrs. Constant, having learned this, -postponed the funeral another day, on the ground that it seemed like -hurrying Ethel into the tomb to have the funeral so soon. - -“Now compare this fact with what Patsy overheard between Masson and that -third man who came up, and we can conclude that the funeral Masson is -interested in is that of Ethel Romney. - -“It appears, then, that Masson is determined to begin his cruise on the -day of that funeral. Why?” - -“It is very strange,” said Chick, “and I take it we will have to find -that out. It can’t be, chief, that it is to be explained on the simple -ground that Masson wishes to attend that funeral?” - -“Dismiss that idea, Chick,” said Nick. “Masson will not attend in any -event. No, we must look deeper than that for an explanation.” - -The three were silent a moment, each busy with his own thoughts, when -Nick said: - -“This calls for action. We may be forced to show our hands before we are -quite ready.” - -“We can hardly let Masson go out of sight,” said Chick. - -“And yet,” said Nick, “we have not enough basis on which to detain him. -We have got to meet this another way. - -“The name of his yacht is the _Derelict_. When he is not aboard, it lies -in the East River, off Twenty-third Street. Patsy, there is some work -for you to do.” - -The famous detective got up from his chair, and began pacing up and down -the apartment, keeping it up for a long time. When he stopped he dropped -again into his chair, and said: - -“I am satisfied that this move of Masson’s bears some relation to the -case we have in hand. What, I am not able to figure out. But we must get -‘onto’ it, to use Patsy’s words, and Patsy, you must be the one to get -‘onto’ it.” - -“All right, chief,” said Patsy. “But you must tell me how.” - -“Didn’t you tell me once that some summers ago you were on a yacht as a -steward for a little while?” - -“Yes.” - -“Well, I think you will have to try and hire out as a steward on the -_Derelict_.” - -Patsy laughed, and replied: - -“Or as an able seaman?” - -“Any way, so long as you get aboard,” said Nick. “That’s the most -important thing we have to do at present. And you haven’t much time to -do it in, either.” - -“And it isn’t an easy thing to do,” said Patsy; “but I’ll start the ball -rolling to-night.” - -The little clock on the mantel of the room struck the hour of ten, and -Chick said: - -“If you are going to start the ball to-night, you’ll have to start it -very soon, for it’s ten o’clock now.” - -At that moment the servant entered the room with a telegram, which she -handed to Chick. - -Tearing off the envelope and opening the folded paper within, Chick read -aloud: - -“‘Am in trouble.’” - -Chick hastily glanced at the top of the dispatch, and exclaimed: - -“Philadelphia! The deuce! It’s from Ida.” - -“How do you know?” asked Patsy. “Is it signed by her?” - -“There’s no signature,” said Chick. “But I know it’s from her.” - -Nick was already on his feet, and he said: - -“And she wants help or she never would have sent the message. Chick, you -and I start for Philadelphia now. We have just got time to catch the -next train that leaves for that city.” - -“Do I go, too?” asked Patsy. - -“No,” said Nick. “We leave you in charge of the case. Get on to that -yacht if you can. I fancy that that’s where the work must be done. We -can’t tell how long Chick and I will be away. But, if anything important -turns up, wire me to the old place in Philadelphia. - -“Now, Chick, we must be off.” - -Nick and Chick hurried away, and Patsy went off to start his own -difficult work. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII. - A NEW SIDE. - - -Ida met with an experience unusual to her on her trip to Philadelphia. - -While riding on the cars she perceived that a man and woman, -fellow-passengers, were eying her with no little curiosity. - -What had attracted their attention she was at a loss to know, and for a -time it irritated her. - -But, turning to the window, she, by interesting herself in a magazine, -tried to forget it. - -And, becoming interested in her story, she did forget it, and was only -started from her interest by seeing a man seat himself in the chair next -to her. - -For a time she paid no attention to this person, except to observe that -he was a man apparently of thirty-five, wearing a closely-clipped brown -beard and brown mustache, his hair cut very short. - -Her book slipping from her lap gave this man the opportunity for which -evidently he had been looking. - -Picking it up, he returned it to Ida, receiving her thanks for his -courtesy, and then attempted to enter into conversation with her. - -However, making no reply to his remarks, when he persisted she swung her -chair about so that she presented her back to the man. - -She was aware that the man was angry, but she gave little heed to that, -merely turning to satisfy herself that the man was not the one who, with -the lady, had a little time before annoyed her by their close -watchfulness of her. - -She had not sat in this position but a little time, when the lady before -mentioned arose from her seat, and crossing the car, sat down in the -empty seat which Ida was now facing. - -“Pardon me,” said the lady; “I take this seat and speak to you for two -reasons. One is rather a kindly one, and the other wholly selfish and -curious. - -“I perceive that you are being annoyed by the man on the other side of -you. I saw that by sitting beside you and talking with you I could put -an end to his annoyances.” - -This the lady said in a low tone that could not be heard by the man at -the back of Ida. - -When Ida had thanked her for the interference the lady went on, but now -in a much louder voice. - -“My selfish and curious reason is one not so helpful, but I hope you -won’t think it impertinent. - -“My husband has recognized you as the celebrated Ida, the aid of the -famous Nick Carter, of whose exploits I have frequently read. - -“I have long admired you, wondering how a woman could do such brave -things as I have known you to do. So I wanted to know and talk with -you.” - -Though much annoyed at thus having her identity revealed in a public -place, Ida could not refrain from meeting the lady pleasantly, for in -the lady’s speech and manner there was, after all, much that was -complimentary. - -Yet it was an uncommon experience for Ida. She knew that Nick, Chick and -Patsy were subject to such happenings, and were often compelled to -resort to disguises to prevent accidental recognitions. - -She did not care to be so conspicuous as recognition made her, but a -moment’s thought told her that, after all, no great harm was done, since -her mission to Philadelphia could hardly be called a secret one; that -is, secrecy was not required in doing her work. - -But, what gave her the most annoyance was that she was conscious that -the man on the other side of her had heard the lady, had started into -unusual interest, showing a little agitation and had swung his chair -around so as to bring his ears nearer to the two. - -However, he soon got up, going to the other end of the car. - -After this the lady and Ida chatted pleasantly until the train drew into -the great station in Philadelphia, when the lady rejoined her husband, -and Ida left the car. - -The first thing that Ida did on reaching the street was at once to set -out for the house in which the family of Blanche Constant and Ethel -Romney lived. - -As she passed the City Hall she saw, standing on the lower step of the -main entrance, looking at her intently, the man who had attempted to get -her into conversation on the cars. - -Making no sign, and thinking that it was an accident, Ida hurried along, -keeping a sharp lookout behind her. It seemed to her that the man was -following her at a distance. - -And when she reached the street, where she was to take the street car, -she thought that she saw the man concealing himself in a neighboring -doorway. - -Of this she could not be certain, but, when mounting the car, which was -a good deal crowded, she had the uncomfortable feeling that the man was -on the same car. - -“All this may be accidental,” said Ida to herself, “but I don’t think it -is.” - -Arriving at her destination she left the car hastily, and, reaching the -curbstone, turned to watch the people descending from it. - -The man who had seemed to follow her was not among those who got off at -the corner, but, as she watched the car roll up the street, a man -dropped off about midway of the block above, and Ida thought it was the -man in question. - -This man hurriedly walked up the block in the same direction the car was -going, and disappeared around the same corner. - -Ida now looked at her memoranda, and found that the house occupied by -the family of the murdered girl was in the street on the corner of which -she was standing. It was not her intention to visit this house, but she -had intended to inspect it from the outside. - -It was clear that the houses of that neighborhood were not occupied by -the wealthier residents of Philadelphia, but it was also clear that it -was a thrifty neighborhood, and that the people living there were at -least in comfortable circumstances. - -Most of the people whose names Nick had put down on the list he had -given her lived thereabouts. - -One, however, was a detective friend of Nick’s, who, Nick said, would -give Ida such assistance as she might need were she to require it. - -Ida, however, had determined that she would not call upon this detective -unless she were compelled to, by failing to secure what she was after in -applying to the other people. - -Having observed the house, Ida passed on, intending to call on a woman -living on the block below, whose name had been given her by Nick. - -As she reached the next corner, to her surprise, as well as to the -surprise of the other, she came face to face with the man who had -annoyed her previously, and who had just turned the corner. - -In his surprise and embarrassment the man lifted his hat and went on. - -Ida continued her way, a good deal troubled by the encounter. - -Her call on the lady in question resulted in a success that she could -not have hoped for. - -In fact, she secured information which was complete, and was only -confirmed, not added to, by those whom she subsequently visited. - -And in this information were revelations of which Nick had not dreamed. - -From this woman, who was familiar with the history of the family, Ida -learned that Blanche and Ethel were twin daughters of an old actor and -actress; that the father had died when the girls were about twelve years -of age, and that the mother, after continuing on the stage for some two -years thereafter, had married again and left the stage. - -The man she had married was a superior mechanic, who had invested his -savings in the purchase of a saloon, which quickly became a sporting -haunt; he was a widower, with a son aged about eighteen years at the -time of his father’s marriage. - -When his father engaged in the liquor business he had taken the son into -the store, who, under the influences, grew to be rather sporty in his -tastes and practices. - -As the two girls developed they did not get along well with their -stepfather, and Blanche, the more spirited of the two, left her home -when eighteen to become an actress. - -Ethel, however, who had neither a taste nor an aptitude for the stage, -remained at home, enduring an unpleasant life. - -After Blanche had made what was considered to be a wealthy marriage, the -conditions at the Romney home were utterly changed. - -George Macrane, the stepbrother, under the suggestion of Donald, his -father, became a suitor for the hand of Ethel. - -There seemed to be an idea on the part of the father and son that a good -deal of money must come from Blanche to Ethel, and that the husband of -Ethel must benefit by it. - -Ethel, from the first, had resisted these efforts, and was compelled to -fight the battle almost alone. - -Her mother was evidently a weak woman, completely under the rule of her -husband, and joined her husband and his son in their effort to force -upon the girl the unwelcome suit. - -The girl Ethel had shown more spirit in this resistance than she had -displayed in all her life before. It became persecution, for her life -was made miserable during the four years that it lasted. - -All sorts of annoyances were put upon her. She was not permitted to go -out, or to receive company, and, if she talked with any one, especially -a man, a great row was made with her. - -As the time went on these persecutions were increased. - -Finally the girl Ethel, in her distress, had carried her troubles to the -lady talking to Ida. - -This lady had advised Ethel to tell all her troubles to her sister -Blanche, something which Ethel had not done, because of the urgency of -her mother not to trouble Blanche with the family affairs. - -At length the matter had become so bad that Ethel had permitted Blanche -to know how unpleasant was her life at home, with the result that -Blanche had insisted that Ethel should come to live with her. - -The decision to do so had been met by a terrible row at home, and was -only accomplished by Blanche coming over to Philadelphia and actually -carrying Ethel off in spite of the opposition of the stepfather and son, -which became so much of a quarrel that the elder Macrane, losing his -temper, attempted to strike Blanche, and was only prevented by the -interference of the mother and son. - -Blanche had carried Ethel off, but not until both father and son had -threatened that it would not end with that. - -Further inquiry on the part of Ida showed that the elder Macrane was a -man of almost ungovernable passion, while the son was in much better -control of himself, but was sullen, determined and vindictive. - -Ida left this lady intending to confirm this story by further inquiries, -and, indeed, did so in parts by three subsequent calls. - -She said to herself, that at the present rate of progress she was -making, she would be able to return so as to arrive in New York by -midnight at least. - -It was now just growing dark when she set out for the next name on the -list. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - IN DURANCE VILE. - - -Ida was led a little distance from the neighborhood in her next call, -and to a part of the city that differed in appearance from that in -which, up to this hour, she had spent her time. - -It was more sparsely settled, the houses further apart and the buildings -larger. - -As she reached the address of the person she was next to call on, she -was met by a rather rough-looking young man, who asked her who she was -looking for. - -Ida did not like the looks of the fellow, and, as she answered, her hand -stole to her pocket where her trusty revolver, which had served her well -in the past, safely lay. - -Having given the name of the person she wanted, the young tough told her -to enter the hall door, climb the stairs and knock at the first door she -came to. - -She entered the hall as directed, but found it wholly dark. - -Stopping a moment to strike a match, so as to see her way, the first -faint glimmering of the light showed her the forms of three men -crouching at the foot of the stairs. - -Instantly the match was knocked from her hand, and, in the intense -darkness that followed, she found herself seized both from before and -behind. - -Though she struggled, she was powerless in the grasps of the scoundrels. - -Then something was pulled over her head which seemed like a bag. -Naturally much frightened, nevertheless Ida did not lose her wits, and -keenly noted every move of the rascals who had seized her, carefully -watching for some sign of the brown-bearded man, whom she immediately -suspected of being at the bottom of the attack on her. - -She was now lifted from her feet and carried farther into the hall. Then -she was certain she was borne into the open air. Then again into a -narrow passage, up some stairs and into a room, where she was placed on -a chair. - -The men left her alone, but she could hear them close and bolt the door -behind them. - -All was as silent as the grave. Outside, from the distance, she could -hear dimly the roll of wheels and the noise of the trollies, but that -was all. - -She tried to tear off the covering that had been put on her head, and -found she had no difficulty in drawing it off. - -There was no light in the room save that which entered through the -windows from the street. - -It was little, but sufficient to see that the room she was in was barely -furnished. There was a table and two chairs. That was all. - -She went to a window and saw that it looked out on the street, but could -see no one there. - -She examined her pockets and her dress. There had been no attempt to -take anything from her. Her revolver still rested safely in her pocket. -She felt more secure when she found this had been left to her. - -She also drew from her pocket what she had forgotten she had—a blank -form for a telegram and the stump of a pencil. Her pocketbook was secure -also. - -Hearing a noise without the window she went to it again to see that a -young lad was crawling along the coping. - -Trying to throw up the sash, she found it was nailed fast. Winding her -handkerchief about her hand, so that it would not be cut, she broke a -pane of glass and thrust her head through it. - -The boy was startled and seemed as if he were going to crawl back. - -“Who are you?” asked Ida. - -“Did they lock youse up there?” asked the boy. - -“Yes; how did you know?” - -“I was on the stairs and seed ’em.” - -A thought occurred to Ida. She asked: - -“Will you do something for me?” - -“If I kin.” - -Ida took out her pocketbook, and, handing a bill to the lad, said: - -“Here’s a dollar. I want you to take a telegram for me. It will cost a -quarter. The rest of the money shall be yours. Will you take the paper -to the telegraph office?” - -“Sure. Where’s de paper?” - -“I’ll write it.” - -Ida hurried to the table and filled in the address of Chick, at Nick -Carter’s, in New York. Then she wrote these words: “Am in trouble.” - -She had only gotten so far when she heard quick steps in the hall -without, approaching her door. - -Without waiting further she rushed to the window and thrust the telegram -she had written out of the window to the boy, who snatched it and -crawled away in a hurry. - -Ida went back to the table, her hand on her revolver. - -The bolts were withdrawn and a man entered the room. - -At a glance Ida saw that he was disguised, and not skillfully at that. - -He crossed the room to where she was standing, the table between them, -and stood looking at her intently a moment or two. - -Ida returned his gaze. Neither spoke for a while. Then the man said: - -“You are Nick Carter’s Ida. What is your business here?” - -“I have none,” said Ida. “I was brought here against my will.” - -“I mean in Philadelphia.” - -“That is my business.” - -“Answer me, or it will be worse for you. You are here on the Ethel -Romney case.” - -“Suppose I am, what then?” asked Ida, boldly. - -“Well, you won’t do much locked up here, will you?” asked the man. - -“Oh, I don’t know,” replied Ida. “You can’t tell.” - -The man did not know what to make of that answer and did not reply for a -moment or two. Then he said, roughly: - -“Nick Carter thinks that the one who did the girl came here.” - -Ida made no reply, but she was thinking hard. - -“He’s wrong. It was a New York swell. You’re working on the wrong lay.” - -Still Ida made no reply. - -“Who does Nick Carter think did it?” - -Ida continued her silence. - -“What have you got onto since you’ve been here?” - -Ida did not answer that question. - -“Why don’t you answer?” said the man, roughly. “I’ll make you answer -mighty quick.” - -Still Ida did not speak. - -The man, losing his temper, attempted to reach her by passing around the -table, but Ida edged away until their positions were reversed, and she -stood where the man had, and the man was where she had stood. - -The door was open behind her. She made a dash for it. The man seemed -prepared for that, for he violently pushed the table aside and sprang -after her. - -Ida, drawing her revolver, whirled about, and, leveling her gun, called -out: - -“Don’t come. I’ll shoot!” - -The man laughed, sneeringly, and advanced. - -Ida fired. The ball carried high, knocking off his hat. But it halted -the scoundrel. - -Ida sprang through the door, dashed along the hall, finding the head of -the stairs and rushed down them. - -The man followed, shouting at the top of his voice, apparently calling -the name of some one. - -Descending the stairs Ida found an open door and rushed through it to -see that she was in a small yard. - -Hastily glancing about she saw a door in the fence. She sprang to this -and found it unlocked. In a moment she was in the street. - -But she was hardly through the gate than the man was upon her. - -Ida drew her revolver again, but this time, as she leveled it, it was -knocked from her hand by a man who had come from behind a tree. - -She was overpowered again. In the struggle she tore the disguise from -the man who had followed, and the hasty glimpse she had satisfied her -that he was the man who had accosted her on the cars—the brown-bearded -man. - -This time they tied a handkerchief over her eyes. - -“She’s the devil’s own,” said the voice which Ida thought was the voice -of the one from whom she had just escaped. - -“You say she belongs to Nick Carter?” said another voice. “So she is.” - -“She won’t get away this time,” replied the other. - -The two attempted to pick her up again. - -While her eyes were being bandaged, Ida had seemed to make no -resistance, but was busy in taking something from her pocket. - -But when the two lifted her up, she wriggled out of their grasp, sinking -to the pavement, where she tried to do something with her hand. - -The two pounced on her again, and this time lifted her clear from her -feet, and not gently, either. - -It did not appear that they carried her again through the gate by which -she had escaped, but up the street a short distance and into another -hallway. - -But she struggled with every step, throwing out her right arm and -bringing it into contact with everything she could strike. - -She did this so regularly that it seemed as if she had a purpose in it, -though what it was, was by no means clear. - -She was carried up a pair of stairs and put in a room again, and, as -before, seated in a chair. - -“There,” said a voice that she recognized as that of the brown-bearded -man, “I reckon you’ll stay here for a while.” - -Ida lifted her hands, which had been left free, and tore the bandage -from her eyes. - -She was not in the same room, and it was lighted so well that she could -see that she had made no mistake in supposing that one of the men was -the one who had traveled from New York at midday with her, and that the -other was the tough who had, in accosting her, induced her to enter the -dark hallway. - -She had not spoken a word. - -“She’s game,” said the tough. - -“I should say so,” replied the other. “But we’ll take some of the -gameness out of her before we get through with her.” - -The two withdrew, locking and bolting the doors behind them, leaving Ida -alone in the dark to think over her strange plight, and whether her -telegram would reach Chick, and, if it did, if Chick would find her. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX. - A DASHING RESCUE. - - -It was after midnight before Nick and Chick reached the streets of -Philadelphia. - -Before they drew into the station, Nick had said: - -“We’ll waste no time, but go directly to the neighborhood in which Ida -was to do her work.” - -“If it’s not in the main streets, the people will have been asleep these -two hours,” said Chick. - -“All the same,” said Nick, “if Ida is in trouble, as we believe, I don’t -know the girl if she won’t find some way of letting us know where she -is, if we get into our neighborhood.” - -So it was that when they left the station, they followed the route that -had been taken by her earlier in the afternoon, getting off the car at -exactly the same corner that she had done. - -Here Nick stopped a moment, to think of the memorandum he had given Ida -as his guide to their further movements. - -“Chief,” said Chick, “if we are now on the ground where Ida has been -working, we ought to be careful how we move around, for fear some one -will drop to us.” - -“You are right about that, Chick,” said Nick, leading the way down the -street—the same one Ida had gone. - -As he got opposite a house, about the middle of the block, he stopped -short, and said, in a low tone, to Chick: “That’s the house Ethel Romney -left to go to New York, where she met her death.” - -“The old home of Blanche Constant, then?” asked Chick. - -“Yes,” replied Nick. “I only know it by the fact that this is the street -and that is the number.” - -At that moment there was a noise, as if the door of the house was being -opened, made distinct by the silence which reigned in the street. - -The two detectives immediately slipped into concealment of the first -doorway, and watched. - -The man came out, carefully closing the door after him, and, coming down -the steps, stopped a moment on the sidewalk, where the light from the -arc lamp fell full on his face. - -“Brown-bearded and brown-haired,” remarked Nick, in a whisper. - -The man under watch finally turned and walked off toward the lower -corner. Chick slipped out and across the street, directly in his rear. -He did not attempt to follow the man, but watched him walk away. Then he -slipped back to Nick on his tiptoes, saying, eagerly: - -“By thunder, chief, that man walks with a hitch and jerk of his right -shoulder.” - -“I thought I saw that myself,” replied Nick. “Under other circumstances -we’d follow that man, but now our business is to find Ida.” - -As a matter of fact, they did follow the man, but only because their -ways were the same. - -At the corner below they saw this man pass through a door, which Nick -and Chick sized up to be the back door of a drinking saloon. - -They let him go, and Nick led the way to the house of the woman on whom -Ida had first called. - -This was not guesswork. He recalled that he had advised Ida to see that -woman immediately on arriving in Philadelphia. - -It was with some difficulty that the woman was aroused, and when she -was, her means of communication with them was through the window of her -bedroom. It did not take long for Nick to learn that Ida had called on -her, and that she did not know whither Ida had gone on leaving her. - -“The first point is made,” said Nick to Chick, “for we have found that -Ida reached here and began work. Now we will follow her up.” - -Taking a position under the arc light near by, Nick took from his pocket -some papers, and, after examining them, said: - -“I fancy we can travel Ida’s course pretty straight for a while. Come -along.” - -Thus, without delay, they called at each of the next three places Ida -had gone to, and in the order that she had, compelled in each instance -to arouse people from their beds to answer their questions. - -But at the end of this journey they were, to use the words of Chick, “up -against it.” - -What line Ida had traveled, and to what address she had gone, they had -no way of judging. - -Although Nick had given her the name of a person to call on, he was -unable to tell where that person lived, and had advised Ida that she -would have to find out on her arrival in the city. He could only tell -that it was in a certain neighborhood, information which he had obtained -from Blanche Constant after the murder. - -However, assuming that this was her next direction, they went thither in -what Chick felt to be a rather hopeless search. - -Reaching that part of the town, they traveled the streets in all -directions without hitting upon any indications of Ida’s tracks. - -Coming to one corner, which they had passed several times. Nick said: - -“Here’s a street that we have not been over yet; let’s try it.” - -“I am afraid,” said Chick, as he followed his chief down the street -indicated, “that we will find other streets that we will travel until -daylight.” - -He had hardly gotten the words out of his mouth than he stopped short -and dropped down on his knees, looking at something intently on the -pavement. - -Nick halted, looking with great interest at what his aid was doing. He -saw him take from his pocket a small lantern he always carried with him, -and turn the light on a particular spot of the pavement. - -“What is it, Chick?” said Nick. - -“Red chalk marks,” said Chick. - -“Signs?” asked Nick. - -“Not our signs,” said Chick, “though they seem to look as if there had -been an attempt to make one. But, chief, I’ll bet my life that this is -the same chalk we use.” - -Nick bent down over the spot, and saw that the pavement was made of red -brick; that it would have been difficult to have made one of the signs -that they used between them, and that in this case the marks only seemed -to have been hastily made without any form whatever. - -He stood up erect, looking at Chick. - -“Could those marks have been made by Ida?” asked Nick. - -“I am guessing that they were,” said Chick. “Anyhow, I gave Ida a piece -of that chalk, and told her she ought to always carry it with her, for -she could not know how useful it might become.” - -“Let’s look a little farther,” said Nick. - -“Wait a minute,” said Chick. “If any one comes, play drunk.” - -Backing up against a tree, Chick suddenly lifted that fine, manly voice -his friends knew he had, in a popular song of the day, that rang out on -the night air as clear as a bell. - -He had sung but a verse, when two men suddenly appeared at the corner -beyond them, say a hundred feet away, and Nick began to urge him to come -home and not make a holy show of himself in the street, saying that -they’d have the cops down on them if he didn’t stop it. - -He could hear one man say to the other that it was only a couple of -drunks, and saw them turn back and go out of sight. - -Chick sang another verse, and then both listened. - -There was an answer, indistinctly, yet clear enough for them to hear -every note. They heard the third verse of the song sung through. - -“Ida’s here,” said Chick. - -“Are you sure?” asked Nick. - -“Sure!” replied Chick. “I’d know her way of singing in the wilds of -Africa.” - -“Then you have found her,” said Nick. “And the next thing is to get to -her.” - -On looking up, he saw nearly opposite where the marks on the pavement -were, a door in the fence opposite to where they were standing. - -Both he and Chick carefully examined this door and the fence for further -marks without finding any. - -Then Nick followed up the pavement, until he came opposite the door of -the first house to be reached, and there beckoned to Chick, pointing -with as much excitement as the great detective ever showed, to long red -marks on the brickwork of the door. - -“That’s the house she is in,” said Chick. - -Nick tried the door, and found it was locked. It took him but a minute -to pick the lock, but this did not open the door, for it was soon -apparent that it was barred from within as well as bolted. - -Chick was preparing to put his strength against it, when Nick checked -him, and said: - -“Let’s try if there is an entrance from that yard.” - -Hurrying to the door in the fence and through it, they closed it after -them and began an examination of the yard in which they found -themselves. - -The brick wall of the house, on the door of which were the red marks, -made one side of the yard, and at the rear of this side was a door to -which they went. This door opened to them on the first trial, and -Chick’s lantern came into play again to show a hallway with stairs -leading up. - -They mounted these stairs revolvers in hand, and on reaching the -landing, found an open door opposite them. - -Turning into this room, the first thing that they saw was a large black -cloth bag on the floor, the next a woman’s handkerchief, which Chick -said belonged to Ida. - -It was the handkerchief which Ida had wound around her hand with which -to break the pane of glass, through which she had talked to the boy who -had helped her. - -A hasty examination of the adjoining rooms satisfied the two shrewd -detectives that the house was not occupied regularly. - -Out into the hall they went again, to follow it to an angle, where it -turned sharply to the rear, examining each door that they came to. - -Finally, at the extreme end of the hall, they found a door which was not -only bolted, but barred as well. Chick went to this door, and tapped on -it lightly, but in a peculiar manner. - -The signal was so light as to be almost unheard, but it was immediately -responded to. - -“She’s here,” said Chick. “Cover me while I take these fastenings off.” - -In a twinkling the bar was wrenched off and the bolts withdrawn and the -door flung open. - -Nick and Chick sprang through, with revolvers up and were met with a -merry laugh. - -“There’s no one to fight here but me,” said Ida. - -She soon satisfied the anxious inquiries of the two that she was -unharmed and uninjured in any way, and then Nick said: - -“Not another word now until we get Ida out of this place.” - -“Give me a gun,” said Ida. “I lost mine early in the evening.” - -Chick handed her one, saying that she’d find it a little heavier than -the one she was used to having. - -“Now,” said Nick, “I will lead, Ida follow and Chick behind. Come on.” - -They passed through the hall and to the stairs, and down them without -anybody interfering. But, as they reached the door, it was opened and a -man made his appearance. - -Ida immediately recognized him, even in the dim light, as the tough who -had misdirected her into the dark hallway where she had been seized. - -“That is one of them,” she said. - -The tough, with an oath, called on some one behind him and sprang at -Nick. - -Possibly if he had known the ready use the famous detective could make -of his fists, he would have thought twice over his action. - -As it was, he received a blow straight between the eyes which sent him -out of the door and on his back to the pavement. - -Nick sprang forward through the door at once to meet the second coming -up. He did not wait for any action on the part of that fellow, but sent -him to keep company with the other, who was endeavoring to get on his -feet. - -Chick caught Ida and swiftly carried her out of harm’s way, through the -door and into the street, through which now she had passed for the -second time that night. - -Nick followed them closely, and in a moment they were out on the corner. - -“Take notice of the place, Chick,” said Nick. “We may want to come back -here again.” - -The two rascals who had been so severely dealt with by Nick made no -attempt to follow them, and it was not long before they were in the -street where they could take the cars that would take them to the hotel -where they usually stopped when in that city. - -It was not until then that Ida told the story of her experience of the -night, and of the information she had gained. - -After he had listened to it intently, Nick said: - -“What you tell us puts an entirely new look upon our case. Chick has -picked up a point to add to it, and together they give us some work that -will keep us in Philadelphia to-morrow. That brown-bearded man has got -to be investigated.” - -“Yes,” said Chick, “and we have got to know where he spent the last -three days.” - -“But what was the meaning of their peculiar treatment of me?” asked Ida. - -“They meant to keep you a prisoner,” said Nick, “to prevent you from -doing work which they had already found was getting too close to them.” - -Nick got up from his chair, and turning to Chick, said: - -“Come, Chick, Ida wants rest after her rough experience, and you and I -have got to size up something. Come with me.” - - - - - CHAPTER XX. - PATSY’S TRIUMPH. - - -While these events were transpiring in Philadelphia Patsy was -endeavoring to set out as a yachtsman. - -Chick said that Patsy was like a cat, since he always fell on his feet, -no matter how you threw him. - -Leaving Nick and Chick starting for their Philadelphia trip, he wandered -over to Broadway and from caprice turned into the hotel café where he -had left the man who had brought to Masson the news of the change in the -arrangements for the funeral of Ethel Romney. - -Rather to his surprise than otherwise, he found this man drinking with -acquaintances. - -Among them was one with whom Patsy was slightly acquainted. - -This man knew Patsy had some connection with Nick Carter, but how much -he knew Patsy could not tell. - -As Patsy was standing near the bar, this man looked up and recognized -the lad. - -He arose from his seat and crossed to where Patsy was standing, -addressing the young detective rather familiarly. - -His purpose of rising appeared to be to light his cigar; but he said: - -“I want to shake that crowd. They drink too fast for me, and I don’t -like the gang.” - -The man who was in relations to Masson called out: - -“Are you going, Jensen? Well, don’t forget to send me a handy boy for -the cabin, as you promised.” - -“Who is that?” asked Patsy. - -“His name is Moore. He is a sort of a hanger-on of Masson, the broker. -Don’t know what, exactly. But does things for him.” - -“What does he want of a handy boy?” - -“Some one to go as a steward on Masson’s yacht.” - -“I wish you would get me the job.” - -“You?” - -The man called Jensen looked curiously at Patsy for a moment, and then -asked: - -“Do you mean it?” - -“Sure.” - -“You would take the place?” - -“Try me.” - -“By George! What a go. I’ll try it. Ever had any experience that way?” - -“I was on the _Gay Flirt_ one season.” - -“Good.” - -He called Moore aside and whispered to him a while. Moore came to Patsy, -saying in an off-hand way: - -“My friend backs you for the place. Wages twenty dollars a month and -board. Report on board the _Derelict_ off Twenty-third Street, at nine -to-morrow morning.” - -He handed Patsy a slip of paper, on which he had written some words, and -went back to his companions. - -Looking at it, Patsy saw it was an order to the chief steward to put him -to work. - -Hailing the man Jansen, Patsy prepared to leave, but Jansen followed him -out to say: - -“I’d give an old button to know your game. But I’ll wait to hear the -story until I meet you again.” - -Patsy went off with a laugh, and to bed. - -The next morning, promptly at nine, he reported on the _Derelict_, and -was promptly set at work. - -He was heartily sick of his job before the day was over, for it was hard -work he was at, with nothing occurring to relieve the monotony. - -About six o’clock in the evening the man he had seen the night before -waiting for Masson in front of the club house came aboard. - -Patsy soon learned that he was the sailing-master and he had not been on -board long before there were orders to pull up and steam down the river. - -The yacht was taken around Governor’s Island, into Gowanus Bay, and -brought to anchor not far from, but out of the track of boats of, the -Thirty-ninth Street Ferry. - -All things were settled for the night. - -The next morning there was much work done in preparation of sailing that -afternoon with the owner on board. - -Patsy kept a keen eye open for signs of the things Nick expected to -occur, for he felt that whatever did occur must happen before the yacht -set sail on its cruise. - -At twelve o’clock the man who had engaged him as steward the night -previous, Moore, appeared on board and entered at once into an earnest -talk with the sailing-master. - -What the subject of their talk was Patsy was unable to discover, -although he made all sorts of efforts to get within earshot. - -Whatever it was, was not to the liking of the sailing-master, for he -shook his head doubtfully over what Moore was saying. The other was -persistent. - -Finally, the sailing-master arose, saying in a tone easily heard by -Patsy: - -“Well, all right, I’ll do it. But I tell you, Moore, I don’t like it. -There will be trouble for some of us, if it keeps up.” - -“There’ll be no more,” said Moore. “The Mogul has his mind set on this -and——Well, if we don’t help in it, some one will be out of a job.” - -“And some of us take a chance of being in—somewhere else,” replied the -other, with a bitter laugh. - -As he turned away Moore detained him, and there was a further whispered -conversation, during which Patsy could see that they frequently looked -at him. - -Finally the sailing-master called him over and asked: - -“Do you know how to obey orders and keep your mouth shut and your eyes -closed for an extra wad?” - -“For that I do,” replied Patsy. - -“I size him up as right, Moore,” said the sailing-master. “Give him your -orders.” - -He walked away. - -“There’s something on this afternoon that’ll make dollars for you,” said -Moore. - -“All right,” said Patsy. - -“Well, then,” said Moore, “in twenty minutes you’ll go ashore and be -posted in a certain place, where you can see all around you. And there -you’ll stand. See?” - -Patsy nodded. - -“By and by, up on a hill that will be shown you, a man will wave a red -cloth. If there are no policemen in sight you will wave a white -handkerchief. If there are you’ll wave a green one. See?” - -“I see, all right.” - -“Then you’ll feet for the launch, and, getting aboard, shut your eyes. -See?” - -“All right.” - -“Then you’re game for it.” - -“Game for anything.” - -Moore went away, but was back again shortly, telling him to follow. - -A steam launch lay alongside, into which Moore dropped, telling Patsy to -follow. - -This launch ran off to a part of the beach rather out of sight and -retired. - -A broken-down wharf stretched out into the water, and the launch ran up -to it. - -At a signal Patsy went ashore. Four other men went ashore also, leaving -two men aboard, one at the wheel, and the engineer. - -Patsy noticed that none of the other men seemed to be of the yacht’s -crew. - -The six picked their way over the wharf or pierway and reached the land. - -It was a lonely spot, a large, unbroken waste, few houses or buildings -near. - -They all followed Moore for some three hundred yards, when he stopped, -saying to Patsy: - -“This is your post. Now keep your eyes open for policemen. Up on that -hill yonder the man will be with the red flag. If the way is clear and -nobody down there where we landed, wave this.” - -He handed Patsy a napkin. - -Moore took the other men away. Just then a bell tolled in the distance. - -“The devil!” exclaimed Patsy. “We’re not far from Greenwood Cemetery.” - -Then he said again: - -“And the funeral is to-day.” - -He sat down on a stone and did some thinking. - -The result of this was that he took off his coat, turned it inside out -and put it on again, looking as if he had another coat on. From his -pockets he drew a wig and put that on. He rolled up his cap and put on a -slouch hat. - -Then he stole up in the direction the others had gone. He passed the man -stationed on the hill unrecognized. - -Arriving at the avenue where the cars ran, he looked around for Moore. -By and by he saw him standing in front of a drinking saloon. - -He edged up close to him and saw he was anxiously waiting for some one. - -That some one appeared shortly in the person of Masson, from a carriage -which was driven up to the place. - -“Well?” said Masson. - -“It’s all right, so far,” replied Moore. - -“The funeral carriages will be along in a moment.” - -“Is the driver fixed?” asked Moore. - -“Yes; to be knocked off his box, and one of our men to take his place.” - -“Does she ride alone?” - -“No; hang it. There’s a woman with her.” - -Patsy went out and sat on the curbstone. Something—an outrage of some -kind—was on foot. - -A funeral procession came up—a small one. In the carriage immediately -behind the hearse were two women. One he recognized at once. - -It was Edith, Nick Carter’s wife. - -The other was Blanche Constant. He was sure of that from the description -he had had of her and a photograph he had seen. - -Something of the villainy on foot came to him. He hurried back to his -post and again became a steward of the _Derelict_. - -His wait was a long one. By and by he saw the red cloth waved by the man -on the hill. - -He gave the signal of the white cloth—indeed, gave it without care as to -whether or not there was any one near or not. - -A minute later a carriage came dashing over the hill. - -Four men sprang out, one seizing the horses, while one knocked the -driver from the box and climbed up himself. - -Two others climbed into the coach from either side. - -Then the coach made straight for the landing where the launch was. - -Patsy started on a run for the little pier, and at the land end waited, -well hidden. - -As the coach whirled up, he could see within it. - -Edith was there, and so was Blanche Constant, but both were unconscious. - -Masson and Moore were both there also. The two men—the signal man and -the one who had stopped the horses—were left behind. - -Masson had planned to seize Blanche Constant as she was returning from -the funeral of her sister and carry her off in his yacht. - -Edith had been with Blanche, contrary to expectation, and she had been -dosed to prevent her from interfering, but was to be sent back to the -city. - -Patsy’s plan was made in an instant—a plan to spoil the plan that had -been carefully laid. - -He waited until Masson got out of the coach and had lifted Blanche out. - -Then he sprang into full view, both revolvers leveled. - -“Hold!” he cried. “Put that lady down!” - -“What!” shouted Masson. “What the deuce! Moore, look to that fellow!” - -The driver made a movement as if to get off his box. - -“Jim Grady!” cried Patsy; “if you stir, I’ll put a ball into you and -pull you in beside for that job of two nights ago!” - -“Heavens!” cried the driver, “it’s Patsy Murphy!” - -He jumped from his box and ran like a deer. Meanwhile Masson was raving -like a madman, calling on Moore to shoot the young detective. - -Moore did start for Patsy, and with revolver in hand. - -Patsy was in no humor for fooling and, as Moore approached, he fired, -striking the scoundrel in the shoulder and sending him to the ground -with a groan. - -Masson, seeing his lieutenant down, dropped Blanche to the ground and -rushed like a maniac at Patsy, shouting for help. - -The engineer and the wheelman, hearing the shot and the cries of Masson, -climbed out of the launch and came rapidly over the rickety wharf. - -Patsy saw at a glance that he was likely to be attacked from behind, -and, taking deliberate aim, fired at Masson, hitting him in the upper -right arm. - -Yelling with pain and rage Masson dropped to the ground and Patsy, -whirling around, shouted to the two coming over the rickety pier: - -“Back, you curs! I’ll serve you as I have the others. I’m Patsy Murphy!” - -Whether they knew the name, or were satisfied that he would do what he -said he would, the fact is that they stopped, and at Patsy’s command -dropped to the pier. - -Dashing up to the carriage, Patsy picked up Mrs. Constant, put her in -the coach, and, springing on the box, whipped up the horses. - -He was not a minute too soon, for the signal man, the driver and the -other one were approaching as fast as they could run. - -Indeed, as Patsy drove toward them they made an effort to stop his way, -but Patsy, standing up in his box, fired his revolver, right and left, -in a way that made them believe that caution was the better part. - -So he dashed on toward the avenue. - -The shots had attracted attention, of course, and several policemen -came. - -“I’m Patsy Murphy, of Nick Carter’s staff of detectives,” cried Patsy. -“This is a case of abduction that I have spoiled. The ladies in the -coach are Mrs. Constant and Nick Carter’s wife. Seize those men of that -yacht lying out there.” - -But, looking out on the water, they could see the yacht was moving out -into the harbor under full steam. - -Patsy was disappointed, for he would have liked to arrest Masson, but he -had saved the women, and that was the important thing. - -He first drove them to a drug store, where they were quickly restored to -consciousness, and then to the city, having first engaged a driver at a -livery stable. - -Edith took Blanche home with her, and Patsy was a hero in the eyes of -both. But Patsy, getting home, was inconsolable that he had no -prisoners. - - - - - CHAPTER XXI. - THE MURDERER. - - -Events developed rapidly in Philadelphia while Patsy was having his -fight with Masson and defeating the abduction scheme. - -Before they had discussed Ida’s information long both Nick and Chick had -arrived at the same conclusion. - -They believed they had found the murderer in Philadelphia, and that -Nick’s instinct that Masson was not the person guilty of the murder of -Ethel Romney had been right from the first. - -“We must move without delay, Chick,” said Nick. “Our rescue of Ida will -inform this man that we are in town, and he will run.” - -“To make our conclusions a dead certainty,” said Chick, “we ought to -prove that George Macrane was in New York on the day of the murder.” - -“We’ll take the chances, and prove it afterward,” said Nick, grimly. -“Come.” - -“Where?” asked Chick. - -“To see the chief of police.” - -“At this hour? It is three in the morning.” - -“He’ll have to stand for it.” - -They went out and woke up the chief of police, who, understanding the -situation, summoned two officers, whom he put at the disposal of Nick. - -The four then set out for the house of Macrane, arriving there a little -after four in the morning. - -They approached the house cautiously, concealing themselves where they -could watch it. - -A light was burning in the third-story window, which Nick fancied was -the window of the room occupied by George Macrane. - -As they watched, two men came down the street, and, rapping at the door -of the Macrane house, asked for George. - -They were told that he had not yet returned home. - -Chick’s sharp eyes recognized one of these men as one of those that had -opposed their rescue of Ida. - -These two men sat down on the lower step of the Macrane house. - -“They mean to wait for George Macrane,” said Nick. - -They did not wait long, for in ten minutes’ time a man was seen -approaching from the opposite direction. - -The two men stood up to meet him. - -What they told him could not be heard by Nick and Chick, but it was -followed by a frightful explosion of oaths and curses from George -Macrane. - -So frantic, indeed, was this outburst, that Nick thought it proceeded -from a craven fear of the result. - -Touching Chick, and, bidding the officers to follow, Nick slipped across -the street, closely approaching the three men before they were seen. - -Laying his hand on the shoulder of Macrane, Nick said: - -“George Macrane, you are my prisoner. I want you for the murder of Ethel -Romney.” - -The shock was so sudden that Macrane dropped to the pavement in a heap. - -If the other two had been disposed to make a resistance they were too -much astonished at the charge made against their employer to offer any. - -They stared in open astonishment, and made no show of objecting when the -officers took them in charge. - -George Macrane soon recovered possession of himself, and, rising, said -rather tremblingly, to be sure: - -“You must be wild to charge me with that. Ethel Romney is in New York.” - -“She is in Greenwood by this time,” said Nick. - -“I couldn’t have done her—she in New York and me here,” said Macrane, -growing bolder as he talked. “She’s been there a week or more.” - -“It is useless, Macrane,” said Nick. “We know the whole trick. You were -in New York yourself. You laid the game up well, but we know it. - -“You knew there was a man in New York who was following Ethel’s sister; -you were told you looked like him; you saw him, and you trimmed your -whiskers to be exactly like him.” - -Nick stopped and looked at Macrane. What he had been saying was purely -guesswork, but he saw that he had hit home. - -“You called at Mrs. Constant’s home at eight o’clock on the night of the -murder, giving the name of Masson. You were told that Mrs. Constant had -gone out to the dressmaker’s. - -“You knew that wasn’t so—you knew it was Ethel who had gone out, but -thereby you found out where she had gone to. - -“You went to the dressmaker’s and waited till she came. You tried to -speak to her as she went in. Then you went into the coach and waited. - -“When she came to enter it she saw you and screamed, but you pulled her -in and shut the door. - -“The coach drove rapidly up the avenue, and during that drive you shot -her, for she had told you that she was done with you forever, and meant -to live with her sister. - -“When the coach was checked, at Fifty-eighth Street, you stepped out, -crossed the street, and, going down Fifty-eighth Street, you bowed to a -man at nine o’clock, who spoke to you as Masson. - -“Half an hour later, on the corner of Fifty-seventh Street and Fifth -Avenue, you talked for a few minutes with a man who stopped you and -called you Masson. - -“You made yourself conspicuous in other places when you thought -suspicion could be thrown on Masson. - -“Then, when you thought you had done enough you started back to -Philadelphia, but one of my aides was on the train. We were on your -track. We were bound to land you as we have landed you.” - -Turning to the officers, Nick said: - -“Take us to the lockhouse. Chick, have you hand-cuffs?” - -Chick had not, but one of the officers had, and Macrane was ironed. - -It was daylight when Nick and Chick returned to their hotel to snatch a -brief sleep. - -Early in the morning they were out, making the proof strong that Macrane -had been in New York. - -They wired for Patsy to come on, with Moran and the storekeeper of Sixth -Avenue that Chick had dug up, by an early train. - -On their arrival they positively identified Macrane as the man seen -entering and leaving the coach. - -Patsy, on his arrival, reported his experiences with Masson and the -rescue of Mrs. Constant and Edith. - -Though Patsy told it with all modesty, Nick knew that Patsy had -performed a most gallant and heroic deed, and so said, but it was not -until he returned to New York that he learned how gallant and brave the -deed was. - -Speaking of the curious development of the case, Nick said: - -“From the first I felt that Mrs. Constant’s natural bitterness toward -Masson had misled her judgment. I never did believe that he did the -murder. - -“The strange thing is that Mrs. Constant did not give greater importance -to the feeling of Macrane toward Ethel. - -“However, she has a hold on Masson now, and if she will follow my -advice, Masson will see the inside of a prison for his evil deeds. He -deserves it.” - -But he did not. - -When Mrs. Constant learned that she had unjustly charged Masson with the -murder of her sister, she seemed to feel that she had done him an injury -which she could atone for only by refraining from following up the -advantage she possessed. - -Masson fled to Europe, so that Mrs. Constant is now free from his -persecutions. - -Macrane lies under conviction of murder in the first degree, and awaits -execution. - -He has confessed, saying that he visited New York to force Ethel to -return with him, and, finding that he had lost her and all control of -her, in a fit of anger he killed her. - -Mrs. Constant devotes herself to her kennel, but her grief for the death -of her sister is so great that she is a broken woman. - -When Patsy wants to be particularly swell, he sports a fine diamond ring -that Mrs. Constant gave him in recognition of his bravery when he -prevented her abduction by Masson. - -The case is referred to by Nick Carter’s outfit as “Patsy’s Triumph,” -and as such is not easily forgotten. - - - THE END. - - - The Biggest Line of Copyright Detective Literature Published - - _The Magnet Library - of_ Fascinating Detective Stories - -This line has become famous for its excellent stories of the detection -of crime. Of late, it has taken truly remarkable strides in the public’s -favor. The reason for this is, that every book is a marvel of its kind. -They are high-class tales, not of the “blood-and-thunder” order, but -with plausible plots which hold the reader fairly captivated with -breathless expectation. Among these are the stories of the adventures of -Nick Carter and his clever assistants: of “Old Spicer,” the clever -private detective, whose exploits are among the most remarkable ever -performed by any detective. If you are in search of good, interesting -matter, a decided change from that to which you have been accustomed, -purchase a few of these titles. They will not only please and interest -you, but will give you a clear insight into the methods of the various -classes of criminals. - - 307—A Desperate Game By “Old Spicer” - 306—The Ring of Dust By Nicholas Carter - 305—The Telltale Tattoo By Jack Sharp - 304—The Twin Mystery By Nicholas Carter - 303—The Branded Hand By Maro O. Rolfe - 302—Under False Colors By Nicholas Carter - 301—The Wall Street Swindlers By Jack Sharp - 300—A Blow For Vengeance By Nicholas Carter - 299—The Sleepless Eye By Warren Miller - 298—A Masterpiece of Crime By Nicholas Carter - 297—The Shadow of Guilt By “Old Spicer” - 296—The Guilty Governor By Nicholas Carter - 295—Tracked by a Pin By Richard Hackstaff - 294—The Blood-Red Badge By Nicholas Carter - 293—On the Stroke of Midnight By Maro O. Rolfe - 292—A Great Conspiracy By Nicholas Carter - 291—In Terror’s Grasp By Warren Miller - 290—The Hole in the Vault By Nicholas Carter - 289—The Crippled Hand By Frederick S. - Stewart - 288—The Council of Death By Nicholas Carter - 287—A Dead Witness By “Old Spicer” - 286—A Bonded Villain By Nicholas Carter - 285—A Rascal’s Nerve By Maro O. Rolfe - 284—A Blackmailer’s Bluff By Nicholas Carter - 283—The Crimson Glove By Warren Miller - 282—A Race Track Gamble By Nicholas Carter - 281—The Stroke of a Knife By Burnham F. Mason - 280—The Seal of Death By Nicholas Carter - 279—On the Brink of Ruin By “Old Spicer” - 278—A Sharper’s Downfall By Nicholas Carter - 277—An Eye for an Eye By Maro O. Rolfe - 276—A Checkmated Scoundrel By Nicholas Carter - 275—The Banker’s Millions By Warren Miller - 274—Paid With Death By Nicholas Carter. - 273—The Rogue With a Past By Robert Wesley. - 272—The Chain of Evidence By Nicholas Carter. - 271—A High-Class Swindler By “Old Spicer.” - 270—The Fatal Prescription By Nicholas Carter. - 269—The Man Who Knew By Maro O. Rolfe. - 268—Hounded to Death By Nicholas Carter. - 267—An Unfortunate Rogue By Warren Miller. - 266—A Stroke of Policy By Nicholas Carter. - 265—The Three Finger Marks By “Old Spicer.” - 264—Two Villains in One By Nicholas Carter. - 263—The Loaded Orange By Gilbert Jerome. - 262—A False Combination By Nicholas Carter. - 261—A Matter of Thousands By “Old Spicer.” - 260—At the Knife’s Point By Nicholas Carter. - 259—The Band of Mystery By Maro O. Rolfe. - 258—Man Against Man By Nicholas Carter. - 257—The Man Who Made Diamonds By Warren Miller. - 256—The Vial of Death By Nicholas Carter. - 255—The Sport of Fate By the author of - “Old Spicer.” - 254—Behind a Mask By Nicholas Carter. - 253—The Fatal Request By A. L. Harris. - 252—The Man and His Price By Nicholas Carter. - 251—The Nine of Hearts By B. L. Farjeon. - 250—A Double-Handed Game By Nicholas Carter. - 249—Old Stonewall, Detective By Judson R. Taylor. - 248—The Toss of a Coin By Nicholas Carter. - 247—The Results of a Duel By Fortune Du - Boisgobey. - 246—Nick Carter’s Death Warrant By Nicholas Carter. - 245—A Victim of Villainy By F. L. Broughton. - 244—A Trusted Rogue By Nicholas Carter. - 243—The Man and the Crime By Harry Rockwood. - 242—Run to Earth By Nicholas Carter. - 241—From Thief to Detective By Fergus Hume. - 240—Weaving the Web By Nicholas Carter. - 239—The Man from the South By Judson R. Taylor. - 238—The Claws of the Tiger By Nicholas Carter. - 237—A Kidnapped Millionaire By Richard A. - Wainwright. - 236—A Move in the Dark By Nicholas Carter. - 235—True Detective Tales By Maurice Moser. - 234—The Telltale Photographs By Nicholas Carter. - 233—The Secret of the Missing Checks By Harry Rockwood. - 232—The Red Signal By Nicholas Carter. - 231—The Crime of the Golden Gully By Gilbert Rock. - 230—A Race for Ten Thousand By Nicholas Carter. - 229—The Dexter Bank Robbery By Harry Rockwood. - 228—A Syndicate of Rascals By Nicholas Carter. - 227—From Clew to Climax By Will N. Harben. - 226—A Deal in Diamonds By Nicholas Carter. - 225—Tracked by Fate By Fergus Hume. - 224—Played to a Finish By Nicholas Carter. - 223—Found Dead By Hero Strong. - 222—A Prince of Rogues By Nicholas Carter. - 221—Other People’s Money By Emile Gaboriau. - 220—The Dumb Witness, and Other Stories By Nicholas Carter. - 219—A Hidden Clew By Ernest De Lancey - Pierson. - 218—The Man from London By Nicholas Carter. - 217—Baron Trigault’s Vengeance By Emile Gaboriau. - 216—The Count’s Millions By Emile Gaboriau. - 215—The Seal of Silence By Nicholas Carter. - 214—The Missing Cashier By Ernest De Lancey - Pierson. - 213—Millions at Stake, and Other Stories By Nicholas Carter. - 212—A Mystery Still By Fortune Du - Boisgobey. - 211—In Letters of Fire By Nicholas Carter. - 210—An Excellent Knave By J. F. Molloy. - 209—A Triple Crime By Nicholas Carter. - 208—The Condemned Door By Fortune Du - Boisgobey. - 207—The Blow of a Hammer, and Other Stories By Nicholas Carter. - 206—The Portland Place Mystery By Ernest De Lancey - Pierson. - 205—A Bogus Clew By Nicholas Carter. - 204—Hunted Down By Richard Ashton - Wainwright. - 203—The Price of a Secret By Nicholas Carter. - 202—The Lady of the Lilacs By Ernest De Lancey - Pierson. - 201—The Steel Casket, and Other Stories By Nicholas Carter. - 200—Detective Against Detective By Donald J. - McKenzie. - 199—The Man at the Window By Nicholas Carter. - 198—Stairs of Sand By Ernest De Lancey - Pierson. - 197—The Coleraine Tragedy By Eugene T. Sawyer. - 196—The Queen of Knaves, and Other Stories By Nicholas Carter. - 195—Sealed Lips By Scott Campbell. - 194—The Tiger’s Head Mystery By Eugene T. Sawyer. - 193—The Missing Cotton King By Nicholas Carter. - 192—A Dangerous Quest By Ernest De Lancey - Pierson. - 191—The Murray Hill Mystery By Nicholas Carter. - 190—The Fate of Austin Craige By Scott Campbell. - 189—The Man of Mystery By Nicholas Carter. - 188—A Strike of Millions By Eugene T. Sawyer. - 187—The Wall Street Wonder By Donald J. - McKenzie. - 186—A Desperate Chance By Nicholas Carter. - 185—A Supernatural Clew By Scott Campbell. - 184—The Secret of the Diamond By Ernest De Lancey - Pierson. - 183—Hands Up By J. H. Bethune. - 182—The Bottle with the Black Label By Nicholas Carter. - 181—The Man Outside By Scott Campbell. - 180—The Watertown Mystery By Harry Rockwood. - 179—Caught at Last By Dick Donovan. - 178—The Handkerchief Clew By Harry Rockwood. - 177—A Scrap of Black Lace By Nicholas Carter. - 176—The Tragedy of Ascot Mills By Scott Campbell. - 175—The Secret of the Marionettes By E. De Lancey - Pierson. - 174—A Princess of Crime By Nicholas Carter. - 173—The Honor of a Black Sheep By Scott Campbell. - 172—Linked to Crime By Barclay North - (W. C. Hudson). - 171—The Silent Passenger By Nicholas Carter. - 170—The Doctor’s Secret By Scott Campbell. - 169—The Black Carnation By Fergus Hume. - 168—Brought to Bay By Nicholas Carter. - 167—The Links in the Chain By Scott Campbell. - 166—Dr. Villagos By Fortune Du - Boisgobey. - 165—Held for Trial By Nicholas Carter. - 164—The Reporter Detective’s Triumph By Scott Campbell. - 163—Phil Scott, the Detective By Judson R. Taylor. - 162—Nick Carter’s Star Pupils By Nicholas Carter. - 161—A Plot for Millions By Scott Campbell. - 160—Harry Williams, New York Detective By F. L. Broughton. - 159—A Framework of Fate By Nicholas Carter. - 158—The Lion of the Law By Scott Campbell. - 157—By a Hair’s Breadth By Edith Sessions - Tupper. - 156—A Victim of Circumstances By Nicholas Carter. - 155—Mrs. Donald Dyke, Detective By Harry Rockwood. - 154—Driven to the Wall By Scott Campbell. - 153—Nick Carter’s Clever Ruse By Nicholas Carter. - 152—Fifteen Detective Stories By Police Captains - of New York. - 151—The Disappearance of Mr. Derwent By Thomas Cobb. - 150—Lady Velvet By Nicholas Carter. - 149—A Mystery of the Fast Mail By Byron Adsit. - 148—Gypsy Blair, the Western Detective By Judson R. Taylor. - 147—Nick Carter’s Retainer By Nicholas Carter. - 146—The Stevedore Mystery By Barclay North. - 145—The Railway Detective By Harry Rockwood. - 144—The Twelve Wise Men By Nicholas Carter. - 143—An Exchanged Identity By Fortune Du - Boisgobey. - 142—A Seven Days’ Mystery By Frederic R. - Burton. - 141—Nick Carter Down East By the author of - Nicholas Carter. - 140—Detective Reynolds’ Hardest Case By Gabriel Macias. - 139—Fritz, the German Detective By Judson R. Taylor. - 138—Crossed Wires By Nicholas Carter. - 137—Donald Dyke, the Yankee Detective By Harry Rockwood. - 136—In Peril of His Life By Emile Gaboriau. - 135—The Crime of the French Café By Nicholas Carter. - 134—By Whose Hand? By Edith Sessions - Tupper. - 133—The Piccadilly Puzzle By Fergus Hume. - 132—Nick Carter’s Girl Detective By Nicholas Carter. - 131—The Dugdale Millions By Barclay North. - 130—A Millionaire’s Folly By L. E. Smyles. - 129—The Man Who Stole Millions By Nicholas Carter. - 128—The Caruthers Affair By Will N. Harben. - 127—The Severed Hand By Fortune Du - Boisgobey. - 126—A Game of Craft By Nicholas Carter. - 125—The Pomfret Mystery By A. D. Vinton. - 124—The Trail of the Barrow By James Mooney. - 123—The Elevated Railroad Mystery By Nicholas Carter. - 122—The Mystery of Orcival By Emile Gaboriau. - 121—The Man from Manchester By Dick Donovan. - 120—The Twelve Tin Boxes By Nicholas Carter. - 119—The Reporter Detective By Donald J. - McKenzie. - 118—Old Quartz By Eugene T. Sawyer. - 117—A Herald Personal By Nicholas Carter. - 116—520 Per Cent.; or, The Great Franklin By Barclay North. - Syndicate - 115—The Detective Tales of Edgar Allan Poe. - 114—The Man Who Vanished By Nicholas Carter. - 113—The Man with a Thumb By Barclay North. - 112—The Garden Court Mystery By Burford Delannoy. - 111—The Stolen Race Horse By Nicholas Carter. - 110—The Workingman Detective By Donald J. - McKenzie. - 109—Blackmail By Harrie Irving - Hancock. - 108—Nick Carter’s Clever Protégé By Nicholas Carter. - 107—The Passenger from Scotland Yard By H. F. Wood. - 106—Shadowed by a Detective By Virginia - Champlin. - 105—A Bite of an Apple By Nicholas Carter. - 104—A Past Master of Crime By Donald J. - McKenzie. - 103—Old Mortality By Young Baxter. - 102—Bruce Angelo, the City Detective By Judson R. Taylor. - 101—The Stolen Pay Train By Nicholas Carter. - 100—The Diamond Button By Barclay North. - 99—Gideon Drexel’s Millions By Nicholas Carter. - 98—Tom and Jerry By Judson R. Taylor. - 97—The Puzzle of Five Pistols By Nicholas Carter. - 96—No. 13 Rue Marlot By Rene du Pont - Jest. - 95—Sealed Orders; or The Triple Mystery By Nicholas Carter. - 94—Vivier, of Vivier, Longman & Co., Bankers By Barclay North. - 93—Adventures of Harrison Keith, Detective By Nicholas Carter. - 92—Van, the Government Detective By Judson R. Taylor. - 91—The Great Money Order Swindle By Nicholas Carter. - 90—On the Rack By Barclay North. - 89—The Detective’s Pretty Neighbor By Nicholas Carter. - 88—The North Walk Mystery By Will N. Harben. - 87—Nick Carter and the Green Goods Men. By Nicholas Carter. - 86—Brant Adams By Judson R. Taylor. - 85—A Dead Man’s Grip By Nicholas Carter. - 84—The Inspector’s Puzzle By Charles Matthew. - 83—The Crescent Brotherhood By Nicholas Carter. - 82—The Masked Detective By Judson R. Taylor. - 81—Wanted by Two Clients By Nicholas Carter. - 80—The Poker King By Marline Manley. - 79—The Sign of the Crossed Knives By Nicholas Carter. - 78—The Chosen Man By Judson R. Taylor. - 77—The Van Alstine Case By Nicholas Carter. - 76—Face to Face By Donald J. - McKenzie. - 75—The Clever Celestial By Nicholas Carter. - 74—The Twin Detectives By K. F. Hill. - 73—Two Plus Two By Nicholas Carter. - 72—Sherlock Holmes Detective Stories By A. Conan Doyle. - 71—The Diamond Mine Case By Nicholas Carter. - 70—Little Lightning By Police Captain - James. - 69—Detective Bob Bridger By R. M. Taylor. - 68—The Double Shuffle Club By Nicholas Carter. - 67—The Mystery of a Madstone By K. F. Hill. - 66—The Detective’s Clew By O. L. Adams. - 65—Found on the Beach By Nicholas Carter. - 64—The Red Camellia By Fortune Du - Boisgobey. - 63—The Chevalier Casse-Cou By Fortune Du - Boisgobey. - 62—A Fair Criminal By Nicholas Carter. - 61—The Maltese Cross By Eugene T. Sawyer. - 60—A Chase Around the World By Mariposa Weir. - 59—A Millionaire Partner By Nicholas Carter. - 58—Muertalma; or, The Poisoned Pin By Marmaduke Dey. - 57—The Vestibule Limited Mystery By Marline Manley. - 56—At Thompson’s Ranch By Nicholas Carter. - 55—His Great Revenge, Vol. II. By Fortune Du - Boisgobey. - 54—His Great Revenge, Vol. I. By Fortune Du - Boisgobey. - 53—An Accidental Password By Nicholas Carter. - 52—The Post Office Detective By George W. Goode. - 51—The Los Huecos Mystery By Eugene T. Sawyer. - 50—The Man from India By Nicholas Carter. - 49—At Odds with Scotland Yard By Nicholas Carter. - 48—The Great Travers Case By Dr. Mark Merrick. - 47—The Mystery of a Hansom Cab By Fergus Hume. - 46—Check No. 777 By Nicholas Carter. - 45—Old Specie, The Treasury Detective By Marline Manley. - 44—The Blue Veil By Fortune Du - Boisgobey. - 43—Among the Nihilists By Nicholas Carter. - 42—The Revenue Detective By Police Captain - James. - 41—John Needham’s Double By Joseph Hatton. - 40—The Mountaineer Detective By C. W. Cobb. - 39—Among the Counterfeiters By Nicholas Carter. - 38—The Matapan Affair By Fortune Du - Boisgobey. - 37—The Prairie Detective By Leander P. - Richardson. - 36—The Crime of the Opera House, Vol. II. By F. Du Boisgobey. - 35—The Crime of the Opera House, Vol. I. By F. Du Boisgobey. - 34—The Society Detective By Oscar Maitland. - 33—The Convict Colonel By Fortune Du - Boisgobey. - 32—Mysterious Case By K. F. Hill. - 31—The Red Lottery Ticket By Fortune Du - Boisgobey. - 30—The Bag of Diamonds By George Manville - Fenn. - 29—The Clique of Gold By Emile Gaboriau. - 28—Under His Thumb By Donald J. - McKenzie. - 27—The Steel Necklace By Fortune Du - Boisgobey. - 26—File No. 113 By Emile Gaboriau. - 25—The Detective’s Triumph By Emile Gaboriau. - 24—The Detective’s Dilemma By Emile Gaboriau. - 23—Evidence by Telephone By Nicholas Carter. - 22—The Champdoce Mystery By Emile Gaboriau. - 21—A Deposit Vault Puzzle By Nicholas Carter. - 20—Caught in the Net By Emile Gaboriau. - 19—A Chance Discovery By Nicholas Carter. - 18—The Gamblers’ Syndicate By Nicholas Carter. - 17—The Piano Box Mystery By Nicholas Carter. - 16—A Woman’s Hand By Nicholas Carter. - 15—The Widow Lerouge By Emile Gaboriau. - 14—Caught in the Toils By Nicholas Carter. - 13—The Mysterious Mail Robbery By Nicholas Carter. - 12—Playing a Bold Game By Nicholas Carter. - 11—Fighting Against Millions By Nicholas Carter. - 10—The Old Detective’s Pupil By Nicholas Carter. - 9—A Stolen Identity By Nicholas Carter. - 8—An Australian Klondike By Nicholas Carter. - 7—The American Marquis By Nicholas Carter. - 6—A Wall Street Haul By Nicholas Carter. - 5—The Crime of a Countess By Nicholas Carter. - 4—Tracked Across the Atlantic By Nicholas Carter. - 3—A Titled Counterfeiter By Nicholas Carter. - 2—The Great Enigma By Nicholas Carter. - 1—A Klondike Claim By Nicholas Carter. - - - - - Detective Stories... - Worthy of the Name.... - - -We desire to call our readers’ attention to the four series of tales in -the Magnet Library, reciting the extremely interesting adventures of the -following detectives. - - Nicholas Carter - Nat Tyler - Seth Hunt - Old Spicer - -These tales are all that detective tales should be. They are bright, -up-to-date, and full of adventure. Just the kind of stories that make -you feel that what you paid for them was well spent. - - - - - ...._The_.... - New Secret Service Series - - -A new line of high-class copyrighted stories, detailing principally the -adventures of men of brain and muscle employed by our Government to -ferret out and prevent federal crimes. These sleuths are stationed in -every city, and the zeal which they display in the pursuit of their -vocation, is nothing short of marvellous. In many instances, the stories -in which these detectives figure are based upon their actual -experiences. There are tales of Treasury and Mail robberies, -Counterfeiting and Anarchists’ plots and Smuggling. They are of such -fascinating interest that it is indeed a pleasure to read them. - - 43.—The Man in Mail. By Lieutenant Carlton. - 42.—The Smuggler’s Ally. By Bernard Wayde. - 41.—The Test of Anarchy. By E. C. Derby. - 40.—The Piccadilly Puzzle. By Fergus Hume. - 39.—After the Bribe Takers. By Lieutenant Carlton. - 38.—The Tracker Tracked. By Bernard Wayde. - 37.—The Empty Mail Bags. By E. C. Derby. - 36.—The Handkerchief Clue. By Harry Rockwood. - 35.—The Haunt of the “Queer” Makers. By Lieutenant Carlton. - 34.—In the Secret Vault. By Bernard Wayde. - 33.—A Master Stroke. By E. C. Derby. - 32.—A Government Spy. By Lieutenant Carlton. - 31.—A False Claim. By Bernard Wayde. - 30.—A Counterfeiter’s Roguery. By E. C. Derby. - 29.—By Whose Hand? By E. S. Tupper. - 28.—A Golden Clue. By Bernard Wayde. - 27.—The Filibuster’s Warning. By Gilbert Jerome. - 26.—The Man Who Made Money. By Bernard Wayde. - 25.—The Moonshiners’ Dupe. By Lieutenant Carlton. - 24.—The Convict Colonel. By Fortune Du Boisgobey. - 23.—The Hand On the Window Sill. By Bernard Wayde. - 22.—A Nihilist’s Vengeance. By E. C. Derby. - 21.—The Money Jugglers. By Bernard Wayde. - 20.—The Bank Note Plates. By Lieutenant Carlton. - 19.—A Mysterious Case. By F. K. Hill. - 18.—The Coiner’s League. By Bernard Wayde. - 17.—The Silent Stranger. By Henry G. Harper. - 16.—The Red Lottery Ticket. By Fortune Du Boisgobey. - 15.—The Crooked Inspector. By Bernard Wayde. - 14.—Foiling a Counterfeiter. By E. C. Derby. - 13.—The Bag of Diamonds. By George Manville Fenn. - 12.—An Anarchist’s Pluck. By Bernard Wayde. - 11.—The Man in Stripes. By Lieutenant Carlton. - 10.—The Clique of Gold. By Emile Gaboriau. - 9.—A Privateer’s Defiance. By Bernard Wayde. - 8.—The Mail Robbers’ Syndicate. By E. C. Derby. - 7.—A Custom House Fraud. By Bernard Wayde. - 6.—The Raid on the Mint. By Frank H. Putnam. - 5.—The Untaxed Whiskey. By Bernard Wayde. - 4.—The Arm of the Law. By Lieutenant Carlton. - 3.—The Treasury’s Millions. By Bernard Wayde. - 2.—The Man on the Coach. By E. C. Derby. - 1.—A Government Trust. By Bernard Wayde. - - - - -There is but one Secret Service Series that deals with the adventures of -Government detectives, and its titles are enumerated above. No more -exciting and interesting tales can be had anywhere. If you want good -reading, buy it weekly.... - - - - - _The_ - Columbia Library - - -A series of rattling good stories of marvelous adventures on land and -sea. It contains an unrivalled collection of tales, by famous authors, -calculated to interest the most indifferent reader. A glance at the -names of these will be sufficient to convince anyone that the books are -well worth reading. There are tales of searches for lost and stolen -treasure; tales of queer people unknown to the world at large; tales of -hair-breadth escapes from savages in the heart of South America; in -fact, no matter what kind of a tale of absorbing interest the reader may -desire, it can be found in this line. - - 44. The Year of Miracle. By Fergus Hume. - 43. The Hidden City. By Walter McDougall. - 42. Number 19 State Street. By David Graham Adee. - 41. A Creature of the Night. By Fergus Hume. - 40. Marked for a Victim. By Stuart C. Cumberland. - 39. The Lost Inca. By I. P. Ozollo. - 38. The Sheik’s White Slave. By Raymond Raife. - 37. The Dalton Boys. By W. B. Lawson. - 36. Rube Burrows’ League. By Marline Manly. - 35. The Younger Brothers. By Henry Dale. - 34. Madame Midas. A story of Australian Life. By Fergus Hume. - 33. King Solomon’s Mines. By H. Rider Haggard. - 32. Roanoke of Roanoke Hall. By Malcolm Bell. - 31. His Fatal Success. By Malcolm Bell. - 30. Scarabæus. The Story of an African Beetle. By Marquise Clara Lanza - and James Clarence Harvey. - 29. A Strange Secret. By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. - 27. She. By H. Rider Haggard. - 26. Ivan the Serf. By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. - 25. A Queer Race. By William Westall. - 24. The Council of Ten. By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. - 23. Cell No. 13. By Edwin H. Trafton. - 22. The Wreck of the South Pole. By Charles Curtz Hahn. - 21. The King’s Talisman. By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. - 20. The Swordsman of Warsaw. By Judson R. Taylor. - 19. The Golden Eagle; or, The Privateer of 1776. By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. - 18. Ben Hamed. By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. - 17. The Soldier Monk. By Ensign Clarke Fitch, U. S. N. - 16. Fighting Against Odds. By Douglas Wells. - 15. The Charge of the Blockhouse. By Douglas Wells. - 14. The Hero of the Brigade. By Douglas Wells. - 13. Wolves of the Navy. By Ensign Clarke Fitch, U. S. N. - 12. A Soldier’s Pledge. By Ensign Clarke Fitch, U. S. N. - 11. Holding the Fort. By Ensign Clarke Fitch, U. S. N. - 10. A Gauntlet of Fire. By Ensign Clarke Fitch, U. S. N. - 9. For Spanish Gold. By Douglas Wells. - 8. Saved By the Enemy. By Ensign Clarke Fitch, U. S. N. - 7. On the Firing Line. By Douglas Wells. - 6. Court-Martialed. By Ensign Clarke Fitch, U. S. N. - 5. A Secret Service Detail. By Douglas Wells. - 4. A Prisoner of Morro. By Ensign Clarke Fitch, U. S. N. - 3. A Courier to Gomez. By Douglas Wells. - 2. The Fighting Squadron. By Ensign Clarke Fitch, U. S. N. - 1. The Yankee Lieutenant. By Douglas Wells. - - - - - TALES REDOLENT WITH FUN, ADVENTURE AND ROMANCE ARE TO BE FOUND IN THE - - COLUMBIA LIBRARY - - GET A COPY AND BE INTERESTED AND AMUSED - - - _Popular Information at a Popular Price_ - - - - - _The_ - Diamond Hand-Book Series - OF RELIABLE MANUALS - - -Herein is contained an unrivalled collection of useful and valuable -information. The books treat upon subjects that everyone is desirous of -knowing about. The authors, well versed in the subjects they treated, -have spared no time or pains to make these books authentic and -thoroughly interesting. New subjects will be added as rapidly as they -can be prepared. Glance over the titles given herewith and see if you do -not want to know something about at least one of the subjects mentioned. - - 1. Sheldon’s Letter Writer. By L. W. Sheldon - 2. Shirley’s Lovers’ Guide. By Grace Shirley - 3. Women’s Secrets; or, How to Be Beautiful. By Grace Shirley - 4. Guide to Etiquette. By L. W. Sheldon - 5. Physical Health Culture. By Professor Fourmen - 6. Frank Merriwell’s Book of Physical By Burt L. Standish - Development. - 7. National Dream Book. By Mme. Claire - Rougemont - 8. Zingara Fortune Teller. By a Gipsy Queen - 9. The Art of Boxing and Self-Defense. By Professor Donovan - 10. The Key to Hypnotism. By Robert G. - Ellsworth, M. D. - 11. U. S. Army Physical Exercises. Revised by - Professor Donovan - 12. Heart Talks With the Lovelorn. By Grace Shirley - 13. Dancing Without an Instructor. By Professor - Wilkinson - - - - - _The_ - Eagle Series - _of_ Popular Fiction - - - PRINCIPALLY COPYRIGHTS - - ELEGANT COLORED COVERS - -This is the pioneer line of copyright novels. Its popularity has -increased with every number, until, at the present time, it stands -unrivalled as regards sales and contents. - -It is composed, mainly, of popular copyrighted titles which cannot be -had in any other lines, at any price. The authors, as far as literary -ability and reputation are concerned, represent the foremost men and -women of their time. The books, without exception, are of entrancing -interest and manifestly those most desired by the American reading -public. A purchase of two or three of these books, at random, will make -you a firm believer that there is no line of novels which can compare -favorably with the Eagle Series. - - 337. Dear Elsie By Mary J. Safford - 336. Rose Mather (Double Number), By Mrs. Mary J. - Holmes - 335. We Parted at the Altar By Laura Jean Libbey - 334. Miss MacDonald By Mrs. Mary J. - Holmes - 333. Stella’s Fortune By Charles Garvice - 332. Darkness and Daylight (Double Number), By Mrs. Mary J. - Holmes - 331. Christine By Adeline Sergeant - 330. Aikenside By Mrs. Mary J. - Holmes - 329—My Hildegard By St. George - Rathborne - 328—He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (Double Number) By Charles Garvice - 327—Was She Wife or Widow? By Malcolm Bell - 326—Parted by Fate By Laura Jean Libbey - 325—The Leighton Homestead (Double Number) By Mrs. Mary J. - Holmes - 324—A Love Match By Sylvanus Cobb - 323—The Little Countess By S. E. Boggs - 322—Mildred By Mrs. Mary J. - Holmes - 321—Neva’s Three Lovers (Double Number) By Hrs. Harriet - Lewis - 320—Mynheer Joe By St. George - Rathborne - 319—Millbank By Mrs. Mary J. - Holmes - 318—Staunch of Heart By Charles Garvice - 317—Ione By Laura Jean Libbey - 316—Edith Lyle’s Secret (Double Number) By Mrs. Mary J. - Holmes - 315—The Dark Secret By May Agnes Fleming - 314—A Maid’s Fatal Love By Helen Corwin - Pierce - 313—A Kinsman’s Sin By Effie Adelaide - Rowlands - 312—Woven on Fate’s Loom By Charles Garvice - 311—Wedded by Fate (Double Number) By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 310—A Late Repentance By Mary A. Denison - 309—The Heiress of Castle Cliffe By May Agnes Fleming - 308—Lady Ryhope’s Lover By Emma Garrison - Jones - 307—The Winning of Isolde By St. George - Rathborne - 306—Love’s Golden Rule By Geraldine Fleming - 305—Led by Love By Charles Garvice - 304—Staunch as a Woman By Charles Garvice - 303—The Queen of the Isle By May Agnes Fleming - 302—When Man’s Love Fades By Hazel Wood - 301—The False and the True By Effie Adelaide - Rowlands - 300—The Spider and the Fly By Charles Garvice - 299—Little Miss Whirlwind By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 298—Should She Have Left Him? By William C. Hudson - 297—That Girl from Texas By Mrs. J. H. - Walworth - 296—The Heir of Vering By Charles Garvice - 295—A Terrible Secret By Geraldine Fleming - 294—A Warrior Bold By St. George - Rathborne - 293—For Love of Anne Lambart By Effie Adelaide - Rowlands - 292—For Her Only By Charles Garvice - 291—A Mysterious Wedding Ring By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 290—A Change of Heart By Effie Adelaide - Rowlands - 289—Married in Mask By Mansfield T. - Walworth - 288—Sibyl’s Influence By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 287—The Lady of Darracourt By Charles Garvice - 286—A Debt of Vengeance By Mrs. E. Burke - Collins - 285—Born to Betray By Mrs. M. V. Victor - 284—Dr. Jack’s Widow By St. George - Rathborne - 283—My Lady Pride By Charles Garvice - 282—The Forsaken Bride By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 281—For Love Alone By Wenona Gilman - 280—Love’s Dilemma By Charles Garvice - 279—Nina’s Peril By Mrs. Alex. - McVeigh Miller - 278—Laura Brayton By Julia Edwards - 277—Brownie’s Triumph By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 276—So Nearly Lost By Charles Garvice - 275—Love’s Cruel Whim By Effie Adelaide - Rowlands - 274—A Romantic Girl By Evelyn E. Green - 273—At Swords’ Points By St. George - Rathborne - 272—So Fair, So False By Charles Garvice - 271—With Love’s Laurel Crowned By W. C. Stiles - 270—Had She Foreseen By Dora Delmar - 269—Brunette and Blonde By Mrs. Alex. - McVeigh Miller - 268—Olivia; or, It Was for Her Sake By Charles Garvice - 267—Jeanne By Charles Garvice - 266—The Welfleet Mystery By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 265—First Love is Best By S. K. Hocking - 264—For Gold or Soul By Lurana W. Sheldon - 263—An American Nabob By St. George - Rathborne - 262—A Woman’s Faith By Henry Wallace - 261—A Siren’s Heart By Effie Adelaide - Rowlands - 260—At a Girl’s Mercy By Jean Kate Ludlum - 259—By a Golden Cord By Dora Delmar - 258—An Amazing Marriage By Mrs. Sumner - Hayden - 257—A Martyred Love By Charles Garvice - 256—Thy Name is Woman By F. H. Howe - 255—The Little Marplot By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 254—Little Miss Millions By St. George - Rathborne - 253—A Fashionable Marriage By Mrs. Alex Frazer - 252—A Handsome Sinner By Dora Delmar - 251—When Love is True By Mabel Collins - 250—A Woman’s Soul By Charles Garvice - 249—What Love Will Do By Geraldine Fleming - 248—Jeanne, Countess Du Barry By H. L. Williams - 247—Within Love’s Portals By Frank Barrett - 246—True to Herself By Mrs. J. H. - Walworth - 245—A Modern Marriage By Clara Lanza - 244—A Hoiden’s Conquest By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 243—His Double Self By Scott Campbell - 242—A Wounded Heart By Charles Garvice - 241—Her Love and Trust By Adeline Sergeant - 240—Saved by the Sword By St. George - Rathborne - 239—Don Cæsar De Bazan By Victor Hug. - 238—That Other Woman By Annie Thomas - 237—Woman or Witch? By Dora Delmar - 235—Gratia’s Trials By Lucy Randall - Comfort - 234—His Mother’s Sin By Adeline Sergeant - 233—Nora By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 232—A Debt of Honor By Mabel Collins - 230—A Woman’s Atonement, and A Mother’s Mistake By Adah M. Howard - 229—For the Sake of the Family By May Crommelin - 228—His Brother’s Widow By Mary Grace - Halpine - 227—For Love and Honor By Effie Adelaide - Rowlands - 226—The Roll of Honor By Annie Thomas - 225—A Miserable Woman By Mrs. H. C. - Hoffman - 224—A Sister’s Sacrifice By Geraldine Fleming - 223—Leola Dale’s Fortune By Charles Garvice - 222—The Lily of Mordaunt By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 221—The Honorable Jane By Annie Thomas - 220—A Fatal Past By Dora Russell - 219—Lost, A Pearle By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 218—A Life for a Love By Mrs. L. T. Meade - 217—His Noble Wife By George Manville - Fenn - 216—The Lost Bride By Clara Augusta - 215—Only a Girl’s Love By Charles Garvice - 214—Olga’s Crime By Frank Barrett - 213—The Heiress of Egremont By Mrs. Harriet - Lewis - 212—Doubly Wronged By Adah M. Howard - 211—As We Forgive By Lurana W. Sheldon - 210—Wild Oats By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 209—She Loved but Left Him By Julia Edwards - 208—A Chase for a Bride By St. George - Rathborne - 207—Little Golden’s Daughter By Mrs. Alex. - McVeigh Miller - 206—A Daughter of Maryland By G. Waldo Browne - 205—If Love Be Love By D. Cecil Gibbs - 204—With Heart So True By Effie Adelaide - Rowlands - 203—Only One Love By Charles Garvice - 202—Marjorie By Katharine S. - MacQuoid - 201—Blind Elsie’s Crime By Mary Grace - Halpine - 200—In God’s Country By D. Higbee - 199—Geoffrey’s Victory By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 198—Guy Kenmore’s Wife, and The Rose and the By Mrs. Alex. - Lily McVeigh Miller - 197—A Woman Scorned By Effie Adelaide - Rowlands - 196—A Sailor’s Sweetheart By the author of - Dr. Jack - 195—Her Faithful Knight By Gertrude Warden - 194—A Sinless Crime By Geraldine Fleming - 193—A Vagabond’s Honor By Ernest De Lancey - Pierson - 192—An Old Man’s Darling, and Jacquelina By Mrs. Alex. - McVeigh Miller - 191—A Harvest of Thorns By Mrs. H. C. - Hoffman - 190—Captain of the Kaiser By St. George - Rathborne - 189—Berris By Katharine S. - MacQuoid - 188—Dorothy Arnold’s Escape By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 187—The Black Ball By Ernest De Lancey - Pierson - 186—Beneath a Spell By Effie Adelaide - Rowlands - 185—The Adventures of Miss Volney By Ella Wheeler - Wilcox - 184—Sunlight and Gloom By Geraldine Fleming - 183—Quo Vadis By Henryk - Sienkiewicz - 182—A Legal Wreck By William Gillette - 181—The Baronet’s Bride By May Agnes Fleming - 180—A Lazy Man’s Work By Frances Campbell - Sparhawk - 179—One Man’s Evil By Effie Adelaide - Rowlands - 178—A Slave of Circumstances By Ernest De Lancey - Pierson - 177—A True Aristocrat By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 176—Jack Gordon. Knight Errant By William C. - Hudson (Barclay - North) - 175—For Honor’s Sake By Laura C. Ford - 174—His Guardian Angel By Charles Garvice - 173—A Bar Sinister By the author of - Dr. Jack - 172—A King and a Coward By Effie Adelaide - Rowlands - 171—That Dakota Girl By Stella Gilman - 170—A Little Radical By Mrs. J. H. - Walworth - 169—The Trials of an Actress By Wenona Gilman - 168—Thrice Lost, Thrice Won By May Agnes Fleming - 167—The Manhattaners By Edward S. Van - Zile - 166—The Masked Bridal By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 165—The Road of the Rough By Maurice M. Minton - 164—Couldn’t Say No By the author of - Helen’s Babies - 163—A Splendid Egotist By Mrs. J. H. - Walworth - 162—A Man of the Name of John By Florence King - 161—Miss Fairfax of Virginia By the author of - Dr. Jack - 160—His Way and Her Will By Frances Aymar - Mathews - 159—A Fair Maid of Marblehead By Kate Tannatt - Woods - 158—Stella, the Star By Wenona Gilman - 157—Who Wins? By May Agnes Fleming - 156—A Soldier Lover By Edward S. Brooks - 155—Nameless Dell By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 154—Husband and Foe By Effie Adelaide - Rowlands - 153—Her Son’s Wife By Hazel Wood - 152—A Mute Confessor By Will N. Harben - 151—The Heiress of Glen Gower By May Agnes Fleming - 150—Sunset Pass By General Charles - King - 149—The Man She Loved By Effie Adelaide - Rowlands - 148—Will She Win? By Emma Garrison - Jones - 147—Under Egyptian Skies By the author of - Dr. Jack - 146—Magdalen’s Vow By May Agnes Fleming - 145—Country Lanes and City Pavements By Maurice M. Minton - 144—Dorothy’s Jewels By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 143—A Charity Girl By Effie Adelaide - Rowlands - 142—Her Rescue from the Turks By the author of - Dr. Jack - 141—Lady Evelyn By May Agnes Fleming - 140—That Girl of Johnson’s By Jean Kate Ludlum - 139—Little Lady Charles By Effie Adelaide - Rowlands - 138—A Fatal Wooing By Laura Jean Libbey - 137—A Wedded Widow By T. W. Hanshew - 136—The Unseen Bridegroom By May Agnes Fleming - 135—Cast Up by the Tide By Dora Delmar - 134—Squire John By the author of - Dr. Jack - 133—Max By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 132—Whose Was the Crime? By Gertrude Warden - 131—Nerine’s Second Choice By Adelaide Stirling - 130—A Bitter Bondage By Bertha M. Clay - 129—In Sight of St. Paul’s By Sutton Vane - 128—The Scent of the Roses By Dora Delmar - 127—Nobody’s Daughter By Clara Augusta - 126—The Girl from Hong Kong By the author of - Dr. Jack - 125—Devil’s Island By A. D. Hall - 124—Prettiest of All By Julia Edwards - 123—Northern Lights By A. D. Hall - 122—Grazia’s Mistake By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 121—Cecile’s Marriage By Lucy Randall - Comfort - 120—The White Squadron By T. C. Harbaugh - 119—An Ideal Love By Bertha M. Clay - 118—Saved from the Sea By Richard Duffy - 117—She Loved Him By Charles Garvice - 116—The Daughter of the Regiment By Mary A. Denison - 115—A Fair Revolutionist By the author of - Dr. Jack - 114—Half a Truth By Dora Delmar - 113—A Crushed Lily y Mrs. Alex. - McVeigh Miller - 112—The Cattle King By A. D. Hall - 111—Faithful Shirley By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 110—Whose Wife Is She? By Annie Lisle - 109—A Heart’s Bitterness By Bertha M. Clay - 108—A Son of Mars By the author of - Dr. Jack - 107—Carla; or, Married at Sight By Effie Adelaide - Rowlands - 106—Lilian, My Lilian By Mrs. Alex. - McVeigh Miller - 105—When London Sleeps By Chas. Darrell - 104—A Proud Dishonor By Genie Holzmeyer - 103—The Span of Life By Sutton Vane - 102—Fair But Faithless By Bertha M. Clay - 101—A Goddess of Africa By the author of - Dr. Jack - 100—Alice Blake By Francis S. Smith - 99—Audrey’s Recompense By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 98—Claire By Charles Garvice - 97—The War Reporter By Warren Edwards - 96—The Little Minister By J. M. Barrie - 95—’Twixt Love and Hate By Bertha M. Clay - 94—Darkest Russia By H. Grattan - Donnelly - 93—A Queen of Treachery By T. W. Henshew - 92—Humanity By Sutton Vane - 91—Sweet Violet By Mrs. Alex. - McVeigh Miller - 90—For Fair Virginia By Russ Whytal - 89—A Gentleman from Gascony By Bicknell Dudley - 88—Virgie’s Inheritance By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 87—Shenandoah By J. Perkins Tracy - 86—A Widowed Bride By Lucy Randall - Comfort - 85—Lorrie; or, Hollow Gold By Charles Garvice - 84—Between Two Hearts By Bertha M. Clay - 83—The Locksmith of Lyons By Prof. Wm. Henry - Peck - 82—Captain Impudence By Edwin Milton - Royle - 81—Wedded for an Hour By Emma Garrison - Jones - 80—The Fair Maid of Fez By the author of - Dr. Jack - 79—Marjorie Deane By Bertha M. Clay - 78—The Yankee Champion By Sylvanus Cobb, - Jr. - 77—Tina By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 76—Mavourneen From the celebrated - play - 75—Under Fire By T. P. James - 74—The Cotton King By Sutton Vane - 73—The Marquis By Charles Garvice - 72—Willful Winnie By Harriet Sherburne - 71—The Spiders Web By the author of - Dr. Jack - 70—In Love’s Crucible By Bertha M. Clay - 69—His Perfect Trust By a popular author - 68—The Little Cuban Rebel By Edna Winfield - 67—Gismonda By Victorien Sardou - 66—Witch Hazel By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 65—Won by the Sword By J. Perkins Tracy - 64—Dora Tenney By Mrs. Alex. - McVeigh Miller - 63—Lawyer Bell from Boston By Robert Lee Tyler - 62—Stella Stirling By Julia Edwards - 61—La Tosca By Victorien Sardou - 60—The County Fair By Neil Burgess - 59—Gladys Greye By Bertha M. Clay - 58—Major Matterson of Kentucky By the author of - Dr. Jack - 57—Rosamond By Mrs. Alex. - McVeigh Miller - 56—The Dispatch Bearer By Warren Edwards - 55—Thrice Wedded By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 54—Cleopatra By Victorien Sardou - 53—The Old Homestead By Denman Thompson - 52—Woman Against Woman By Effie Adelaide - Rowlands - 51—The Price He Paid By E. Werner - 50—Her Ransom By Charles Garvice - 49—None But the Brave By Robert Lee Tyler - 48—Another Man’s Wife By Bertha M. Clay - 47—The Colonel by Brevet By the author of - Dr. Jack - 46—Off with the Old Love By Mrs. M. V. Victor - 45—A Yale Man By Robert Lee Tyler - 44—That Dowdy By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 43—Little Coquette Bonnie By Mrs. Alex. - McVeigh Miller - 42—Another Woman’s Husband By Bertha M. Clay - 41—Her Heart’s Desire By Charles Garvice - 40—Monsieur Bob By the author of - Dr. Jack - 39—The Colonel’s Wife By Warren Edwards - 38—The Nabob of Singapore By the author of - Dr. Jack - 37—The Heart of Virginia By J. Perkins Tracy - 36—Fedora By Victorien Sardou - 35—The Great Mogul By the author of - Dr. Jack - 34—Pretty Geraldine By Mrs. Alex. - McVeigh Miller - 33—Mrs. Bob By the author of - Dr. Jack - 32—The Blockade Runner By J. Perkins Tracy - 31—A Siren’s Love By Robert Lee Tyler - 30—Baron Sam By the author of - Dr. Jack - 29—Theodora By Victorien Sardou - 28—Miss Caprice By the author of - Dr. Jack - 27—Estelle’s Millionaire Lover By Julia Edwards - 26—Captain Tom By the author of - Dr. Jack - 25—Little Southern Beauty By Mrs. Alex. - McVeigh Miller - 24—A Wasted Love By Charles Garvice - 23—Miss Pauline of New York By the author of - Dr. Jack - 22—Elaine By Charles Garvice - 21—A Heart’s Idol By Bertha M. Clay - 20—The Senator’s Bride By Mrs. Alex. - McVeigh Miller - 19—Mr. Lake of Chicago By Harry DuBois - Milman - 18—Dr. Jack’s Wife By the author of - Dr. Jack - 17—Leslie’s Loyalty By Charles Garvice - 16—The Fatal Card By Haddon Chambers - and B. C. Stephenson - 15—Dr. Jack By St. George - Rathborne - 14—Violet Lisle By Bertha M. Clay - 13—The Little Widow By Julia Edwards - 12—Edrie’s Legacy By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 11—The Gypsy’s Daughter By Bertha M. Clay - 10—Little Sunshine By Francis S. Smith - 9—The Virginia Heiress By May Agnes Fleming - 8—Beautiful But Poor By Julia Edwards - 7—Two Keys By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 6—The Midnight Marriage By A. M. Douglas - 5—The Senator’s Favorite By Mrs. Alex. - McVeigh Miller - 4—For a Woman’s Honor By Bertha M. Clay - 3—He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not By Julia Edwards - 2—Ruby’s Reward By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - 1—Queen Bess By Mrs. Georgie - Sheldon - - - - -Public records will show that there have been more women restored to -health and strength, and more lives saved by - - Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound - -than by any other medicine in the world. - -It therefore _must_ be the best medicine in the world for woman’s -special ills. - - NOTE.—If you are ill why don’t you write to Mrs. Pinkham at Lynn, - Mass., and get the advice which has restored more than a million women - to health? 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} -p.book { margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; } -p.review { margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; font-size:80%; } -p.pcap { margin-left:0em; text-indent:0; text-align:center; margin-top:0; font-size:110%; } -p.pcapc { margin-left:4.7em; text-indent:0em; text-align:justify; } -span.attr { font-size:80%; font-family:sans-serif; } -span.pn { display:inline-block; width:4.7em; text-align:left; margin-left:0; text-indent:0; } -</style> -</head> -<body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Twin Mystery, by Nicholas Carter</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Twin Mystery</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>A Dashing Rescue</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Nicholas Carter</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: July 6, 2021 [eBook #65783]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: David Edwards, Stephen Hutcheson, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net </p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TWIN MYSTERY ***</div> -<div id="cover" class="img"> -<img id="coverpage" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="The Twin Mystery; or, A Dashing Rescue" width="500" height="747" /> -</div> -<div class="box"> -<p class="center"><b class="large">MAGNET LIBRARY</b> <span class="hst"><b class="large">No. 304</b></span> -<br /><span class="small">A weekly publication devoted to Detective literature. -<br />September 2, 1903.</span></p> -<h1>THE TWIN MYSTERY; -<br /><span class="smallest"><span class="smallest">OR,</span> -<br />A Dashing Rescue</span></h1> -<p class="center"><span class="smallest">BY</span> -<br />NICHOLAS CARTER -<br /><span class="smallest">AUTHOR OF</span> -<br /><span class="smaller">“A Chance Discovery,” “At the Knife’s Point,” “Lady Velvet,” “A Game of Craft,” “A Klondike Claim,” “A Blow for Vengeance,” etc.</span></p> -<p class="tbcenter"><span class="smaller">NEW YORK</span> -<br />STREET & SMITH, <span class="sc">Publishers</span> -<br /><span class="smaller">238 <span class="sc">William Street</span></span></p> -</div> -<p class="center smaller">Copyright, 1903 -<br />By STREET & SMITH</p> -<h2 id="toc" class="center"><span class="larger">CONTENTS</span></h2> -<dl class="toc"> -<dt><a href="#c1"><span class="cn">I. </span>The Brown Robin</a> 5</dt> -<dt><a href="#c2"><span class="cn">II. </span>The Way of the Robin</a> 14</dt> -<dt><a href="#c3"><span class="cn">III. </span>A Blind Chase</a> 24</dt> -<dt><a href="#c4"><span class="cn">IV. </span>The Real Thing</a> 33</dt> -<dt><a href="#c5"><span class="cn">V. </span>The Brown Robin Dines</a> 43</dt> -<dt><a href="#c6"><span class="cn">VI. </span>An Audacious Visitor</a> 53</dt> -<dt><a href="#c7"><span class="cn">VII. </span>Chick’s Great Discovery</a> 61</dt> -<dt><a href="#c8"><span class="cn">VIII. </span>A Deep Game</a> 71</dt> -<dt><a href="#c9"><span class="cn">IX. </span>The Trap</a> 81</dt> -<dt><a href="#c10"><span class="cn">X. </span>How the Trap Was Sprung</a> 90</dt> -<dt><a href="#c11"><span class="cn">XI. </span>At the Dog Show</a> 101</dt> -<dt><a href="#c12"><span class="cn">XII. </span>Dead in Her Carriage</a> 111</dt> -<dt><a href="#c13"><span class="cn">XIII. </span>Possibilities</a> 123</dt> -<dt><a href="#c14"><span class="cn">XIV. </span>A Change of Front</a> 132</dt> -<dt><a href="#c15"><span class="cn">XV. </span>Closer to Masson</a> 146</dt> -<dt><a href="#c16"><span class="cn">XVI. </span>Ida in Trouble</a> 154</dt> -<dt><a href="#c17"><span class="cn">XVII. </span>A New Side</a> 164</dt> -<dt><a href="#c18"><span class="cn">XVIII. </span>In Durance Vile</a> 172</dt> -<dt><a href="#c19"><span class="cn">XIX. </span>A Dashing Rescue</a> 180</dt> -<dt><a href="#c20"><span class="cn">XX. </span>Patsy’s Triumph</a> 190</dt> -<dt><a href="#c21"><span class="cn">XXI. </span>The Murderer</a> 200</dt> -</dl> -<div class="pb" id="Page_5">5</div> -<h1 title=""><span class="small">THE TWIN MYSTERY.</span></h1> -<h2 id="c1"><span class="small">CHAPTER I.</span> -<br />THE BROWN ROBIN.</h2> -<blockquote> -<p>“<span class="sc">Mr. Nick Carter:</span> I have come to town to do business. -I give you notice before I begin, because I am -quite certain you will be informed immediately after I -commence operations. It really makes little difference; -you cannot reach me. Really, my dear Nick, I have a -contempt for the so-called detective ability. You, with -your Ida, Chick and Patsy, are a little better than the -rest, but you are in the same running when you undertake -to stop me.</p> -<p><span class="lr">“<span class="sc">The Brown Robin.</span>”</span></p> -</blockquote> -<p>This letter Nick Carter found in his mail one morning -a short time ago, on coming to his breakfast table.</p> -<p>He read the letter with some interest, noting that it -had been mailed late the afternoon before, and in the sub-district -in which he lived.</p> -<p>Tossing it over to his wife, Edith, to read, he said:</p> -<p>“That might be taken for a challenge, I suppose.”</p> -<p>Edith read it, and replied that she should take it for an -impertinence.</p> -<p>“Who is the Brown Robin?” she asked.</p> -<p>“Ah! That is the great mystery,” answered Nick.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_6">6</div> -<p>“A woman?” asked Edith.</p> -<p>“When you ask that question in that way,” replied -Nick, “you mean to make the statement that you believe -it to be a woman.”</p> -<p>“Well, yes; I judge the writer of this is a woman.”</p> -<p>“Why?”</p> -<p>“The writing, in the first place.”</p> -<p>“That will hardly do. It might be taken for the writing -of a woman a little more masculine than is usual, or -of a man a little more feminine than is usual. I carefully -examined the writing before I gave you the letter, and -could not determine satisfactorily to myself which it -was.”</p> -<p>Edith again examined the letter, and said that she -should be afraid, after a second look, to stand on either -side.</p> -<p>“The truth is, Edith,” said Nick, “it is an assumed -hand, not the natural one of the person who wrote it, -and is not always employed by that person. That is my -belief.”</p> -<p>Again Edith studied the letter.</p> -<p>“There is something about the whole thing,” she said, -“that impresses me with the notion that the writer of -this is a woman. But if you were to ask me why, I -could not tell you.”</p> -<p>Nick laughed.</p> -<p>“It is the same old story of puzzling mystery.”</p> -<p>“Then you know something of the Brown Robin?”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_7">7</div> -<p>“I know that the Brown Robin puzzled and mystified -the police of Chicago two winters ago. I was appealed -to then to go to Chicago, take up the case, and ferret out -the mystery, but then I was engaged in an important -matter here and could not go.</p> -<p>“Suddenly the Brown Robin disappeared from Chicago -and turned up in Boston, where the police were put at -their wits’ end in an endeavor to detect the person.</p> -<p>“As suddenly he, she or it flitted to Philadelphia, with -a like result, and then back again to Chicago. Now it -would seem that the Brown Robin is making New York -its roosting place.”</p> -<p>“But who is the Brown Robin, and what does it do?”</p> -<p>“As I said, who the Brown Robin is—whether a he, -she, or it—is a mystery. What the Brown Robin does is -to extort money from various kinds of people, and most -successfully, by blackmail.</p> -<p>“The Brown Robin moves about so skillfully and shows -up in so many guises, that he, she or it has always escaped -detection, and has left the police of each place -where it has operated in doubt whether it is a man, or a -woman, or a lot of men and women, moving under the -directions of a very skillful person.</p> -<p>“That is all I can tell you, for I have not looked deeply -into the matter.”</p> -<p>“This is a direct challenge to you.”</p> -<p>“Yes, but I shall not accept it, unless I am retained by -a victim of the Brown Robin’s arts, and then only if the -<span class="pb" id="Page_8">8</span> -victim will consent to be guided wholly by me in the -matter.”</p> -<p>He tossed the letter aside and finished his breakfast. -He had hardly time to open his morning paper, when -the servant entered with a note, which, she said, had been -brought by a messenger boy.</p> -<p>Opening it, Nick read:</p> -<blockquote> -<p>“<span class="sc">My Dear Carter</span>: Very shortly after receiving this -you will have a call from Mr. Alpheus Cary. He is my -first victim in New York. I should judge by this experience -that New York is very easy to work. The incident -afforded me a good deal of amusement, for Mr. -Alpheus Cary hates to give up.</p> -<p>“He was in a panic when he did, but regretted it a -minute after. Indeed, my operation came perilously near -robbery, for his hesitancy began before he really handed -the money over.</p> -<p>“The only regret I have is that the sum was so small. -In that sense it was not a brilliant beginning in New -York. But you can complete the operation by getting a -stiff retainer out of him. Then, if you choose to “whack -up,” why, you can send me half. That proposition is -the reason why I write.</p> -<p>“Really, Carter, there is quite a stroke of business to be -done by us in this way. I know you pose as an honest -man, but, pshaw! let there be no nonsense between us.</p> -<p><span class="lr">“<span class="sc">The Brown Robin.</span>”</span></p> -</blockquote> -<p>The first sensation Nick experienced on reading this -letter was that of anger. Then the audacity of the writer -excited his sense of humor.</p> -<p>“You thought the other letter was impertinent,” said -<span class="pb" id="Page_9">9</span> -he, handing the last one to Edith, “but what do you think -of this one?”</p> -<p>Edith read it with flushed face, but, inspired by an -idea, she said:</p> -<p>“Nick, if I were you I would capture that person, no -matter what I did to accomplish it.”</p> -<p>“What would you do?”</p> -<p>“I’d pretend to enter into a bargain with the Brown -Robin, such as is here proposed.”</p> -<p>Nick did not reply at once. When he did, he said:</p> -<p>“Do you know, Edith, I am under the impression that -this is an impudent and audacious beginning of an effort -to blackmail me.”</p> -<p>“Nick Carter!”</p> -<p>“Yes, a trap is being laid for me to walk into, of which -this is only one of the strings.”</p> -<p>“But why should they attempt to blackmail you?”</p> -<p>“I suppose my money is as good to them as that of any -other person. But what a triumph it would be to have -the boast that Nick Carter had been trapped that way!”</p> -<p>“True.”</p> -<p>“Edith, let me warn you to be prepared for any trick. -Whether I will or not, the Brown Robin has thrown -down the gauntlet.”</p> -<p>“Do you know Mr. Alpheus Cary?”</p> -<p>“I only know that there is a person of that name, who -is a man of wealth and the president of a bank in this -city—a man of some prominence, but that is all I do know -of him.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_10">10</div> -<p>“Where does he live?”</p> -<p>“Somewhere in Central Park West, but just where I -don’t know. What are you thinking of?”</p> -<p>“I was thinking that perhaps the Cary whom you are -told will call on you might be the Brown Robin made up, -and that it would be well to send Chick or Patsy to find if -he is at home.”</p> -<p>“Good, Edith,” cried Nick, with a laugh, “you are getting -to be a great detective. Well, I shall act on your -suggestion, only I shall send Ida to Mr. Cary’s house, for -she is near by.”</p> -<p>He went to the ’phone and rang up Ida, and received -an immediate response. But Edith, closely watching, -saw him start as a look of deep suspicion came over his -face.</p> -<p>He made a quick signal to his wife. Asking through -the ’phone whether he was talking to Ida, he received an -answer which brought again the suspicious look to his -face. But he continued, as usual, though his message -was a surprise to Edith. He said:</p> -<p>“As soon as you can, Ida, I want you to go to Herman -Hartwig, and, giving him the word ‘Passen,’ tell him to -give you his report. Then bring it to me. Do you understand?”</p> -<p>Waiting for a response, he said:</p> -<p>“Then repeat what I have said.”</p> -<p>He listened, and, as he did, a broad smile came over his -face. He hung up the ’phone and rang off, turning to -his wife with a queer light in his eyes.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_11">11</div> -<p>“Why, Nick,” asked Edith, “who is Herman Hartwig?”</p> -<p>“I don’t know.”</p> -<p>“And what is the word ‘Passen?’”</p> -<p>“Never heard of it before.”</p> -<p>“Then what is the meaning of your message?”</p> -<p>“Nothing. It was diamond cut diamond. That was -not Ida on the other end of the line.”</p> -<p>“Who, then?”</p> -<p>“I don’t know. Perhaps the Brown Robin. The wires -have been tampered with in some way. It was not Ida -for, if it had been, she would have wanted to know where -Herman Hartwig was to be found, since she had never -heard of him before, because I invented the name at the -moment.”</p> -<p>“Then your suspicions were excited at once?”</p> -<p>“Yes; it was a good imitation of Ida’s voice, but a certain -trick of Ida’s speech was wanting, and I was watching -for it.”</p> -<p>Nick thought a moment; then, hastily stepping to the -’phone, he cut the connecting wires.</p> -<p>“It is the safest way,” he said. “Now, Edith, hurry to -the drug store on the corner and send for Chick, Patsy -and Ida.”</p> -<p>As Edith went out, Nick sat down to his paper again, -but he had read a short time only when the servant entered -with a card, saying that a caller was in the parlor.</p> -<p>He read the card. The name on it was Mr. Alpheus -Cary.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_12">12</div> -<p>Bidding the servant to tell the gentleman that Mr. Carter -was engaged for the present, but would see him presently, -he continued to read his paper.</p> -<p>His intention was not to see his caller until his aids -should arrive, for he meant that Chick should be present -at the interview, and Patsy should shadow the caller -when he left.</p> -<p>He was thus engaged when Edith returned.</p> -<p>She bore in her hand a card and note, and, as she -entered the room, she was about to speak, but Nick -checked her with a gesture.</p> -<p>She handed Nick the card and note. Reading the card, -Nick looked up with surprise and compared it with one -he had just received. It was the same exactly.</p> -<p>Tearing open the note, he read:</p> -<blockquote> -<p>“<span class="sc">Dear Mr. Carter</span>: I beg you will call on me at the -Zetler Bank, on a matter of importance, at your earliest -convenience. I do not call on you for the reason that I -fear the call would become known to a person I desire -to keep in the dark. Respectfully,</p> -<p><span class="lr"><span class="sc">Alpheus Cary</span>.”</span></p> -</blockquote> -<p>“Where did you get these?” whispered Nick.</p> -<p>“At the drug store,” returned Edith, also in a whisper. -“I was about going out when the druggist called me -by name. An elderly gentleman, standing near, started -and spoke in a low tone to the druggist, asking if I was -Nick Carter’s wife.</p> -<p>“Being told that I was, he came to me, handing me his -card and this note, with the request that I should give it -to you.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_13">13</div> -<p>“He said that he had intended to call, had even driven -past the door, but, on second thought, believed it were -not best, and had gone to the drug store, where he was -known, and had written the note there.”</p> -<p>“And you came directly back with it?”</p> -<p>“Directly.”</p> -<p>“Where did Mr. Cary go?”</p> -<p>“He got into a cab and drove down Columbus Avenue.”</p> -<p>Nick thought a moment, and said, in a whisper:</p> -<p>“This must have occurred about the time my caller -handed in the other card.”</p> -<p>He sprang to his feet and hurried to the parlor.</p> -<p>But it was empty. The waiting caller had left without -a word.</p> -<p>Nick, calling the servant, inquired if she had seen the -caller leave, but she had not, nor could she give any information.</p> -<p>Pursuing his inquiries, all that he could learn was that -a moment after Mrs. Carter was seen to enter the front -door an elderly-appearing man had darted from it and -had gone down the street, hastily, to the west.</p> -<p>Satisfied that a spurious Mr. Cary had called on him -that morning, and that the genuine Mr. Cary had accosted -his wife in the drug store, Nick returned to his room to -await the arrival of his assistants, Chick, Patsy and Ida.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_14">14</div> -<h2 id="c2"><span class="small">CHAPTER II.</span> -<br />THE WAY OF THE ROBIN.</h2> -<p>Nick’s passage to the Zetler Bank to see the real Mr. -Alpheus Cary was in the nature of a procession.</p> -<p>He had been impressed with the idea that the caller -who had announced himself as Mr. Alpheus Cary, had, -by some means, come to know that the real Mr. Cary -was in the neighborhood, and had fled because of that.</p> -<p>His fleeing seemed to Nick to suggest that in some -way this person was either the Brown Robin or some one -connected with that person.</p> -<p>The audacity of the effort to impersonate Cary in an -interview with Nick further suggested that the person -had much confidence in his own skill, and was rather conceited -about it.</p> -<p>He thought it probable that he would be put under observation -in his next attempt to leave the house.</p> -<p>So he directed Chick to go out and post himself so that -he could shadow Nick and see whether he was followed. -And, having respect for the skill of this Brown Robin, he -sent Patsy out charged with the duty of following Chick, -and Ida later to follow Patsy.</p> -<p>Thus it was that when, an hour later, he went out -into the street, his passage to the Zetler Bank was in the -nature of a procession.</p> -<p>Nick’s passage, however, was not direct, for he received -<span class="pb" id="Page_15">15</span> -a signal from Chick that the latter thought a person -was on the track of his chief.</p> -<p>Consequently he took a devious route, turning into -many strange places, doubling on his track and doing -a number of strange things.</p> -<p>All this time he paid not the slightest attention as to -whether or not another person was doing these strange -things, for he was relying upon Chick to determine -whether any one was on his track.</p> -<p>“Gee!” said Patsy, when, in these doubling turns, he -came upon Ida, “what is this game we’re getting this -morning?”</p> -<p>However, Chick had seen a young man about twenty-five -or six, who had made his appearance only as Nick -had shown on the street, and whose route was the same -as that of the chief.</p> -<p>When Nick had taken to his devious ways on hearing -a peculiar huckster’s cry behind him, which he knew to -be from Chick, this young man had taken to the same devious -ways.</p> -<p>When Nick started straight for the bank, this young -man had followed, and Chick saw him walk to the very -door of the Zetler Bank to watch Nick enter.</p> -<p>Summoning Patsy by signal, he sent him on the trail -of this young man, while he awaited the appearance of -Nick from the bank.</p> -<p>The wait was a long one.</p> -<p>When Nick presented his name, Mr. Cary came forward -<span class="pb" id="Page_16">16</span> -in such excitement that Nick thought he would betray -himself to every one within hearing.</p> -<p>“I am glad to see you, Mr. Carter,” he said. “My -business is most important, yet I have been warned——”</p> -<p>“I know,” said Nick, calmly, “the Brown Robin. You -have been told not to dare to talk to me.”</p> -<p>“Why,” exclaimed Mr. Cary, “how do you know -that?”</p> -<p>“I guessed it,” said Nick, with a smile. “But take me -somewhere where we can talk aloud and unheard.”</p> -<p>Mr. Cary led the way into an inner room, closing the -door after him.</p> -<p>“Now,” said Nick, “there are certain things I know of -this case, but I want you to tell me everything, concealing -nothing, not even when it tells against yourself. I shall -regard it as a confidential communication. Make neither -excuses, nor apologies, but tell the plain truth.”</p> -<p>“But I have been warned not to talk to you at all.”</p> -<p>“By whom?” asked Nick.</p> -<p>“By some one who signs the letter ‘The Brown -Robin.’”</p> -<p>“Let me see that letter,” demanded Nick.</p> -<p>“Well, I don’t know that I ought.”</p> -<p>“Now, Mr. Cary,” said Nick, sternly, “you were blackmailed -last night; indeed, it was more nearly like robbery, -for the money was taken from your hands while you were -hesitating whether you would pay it over or not.”</p> -<p>“You know that? How?” asked Mr. Cary.</p> -<p>“Never mind how I know,” replied Nick, sternly. “It -<span class="pb" id="Page_17">17</span> -is my business to know a great many things. But I want -to say this: I mean to investigate this matter to the bottom. -If you help me by giving me all the information in -your possession, so much the better, but whether you do -or not I shall find all out. Now choose which you -will do.”</p> -<p>“Well, I had intended to retain you, but this letter——”</p> -<p>“Let me see it,” demanded Nick, in a decided tone.</p> -<p>Mr. Cary yielded, and, taking the letter from his breast -pocket, handed it to Nick.</p> -<p>At a glance the famous detective saw that it was the -same handwriting, on the same kind of paper, as the two -letters he had received in the morning. It read:</p> -<blockquote> -<p>“<span class="sc">Dear Papa Cary</span>: I want to warn you against a -very bad man. His name is Nick Carter. You will only -get yourself into trouble if you don’t take my warning. -You are in a good deal of trouble now, for you stand in -danger of exposure. Fie! Such a naughty Papa Cary! -But you must not talk to Nick Carter. You must not -talk to him of our pleasant experiences last night. And, -Papa Cary, you must come again, and bring some more -of the stuff that makes the mare go. I shall tell you -when and where. And you must, or there will be pretty -photographs sent to Mamma Cary and the little Carys, -and to the bank officials, and so there will if you talk to -Nick Carter.</p> -<p><span class="lr">“<span class="sc">The Brown Robin.</span>”</span></p> -</blockquote> -<p>Nick folded up the letter and placed it in his pocket, -saying:</p> -<p>“This letter will be safer with you than with me. Now -tell me how you met the woman.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_18">18</div> -<p>“How do you know——”</p> -<p>“I would rather you would answer my question,” interrupted -Nick, sternly, “and please waste no time with -questions. You met a woman last night. Where? How? -When?”</p> -<p>“Well, it was in the Rideau restaurant—that is a——”</p> -<p>“I know—in Fourth Avenue. How came you to be -there?”</p> -<p>“Some business took me on the East Side yesterday -afternoon, on which I was delayed beyond my own dinner -hour. I had heard of this place and thought I would -like to visit it. So I went there to dine. It was crowded, -few seats being vacant.</p> -<p>“As I passed down the rows of tables I came to one -at which was seated a young woman of attractive appearance, -dressed like a lady, in brown, on whose hat was a -robin.</p> -<p>“The seat opposite her was vacant, and, bowing, I -asked if I could occupy it. She consented by saying that -she could not prevent me, as it was free to any one to -take.</p> -<p>“Seating myself, it was not long before I was in conversation -with her.”</p> -<p>“I see,” said Nick. “Did she know who you were?”</p> -<p>“Why, no.”</p> -<p>“Then how did she come to know?”</p> -<p>“That is where I was a fool. I told her.”</p> -<p>“On her inquiry?”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_19">19</div> -<p>“No, confound it. A bottle of wine and a pretty -woman let loose my tongue, and I babbled like an infant.”</p> -<p>Nick had difficulty in keeping a straight face over this -frank confession and the disgusted face that accompanied -it.</p> -<p>“Of course you didn’t know her?” asked Nick.</p> -<p>“No; she told me she was but recently from Chicago; -that she was married; that her husband had been detained -at the last moment, but would soon follow her.”</p> -<p>“Well, what then?”</p> -<p>“It ended in my paying for her supper, and we arose -from the table together, leaving the restaurant together.</p> -<p>“In the street I asked her direction, and proposed to -accompany her as far as her door.”</p> -<p>“It would seem as if, then, you took the lead in this -thing.”</p> -<p>“That is true in a way, yet she encouraged every step.”</p> -<p>“Of course. Go on.”</p> -<p>“She took me into Seventeenth street, and toward the -east, to a respectable-looking house, which she said was -one in which she was staying, and asked, indeed coaxed, -me to enter.</p> -<p>“Well, like a fool, I consented. She took me into the -front parlor, and, asking me to be seated, went off, saying -that she would return in a moment.”</p> -<p>“She did, having changed her street dress for a flowing -wrapper. Seating herself, she began a series of questions -about myself that I, fool that I was, answered.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_20">20</div> -<p>“Suddenly, and without intimation of her purpose, she -arose, and, coming to me, threw her arms about my neck, -seating herself on my lap.</p> -<p>“I was so astonished at this for a moment I was -helpless, and in that moment there was a flash of light -that blinded me.</p> -<p>“The woman laughed gayly, and, jumping up, ran into -the other room. A moment later she returned, saying:</p> -<p>“‘Come, Papa Cary. I don’t give my pleasant company -for nothing. You’ve enjoyed my society for two -or three hours. You must pay for it. Come! Shell out!’</p> -<p>“‘What is this?’ I cried, ‘blackmail?’</p> -<p>“‘Some unpleasant people call it that, I believe,’ she -said. ‘But whatever it is, you must submit.’</p> -<p>“‘Not by any means,’ I said. ‘You have attacked the -wrong person.’</p> -<p>“Again she laughed, and, springing up, ran into the -next room, to return in a moment, bringing with her a -photograph plate.</p> -<p>“‘You may look at that,’ she said, holding it up before -me. Over the rim she pointed a small revolver.</p> -<p>“I looked to see that a photograph of myself, with -her on my lap, her arms about my neck, had been taken.</p> -<p>“I fairly staggered back in alarm, and with a merry, -mocking laugh, she hurried with the plate into the other -room. When she came back, she said:</p> -<p>“‘I’m a business woman, Papa Cary. A short horse is -soon curried. Out with your money, or, as soon as these -<span class="pb" id="Page_21">21</span> -photos are printed they will be sent to decorate your home -and your office.’</p> -<p>“In my first fright over this threat I took some money -from my pocket, but the thought came that payment -wouldn’t end it, and that I ought to bargain with her in -a way that would secure me.</p> -<p>“While I hesitated, thinking what to do, by a quick -movement she snatched the money from my hand, crying, -with a laugh: ‘Thank you.’</p> -<p>“I protested—demanded its return. But she said:</p> -<p>“‘Oh, no! You have given me this, and it will not be -the last that you will give me, either. This is only the -beginning. And I will pay you for it by always keeping -those photographs.’</p> -<p>“All this time she was laughing, but I could see in her -right hand her revolver. I suddenly jumped forward to -seize her revolver arm, when she sprang back and in an -instant everything was dark. The lights went out.</p> -<p>“Then I was pushed forward and out of the room by -more than one, through a hall and into the street.</p> -<p>“In my anger I threatened that I would put you, Mr. -Carter, on her track, and when I was in the street I -rushed about, trying to find a policeman.</p> -<p>“By and by, however, my common sense came uppermost, -and I saw that by appealing to a policeman I -should only make public what I should, in my own interests, -keep quiet.</p> -<p>“So, determining to see you as soon as I could, I went -home.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_22">22</div> -<p>“This morning, on reaching the bank, I found the letter -which you now have in your possession.”</p> -<p>“How much money did she take?”</p> -<p>“A little less than a hundred dollars—I cannot tell exactly; -between ninety and a hundred.”</p> -<p>“Did you see any one else then?”</p> -<p>“No.”</p> -<p>“You could go again to that house?”</p> -<p>“No doubt of it.”</p> -<p>“Have you told me everything that occurred?”</p> -<p>“Everything, reserved nothing. Now, I want those -photographs, Mr. Carter. I want you to get them. I’ll -pay for them; but I won’t be blackmailed.”</p> -<p>Nick was silent a moment or two, thinking. Then he -said:</p> -<p>“On your recital it seems to be merely a vulgar panel -game. But I think there is more back of it than that. -However, I will take the case. I will think it over. Do -nothing, however, until you see me again. I shall probably -be back again in an hour or two, possibly with my -plan of action worked out.”</p> -<p>Nick left the banking house, and, going into the street -met Chick and Ida.</p> -<p>“Was I followed?”</p> -<p>“Yes,” replied Chick. “Followed to these doors by a -young fellow of twenty-five, stylishly dressed. He was -like a woman more than a man; that is, his face was so -fine and handsome.”</p> -<p>“What became of him?”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_23">23</div> -<p>“He went off after seeing you, with a curious smile on -his face. Patsy is on his trail.”</p> -<p>“Then that is all right,” said Nick. “Come with me. -I think we have got a case well worth looking on. We -will go somewhere where we can talk it over.”</p> -<p>The three then went to a neighboring hotel.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_24">24</div> -<h2 id="c3"><span class="small">CHAPTER III.</span> -<br />A BLIND CHASE.</h2> -<p>When Patsy took the trail of the young man who had -followed Nick to the doors of the bank, the only purpose -of it was to find out who he was and with whom he had -connection.</p> -<p>In taking up the trail Patsy was wary. His first effort -was to determine whether the young man feared -shadowing, and, if he did, whether he believed himself to -be shadowed.</p> -<p>For the first ten minutes there were no indications of -any kind on the part of the young man.</p> -<p>He took up a bee line for Broadway, and, turning into -that thoroughfare, walked to the south with a rapid gait -and a businesslike manner, turning neither to the right -nor the left, nor giving any heed to persons behind him.</p> -<p>Thus they went, the followed and the follower, down -Broadway, when, the building of the New York Life being -reached, the young man suddenly turned into it with -quickened pace.</p> -<p>Patsy broke into a sharp run. He quickly appreciated -the danger he was in of losing his man. It seemed to him -that these great big buildings, with their numerous elevators, -many stairs and entrances and exits, were especially -contrived to favor escaping crooks.</p> -<p>As he dashed through the entrance, he saw his man -<span class="pb" id="Page_25">25</span> -turning, on a run, into the rotunda, which is circled by -elevators.</p> -<p>“The deuce!” cried Patsy. “My one chance is that he -can’t get an elevator before I get to him.”</p> -<p>He ran like a deer down the long corridor, to the -amazement of those who were passing.</p> -<p>He turned the corner just in time to see the gates of -the elevator close, as it shot upward, and in it was the -man he had followed.</p> -<p>This was almost too much for Patsy, and he gave an -exclamation of chagrin. But he rapidly took in the fact -that the elevator that had just gone up was the one that -did not stop short of the tenth floor, and that one was to -follow, stopping at each.</p> -<p>Into this he plunged, concealing himself from view, but -in such a way that he himself could watch.</p> -<p>Passing the ninth floor, he saw the young man eagerly -watching the elevator that followed.</p> -<p>Patsy could not get out on the ninth, but he did on the -tenth, and hurried down the stairs. Some one was descending -the stairs to the eighth floor. Leaning over the -balustrades, Patsy saw a man descending rapidly.</p> -<p>This one wore a dark beard and mustache, and his -hair was of the same color. The man he had followed -had been beardless and his hair was quite light. But -there was something in the carriage of the shoulders of -the man descending the steps that suggested the one he -had followed down Broadway.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_26">26</div> -<p>Springing to the head of the stairs, Patsy flung himself -on the balustrades, sliding down thence to gain time.</p> -<p>The man followed quickened his pace and fairly flew -down the steps two at a time. Patsy was gaining on him, -for he was more reckless in his pursuit than the man was -in his flight—taking more chances.</p> -<p>Thus the chase continued until the floor on which the -great offices of the insurance company were reached, -when the followed man plunged into them, with Patsy -close on his heels.</p> -<p>Then the man stopped, faced about and waited for -Patsy to come up. To the lad’s astonishment, he was not -in disguise. He looked at Patsy with a sarcastic smile, -and asked:</p> -<p>“Are you following me?”</p> -<p>“Yes,” replied Patsy, carefully sizing up his man.</p> -<p>“You could be in better business,” replied the other. -“What are you doing it for?”</p> -<p>“You know very well,” replied Patsy.</p> -<p>“Now that you have got up to me, what are you going -to do?” he asked.</p> -<p>That was just exactly what Patsy was asking himself. -What was he going to do? But he made a bluff, and -said:</p> -<p>“I am going to find out who you are, and what your -name is.”</p> -<p>“That’s easy,” replied the other. “But what do you -want to know for?”</p> -<p>“That’s my business,” replied Patsy.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_27">27</div> -<p>The fact was, Patsy didn’t really know why he had -been ordered to follow the man. He suspected that it -was because the man had followed Nick, and that there -was a desire to know who he was.</p> -<p>“Of course, that is your business,” replied the other. -“Very well, my name is George Vernon; I am one of the -secret inspectors of this company. I followed Nick Carter -this morning, thinking he touched the case I am on, -until I found he did not. Then I sheered off. I take -it I am a good deal in the same business you are.”</p> -<p>All the time he was talking this way he had been edging -toward a door.</p> -<p>This seemed to be so straight that Patsy could not deny -it, though he believed the fellow was lying. He looked -around to the clerks for confirmation, but they were all -behind high desks and railings, and he could not get to -them except by leaving his man.</p> -<p>A high official of the company approached, one Patsy -knew well.</p> -<p>Patsy hailed him, and asked him if the man calling -himself Vernon was in the employ of the company.</p> -<p>“Well, that’s a hard one for me,” said the official, good-naturedly. -“I should be greatly puzzled to identify all -of our employees.”</p> -<p>The man said, respectfully:</p> -<p>“I am in the inspectors’ department.”</p> -<p>The official, however, became suddenly serious, and -asked:</p> -<p>“But what is it? Anything wrong with him, Patsy?”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_28">28</div> -<p>The other now turned on the lad with a start, his eyes -intently fixed on Patsy, and the lad, as much as he respected -the high official, could have kicked him for letting -out his name.</p> -<p>But the high official did worse. Saying to the one who -called himself Vernon to stand where he was, he seized -Patsy by the arm to lead him to a gentleman sitting at a -desk within a railing.</p> -<p>The impulse was a kindly one, for the high official -wanted to serve Patsy, but it was a mistaken one, since -the other, seizing his opportunity, dashed through the -door, near which he was standing, into a big office -beyond.</p> -<p>Patsy broke from the grasp of the high official and -jumped after him. There was a second’s delay as the -door swung back on him, but when he had passed -through he saw the other running down the long room.</p> -<p>The sight of a man flying frantically through the room, -with another plunging along as frantically, followed -closely by a high official of the company, excited all the -clerks, and they thronged into the narrow way, so impeding -Patsy’s pursuit that, by the time he had reached -the door at the end of the room through which the other -disappeared, his man was nowhere to be seen.</p> -<p>He ran hither and thither toward all the outlets, but -quickly recognized the futility of further effort.</p> -<p>He went back to the high official, who had followed him -out of the room. Patsy was considerably nettled, but, -choking down his anger, said:</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_29">29</div> -<p>“He’s a crook, all right, or he wouldn’t have wanted -to get away from me. But now I want to ask you -whether there is a George Vernon in the employ of the -company.”</p> -<p>“What department does he say he is employed in?” -asked the official.</p> -<p>“In the inspector’s department.”</p> -<p>“Come with me,” said the official.</p> -<p>Patsy was led to a room where a man, busily engaged, -was seated at a desk. He arose immediately on the approach -of the high official, answering promptly the question -whether there was a George Vernon in his employ.</p> -<p>“Yes; there is such a person, and he is in the next -room at this moment.”</p> -<p>“Call him,” said the official.</p> -<p>A tall, thin, intelligent-looking young man, the very -opposite in appearance of the one whom Patsy had followed, -reported.</p> -<p>What was apparent was that the man followed had -known of this George Vernon, and had seized on his -name to throw Patsy off.</p> -<p>When the real George Vernon was told of the occurrence -and of the man who had taken his name, he said -that on the day previous he had fallen in with a man of -the description given in an uptown hotel, who had expressed -a wish to take out a policy on his life. The real -Vernon had talked with him on that line and given him -his name and department.</p> -<p>“Well,” said Patsy, to the high official, “my man got -<span class="pb" id="Page_30">30</span> -away, but one thing is settled, he’s a crook, and the other -thing is that I have him so well sized up that I’ll know -him, I don’t care how he is disguised.”</p> -<p>Patsy left the offices of the company, and as he did so, -he said to himself:</p> -<p>“My man carries his shoulders as not one man in a -thousand does. He has a short step and a knock-kneed -gait; he has no beard and a small mole under his chin, -on the left side.”</p> -<p>He stopped in the corridor suddenly, slapped his thigh -with his hand, stood still a moment, thinking earnestly. -Finally he exclaimed aloud:</p> -<p>“Holy smoke! I’ll bet that’s the way of it.”</p> -<p>Seeking a retired spot, in a corner, he made a rapid -change in his appearance.</p> -<p>He had entered the building a smartly dressed young -fellow. He left it looking like a broken-down man of -sixty, limping in gait and with bowed shoulders, racked -with a cough.</p> -<p>But he did not leave it until he had stood some time -in the entrance holding out his hands and asking for -money of every one that entered nor until he had been -fairly driven from it by the officer in charge.</p> -<p>Then he stood on the sidewalk, still begging, and continued -to do so until the officer drove him away by threatening -him with arrest.</p> -<p>All the while he was thus engaged his eyes had been -busy, and he saw a man standing on the opposite side of -<span class="pb" id="Page_31">31</span> -the street, occupying a position that commanded a view -of the main entrance.</p> -<p>When driven from the sidewalk in front of the building -he crossed the street and took up a position near this man.</p> -<p>A moment was sufficient to satisfy Patsy that he was -disguised. Half an hour passed, during which Patsy -begged, when he could without being discovered by policemen, -and still shadowed the disguised man, who was -watching the main entrance.</p> -<p>Finally this man strolled away like one who did so -reluctantly. Patsy watched him with a thrill of delight.</p> -<p>He had found his man again.</p> -<p>The man went to a hotel, where he sat down in the -writing-room and, taking paper and envelope from his -pocket, began to write letters.</p> -<p>Patsy slipped away and made another change in his -appearance, and, coming back, set out to write letters -himself.</p> -<p>When the other had written two letters, he got up and -went out, followed by Patsy.</p> -<p>This time he went to an American District Telegraph -office, handing the letters in and paying the fee.</p> -<p>Leaving the office he went directly back to the hotel -where he had written his letters, and, calling for the key -of room ninety-eight, said to the clerk:</p> -<p>“I am tired and shall lie down for a nap. Call me by -two o’clock. Not later.”</p> -<p>He went to his room. Patsy turned over the register -<span class="pb" id="Page_32">32</span> -and found the name of Harold Stanton, and opposite the -number ninety-eight.</p> -<p>“How long has Stanton been staying with you?” asked -Patsy.</p> -<p>“Only since last night.”</p> -<p>“What do you know of him?”</p> -<p>“Nothing. He paid for his room for two nights. But -he wasn’t in his room last night.”</p> -<p>Patsy went away, saying:</p> -<p>“What next? I’ve run him down to this place, and -know he figures as Harold Stanton.”</p> -<p>He went back to the American District Telegraph office -and persuaded the man in charge to give him the names -of the persons to whom Stanton had written letters.</p> -<p>One was Nick Carter, the other was Alpheus Cary.</p> -<p>Patsy gave a long whistle, and set out to find his chief.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_33">33</div> -<h2 id="c4"><span class="small">CHAPTER IV.</span> -<br />THE REAL THING.</h2> -<p>After Nick had talked over the case with Chick and Ida, -he had sent Chick to the house in Seventeenth Street to -take stock of it and to make inquiries.</p> -<p>“Chick,” he had said, “I don’t think you will learn -much, for I fancy the house has been abandoned by these -people. However, you may learn something in looking -it up.”</p> -<p>He then went to his house, to find a caller awaiting -him. Nick looked at the card, but did not recognize the -name. It was Richard F. Mountain.</p> -<p>He sent for the caller to come to his own room.</p> -<p>Mr. Mountain was one who showed in his movements -that he was a man of business, and accustomed to affairs.</p> -<p>“Are we alone, Mr. Carter?” he added, on entering. -“What I have to say is strictly confidential.”</p> -<p>“We cannot be overheard here,” replied Nick.</p> -<p>“Then the next question is, can I rely upon you to take -my case?”</p> -<p>“I never decide to take a case until I hear the story,” -said Nick, “but whatever confidence you give me will be -respected.”</p> -<p>“It’s a case of attempted blackmail,” replied Mr. -Mountain.</p> -<p>“The Brown Robin?” asked Nick.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_34">34</div> -<p>Mr. Mountain stared a moment before he replied:</p> -<p>“Yes, that name has cropped up in the case.”</p> -<p>“Then I take your case,” said Nick, “for I am already -engaged. Go on with the story.”</p> -<p>“I am an insurance agent and real estate broker,” said -Mr. Mountain, plunging at once into his story, “and frequently -have sums of money in my hands for investment -belonging to other people. My reputation is good and -my standing high.</p> -<p>“Some time ago I was caught in a speculation in which -I had ventured rather recklessly. I reached a point where, -unless I could put up a very considerable sum, I was likely -to lose all I had ventured—lose everything.</p> -<p>“In this strait I used the money of an estate I was managing, -and saved myself for that time. It was wrong and -was something that people did not believe I would be -guilty of.</p> -<p>“After I had passed this money out of my hands an -accounting was suddenly and unexpectedly demanded of -me. I was in a corner, likely to be exposed and ruined. -The facts were not suspected, however, and a day or two -intervened. I tried to extricate myself, but could not.</p> -<p>“In my distress I determined on suicide, and drew up -a statement which was a confession, placing it in my desk, -to be found when my death was announced.</p> -<p>“On the day I had fixed for my death—the day of accounting, -I was given a respite by a postponement for -one week.</p> -<p>“During that week the speculation I was engaged in -<span class="pb" id="Page_35">35</span> -was brought to an unexpected and successful conclusion -and realization. I was in funds again—in fact, a rich -man.</p> -<p>“During the few days left me before the accounting, I -was so busy in preparing for it and buying back securities -that I had used, that the confession passed from my mind.</p> -<p>“After I had passed through the accounting triumphantly, -I looked for it. It was gone. I searched and inquired, -but without success.</p> -<p>“For a long time it worried me greatly, but as time -went on and nothing came of it, I began to think that I -must have destroyed it and forgotten I had done so.</p> -<p>“But yesterday a copy of it was presented to me, and I -was told that I could have the copy and the original for -fifty thousand dollars.</p> -<p>“I temporized and put off further negotiations until to-morrow. -Now, that is the whole story. And, Mr. Carter, -I am here to say that I will not pay the sum. I will not -be blackmailed. I don’t want to be exposed, either; I do -not want the disgrace that would follow. My business -would be ruined. That is a small matter in one way, for -I am a wealthy man, but I do not want to lose the respect -and confidence I enjoy.</p> -<p>“In my whole business life I have made this one false -step. But, all the same, I will not be blackmailed.</p> -<p>“Now, with handing you this letter, received this morning, -I have stated my case.”</p> -<p>He took a letter from his pocket and handed it to Nick. -<span class="pb" id="Page_36">36</span> -At a glance Nick recognized the paper and the handwriting. -It read:</p> -<blockquote> -<p>“<span class="sc">Mr. Richard F. Mountain</span>: Contrary to my custom, -I gave you two days to comply with my demands. -Then I thought you asked for time to gather the money -required. Reviewing our talk, I see now that you made -no promise. I have been lax. I shall not be again. To-morrow -you must be prepared to comply. I shall call -you to a place to pay the money. Be prompt in your coming. -But heed this. Do not call in the services of Nick -Carter. Do not talk to him at all.</p> -<p><span class="lr">“<span class="sc">The Brown Robin.</span>”</span></p> -</blockquote> -<p>Holding the letter in his hand, Nick asked:</p> -<p>“How was this demand made?”</p> -<p>“By a young man who called on me at my office yesterday -afternoon.”</p> -<p>“What name did he give?”</p> -<p>“None. He approached when I was engaged with -some people I was doing business with, merely saying:</p> -<p>“This is a copy, but important enough to demand your -immediate attention.”</p> -<p>“I read it, of course, and, getting up from my seat, took -him aside, demanding to know what was wanted.</p> -<p>“His answer was that he was acting for another person, -who wanted fifty thousand dollars for the original. -Situated as I was, surrounded by people who were at the -time placing financial trust in me, I could do nothing but -fight for delay and postponement.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_37">37</div> -<p>“I see,” said Nick. “Now, have you any idea who this -young man was?”</p> -<p>“No.”</p> -<p>“Nor who it is he says he represents?”</p> -<p>“No knowledge.”</p> -<p>“Do you suspect any one?”</p> -<p>“Well, I hardly know how to reply. I had a typewriter—a -young woman in my employ, who left me suddenly -just before I missed that paper. Time and time -again my mind has gone back to her in suspicion with -nothing to support it. Her name was Alberta Curtis.”</p> -<p>“Have you heard of her since she left you?”</p> -<p>“In a way, immediately after her disappearance. She -was a Southern girl of a good but impoverished family. -She eloped with a married man. That was the cause of -her leaving me. I heard of it from her family, who cast -her off for the act.”</p> -<p>“With whom did she elope?”</p> -<p>“I only know his name—Charles Stymer.”</p> -<p>Just then Patsy came in, and Nick sent for him.</p> -<p>“This is Patsy Murphy, Mr. Mountain,” said Nick. -“One of my most trusted aids. I want to question him -on some business he has on hand.”</p> -<p>Turning to Patsy, he asked:</p> -<p>“Did you follow your man?”</p> -<p>“Yes. He gave me a chase, too.”</p> -<p>“Did you get close to him—close enough to know what -he looks like?”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_38">38</div> -<p>“I had a talk with him.”</p> -<p>“Describe him to me?”</p> -<p>Patsy gave an elaborate description of the man that -had figured before him both as George Vernon and Harold -Stanton.</p> -<p>As Patsy talked, Nick, closely watching Mr. Mountain, -saw him show signs of increasing excitement, until he -finally burst out:</p> -<p>“Why, he is describing the very man who called on me -yesterday.”</p> -<p>“Then,” said Nick, with a smile, “the Brown Robin is -both a man and a woman.”</p> -<p>“I do not understand you,” said Mr. Mountain.</p> -<p>“Probably not,” said Nick. “I am not far enough in -the case to understand it myself. We are already engaged -on one case of blackmail in which the Brown Robin -figures as a woman. Now you give us one in which it -figures as a man.</p> -<p>“The Brown Robin has given a good deal of trouble -in Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia without being detected.</p> -<p>“It has just begun operations in New York. I imagine -your case is the first one of its operations, and the -other we have the second.</p> -<p>“Whether it is a he or a she, or a gang, it is bold, audacious -and skillful, working in a new way.”</p> -<p>“By the way, chief,” asked Patsy, “have you received -another letter from the Brown Robin?”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_39">39</div> -<p>“Yes; why do you ask?”</p> -<p>“Because this fellow I followed sent you one.”</p> -<p>Nick picked a letter from the table and handed it to -Patsy. It read:</p> -<blockquote> -<p>“<span class="sc">My Dear Uncle</span>: Really, you are much better than -I supposed. It is worth while working against you. -You’re not easy, but keep me at work. What a dance -you gave me this morning. And your Patsy is a regular -laloo. He ran me down and cornered me this morning. -If he had dared to arrest me he would have done so, but -he had no right to do that, so, of course, he didn’t. I -slipped away from him only by accident. The above is -only by the way. I write to say that you are not serving -Papa Cary well. Drop him for his own sake. Even if -you do stop him from giving me more, I’ll ruin him. That -is my rule. His safety is in submitting to me.</p> -<p><span class="lr">“<span class="sc">The Brown Robin</span>.”</span></p> -</blockquote> -<p>Patsy folded the letter, and handed it back to Nick, -saying:</p> -<p>“He wrote another to the other.”</p> -<p>“Who?”</p> -<p>Patsy wrote the name of Alpheus Cary on a slip of -paper, handing it to Nick.</p> -<p>“Ah! I must know what it said,” said Nick, as he -glanced at it.</p> -<p>Turning to Mr. Mountain, Nick said:</p> -<p>“One of the peculiar features of this affair is the frequent -and impudent letters that are written to me.</p> -<p>“Until you came with your story, I was at a loss to understand -<span class="pb" id="Page_40">40</span> -the reason of them. I do now. Your case is -the big one. While it is being worked the Brown Robin -would have us think that the other case is the only one -it is working on.</p> -<p>“It is quite ingenious and a new way of working. Leaving -a trail open on the second, they will carefully make -those to the first blind.</p> -<p>“Now, Mr. Mountain, return to your office. Another -aid of mine will call on you as soon as he can. His sole -business will be to study your appearance. Give him -every opportunity.</p> -<p>“If you receive another letter, let him have it. If you -receive a notice from the Brown Robin to go to any particular -place, tell him of it. That I must know of at the -earliest moment.</p> -<p>“Now, Patsy, Chick is over somewhere in Seventeenth -Street. Find him and send him to Mr. Mountain’s office. -Now get away, please, both of you, for I must go out.”</p> -<p>Mr. Mountain returned to his office, feeling a weight -off his shoulders, since the celebrated Nick Carter had -the case in hand.</p> -<p>Patsy hurried off to find Chick.</p> -<p>Nick himself made his way to the Zetler Bank to find -Mr. Cary almost in a state of collapse.</p> -<p>A messenger had brought him a letter from the Brown -Robin.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_41">41</div> -<p>It read:</p> -<blockquote> -<p>“<span class="sc">Dear Papa Cary</span>: Your little present of last night -only went a little way. I want more for some expenses -I have. You must be at the corner of Fourth Avenue and -Twenty-eighth Street this afternoon at five o’clock. Be -prompt, now, because there will be some one there to -bring you to me. And bring some money. A nice good -lot. Don’t fail, if you do——</p> -<p><span class="lr">“<span class="sc">The Brown Robin.</span>”</span></p> -</blockquote> -<p>When Nick had read this letter, Mr. Cary handed him -a photograph which he said had been brought in but a -short time before, carefully wrapped up.</p> -<p>Nick saw that it was one taken by flashlight. It showed -a woman sitting on Mr. Cary’s knee, her arms about his -neck, his face showing plainly.</p> -<p>Nick thought it was about as compromising a picture -as a respectable elderly gentleman of family could be tortured -with, and one of which clearly no explanation could -be given to offset or contradict the story it told. He -studied the woman’s face, or so much as she showed. -There was art in the way it was shown, yet concealed.</p> -<p>“Tear it up and burn it,” he said. “You must not have -it lying about your desk.”</p> -<p>And while Mr. Cary was engaged in the work of destroying -the damaging photograph, Nick was busily -thinking.</p> -<p>Finally he asked:</p> -<p>“Have you nerve enough to keep this engagement with -the Brown Robin and carry her another hundred dollars?”</p> -<p>Against this Mr. Alpheus Cary protested warmly, declaring -<span class="pb" id="Page_42">42</span> -that he never again would voluntarily see the -woman.</p> -<p>But Nick’s persuasive powers must have been great, for -shortly after four o’clock Mr. Cary was seen to leave the -bank, and had he been followed, it would have been seen -that his way was up Fourth Avenue.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_43">43</div> -<h2 id="c5"><span class="small">CHAPTER V.</span> -<br />THE BROWN ROBIN DINES.</h2> -<p>As the hour of five approached, an elderly gentleman -who would have been recognized by any of the directors -of the Zetler Bank as Mr. Alpheus Cary, its president, -could be seen on the corner of Twenty-eighth Street and -Fourth Avenue.</p> -<p>He was looking in every direction, and peering into the -face of every man who approached him, exhibiting a -nervousness and an anxiety which showed that he regarded -his mission at that place as everything but pleasant.</p> -<p>Frequently he took out his handkerchief and mopped -his face; altogether, he made himself rather conspicuous -on the corner.</p> -<p>Finally, as five o’clock was reached, a young man Patsy -would have recognized as the one who went to sleep in -the hotel after writing two letters, came up from some -unknown place, for Mr. Alpheus Cary thought he sprang -from the earth.</p> -<p>“Mr. Cary, I believe,” said this young man, addressing -the elderly gentleman.</p> -<p>“That is my name,” replied Mr. Cary, nervously.</p> -<p>“I thought that I recognized you,” said the young man.</p> -<p>“Are you the one——”</p> -<p>But he was interrupted.</p> -<p>“How is the market to-day, Mr. Cary?” asked the young -<span class="pb" id="Page_44">44</span> -man. “My eye has been off the tape to-day, and I am -carrying a lot of U. P.”</p> -<p>Could any one have been close enough, they would have -seen that while the young man was asking this question, -and others, and receiving nervous and embarrassed answers -to them, he was closely watching the elderly man.</p> -<p>If Mr. Cary had been a sharp detective, he would have -thought that these sharp looks meant something, but as he -was not, of course, he apparently did not observe them.</p> -<p>Finally the young man said:</p> -<p>“Are you prepared to follow me?”</p> -<p>“Why, yes; that is why I am here, I suppose. Are you -the one who was to meet me here?”</p> -<p>“Mr. Cary, are you acting in good faith?”</p> -<p>“Why, yes, what do you mean?”</p> -<p>“Did you come here alone?”</p> -<p>“Entirely so.”</p> -<p>“Did any one know of your coming here besides yourself?”</p> -<p>“Not a single person.”</p> -<p>“Will you give your word that Nick Carter is not in -concealment here to see us go off together and to follow -us?”</p> -<p>“I will swear that I am here alone; that neither Nick -Carter nor any one else is in concealment here to follow -us.”</p> -<p>“Very good; I’ll take your word for it. But let me -tell you that if you have deceived me in any way, that -you will be punished in a way that you will not like.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_45">45</div> -<p>“I have not deceived you. No one is with me, and no -one could suspect that I was to be here.”</p> -<p>“Come along, then.”</p> -<p>The young man led Mr. Cary down Twenty-eighth -Street to Lexington Avenue, and, turning the corner, hurried -him into a nearby doorway.</p> -<p>“I do not disbelieve you, Mr. Cary, but I am going to -be satisfied.”</p> -<p>They stood there a while. Evidently satisfied that they -were not followed, he motioned for Mr. Cary to follow -him.</p> -<p>Their way now was to a rather plain house at the other -end of the block.</p> -<p>Reaching it, they mounted the steps, the young man -tapping at the door. It was opened immediately, and the -young man motioned for Mr. Cary to enter.</p> -<p>Then he followed, closing the door after him.</p> -<p>“Enter the parlor, Mr. Cary,” he said, “and I will call -the one you came to see.”</p> -<p>He disappeared, running up the stairs.</p> -<p>Mr. Cary had a long time to think over the wisdom or -unwisdom of his step in again putting himself in the -power of the woman who had, the night previous, played -him such a scurvy trick.</p> -<p>For one who wanted to see him so badly as she had -written, the Brown Robin was slow in making her appearance.</p> -<p>By and by, however, there was a movement on the -<span class="pb" id="Page_46">46</span> -stairs, in the hall, and Mr. Cary anxiously waiting, heard -the Brown Robin’s voice saying, rather commandingly:</p> -<p>“You will be here promptly at nine in the morning?”</p> -<p>The voice of the young man who had brought him to -the house was heard in reply.</p> -<p>“Yes, my sister; but you will not see me until that -time.”</p> -<p>The other door opened and closed with a bang.</p> -<p>Mr. Cary grinned on hearing this. But whether in -satisfaction of the departure of the young man, or in -pleased anticipation of a <i>tête-à-tête</i> with the Brown Robin, -did not appear.</p> -<p>His face, however, was perfectly composed when the -Brown Robin, very cool and elegant in appearance, entered -the parlor.</p> -<p>“How good of you, Papa Cary, to come and see me -again,” she cried. “You may kiss me.”</p> -<p>She offered her cheek to Mr. Cary, who hesitated a moment -and then, as if he could not resist the temptation, -awkwardly kissed her, to her great amusement.</p> -<p>She sat down opposite him, saying:</p> -<p>“I was afraid that you would be angry with me for -playing that trick on you.”</p> -<p>“Then you mean to give me back that money?” said -Mr. Cary.</p> -<p>“Oh, dear no,” she cried. “I couldn’t do that. You -see, I have spent all that money. We had to move this -morning, and then my brother, Harold, had some debts -that I had to pay. New York is an awfully expensive -<span class="pb" id="Page_47">47</span> -place, and I want money. You have brought me some, -haven’t you?”</p> -<p>“I should suppose your husband would supply your -needs?” said Mr. Cary. “When does he reach here from -Chicago?”</p> -<p>“I hope not soon, Papa Cary, for then I would have to -stop seeing you. And I mean to see a good deal of you. -Do you know what I am going to do this afternoon? I -am going to give you a nice dinner. You gave me a nice -one yesterday. Only you’ll pay for this one, just as you -did for the one yesterday. That is, if you have brought -me some money. Have you?”</p> -<p>“Have I?” asked Mr. Cary. “Well, yes, I have -brought you some. Here is a hundred dollars.”</p> -<p>He handed the roll to her.</p> -<p>“Only a hundred,” she said, as she took it. “That is -not handsome, Papa Cary. I thought it would be five -times as much. But I’ll take this, and you will have to -give me more money five times as often, if you only give -it in such little bits.”</p> -<p>“I’ll give you a good deal more if you will do something -for me I want you to.”</p> -<p>“What is that?”</p> -<p>“Give me that photograph plate and the pictures you -have had printed.”</p> -<p>The Brown Robin laid her shapely head back on the -cushions of her chair and laughed long and heartily. -Then she said:</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_48">48</div> -<p>“Oh, that poor little trick! You want to bargain with -me, Papa Cary. Now, what will you give for them?”</p> -<p>“What would you have the heart to demand?”</p> -<p>“Well, Papa Cary, I have such a soft heart that I am -afraid I must let you put the figure on them.”</p> -<p>“I will give you a thousand dollars for them.”</p> -<p>“Have you the money here?”</p> -<p>“No. I have no more than I gave you. But I would -give it on delivery of the plate and pictures.”</p> -<p>“And do you think I would give up the pleasure of -seeing you for a thousand dollars?”</p> -<p>“That isn’t the question.”</p> -<p>“Oh, yes it is. Don’t you see that it is owing to my -having those pictures that you are here to-day? If I -hadn’t them, you wouldn’t be here now, would you?”</p> -<p>“Yes, I think I should, if you had sent for me to come.”</p> -<p>The Brown Robin threw her head to one side and eyed -the elderly gentleman shrewdly for a while.</p> -<p>“I am afraid you are fibbing, Papa Cary,” she said. -“And I am getting afraid of you, too. I fear instead of -being a respectable, elderly gentleman, ready to give aid -and protection to unprotected females, you are a gay old -dog.</p> -<p>“No, I can’t sell that pretty picture for a thousand dollars. -It’s too cheap. It cost me too much pains to get it. -And then, how do I know but that you will take it to your -club, show it around to other gay old dogs, as your last -conquest?”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_49">49</div> -<p>Mr. Cary grinned delightedly over being called a gay -old dog, but shook his head and protested with his hands.</p> -<p>“But come,” said the Brown Robin, as a servant entered -from the rear. “Come to dinner all by our two -selves.”</p> -<p>She led the way, and Mr. Cary followed into a rear -room, where a dinner table was laid.</p> -<p>The dinner was a good one, and Mr. Cary evidently enjoyed -it, for he ate heartily, getting quite gay over it.</p> -<p>Of wine, however, he was sparing in use, though urged -often to drink.</p> -<p>When the dinner was over Mr. Cary renewed his efforts -to get the photographic plate, but the Brown Robin -was not to be cajoled into a bargain.</p> -<p>She evaded in every way coming to close quarters, -laughing and joking.</p> -<p>Finally she put an end to it all by saying that she must -go out, and that Papa Cary could accompany her a part -of the way.</p> -<p>She went to the upper part of the house, and while she -was gone Mr. Cary seemed to show a most inexcusable -curiosity as to the room he was left in and what it contained, -for he examined everything in it, picking up a -few things which he put in his pocket.</p> -<p>When the Brown Robin returned she was dressed for -the street.</p> -<p>“Am I pretty enough to walk with you?” she asked.</p> -<p>“I don’t know in which costume you are the prettiest,” -<span class="pb" id="Page_50">50</span> -replied Mr. Cary, “but there is a strange thing,” he continued. -“I do not yet know your name.”</p> -<p>“You shall call me Mrs. Clymer,” she said, as she led -him out of the door.</p> -<p>She walked with him up Lexington Avenue as far as -Thirtieth Street, into which street she turned, going -toward Fourth Avenue. She stopped before a certain -house and looked at its front carefully.</p> -<p>“Let us go in here,” she said.</p> -<p>“What for?”</p> -<p>“To look at it. It is empty. One of those furnished -houses to rent. I like to look at them.”</p> -<p>Mr. Cary followed her up the stoop. The door was -opened by a caretaker who had seen them ascend the -steps. Mrs. Clymer, if that was her name, was contented -with looking at the parlors.</p> -<p>She went out, and, walking up to Fourth Avenue, -turned to the south, Mr. Cary obediently following her.</p> -<p>At Twenty-third Street she turned the corner, going to -a real estate office, where she entered into conversation -with the broker. Mr. Cary, meantime, looked out of the -window into the street.</p> -<p>If he had known them, he would have recognized in -the two men standing on the pavement near the door, -Chick and Patsy.</p> -<p>But the Brown Robin called him to her, saying:</p> -<p>“I must have twenty-five dollars. I want to pay it to -this man.”</p> -<p>“I haven’t that amount with me,” replied Mr. Cary.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_51">51</div> -<p>“Give me your check, then.”</p> -<p>“Oh, I can’t do that. But wait a minute. I can get -the money.”</p> -<p>He hurried out, going quickly to the corner. Here he -stopped, sounding a signal. Chick and Patsy, hearing it, -went quickly to the corner.</p> -<p>As they came up, Mr. Cary said:</p> -<p>“Follow when I come out of the real estate office.”</p> -<p>He went back, handing to the Brown Robin twenty-five -dollars.</p> -<p>Finishing her business, she went out, followed by Mr. -Cary. On the sidewalk she said:</p> -<p>“Now, Papa Cary, you must leave me. But you must -come promptly when I send for you. Perhaps it will be -to-morrow. Our fun is only beginning.”</p> -<p>She asked Mr. Cary to stop a Lexington Avenue car -for her and got aboard it when it came, bidding the -elderly gentleman good-by at the car, very sweetly.</p> -<p>Mr. Cary, regaining the sidewalk, turned the corner, -walking down Fourth Avenue to Twenty-second Street.</p> -<p>There he stopped, waiting for Chick and Patsy to come -apace, and, when they did, he said:</p> -<p>“I want to get this makeup off as soon as I can.”</p> -<p>“It’s a pity to take it off,” said Patsy. “It’s great.”</p> -<p>“Boys,” said the elderly gentleman, “that woman is the -Brown Robin.”</p> -<p>“The devil!” exclaimed Patsy.</p> -<p>“I am the only detective, or police officer, that has ever -<span class="pb" id="Page_52">52</span> -spoken to the Brown Robin, knowing it to be her. I have -her measure.”</p> -<p>“Why didn’t you nab her, then, chief?” asked Chick.</p> -<p>“Because she has worked the Cary matter so skillfully -that I could not convict her. I want to get her foul on -the Mountain case. But the Brown Robin is a woman.”</p> -<p>“Then who the devil is Harold Stanton?” asked Patsy.</p> -<p>“I’ll tell you that later. There are others, and we must -capture them. But come with me.”</p> -<p>They hurried to a neighboring hotel, where the Alpheus -Cary who had dined with the Brown Robin quickly came -out as Nick Carter, the famous detective.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_53">53</div> -<h2 id="c6"><span class="small">CHAPTER VI.</span> -<br />AN AUDACIOUS VISITOR.</h2> -<p>After he had removed his disguise, Nick said to his two -aids:</p> -<p>“The Cary case will give us little trouble after this. I -shall probably continue to play his part in it, but it will -amount to little more than shelling out some money. She -thinks she has captured him.</p> -<p>“She is a wonderfully clever woman, and is using the -Cary incident merely as a cover to the big strike on -Mountain.</p> -<p>“Now, Chick, tell me what you found in Seventeenth -Street?”</p> -<p>“That the house was empty; that it had been occupied -but two or three days; that the rent had been paid for -a month; but possession has not been given up.”</p> -<p>“Do you know who rented it?”</p> -<p>“A woman who gave the name of Mrs. Stanton.”</p> -<p>“Hum! I fancy that she has rented another house this -evening, the one in Thirtieth Street. In my way of thinking, -that house is to be the scene of the strike on Mountain.</p> -<p>“That is a job for you, Patsy,” continued Nick. “Watch -that house from early to-morrow morning and settle who -goes in and all about it. Nothing will be done there to-night.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_54">54</div> -<p>“I must go to Cary’s club and quiet him for the night. -He is nearly in a collapse. How about Mountain, Chick?”</p> -<p>“I saw him. He is game, chief. Nothing came for -him from the Brown Robin up to the time of his leaving -his office. He will not yield. He is going to the theatre -to-night.”</p> -<p>“Do you know where?”</p> -<p>“Yes; at the Empire.”</p> -<p>“Ah, ha! Be in the neighborhood, boys, and keep him -under watch if you can. He is quite as likely to get his -notice there as anywhere.”</p> -<p>Nick went home satisfied that if there was any movement -made that night, it would be only in the way he -indicated.</p> -<p>“A lady is waiting to see you in the parlor, Nick,” said -Edith, as he entered.</p> -<p>“Who is it?”</p> -<p>“She would give no name,” replied Edith. “She is -young, pretty, and has asked me a lot of questions about -you.”</p> -<p>“Of course you gave me a good character,” laughed -Nick.</p> -<p>“I told the truth about you, and you can guess what it -was, for I won’t tell you,” laughed Edith, in reply. “But -hurry and get rid of her, for I want you to go out a ways -with me.”</p> -<p>Nick went to the parlor.</p> -<p>No man ever had a greater control of his features than -<span class="pb" id="Page_55">55</span> -the famous detective. He always maintained his self-control -under the most trying circumstances. He had -more than once looked certain death in the face without -blinking.</p> -<p>But he had as narrow an escape from betraying himself -as he ever met with, when, on opening the parlor door, he -saw the Brown Robin occupying one of his sofas.</p> -<p>The shock was momentary and not observed by the -other.</p> -<p>Nick crossed the room, bowing before his visitor, -gravely, and said:</p> -<p>“I am Mr. Carter, madam.”</p> -<p>The Brown Robin arose from her seat and looked most -keenly and curiously into his face. Nick would have been -dull indeed, if he had not also seen the look of admiration -that grew on the face of his visitor.</p> -<p>But it did not affect him. Indeed he was just then -striving to guess what the game of the Brown Robin was -in seeking him at his own home.</p> -<p>“I should be much pleased, Mr. Carter,” said the Brown -Robin, “if you would listen to what I have to say and give -me your advice.”</p> -<p>“I certainly will listen to you,” replied Nick, “but as to -the advice I cannot tell yet. But, be seated and begin.”</p> -<p>The Brown Robin sat down, and, taking from her -pocket a letter, she said:</p> -<p>“If you will read that it will be a good beginning.”</p> -<p>She handed it to him, and at a glance Nick saw that it -<span class="pb" id="Page_56">56</span> -was one of the kind with which now he was familiar. He -read it:</p> -<blockquote> -<p>“<span class="sc">Mrs. Ansel</span>: I have named my figures. I have only -this to say further: If the money is not at the place to -be mentioned, and at the time, your letters will be in the -hands of your husband in the evening.</p> -<p><span class="lr">“<span class="sc">The Brown Robin.</span>”</span></p> -</blockquote> -<p>Nick handed the letter back and waited for the Brown -Robin to speak. Apparently she was much embarrassed, -and Nick, studying her, thought she was an admirable -actress.</p> -<p>Finally she burst out:</p> -<p>“You are not at all sympathetic, Mr. Carter. Cannot -you help me by asking questions?”</p> -<p>Nick smiled. Her acting pleased him, it was so good.</p> -<p>“I presume I can,” he said. “I suppose this is a case -of blackmail.”</p> -<p>“Horrid blackmail.”</p> -<p>“What are the letters referred to?”</p> -<p>“Mine, written before I was married.”</p> -<p>“Why, then, should you fear to have your husband see -them?”</p> -<p>“Well, they are compromising—that is, some of them—that -is, in a way. They were written while I was engaged -to the one who is now my husband, to a man of -whom my husband is now and always has been desperately -jealous.”</p> -<p>“Who is this Brown Robin?”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_57">57</div> -<p>“Don’t you know?”</p> -<p>“I was asking if you knew.”</p> -<p>“I only know that it is a name under which some one -is making my life miserable. Who and what is the Brown -Robin?”</p> -<p>“A blackmailer, evidently. I have heard of the name -as used by a person in various cities, and latterly in New -York.”</p> -<p>“Is it a man or a woman?”</p> -<p>“The Brown Robin, I should judge, is a name used by -a man and a woman, working together.”</p> -<p>A faint smile flitted over the face of the lady.</p> -<p>There was a moment’s silence. Then Nick asked:</p> -<p>“How did these letters get into the possession of the -Brown Robin?”</p> -<p>“They were stolen from Mr. Collins.”</p> -<p>“The man to whom they were written?”</p> -<p>“Yes.”</p> -<p>“By whom?”</p> -<p>“By the Brown Robin, I suppose.”</p> -<p>“How much money does she want?”</p> -<p>“One thousand dollars.”</p> -<p>“And you cannot pay it?”</p> -<p>“I have no more money than my husband gives me, and -he would find it difficult to raise so large a sum.”</p> -<p>“Now, then, what is it you wish from me?”</p> -<p>“Well, what am I to do?”</p> -<p>“I think I should say that it is simply impossible—that -you would find it difficult to raise a thousand cents. Convince -<span class="pb" id="Page_58">58</span> -these people of your inability to raise the money, -and, as a rule, they drop the thing. It is the hope of getting -money that makes them hold on.”</p> -<p>“But cannot you give me some way of getting back -those letters?”</p> -<p>“Frankly, Mrs. Ansel, for that I take to be your name,” -said Nick, “I don’t think the game is worth the candle.</p> -<p>“If I were in your place, I should take a detective of -the regular force with me to the appointed place, and -when the blackmailer appeared, put him, or her, or them, -under arrest. They would give up the letters to be released.”</p> -<p>“Wouldn’t you go with me?”</p> -<p>Immediately Nick thought he saw through the purpose -of the call. It was the audacious effort of which he had -spoken to Edith, of leading him into a compromising trap.</p> -<p>It did not anger him, for he rather admired the boldness -and audacity of it.</p> -<p>However, his first impulse was to refuse, but his second -thought was to see it out. He said:</p> -<p>“I am a very busy man just now, and cannot control -my time. What is the hour of this meeting, and where -is it to be?”</p> -<p>“The hour is eleven to-morrow, but I am to be informed -early to-morrow morning of the place.”</p> -<p>“Very well, I will go with you, if you inform me early -enough.”</p> -<p>The Brown Robin arose, apparently much pleased with -the success of her visit, and shortly after left.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_59">59</div> -<p>Nick went back to Edith, telling her to prepare herself -for her walk and saying that he wanted to go in the -neighborhood of the Festus Club, for a moment’s word -with one of his clients.</p> -<p>When she came back, ready for her walk, she asked:</p> -<p>“Who was your caller, Nick?”</p> -<p>“The Brown Robin.”</p> -<p>“Nick! You don’t mean that that pretty woman is the -Brown Robin?”</p> -<p>“No doubt of it!”</p> -<p>“How do you know?”</p> -<p>“I called on the Brown Robin to-day, disguised as Alpheus -Cary.”</p> -<p>“And she had the audacity to come and see you, knowing -you are retained to expose her?”</p> -<p>“Boldness and audacity are her weapons.”</p> -<p>“What did she want?”</p> -<p>“She pretended that she was a Mrs. Ansel, who was -being blackmailed by the Brown Robin.”</p> -<p>“She came to measure you, Nick, to size you up, as -you call it.”</p> -<p>“Perhaps that was her game. She has never seen me, -I suppose. But, Edith, I think she was laying the trap -of which I spoke this morning.”</p> -<p>“How?”</p> -<p>“She wanted me to accompany her as Mrs. Ansel to -meet the Brown Robin and compel the giving up of the -letters.”</p> -<p>“Ah! and you do not walk into the trap.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_60">60</div> -<p>“But I will. Something of value may come out of it. -I will escape it, never fear. Chick and Patsy will not be -far off, I can tell you.”</p> -<p>Edith made no reply. Quite evidently she did not like -it, but she knew it was useless to combat Nick when he -had made up his mind.</p> -<p>So she held her peace and went out for her walk with -him.</p> -<p>During their walk they stopped at the door of the Festus -Club, where Nick told Mr. Cary that he had his case -so well in hand that the old gentleman could go home -and sleep in comfort.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_61">61</div> -<h2 id="c7"><span class="small">CHAPTER VII.</span> -<br />CHICK’S GREAT DISCOVERY.</h2> -<p>When Nick had left Chick and Patsy at the hotel, where -he had taken off the disguise of Mr. Cary, the two young -detectives discussed their own details for the night.</p> -<p>“We’re to keep a watch over Mountain,” said Chick.</p> -<p>“He seems able to watch over himself,” replied Patsy.</p> -<p>“Oh, he’s able enough,” said Chick. “It isn’t that. -The chief wants to know the moment he gets the word -from the Brown Robin. He believes that the Brown -Robin will show up to-night.”</p> -<p>“Then we must be on,” said Patsy. “It’s up to us to -decorate the lobby of the Empire with our beauty. Say, -Chick, it’s the old story. We’ve swung about the Tenderloin -so much lately that too many know us.”</p> -<p>“And we’ll have to look different. Well, Patsy, let’s -swing out as swell Willie boys.”</p> -<p>Patsy laughed heartily, pounding the pillar against -which he had been leaning.</p> -<p>“A sweet Willie boy you’ll make Chick,” he said, after -a while, “with those broad shoulders of yours. No, no, -Chick. Do your own act. Swing out as a regular swell.”</p> -<p>Chick looked at his watch, and said:</p> -<p>“It is nearly time to rig, then. But come with me first. -I want to look over that Seventeenth Street house again. -Though the people in the neighborhood say the folks who -<span class="pb" id="Page_62">62</span> -were in it for three days have left it, I’ve a notion it’s -still in the game.”</p> -<p>The two moved off in the direction of the house in -question, and had reached the corner of Twenty-third -Street and Lexington Avenue on their way, when a young -man in a blue flannel shirt and a coil of wire about his -shoulder, stopped Chick and asked:</p> -<p>“Ain’t you Chickering Carter?”</p> -<p>“Yes,” replied Chick, eying the young man keenly.</p> -<p>“Well, say,” said the young man, “it’s up to me to tell -you something. Say, I’ve been chewing on it all day, -and just as soon as I was cleaned up I was going to hunt -up Nick Carter and give it away, if it did fling me out -of a job.”</p> -<p>“Can you tell me?” asked Chick.</p> -<p>“That’s what I hollered whoa on you for. You’ll do -just as well.”</p> -<p>“Step aside, then,” said Chick.</p> -<p>Chick led the way to a place near the corner, where -they could talk unobserved, followed by both Patsy and -the young man.</p> -<p>“Now, then, what is it?” asked Chick</p> -<p>“I’ve been dead wrong,” said the young man, “and I’m -going to square it, even if you fling me over to the company. -It’s this way. I’m lineman for the telephone company. -See?</p> -<p>“I know all about Nick Carter, and you, and Patsy and -Ida. See? Well, I was working on the line up by Ida’s -<span class="pb" id="Page_63">63</span> -house this morning, where a break had been reported, -and I had to go on to the top of a house right by hers.</p> -<p>“Well, I found a wire had been rung in on it, and I -followed it to see that it run over the gutter and to a -window on the third floor. See?</p> -<p>“I went down to that room, and there was a young -woman, and she was a peach, all smiles. See?</p> -<p>“‘You’ve found it,’ she says, ‘and caught me. Now -don’t give me away, ’cause there’s nothing in it. I was -only trying to get on to my best feller.’ See?</p> -<p>“Anyhow, she give me the great jolly and I went in -up to my neck. I was soft as butter. When she flung up -a fiver at me, hanged if I didn’t do what she wanted, and -fixed the wire to an old ’phone she had in the room.</p> -<p>“She jollied me into it. See? After I got away from -her, I began to think, and the more I thought the more -wrong it was to me, and I saw what mush I’d been in -the hands of a pretty woman.</p> -<p>“So, after I’d been thinking an hour, I went back to -unfix it. Say! Just as I got to her door I heard her say: -‘All right, chief, this is Ida.’ Then I took a big tumble. -I listened and heard her say over what the one at the -other end had been saying, something about ‘Herman -Hartwig’ and ‘Passen.’ She had got on to Nick Carter’s -talk and was a crook playing Ida.</p> -<p>“I took a sneak up to the roof, cut the leak wire, and -switched the other over so that the crook couldn’t get at -it again.</p> -<p>“That’s all there is of it. I’ve squared it with you, and, -<span class="pb" id="Page_64">64</span> -if you want to, you can report me to the company and -get me sacked. I won’t squeal.”</p> -<p>“Well,” cried Chick, “I wouldn’t do that, anyway. And -now that you’ve squared yourself this way, I wouldn’t -think of it.</p> -<p>“It was the chief she was talking with over the wire, -but there wasn’t any harm done, for he dropped right -away that it wasn’t Ida on the other end, and gave the -other a throw-off. He cut the connections with his own -’phone.</p> -<p>“If you want to square it right with the chief, go to his -place to-morrow morning and put the connections on. -I’ll see him to-night and square you with him.”</p> -<p>The young man, expressing satisfaction with this arrangement, -went off, after shaking hands with both Chick -and Patsy.</p> -<p>But he had gotten no farther than the corner when he -stopped short, peered forward eagerly, and came back -to the young detectives on a run.</p> -<p>“Say,” he cried. “Come. The young woman is going -down the av’noo. Sure, it’s her.”</p> -<p>“Who?” asked Patsy.</p> -<p>“The one who worked me on the wires.”</p> -<p>The two followed quickly to the corner, where the man -pointed out a woman moving along at a brisk gait down -Lexington Avenue.</p> -<p>“Come on, Patsy,” cried Chick.</p> -<p>The young man evidently thought he was in it, too, for -he followed after.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_65">65</div> -<p>The woman, plainly unconscious that she was followed, -went on until she reached Twenty-first Street, when she -was stopped by Grammery Park.</p> -<p>She turned to the right, or toward the west, and went -around the park to Twentieth Street, and so down to -Irving place.</p> -<p>Into this short street she turned, continuing on to Seventeenth -Street.</p> -<p>“Hide!” cried Chick, just as she reached the corner, -springing over the fence into a courtyard.</p> -<p>Patsy obeyed immediately and the lineman caught on -quickly enough to prevent himself from being seen.</p> -<p>As Chick had anticipated, the woman had stood still on -the corner and looked back.</p> -<p>As no one was to be seen, she was apparently satisfied -that she was unobserved, for she turned to the left and -went out of sight.</p> -<p>The three came from their hiding places, and, at -Chick’s suggestion, Patsy stole up to the corner, peering -around it.</p> -<p>He signaled for Chick to come, and dashed across Seventeenth -Street.</p> -<p>The woman was pursuing her way toward Third Avenue -on the upper side of Seventeenth Street.</p> -<p>“Keep back, out of sight,” said Chick to the lineman.</p> -<p>The young man fell back, and Chick advanced cautiously, -taking advantage of every obstruction of which -he could make use.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_66">66</div> -<p>Patsy was pursuing the same tactics on the other side -of the street.</p> -<p>When within a few doors of Third Avenue, the woman -again stopped and looked back.</p> -<p>This had been anticipated by Chick, too, and he was -out of sight when she turned.</p> -<p>Nor was Patsy to be seen. The only one in the vista -was a man—the lineman—and his back was turned, as if -he were walking toward Irving Place.</p> -<p>Hastily she ran up the steps of the house in front of -which she had stopped, and disappeared through the door.</p> -<p>Chick and Patsy both appeared at the same instant. -Chick sounded a signal, and Patsy came running to him.</p> -<p>“Is it the house, Chick?” he asked.</p> -<p>“The same one, Patsy,” replied Chick.</p> -<p>“Then it is the Brown Robin.”</p> -<p>“Perhaps. We’ll pipe off the house for a while.”</p> -<p>The lineman came back to them, and learning what -they were about to do, concluded to go off, but Chick persuaded -him to stay.</p> -<p>While he had every reason to believe that the young -fellow was honest, yet he would not take the chance of -having him give warning.</p> -<p>The wait was half an hour in length, during which time -the three were completely concealed under the areaway -of a vacant house.</p> -<p>About the time that Patsy expressed the opinion that -the woman was settled for the night, a form was seen to -<span class="pb" id="Page_67">67</span> -appear on the stoop from within the house they were -watching.</p> -<p>“Here she comes!” cried Patsy.</p> -<p>The figure descended the steps.</p> -<p>“It’s a man,” said the lineman, “not a woman.”</p> -<p>The figure turned from the house toward the west, approaching -closely to the spot where the three were hidden.</p> -<p>As the man passed them, the light of a street lamp fell -upon him.</p> -<p>Patsy caught the arm of Chick in a firm grip, and held -it until the figure of the man passed far enough along to -be beyond the possibility of hearing.</p> -<p>“It is the one I followed this morning,” he whispered.</p> -<p>“The deuce!” exclaimed Chick. “The one who wrote -the letter—who went to sleep in the hotel?”</p> -<p>“Yes; in the disguise he put on after he ran away from -the insurance building.”</p> -<p>“Get out and watch him,” said Chick to the lineman.</p> -<p>The young fellow did as he was told, and presently reported -that the man was crossing Irving Place and going -up Seventeenth Street to the west.</p> -<p>“Patsy,” said Chick, “go and rig yourself for the night’s -work. I’ll take up the shadow and will give you the -trail.”</p> -<p>Patsy was about to go off, but he waited to hear Chick -say to the lineman:</p> -<p>“It isn’t worth your while to follow us longer.”</p> -<p>But at the moment the lineman said:</p> -<p>“The fellow is coming back.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_68">68</div> -<p>Again the three went into hiding to see that the young -fellow stopped at the corner of Irving Place.</p> -<p>He stood there a moment or two, looking down the -street, and passed out of sight.</p> -<p>Patsy stole up to the corner, and lightly leaping into -the courtyard of the house on the corner, threw himself -on the ground and wriggled to the corner, to see the man -standing nearby, leaning against the fence.</p> -<p>Patsy wriggled back, and signaled to Chick that the -man was there yet.</p> -<p>Chick gave the return signal to keep up the watch, and -himself stole down the street to the house whence the -man had come.</p> -<p>Looking up at it, there were no indications that it was -occupied.</p> -<p>Pulling from his pocket a false mustache and a wig, -he donned them quickly, keenly alive to any signal Patsy -might give, and, mounting the steps, rang the bell.</p> -<p>Chick had a notion in his head that he wanted to satisfy.</p> -<p>There was no response, though he rang several times.</p> -<p>Then he tried the outer door. It opened to him, and -he found himself in a vestibule. The inner doors were -locked.</p> -<p>He picked the lock quickly and stepped into a dark -hall. There were no signs or sounds of life within the -house, but all was darkness.</p> -<p>Chick drew his revolver, and then took from his coat -pocket his lantern.</p> -<p>Feeling for the parlor door, he entered that room and -<span class="pb" id="Page_69">69</span> -listened. Then he flashed his lantern. It was empty. -By the light he located the stairs, and shutting it off, cautiously -climbed them to the second floor, where he listened -again.</p> -<p>There was no sound of anything. Again flashing his -light, he found an open door in front of him.</p> -<p>He entered. On the bed was a lot of women’s clothes. -He examined them. It was a complete woman’s costume.</p> -<p>On a chair was some men’s apparel.</p> -<p>Chick went back to the woman’s clothes and muttered:</p> -<p>“It is just what I thought.”</p> -<p>He gave a hasty glance at the bureau. On it was a -lot of paint and cosmetic; several false beards, mustaches -and wigs.</p> -<p>“I’ve got this for a certainty.”</p> -<p>He bounded out of the room, going hurriedly into -every part of the house. It was empty; not a soul in it.</p> -<p>He went to the front door, and as he did so he heard -some one on the outside.</p> -<p>He darted into the parlor and not a moment too soon, -for some one entered and hastily ran upstairs in the dark.</p> -<p>Quick as a flash and as a light shone forth on the second -floor, Chick slipped out of the front doors and down -the steps.</p> -<p>Reaching the sidewalk, he sounded a low whistle.</p> -<p>Promptly came the response; Chick bounded in its direction.</p> -<p>Patsy appeared from under a stoop; Chick went to him.</p> -<p>“Who went into that house?” he asked.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_70">70</div> -<p>“The same one who came out. He came back all of a -sudden, as if he had just thought of something, nearly -catching me. Who came out just now?”</p> -<p>“I did.”</p> -<p>“The devil!”</p> -<p>“Yes; I’ve been through the house. There wasn’t a -soul in it.”</p> -<p>“But the woman who went in?”</p> -<p>“Patsy, I’ve tumbled to a big thing. The woman who -went in and the man who came out are the same person. -But hurry off, Patsy, rig up and find my trail. There’s -business on hand.”</p> -<p>Patsy dashed away and was hardly out of sight, when -Chick saw the young man come from the house and hurriedly -pass up Seventeenth Street.</p> -<p>Chick was after him quickly, a piece of red chalk in -his hand. The lineman had disappeared.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_71">71</div> -<h2 id="c8"><span class="small">CHAPTER VIII.</span> -<br />A DEEP GAME.</h2> -<p>For some time, as a matter of convenience for making -changes and as a meeting place for himself and aids, Nick -had maintained a room in the hotel where, in the late afternoon -of the day in which these events took place, he -had taken off his makeup as Mr. Cary.</p> -<p>It was to this place that Patsy hurried to make the -change that would prevent him from being recognized by -the Brown Robin.</p> -<p>It did not take him long, and when he turned out into -the street again, in his dress suit and mustache, he looked -like a veritable young man about town—a handsome -swell.</p> -<p>He had supposed when he left the room where he made -the change that he would have to return to the neighborhood -where Chick had made his great discovery, to pick -up Chick’s trail.</p> -<p>But he had barely stepped through the main entrance -to the hotel when he saw, on the pavement directly in -front, a roughly-drawn arrow in red chalk, the head -pointing to the north.</p> -<p>It was Chick’s trail.</p> -<p>“Great luck!” exclaimed Patsy to himself, as he hurried -up to the corner. “I’m on as the flag falls.”</p> -<p>At the corner the sign showed that Chick had crossed -<span class="pb" id="Page_72">72</span> -the street to the west side of Broadway, but on reaching -the corner on that side, Patsy could see nothing that indicated -further direction.</p> -<p>“Great Scott!” exclaimed Patsy. “They have taken a -car.”</p> -<p>He went back to the middle of the street, and, looking -about carefully, saw some pieces of paper.</p> -<p>He looked for a trail of them, but the wind had evidently -blown them away.</p> -<p>Searching further, Patsy’s eye was caught by an upright -form which fluttered a small red flag, a signal of -some kind, used in the operation of the street railway.</p> -<p>This upright was a slender rod of iron, but about it -was tied a small bit of red cloth.</p> -<p>Patsy went to it, to recognize it as one of Chick’s signs.</p> -<p>A railroad man came up, warning Patsy away from the -signal.</p> -<p>“Now, who the deuce did that?” he exclaimed, tearing -off Chick’s signal.</p> -<p>But Patsy had seen it, and knew that Chick had taken -an upbound car.</p> -<p>So he mounted the next one, quite certain that Chick’s -destination was the Empire Theatre.</p> -<p>But, all the same, he kept a sharp lookout for any signal -that might have been left by Chick on the way.</p> -<p>He saw none, however, until in passing the Empire -Theatre, his eye caught a strip of red cloth, a foot long, -fluttering from the billboard of the theatre.</p> -<p>“Chick’s there,” he muttered.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_73">73</div> -<p>At Fortieth Street he got out and walked back to the -theatre, taking off the strip of cloth which had been fastened -by a pin, as he entered, placing it in his pocket.</p> -<p>As he entered the lobby, a man in ordinary clothes -passed out, making a signal to Patsy.</p> -<p>Even before Patsy saw the signal he had recognized -Chick, though he was disguised by a false mustache and -wig.</p> -<p>He followed Chick out, and when he came up, Chick -said:</p> -<p>“My man, who is a woman—the Brown Robin—is in -there, looking at the play. The second act is on.</p> -<p>“Mountain is in there, too. The Brown Robin talked -with Mountain after the first act. What was said between -them I don’t know, but whatever it was, the Brown -Robin asked something from Mountain which he refused -to give or do.</p> -<p>“I couldn’t get to him before he went back to his seat.”</p> -<p>“Catch him after this act,” said Patsy.</p> -<p>“That’s what I want to do,” said Chick, “and I have -been thinking it over and how to do it. You see, if we -talk with Mountain in the open, the Brown Robin will -drop, and that is what we don’t want.</p> -<p>“Say, Patsy, you know the manager, don’t you?”</p> -<p>“Yes; he’s all right—nice fellow.”</p> -<p>“Well, can’t you see him now, and ask him to let us -into a room and send for Mr. Mountain?”</p> -<p>“Sure.”</p> -<p>Patsy went off, and in a few moments was back again, -<span class="pb" id="Page_74">74</span> -saying it was all arranged. He led Chick into a room -opening off the lobby, and when the door was closed Patsy -laughed and said:</p> -<p>“This job was easy enough, Chick, but the hard part -was to convince our friend that I was the one I said I -was. He knows Mountain, so that is all right.”</p> -<p>At this moment the door opened, and a short, rather -stout man, with a sharp, bright, masterful face, entered, -looking keenly about.</p> -<p>“The great mogul over all here,” whispered Patsy.</p> -<p>It was indeed the great theatrical manager of the day.</p> -<p>“Which one is Patsy?” he asked.</p> -<p>Patsy stood up, and the great manager looked him over -keenly.</p> -<p>Then he laughed heartily, and shook hands with the -lad.</p> -<p>“Patsy,” he said, “I think I shall have to engage you -to teach makeup to my young people. Yours is a triumph -of art.”</p> -<p>Directing the boy in attendance to make the two comfortable, -he went out.</p> -<p>Shortly after, a bell sounded in the room.</p> -<p>“The act is over,” said Chick; “now for Mountain.”</p> -<p>They did not wait long, for the door soon opened and -Mr. Mountain, in evening attire, entered.</p> -<p>He looked at the two with the air of one who had expected -to find acquaintances and had met strangers.</p> -<p>“Mr. Mountain,” said Chick, “we are two of Nick Carter’s -men.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_75">75</div> -<p>“The woods are full of them, then,” said Mr. Mountain, -seriously, “for this is the second time I have been accosted -by them.”</p> -<p>“Do you mean,” asked Chick, “that the one who spoke -to you after the first act said he was one of Nick Carter’s -men?”</p> -<p>“That’s what he did.”</p> -<p>“For Heaven’s sake!” exclaimed Chick. “I hope you -gave him no confidence.”</p> -<p>“I did not. I told him that I did not know whether he -was or not, and I would not talk to him until I knew or -he proved it. Then I told him that when I knew him to -be one of Nick Carter’s men I would have nothing to do -with him, or Nick Carter, either, for I had been warned -against all. And that’s what I say to you.”</p> -<p>“You do not recognize me, then, Mr. Mountain?”</p> -<p>“I do not.”</p> -<p>Chick stood up, and quickly removed his mustache and -wig.</p> -<p>“How now, Mr. Mountain?”</p> -<p>“There’s no doubt of it now,” laughed Mr. Mountain.</p> -<p>“I am Patsy, Mr. Mountain,” said the lad, “but I can’t -take off my makeup so quickly or put it on again.”</p> -<p>“Well, boys,” said Mr. Mountain, “what’s in the wind?”</p> -<p>“We have been detailed by the chief to watch over you, -Mr. Mountain,” said Chick. “He had a notion that you -would get your notice to-night.”</p> -<p>“He was right. I did.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_76">76</div> -<p>“When?”</p> -<p>“See here, Chick,” said Mr. Mountain, “Carter told me -that if I was questioned I must deny having anything to -do with him or his men.”</p> -<p>“That’s all right, Mr. Mountain,” said Chick. “The -chief has a notion that they do not know that you have -retained him, and he wants to keep the thing quiet. I -hope you did not let on to that young man that you had -relations with us.”</p> -<p>“Why?”</p> -<p>“Because that was the Brown Robin.”</p> -<p>“The devil! I saw Nick Carter only a couple of hours -ago, and he told me the Brown Robin was a woman.”</p> -<p>“The person speaking to you after the first act was a -woman.”</p> -<p>“What? Are you sure?”</p> -<p>“Certain. Now, then, what did she want?”</p> -<p>“Say, Chick,” exclaimed Patsy. “Hold on! Mr. -Mountain has seen her in the makeup she had when she -left Seventeenth Street.”</p> -<p>“That’s all right, Patsy, but she made a change on her -way up here. Now, Mr. Mountain, what did she want?”</p> -<p>“Well, after telling me she was one of Nick Carter’s -men, she asked if I had got my notice. I refused to say -anything to her on the subject, and when she talked Nick -Carter I told her, as Mr. Carter had instructed me, that I -had nothing to do with him, and wanted to have nothing -to do.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_77">77</div> -<p>“He—that is, she, if it is a she—began to threaten me -with Nick Carter’s power, but I wouldn’t have it. I stood -pat on Mr. Carter’s instructions.”</p> -<p>“That is first-rate,” said Chick. “I see the game -through and through. It was an effort to be satisfied -whether or not Nick Carter is employed by you.”</p> -<p>“Well, then, she is satisfied that he is not, for I lied like -a trooper.”</p> -<p>“Good! Now, then, you have got your notice?”</p> -<p>“Yes.”</p> -<p>“How?”</p> -<p>“By letter. It was thrust into my hand as I entered the -theatre here.”</p> -<p>“May I see it?”</p> -<p>Mr. Mountain took a letter from his pocket, handing it -to Chick, who, after reading it, passed it to Patsy. It -read:</p> -<blockquote> -<p>“<span class="sc">Mr. M.</span>: To-morrow at 5 P. M. Be at the entrance -of the Park Avenue Hotel, prepared to do business, -as I require. Make no mistake as to the amount. You -will be met by one who will bring you to me. If you are -accompanied by any one, or, if any one is concealed there -to watch and follow, I shall know it, and if you play tricks -the game will be up. Be prompt.</p> -<p><span class="lr">“<span class="sc">The Brown Robin.</span>”</span></p> -</blockquote> -<p>“So it’s business to-morrow,” said Chick.</p> -<p>“It seems so,” replied Mr. Mountain. “I want to see -Carter on this business; I meant to go to him after the -theatre.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_78">78</div> -<p>“Don’t; let him go to you,” said Chick. “You will be -seen and followed if you go. He will get to you unseen.”</p> -<p>“I suppose that is so,” said Mr. Mountain, thoughtfully. -“You will inform him then?”</p> -<p>“Yes; I will take this letter to him.”</p> -<p>Chick was thoughtful a moment, then handed the letter -back, saying:</p> -<p>“On second thoughts, Mr. Mountain, keep that letter -in your pocket. You may be required to show it, and -it may be well to do it, if so.”</p> -<p>“How?”</p> -<p>“The man who first came to you may show up before -the evening is over.”</p> -<p>“I see.”</p> -<p>“A lot may be done to find out whether you are acting -in good faith before they put their heads in the trap.”</p> -<p>“I follow you. Good! I am to act as I meant to come -down in earnest.”</p> -<p>“That is it.”</p> -<p>The bell sounded again to notify of the raising of the -curtain.</p> -<p>“Go back, Mr. Mountain, as if nothing had occurred -here,” said Chick.</p> -<p>Mr. Mountain went into the lobby, and Chick asked an -attendant if there was a way out of the room except -through the lobby.</p> -<p>An unknown way was pointed out, and through it -Chick and Patsy went out to Broadway.</p> -<p>Here Chick said:</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_79">79</div> -<p>“Now, Patsy, go into the theatre and keep up the watch. -I think Mountain will be shadowed home; follow if he is. -I shall hunt up the chief.”</p> -<p>Patsy obeyed, and went into the theatre, paying his admission, -to see the man he had followed earlier in the day, -in the same disguise in which he had come from the Seventeenth -Street house; that is to say, the Brown Robin, -standing just within the audience hall.</p> -<p>He took up a standing position near her.</p> -<p>Chick hurried across town to Nick’s apartments and -arrived a few minutes after Nick had returned from his -walk with Edith.</p> -<p>The famous detective listened intently to what Chick -had to tell.</p> -<p>“This is great work of yours, Chick,” he said. “You -have proved satisfactorily what I have suspected ever -since I was at the Brown Robin’s house as Mr. Cary.</p> -<p>“The suspicion that the man that followed me this -morning and was followed by Patsy afterward was a -woman came to me when he took me to the Lexington -house.”</p> -<p>“I was looking for the knock-kneed gait that the keen-witted -Patsy spoke of, and then it struck me it was a -woman, well padded and made up.”</p> -<p>“But, chief, you saw the man go out of the Lexington -Avenue house just as the Brown Robin came to you.”</p> -<p>“No, I didn’t, Chick,” replied Nick, with a smile. “I -heard it. But I dropped then, or thought I did, that the -<span class="pb" id="Page_80">80</span> -two voices were from the same person—a little play played -for my benefit.</p> -<p>“She is a great actress, Chick, and a thundering smart -woman. She has the energy of the devil. When she -left me, as Mr. Cary, in Twenty-third Street, she must -have come straight over here. Leaving here, she made -for the Seventeenth Street house, to make her change for -the night’s work.</p> -<p>“That was a great piece of work of yours to go into -that house. It proved the fact, and shows up her game.</p> -<p>“I can see now how she baffled all the others. She -has three houses to work in, and in the Lexington Avenue -house she is seen only as a woman, except as she ordered -it to-day.</p> -<p>“She is great on makeup, and she plays the game herself. -Well, she makes the big strike to-morrow, and -we’ll have her.</p> -<p>“We’ll meet her with her own cunning.</p> -<p>“But come, we’ll go to Mr. Mountain’s house, to be -there before he gets back from the theatre.</p> -<p>“Take my word for it, Chick, the Thirtieth Street house -is to be the scene of the big strike.”</p> -<p>With this, the two detectives set out for Mr. Mountain’s -residence.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_81">81</div> -<h2 id="c9"><span class="small">CHAPTER IX.</span> -<br />THE TRAP.</h2> -<p>Patsy arrived early the next morning to report to Nick -that on the night previous the Brown Robin, still in male -attire, had followed Mr. Mountain to his home, after that -gentleman had left the theatre with his family.</p> -<p>She had been around the front of the house for some -little time, and then, as if satisfied that Mr. Mountain was -housed for the night, had left, going directly to the corner -of Thirty-fourth Street and Sixth Avenue, where she -met two men, evidently awaiting her coming.</p> -<p>Only a word or two was exchanged between them, and -they then set off at a quick pace, going straight to the -Thirtieth Street house, where the Brown Robin had unlocked -the doors and let the two men in.</p> -<p>She did not enter the house herself, but now hurried to -Lexington Avenue, where she took the car, getting off -at Twenty-third Street, and going to the Seventeenth -Street house, which she entered some time after midnight.</p> -<p>She was there but a short time, when she came out clad -in woman’s clothes, and went straight to the Lexington -Avenue house, evidently her day’s work done.</p> -<p>“Well,” said Nick, “it was a hard day’s work, and she -filled in all her time.</p> -<p>“She was arranging her programme for to-morrow. -<span class="pb" id="Page_82">82</span> -We have arranged our programme, too. Those two men -that she let into the Thirtieth Street house are there to -help her in the strike on Mr. Mountain.</p> -<p>“I doubt if there will be any others on hand. You need -not watch it this morning. My plans have been slightly -changed since my talk with Mr. Mountain last night.</p> -<p>“But I want you to put yourself in a place outside -where you can follow me this morning when I go out: I -suppose the Brown Robin will try to spring her trap on -me this morning.”</p> -<p>Patsy had been gone but a few moments when a messenger -boy arrived with a letter for Nick.</p> -<p>It was signed by Mrs. Ansel, and said that the place -appointed for her in which to meet the Brown Robin was -in Seventeenth Street at eleven o’clock, and it asked if -Mr. Carter would meet the writer at a well-known department -store in Sixth Avenue at 10 A. M., naming the entrance -at which Mrs. Ansel would be waiting.</p> -<p>Nick carefully examined the letter and noted several -things. The stationery was not the same as that which -had been used for the former letters; the handwriting was -not the same, and the letter was framed so skillfully that -it was made to look like the letter of a woman asking an -assignation with a man.</p> -<p>Nick called Edith and asked her to read the letter. As -Edith was doing so he took some papers from his pocket, -and from these selected a blank sheet and an envelope.</p> -<p>“Compare this blank paper and the paper on which this -note is written,” said Nick.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_83">83</div> -<p>“It is the same,” said Edith.</p> -<p>“Even the most cunning make their slips,” said Nick. -“I found this blank paper on a table in the parlor of the -Brown Robin in Lexington Avenue, as I did also a sheet -of the other paper. Keep them, and the letter as well.</p> -<p>“I am off to meet this very cunning person and see -what her little game is. I confess I can’t quite see -through it.”</p> -<p>He went away, and promptly at ten appeared at the entrance -of the department store named.</p> -<p>The Brown Robin was waiting, and, as he approached, -Nick did not fail to observe a flash of triumph in the -eyes of that person.</p> -<p>She arose to meet him, and welcomed him cordially.</p> -<p>“I was very much afraid that you would fail me,” she -said.</p> -<p>“Oh, no,” he said, carelessly. “I am quite anxious to -see this Brown Robin.”</p> -<p>“Why, indeed!”</p> -<p>“She must be an attractive person. An old gentleman -who ought to know better was caught by her, and rushed -off to me to get him out of his trouble. But before I -could get to work, he backed out of the matter, and, I -think, because she has entangled him in her charms.”</p> -<p>The one beside him looked up quickly at Nick, but she -could not read his face.</p> -<p>“They say,” said she, “that there is no fool like an old -fool. I suppose you could not be caught that way.”</p> -<p>“A man is very foolish to boast of his ability to resist -<span class="pb" id="Page_84">84</span> -the charms of a pretty woman,” said Nick, gravely. “I -have seen too many strong men caught to be boastful -myself.”</p> -<p>“Perhaps it is the story of her charms that makes you -so willing to go with me?”</p> -<p>“Perhaps,” replied Nick, “but I think it is more out of -curiosity to see the woman who has baffled the police -forces of so many large cities. It might be useful, you -know, to me some time. There’s no knowing how soon -a case in which she is operating may be given me.”</p> -<p>To this the pretended Mrs. Ansel made no reply.</p> -<p>After a moment Nick said:</p> -<p>“Ought we not to go?”</p> -<p>“As it draws near to the time, I am a little frightened,” -she said.</p> -<p>Nevertheless she made preparations to start.</p> -<p>They went out of the store, walking down Sixth Avenue -to Eighteenth Street, and then through that street to Fifth -Avenue.</p> -<p>On the corner of that street the pretended Mrs. Ansel -suddenly gave a little scream, clung tightly to Nick for a -moment, and then leaped into a doorway, hiding herself.</p> -<p>Nick did not follow her, but stood still, watching her. -The woman peered out cautiously; finally she came -with a greatly frightened air to him, gasping out:</p> -<p>“My husband! He just crossed the street.”</p> -<p>“What then?” asked Nick.</p> -<p>“Oh, if he had seen you with me there would have been -such a row. He is so jealous—so suspicious!”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_85">85</div> -<p>“Come along and point him out to me.”</p> -<p>He fairly pulled her to the corner, but, reaching it, the -pretended Mrs. Ansel could not see her husband.</p> -<p>“That frightens me,” she said. “He may have seen me. -He may be hiding to watch me. Oh, come away!”</p> -<p>She hurried across the street, Nick following her.</p> -<p>From that time on she kept up her nervous, frightened -manner, until the door of the Seventeenth Street house -was reached.</p> -<p>“What an admirable actress she is!” thought Nick. -“She is wasting great talents in a dangerous game when -she might win fame on the stage.”</p> -<p>At this house, looking up at the number, she said:</p> -<p>“This is the place. Shall we go in?”</p> -<p>“That is what we came for, isn’t it?” asked Nick.</p> -<p>Without another word, the pretended Mrs. Ansel -mounted the steps and rang the bell. Nick followed her -up leisurely.</p> -<p>The door was opened promptly by a large, stalwart -woman dressed as a servant.</p> -<p>To this person the pretended Mrs. Ansel said:</p> -<p>“Mrs. Ansel and Mr. Nicholas Carter, to see the person -named on this.”</p> -<p>She handed a small slip of paper to the servant.</p> -<p>The servant closed the door and ushered them into the -parlor, going out into another part of the house.</p> -<p>She was back again in a few moments to say that the -lady of the house was engaged for the present, but would -see them shortly.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_86">86</div> -<p>Nick said to himself:</p> -<p>“All this is well done, but what is the game?”</p> -<p>In the meantime the pretended Mrs. Ansel showed -every evidence of the natural nervousness that a woman -placed in the position she pretended to be in might show.</p> -<p>Nick had seated himself at a little distance from her, -but shortly she beckoned him to a seat beside her on the -sofa.</p> -<p>“I don’t think I can stand this suspense,” she said. “It -is all I can do to keep from fainting.”</p> -<p>And no sooner had she said this than she reeled over, -falling completely into Nick’s arms.</p> -<p>At that very moment, a man whose face was blazing -with anger, rushed into the room, crying:</p> -<p>“So, I have tracked you at last. I have you with your -paramour, in fact. You wretch!”</p> -<p>To all appearances the woman had fainted dead away -and did not hear the angry words.</p> -<p>Nick lifted her up and laid her on the sofa where she -lay as he put her, and stood up.</p> -<p>“Who are you?” asked Nick.</p> -<p>“Who am I?” repeated the other. “The deceived -husband.”</p> -<p>“Is your name Ansel?”</p> -<p>“Yes. I am the husband of that wretched woman.”</p> -<p>“Well, is the fact that a woman faints evidence against -her?”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_87">87</div> -<p>“Don’t trifle with me, sir. I have followed you here. -I knew she had an appointment with some one this morning. -I watched and have found her in her guilt.”</p> -<p>“In the house of the blackmailer known as the Brown -Robin?” sneered Nick.</p> -<p>At this moment the pretended Mrs. Ansel opened her -eyes, started up, and cried out:</p> -<p>“My husband! I am ruined!”</p> -<p>Again she toppled off into a faint.</p> -<p>“I suppose this is a well-worked game?” said Nick. -“Well, play it to the end. How much do you want? -Make it as easy as you can. I can’t afford much, but I -can’t afford a scandal about my name.”</p> -<p>As he said this, Nick carefully watched the Brown -Robin, and was certain he saw first a look of surprise and -then of triumph on what was supposed to be an unconscious -face.</p> -<p>“Money,” cried the man, “I want no money. Would -money restore my wretched home, my happiness, the -mother of my children?”</p> -<p>Nick could hardly restrain a smile, for the man was -clearly over-acting. But Nick kept up the pretense, for he -wanted to see where the game was to lead to.</p> -<p>“No; but you shall sign a confession. You shall give -me the proof. You shall give me the means of tearing -asunder these bonds that have now become hateful to me.</p> -<p>“Here, sign this!”</p> -<p>He drew a paper from his pocket, and, spreading it on -<span class="pb" id="Page_88">88</span> -a table, gestured in the most melodramatic manner to -Nick to sign it.</p> -<p>Nick crossed the room and took up the paper.</p> -<p>As he lifted it to read he saw that the pretended Mrs. -Ansel had recovered consciousness, and was sitting upright -on the sofa.</p> -<p>As soon as she saw Nick had observed her, she began -to play her part.</p> -<p>“Oh, my husband!” she cried; “be merciful. I know -appearances are against me, but you are mistaken. I -have done no wrong. Listen to reason. This is not a -lover. It is Mr. Carter, the great detective.”</p> -<p>“I care not who he is,” cried the other, in a great pretense -of fury. “You met him by appointment. I watched -you send the letter. I saw him meet you. I tracked you -here. I saw you in his arms. I have witnesses. Sign -you, sir!”</p> -<p>It was very cheap acting, but through it all Nick had -read the paper, and saw that it was an effort to make him -compromise himself by signing it.</p> -<p>“I shall sign nothing of this kind!” he said, quietly.</p> -<p>“You won’t. You won’t give me justice!” cried the -man, in a very tempest of fury.</p> -<p>“I won’t sign this ridiculous document,” said Nick, -“for it is not true.”</p> -<p>“Then I will take action at once. You must stay here. -What, ho, my friends!”</p> -<p>Three men, thorough ruffians, looking like dissipated -prize-fighters, appeared.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_89">89</div> -<p>“You will watch this man until I return. I go for my -lawyer and a magistrate. Hold this man until I return. -Come with me, you faithless woman!”</p> -<p>He sprang at the pretended Mrs. Ansel, and, seizing -her by the arm, whirled her out of the room.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_90">90</div> -<h2 id="c10"><span class="small">CHAPTER X.</span> -<br />HOW THE TRAP WAS SPRUNG.</h2> -<p>Nick sat down and laughed. The over-acting of the -cheap actor, hired for the occasion, was ludicrous. But -the three ruffians, armed with revolvers, were ugly facts.</p> -<p>He now saw the game. The trap had been sprung. It -was a device to get him under control while the big -strike on Mountain was being worked.</p> -<p>Either the Brown Robin feared he had been retained -by Mr. Mountain, or she had learned, despite his efforts -to the contrary, that he really had been.</p> -<p>“Well,” he said, looking at the three brutes, “what is -your game?”</p> -<p>“To keep you here all day,” replied one of them.</p> -<p>“Oh, is it?” asked Nick. “What has become of the -woman that was here?”</p> -<p>“She has gone out with her husband.”</p> -<p>“Oh, drop that, my lads,” said Nick. “That was the -Brown Robin. I knew that when I came in here with -her.”</p> -<p>The three men grinned, and one said to the other:</p> -<p>“I told her she couldn’t fool him.”</p> -<p>“I suppose you mean to earn your money by keeping -me here?” said Nick.</p> -<p>“Yer right, guv-ner.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_91">91</div> -<p>“Well, I don’t know that I can blame you,” said Nick, -“but I want to know for sure that the woman is gone.”</p> -<p>“She’s gone, all right.”</p> -<p>“Well, take me through the house, and let me be -certain.”</p> -<p>“There can’t be any harm in that,” said one. “Go -ahead quietly, me and Smithy’ll go behind.”</p> -<p>Thus escorted, Nick went through and made sure the -Brown Robin had fled the house.</p> -<p>After all, it was a vulgar trap which had been laid for -him.</p> -<p>He returned to the parlors and sat down a while. Then -he asked one of the men to open a window and let a -little air in.</p> -<p>When this was done, he took some cigars from his -pocket and handed them to his guards.</p> -<p>Then he went to the piano, and, seating himself, to the -great pleasure of the three brutes, he sang:</p> -<div class="verse"> -<p class="t0">“Come to me, darling, I’m lonely without thee,</p> -<p class="t0">Daytime and nighttime I’m dreaming about thee.”</p> -</div> -<p>He knew Patsy, and probably Chick, were without and -would take his song as a call for them.</p> -<p>Nor was he mistaken. But a few minutes passed when -his quick ears heard a sound at the front door that told -him the lock was being picked.</p> -<p>Again he seated himself at the piano, and began to sing -and play. The brutes were attentive upon him.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_92">92</div> -<p>But, through the corner of his eye, he saw Chick at -the hall door.</p> -<p>Wheeling about on the piano stool, he sprang to his feet, -and, drawing his revolver, cried out:</p> -<p>“Down, you dogs!”</p> -<p>Chick sprang into the room from the front door and -Patsy came in from the rear room, revolvers up.</p> -<p>The brutes, taken by astonishment, could not rally in -time, and, seeing they were powerless, threw up their -hands.</p> -<p>“Take their guns, Patsy,” said Nick.</p> -<p>This the lad quickly did, while Nick and Chick covered -them.</p> -<p>“Boys,” said Nick, “I’m sorry to treat you so, but I -must. You must be bound and gagged, but I’ll let you -loose in time.”</p> -<p>The three did not dare to make resistance, and, making -them as comfortable as circumstances would permit, -the three detectives took care to carefully lock the house -up. Then they quietly departed.</p> -<p>“It was a stupid way,” said Nick to Patsy and Chick, -as they walked away, “and more like a cheap melodrama -than anything else. Really, I believe the Brown Robin -has been an actress some time in her life.”</p> -<p class="center"><span class="gs">* * * * * * * *</span></p> -<p>Shortly before five o’clock that afternoon Mr. Mountain, -with a small package under his arm, appeared on -the steps of the Park Avenue Hotel.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_93">93</div> -<p>He had not been there long before the young man who -had first called on him came up.</p> -<p>It was, of course, the Brown Robin. Her tactics were -precisely the same as they had been with Mr. Cary the -day before, that is, with Nick disguised as Mr. Cary.</p> -<p>And the same questions were put to him as to any person -being in concealment.</p> -<p>When these had been answered as the person desired, -Mr. Mountain was asked if he was ready to go and see -the Brown Robin.</p> -<p>“Yes,” replied Mr. Mountain, “if it is to be done, let -us do it right away. But first let me go into the hotel -with this.”</p> -<p>The young man was reluctant, but yet he followed and -Mr. Mountain, going to the desk, asked the clerk to place -it in the safe and give it to no one but himself.</p> -<p>This done, the two walked out of the hotel.</p> -<p>As Nick had foreseen, their way was up to the Thirtieth -Street house. What the young man did not see was a trick -played by Mr. Mountain, a trick taught him by Nick.</p> -<p>Every three or four steps they took, a small piece -of paper fluttered from Mr. Mountain’s hand. It was -thus Nick could ascertain that the Thirtieth Street house -was their destination.</p> -<p>Everything moved precisely as it had the day before. -The young man showed Mr. Mountain into the parlor and -disappeared to call the person Mr. Mountain had come -to see.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_94">94</div> -<p>There was a wait for some time, and then the Brown -Robin swept into the room.</p> -<p>“I am very glad to renew your acquaintance, Mr. -Mountain,” said the Brown Robin.</p> -<p>Mr. Mountain fairly staggered in his surprise.</p> -<p>“Why! Why!” he exclaimed. “Alberta Curtis!”</p> -<p>“The same,” said the Brown Robin. “Although I have -had many experiences since I was your typewriter, my -name has remained the same through it all.”</p> -<p>“Then it was you, after all, that stole the confession,” -blurted out Mr. Mountain.</p> -<p>“Stole is an ugly word, my dear old employer,” said -the Brown Robin. “Be more polite. Say I confiscated -it when I found it among loose papers.”</p> -<p>Mr. Mountain, though he had suspected this, yet, when -he learned that it was so, seemed amazed and stupefied.</p> -<p>But the Brown Robin soon brought him to his senses -by asking if he had come to do business.</p> -<p>In her dealings with Mr. Mountain, there was none of -the coquetry she had displayed with Mr. Cary.</p> -<p>Thus aroused, Mr. Mountain said:</p> -<p>“Your terms are outrageous!”</p> -<p>“Let us be plain and brief, Mr. Mountain. You have -become a very rich man. Fifty thousand dollars will not -even embarrass you. I have informed myself exactly as -to your financial condition.</p> -<p>“You can afford to pay that to preserve your good -name and your reputation.</p> -<p>“Now, read this.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_95">95</div> -<p>She took from her pocket a typewritten roll of paper, -and extended it to Mr. Mountain.</p> -<p>“You will see that it is a carefully-prepared newspaper -article, which embraces your confession.</p> -<p>“If you refuse to pay what I believe is the value of that -confession, in your handwriting, to you, that will be published.”</p> -<p>Mr. Mountain read it over, and saw with what skill it -was prepared, and how eagerly a paper would seize on it.</p> -<p>“You would not have the cruelty to do that?”</p> -<p>“You are mistaken,” said the Brown Robin, coldly. “I -would have and will do what I say I will. Make not the -least mistake about that.”</p> -<p>“But you will do it for less?”</p> -<p>“Fifty thousand or nothing.”</p> -<p>This was said with the utmost firmness. Then she -added:</p> -<p>“But why shuffle? The very fact you are here shows -that you are here to comply.”</p> -<p>“I am to have the original confession for that payment?”</p> -<p>“Yes.”</p> -<p>“Must I trust to your honor to get it?”</p> -<p>“Show me the money and I will show you the document.”</p> -<p>“Very well.”</p> -<p>“Understand,” said the Brown Robin. “I am well -guarded. I can defend myself with this.”</p> -<p>She displayed a revolver.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_96">96</div> -<p>“I stand on a push-button,” she went on, “and the -slightest pressure will summon to my aid, if you attempt -any tricks, those who will defend me.”</p> -<p>“Very good!”</p> -<p>Mr. Mountain placed his hand in his pocket, and, taking -out an envelope, took out a check, holding it in his -hand.</p> -<p>The Brown Robin, in the act of drawing a paper from -the breast of her dress, stopped.</p> -<p>“A check! Is this a trick, or is it your ignorance?”</p> -<p>“Why, yes, a check drawn to my own order for fifty -thousand dollars, and indorsed by me. You did not tell -me in what shape you wanted it.”</p> -<p>“True. But you must have understood.”</p> -<p>Suddenly she flew into a violent passion, in which she -declared that she would ruin him, really frightening Mr. -Mountain.</p> -<p>He tried to soothe her, and in doing so admitted that he -had thought a check would not do.</p> -<p>“I did bring fifty thousand in bills with me. It is in -a package that I left in the Park Avenue Hotel. I can -destroy this, and get the package in ten minutes.”</p> -<p>“And bring a horde of officers down on me?”</p> -<p>“No; you can accompany me, or that young man who -brought me here can.”</p> -<p>“That young man was myself, you fool.”</p> -<p>“Then go with me yourself.”</p> -<p>The Brown Robin thought a moment, and finally said:</p> -<p>“I will.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_97">97</div> -<p>She called for her hat and coat, which was brought by -a servant, and to that servant she handed the confession, -to retain until she returned.</p> -<p>She led the way out of the house in an energetic way, -and, when they reached the hotel, entered the office with -the broker.</p> -<p>“Now get it,” she said, stopping within twenty feet of -the desk. “No tricks. I shall watch, and my punishment -will be swift, no matter what occurs to me.”</p> -<p>Mr. Mountain went off and passed into the private -office behind the counter or desk, and for a brief second -was lost to sight to the Brown Robin, as he passed behind -a high safe.</p> -<p>But she saw him go with the clerk to the safe and receive -a package, and return with it to her.</p> -<p>Without a word she led the way out of the hotel and -back to the house they had just left.</p> -<p>Entering the parlor again, Mr. Mountain tore off the -wrapper to show the bills within, and held it out to her.</p> -<p>She called for the confession, and, receiving it from -the servant, held it out to Mr. Mountain, who took it as -she took the package of bills.</p> -<p>Mr. Mountain assured himself it was the original by a -hasty glance. The Brown Robin was tearing the wrapper -from the package.</p> -<p>When she opened it and shifted the bills she fairly -screamed.</p> -<p>The package was a dummy, only one bill being on the -top.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_98">98</div> -<p>She sprang forward, but she faced two revolvers leveled -at her.</p> -<p>“You are my prisoner, Brown Robin. I am not Mr. -Mountain, but Chick Carter, the detective. Mr. Mountain -stayed at the hotel that he went to with you. I came -in his place.”</p> -<p>The woman stepped on the button she had boasted of, -and bells sounded in the house.</p> -<p>At the same instant Chick gave a shrill whistle.</p> -<p>A door crashed in and the plate glass of a front window -was broken by the heavy blows of a hammer.</p> -<p>Patsy sprang through the window, with revolvers up, -and Nick Carter through the door, followed by Mr. Mountain.</p> -<p>Nick met two men dashing down the stairs, the first -one of whom he struck in the face with the butt of his -revolver, knocking him senseless, and grappled with the -other.</p> -<p>Patsy had sprung at the servant woman, who had -shown fight, to find she was a man in woman’s clothes, -and he found his hands full.</p> -<p>Chick had easy work in overcoming the Brown Robin.</p> -<p>It was a fight soon over, however. The two men Nick -had attacked in the hall, finding the door open, fled -through it.</p> -<p>The other man, in woman’s clothes, was overcome by -Patsy, and, with Nick’s aid, bound.</p> -<p>Though beaten, the Brown Robin was game.</p> -<p>“Well, Mr. Carter,” she said, “I have come to the end. -<span class="pb" id="Page_99">99</span> -I was told you would overreach me if I met you. You -have. I did not think you would. I thought myself -smarter than you.”</p> -<p>“You were very easy,” said Nick, quietly. “I could -have taken you yesterday, when I dined with you, in the -Lexington Avenue house, as Mr. Cary.”</p> -<p>“You?” she cried. “You did that?”</p> -<p>“Oh, yes, Mrs. Clymer. You do not offer your cheek -to me to-day.”</p> -<p>He imitated perfectly Mr. Cary’s voice.</p> -<p>This was too much for the Brown Robin. She seemed -to feel worse over this deception than over her arrest and -defeat. Nick saw that she had been wounded in her conceit. -Finally she said:</p> -<p>“Well, if I am no better than that, I deserve to fail. -Lock me up.”</p> -<p>The Brown Robin and her servant were taken to the -station house and locked up.</p> -<p>“Your imitation of me,” said Mr. Mountain to Chick, -“was so good that when I passed behind that safe and -saw you there waiting for me I was startled, though I expected -to find you there. It was capitally done. I congratulate -you.”</p> -<p>“Congratulate the chief, Mr. Mountain. It was his -play from start to finish, and he made me up.”</p> -<p>The compromising photographs of Mr. Cary, together -with the plate, were easily recovered in the house in which -they were taken.</p> -<p>Nick’s inquiries into the life of the Brown Robin -<span class="pb" id="Page_100">100</span> -showed that she had been engaged in a criminal career -almost from the moment that she had eloped with the -man Stymers from Mr. Mountain’s employ, though at one -time she had been on the stage and at another time a -newspaper writer.</p> -<p>Stymers was a bank burglar, who had led her into -crime. Her criminal career had been most successful, -and the first check called in it was when she met Nick -Carter and his faithful band.</p> -<p>She received a long sentence, and it is hardly likely that -she will ever again embark on a career of wickedness.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_101">101</div> -<h2 id="c11"><span class="small">CHAPTER XI.</span> -<br />AT THE DOG SHOW.</h2> -<p>Next day was “blue Monday” with Nick, and he decided -to try the Dog Show at Madison Square Garden as -a cure for the “dumps.”</p> -<p>After luncheon he set out to visit the Garden, little -dreaming what fresh adventures were in store for him as -the result of that visit.</p> -<p>He had barely entered the hall than a prominent banker, -known for the keen interest he took in the development -of the dog, and who was one of the officers of the society -under whose auspices the dog show was held, greeted -him with the remark:</p> -<p>“Of all men, Mr. Carter, you are the man I most wish -to see. Some miscreant is poisoning our dogs here. The -fourth animal is just now dying from a dose—all valuable -animals.”</p> -<p>“Have you suspicions?” asked Nick, scenting mystery -at once, and nothing loath to tackle another puzzle now -that he had placed the Brown Robin behind prison bars.</p> -<p>“Not the slightest suspicions,” replied the banker, “although -the owner is making wild charges and threats, -but, then, that is from her grief.”</p> -<p>“Her?” asked Nick, in surprise.</p> -<p>“Yes; Mrs. Constant—poor Al Constant’s widow.”</p> -<p>“Were all the dogs poisoned owned by her?”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_102">102</div> -<p>“All of them.”</p> -<p>“Do you think it possible that rivalry or jealousy could -be at the bottom of it?”</p> -<p>“In the contest here for prizes, do you mean?”</p> -<p>“Yes.”</p> -<p>“I cannot believe it.”</p> -<p>Nick asked no more questions, and looked over the -room.</p> -<p>“Come with me and look at the dog,” said the banker.</p> -<p>Nick nodded, and the banker led the detective to a rear -room, where he saw a noble setter dog writhing in agony -on a blanket on the floor.</p> -<p>A well-known veterinary surgeon was laboring over -the dog, and a beautiful woman of thirty, regardless of her -costly raiment, was kneeling at the dog’s head, soothing -and petting him, the tears streaming from her eyes, while -she murmured:</p> -<p>“My old Don! My poor old Don!”</p> -<p>The dog’s eyes were glazed, and Nick saw at a glance -as he came up that the dog was dying.</p> -<p>But from time to time, the poor beast would turn a -look of deep affection on the beautiful woman and lick -the hand that soothed and petted him.</p> -<p>“Mrs. Constant.” said the banker, “here is Mr. Carter, -the celebrated detective. I have hopes that I can persuade -him to look into this case.”</p> -<p>“It is too late to save my poor old Don,” said Mrs. -Constant, looking up. “As for the miscreant, I know -him. He is——”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_103">103</div> -<p>“One moment,” hastily interrupted the banker. “What -you have to say as to charges and suspicions say to Mr. -Carter alone. He is to be trusted, and his advice will be -well worth following.”</p> -<p>Mrs. Constant looked up at Nick, smiling through her -tears, and said:</p> -<p>“Very well. When can I talk to you, Mr. Carter?”</p> -<p>Handing her his card, Nick said:</p> -<p>“Come to my house when you can.”</p> -<p>“I will do so,” said Mrs. Constant, “as soon as I have -seen poor old Don cared for and my other dogs out of -harm’s way.”</p> -<p>Now the dog had another spasm, and it proved to be -his last. He stiffened out and died.</p> -<p>Nick turned away and went into the show room to inquire -as to the manner in which the dogs on exhibition -were guarded and cared for, and in doing so passed half -an hour inspecting the dogs.</p> -<p>At the end of that time, as he approached the center -division, he saw Mrs. Constant standing beside a dog -with her hand upon its head.</p> -<p>He lifted his hat in salutation, and was surprised to see -her state of wonder and doubtful return of the recognition.</p> -<p>He smiled as he thought swift forgetfulness of himself -was not flattering. Excusing it on the ground that she -was troubled over the death of her favorites, he passed -on into the street and went home, where he related the -<span class="pb" id="Page_104">104</span> -peculiar occurrence that had successfully driven away his -fit of the “blues.”</p> -<p>A short time after his arrival the servant announced -Mrs. Constant.</p> -<p>Nick directed that the lady should be shown into the -room he was occupying.</p> -<p>Edith, Nick Carter’s wife, who was also in the room, -arose to go, but before she could leave the apartment, Mrs. -Constant entered, and exclaimed:</p> -<p>“Why, Edith!”</p> -<p>Edith responded by running across the room to Mrs. -Constant, crying:</p> -<p>“Why, Blanche!”</p> -<p>All this was very surprising to Nick, who could not -imagine how it was that his wife knew his client.</p> -<p>But, as he listened, he found that before Edith’s marriage -Mrs. Constant had been a member of the same -theatrical company with Edith, and, like Edith, had left -the stage when she married.</p> -<p>Then that which had before puzzled him was made -plain.</p> -<p>He knew that he had seen Mrs. Constant before when -presented to her by the banker at the dog show. It was -all explained. He had seen her on the stage as Blanche -Romney.</p> -<p>When at length the ladies had finished their renewal of -old times, Mrs. Constant turned to that which had brought -her to Nick.</p> -<p>“I hardly know how to begin my story, Mr. Carter,” -<span class="pb" id="Page_105">105</span> -she said, “but I will tell you how I came to be an exhibitor -of dogs at the show. My late husband was much interested -in developing a certain strain of setters.</p> -<p>“As I am a great lover of dogs, I took a vast interest -in the kennel, and soon came to know quite as much about -it as he, taking my part in the management and supervision -of it.</p> -<p>“I came to know what he was striving to do, and so, -when he died and left all his dogs to me, I determined to -carry out his plans and continue the kennel.</p> -<p>“Mr. Constant died very suddenly. The doctors called -it apoplexy. He was in good health and was stricken -down without warning.</p> -<p>“It is too late now to determine it, but I cannot rid -myself of the idea that foul play was at the bottom of his -death.”</p> -<p>“When did he die?” asked Nick.</p> -<p>“Nearly two years ago.”</p> -<p>“At his home?”</p> -<p>“He was brought home, but was taken ill at his club. -I had gone over to Philadelphia early in the morning, not -to return until the next day, so he dined at his club. The -doctors insisted that he had been imprudent at the table, -eating and drinking too much.</p> -<p>“Mr. Constant was a free liver, and that gave a basis -for their decision. But if I tell you that Mr. Constant -was a wine-drinker, do not believe that he used it in excess. -He did not.</p> -<p>“Now I come to that which is unpleasant. His marriage -<span class="pb" id="Page_106">106</span> -to me was not agreeable to his family. They opposed -it bitterly.</p> -<p>“I did not know that until after marriage. Whether it -would have changed my course if I had, I don’t know. -His family is very aristocratic, and I was a poor girl, of -humble origin, working for wages on the stage.</p> -<p>“We were happy in our life together, but our marriage -separated him from his family. He was independent in -having a small competence, and a share in the income -of a large estate, held in trust, his for life and to be his -children’s after him, if he had them, which, by the way, -he had not.</p> -<p>“I was telegraphed for, and reached him in time to have -him die in my arms, but he never recognized me.</p> -<p>“When he was dead I found that he had left his own -small fortune to me, but his share in the income of the -estate did not become mine.</p> -<p>“I have been advised that I have a right to it, but to -get it would mean a lawsuit, and I am comfortable and in -plenty without it.</p> -<p>“Now, then; at the time of my marriage there was a -man, Eric Masson, moving in the same club and social -circle with my husband, who, while pretending to be on -friendly terms with him, was his bitter enemy.</p> -<p>“He wanted to marry me. From the first I had disliked -him. It was not indifference to him; it was positive -dislike for him on my part.</p> -<p>“I had rejected him before I met Mr. Constant. When -he learned that Mr. Constant was attentive to me, and -<span class="pb" id="Page_107">107</span> -that I was likely to marry, Masson warned me not to do -it, saying it would be well for neither Albert nor myself.</p> -<p>“He circulated stories as to myself, which had much -to do with my husband’s family’s opposition, and one of -them reaching my husband’s ears, who was then my -<i>fiancée</i>, resulted in a violent quarrel between the two, -ending in Albert giving Masson a thrashing.</p> -<p>“Though the differences were afterward healed, I know -that he worked to my husband’s injury always.</p> -<p>“Masson was one of the party with whom my husband -dined on his last day.</p> -<p>“My husband had not been dead two months when he -renewed his attentions to me, declaring that he had been -waiting for Albert’s death to step into his shoes.</p> -<p>“I drove him away from me angrily, telling him that -I loved the memory of my husband too well to insult it -by taking Masson as his successor.</p> -<p>“Since then he has been my vindictive enemy, making -trouble for me when and where he could, starting scandals -as to myself.</p> -<p>“He tried to take my kennel of dogs from me, declaring -that Albert had sold them to him on the day of his death.</p> -<p>“He began a suit at law to obtain the dogs, going so -far as to intrigue to get me to hire some creatures of his -about the kennel, so that they might steal the dogs for -him.</p> -<p>“In short, I have been persecuted by him ever since my -husband’s death. He is the only enemy in life that I have, -<span class="pb" id="Page_108">108</span> -and I know he is at the bottom of the poisoning of my -dogs.”</p> -<p>“I suppose,” said Nick, “that this Eric Masson is the -broker of that name—the yachtsman?”</p> -<p>“The same person,” replied Mrs. Constant.</p> -<p>“Are you prepared to tell me the nature of his persecutions -of you?”</p> -<p>“Yes; at any time.”</p> -<p>“I do not want them now,” said Nick, as Mrs. Constant -showed signs of attempting to recite them. “Now, as -to the injuries he attempted to do your husband. Can -you prove those charges?”</p> -<p>“Yes; after my husband’s death I found among his -private papers a package, which tells it all. My husband -must have gathered them for a purpose that his death defeated.”</p> -<p>“Can you let me have that package?”</p> -<p>“Yes; whenever you like.”</p> -<p>“Will you let me have it at once?”</p> -<p>“I will bring it to you to-night.”</p> -<p>“Very well, Mrs. Constant. Say nothing to anybody -that you have given the case to me.”</p> -<p>“Masson will know it.”</p> -<p>“Why?”</p> -<p>“If he does not know now, he will in a short time, that -I have come to see you. He has me under espionage—every -step I take he has followed.”</p> -<p>“So bad as that?” asked Nick.</p> -<p>With this Mrs. Constant went away, after saying to -<span class="pb" id="Page_109">109</span> -Edith, who had been an interested listener, that now, having -met again, they must not lose sight of each other.</p> -<p>“What do you think of it, Nick?” asked Edith.</p> -<p>“A rather strange story, but there is more behind it -than she has told—perhaps more than she really knows. -When you knew her what sort of reputation did she -bear?”</p> -<p>“The very best,” declared Edith. “Blanche was a -good girl, Nick. She was so light-hearted and full of -spirits in those days, so gay, that sometimes she was misunderstood, -but there was not the least harm in her.”</p> -<p>“Well, Edith, I fancy you will have some detective work -to do.”</p> -<p>“In what way?”</p> -<p>“She knows more than she thinks she does. You must -get her to talk confidentially to you, and these things may -crop out.</p> -<p>“Again, there are things she shied away from telling -me, especially when you were present, but she will tell -them to you.”</p> -<p>“I’ll do what I can.”</p> -<p>After dinner that evening Nick went out for a short -time, and, returning, as he was about entering his house -a carriage drove up and some one, leaning from it, called -him by name.</p> -<p>Turning back, he saw Mrs. Constant. He went to the -carriage door, and the lady thrust out a package to him, -saying:</p> -<p>“I am so glad to have seen you here. I am so hurried—so -<span class="pb" id="Page_110">110</span> -little time. It’s the package—Blanche, that is, Mrs. -Constant, you know. By-bye, I must hurry. Please tell -the driver to go on.”</p> -<p>Nick did so, wondering at her haste, and as the carriage -drove off entered his house.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_111">111</div> -<h2 id="c12"><span class="small">CHAPTER XII.</span> -<br />DEAD IN HER CARRIAGE.</h2> -<p>Nick sat down to study the package Mrs. Constant had -given him, having some knowledge of the persons the -package was supposed to tell about.</p> -<p>He knew Albert Constant had been a man of no occupation -in life, living on his income; that his family was -wealthy, and about the most exclusive in the city.</p> -<p>That his marriage to Blanche had been violently opposed -by it, not alone because she was an actress, but -because she was of that rank of life which his family believed -was much below his own.</p> -<p>He also knew that Albert Constant had quarreled with -his family because of this marriage, and as a consequence -had withdrawn from society.</p> -<p>Of Eric Masson he knew less. That he moved in the -same social circle as that in which the Constants were -leaders he did know, and that he was not a popular member -of it.</p> -<p>He also knew that he was a broker in Wall Street, and, -if there were not charges of sharp practice against him, -there were mutterings of them, while it was whispered -that at poker with his friends he won too steadily and too -heavily.</p> -<p>There were scandals also rumored about as to his private -<span class="pb" id="Page_112">112</span> -life, all of which, however, had not as yet affected -his standing in the social world.</p> -<p>The papers of the package were not easy of understanding, -nor did they tell a complete story.</p> -<p>Among them were letters from Masson to Albert Constant -and copies of replies from Constant to the same. -But the package was principally made up of memoranda -in the handwriting of Constant, which was disjointed -and seemed to be mere guides for the memory of Constant -to be used at some future time.</p> -<p>It all indicated, however, as Mrs. Constant had said, -that at some prior time Masson had done Constant an injury, -and that, though Masson denied it, Constant was -gathering the proof of that injury.</p> -<p>Nick spent the evening over the package, and at bed-time -laid it away with a dissatisfied feeling that it did not -confirm the charges Mrs. Constant had made.</p> -<p>The next morning, on coming down to the breakfast -table, he found Edith sitting horror-stricken over the -newspaper.</p> -<p>In answer to his anxious inquiry, his wife extended -to him the newspaper, pointing to an article, the mere -glance at which informed him that Mrs. Constant had -been killed in her carriage the night previous.</p> -<p>Reading the account attentively, Nick found that it was -a murder, but by whom it was not even suggested.</p> -<p>Beyond the fact that when the driver arrived at the -destination he had been given, he discovered that the person -he had driven was dead within the carriage, and that -<span class="pb" id="Page_113">113</span> -the surgeon, on being called, had quickly discovered that -death was the result of a bullet from a small revolver -entering the brain immediately back of the left ear. None -of the circumstances were given.</p> -<p>Comparing the time, Nick concluded that the murder -must have been committed between thirty minutes and -an hour after she had driven up to his door to give him -the package of papers over which he had spent the time -just prior to going to his bed the night before.</p> -<p>The account was not informing, and was but little more -than mere announcement of the discovery of the murder, -except that it told who the dead woman was and who her -husband had been.</p> -<p>Edith was much distressed over the fact that death -should have come in such shocking form to her friend, -and so shortly after her old associations had been renewed.</p> -<p>Nick devoted some time to soothing and calming Edith, -and then sat down to his breakfast, determining that as -soon as it was over he would begin an investigation.</p> -<p>But before his breakfast was over he received another -shock, though of a different kind.</p> -<p>A note was brought him, evidently written that morning, -from Mrs. Albert Constant, asking him to call upon -her at once to consult with her on the new horror that -had come into her life.</p> -<p>He was astounded. He picked up the paper again to -read the article telling of Mrs. Albert Constant’s murder. -There was no mistake. He had read aright.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_114">114</div> -<p>It was distinctly stated that the murdered woman was -the widow of the late Mr. Albert Constant, and even the -poisoning of her dogs at the dog show was talked of. And -yet he held in his hand, written that morning, a letter from -the woman the paper said had been murdered in her carriage -the night before.</p> -<p>“It is incomprehensible, Edith,” he said. “There can -be no doubt about this letter, and it speaks of a new -horror.”</p> -<p>“Perhaps,” said Edith, “she was not killed, but only -wounded.”</p> -<p>“The newspaper account particularly says that the ball -entered the brain behind the ear,” said Nick. “Any one -receiving such a wound as that could not write a letter -within twelve hours, if she ever could. No; it is not to -be accounted for on that ground. I fear this letter was -written prior to her murder, for early delivery this morning, -on the discovery of some new happening like that -of the poisoning of her dogs.”</p> -<p>He arose from the breakfast table, saying:</p> -<p>“I shall go to her home at once and try to reconcile -what now seems to be a mystery.”</p> -<p>He went out of the house at once, and to the residence -of Mrs. Constant, which was in the lower part of West -End Avenue.</p> -<p>Arriving, there were unmistakable evidences of a tragedy -within the house.</p> -<p>In front of it, on the pavement, were a number of people -gazing with idle curiosity at the front of the house.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_115">115</div> -<p>Drawn up at the curbing was the undertaker’s wagon, -sure testimony that some one within the house was dead.</p> -<p>As Nick mounted the steps, the door opened and the -coroner came forth.</p> -<p>“Ah, Mr. Carter,” said that official, “you are expected. -I have done all that I can do here at present. I presume -you will begin an investigation. I hope that you -will.</p> -<p>“At present it is a dense mystery. I cannot give you a -single point. All that we know is that the woman was -killed somewhere between nine and half-past nine last -night; that she was shot in the back of the head, and that -death followed immediately. But who shot her we have -no more idea after working all night than we had in -the beginning.”</p> -<p>“What are the circumstances?” asked Nick.</p> -<p>“Very meager,” promptly responded the coroner. “The -lady came from a dressmaker’s establishment, and before -entering her carriage told her driver to drive directly home -to this place.</p> -<p>“As soon as he heard the door close, he drove off, making -but one stop on his way here, and that at Fifty-eighth -Street, where his carriage was blocked for a minute -or two.</p> -<p>“Arriving here, as the lady did not get out, he got down -from his box and opened the door, to find her unconscious. -He gave the alarm; the woman was carried into her home, -and a doctor soon coming pronounced her dead.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_116">116</div> -<p>“No one was known to have been in the carriage with -her?” asked Nick.</p> -<p>“No. That is the great mystery. I was disposed at -first to look upon it as suicide. I have not abandoned -that idea entirely yet, though all the physicians and surgeons -who have examined the body say it is not probable.</p> -<p>“However, the body lies in the parlor. Go and look -at it, and after you have made your first investigation, I -shall be obliged if you will come and talk with me -about it.”</p> -<p>The coroner stepped back and opened the door for -Nick to pass through, closing the door after him and -going his way.</p> -<p>Nick passed into the parlor, and there found Mrs. -Constant lying in the box the undertaker had provided.</p> -<p>He stood looking down upon her face, thinking that -death had brought its changes and sharpened peculiarities -of features that he had not noticed in life.</p> -<p>While he looked, the undertaker came from a rear -room, looking at him inquiringly. Nick said, quietly:</p> -<p>“I am Mr. Carter, the detective.”</p> -<p>“Oh, yes; Mrs. Constant is expecting you. Indeed, she -is very anxious to see you.”</p> -<p>Nick looked up in great surprise, saying:</p> -<p>“Mrs. Constant?”</p> -<p>He pointed to the body lying within the box.</p> -<p>The undertaker smiled in a melancholy way, and said:</p> -<p>“That is what has puzzled and confused people so. But -<span class="pb" id="Page_117">117</span> -let me take you to Mrs. Constant. She has been asking -every minute if you have come.”</p> -<p>Nick followed the undertaker up the stairs to the door -of a room in the front of the house, at which the undertaker -rapped lightly.</p> -<p>A maidservant opened the door, and when the undertaker -said that Mr. Carter was there, flung it wide open, -saying:</p> -<p>“Come, Mr. Carter, Mrs. Constant will be glad to see -you.”</p> -<p>As Nick stepped into the room, the maidservant spoke -to a lady sitting in the corner, telling her that Mr. Carter -was there.</p> -<p>The lady arose immediately, and advanced to meet Nick.</p> -<p>At once Nick saw that she was Mrs. Constant in the -life. Her face showed the distress she was suffering, for it -was pale and haggard, and its lines deeply marked.</p> -<p>The resemblance between the woman before him and -the one lying still in death in the room below was astonishing.</p> -<p>Mrs. Constant took Nick’s hand, attempting to speak, -but broke into uncontrollable sobs.</p> -<p>However, she controlled herself in a few minutes, and -said:</p> -<p>“This is the end, Mr. Carter. It is the last. It can go -no further.”</p> -<p>“I cannot understand it,” said Nick. “The paper said -it was you who was killed.”</p> -<p>“I wish it was myself who had been killed,” cried Mrs. -<span class="pb" id="Page_118">118</span> -Constant. “It was my twin sister, Ethel. But it was I he -intended to kill.”</p> -<p>The word twin sister explained everything that had -bewildered him, as in a flash.</p> -<p>“I did not know that you had a twin sister,” said Nick.</p> -<p>“Yes, I had,” said Mrs. Constant, sadly. “She came -to live with me a week ago. She was so happy to come, -and this is the end. She died for me.”</p> -<p>“Prior to her coming to live with you,” asked Nick, -“where did she live?”</p> -<p>“In Philadelphia.”</p> -<p>“Had she spent much time in New York with you?”</p> -<p>“Not much time,” replied Mrs. Constant. “Only for -short visits at long intervals.”</p> -<p>“Did she have many acquaintances in this city?”</p> -<p>Mrs. Constant, as in a flash, saw the end toward which -Nick’s questions were tending, and said, hurriedly and -impatiently:</p> -<p>“Waste no time on that, Mr. Carter. Ethel had no acquaintances -in New York, except a very few that she had -made within the past week. She was killed because the -one who killed her thought it was I who was in the -carriage.”</p> -<p>“I know that you think so,” said Nick. “But I was -trying to explore the possibility of the other view.”</p> -<p>“It is wasted time, Mr. Carter. Ethel knew no one in -New York, nor had relations with any one who would do -such a thing.”</p> -<p>“Could any one have followed her from Philadelphia?”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_119">119</div> -<p>“No,” said Mrs. Constant, earnestly. “Ethel was a -good girl; she had no secrets apart from me, and no man -had entered into her life in any way. She lived a very -quiet life at home, and if there had been any love affair -of hers or any one persecuting her, I should have known -it. My secrets were hers and hers were mine.”</p> -<p>“It was not you, then,” asked Nick, “who came to me -with that package last night?”</p> -<p>“No. I was detained at home by a caller, and as Ethel -was going over to a dressmaker’s in Sixth Avenue, I -asked her to take that package to you first.”</p> -<p>“What time did she leave here to go?”</p> -<p>“It must have been nearly eight o’clock. We were -going out last evening, but the dress Ethel was to wear -had not been sent home as promised, and Ethel wanted to -go for it.”</p> -<p>“When she gave me that package,” said Nick, “she -said she was much hurried. But all the time I thought -it was you.”</p> -<p>“Yes, the resemblance between us was so great that all -our lives we have been mistaken for each other, even by -intimate friends. This resemblance is the cause of the announcement -in the papers this morning that it was I who -had been killed.”</p> -<p>“There was no one in the carriage with her when I -saw her,” said Nick.</p> -<p>“And no one when the carriage arrived home,” replied -Mrs. Constant. “But a man did get into that carriage, -<span class="pb" id="Page_120">120</span> -supposing I was in it, and killed her. I know who -it was, and so do you.”</p> -<p>Nick raised his hand, warningly, and said:</p> -<p>“Mention no names, Mrs. Constant. Charge no one -with so awful a deed. Trust to me. I will investigate -that line to the end, but let your suspicions be unsaid, or, -if you must talk of them, talk only to me.”</p> -<p>Mrs. Constant first turned impatiently away, but as -impulsively turned back and placed her hand in Nick’s, -saying:</p> -<p>“You are Edith’s husband as well. I will trust everything -to you.”</p> -<p>“That is good,” said Nick. “Now a practical question. -The driver of that coach, who was he?”</p> -<p>“The same as my own coachman. I have an arrangement -with a livery stable near by, by which I have the -same carriage, horses and driver by the month. The carriage -is used by no one but me, and the coachman drives -nobody but me.”</p> -<p>Securing the address of this livery stable and the name -of the driver, Nick hurried to the stable, telling Mrs. Constant -that he would return soon.</p> -<p>He found the driver without difficulty, and from him -learned the course taken by Ethel Romney and the places -she had called at.</p> -<p>The story he told was a straight one.</p> -<p>He had been summoned shortly before eight o’clock, -and had turned out so quickly that he was at the Constant -residence a few minutes before eight o’clock.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_121">121</div> -<p>He had first driven Miss Romney to the dressmaker’s, -in Sixth Avenue, where she had got out. She was gone -but a few minutes, and, coming out, said that she would -have to return to that place. Then she had instructed -him to drive to Mr. Carter’s house, where she had seen -Mr. Carter without getting out of the coach.</p> -<p>After that she had driven back again to the dressmaker’s, -where she remained possibly twenty minutes, -and, coming from there, she had seemed quite vexed.</p> -<p>She told him to drive directly home, and he had followed -Sixth Avenue, intending to go up by way of Fifty-ninth -Street.</p> -<p>She had made no stop on the way thither, and the carriage -had not stopped except for a minute or two at -Fifty-eighth Street, where the way had been blocked.</p> -<p>Arriving in front of the Constant residence, as she -made no effort to get out, he had got down to see what -the matter was.</p> -<p>Then he thought she had fainted, and, making an outcry, -people had come from the house. They had carried -her in, and he had driven off to the stable.</p> -<p>The man, whose name was Rawson, was positive that -no man talked to Miss Romney, except Nick himself, during -the ride. He was positive that no one had entered -the coach with Miss Romney at any time.</p> -<p>“Are you certain,” asked Nick, “that while you were -standing in front of the dressmaker’s the second time that -some one did not enter the coach?”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_122">122</div> -<p>The man replied that he had seen no one attempt to.</p> -<p>“But it is possible, isn’t it,” asked Nick, “that a man -might have got in there and you not know it?”</p> -<p>“It might be, sir,” said Rawson, “but it isn’t likely.”</p> -<p>Nick turned away. The man had evidently given all -the information he had.</p> -<p>He went back to Mrs. Constant, with no light shed on -the mystery.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_123">123</div> -<h2 id="c13"><span class="small">CHAPTER XIII.</span> -<br />POSSIBILITIES.</h2> -<p>Nick had summoned his faithful aids, Chick, Ida, and -Patsy, to meet him at his apartments on his arrival. He -found them awaiting him when he got home, and, without -waste of time, sat down to tell them the incidents of the -new case they were engaged on.</p> -<p>“Of course,” he said, in conclusion, “you will see that -in the occurrence of this murder, the poisoning of the -dogs slips away into minor importance.</p> -<p>“Yet, if Mrs. Constant’s suspicions are correct, the -same person is responsible for both.</p> -<p>“In that way, or that view of it, it becomes important -to trace out that poisoning.”</p> -<p>“The thing stands this way, then,” said Chick. “If -Mrs. Constant is right about the murder of her sister, she -is right about the dogs; if she is wrong about the dogs, -she is wrong about the murder.”</p> -<p>“As usual, Chick,” said Nick, “you state the whole -thing in a nutshell. So, as the dog business is more easily -followed than anything else, we will get into that investigation -first.”</p> -<p>“Don’t treat Mrs. Constant’s suspicions too lightly,” -said Ida. “I think you will find that she has kept back -her strongest reasons for suspecting Masson. She has -<span class="pb" id="Page_124">124</span> -wanted you to guess them. Edith, as her friend, could -get them from her.”</p> -<p>Nick looked up at Ida, sharply, and said:</p> -<p>“That is very shrewd, Ida.”</p> -<p>Turning to Patsy, he went on:</p> -<p>“I want you to take up the dog end of this case, Patsy.”</p> -<p>“I am aching for that,” replied Patsy. “I’d rather run -down a man who would kill a dog like that than anything -else. But I say, chief, put me next to that swell -banker. He’s one of my kind.”</p> -<p>Chick and Ida laughed at this, and Nick said:</p> -<p>“You shall have a note to him. As for you, Ida, you -must go to Philadelphia.</p> -<p>“There is this possibility, that the murder of Ethel Romney -came out of her life in that city, before she came to -New York—some trouble that she had there.</p> -<p>“You must look into that, and we must know all about -the life, habits, and even the romances, if any there are, of -Ethel Romney. Here is a list of people who would be -likely to know about her.”</p> -<p>He handed her a slip of paper he had prepared for her, -and went on:</p> -<p>“There are other possibilities that we must look into. -There is that of suicide.</p> -<p>“It is possible, but not probable.</p> -<p>“Unless the girl had something back in her life, Ethel -was more likely to look to the future with pleasure than -otherwise.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_125">125</div> -<p>“She had come to live in plenty and elegance with a -sister to whom she was much attached.</p> -<p>“Then, there is the possibility that the murder was the -outcome of an attempt by some fellow, bolder than usual, -who managed to get into the carriage, supposing that the -woman in it had money or jewelry with her.</p> -<p>“All these possibilities must be examined and run down -before I am willing to take up the suspicions of Mrs. -Constant as to Masson. But that does not mean that we -shall not keep Masson in view.</p> -<p>“These things will be undertaken by Chick and I.”</p> -<p>Nick now went to the desk, and, writing a letter, handed -it to Patsy, saying:</p> -<p>“You want to get to work at once, Patsy, while the -trail is warm.”</p> -<p>Patsy hurried away, and Ida, saying that, unless the -chief had further instructions, she would go, too, followed -the lad out of the apartment.</p> -<p>“Now, Chick,” said Nick. “To send Edith to Mrs. -Constant, and then you and I will take up the most difficult -part of the work.”</p> -<p>In a few moments these two shrewd detectives were -on their way to the neighborhood of the Constant residence. -As they were riding uptown in the car, Nick said:</p> -<p>“Mrs. Constant’s theory is that Ethel was killed by a -person who had intended to kill her, but was misled by -the strong resemblance between Ethel and herself.</p> -<p>“That resemblance is great,” admitted Nick. “I was -misled by it myself twice—once shortly after I had been -<span class="pb" id="Page_126">126</span> -introduced to Mrs. Constant, and again when Ethel -brought that package to me from Blanche Constant.”</p> -<p>“But, chief,” said Chick, “you did not know at that -time that Mrs. Constant had a twin sister; the mistake -was a natural one. But if Masson was as well acquainted -with Mrs. Constant as he seems to be it would be strange -if he did not know of that twin sister.”</p> -<p>“And would not have been easily misled,” said Nick. -“You have struck a point that must be investigated.”</p> -<p>“And there is a point on the other side,” said Chick. -“The hard thing in adopting the theory of Mrs. Constant -is that a man of the kind Masson is should commit murder, -especially in cold blood.</p> -<p>“Now, suppose that Masson did not know of the twin -sister, suppose he climbed into that coach under the notion -that Mrs. Constant was in it. Since it was Ethel -Romney, she, of course, denied that she was Blanche or -that she knew Masson, perhaps, to his anger, leading to -the murder and the reason for it.”</p> -<p>“That is,” said Nick, “supposing it to have been Masson, -and that he lost his temper, he lost control of himself, -in that denial.”</p> -<p>“Yes, that is what I mean,” said Chick.</p> -<p>“Well,” said Nick, “it all means that we have plenty of -work to do and a lot of vexatious little inquiries. Whoever -it was that got into that coach, whether it was Masson -or some one else, in my opinion crept into the coach -while it was standing in front of that dressmaker’s establishment -to which Ethel Romney went.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_127">127</div> -<p>This conversation had occupied the greater portion of -their trip uptown.</p> -<p>As they stepped off the car, Nick saw the man Rawson, -who was the driver for Mrs. Constant. He appeared to -be looking for some one.</p> -<p>Rawson brightened up as Nick approached, and said:</p> -<p>“I have been looking for you, Mr. Carter, because I -have got something to say. I have been thinking over -that ride last night, and especially since you asked me -to-day about its being likely that any one got into that -carriage.”</p> -<p>“Yes, have you thought of anything more?” said Nick.</p> -<p>“Well, yes,” said Rawson. “It isn’t much, but, then, I -ought to tell you. You see, I didn’t think much when you -asked me that question, but since I have.</p> -<p>“The lady was in a great hurry to get back home, and -as soon as she got into the carriage from that dressmaker’s -I touched up the horses and started off at a good -gait.</p> -<p>“I didn’t think much then of it, but I am thinking now -that as the lady got into the coach I heard a sort of cry -or scream from her, but the door slammed shut right after -it, and I was off at once.”</p> -<p>Nick looked at Chick, and the latter said:</p> -<p>“It looks, chief, as if you were right as to when the -person got into the coach.”</p> -<p>“Yes,” said Nick; “that would look as if the man was -already in the coach, and the noise that Ethel made was -a cry of surprise at finding some one there.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_128">128</div> -<p>Turning to Rawson, he said:</p> -<p>“It looks like a very important point, Rawson, and I -wish you would keep up thinking about it. Any little -thing about the whole matter tell me of.”</p> -<p>What answer Rawson might have made to this was -prevented by a man who was evidently a stableman, coming -up and addressing Rawson, not knowing who the -two were the coachman was talking to. He said:</p> -<p>“I say, Rawson, it’s true, isn’t it, that you drove the -woman that was killed in the coach yesterday?”</p> -<p>“Yes, it’s true; worse luck,” said Rawson.</p> -<p>“Well, say,” said the man, “the papers say there wasn’t -any man with the woman in that coach. I say there was. -What do you say?”</p> -<p>“I say there wasn’t,” said Rawson.</p> -<p>“Well, you’re wrong there.”</p> -<p>Rawson was about to deny this somewhat strongly, -but Nick stopped him, and said to the man:</p> -<p>“What do you know about it?”</p> -<p>“I know there was a man ridin’ with her.”</p> -<p>“How do you know it?” asked Nick.</p> -<p>“Why,” said the man, “I was standin’ in Sixth Avenue -talkin’ with a friend when I saw my friend here, Rawson, -pulled up in front of a swell dressmaker’s.</p> -<p>“Then I see his lady, the one he drives for, get out and -go into the dressmaker’s.</p> -<p>“Well, ’twan’t any of my biz, and I wasn’t lookin’ -sharp. By and by I happened to look at the coach, and -there was a swell in it.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_129">129</div> -<p>“Are you sure of that?” asked Chick.</p> -<p>“Sure. But, anyhow, my friend breaks away and I gets -on the trolley to go to the stable. When I gets up to -Fifty-eighth Street I goes into a saloon.</p> -<p>“When I had put away a couple of beers, I comes out -and I stands in front lookin’ at a block a big truck loaded -with iron had made, when I see Rawson pulled up.</p> -<p>“Then I see my swell guy in the coach open the door -on the other side, get out, shut the door after him, and -slip over to the other side.”</p> -<p>“What’s your name?” sharply asked Nick.</p> -<p>“What’s that to you?” replied the other.</p> -<p>“Johnny,” said Rawson, “this is Mr. Carter, the celebrated -detective.”</p> -<p>The man started, a little frightened, and immediately -became far more respectful.</p> -<p>“My name is Johnny Moran,” he said.</p> -<p>“What is your business, Moran?” asked Nick.</p> -<p>“I am a stableman, sometimes drivin’ for a livery stable -right near where Rawson works.”</p> -<p>“He’s all right,” said Rawson. “We worked together -in the same stables before, and he is a good man.”</p> -<p>“I have no doubt of that. He looks like it,” said -Nick. “Now, Moran, what did this man you saw in the -coach look like?”</p> -<p>“Well, he was a swell.”</p> -<p>“Describe him as near as you can.”</p> -<p>The man seemed to be embarrassed, and hung his head, -as if trying to think hard.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_130">130</div> -<p>“I didn’t just see his face,” he said, at length. “He -had on a shiny hat, and whiskers all around his face, that -were dark, and the clothes he had on were swell.”</p> -<p>“Would you know him again if you were to see him?”</p> -<p>The man shook his head doubtfully, and finally said:</p> -<p>“I don’t know about that. You see, I didn’t think anything -was wrong then, and I wasn’t stagging him off for -anything. If he was dressed just the same maybe I would, -but I wouldn’t want to swear to it.”</p> -<p>He thought a little while, and then said:</p> -<p>“He was about as tall as him,” he pointed to Chick.</p> -<p>Then he went on:</p> -<p>“Seems to me, as he went across the street with his -back to me, he had a trick of hitching up his right -shoulder.”</p> -<p>“How hitching it up?” asked Chick.</p> -<p>“It was more than that—it was a kind of a jerk.”</p> -<p>“Is that all you can tell us?” asked Nick.</p> -<p>“It is all that I can think of now.”</p> -<p>“If we should want you to go with us some time, where -could we find you?” asked Nick.</p> -<p>“You can find me at the stable most any time, and I’ll -go with you whenever you want me to.”</p> -<p>“What you have already told us, Moran,” said Nick, -“is very important. It has settled one question that we -were in great doubt about.”</p> -<p>The two detectives turned away, and, as they walked -off in the direction of the Constant house, Nick said:</p> -<p>“Chick, luck’s with us.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_131">131</div> -<p>“Nick Carter’s luck,” Chick said, with a laugh.</p> -<p>“It’s luck, whosever it is,” said Nick, “for we might -have hunted a long time before we got such direct evidence -of the correctness of our theory, that the man entered -that coach when it stood in front of the dressmaker’s.”</p> -<p>“I suppose that we must assume that he did enter -there,” said Chick, “but we are weak on that evidence.”</p> -<p>“We have direct evidence as to how he left the coach -after the murder,” said Nick. “I think we can safely assume -that there is where he did enter the coach. However, -there is something for you to do, and that is to go -down into that neighborhood and see if you can establish -the fact for a certainty that he did enter there.”</p> -<p>“Then I had better do it without loss of time,” said -Chick. “I will go right away.”</p> -<p>Thus it was that the detectives separated at that point.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_132">132</div> -<h2 id="c14"><span class="small">CHAPTER XIV.</span> -<br />A CHANGE OF FRONT.</h2> -<p>Patsy had made his way to the Madison Square Garden -at once, and presented his letter to the prominent banker.</p> -<p>“I should think,” said the banker, as he folded up the -letter, after reading it, “that Mr. Carter would devote his -energies rather to finding out who killed Mrs. Constant -than to finding out who poisoned her dogs.”</p> -<p>“Oh, Mrs. Constant is all right,” replied Patsy. “She -wasn’t killed.”</p> -<p>“Not killed?” replied the banker. “The papers said -so.”</p> -<p>“All a mistake,” said Patsy. “Mrs. Constant is well, -though she ain’t happy, for the reason that it was her -sister who was killed.”</p> -<p>“That beautiful girl!” exclaimed the banker, eager to -know all that Patsy could tell him.</p> -<p>Though the lad was anxious to get to work, he was -compelled to delay while he satisfied the banker’s curiosity.</p> -<p>When he was finally released, which he was with full -authority to go to all parts of the huge building, he hurried -out into the space where the dogs were benched.</p> -<p>As fond as he was of the animals, however, he paid -little attention to them, for he was anxious to make himself -acquainted with the attendants.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_133">133</div> -<p>It was the last day of the show, and the attendance, -especially at that hour in the afternoon when Patsy -reached the building, was very large.</p> -<p>If thereby movement about the building was made -difficult, it was all the better for Patsy, for he was less -likely to be recognized.</p> -<p>He spent an hour of close examination without hitting -upon anything which could serve as an opening to him.</p> -<p>Finally he engaged in conversation a well-known kennelman -of a prominent breeder, leading it to the poisoning -of the dogs by degrees.</p> -<p>“Yes,” said the kennelman, in answer to Patsy’s question, -“there was a nasty case of poisoning here. You -can bet that it was outside of the bunch.”</p> -<p>“What do you mean by that?” asked Patsy.</p> -<p>“I mean it was none of the doggy men that did it, and -it wasn’t for any show reasons. A breeder, or a man in -the business, thinks too much of a dog to do him in that -way.</p> -<p>“Setters are not my line. We were only competing in -the fox-terriers. So we hadn’t especial interest in setters. -But I felt as bad over the deaths of those setters -as if they had been the dogs I had brought up and -cared for.</p> -<p>“It’s a mean man that can kill a dog, anyhow—dogs -as gentle and sweet-tempered as setters are.</p> -<p>“So I say some one was trying to get square on the -lady that owned those dogs, and for reasons away from -this show.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_134">134</div> -<p>“Say, if they ever get down to the truth of it, see if it -don’t turn out to be a woman that did the business.”</p> -<p>This was a new idea to Patsy, and he stood still thinking -of it. Suddenly a voice fell on his ear.</p> -<p>“It’s him, I’m telling you. Sure. Get out of sight!”</p> -<p>Patsy looked around, without seeing whence came the -voice, though two of the attendants were walking off -hastily.</p> -<p>Rather from curiosity than from any other reason, -Patsy followed them, carefully preventing himself from -being seen by them.</p> -<p>When they had reached the end of the aisle, they turned, -taking up a position behind a bench, where they thought -they were concealed from view.</p> -<p>Patsy crept up as closely as he could, and under the -pretense of petting one of the dogs, then listened to their -further talk.</p> -<p>“I heard that Nick Carter was onto the case,” said -the voice Patsy had heard before. “Now his young assistant, -Patsy, comes around on the sneak.”</p> -<p>“But you ain’t sure he’s onto the case. Likely he’s -only come in to have a look at the dogs.”</p> -<p>“Look nawthin’! He’s here for biz. I am going to get -out.”</p> -<p>“If you do, you lose your pay. If you drop out now, -you get nothing.”</p> -<p>“The whack on the other thing is good. Anyhow, I -don’t want that fellow to get his peepers on me.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_135">135</div> -<p>“You haven’t got the whack, an’ I’m ready to bet that -we’ll get t’rown down yet.”</p> -<p>“Go wan,” said the other, incredulously.</p> -<p>Patsy cautiously climbed upon the bench and peeped -over the division.</p> -<p>Two men in the dress of the hired attendants stood with -their backs to him.</p> -<p>As he looked, trying to fix upon some peculiarity by -which he could recognize them when in a position to see -their faces, a man, who was in his manner and dress of -some consequence, approached.</p> -<p>He eyed the two keenly, and the two straightened up -as if they expected recognition from the person.</p> -<p>Apparently this person was about to pass by, but he -suddenly halted, turned from his path, and went quickly -to the bench near where the two were standing, pretending -to be much interested in the dogs there.</p> -<p>All of this was seen by the keen-eyed Patsy, and he also -saw that as this consequential-appearing person reached -the bench, he slipped something deftly into the hands of -the two standing ready to receive it.</p> -<p>Not a word was spoken between the three. The passage -made, the consequential-appearing man turned from -the bench and sauntered on.</p> -<p>Dropping from his perch and keeping his eye on this -person, Patsy followed him down, keeping in his own -aisle.</p> -<p>As the end was reached, Patsy hurried forward, and, -<span class="pb" id="Page_136">136</span> -getting close to this person, kept him in sight until he met -an acquaintance.</p> -<p>“Who is that person?” asked Patsy, pointing out the -man he had been following.</p> -<p>“Don’t know,” replied the one he accosted. “There’s -Herrick over there. He knows everybody, and if you -want to know badly I’ll find out for you.”</p> -<p>“Do,” said Patsy. “And hurry!”</p> -<p>Patsy’s acquaintance hurried off and came back in a moment, -saying:</p> -<p>“The man’s name is Eric Masson.”</p> -<p>Though Patsy was rather expecting that reply, yet -when he received it, it was with a sort of a shock.</p> -<p>However, firmly fixing in his memory the features of -the man Masson by a close inspection of them, he hurried -back to the part of the building where he had left -the attendants.</p> -<p>They were still in the places where they had stood -when Masson came to them and passed to them the mysterious -something.</p> -<p>He made a wide circle so that he could come in front -of them to observe their faces.</p> -<p>Then he worked up to them gradually, using the passing -people skillfully as a screen for himself.</p> -<p>Thus he obtained an excellent view of their faces, and -it seemed to him that he recognized one of them, but it -was difficult for him to fix it.</p> -<p>He was about to turn away, in an effort to learn who -they were, how and under what circumstances they had -<span class="pb" id="Page_137">137</span> -obtained employment there, when he saw Masson again -approaching.</p> -<p>This time he seemed to be stopping for an instant before -each of the dogs, but yet steadily edging along to -where the two men stood.</p> -<p>Patsy took a chance and moved closer, concealed only -by a lady and gentleman, whose next movements might -disclose him to the very persons of whom he was trying -to keep out of sight.</p> -<p>Finally Masson reached the spot where the two men -were standing.</p> -<p>“This dog is not a prize winner,” he said, to the one -nearest him, who proved to be the one whose features -were somewhat familiar to Patsy.</p> -<p>“No; he didn’t win anything,” replied the man.</p> -<p>Then, in a lower tone of voice, Masson said:</p> -<p>“I want to see you.”</p> -<p>“When?” replied the attendant, in the same tone.</p> -<p>“Right away.”</p> -<p>“Where?”</p> -<p>“Follow me out and to a place I shall go to.”</p> -<p>“Say, boss,” replied the other, “if we skip the place -now we lose our bones for the four days’ hustle.”</p> -<p>“Never mind that. I’ll make it good. You must get -out to me. There’s trouble.”</p> -<p>“All right,” said the other, who had not yet spoken. -“If you make good, what you say goes. But it’s a ten-case -note for each of us.”</p> -<p>“All the same. Get off those clothes and get to me.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_138">138</div> -<p>As the two made a movement as if to go away from the -spot, Patsy fell back to a point where he could observe -without being seen.</p> -<p>The two went off toward the rear of the hall, and -Eric Masson sauntered off toward the main entrance.</p> -<p>There he took a stand as if he was merely watching -the passing show.</p> -<p>At once Patsy took in the situation. The men had -gone to change their clothes, and Masson was waiting for -them to return.</p> -<p>“I must follow them,” muttered Patsy. “To do so I -must make a change, and I’ve got to make it quick.”</p> -<p>Near where he stood was a door which he thought -led into the offices of the kennel club. He dodged through -it to find he was correct in his surmise as well as to face -the prominent banker.</p> -<p>“What now, Patsy?” asked the banker.</p> -<p>“Only a little makeup,” replied Patsy. “I think I’m -on to something, and am going to try it.”</p> -<p>Much to the interest and amusement of the banker, -he drew from his pocket a wig, which he slipped on, and -a false mustache, using some color to change his face and -eyebrows.</p> -<p>“Oh, for another coat and hat!” cried Patsy, casting -longing eyes on those worn by the banker.</p> -<p>“I’ll swap with you, Patsy,” cried the banker, laughing -heartily, as he threw off his coat.</p> -<p>The exchange was quickly made, and as Patsy dashed -out, the banker, following, cried out:</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_139">139</div> -<p>“I shan’t swap back, Patsy, because as it stands now -I got the best of the trade.”</p> -<p>Patsy laughed, but made no reply. Hurrying out, he -found Masson still in the place where he left him.</p> -<p>He passed close to him, and went into the hallway, -standing just within the gate, waiting until Masson appeared.</p> -<p>As this person showed up, Patsy sauntered through the -gate and down to the outer doors.</p> -<p>Looking back, he saw the two men, now in their street -clothes, following at a respectful distance.</p> -<p>Patsy went out on the sidewalk.</p> -<p>When Masson reached it, he turned toward Twenty-seventh -Street and rounded the corner.</p> -<p>Patsy was close behind him. Walking at a brisk gait, -which he quickened to pass Masson, he saw that that -person was going to Fourth Avenue.</p> -<p>Nearing the corner of Fourth Avenue, Patsy put himself -in concealment, quite certain that he had not been observed -by Masson or the two men.</p> -<p>And from that point he saw Masson turn up Fourth -Avenue, followed by the two men.</p> -<p>Now Patsy trailed in behind them.</p> -<p>The way was up Fourth Avenue, only a few blocks, -when Masson turned into a saloon on the corner, making -a signal for the two men to follow him.</p> -<p>The young detective passed in close behind the two.</p> -<p>A hasty glance about the room showed him that it was -well thronged by customers, something he had hoped for.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_140">140</div> -<p>It also showed him that a partition formed a small -room in the corner on the side on which was the bar.</p> -<p>At the end of the bar, nearest this small room, was a -large and rather ornamental icebox. At the end of the -box, furthest from the bar, and out of sight of it, was -a door leading into the hall by which the upper floors of -the house were reached.</p> -<p>This door was open and swung back against the partition, -leaving a space behind it.</p> -<p>Masson made his way through the customers to this -small room, followed by the two men.</p> -<p>He ordered drinks for them, and when they had been -served and paid for, he closed the door, shutting himself -up with them.</p> -<p>Patsy slipped behind the hall door. He could hear nothing, -however.</p> -<p>By dint of climbing upon the door, resting a foot on -the door-knob, he brought his ear on a level with the top -of the partition.</p> -<p>The effort paid him.</p> -<p>“There’s a lot of trouble,” said Masson’s voice, quickly -recognized by Patsy. “In the first place, Nick Carter -has been put on the case.”</p> -<p>“That’s bad,” said one of the others.</p> -<p>“Why bad?” asked Masson.</p> -<p>“Because he’s a wizard to get at the bottom of things.”</p> -<p>“Well, it isn’t likely he’ll spend much time on this matter, -for he’s got something bigger on hand. But that -isn’t what I am after just now. Listen to me.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_141">141</div> -<p>“Nick Carter was put on the case. The woman has -charged me with being at the bottom of the thing. However, -there was a change, and that gives me a chance to -do a thing I want to have done.</p> -<p>“Nick Carter won’t pay much attention to this thing -for a while.”</p> -<p>“That’s where you’re off,” interrupted the voice Patsy -had first heard. “One of his best men was in the Garden -this afternoon. He’s there now on the snoop.”</p> -<p>“You’re wrong, old man,” muttered Patsy to himself. -“I’m here, on the sneak.”</p> -<p>“Who?” asked Masson, anxiously.</p> -<p>“Patsy Murphy,” replied the other. “I dropped to him -as soon as I saw him.”</p> -<p>“Are you sure?” asked Masson.</p> -<p>“You bet he’s sure,” said the other. “He’s been through -Patsy’s hands, and he knows him.”</p> -<p>“That’s so,” said the first one, “and he left his mark -on me so he’d know me again. I sneaked when I saw -him.”</p> -<p>“Well, if that’s so,” said Masson, “it makes it all the -more necessary that the thing moves as I have planned.</p> -<p>“This woman’s sister was killed last night.”</p> -<p>“No; the woman herself,” said one of the voices.</p> -<p>“Don’t contradict me,” said Masson. “It was the -woman’s sister. I’ve got it straight. That may make -some little trouble for me, but not much. It will make -more if they get onto the other job.</p> -<p>“But I want you two out of the way to make sure that -<span class="pb" id="Page_142">142</span> -they don’t get on. Take a trip to Chicago, St. Louis, or -the devil, for four or five weeks. I’ll pay for it.</p> -<p>“Now, then, you see what I mean. Will you get out -right away? I’ll stake you well.”</p> -<p>“I’m game to go on the next train,” said one of the -two.</p> -<p>“I ain’t so ready to go,” said the other, “but if it cuts -any ice I’ll do it.”</p> -<p>“Well,” said Masson, “it will cut a good deal of ice -with me. I can’t afford to take any chances now. I wish -now that I’d never gone into the job, seeing what turn -things have taken.</p> -<p>“But the thing is, are you ready to go?”</p> -<p>“Yes.”</p> -<p>“When will you go? To-night?”</p> -<p>“Yes.”</p> -<p>“Where to?”</p> -<p>“Chicago, if you say so.”</p> -<p>“Well, I do. It is now near five o’clock. Meet me at -half-past seven at the Forty-second Street Station, and -I’ll hand you the tickets and the stake. Is that settled?”</p> -<p>There was a movement of chairs as if the three men -were rising, and Patsy slipped down from his perch and -from behind the door.</p> -<p>He was out in the saloon in a position to see them -when they came from the room.</p> -<p>“I needn’t worry about Masson,” said Patsy to himself. -“He can be picked up at the station. I’ll follow the -others to find out who they are.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_143">143</div> -<p>His chase after these two was not a long one, though -it did carry him to the Bowery, to which place the two -hurried.</p> -<p>The two toughs, for such, indeed, they were, reaching -that famous thoroughfare, quickly made for a saloon -which was well known to Patsy through frequent visits to -it in the way of business.</p> -<p>So skillfully had his shadow work been done that neither -of the two toughs had even seen him.</p> -<p>Entering this place close behind them, Patsy was surprised -and not gratified to see within it an old acquaintance, -Bally Morris.</p> -<p>But what had rather annoyed him he quickly saw was -likely to turn out to his advantage.</p> -<p>No sooner had this Bally Morris seen the two Patsy -was following enter, than he went up to them and began a -quarrel with them, charging them with having gone back -on him in some matter.</p> -<p>It was clear to Patsy that the two had no wish for a -quarrel at the time, and he saw them get out of the place -as soon as they could.</p> -<p>And he changed his tactics at once. Slipping out, he -tore off his beard and false mustache, letting the two go -where they would, believing that he would get trace of -them at half-past seven at the Grand Central Station.</p> -<p>Having got into his own proper person, he went back -into the saloon to find Bally Morris.</p> -<p>That amiable young person recognized Patsy at once, -<span class="pb" id="Page_144">144</span> -and was not, apparently, anxious to see the young detective.</p> -<p>“Oh, ho,” thought Patsy. “He’s afraid of me. He’s -been up to something and thinks I am on.”</p> -<p>Asking Morris to take a drink with him, he said:</p> -<p>“Who were the two guys you were wanting to scrap -wid, Bally?”</p> -<p>“I don’t know who dey is. I hed a muss wid ’em las’ -night to a rag spiel.”</p> -<p>“Oh, come off, Bally. Don’t play me dat way. Gimme -it straight.”</p> -<p>“Honest, I don’t.”</p> -<p>“Say, Bally, you couldn’t be honest if you tried. Well, -I ain’t on to anythin’ you’ve been doin’, but I want to -know who dose fellers are, see! If you don’t give it, -why——”</p> -<p>He stopped, looking Bally in the face, steadily and -threateningly.</p> -<p>“Well,” at length said the East Side tough, “dey ain’t -no fr’en’s of mine. Dere names is Al Crummie and Bill -Graff.”</p> -<p>“Crooks?”</p> -<p>“Well, dey ain’t straight goods.”</p> -<p>“Where is dere hang-out?”</p> -<p>“On de block below. What dey been doin’?”</p> -<p>“Poisoning dogs, I guess.”</p> -<p>Bally looked up at Patsy with a laugh, as if he did not -believe him.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_145">145</div> -<p>“Dat’s all I know,” continued Patsy. “Up to the dog -show. Dey was hired there.”</p> -<p>“Well,” said Bally, “de’re mean enough.”</p> -<p>Patsy had now gotten all he wanted, and he hurried off -to find Nick Carter and to report.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_146">146</div> -<h2 id="c15"><span class="small">CHAPTER XV.</span> -<br />CLOSER TO MASSON.</h2> -<p>Chick was present when Patsy made his report of the -afternoon’s work, and listened with interest to the remarks -Nick made on it.</p> -<p>“Patsy has settled one end of the case in pretty short -order,” said Nick. “The dogs were poisoned by these two -men, Crummie and Graff, who were hired to do it by -Masson. What further work there is to be done on that -line is only that of making the proof strong. Patsy’s work -was quickly done, and well done.”</p> -<p>“I had a good deal of luck with me,” said Patsy, modestly, -though much pleased with the praise of his chief.</p> -<p>“Luck, Patsy,” said Nick, “usually comes from the -right use of your head, and seizing hold of opportunities -when they present themselves.”</p> -<p>“Well, chief,” asked Chick, “how does this triumph of -Patsy hitch on to the murder end of the case?”</p> -<p>“There is where the puzzle is,” remarked Nick, -thoughtfully.</p> -<p>“This morning,” said Chick, “we said that if we found -that Masson was not responsible for the death of the dogs -it would go far toward putting Masson out from under -the suspicion of murder. Does it work the other way -when we find that he is responsible for the poisoning?”</p> -<p>“I am afraid that is the way we figured this morning,” -<span class="pb" id="Page_147">147</span> -said Nick, with a smile. “But after hearing Patsy’s report, -I am even more puzzled as to Masson.</p> -<p>“If he was guilty of that murder, he is a cool-blooded -wretch to talk of it, as Patsy reports he did.”</p> -<p>“Yes,” said Chick, “his nerve is great. It seems he -knew it was not Blanche, but Ethel Romney that was -killed.”</p> -<p>“Don’t forget, Chick, that at the time he was talking -to these men all the world knew. The evening papers by -that time had corrected the error of the morning.”</p> -<p>“True enough,” said Chick, “I had forgotten that. So -there is no point in that.”</p> -<p>“But, chief,” cried Patsy, “what are we to do about -the lads that are going to Chicago to-night?”</p> -<p>“Let them go,” replied Nick, quietly.</p> -<p>“Let them go?” repeated Chick and Patsy in the same -breath.</p> -<p>“Yes; it will be easy enough to get them when we want -them. The chief thing is that I want Masson to think -that he is right; that we are not paying any attention to -the dog end of the case; and, to convince him, if we can, -by our action that we have no suspicion as to him as the -murderer.”</p> -<p>“And then?” asked Chick, who was at a loss to follow -his chief, who was laying out a plan so different from his -usual course.</p> -<p>“Then I shall have every step he takes shadowed and -every move he makes watched.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_148">148</div> -<p>“And yet you do not believe that Masson killed Ethel -Romney?”</p> -<p>“It will not do to say that, Chick. I have told you that -I am more puzzled over this case than any I ever had to -do with. I will admit to you that, starting with the suspicions -of Mrs. Constant, and her reasons, all the indications -are just as she suggests—that Ethel Romney was -killed by Eric Masson, supposing her to be Blanche Constant. -But when it is all done, I cannot make up my -mind that he did do it.</p> -<p>“Now, I propose to settle that question beyond dispute.”</p> -<p>“Patsy,” said Chick, suddenly, “what sort of looking -man is Eric Masson?”</p> -<p>“About your height,” said Patsy, “brown beard and -hair, straight nose, pretty high, eyes close together, so -dark as to look black, set well back in his head, dresses -very swell.”</p> -<p>“Good!” exclaimed Chick. “Now, chief, a man of -exactly that description appeared in front of that dressmaker’s -place in Sixth Avenue, to which Ethel Romney -went, just after Ethel was there the first time, and hung -around there so long that three people had their attention -attracted to him.</p> -<p>“One of them saw the carriage drive up a second time, -saw the lady it carried get out a second time, saw this man -dart out of an adjoining doorway and follow her as she -passed through into the place, speak to her, come out -again and get into that carriage.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_149">149</div> -<p>“This same person saw the lady come out and attempt -to enter the carriage, heard a little cry from her as she -stepped in, and saw the man hurriedly close the door of -the coach.</p> -<p>“There is something for you to crack, chief.”</p> -<p>“That is what you picked up this afternoon when you -left me?” calmly asked Nick.</p> -<p>“Yes.”</p> -<p>“It confirms the stories of both Moran and Rawson. -It makes the indications point all the stronger toward -Masson.</p> -<p>“Now, I’ll give you something stronger than that. Ten -minutes after Ethel Romney drove away from home, Eric -Masson called at the Constant residence, asking to see -Mrs. Constant.</p> -<p>“The servant who opened the door told him the lady -had just driven away in her carriage.</p> -<p>“The servant supposed she was telling the truth, for -she had mistaken Ethel for Mrs. Constant. In response -to the question as to whether Mrs. Constant had gone -out for the evening, the servant replied she thought not, -as she had heard Mrs. Constant was going to her dressmaker.”</p> -<p>“Knowing all this you still have doubts, chief?” asked -Chick.</p> -<p>“Patsy,” asked Nick, “does Eric Masson walk with a -hitch or a jerk to his right shoulder?”</p> -<p>“I saw nothing of it?” replied the lad.</p> -<p>“Chick,” said Nick, “Masson was in his club from six -<span class="pb" id="Page_150">150</span> -o’clock in the evening until ten at night. Three men -stand to swear to it.”</p> -<p>“What time did Ethel Romney leave her home last -night?” asked Chick.</p> -<p>“About eight o’clock.”</p> -<p>“It’s a puzzle; more puzzling the deeper you get into -it,” said Chick. “If these three men stand firm, Masson -can prove an alibi, if charged.”</p> -<p>“Chick, one man stands ready to swear that he saw -Eric Masson in Fifty-eighth Street at nine o’clock, for -he had just looked at his watch as he saluted Masson.</p> -<p>“Another stands ready to swear that he met and spoke -to Eric Masson at about half-past nine, at the corner of -Fifty-seventh Street and Fifth Avenue.”</p> -<p>“And this is the result of your inquiries since I parted -with you?” asked Chick.</p> -<p>“You think that instead of clearing things they are -worse muddled.”</p> -<p>“It would look that way.”</p> -<p>“Well, you’re right. I can’t even imagine an explanation -of these contradictions.”</p> -<p>Further conversation on this line was interrupted by -the coming of Mrs. Carter, who had been spending the -afternoon with Blanche Constant.</p> -<p>She was quite excited, saying:</p> -<p>“It has been a distressing afternoon. Blanche’s grief -is almost robbing her of her senses. She blames herself -so much that she did not guard Ethel against the dangers -she was exposed to.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_151">151</div> -<p>Turning suddenly to her husband, she said:</p> -<p>“Nick, how is it that you can doubt for a moment that -Masson is the man that murdered Ethel, thinking she was -Blanche?”</p> -<p>Chick was about to speak, but Nick checked him, -saying:</p> -<p>“Edith, you know, I usually want proof before I believe -a man guilty.” Continuing, he said:</p> -<p>“When, having been rejected, Masson learns that -Blanche Romney was about to marry Albert Constant, -he tells her it will be well neither for herself nor for Constant -if she does. It was not nice or manly, yet there is -nothing in that to justify a belief in murder.”</p> -<p>“But——”</p> -<p>“Blanche thinks he injured her husband. That is only -suspicion. She hints at foul play in Constant’s death, but -it is based only on the fact that Masson dined at the same -table. At the very best, it is only suspicion.</p> -<p>“She thinks that Masson killed her dogs, but she has no -proof. It is only suspicion.”</p> -<p>Patsy looked up in great surprise at Nick when he -said the last words. Then he saw that Nick had a purpose -in the way he was replying to Edith.</p> -<p>“Well, it is not suspicion when he entices Blanche into -an empty house, where he is alone, is it?” cried Edith, -quite heatedly.</p> -<p>“What is that you are saying?” asked Nick.</p> -<p>“I didn’t mean to speak of it,” said Edith, “for Blanche -is so afraid of the scandal of it. But the grass was hardly -<span class="pb" id="Page_152">152</span> -green over the grave of her husband when Masson renewed -his attentions to Blanche. That was bad enough -in itself.</p> -<p>“She drove him away angrily, and yet he persisted in -writing to her until she returned his letters unopened.</p> -<p>“Then one day, having by some means learned that -Blanche was befriending a poor family, he enticed her to -go to see that poor family at a certain house.</p> -<p>“When she entered the house the poor family was not -there, but Masson was, and he was alone.</p> -<p>“Then he told her that she was compromised by entering -that house, for every one in the neighborhood knew -that a bachelor lived there, and had seen her enter.</p> -<p>“Blanche only got out of the house by drawing her revolver -and fighting her way out.</p> -<p>“One day, when Blanche was giving a reception, for -which she had issued cards, five or six most notorious -women entered, having received cards, to scandalize her, -and one acknowledged that she had been hired by Masson -to go there.</p> -<p>“Then, when Blanche sent for him and threatened him -with arrest and prosecution if he continued the persecutions, -he declared that he would continue them until she -married him; that if she wanted to live it could only be -as his wife——”</p> -<p>“Now,” said Nick, springing to his feet, “we have -something substantial to go upon. I knew there was -something back of all this indefinite suspicion of Mrs. -Constant.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_153">153</div> -<p>“It required Edith’s sympathy to get it out.</p> -<p>“What an infernal scoundrel the fellow is!</p> -<p>“What is true,” he continued, “is that we have for the -first time knowledge of a threat on the part of Masson to -kill Mrs. Constant.</p> -<p>“That becomes serious. Now we have a new motive -for work.</p> -<p>“Patsy, you must be at the Grand Central Station to see -your friends, Crummie and Graff, off to Chicago. Let -them go, thinking that nobody suspects them.</p> -<p>“Then take up Masson’s shadow. That is to be your -work for the present.</p> -<p>“In the meantime, I am growing alarmed about Ida. -She was to wire me before this from Philadelphia.”</p> -<p>“Don’t worry, chief,” said Chick. “Ida knows how to -take care of herself. If she has not wired you, it is because -she means to turn up from that city this evening.”</p> -<p>“I hope so,” said Nick, uneasily.</p> -<p>Then the four went to dinner.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_154">154</div> -<h2 id="c16"><span class="small">CHAPTER XVI.</span> -<br />IDA IN TROUBLE.</h2> -<p>When Patsy set out to be present at the departure for -Chicago of his two new acquaintances, Crummie and -Graff, Nick and Chick accompanied him to the station, in -order that they might become familiar with the appearance -of Masson.</p> -<p>Under Edith’s recital of the tale told her by Blanche -Constant of Masson’s persecutions, the latter person had -assumed a new importance in Nick’s eye.</p> -<p>Arriving at the station, Patsy quickly espied the two -East Side toughs.</p> -<p>They were roaming about the large room, evidently -looking for some one, and not finding him.</p> -<p>“It begins to look,” said Patsy, “as if Masson had -thrown ’em down.”</p> -<p>“Yet,” said Nick, “when you heard him talking to them, -he seemed to be most anxious to have them get out of -town, didn’t he?”</p> -<p>“Yes,” replied Patsy. “It was his idea. He proposed -it to them.”</p> -<p>“There may have been a new turn in the game,” said -Nick.</p> -<p>He had hardly said this when a man stepped out from -a group of persons and walked over to the two, speaking -to them.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_155">155</div> -<p>Surprise was plainly shown on the faces of the two -toughs when they were addressed, but the expression -quickly changed to one of recognition.</p> -<p>This man was about the height of Chick, but he was -smooth-shaven.</p> -<p>The three detectives, moving up more closely, saw this -smooth-shaven stranger hand a small envelope to one of -the two. Then he took from his pocket two small packages, -handing one to each.</p> -<p>Patsy, who had edged away, so that he could get a clear -view of the stranger’s face, came back to Nick, saying:</p> -<p>“Great Scott! The fellow has given himself a clean -shave.”</p> -<p>“Shaved off his whiskers and mustache?” asked Nick.</p> -<p>“Sure,” said Patsy.</p> -<p>Nick made no reply, but Chick said:</p> -<p>“If the fellow looked no better before than he does after -shaving, I pity him.”</p> -<p>“He looks a lot worse,” said Patsy.</p> -<p>Chick laughed, and Nick remarked:</p> -<p>“He is a foolish man.”</p> -<p>The doors leading to the train shed were now thrown -open, and the gatemen began to call the train.</p> -<p>The two toughs shook hands with Masson and passed -through the gate, on their way to the train they were to -take.</p> -<p>Masson turned to go to the exit to the street, and in -doing so passed close to the three detectives, apparently -<span class="pb" id="Page_156">156</span> -without recognizing them. If he did, he made no sign -of it.</p> -<p>He had gone but a few steps beyond this little group -of detectives when he encountered a party of travelers, -consisting of two ladies and two gentlemen. To this -party he lifted his hat.</p> -<p>All of the four looked with some surprise upon him, -and then one of the gentlemen broke into a laugh, saying:</p> -<p>“Why, you have made an astonishing change in your -appearance, Masson.”</p> -<p>“Yes,” replied Masson, fully at ease. “And not for the -better, I imagine.”</p> -<p>To this remark no one made reply, but the other gentleman -said, lightly:</p> -<p>“It was a reckless thing to do—making such a complete -change.”</p> -<p>“It was forced on me,” said Masson. “A fellow that -looks like me has been going about town representing -himself to be me, and causing me a good deal of trouble. -The only way in which I could stop him was to destroy -the resemblance.”</p> -<p>“Perhaps he will shave, too,” said one of the ladies.</p> -<p>“But he will not restore the resemblance,” replied -Masson. “It was the whiskers that did the trick.”</p> -<p>Their conversation was changed with this, and Nick -said to his companion:</p> -<p>“Was that said by Masson for our benefit, think you?”</p> -<p>“It sounded like a throw off,” said Chick.</p> -<p>The three detectives passed out of the building, and -<span class="pb" id="Page_157">157</span> -stood on the sidewalk in front of the main doors, waiting -for Masson to make his appearance.</p> -<p>“You must follow Masson when he shows up, Patsy,” -said Nick.</p> -<p>Patsy moved away, to be prepared for this duty, and -Chick said:</p> -<p>“If Masson’s words were not intended for us, then they -were important in showing that there is another man on -the carpet who might be confused with him.”</p> -<p>“And,” added Nick, “it would afford an explanation of -the contradictions that now bother us.”</p> -<p>At this moment Masson came through the door and -walked briskly up Forty-second Street, Patsy following.</p> -<p>Nick made a signal to Chick, and started after.</p> -<p>Thus Masson was followed to Fifth Avenue, when he -turned to the south, going down that avenue, to all appearance -unconscious that he was followed.</p> -<p>At Thirty-seventh Street Nick stopped, Chick halting -with him.</p> -<p>“I have followed as far as I want,” said Nick. “I -wanted to see whether he walked with a hitch or jerk of -his shoulders.”</p> -<p>“Did you notice it?” asked Chick.</p> -<p>“No,” said Nick. “I noticed nothing in the man’s -habits of movement that indicated it.”</p> -<p>The two now turned to the west, leaving Patsy to continue -his shadow of Masson alone.</p> -<p>This shadow led to a club some distance down Fifth -<span class="pb" id="Page_158">158</span> -Avenue, in front of which stood two men, one of whom -respectfully saluted Masson as he came up.</p> -<p>Masson walked directly to the man, and said, abruptly:</p> -<p>“There will be nothing doing, Denton, until to-morrow -night. Then I want steam up and everything ready for a -three or four weeks’ cruise. I want the launch to be at -the old pier as early as eight o’clock, although I may not -be there to meet it until ten.</p> -<p>“Now, Denton, I want no mistakes. The same men -manning the launch that we have had before. I want the -crew off the deck when I go aboard. You alone are to -have the watch from nine to twelve.</p> -<p>“I shall be here at the club until midnight. After that -I shall be at home until to-morrow. You can reach me -any time to-morrow here at the club if you have need to.”</p> -<p>Masson was about to go into the clubhouse, and the -two men to whom he was talking had moved off a short -distance, when a third man came running up, saying:</p> -<p>“There is a mistake, Mr. Masson. The funeral does -not take place to-morrow, but the day after.”</p> -<p>“Are you sure,” asked Masson.</p> -<p>“Sure. I got it from the undertaker in charge.”</p> -<p>Masson hurriedly called the two men back, and said to -them:</p> -<p>“Wait! There may be a change of orders.”</p> -<p>Turning to the third man who had come up, he asked:</p> -<p>“What are the arrangements?”</p> -<p>“The funeral is at eleven, and the burial will be at -Greenwood as soon thereafter as it can take place.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_159">159</div> -<p>“Hum!” exclaimed Masson, thoughtfully. “Day after -to-morrow then. That changes all arrangements.”</p> -<p>He walked off to the two men who had come back and -were patiently waiting for him to speak. To them he -said:</p> -<p>“The orders I gave you are all off. Come to me to-morrow -here for further orders. In the meantime, you -can continue preparations for a long cruise. That’s all -for the present.”</p> -<p>The two men went away, and Masson, taking the other -by the arm, led him into the house.</p> -<p>Patsy had overheard the whole of this conversation by -slipping out into the middle of the street, behind the four -persons and climbing into a cab standing empty before the -door.</p> -<p>When all had disappeared, he crawled out again and -crossed to the other side of the street.</p> -<p>“Now, what does all that mean?” said Patsy to himself. -“The first two men were from his yacht. That’s -clear. And Masson is going on a long cruise. That’s -clear, too. But who was the other man, and what’s that -about a funeral?”</p> -<p>He stood thinking a little while, and then suddenly exclaimed:</p> -<p>“Gee! what if it’s the funeral of that Miss Romney? -Well, I’ll shadow him for a while if he comes out, for -Masson’s going to stay in the club.”</p> -<p>Shortly after the man who had entered with Masson -came out, and leisurely walked off into the direction of -<span class="pb" id="Page_160">160</span> -Broadway, closely followed by Patsy. It soon became -apparent that he had no particular business on hand, nor -any special place to go to, but was lounging from saloon -to saloon.</p> -<p>“It’s eating up time for nothing following this chap,” -said Patsy, to himself. “I’ll give him the drop, and start -after the chief to find him.”</p> -<p>Acting upon this thought, Patsy hurried to his chief’s -residence, to find that Nick had just come in with Chick.</p> -<p>He reported the conversation between Masson and the -three men that he had overheard, to the great interest of -the two elder detectives.</p> -<p>When he was through, Nick said:</p> -<p>“Masson has shipped off to Chicago the two men who -were his instruments in the dog poisoning affair. Now -he is going away for a long cruise himself.”</p> -<p>“But, chief,” said Chick, eagerly; “how about that -funeral? His going away seems to be tied up with that.”</p> -<p>“I was coming to that,” said Nick, “and it is the most -important thing. The undertaker, having been given full -charge, had appointed to-morrow as the day of the funeral, -but Mrs. Constant, having learned this, postponed the -funeral another day, on the ground that it seemed like -hurrying Ethel into the tomb to have the funeral so soon.</p> -<p>“Now compare this fact with what Patsy overheard -between Masson and that third man who came up, and we -can conclude that the funeral Masson is interested in is -that of Ethel Romney.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_161">161</div> -<p>“It appears, then, that Masson is determined to begin -his cruise on the day of that funeral. Why?”</p> -<p>“It is very strange,” said Chick, “and I take it we will -have to find that out. It can’t be, chief, that it is to be -explained on the simple ground that Masson wishes to attend -that funeral?”</p> -<p>“Dismiss that idea, Chick,” said Nick. “Masson will -not attend in any event. No, we must look deeper than -that for an explanation.”</p> -<p>The three were silent a moment, each busy with his own -thoughts, when Nick said:</p> -<p>“This calls for action. We may be forced to show our -hands before we are quite ready.”</p> -<p>“We can hardly let Masson go out of sight,” said -Chick.</p> -<p>“And yet,” said Nick, “we have not enough basis on -which to detain him. We have got to meet this another -way.</p> -<p>“The name of his yacht is the <i>Derelict</i>. When he is not -aboard, it lies in the East River, off Twenty-third Street. -Patsy, there is some work for you to do.”</p> -<p>The famous detective got up from his chair, and began -pacing up and down the apartment, keeping it up -for a long time. When he stopped he dropped again into -his chair, and said:</p> -<p>“I am satisfied that this move of Masson’s bears some -relation to the case we have in hand. What, I am not -able to figure out. But we must get ‘onto’ it, to use -<span class="pb" id="Page_162">162</span> -Patsy’s words, and Patsy, you must be the one to get -‘onto’ it.”</p> -<p>“All right, chief,” said Patsy. “But you must tell me -how.”</p> -<p>“Didn’t you tell me once that some summers ago you -were on a yacht as a steward for a little while?”</p> -<p>“Yes.”</p> -<p>“Well, I think you will have to try and hire out as a -steward on the <i>Derelict</i>.”</p> -<p>Patsy laughed, and replied:</p> -<p>“Or as an able seaman?”</p> -<p>“Any way, so long as you get aboard,” said Nick. -“That’s the most important thing we have to do at present. -And you haven’t much time to do it in, either.”</p> -<p>“And it isn’t an easy thing to do,” said Patsy; “but I’ll -start the ball rolling to-night.”</p> -<p>The little clock on the mantel of the room struck the -hour of ten, and Chick said:</p> -<p>“If you are going to start the ball to-night, you’ll have -to start it very soon, for it’s ten o’clock now.”</p> -<p>At that moment the servant entered the room with a -telegram, which she handed to Chick.</p> -<p>Tearing off the envelope and opening the folded paper -within, Chick read aloud:</p> -<p>“‘Am in trouble.’”</p> -<p>Chick hastily glanced at the top of the dispatch, and -exclaimed:</p> -<p>“Philadelphia! The deuce! It’s from Ida.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_163">163</div> -<p>“How do you know?” asked Patsy. “Is it signed by -her?”</p> -<p>“There’s no signature,” said Chick. “But I know it’s -from her.”</p> -<p>Nick was already on his feet, and he said:</p> -<p>“And she wants help or she never would have sent the -message. Chick, you and I start for Philadelphia now. -We have just got time to catch the next train that leaves -for that city.”</p> -<p>“Do I go, too?” asked Patsy.</p> -<p>“No,” said Nick. “We leave you in charge of the case. -Get on to that yacht if you can. I fancy that that’s where -the work must be done. We can’t tell how long Chick -and I will be away. But, if anything important turns up, -wire me to the old place in Philadelphia.</p> -<p>“Now, Chick, we must be off.”</p> -<p>Nick and Chick hurried away, and Patsy went off to -start his own difficult work.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_164">164</div> -<h2 id="c17"><span class="small">CHAPTER XVII.</span> -<br />A NEW SIDE.</h2> -<p>Ida met with an experience unusual to her on her trip -to Philadelphia.</p> -<p>While riding on the cars she perceived that a man and -woman, fellow-passengers, were eying her with no little -curiosity.</p> -<p>What had attracted their attention she was at a loss -to know, and for a time it irritated her.</p> -<p>But, turning to the window, she, by interesting herself -in a magazine, tried to forget it.</p> -<p>And, becoming interested in her story, she did forget -it, and was only started from her interest by seeing a man -seat himself in the chair next to her.</p> -<p>For a time she paid no attention to this person, except -to observe that he was a man apparently of thirty-five, -wearing a closely-clipped brown beard and brown mustache, -his hair cut very short.</p> -<p>Her book slipping from her lap gave this man the opportunity -for which evidently he had been looking.</p> -<p>Picking it up, he returned it to Ida, receiving her -thanks for his courtesy, and then attempted to enter into -conversation with her.</p> -<p>However, making no reply to his remarks, when he -persisted she swung her chair about so that she presented -her back to the man.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_165">165</div> -<p>She was aware that the man was angry, but she gave -little heed to that, merely turning to satisfy herself that the -man was not the one who, with the lady, had a little time -before annoyed her by their close watchfulness of her.</p> -<p>She had not sat in this position but a little time, when -the lady before mentioned arose from her seat, and crossing -the car, sat down in the empty seat which Ida was now -facing.</p> -<p>“Pardon me,” said the lady; “I take this seat and speak -to you for two reasons. One is rather a kindly one, and -the other wholly selfish and curious.</p> -<p>“I perceive that you are being annoyed by the man on -the other side of you. I saw that by sitting beside you -and talking with you I could put an end to his annoyances.”</p> -<p>This the lady said in a low tone that could not be heard -by the man at the back of Ida.</p> -<p>When Ida had thanked her for the interference the lady -went on, but now in a much louder voice.</p> -<p>“My selfish and curious reason is one not so helpful, -but I hope you won’t think it impertinent.</p> -<p>“My husband has recognized you as the celebrated Ida, -the aid of the famous Nick Carter, of whose exploits I -have frequently read.</p> -<p>“I have long admired you, wondering how a woman -could do such brave things as I have known you to do. -So I wanted to know and talk with you.”</p> -<p>Though much annoyed at thus having her identity revealed -in a public place, Ida could not refrain from meeting -<span class="pb" id="Page_166">166</span> -the lady pleasantly, for in the lady’s speech and manner -there was, after all, much that was complimentary.</p> -<p>Yet it was an uncommon experience for Ida. She -knew that Nick, Chick and Patsy were subject to such -happenings, and were often compelled to resort to disguises -to prevent accidental recognitions.</p> -<p>She did not care to be so conspicuous as recognition -made her, but a moment’s thought told her that, after -all, no great harm was done, since her mission to Philadelphia -could hardly be called a secret one; that is, secrecy -was not required in doing her work.</p> -<p>But, what gave her the most annoyance was that she -was conscious that the man on the other side of her had -heard the lady, had started into unusual interest, showing -a little agitation and had swung his chair around so as to -bring his ears nearer to the two.</p> -<p>However, he soon got up, going to the other end of -the car.</p> -<p>After this the lady and Ida chatted pleasantly until the -train drew into the great station in Philadelphia, when the -lady rejoined her husband, and Ida left the car.</p> -<p>The first thing that Ida did on reaching the street was -at once to set out for the house in which the family of -Blanche Constant and Ethel Romney lived.</p> -<p>As she passed the City Hall she saw, standing on the -lower step of the main entrance, looking at her intently, -the man who had attempted to get her into conversation -on the cars.</p> -<p>Making no sign, and thinking that it was an accident, -<span class="pb" id="Page_167">167</span> -Ida hurried along, keeping a sharp lookout behind her. -It seemed to her that the man was following her at a -distance.</p> -<p>And when she reached the street, where she was to -take the street car, she thought that she saw the man -concealing himself in a neighboring doorway.</p> -<p>Of this she could not be certain, but, when mounting -the car, which was a good deal crowded, she had the uncomfortable -feeling that the man was on the same car.</p> -<p>“All this may be accidental,” said Ida to herself, “but -I don’t think it is.”</p> -<p>Arriving at her destination she left the car hastily, and, -reaching the curbstone, turned to watch the people descending -from it.</p> -<p>The man who had seemed to follow her was not among -those who got off at the corner, but, as she watched the -car roll up the street, a man dropped off about midway -of the block above, and Ida thought it was the man in -question.</p> -<p>This man hurriedly walked up the block in the same -direction the car was going, and disappeared around the -same corner.</p> -<p>Ida now looked at her memoranda, and found that the -house occupied by the family of the murdered girl was -in the street on the corner of which she was standing. It -was not her intention to visit this house, but she had intended -to inspect it from the outside.</p> -<p>It was clear that the houses of that neighborhood were -not occupied by the wealthier residents of Philadelphia, -<span class="pb" id="Page_168">168</span> -but it was also clear that it was a thrifty neighborhood, -and that the people living there were at least in comfortable -circumstances.</p> -<p>Most of the people whose names Nick had put down on -the list he had given her lived thereabouts.</p> -<p>One, however, was a detective friend of Nick’s, who, -Nick said, would give Ida such assistance as she might -need were she to require it.</p> -<p>Ida, however, had determined that she would not call -upon this detective unless she were compelled to, by failing -to secure what she was after in applying to the other -people.</p> -<p>Having observed the house, Ida passed on, intending -to call on a woman living on the block below, whose name -had been given her by Nick.</p> -<p>As she reached the next corner, to her surprise, as well -as to the surprise of the other, she came face to face with -the man who had annoyed her previously, and who had -just turned the corner.</p> -<p>In his surprise and embarrassment the man lifted his -hat and went on.</p> -<p>Ida continued her way, a good deal troubled by the encounter.</p> -<p>Her call on the lady in question resulted in a success -that she could not have hoped for.</p> -<p>In fact, she secured information which was complete, -and was only confirmed, not added to, by those whom she -subsequently visited.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_169">169</div> -<p>And in this information were revelations of which Nick -had not dreamed.</p> -<p>From this woman, who was familiar with the history -of the family, Ida learned that Blanche and Ethel were -twin daughters of an old actor and actress; that the father -had died when the girls were about twelve years of age, -and that the mother, after continuing on the stage for -some two years thereafter, had married again and left -the stage.</p> -<p>The man she had married was a superior mechanic, -who had invested his savings in the purchase of a saloon, -which quickly became a sporting haunt; he was a widower, -with a son aged about eighteen years at the time of his -father’s marriage.</p> -<p>When his father engaged in the liquor business he had -taken the son into the store, who, under the influences, -grew to be rather sporty in his tastes and practices.</p> -<p>As the two girls developed they did not get along well -with their stepfather, and Blanche, the more spirited of -the two, left her home when eighteen to become an actress.</p> -<p>Ethel, however, who had neither a taste nor an aptitude -for the stage, remained at home, enduring an unpleasant -life.</p> -<p>After Blanche had made what was considered to be a -wealthy marriage, the conditions at the Romney home -were utterly changed.</p> -<p>George Macrane, the stepbrother, under the suggestion -of Donald, his father, became a suitor for the hand of -Ethel.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_170">170</div> -<p>There seemed to be an idea on the part of the father -and son that a good deal of money must come from -Blanche to Ethel, and that the husband of Ethel must -benefit by it.</p> -<p>Ethel, from the first, had resisted these efforts, and was -compelled to fight the battle almost alone.</p> -<p>Her mother was evidently a weak woman, completely -under the rule of her husband, and joined her husband -and his son in their effort to force upon the girl the unwelcome -suit.</p> -<p>The girl Ethel had shown more spirit in this resistance -than she had displayed in all her life before. It became -persecution, for her life was made miserable during the -four years that it lasted.</p> -<p>All sorts of annoyances were put upon her. She was -not permitted to go out, or to receive company, and, if -she talked with any one, especially a man, a great row -was made with her.</p> -<p>As the time went on these persecutions were increased.</p> -<p>Finally the girl Ethel, in her distress, had carried her -troubles to the lady talking to Ida.</p> -<p>This lady had advised Ethel to tell all her troubles to -her sister Blanche, something which Ethel had not done, -because of the urgency of her mother not to trouble -Blanche with the family affairs.</p> -<p>At length the matter had become so bad that Ethel -had permitted Blanche to know how unpleasant was her -life at home, with the result that Blanche had insisted -that Ethel should come to live with her.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_171">171</div> -<p>The decision to do so had been met by a terrible row -at home, and was only accomplished by Blanche coming -over to Philadelphia and actually carrying Ethel off in -spite of the opposition of the stepfather and son, which -became so much of a quarrel that the elder Macrane, -losing his temper, attempted to strike Blanche, and was -only prevented by the interference of the mother and son.</p> -<p>Blanche had carried Ethel off, but not until both father -and son had threatened that it would not end with that.</p> -<p>Further inquiry on the part of Ida showed that the -elder Macrane was a man of almost ungovernable passion, -while the son was in much better control of himself, -but was sullen, determined and vindictive.</p> -<p>Ida left this lady intending to confirm this story by -further inquiries, and, indeed, did so in parts by three -subsequent calls.</p> -<p>She said to herself, that at the present rate of progress -she was making, she would be able to return so as -to arrive in New York by midnight at least.</p> -<p>It was now just growing dark when she set out for the -next name on the list.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_172">172</div> -<h2 id="c18"><span class="small">CHAPTER XVIII.</span> -<br />IN DURANCE VILE.</h2> -<p>Ida was led a little distance from the neighborhood in -her next call, and to a part of the city that differed in appearance -from that in which, up to this hour, she had -spent her time.</p> -<p>It was more sparsely settled, the houses further apart -and the buildings larger.</p> -<p>As she reached the address of the person she was next -to call on, she was met by a rather rough-looking young -man, who asked her who she was looking for.</p> -<p>Ida did not like the looks of the fellow, and, as she answered, -her hand stole to her pocket where her trusty -revolver, which had served her well in the past, safely lay.</p> -<p>Having given the name of the person she wanted, the -young tough told her to enter the hall door, climb the -stairs and knock at the first door she came to.</p> -<p>She entered the hall as directed, but found it wholly -dark.</p> -<p>Stopping a moment to strike a match, so as to see her -way, the first faint glimmering of the light showed her the -forms of three men crouching at the foot of the stairs.</p> -<p>Instantly the match was knocked from her hand, and, -in the intense darkness that followed, she found herself -seized both from before and behind.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_173">173</div> -<p>Though she struggled, she was powerless in the grasps -of the scoundrels.</p> -<p>Then something was pulled over her head which -seemed like a bag. Naturally much frightened, nevertheless -Ida did not lose her wits, and keenly noted every -move of the rascals who had seized her, carefully watching -for some sign of the brown-bearded man, whom she -immediately suspected of being at the bottom of the -attack on her.</p> -<p>She was now lifted from her feet and carried farther -into the hall. Then she was certain she was borne into -the open air. Then again into a narrow passage, up -some stairs and into a room, where she was placed on a -chair.</p> -<p>The men left her alone, but she could hear them close -and bolt the door behind them.</p> -<p>All was as silent as the grave. Outside, from the distance, -she could hear dimly the roll of wheels and the -noise of the trollies, but that was all.</p> -<p>She tried to tear off the covering that had been put -on her head, and found she had no difficulty in drawing -it off.</p> -<p>There was no light in the room save that which entered -through the windows from the street.</p> -<p>It was little, but sufficient to see that the room she was -in was barely furnished. There was a table and two -chairs. That was all.</p> -<p>She went to a window and saw that it looked out on -the street, but could see no one there.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_174">174</div> -<p>She examined her pockets and her dress. There had -been no attempt to take anything from her. Her revolver -still rested safely in her pocket. She felt more secure -when she found this had been left to her.</p> -<p>She also drew from her pocket what she had forgotten -she had—a blank form for a telegram and the stump of a -pencil. Her pocketbook was secure also.</p> -<p>Hearing a noise without the window she went to it again -to see that a young lad was crawling along the coping.</p> -<p>Trying to throw up the sash, she found it was nailed -fast. Winding her handkerchief about her hand, so that -it would not be cut, she broke a pane of glass and thrust -her head through it.</p> -<p>The boy was startled and seemed as if he were going -to crawl back.</p> -<p>“Who are you?” asked Ida.</p> -<p>“Did they lock youse up there?” asked the boy.</p> -<p>“Yes; how did you know?”</p> -<p>“I was on the stairs and seed ’em.”</p> -<p>A thought occurred to Ida. She asked:</p> -<p>“Will you do something for me?”</p> -<p>“If I kin.”</p> -<p>Ida took out her pocketbook, and, handing a bill to the -lad, said:</p> -<p>“Here’s a dollar. I want you to take a telegram for -me. It will cost a quarter. The rest of the money shall -be yours. Will you take the paper to the telegraph office?”</p> -<p>“Sure. Where’s de paper?”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_175">175</div> -<p>“I’ll write it.”</p> -<p>Ida hurried to the table and filled in the address of -Chick, at Nick Carter’s, in New York. Then she wrote -these words: “Am in trouble.”</p> -<p>She had only gotten so far when she heard quick steps -in the hall without, approaching her door.</p> -<p>Without waiting further she rushed to the window and -thrust the telegram she had written out of the window to -the boy, who snatched it and crawled away in a hurry.</p> -<p>Ida went back to the table, her hand on her revolver.</p> -<p>The bolts were withdrawn and a man entered the room.</p> -<p>At a glance Ida saw that he was disguised, and not -skillfully at that.</p> -<p>He crossed the room to where she was standing, the -table between them, and stood looking at her intently a -moment or two.</p> -<p>Ida returned his gaze. Neither spoke for a while. -Then the man said:</p> -<p>“You are Nick Carter’s Ida. What is your business -here?”</p> -<p>“I have none,” said Ida. “I was brought here against -my will.”</p> -<p>“I mean in Philadelphia.”</p> -<p>“That is my business.”</p> -<p>“Answer me, or it will be worse for you. You are here -on the Ethel Romney case.”</p> -<p>“Suppose I am, what then?” asked Ida, boldly.</p> -<p>“Well, you won’t do much locked up here, will you?” -asked the man.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_176">176</div> -<p>“Oh, I don’t know,” replied Ida. “You can’t tell.”</p> -<p>The man did not know what to make of that answer -and did not reply for a moment or two. Then he said, -roughly:</p> -<p>“Nick Carter thinks that the one who did the girl came -here.”</p> -<p>Ida made no reply, but she was thinking hard.</p> -<p>“He’s wrong. It was a New York swell. You’re -working on the wrong lay.”</p> -<p>Still Ida made no reply.</p> -<p>“Who does Nick Carter think did it?”</p> -<p>Ida continued her silence.</p> -<p>“What have you got onto since you’ve been here?”</p> -<p>Ida did not answer that question.</p> -<p>“Why don’t you answer?” said the man, roughly. “I’ll -make you answer mighty quick.”</p> -<p>Still Ida did not speak.</p> -<p>The man, losing his temper, attempted to reach her -by passing around the table, but Ida edged away until -their positions were reversed, and she stood where the -man had, and the man was where she had stood.</p> -<p>The door was open behind her. She made a dash for -it. The man seemed prepared for that, for he violently -pushed the table aside and sprang after her.</p> -<p>Ida, drawing her revolver, whirled about, and, leveling -her gun, called out:</p> -<p>“Don’t come. I’ll shoot!”</p> -<p>The man laughed, sneeringly, and advanced.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_177">177</div> -<p>Ida fired. The ball carried high, knocking off his hat. -But it halted the scoundrel.</p> -<p>Ida sprang through the door, dashed along the hall, -finding the head of the stairs and rushed down them.</p> -<p>The man followed, shouting at the top of his voice, apparently -calling the name of some one.</p> -<p>Descending the stairs Ida found an open door and -rushed through it to see that she was in a small yard.</p> -<p>Hastily glancing about she saw a door in the fence. -She sprang to this and found it unlocked. In a moment -she was in the street.</p> -<p>But she was hardly through the gate than the man was -upon her.</p> -<p>Ida drew her revolver again, but this time, as she leveled -it, it was knocked from her hand by a man who had -come from behind a tree.</p> -<p>She was overpowered again. In the struggle she tore -the disguise from the man who had followed, and the -hasty glimpse she had satisfied her that he was the man -who had accosted her on the cars—the brown-bearded -man.</p> -<p>This time they tied a handkerchief over her eyes.</p> -<p>“She’s the devil’s own,” said the voice which Ida -thought was the voice of the one from whom she had just -escaped.</p> -<p>“You say she belongs to Nick Carter?” said another -voice. “So she is.”</p> -<p>“She won’t get away this time,” replied the other.</p> -<p>The two attempted to pick her up again.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_178">178</div> -<p>While her eyes were being bandaged, Ida had seemed -to make no resistance, but was busy in taking something -from her pocket.</p> -<p>But when the two lifted her up, she wriggled out of -their grasp, sinking to the pavement, where she tried to -do something with her hand.</p> -<p>The two pounced on her again, and this time lifted her -clear from her feet, and not gently, either.</p> -<p>It did not appear that they carried her again through -the gate by which she had escaped, but up the street a -short distance and into another hallway.</p> -<p>But she struggled with every step, throwing out her -right arm and bringing it into contact with everything -she could strike.</p> -<p>She did this so regularly that it seemed as if she had -a purpose in it, though what it was, was by no means -clear.</p> -<p>She was carried up a pair of stairs and put in a room -again, and, as before, seated in a chair.</p> -<p>“There,” said a voice that she recognized as that of the -brown-bearded man, “I reckon you’ll stay here for a -while.”</p> -<p>Ida lifted her hands, which had been left free, and tore -the bandage from her eyes.</p> -<p>She was not in the same room, and it was lighted so -well that she could see that she had made no mistake in -supposing that one of the men was the one who had traveled -from New York at midday with her, and that the -<span class="pb" id="Page_179">179</span> -other was the tough who had, in accosting her, induced -her to enter the dark hallway.</p> -<p>She had not spoken a word.</p> -<p>“She’s game,” said the tough.</p> -<p>“I should say so,” replied the other. “But we’ll take -some of the gameness out of her before we get through -with her.”</p> -<p>The two withdrew, locking and bolting the doors behind -them, leaving Ida alone in the dark to think over -her strange plight, and whether her telegram would reach -Chick, and, if it did, if Chick would find her.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_180">180</div> -<h2 id="c19"><span class="small">CHAPTER XIX.</span> -<br />A DASHING RESCUE.</h2> -<p>It was after midnight before Nick and Chick reached -the streets of Philadelphia.</p> -<p>Before they drew into the station, Nick had said:</p> -<p>“We’ll waste no time, but go directly to the neighborhood -in which Ida was to do her work.”</p> -<p>“If it’s not in the main streets, the people will have -been asleep these two hours,” said Chick.</p> -<p>“All the same,” said Nick, “if Ida is in trouble, as we -believe, I don’t know the girl if she won’t find some way -of letting us know where she is, if we get into our neighborhood.”</p> -<p>So it was that when they left the station, they followed -the route that had been taken by her earlier in the afternoon, -getting off the car at exactly the same corner that -she had done.</p> -<p>Here Nick stopped a moment, to think of the memorandum -he had given Ida as his guide to their further -movements.</p> -<p>“Chief,” said Chick, “if we are now on the ground -where Ida has been working, we ought to be careful how -we move around, for fear some one will drop to us.”</p> -<p>“You are right about that, Chick,” said Nick, leading -the way down the street—the same one Ida had gone.</p> -<p>As he got opposite a house, about the middle of the -<span class="pb" id="Page_181">181</span> -block, he stopped short, and said, in a low tone, to Chick: -“That’s the house Ethel Romney left to go to New York, -where she met her death.”</p> -<p>“The old home of Blanche Constant, then?” asked -Chick.</p> -<p>“Yes,” replied Nick. “I only know it by the fact that -this is the street and that is the number.”</p> -<p>At that moment there was a noise, as if the door of the -house was being opened, made distinct by the silence -which reigned in the street.</p> -<p>The two detectives immediately slipped into concealment -of the first doorway, and watched.</p> -<p>The man came out, carefully closing the door after him, -and, coming down the steps, stopped a moment on the -sidewalk, where the light from the arc lamp fell full on -his face.</p> -<p>“Brown-bearded and brown-haired,” remarked Nick, in -a whisper.</p> -<p>The man under watch finally turned and walked off -toward the lower corner. Chick slipped out and across -the street, directly in his rear. He did not attempt to -follow the man, but watched him walk away. Then he -slipped back to Nick on his tiptoes, saying, eagerly:</p> -<p>“By thunder, chief, that man walks with a hitch and -jerk of his right shoulder.”</p> -<p>“I thought I saw that myself,” replied Nick. “Under -other circumstances we’d follow that man, but now our -business is to find Ida.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_182">182</div> -<p>As a matter of fact, they did follow the man, but only -because their ways were the same.</p> -<p>At the corner below they saw this man pass through a -door, which Nick and Chick sized up to be the back door -of a drinking saloon.</p> -<p>They let him go, and Nick led the way to the house of -the woman on whom Ida had first called.</p> -<p>This was not guesswork. He recalled that he had advised -Ida to see that woman immediately on arriving in -Philadelphia.</p> -<p>It was with some difficulty that the woman was aroused, -and when she was, her means of communication with -them was through the window of her bedroom. It did -not take long for Nick to learn that Ida had called on -her, and that she did not know whither Ida had gone on -leaving her.</p> -<p>“The first point is made,” said Nick to Chick, “for we -have found that Ida reached here and began work. Now -we will follow her up.”</p> -<p>Taking a position under the arc light near by, Nick -took from his pocket some papers, and, after examining -them, said:</p> -<p>“I fancy we can travel Ida’s course pretty straight for -a while. Come along.”</p> -<p>Thus, without delay, they called at each of the next -three places Ida had gone to, and in the order that she -had, compelled in each instance to arouse people from -their beds to answer their questions.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_183">183</div> -<p>But at the end of this journey they were, to use the -words of Chick, “up against it.”</p> -<p>What line Ida had traveled, and to what address she -had gone, they had no way of judging.</p> -<p>Although Nick had given her the name of a person -to call on, he was unable to tell where that person lived, -and had advised Ida that she would have to find out on -her arrival in the city. He could only tell that it was in -a certain neighborhood, information which he had obtained -from Blanche Constant after the murder.</p> -<p>However, assuming that this was her next direction, -they went thither in what Chick felt to be a rather hopeless -search.</p> -<p>Reaching that part of the town, they traveled the streets -in all directions without hitting upon any indications of -Ida’s tracks.</p> -<p>Coming to one corner, which they had passed several -times. Nick said:</p> -<p>“Here’s a street that we have not been over yet; let’s -try it.”</p> -<p>“I am afraid,” said Chick, as he followed his chief -down the street indicated, “that we will find other streets -that we will travel until daylight.”</p> -<p>He had hardly gotten the words out of his mouth than -he stopped short and dropped down on his knees, looking -at something intently on the pavement.</p> -<p>Nick halted, looking with great interest at what his -aid was doing. He saw him take from his pocket a small -<span class="pb" id="Page_184">184</span> -lantern he always carried with him, and turn the light -on a particular spot of the pavement.</p> -<p>“What is it, Chick?” said Nick.</p> -<p>“Red chalk marks,” said Chick.</p> -<p>“Signs?” asked Nick.</p> -<p>“Not our signs,” said Chick, “though they seem to look -as if there had been an attempt to make one. But, chief, -I’ll bet my life that this is the same chalk we use.”</p> -<p>Nick bent down over the spot, and saw that the pavement -was made of red brick; that it would have been -difficult to have made one of the signs that they used -between them, and that in this case the marks only seemed -to have been hastily made without any form whatever.</p> -<p>He stood up erect, looking at Chick.</p> -<p>“Could those marks have been made by Ida?” asked -Nick.</p> -<p>“I am guessing that they were,” said Chick. “Anyhow, -I gave Ida a piece of that chalk, and told her she -ought to always carry it with her, for she could not know -how useful it might become.”</p> -<p>“Let’s look a little farther,” said Nick.</p> -<p>“Wait a minute,” said Chick. “If any one comes, play -drunk.”</p> -<p>Backing up against a tree, Chick suddenly lifted that -fine, manly voice his friends knew he had, in a popular -song of the day, that rang out on the night air as clear -as a bell.</p> -<p>He had sung but a verse, when two men suddenly appeared -at the corner beyond them, say a hundred feet -<span class="pb" id="Page_185">185</span> -away, and Nick began to urge him to come home and not -make a holy show of himself in the street, saying that -they’d have the cops down on them if he didn’t stop it.</p> -<p>He could hear one man say to the other that it was -only a couple of drunks, and saw them turn back and go -out of sight.</p> -<p>Chick sang another verse, and then both listened.</p> -<p>There was an answer, indistinctly, yet clear enough for -them to hear every note. They heard the third verse of -the song sung through.</p> -<p>“Ida’s here,” said Chick.</p> -<p>“Are you sure?” asked Nick.</p> -<p>“Sure!” replied Chick. “I’d know her way of singing -in the wilds of Africa.”</p> -<p>“Then you have found her,” said Nick. “And the next -thing is to get to her.”</p> -<p>On looking up, he saw nearly opposite where the marks -on the pavement were, a door in the fence opposite to -where they were standing.</p> -<p>Both he and Chick carefully examined this door and -the fence for further marks without finding any.</p> -<p>Then Nick followed up the pavement, until he came -opposite the door of the first house to be reached, and -there beckoned to Chick, pointing with as much excitement -as the great detective ever showed, to long red -marks on the brickwork of the door.</p> -<p>“That’s the house she is in,” said Chick.</p> -<p>Nick tried the door, and found it was locked. It took -him but a minute to pick the lock, but this did not open -<span class="pb" id="Page_186">186</span> -the door, for it was soon apparent that it was barred from -within as well as bolted.</p> -<p>Chick was preparing to put his strength against it, -when Nick checked him, and said:</p> -<p>“Let’s try if there is an entrance from that yard.”</p> -<p>Hurrying to the door in the fence and through it, they -closed it after them and began an examination of the yard -in which they found themselves.</p> -<p>The brick wall of the house, on the door of which were -the red marks, made one side of the yard, and at the rear -of this side was a door to which they went. This door -opened to them on the first trial, and Chick’s lantern came -into play again to show a hallway with stairs leading up.</p> -<p>They mounted these stairs revolvers in hand, and on -reaching the landing, found an open door opposite them.</p> -<p>Turning into this room, the first thing that they saw -was a large black cloth bag on the floor, the next a -woman’s handkerchief, which Chick said belonged to Ida.</p> -<p>It was the handkerchief which Ida had wound around -her hand with which to break the pane of glass, through -which she had talked to the boy who had helped her.</p> -<p>A hasty examination of the adjoining rooms satisfied -the two shrewd detectives that the house was not occupied -regularly.</p> -<p>Out into the hall they went again, to follow it to an -angle, where it turned sharply to the rear, examining each -door that they came to.</p> -<p>Finally, at the extreme end of the hall, they found a -door which was not only bolted, but barred as well. Chick -<span class="pb" id="Page_187">187</span> -went to this door, and tapped on it lightly, but in a peculiar -manner.</p> -<p>The signal was so light as to be almost unheard, but -it was immediately responded to.</p> -<p>“She’s here,” said Chick. “Cover me while I take -these fastenings off.”</p> -<p>In a twinkling the bar was wrenched off and the bolts -withdrawn and the door flung open.</p> -<p>Nick and Chick sprang through, with revolvers up and -were met with a merry laugh.</p> -<p>“There’s no one to fight here but me,” said Ida.</p> -<p>She soon satisfied the anxious inquiries of the two that -she was unharmed and uninjured in any way, and then -Nick said:</p> -<p>“Not another word now until we get Ida out of this -place.”</p> -<p>“Give me a gun,” said Ida. “I lost mine early in the -evening.”</p> -<p>Chick handed her one, saying that she’d find it a little -heavier than the one she was used to having.</p> -<p>“Now,” said Nick, “I will lead, Ida follow and Chick -behind. Come on.”</p> -<p>They passed through the hall and to the stairs, and -down them without anybody interfering. But, as they -reached the door, it was opened and a man made his appearance.</p> -<p>Ida immediately recognized him, even in the dim light, -as the tough who had misdirected her into the dark hallway -where she had been seized.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_188">188</div> -<p>“That is one of them,” she said.</p> -<p>The tough, with an oath, called on some one behind -him and sprang at Nick.</p> -<p>Possibly if he had known the ready use the famous detective -could make of his fists, he would have thought -twice over his action.</p> -<p>As it was, he received a blow straight between the eyes -which sent him out of the door and on his back to the -pavement.</p> -<p>Nick sprang forward through the door at once to meet -the second coming up. He did not wait for any action -on the part of that fellow, but sent him to keep company -with the other, who was endeavoring to get on his feet.</p> -<p>Chick caught Ida and swiftly carried her out of harm’s -way, through the door and into the street, through which -now she had passed for the second time that night.</p> -<p>Nick followed them closely, and in a moment they were -out on the corner.</p> -<p>“Take notice of the place, Chick,” said Nick. “We -may want to come back here again.”</p> -<p>The two rascals who had been so severely dealt with -by Nick made no attempt to follow them, and it was not -long before they were in the street where they could take -the cars that would take them to the hotel where they -usually stopped when in that city.</p> -<p>It was not until then that Ida told the story of her experience -of the night, and of the information she had -gained.</p> -<p>After he had listened to it intently, Nick said:</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_189">189</div> -<p>“What you tell us puts an entirely new look upon our -case. Chick has picked up a point to add to it, and together -they give us some work that will keep us in Philadelphia -to-morrow. That brown-bearded man has got to -be investigated.”</p> -<p>“Yes,” said Chick, “and we have got to know where he -spent the last three days.”</p> -<p>“But what was the meaning of their peculiar treatment -of me?” asked Ida.</p> -<p>“They meant to keep you a prisoner,” said Nick, “to -prevent you from doing work which they had already -found was getting too close to them.”</p> -<p>Nick got up from his chair, and turning to Chick, said:</p> -<p>“Come, Chick, Ida wants rest after her rough experience, -and you and I have got to size up something. -Come with me.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_190">190</div> -<h2 id="c20"><span class="small">CHAPTER XX.</span> -<br />PATSY’S TRIUMPH.</h2> -<p>While these events were transpiring in Philadelphia -Patsy was endeavoring to set out as a yachtsman.</p> -<p>Chick said that Patsy was like a cat, since he always -fell on his feet, no matter how you threw him.</p> -<p>Leaving Nick and Chick starting for their Philadelphia -trip, he wandered over to Broadway and from caprice -turned into the hotel café where he had left the man who -had brought to Masson the news of the change in the -arrangements for the funeral of Ethel Romney.</p> -<p>Rather to his surprise than otherwise, he found this -man drinking with acquaintances.</p> -<p>Among them was one with whom Patsy was slightly -acquainted.</p> -<p>This man knew Patsy had some connection with Nick -Carter, but how much he knew Patsy could not tell.</p> -<p>As Patsy was standing near the bar, this man looked -up and recognized the lad.</p> -<p>He arose from his seat and crossed to where Patsy was -standing, addressing the young detective rather familiarly.</p> -<p>His purpose of rising appeared to be to light his cigar; -but he said:</p> -<p>“I want to shake that crowd. They drink too fast for -me, and I don’t like the gang.”</p> -<p>The man who was in relations to Masson called out:</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_191">191</div> -<p>“Are you going, Jensen? Well, don’t forget to send -me a handy boy for the cabin, as you promised.”</p> -<p>“Who is that?” asked Patsy.</p> -<p>“His name is Moore. He is a sort of a hanger-on of -Masson, the broker. Don’t know what, exactly. But -does things for him.”</p> -<p>“What does he want of a handy boy?”</p> -<p>“Some one to go as a steward on Masson’s yacht.”</p> -<p>“I wish you would get me the job.”</p> -<p>“You?”</p> -<p>The man called Jensen looked curiously at Patsy for a -moment, and then asked:</p> -<p>“Do you mean it?”</p> -<p>“Sure.”</p> -<p>“You would take the place?”</p> -<p>“Try me.”</p> -<p>“By George! What a go. I’ll try it. Ever had any -experience that way?”</p> -<p>“I was on the <i>Gay Flirt</i> one season.”</p> -<p>“Good.”</p> -<p>He called Moore aside and whispered to him a while. -Moore came to Patsy, saying in an off-hand way:</p> -<p>“My friend backs you for the place. Wages twenty -dollars a month and board. Report on board the <i>Derelict</i> -off Twenty-third Street, at nine to-morrow morning.”</p> -<p>He handed Patsy a slip of paper, on which he had written -some words, and went back to his companions.</p> -<p>Looking at it, Patsy saw it was an order to the chief -steward to put him to work.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_192">192</div> -<p>Hailing the man Jansen, Patsy prepared to leave, but -Jansen followed him out to say:</p> -<p>“I’d give an old button to know your game. But I’ll -wait to hear the story until I meet you again.”</p> -<p>Patsy went off with a laugh, and to bed.</p> -<p>The next morning, promptly at nine, he reported on the -<i>Derelict</i>, and was promptly set at work.</p> -<p>He was heartily sick of his job before the day was -over, for it was hard work he was at, with nothing occurring -to relieve the monotony.</p> -<p>About six o’clock in the evening the man he had seen -the night before waiting for Masson in front of the club -house came aboard.</p> -<p>Patsy soon learned that he was the sailing-master and -he had not been on board long before there were orders -to pull up and steam down the river.</p> -<p>The yacht was taken around Governor’s Island, into -Gowanus Bay, and brought to anchor not far from, but -out of the track of boats of, the Thirty-ninth Street Ferry.</p> -<p>All things were settled for the night.</p> -<p>The next morning there was much work done in preparation -of sailing that afternoon with the owner on board.</p> -<p>Patsy kept a keen eye open for signs of the things -Nick expected to occur, for he felt that whatever did occur -must happen before the yacht set sail on its cruise.</p> -<p>At twelve o’clock the man who had engaged him as -steward the night previous, Moore, appeared on board -and entered at once into an earnest talk with the sailing-master.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_193">193</div> -<p>What the subject of their talk was Patsy was unable to -discover, although he made all sorts of efforts to get -within earshot.</p> -<p>Whatever it was, was not to the liking of the sailing-master, -for he shook his head doubtfully over what Moore -was saying. The other was persistent.</p> -<p>Finally, the sailing-master arose, saying in a tone easily -heard by Patsy:</p> -<p>“Well, all right, I’ll do it. But I tell you, Moore, I -don’t like it. There will be trouble for some of us, if it -keeps up.”</p> -<p>“There’ll be no more,” said Moore. “The Mogul has -his mind set on this and——Well, if we don’t help in it, -some one will be out of a job.”</p> -<p>“And some of us take a chance of being in—somewhere -else,” replied the other, with a bitter laugh.</p> -<p>As he turned away Moore detained him, and there was -a further whispered conversation, during which Patsy -could see that they frequently looked at him.</p> -<p>Finally the sailing-master called him over and asked:</p> -<p>“Do you know how to obey orders and keep your mouth -shut and your eyes closed for an extra wad?”</p> -<p>“For that I do,” replied Patsy.</p> -<p>“I size him up as right, Moore,” said the sailing-master. -“Give him your orders.”</p> -<p>He walked away.</p> -<p>“There’s something on this afternoon that’ll make dollars -for you,” said Moore.</p> -<p>“All right,” said Patsy.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_194">194</div> -<p>“Well, then,” said Moore, “in twenty minutes you’ll go -ashore and be posted in a certain place, where you can see -all around you. And there you’ll stand. See?”</p> -<p>Patsy nodded.</p> -<p>“By and by, up on a hill that will be shown you, a man -will wave a red cloth. If there are no policemen in sight -you will wave a white handkerchief. If there are you’ll -wave a green one. See?”</p> -<p>“I see, all right.”</p> -<p>“Then you’ll feet for the launch, and, getting aboard, -shut your eyes. See?”</p> -<p>“All right.”</p> -<p>“Then you’re game for it.”</p> -<p>“Game for anything.”</p> -<p>Moore went away, but was back again shortly, telling -him to follow.</p> -<p>A steam launch lay alongside, into which Moore -dropped, telling Patsy to follow.</p> -<p>This launch ran off to a part of the beach rather out -of sight and retired.</p> -<p>A broken-down wharf stretched out into the water, and -the launch ran up to it.</p> -<p>At a signal Patsy went ashore. Four other men went -ashore also, leaving two men aboard, one at the wheel, -and the engineer.</p> -<p>Patsy noticed that none of the other men seemed to be -of the yacht’s crew.</p> -<p>The six picked their way over the wharf or pierway -and reached the land.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_195">195</div> -<p>It was a lonely spot, a large, unbroken waste, few houses -or buildings near.</p> -<p>They all followed Moore for some three hundred yards, -when he stopped, saying to Patsy:</p> -<p>“This is your post. Now keep your eyes open for policemen. -Up on that hill yonder the man will be with the -red flag. If the way is clear and nobody down there -where we landed, wave this.”</p> -<p>He handed Patsy a napkin.</p> -<p>Moore took the other men away. Just then a bell tolled -in the distance.</p> -<p>“The devil!” exclaimed Patsy. “We’re not far from -Greenwood Cemetery.”</p> -<p>Then he said again:</p> -<p>“And the funeral is to-day.”</p> -<p>He sat down on a stone and did some thinking.</p> -<p>The result of this was that he took off his coat, turned -it inside out and put it on again, looking as if he had another -coat on. From his pockets he drew a wig and put -that on. He rolled up his cap and put on a slouch hat.</p> -<p>Then he stole up in the direction the others had gone. -He passed the man stationed on the hill unrecognized.</p> -<p>Arriving at the avenue where the cars ran, he looked -around for Moore. By and by he saw him standing in -front of a drinking saloon.</p> -<p>He edged up close to him and saw he was anxiously -waiting for some one.</p> -<p>That some one appeared shortly in the person of Masson, -from a carriage which was driven up to the place.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_196">196</div> -<p>“Well?” said Masson.</p> -<p>“It’s all right, so far,” replied Moore.</p> -<p>“The funeral carriages will be along in a moment.”</p> -<p>“Is the driver fixed?” asked Moore.</p> -<p>“Yes; to be knocked off his box, and one of our men -to take his place.”</p> -<p>“Does she ride alone?”</p> -<p>“No; hang it. There’s a woman with her.”</p> -<p>Patsy went out and sat on the curbstone. Something—an -outrage of some kind—was on foot.</p> -<p>A funeral procession came up—a small one. In the -carriage immediately behind the hearse were two women. -One he recognized at once.</p> -<p>It was Edith, Nick Carter’s wife.</p> -<p>The other was Blanche Constant. He was sure of that -from the description he had had of her and a photograph -he had seen.</p> -<p>Something of the villainy on foot came to him. He -hurried back to his post and again became a steward of -the <i>Derelict</i>.</p> -<p>His wait was a long one. By and by he saw the red -cloth waved by the man on the hill.</p> -<p>He gave the signal of the white cloth—indeed, gave it -without care as to whether or not there was any one near -or not.</p> -<p>A minute later a carriage came dashing over the hill.</p> -<p>Four men sprang out, one seizing the horses, while one -knocked the driver from the box and climbed up himself.</p> -<p>Two others climbed into the coach from either side.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_197">197</div> -<p>Then the coach made straight for the landing where -the launch was.</p> -<p>Patsy started on a run for the little pier, and at the land -end waited, well hidden.</p> -<p>As the coach whirled up, he could see within it.</p> -<p>Edith was there, and so was Blanche Constant, but both -were unconscious.</p> -<p>Masson and Moore were both there also. The two -men—the signal man and the one who had stopped the -horses—were left behind.</p> -<p>Masson had planned to seize Blanche Constant as she -was returning from the funeral of her sister and carry her -off in his yacht.</p> -<p>Edith had been with Blanche, contrary to expectation, -and she had been dosed to prevent her from interfering, -but was to be sent back to the city.</p> -<p>Patsy’s plan was made in an instant—a plan to spoil -the plan that had been carefully laid.</p> -<p>He waited until Masson got out of the coach and had -lifted Blanche out.</p> -<p>Then he sprang into full view, both revolvers leveled.</p> -<p>“Hold!” he cried. “Put that lady down!”</p> -<p>“What!” shouted Masson. “What the deuce! Moore, -look to that fellow!”</p> -<p>The driver made a movement as if to get off his box.</p> -<p>“Jim Grady!” cried Patsy; “if you stir, I’ll put a ball -into you and pull you in beside for that job of two nights -ago!”</p> -<p>“Heavens!” cried the driver, “it’s Patsy Murphy!”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_198">198</div> -<p>He jumped from his box and ran like a deer. Meanwhile -Masson was raving like a madman, calling on Moore -to shoot the young detective.</p> -<p>Moore did start for Patsy, and with revolver in hand.</p> -<p>Patsy was in no humor for fooling and, as Moore approached, -he fired, striking the scoundrel in the shoulder -and sending him to the ground with a groan.</p> -<p>Masson, seeing his lieutenant down, dropped Blanche -to the ground and rushed like a maniac at Patsy, shouting -for help.</p> -<p>The engineer and the wheelman, hearing the shot and -the cries of Masson, climbed out of the launch and came -rapidly over the rickety wharf.</p> -<p>Patsy saw at a glance that he was likely to be attacked -from behind, and, taking deliberate aim, fired at Masson, -hitting him in the upper right arm.</p> -<p>Yelling with pain and rage Masson dropped to the -ground and Patsy, whirling around, shouted to the two -coming over the rickety pier:</p> -<p>“Back, you curs! I’ll serve you as I have the others. -I’m Patsy Murphy!”</p> -<p>Whether they knew the name, or were satisfied that he -would do what he said he would, the fact is that they -stopped, and at Patsy’s command dropped to the pier.</p> -<p>Dashing up to the carriage, Patsy picked up Mrs. Constant, -put her in the coach, and, springing on the box, -whipped up the horses.</p> -<p>He was not a minute too soon, for the signal man, the -<span class="pb" id="Page_199">199</span> -driver and the other one were approaching as fast as they -could run.</p> -<p>Indeed, as Patsy drove toward them they made an effort -to stop his way, but Patsy, standing up in his box, -fired his revolver, right and left, in a way that made them -believe that caution was the better part.</p> -<p>So he dashed on toward the avenue.</p> -<p>The shots had attracted attention, of course, and several -policemen came.</p> -<p>“I’m Patsy Murphy, of Nick Carter’s staff of detectives,” -cried Patsy. “This is a case of abduction that I -have spoiled. The ladies in the coach are Mrs. Constant -and Nick Carter’s wife. Seize those men of that yacht -lying out there.”</p> -<p>But, looking out on the water, they could see the yacht -was moving out into the harbor under full steam.</p> -<p>Patsy was disappointed, for he would have liked to arrest -Masson, but he had saved the women, and that was -the important thing.</p> -<p>He first drove them to a drug store, where they were -quickly restored to consciousness, and then to the city, -having first engaged a driver at a livery stable.</p> -<p>Edith took Blanche home with her, and Patsy was a -hero in the eyes of both. But Patsy, getting home, was -inconsolable that he had no prisoners.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_200">200</div> -<h2 id="c21"><span class="small">CHAPTER XXI.</span> -<br />THE MURDERER.</h2> -<p>Events developed rapidly in Philadelphia while Patsy -was having his fight with Masson and defeating the abduction -scheme.</p> -<p>Before they had discussed Ida’s information long both -Nick and Chick had arrived at the same conclusion.</p> -<p>They believed they had found the murderer in Philadelphia, -and that Nick’s instinct that Masson was not the -person guilty of the murder of Ethel Romney had been -right from the first.</p> -<p>“We must move without delay, Chick,” said Nick. -“Our rescue of Ida will inform this man that we are in -town, and he will run.”</p> -<p>“To make our conclusions a dead certainty,” said Chick, -“we ought to prove that George Macrane was in New -York on the day of the murder.”</p> -<p>“We’ll take the chances, and prove it afterward,” said -Nick, grimly. “Come.”</p> -<p>“Where?” asked Chick.</p> -<p>“To see the chief of police.”</p> -<p>“At this hour? It is three in the morning.”</p> -<p>“He’ll have to stand for it.”</p> -<p>They went out and woke up the chief of police, who, -understanding the situation, summoned two officers, whom -he put at the disposal of Nick.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_201">201</div> -<p>The four then set out for the house of Macrane, arriving -there a little after four in the morning.</p> -<p>They approached the house cautiously, concealing themselves -where they could watch it.</p> -<p>A light was burning in the third-story window, which -Nick fancied was the window of the room occupied by -George Macrane.</p> -<p>As they watched, two men came down the street, and, -rapping at the door of the Macrane house, asked for -George.</p> -<p>They were told that he had not yet returned home.</p> -<p>Chick’s sharp eyes recognized one of these men as one -of those that had opposed their rescue of Ida.</p> -<p>These two men sat down on the lower step of the -Macrane house.</p> -<p>“They mean to wait for George Macrane,” said Nick.</p> -<p>They did not wait long, for in ten minutes’ time a man -was seen approaching from the opposite direction.</p> -<p>The two men stood up to meet him.</p> -<p>What they told him could not be heard by Nick and -Chick, but it was followed by a frightful explosion of -oaths and curses from George Macrane.</p> -<p>So frantic, indeed, was this outburst, that Nick thought -it proceeded from a craven fear of the result.</p> -<p>Touching Chick, and, bidding the officers to follow, -Nick slipped across the street, closely approaching the -three men before they were seen.</p> -<p>Laying his hand on the shoulder of Macrane, Nick said:</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_202">202</div> -<p>“George Macrane, you are my prisoner. I want you -for the murder of Ethel Romney.”</p> -<p>The shock was so sudden that Macrane dropped to the -pavement in a heap.</p> -<p>If the other two had been disposed to make a resistance -they were too much astonished at the charge made against -their employer to offer any.</p> -<p>They stared in open astonishment, and made no show of -objecting when the officers took them in charge.</p> -<p>George Macrane soon recovered possession of himself, -and, rising, said rather tremblingly, to be sure:</p> -<p>“You must be wild to charge me with that. Ethel -Romney is in New York.”</p> -<p>“She is in Greenwood by this time,” said Nick.</p> -<p>“I couldn’t have done her—she in New York and me -here,” said Macrane, growing bolder as he talked. “She’s -been there a week or more.”</p> -<p>“It is useless, Macrane,” said Nick. “We know the -whole trick. You were in New York yourself. You laid -the game up well, but we know it.</p> -<p>“You knew there was a man in New York who was -following Ethel’s sister; you were told you looked like -him; you saw him, and you trimmed your whiskers to be -exactly like him.”</p> -<p>Nick stopped and looked at Macrane. What he had -been saying was purely guesswork, but he saw that he -had hit home.</p> -<p>“You called at Mrs. Constant’s home at eight o’clock -on the night of the murder, giving the name of Masson. -<span class="pb" id="Page_203">203</span> -You were told that Mrs. Constant had gone out to the -dressmaker’s.</p> -<p>“You knew that wasn’t so—you knew it was Ethel who -had gone out, but thereby you found out where she had -gone to.</p> -<p>“You went to the dressmaker’s and waited till she came. -You tried to speak to her as she went in. Then you went -into the coach and waited.</p> -<p>“When she came to enter it she saw you and screamed, -but you pulled her in and shut the door.</p> -<p>“The coach drove rapidly up the avenue, and during -that drive you shot her, for she had told you that she was -done with you forever, and meant to live with her sister.</p> -<p>“When the coach was checked, at Fifty-eighth Street, -you stepped out, crossed the street, and, going down -Fifty-eighth Street, you bowed to a man at nine o’clock, -who spoke to you as Masson.</p> -<p>“Half an hour later, on the corner of Fifty-seventh -Street and Fifth Avenue, you talked for a few minutes -with a man who stopped you and called you Masson.</p> -<p>“You made yourself conspicuous in other places when -you thought suspicion could be thrown on Masson.</p> -<p>“Then, when you thought you had done enough you -started back to Philadelphia, but one of my aides was on -the train. We were on your track. We were bound to -land you as we have landed you.”</p> -<p>Turning to the officers, Nick said:</p> -<p>“Take us to the lockhouse. Chick, have you hand-cuffs?”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_204">204</div> -<p>Chick had not, but one of the officers had, and Macrane -was ironed.</p> -<p>It was daylight when Nick and Chick returned to their -hotel to snatch a brief sleep.</p> -<p>Early in the morning they were out, making the proof -strong that Macrane had been in New York.</p> -<p>They wired for Patsy to come on, with Moran and the -storekeeper of Sixth Avenue that Chick had dug up, by -an early train.</p> -<p>On their arrival they positively identified Macrane as -the man seen entering and leaving the coach.</p> -<p>Patsy, on his arrival, reported his experiences with -Masson and the rescue of Mrs. Constant and Edith.</p> -<p>Though Patsy told it with all modesty, Nick knew that -Patsy had performed a most gallant and heroic deed, and -so said, but it was not until he returned to New York -that he learned how gallant and brave the deed was.</p> -<p>Speaking of the curious development of the case, Nick -said:</p> -<p>“From the first I felt that Mrs. Constant’s natural bitterness -toward Masson had misled her judgment. I never -did believe that he did the murder.</p> -<p>“The strange thing is that Mrs. Constant did not give -greater importance to the feeling of Macrane toward -Ethel.</p> -<p>“However, she has a hold on Masson now, and if she -will follow my advice, Masson will see the inside of a -prison for his evil deeds. He deserves it.”</p> -<p>But he did not.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_205">205</div> -<p>When Mrs. Constant learned that she had unjustly -charged Masson with the murder of her sister, she seemed -to feel that she had done him an injury which she could -atone for only by refraining from following up the advantage -she possessed.</p> -<p>Masson fled to Europe, so that Mrs. Constant is now -free from his persecutions.</p> -<p>Macrane lies under conviction of murder in the first -degree, and awaits execution.</p> -<p>He has confessed, saying that he visited New York to -force Ethel to return with him, and, finding that he had -lost her and all control of her, in a fit of anger he killed -her.</p> -<p>Mrs. Constant devotes herself to her kennel, but her -grief for the death of her sister is so great that she is a -broken woman.</p> -<p>When Patsy wants to be particularly swell, he sports a -fine diamond ring that Mrs. Constant gave him in recognition -of his bravery when he prevented her abduction by -Masson.</p> -<p>The case is referred to by Nick Carter’s outfit as “Patsy’s -Triumph,” and as such is not easily forgotten.</p> -<p class="tbcenter"><span class="smaller">THE END.</span></p> -<hr class="dwide" /> -<p class="tbcenter"><b>The Biggest Line of Copyright Detective Literature Published</b></p> -<p class="center"><b><i><span class="larger">The Magnet Library</span> -<br />of</i> Fascinating Detective Stories</b></p> -<p>This line has become famous for its excellent stories of the detection -of crime. Of late, it has taken truly remarkable strides -in the public’s favor. The reason for this is, that every book is -a marvel of its kind. They are high-class tales, not of the -“blood-and-thunder” order, but with plausible plots which hold the -reader fairly captivated with breathless expectation. Among these -are the stories of the adventures of Nick Carter and his clever assistants: -of “Old Spicer,” the clever private detective, whose exploits -are among the most remarkable ever performed by any detective. -If you are in search of good, interesting matter, a decided change from -that to which you have been accustomed, purchase a few of these -titles. They will not only please and interest you, but will give you -a clear insight into the methods of the various classes of criminals.</p> -<table class="center"> -<tr><td class="l">307—A Desperate Game </td><td class="r">By “Old Spicer”</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">306—The Ring of Dust </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">305—The Telltale Tattoo </td><td class="r">By Jack Sharp</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">304—The Twin Mystery </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">303—The Branded Hand </td><td class="r">By Maro O. Rolfe</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">302—Under False Colors </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">301—The Wall Street Swindlers </td><td class="r">By Jack Sharp</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">300—A Blow For Vengeance </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">299—The Sleepless Eye </td><td class="r">By Warren Miller</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">298—A Masterpiece of Crime </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">297—The Shadow of Guilt </td><td class="r">By “Old Spicer”</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">296—The Guilty Governor </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">295—Tracked by a Pin </td><td class="r">By Richard Hackstaff</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">294—The Blood-Red Badge </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">293—On the Stroke of Midnight </td><td class="r">By Maro O. Rolfe</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">292—A Great Conspiracy </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">291—In Terror’s Grasp </td><td class="r">By Warren Miller</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">290—The Hole in the Vault </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">289—The Crippled Hand </td><td class="r">By Frederick S. Stewart</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">288—The Council of Death </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">287—A Dead Witness </td><td class="r">By “Old Spicer”</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">286—A Bonded Villain </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">285—A Rascal’s Nerve </td><td class="r">By Maro O. Rolfe</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">284—A Blackmailer’s Bluff </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">283—The Crimson Glove </td><td class="r">By Warren Miller</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">282—A Race Track Gamble </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">281—The Stroke of a Knife </td><td class="r">By Burnham F. Mason</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">280—The Seal of Death </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">279—On the Brink of Ruin </td><td class="r">By “Old Spicer”</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">278—A Sharper’s Downfall </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">277—An Eye for an Eye </td><td class="r">By Maro O. Rolfe</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">276—A Checkmated Scoundrel </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">275—The Banker’s Millions </td><td class="r">By Warren Miller</td></tr> -<tr class="pbtr"><td colspan="2"> -</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">274—Paid With Death </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">273—The Rogue With a Past </td><td class="r">By Robert Wesley.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">272—The Chain of Evidence </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">271—A High-Class Swindler </td><td class="r">By “Old Spicer.”</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">270—The Fatal Prescription </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">269—The Man Who Knew </td><td class="r">By Maro O. Rolfe.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">268—Hounded to Death </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">267—An Unfortunate Rogue </td><td class="r">By Warren Miller.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">266—A Stroke of Policy </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">265—The Three Finger Marks </td><td class="r">By “Old Spicer.”</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">264—Two Villains in One </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">263—The Loaded Orange </td><td class="r">By Gilbert Jerome.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">262—A False Combination </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">261—A Matter of Thousands </td><td class="r">By “Old Spicer.”</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">260—At the Knife’s Point </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">259—The Band of Mystery </td><td class="r">By Maro O. Rolfe.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">258—Man Against Man </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">257—The Man Who Made Diamonds </td><td class="r">By Warren Miller.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">256—The Vial of Death </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">255—The Sport of Fate </td><td class="r">By the author of “Old Spicer.”</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">254—Behind a Mask </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">253—The Fatal Request </td><td class="r">By A. L. Harris.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">252—The Man and His Price </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">251—The Nine of Hearts </td><td class="r">By B. L. Farjeon.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">250—A Double-Handed Game </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">249—Old Stonewall, Detective </td><td class="r">By Judson R. Taylor.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">248—The Toss of a Coin </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">247—The Results of a Duel </td><td class="r">By Fortune Du Boisgobey.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">246—Nick Carter’s Death Warrant </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">245—A Victim of Villainy </td><td class="r">By F. L. Broughton.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">244—A Trusted Rogue </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">243—The Man and the Crime </td><td class="r">By Harry Rockwood.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">242—Run to Earth </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">241—From Thief to Detective </td><td class="r">By Fergus Hume.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">240—Weaving the Web </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">239—The Man from the South </td><td class="r">By Judson R. Taylor.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">238—The Claws of the Tiger </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">237—A Kidnapped Millionaire </td><td class="r">By Richard A. Wainwright.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">236—A Move in the Dark </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">235—True Detective Tales </td><td class="r">By Maurice Moser.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">234—The Telltale Photographs </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">233—The Secret of the Missing Checks </td><td class="r">By Harry Rockwood.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">232—The Red Signal </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">231—The Crime of the Golden Gully </td><td class="r">By Gilbert Rock.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">230—A Race for Ten Thousand </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">229—The Dexter Bank Robbery </td><td class="r">By Harry Rockwood.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">228—A Syndicate of Rascals </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">227—From Clew to Climax </td><td class="r">By Will N. Harben.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">226—A Deal in Diamonds </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">225—Tracked by Fate </td><td class="r">By Fergus Hume.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">224—Played to a Finish </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr class="pbtr"><td colspan="2"> -</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">223—Found Dead </td><td class="r">By Hero Strong.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">222—A Prince of Rogues </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">221—Other People’s Money </td><td class="r">By Emile Gaboriau.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">220—The Dumb Witness, and Other Stories </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">219—A Hidden Clew </td><td class="r">By Ernest De Lancey Pierson.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">218—The Man from London </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">217—Baron Trigault’s Vengeance </td><td class="r">By Emile Gaboriau.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">216—The Count’s Millions </td><td class="r">By Emile Gaboriau.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">215—The Seal of Silence </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">214—The Missing Cashier </td><td class="r">By Ernest De Lancey Pierson.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">213—Millions at Stake, and Other Stories </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">212—A Mystery Still </td><td class="r">By Fortune Du Boisgobey.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">211—In Letters of Fire </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">210—An Excellent Knave </td><td class="r">By J. F. Molloy.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">209—A Triple Crime </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">208—The Condemned Door </td><td class="r">By Fortune Du Boisgobey.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">207—The Blow of a Hammer, and Other Stories </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">206—The Portland Place Mystery </td><td class="r">By Ernest De Lancey Pierson.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">205—A Bogus Clew </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">204—Hunted Down </td><td class="r">By Richard Ashton Wainwright.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">203—The Price of a Secret </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">202—The Lady of the Lilacs </td><td class="r">By Ernest De Lancey Pierson.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">201—The Steel Casket, and Other Stories </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">200—Detective Against Detective </td><td class="r">By Donald J. McKenzie.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">199—The Man at the Window </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">198—Stairs of Sand </td><td class="r">By Ernest De Lancey Pierson.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">197—The Coleraine Tragedy </td><td class="r">By Eugene T. Sawyer.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">196—The Queen of Knaves, and Other Stories </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">195—Sealed Lips </td><td class="r">By Scott Campbell.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">194—The Tiger’s Head Mystery </td><td class="r">By Eugene T. Sawyer.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">193—The Missing Cotton King </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">192—A Dangerous Quest </td><td class="r">By Ernest De Lancey Pierson.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">191—The Murray Hill Mystery </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">190—The Fate of Austin Craige </td><td class="r">By Scott Campbell.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">189—The Man of Mystery </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">188—A Strike of Millions </td><td class="r">By Eugene T. Sawyer.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">187—The Wall Street Wonder </td><td class="r">By Donald J. McKenzie.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">186—A Desperate Chance </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">185—A Supernatural Clew </td><td class="r">By Scott Campbell.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">184—The Secret of the Diamond </td><td class="r">By Ernest De Lancey Pierson.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">183—Hands Up </td><td class="r">By J. H. Bethune.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">182—The Bottle with the Black Label </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">181—The Man Outside </td><td class="r">By Scott Campbell.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">180—The Watertown Mystery </td><td class="r">By Harry Rockwood.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">179—Caught at Last </td><td class="r">By Dick Donovan.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">178—The Handkerchief Clew </td><td class="r">By Harry Rockwood.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">177—A Scrap of Black Lace </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">176—The Tragedy of Ascot Mills </td><td class="r">By Scott Campbell.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">175—The Secret of the Marionettes </td><td class="r">By E. De Lancey Pierson.</td></tr> -<tr class="pbtr"><td colspan="2"> -</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">174—A Princess of Crime </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">173—The Honor of a Black Sheep </td><td class="r">By Scott Campbell.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">172—Linked to Crime </td><td class="r">By Barclay North (W. C. Hudson).</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">171—The Silent Passenger </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">170—The Doctor’s Secret </td><td class="r">By Scott Campbell.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">169—The Black Carnation </td><td class="r">By Fergus Hume.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">168—Brought to Bay </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">167—The Links in the Chain </td><td class="r">By Scott Campbell.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">166—Dr. Villagos </td><td class="r">By Fortune Du Boisgobey.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">165—Held for Trial </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">164—The Reporter Detective’s Triumph </td><td class="r">By Scott Campbell.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">163—Phil Scott, the Detective </td><td class="r">By Judson R. Taylor.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">162—Nick Carter’s Star Pupils </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">161—A Plot for Millions </td><td class="r">By Scott Campbell.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">160—Harry Williams, New York Detective </td><td class="r">By F. L. Broughton.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">159—A Framework of Fate </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">158—The Lion of the Law </td><td class="r">By Scott Campbell.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">157—By a Hair’s Breadth </td><td class="r">By Edith Sessions Tupper.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">156—A Victim of Circumstances </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">155—Mrs. Donald Dyke, Detective </td><td class="r">By Harry Rockwood.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">154—Driven to the Wall </td><td class="r">By Scott Campbell.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">153—Nick Carter’s Clever Ruse </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">152—Fifteen Detective Stories </td><td class="r">By Police Captains of New York.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">151—The Disappearance of Mr. Derwent </td><td class="r">By Thomas Cobb.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">150—Lady Velvet </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">149—A Mystery of the Fast Mail </td><td class="r">By Byron Adsit.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">148—Gypsy Blair, the Western Detective </td><td class="r">By Judson R. Taylor.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">147—Nick Carter’s Retainer </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">146—The Stevedore Mystery </td><td class="r">By Barclay North.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">145—The Railway Detective </td><td class="r">By Harry Rockwood.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">144—The Twelve Wise Men </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">143—An Exchanged Identity </td><td class="r">By Fortune Du Boisgobey.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">142—A Seven Days’ Mystery </td><td class="r">By Frederic R. Burton.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">141—Nick Carter Down East </td><td class="r">By the author of Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">140—Detective Reynolds’ Hardest Case </td><td class="r">By Gabriel Macias.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">139—Fritz, the German Detective </td><td class="r">By Judson R. Taylor.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">138—Crossed Wires </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">137—Donald Dyke, the Yankee Detective </td><td class="r">By Harry Rockwood.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">136—In Peril of His Life </td><td class="r">By Emile Gaboriau.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">135—The Crime of the French Café </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">134—By Whose Hand? </td><td class="r">By Edith Sessions Tupper.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">133—The Piccadilly Puzzle </td><td class="r">By Fergus Hume.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">132—Nick Carter’s Girl Detective </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">131—The Dugdale Millions </td><td class="r">By Barclay North.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">130—A Millionaire’s Folly </td><td class="r">By L. E. Smyles.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">129—The Man Who Stole Millions </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">128—The Caruthers Affair </td><td class="r">By Will N. Harben.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">127—The Severed Hand </td><td class="r">By Fortune Du Boisgobey.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">126—A Game of Craft </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">125—The Pomfret Mystery </td><td class="r">By A. D. Vinton.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">124—The Trail of the Barrow </td><td class="r">By James Mooney.</td></tr> -<tr class="pbtr"><td colspan="2"> -</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">123—The Elevated Railroad Mystery </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">122—The Mystery of Orcival </td><td class="r">By Emile Gaboriau.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">121—The Man from Manchester </td><td class="r">By Dick Donovan.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">120—The Twelve Tin Boxes </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">119—The Reporter Detective </td><td class="r">By Donald J. McKenzie.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">118—Old Quartz </td><td class="r">By Eugene T. Sawyer.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">117—A Herald Personal </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">116—520 Per Cent.; or, The Great Franklin Syndicate </td><td class="r">By Barclay North.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">115—The Detective Tales of Edgar Allan Poe.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">114—The Man Who Vanished </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">113—The Man with a Thumb </td><td class="r">By Barclay North.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">112—The Garden Court Mystery </td><td class="r">By Burford Delannoy.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">111—The Stolen Race Horse </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">110—The Workingman Detective </td><td class="r">By Donald J. McKenzie.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">109—Blackmail </td><td class="r">By Harrie Irving Hancock.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">108—Nick Carter’s Clever Protégé </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">107—The Passenger from Scotland Yard </td><td class="r">By H. F. Wood.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">106—Shadowed by a Detective </td><td class="r">By Virginia Champlin.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">105—A Bite of an Apple </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">104—A Past Master of Crime </td><td class="r">By Donald J. McKenzie.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">103—Old Mortality </td><td class="r">By Young Baxter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">102—Bruce Angelo, the City Detective </td><td class="r">By Judson R. Taylor.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">101—The Stolen Pay Train </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">100—The Diamond Button </td><td class="r">By Barclay North.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">99—Gideon Drexel’s Millions </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">98—Tom and Jerry </td><td class="r">By Judson R. Taylor.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">97—The Puzzle of Five Pistols </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">96—No. 13 Rue Marlot </td><td class="r">By Rene du Pont Jest.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">95—Sealed Orders; or The Triple Mystery </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">94—Vivier, of Vivier, Longman & Co., Bankers </td><td class="r">By Barclay North.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">93—Adventures of Harrison Keith, Detective </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">92—Van, the Government Detective </td><td class="r">By Judson R. Taylor.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">91—The Great Money Order Swindle </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">90—On the Rack </td><td class="r">By Barclay North.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">89—The Detective’s Pretty Neighbor </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">88—The North Walk Mystery </td><td class="r">By Will N. Harben.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">87—Nick Carter and the Green Goods Men. </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">86—Brant Adams </td><td class="r">By Judson R. Taylor.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">85—A Dead Man’s Grip </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">84—The Inspector’s Puzzle </td><td class="r">By Charles Matthew.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">83—The Crescent Brotherhood </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">82—The Masked Detective </td><td class="r">By Judson R. Taylor.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">81—Wanted by Two Clients </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">80—The Poker King </td><td class="r">By Marline Manley.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">79—The Sign of the Crossed Knives </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">78—The Chosen Man </td><td class="r">By Judson R. Taylor.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">77—The Van Alstine Case </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">76—Face to Face </td><td class="r">By Donald J. McKenzie.</td></tr> -<tr class="pbtr"><td colspan="2"> -</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">75—The Clever Celestial </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">74—The Twin Detectives </td><td class="r">By K. F. Hill.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">73—Two Plus Two </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">72—Sherlock Holmes Detective Stories </td><td class="r">By A. Conan Doyle.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">71—The Diamond Mine Case </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">70—Little Lightning </td><td class="r">By Police Captain James.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">69—Detective Bob Bridger </td><td class="r">By R. M. Taylor.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">68—The Double Shuffle Club </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">67—The Mystery of a Madstone </td><td class="r">By K. F. Hill.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">66—The Detective’s Clew </td><td class="r">By O. L. Adams.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">65—Found on the Beach </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">64—The Red Camellia </td><td class="r">By Fortune Du Boisgobey.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">63—The Chevalier Casse-Cou </td><td class="r">By Fortune Du Boisgobey.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">62—A Fair Criminal </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">61—The Maltese Cross </td><td class="r">By Eugene T. Sawyer.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">60—A Chase Around the World </td><td class="r">By Mariposa Weir.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">59—A Millionaire Partner </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">58—Muertalma; or, The Poisoned Pin </td><td class="r">By Marmaduke Dey.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">57—The Vestibule Limited Mystery </td><td class="r">By Marline Manley.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">56—At Thompson’s Ranch </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">55—His Great Revenge, Vol. II. </td><td class="r">By Fortune Du Boisgobey.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">54—His Great Revenge, Vol. I. </td><td class="r">By Fortune Du Boisgobey.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">53—An Accidental Password </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">52—The Post Office Detective </td><td class="r">By George W. Goode.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">51—The Los Huecos Mystery </td><td class="r">By Eugene T. Sawyer.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">50—The Man from India </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">49—At Odds with Scotland Yard </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">48—The Great Travers Case </td><td class="r">By Dr. Mark Merrick.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">47—The Mystery of a Hansom Cab </td><td class="r">By Fergus Hume.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">46—Check No. 777 </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">45—Old Specie, The Treasury Detective </td><td class="r">By Marline Manley.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">44—The Blue Veil </td><td class="r">By Fortune Du Boisgobey.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">43—Among the Nihilists </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">42—The Revenue Detective </td><td class="r">By Police Captain James.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">41—John Needham’s Double </td><td class="r">By Joseph Hatton.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">40—The Mountaineer Detective </td><td class="r">By C. W. Cobb.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">39—Among the Counterfeiters </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">38—The Matapan Affair </td><td class="r">By Fortune Du Boisgobey.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">37—The Prairie Detective </td><td class="r">By Leander P. Richardson.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">36—The Crime of the Opera House, Vol. II. </td><td class="r">By F. Du Boisgobey.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">35—The Crime of the Opera House, Vol. I. </td><td class="r">By F. Du Boisgobey.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">34—The Society Detective </td><td class="r">By Oscar Maitland.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">33—The Convict Colonel </td><td class="r">By Fortune Du Boisgobey.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">32—Mysterious Case </td><td class="r">By K. F. Hill.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">31—The Red Lottery Ticket </td><td class="r">By Fortune Du Boisgobey.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">30—The Bag of Diamonds </td><td class="r">By George Manville Fenn.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">29—The Clique of Gold </td><td class="r">By Emile Gaboriau.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">28—Under His Thumb </td><td class="r">By Donald J. McKenzie.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">27—The Steel Necklace </td><td class="r">By Fortune Du Boisgobey.</td></tr> -<tr class="pbtr"><td colspan="2"> -</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">26—File No. 113 </td><td class="r">By Emile Gaboriau.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">25—The Detective’s Triumph </td><td class="r">By Emile Gaboriau.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">24—The Detective’s Dilemma </td><td class="r">By Emile Gaboriau.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">23—Evidence by Telephone </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">22—The Champdoce Mystery </td><td class="r">By Emile Gaboriau.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">21—A Deposit Vault Puzzle </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">20—Caught in the Net </td><td class="r">By Emile Gaboriau.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">19—A Chance Discovery </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">18—The Gamblers’ Syndicate </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">17—The Piano Box Mystery </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">16—A Woman’s Hand </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">15—The Widow Lerouge </td><td class="r">By Emile Gaboriau.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">14—Caught in the Toils </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">13—The Mysterious Mail Robbery </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">12—Playing a Bold Game </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">11—Fighting Against Millions </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">10—The Old Detective’s Pupil </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">9—A Stolen Identity </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">8—An Australian Klondike </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">7—The American Marquis </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">6—A Wall Street Haul </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">5—The Crime of a Countess </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">4—Tracked Across the Atlantic </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">3—A Titled Counterfeiter </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">2—The Great Enigma </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">1—A Klondike Claim </td><td class="r">By Nicholas Carter.</td></tr> -</table> -<h2 id="c22"><span class="small"><span class="u">Detective Stories...<br />Worthy of the Name....</span></span></h2> -<p>We desire to call our readers’ -attention to the four -series of tales in the -Magnet Library, reciting the extremely -interesting adventures of -the following detectives.</p> -<div class="verse"> -<p class="t0"><b>Nicholas Carter</b></p> -<p class="t0"><b>Nat Tyler</b></p> -<p class="t0"><b>Seth Hunt</b></p> -<p class="t0"><b>Old Spicer</b></p> -</div> -<p>These tales are all that detective -tales should be. They -are bright, up-to-date, and full -of adventure. Just the kind of -stories that make you feel that -what you paid for them was well -spent.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_214">214</div> -<h2><span class="small">....<i>The</i>....<br /><span class="larger">New Secret Service Series</span></span></h2> -<p>A new line of high-class copyrighted stories, detailing principally -the adventures of men of brain and muscle employed -by our Government to ferret out and prevent federal crimes. -These sleuths are stationed in every city, and the zeal which they -display in the pursuit of their vocation, is nothing short of marvellous. -In many instances, the stories in which these detectives -figure are based upon their actual experiences. There are -tales of Treasury and Mail robberies, Counterfeiting and Anarchists’ -plots and Smuggling. They are of such fascinating interest that -it is indeed a pleasure to read them.</p> -<div class="verse"> -<p class="t0">43.—The Man in Mail. By Lieutenant Carlton.</p> -<p class="t0">42.—The Smuggler’s Ally. By Bernard Wayde.</p> -<p class="t0">41.—The Test of Anarchy. By E. C. Derby.</p> -<p class="t0">40.—The Piccadilly Puzzle. By Fergus Hume.</p> -<p class="t0">39.—After the Bribe Takers. By Lieutenant Carlton.</p> -<p class="t0">38.—The Tracker Tracked. By Bernard Wayde.</p> -<p class="t0">37.—The Empty Mail Bags. By E. C. Derby.</p> -<p class="t0">36.—The Handkerchief Clue. By Harry Rockwood.</p> -<p class="t0">35.—The Haunt of the “Queer” Makers. By Lieutenant Carlton.</p> -<p class="t0">34.—In the Secret Vault. By Bernard Wayde.</p> -<p class="t0">33.—A Master Stroke. By E. C. Derby.</p> -<p class="t0">32.—A Government Spy. By Lieutenant Carlton.</p> -<p class="t0">31.—A False Claim. By Bernard Wayde.</p> -<p class="t0">30.—A Counterfeiter’s Roguery. By E. C. Derby.</p> -<p class="t0">29.—By Whose Hand? By E. S. Tupper.</p> -<p class="t0">28.—A Golden Clue. By Bernard Wayde.</p> -<p class="t0">27.—The Filibuster’s Warning. By Gilbert Jerome.</p> -<p class="t0">26.—The Man Who Made Money. By Bernard Wayde.</p> -<p class="t0">25.—The Moonshiners’ Dupe. By Lieutenant Carlton.</p> -<p class="t0">24.—The Convict Colonel. By Fortune Du Boisgobey.</p> -<p class="t0">23.—The Hand On the Window Sill. By Bernard Wayde.</p> -<p class="t0">22.—A Nihilist’s Vengeance. By E. C. Derby.</p> -<p class="t0">21.—The Money Jugglers. By Bernard Wayde.</p> -<p class="t0">20.—The Bank Note Plates. By Lieutenant Carlton.</p> -<p class="t0">19.—A Mysterious Case. By F. K. Hill.</p> -<p class="t0">18.—The Coiner’s League. By Bernard Wayde.</p> -<p class="t0">17.—The Silent Stranger. By Henry G. Harper.</p> -<p class="t0">16.—The Red Lottery Ticket. By Fortune Du Boisgobey.</p> -<p class="t0">15.—The Crooked Inspector. By Bernard Wayde.</p> -<p class="t0">14.—Foiling a Counterfeiter. By E. C. Derby.</p> -<p class="t0">13.—The Bag of Diamonds. By George Manville Fenn.</p> -<p class="t0">12.—An Anarchist’s Pluck. By Bernard Wayde.</p> -<p class="t0">11.—The Man in Stripes. By Lieutenant Carlton.</p> -<p class="t0">10.—The Clique of Gold. By Emile Gaboriau.</p> -<p class="t0">9.—A Privateer’s Defiance. By Bernard Wayde.</p> -<p class="t0">8.—The Mail Robbers’ Syndicate. By E. C. Derby.</p> -<p class="t0">7.—A Custom House Fraud. By Bernard Wayde.</p> -<p class="t0">6.—The Raid on the Mint. By Frank H. Putnam.</p> -<p class="t0">5.—The Untaxed Whiskey. By Bernard Wayde.</p> -<p class="t0">4.—The Arm of the Law. By Lieutenant Carlton.</p> -<p class="t0">3.—The Treasury’s Millions. By Bernard Wayde.</p> -<p class="t0">2.—The Man on the Coach. By E. C. Derby.</p> -<p class="t0">1.—A Government Trust. By Bernard Wayde.</p> -</div> -<div class="box"> -<p>There is but one Secret Service -Series that deals with the adventures -of Government detectives, -and its titles are enumerated above. -No more exciting and interesting tales -can be had anywhere. If you want good -reading, buy it weekly....</p> -</div> -<h2 id="c23"><span class="small"><i>The</i><br /><span class="larger">Columbia Library</span></span></h2> -<p>A series of rattling good stories of marvelous -adventures on land and sea. It contains an unrivalled -collection of tales, by famous authors, -calculated to interest the most indifferent reader. -A glance at the names of these will be sufficient to -convince anyone that the books are well worth reading. -There are tales of searches for lost and stolen treasure; -tales of queer people unknown to the world at large; tales -of hair-breadth escapes from savages in the heart of -South America; in fact, no matter what kind of a tale -of absorbing interest the reader may desire, it can be -found in this line.</p> -<div class="verse"> -<p class="t0">44. The Year of Miracle. By Fergus Hume.</p> -<p class="t0">43. The Hidden City. By Walter McDougall.</p> -<p class="t0">42. Number 19 State Street. By David Graham Adee.</p> -<p class="t0">41. A Creature of the Night. By Fergus Hume.</p> -<p class="t0">40. Marked for a Victim. By Stuart C. Cumberland.</p> -<p class="t0">39. The Lost Inca. By I. P. Ozollo.</p> -<p class="t0">38. The Sheik’s White Slave. By Raymond Raife.</p> -<p class="t0">37. The Dalton Boys. By W. B. Lawson.</p> -<p class="t0">36. Rube Burrows’ League. By Marline Manly.</p> -<p class="t0">35. The Younger Brothers. By Henry Dale.</p> -<p class="t0">34. Madame Midas. A story of Australian Life. By Fergus Hume.</p> -<p class="t0">33. King Solomon’s Mines. By H. Rider Haggard.</p> -<p class="t0">32. Roanoke of Roanoke Hall. By Malcolm Bell.</p> -<p class="t0">31. His Fatal Success. By Malcolm Bell.</p> -<p class="t0">30. Scarabæus. The Story of an African Beetle. By Marquise Clara Lanza and James Clarence Harvey.</p> -<p class="t0">29. A Strange Secret. By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr.</p> -<p class="t0">27. She. By H. Rider Haggard.</p> -<p class="t0">26. Ivan the Serf. By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr.</p> -<p class="t0">25. A Queer Race. By William Westall.</p> -<p class="t0">24. The Council of Ten. By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr.</p> -<p class="t0">23. Cell No. 13. By Edwin H. Trafton.</p> -<p class="t0">22. The Wreck of the South Pole. By Charles Curtz Hahn.</p> -<p class="t0">21. The King’s Talisman. By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr.</p> -<p class="t0">20. The Swordsman of Warsaw. By Judson R. Taylor.</p> -<p class="t0">19. The Golden Eagle; or, The Privateer of 1776. By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr.</p> -<p class="t0">18. Ben Hamed. By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr.</p> -<p class="t0">17. The Soldier Monk. By Ensign Clarke Fitch, U. S. N.</p> -<p class="t0">16. Fighting Against Odds. By Douglas Wells.</p> -<p class="t0">15. The Charge of the Blockhouse. By Douglas Wells.</p> -<p class="t0">14. The Hero of the Brigade. By Douglas Wells.</p> -<p class="t0">13. Wolves of the Navy. By Ensign Clarke Fitch, U. S. N.</p> -<p class="t0">12. A Soldier’s Pledge. By Ensign Clarke Fitch, U. S. N.</p> -<p class="t0">11. Holding the Fort. By Ensign Clarke Fitch, U. S. N.</p> -<p class="t0">10. A Gauntlet of Fire. By Ensign Clarke Fitch, U. S. N.</p> -<p class="t0">9. For Spanish Gold. By Douglas Wells.</p> -<p class="t0">8. Saved By the Enemy. By Ensign Clarke Fitch, U. S. N.</p> -<p class="t0">7. On the Firing Line. By Douglas Wells.</p> -<p class="t0">6. Court-Martialed. By Ensign Clarke Fitch, U. S. N.</p> -<p class="t0">5. A Secret Service Detail. By Douglas Wells.</p> -<p class="t0">4. A Prisoner of Morro. By Ensign Clarke Fitch, U. S. N.</p> -<p class="t0">3. A Courier to Gomez. By Douglas Wells.</p> -<p class="t0">2. The Fighting Squadron. By Ensign Clarke Fitch, U. S. N.</p> -<p class="t0">1. The Yankee Lieutenant. By Douglas Wells.</p> -</div> -<div class="box"> -<p class="center">TALES REDOLENT WITH FUN, ADVENTURE AND ROMANCE ARE TO BE FOUND IN THE</p> -<p class="center"><span class="ss"><span class="large">COLUMBIA LIBRARY</span></span></p> -<p class="center">GET A COPY AND BE INTERESTED AND AMUSED</p> -</div> -<div class="pb" id="Page_218">218</div> -<p class="tbcenter"><i class="b">Popular Information at a Popular Price</i></p> -<h2><span class="small"><i>The</i><br /><span class="larger">Diamond Hand-Book Series</span></span> -<br />OF RELIABLE MANUALS</h2> -<p>Herein is contained an unrivalled collection of useful -and valuable information. The books treat -upon subjects that everyone is desirous of knowing -about. The authors, well versed in the subjects they -treated, have spared no time or pains to make these books -authentic and thoroughly interesting. New subjects will -be added as rapidly as they can be prepared. Glance over -the titles given herewith and see if you do not want to -know something about at least one of the subjects mentioned.</p> -<table class="center"> -<tr><td class="l">1. Sheldon’s Letter Writer. </td><td class="r">By L. W. Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">2. Shirley’s Lovers’ Guide. </td><td class="r">By Grace Shirley</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">3. Women’s Secrets; or, How to Be Beautiful. </td><td class="r">By Grace Shirley</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">4. Guide to Etiquette. </td><td class="r">By L. W. Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">5. Physical Health Culture. </td><td class="r">By Professor Fourmen</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">6. Frank Merriwell’s Book of Physical Development. </td><td class="r">By Burt L. Standish</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">7. National Dream Book. </td><td class="r">By Mme. Claire Rougemont</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">8. Zingara Fortune Teller. </td><td class="r">By a Gipsy Queen</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">9. The Art of Boxing and Self-Defense. </td><td class="r">By Professor Donovan</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">10. The Key to Hypnotism. </td><td class="r">By Robert G. Ellsworth, M. D.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">11. U. S. Army Physical Exercises. </td><td class="r">Revised by Professor Donovan</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">12. Heart Talks With the Lovelorn. </td><td class="r">By Grace Shirley</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">13. Dancing Without an Instructor. </td><td class="r">By Professor Wilkinson</td></tr> -</table> -<div class="pb" id="Page_219">219</div> -<h2 id="c24"><span class="small"><i>The</i><br /><span class="larger">Eagle Series</span></span> -<br /><i>of</i> Popular Fiction</h2> -<p class="center"><b>PRINCIPALLY COPYRIGHTS</b></p> -<p class="center"><b>ELEGANT COLORED COVERS</b></p> -<p>This is the pioneer line of copyright novels. Its popularity -has increased with every number, until, at the -present time, it stands unrivalled as regards sales and -contents.</p> -<p>It is composed, mainly, of popular copyrighted titles -which cannot be had in any other lines, at any price. The -authors, as far as literary ability and reputation are concerned, -represent the foremost men and women of their -time. The books, without exception, are of entrancing -interest and manifestly those most desired by the American -reading public. A purchase of two or three of these books, -at random, will make you a firm believer that there is no -line of novels which can compare favorably with the Eagle -Series.</p> -<table class="center"> -<tr><td class="l">337. Dear Elsie </td><td class="r">By Mary J. Safford</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l"><b>336. Rose Mather (Double Number),</b> </td><td class="r"><b>By Mrs. Mary J. Holmes</b></td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">335. We Parted at the Altar </td><td class="r">By Laura Jean Libbey</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">334. Miss MacDonald </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Mary J. Holmes</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">333. Stella’s Fortune </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l"><b>332. Darkness and Daylight (Double Number),</b> </td><td class="r"><b>By Mrs. Mary J. Holmes</b></td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">331. Christine </td><td class="r">By Adeline Sergeant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">330. Aikenside </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Mary J. Holmes</td></tr> -<tr class="pbtr"><td colspan="2"> -</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">329—My Hildegard </td><td class="r">By St. George Rathborne</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l"><b>328—He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (Double Number)</b> </td><td class="r"><b>By Charles Garvice</b></td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">327—Was She Wife or Widow? </td><td class="r">By Malcolm Bell</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">326—Parted by Fate </td><td class="r">By Laura Jean Libbey</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l"><b>325—The Leighton Homestead (Double Number)</b> </td><td class="r"><b>By Mrs. Mary J. Holmes</b></td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">324—A Love Match </td><td class="r">By Sylvanus Cobb</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">323—The Little Countess </td><td class="r">By S. E. Boggs</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">322—Mildred </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Mary J. Holmes</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l"><b>321—Neva’s Three Lovers (Double Number)</b> </td><td class="r"><b>By Hrs. Harriet Lewis</b></td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">320—Mynheer Joe </td><td class="r">By St. George Rathborne</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">319—Millbank </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Mary J. Holmes</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">318—Staunch of Heart </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">317—Ione </td><td class="r">By Laura Jean Libbey</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l"><b>316—Edith Lyle’s Secret (Double Number)</b> </td><td class="r"><b>By Mrs. Mary J. Holmes</b></td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">315—The Dark Secret </td><td class="r">By May Agnes Fleming</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">314—A Maid’s Fatal Love </td><td class="r">By Helen Corwin Pierce</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">313—A Kinsman’s Sin </td><td class="r">By Effie Adelaide Rowlands</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">312—Woven on Fate’s Loom </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l"><b>311—Wedded by Fate (Double Number)</b> </td><td class="r"><b>By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</b></td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">310—A Late Repentance </td><td class="r">By Mary A. Denison</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">309—The Heiress of Castle Cliffe </td><td class="r">By May Agnes Fleming</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">308—Lady Ryhope’s Lover </td><td class="r">By Emma Garrison Jones</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">307—The Winning of Isolde </td><td class="r">By St. George Rathborne</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">306—Love’s Golden Rule </td><td class="r">By Geraldine Fleming</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">305—Led by Love </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">304—Staunch as a Woman </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">303—The Queen of the Isle </td><td class="r">By May Agnes Fleming</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">302—When Man’s Love Fades </td><td class="r">By Hazel Wood</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">301—The False and the True </td><td class="r">By Effie Adelaide Rowlands</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">300—The Spider and the Fly </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">299—Little Miss Whirlwind </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">298—Should She Have Left Him? </td><td class="r">By William C. Hudson</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">297—That Girl from Texas </td><td class="r">By Mrs. J. H. Walworth</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">296—The Heir of Vering </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">295—A Terrible Secret </td><td class="r">By Geraldine Fleming</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">294—A Warrior Bold </td><td class="r">By St. George Rathborne</td></tr> -<tr class="pbtr"><td colspan="2"> -</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">293—For Love of Anne Lambart </td><td class="r">By Effie Adelaide Rowlands</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">292—For Her Only </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">291—A Mysterious Wedding Ring </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">290—A Change of Heart </td><td class="r">By Effie Adelaide Rowlands</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">289—Married in Mask </td><td class="r">By Mansfield T. Walworth</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">288—Sibyl’s Influence </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">287—The Lady of Darracourt </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">286—A Debt of Vengeance </td><td class="r">By Mrs. E. Burke Collins</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">285—Born to Betray </td><td class="r">By Mrs. M. V. Victor</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">284—Dr. Jack’s Widow </td><td class="r">By St. George Rathborne</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">283—My Lady Pride </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">282—The Forsaken Bride </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">281—For Love Alone </td><td class="r">By Wenona Gilman</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">280—Love’s Dilemma </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">279—Nina’s Peril </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">278—Laura Brayton </td><td class="r">By Julia Edwards</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">277—Brownie’s Triumph </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">276—So Nearly Lost </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">275—Love’s Cruel Whim </td><td class="r">By Effie Adelaide Rowlands</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">274—A Romantic Girl </td><td class="r">By Evelyn E. Green</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">273—At Swords’ Points </td><td class="r">By St. George Rathborne</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">272—So Fair, So False </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">271—With Love’s Laurel Crowned </td><td class="r">By W. C. Stiles</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">270—Had She Foreseen </td><td class="r">By Dora Delmar</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">269—Brunette and Blonde </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">268—Olivia; or, It Was for Her Sake </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">267—Jeanne </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">266—The Welfleet Mystery </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">265—First Love is Best </td><td class="r">By S. K. Hocking</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">264—For Gold or Soul </td><td class="r">By Lurana W. Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">263—An American Nabob </td><td class="r">By St. George Rathborne</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">262—A Woman’s Faith </td><td class="r">By Henry Wallace</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">261—A Siren’s Heart </td><td class="r">By Effie Adelaide Rowlands</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">260—At a Girl’s Mercy </td><td class="r">By Jean Kate Ludlum</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">259—By a Golden Cord </td><td class="r">By Dora Delmar</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">258—An Amazing Marriage </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Sumner Hayden</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">257—A Martyred Love </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">256—Thy Name is Woman </td><td class="r">By F. H. Howe</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">255—The Little Marplot </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">254—Little Miss Millions </td><td class="r">By St. George Rathborne</td></tr> -<tr class="pbtr"><td colspan="2"> -</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">253—A Fashionable Marriage </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Alex Frazer</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">252—A Handsome Sinner </td><td class="r">By Dora Delmar</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">251—When Love is True </td><td class="r">By Mabel Collins</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">250—A Woman’s Soul </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">249—What Love Will Do </td><td class="r">By Geraldine Fleming</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">248—Jeanne, Countess Du Barry </td><td class="r">By H. L. Williams</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">247—Within Love’s Portals </td><td class="r">By Frank Barrett</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">246—True to Herself </td><td class="r">By Mrs. J. H. Walworth</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">245—A Modern Marriage </td><td class="r">By Clara Lanza</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">244—A Hoiden’s Conquest </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">243—His Double Self </td><td class="r">By Scott Campbell</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">242—A Wounded Heart </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">241—Her Love and Trust </td><td class="r">By Adeline Sergeant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">240—Saved by the Sword </td><td class="r">By St. George Rathborne</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">239—Don Cæsar De Bazan </td><td class="r">By Victor Hug.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">238—That Other Woman </td><td class="r">By Annie Thomas</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">237—Woman or Witch? </td><td class="r">By Dora Delmar</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">235—Gratia’s Trials </td><td class="r">By Lucy Randall Comfort</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">234—His Mother’s Sin </td><td class="r">By Adeline Sergeant</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">233—Nora </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">232—A Debt of Honor </td><td class="r">By Mabel Collins</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">230—A Woman’s Atonement, and A Mother’s Mistake </td><td class="r">By Adah M. Howard</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">229—For the Sake of the Family </td><td class="r">By May Crommelin</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">228—His Brother’s Widow </td><td class="r">By Mary Grace Halpine</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">227—For Love and Honor </td><td class="r">By Effie Adelaide Rowlands</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">226—The Roll of Honor </td><td class="r">By Annie Thomas</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">225—A Miserable Woman </td><td class="r">By Mrs. H. C. Hoffman</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">224—A Sister’s Sacrifice </td><td class="r">By Geraldine Fleming</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">223—Leola Dale’s Fortune </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">222—The Lily of Mordaunt </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">221—The Honorable Jane </td><td class="r">By Annie Thomas</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">220—A Fatal Past </td><td class="r">By Dora Russell</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">219—Lost, A Pearle </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">218—A Life for a Love </td><td class="r">By Mrs. L. T. Meade</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">217—His Noble Wife </td><td class="r">By George Manville Fenn</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">216—The Lost Bride </td><td class="r">By Clara Augusta</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">215—Only a Girl’s Love </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">214—Olga’s Crime </td><td class="r">By Frank Barrett</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">213—The Heiress of Egremont </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Harriet Lewis</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">212—Doubly Wronged </td><td class="r">By Adah M. Howard</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">211—As We Forgive </td><td class="r">By Lurana W. Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">210—Wild Oats </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">209—She Loved but Left Him </td><td class="r">By Julia Edwards</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">208—A Chase for a Bride </td><td class="r">By St. George Rathborne</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">207—Little Golden’s Daughter </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">206—A Daughter of Maryland </td><td class="r">By G. Waldo Browne</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">205—If Love Be Love </td><td class="r">By D. Cecil Gibbs</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">204—With Heart So True </td><td class="r">By Effie Adelaide Rowlands</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">203—Only One Love </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">202—Marjorie </td><td class="r">By Katharine S. MacQuoid</td></tr> -<tr class="pbtr"><td colspan="2"> -</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">201—Blind Elsie’s Crime </td><td class="r">By Mary Grace Halpine</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">200—In God’s Country </td><td class="r">By D. Higbee</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">199—Geoffrey’s Victory </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">198—Guy Kenmore’s Wife, and The Rose and the Lily </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">197—A Woman Scorned </td><td class="r">By Effie Adelaide Rowlands</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">196—A Sailor’s Sweetheart </td><td class="r">By the author of Dr. Jack</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">195—Her Faithful Knight </td><td class="r">By Gertrude Warden</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">194—A Sinless Crime </td><td class="r">By Geraldine Fleming</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">193—A Vagabond’s Honor </td><td class="r">By Ernest De Lancey Pierson</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">192—An Old Man’s Darling, and Jacquelina </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">191—A Harvest of Thorns </td><td class="r">By Mrs. H. C. Hoffman</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">190—Captain of the Kaiser </td><td class="r">By St. George Rathborne</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">189—Berris </td><td class="r">By Katharine S. MacQuoid</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">188—Dorothy Arnold’s Escape </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">187—The Black Ball </td><td class="r">By Ernest De Lancey Pierson</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">186—Beneath a Spell </td><td class="r">By Effie Adelaide Rowlands</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">185—The Adventures of Miss Volney </td><td class="r">By Ella Wheeler Wilcox</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">184—Sunlight and Gloom </td><td class="r">By Geraldine Fleming</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">183—Quo Vadis </td><td class="r">By Henryk Sienkiewicz</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">182—A Legal Wreck </td><td class="r">By William Gillette</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">181—The Baronet’s Bride </td><td class="r">By May Agnes Fleming</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">180—A Lazy Man’s Work </td><td class="r">By Frances Campbell Sparhawk</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">179—One Man’s Evil </td><td class="r">By Effie Adelaide Rowlands</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">178—A Slave of Circumstances </td><td class="r">By Ernest De Lancey Pierson</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">177—A True Aristocrat </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">176—Jack Gordon. Knight Errant </td><td class="r">By William C. Hudson (Barclay North)</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">175—For Honor’s Sake </td><td class="r">By Laura C. Ford</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">174—His Guardian Angel </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">173—A Bar Sinister </td><td class="r">By the author of Dr. Jack</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">172—A King and a Coward </td><td class="r">By Effie Adelaide Rowlands</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">171—That Dakota Girl </td><td class="r">By Stella Gilman</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">170—A Little Radical </td><td class="r">By Mrs. J. H. Walworth</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">169—The Trials of an Actress </td><td class="r">By Wenona Gilman</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">168—Thrice Lost, Thrice Won </td><td class="r">By May Agnes Fleming</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">167—The Manhattaners </td><td class="r">By Edward S. Van Zile</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">166—The Masked Bridal </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">165—The Road of the Rough </td><td class="r">By Maurice M. Minton</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">164—Couldn’t Say No </td><td class="r">By the author of Helen’s Babies</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">163—A Splendid Egotist </td><td class="r">By Mrs. J. H. Walworth</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">162—A Man of the Name of John </td><td class="r">By Florence King</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">161—Miss Fairfax of Virginia </td><td class="r">By the author of Dr. Jack</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">160—His Way and Her Will </td><td class="r">By Frances Aymar Mathews</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">159—A Fair Maid of Marblehead </td><td class="r">By Kate Tannatt Woods</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">158—Stella, the Star </td><td class="r">By Wenona Gilman</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">157—Who Wins? </td><td class="r">By May Agnes Fleming</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">156—A Soldier Lover </td><td class="r">By Edward S. Brooks</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">155—Nameless Dell </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">154—Husband and Foe </td><td class="r">By Effie Adelaide Rowlands</td></tr> -<tr class="pbtr"><td colspan="2"> -</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">153—Her Son’s Wife </td><td class="r">By Hazel Wood</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">152—A Mute Confessor </td><td class="r">By Will N. Harben</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">151—The Heiress of Glen Gower </td><td class="r">By May Agnes Fleming</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">150—Sunset Pass </td><td class="r">By General Charles King</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">149—The Man She Loved </td><td class="r">By Effie Adelaide Rowlands</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">148—Will She Win? </td><td class="r">By Emma Garrison Jones</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">147—Under Egyptian Skies </td><td class="r">By the author of Dr. Jack</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">146—Magdalen’s Vow </td><td class="r">By May Agnes Fleming</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">145—Country Lanes and City Pavements </td><td class="r">By Maurice M. Minton</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">144—Dorothy’s Jewels </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">143—A Charity Girl </td><td class="r">By Effie Adelaide Rowlands</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">142—Her Rescue from the Turks </td><td class="r">By the author of Dr. Jack</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">141—Lady Evelyn </td><td class="r">By May Agnes Fleming</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">140—That Girl of Johnson’s </td><td class="r">By Jean Kate Ludlum</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">139—Little Lady Charles </td><td class="r">By Effie Adelaide Rowlands</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">138—A Fatal Wooing </td><td class="r">By Laura Jean Libbey</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">137—A Wedded Widow </td><td class="r">By T. W. Hanshew</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">136—The Unseen Bridegroom </td><td class="r">By May Agnes Fleming</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">135—Cast Up by the Tide </td><td class="r">By Dora Delmar</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">134—Squire John </td><td class="r">By the author of Dr. Jack</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">133—Max </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">132—Whose Was the Crime? </td><td class="r">By Gertrude Warden</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">131—Nerine’s Second Choice </td><td class="r">By Adelaide Stirling</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">130—A Bitter Bondage </td><td class="r">By Bertha M. Clay</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">129—In Sight of St. Paul’s </td><td class="r">By Sutton Vane</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">128—The Scent of the Roses </td><td class="r">By Dora Delmar</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">127—Nobody’s Daughter </td><td class="r">By Clara Augusta</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">126—The Girl from Hong Kong </td><td class="r">By the author of Dr. Jack</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">125—Devil’s Island </td><td class="r">By A. D. Hall</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">124—Prettiest of All </td><td class="r">By Julia Edwards</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">123—Northern Lights </td><td class="r">By A. D. Hall</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">122—Grazia’s Mistake </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">121—Cecile’s Marriage </td><td class="r">By Lucy Randall Comfort</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">120—The White Squadron </td><td class="r">By T. C. Harbaugh</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">119—An Ideal Love </td><td class="r">By Bertha M. Clay</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">118—Saved from the Sea </td><td class="r">By Richard Duffy</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">117—She Loved Him </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">116—The Daughter of the Regiment </td><td class="r">By Mary A. Denison</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">115—A Fair Revolutionist </td><td class="r">By the author of Dr. Jack</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">114—Half a Truth </td><td class="r">By Dora Delmar</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">113—A Crushed Lily </td><td class="r">y Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">112—The Cattle King </td><td class="r">By A. D. Hall</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">111—Faithful Shirley </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">110—Whose Wife Is She? </td><td class="r">By Annie Lisle</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">109—A Heart’s Bitterness </td><td class="r">By Bertha M. Clay</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">108—A Son of Mars </td><td class="r">By the author of Dr. Jack</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">107—Carla; or, Married at Sight </td><td class="r">By Effie Adelaide Rowlands</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">106—Lilian, My Lilian </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">105—When London Sleeps </td><td class="r">By Chas. Darrell</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">104—A Proud Dishonor </td><td class="r">By Genie Holzmeyer</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">103—The Span of Life </td><td class="r">By Sutton Vane</td></tr> -<tr class="pbtr"><td colspan="2"> -</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">102—Fair But Faithless </td><td class="r">By Bertha M. Clay</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">101—A Goddess of Africa </td><td class="r">By the author of Dr. Jack</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">100—Alice Blake </td><td class="r">By Francis S. Smith</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">99—Audrey’s Recompense </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">98—Claire </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">97—The War Reporter </td><td class="r">By Warren Edwards</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">96—The Little Minister </td><td class="r">By J. M. Barrie</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">95—’Twixt Love and Hate </td><td class="r">By Bertha M. Clay</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">94—Darkest Russia </td><td class="r">By H. Grattan Donnelly</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">93—A Queen of Treachery </td><td class="r">By T. W. Henshew</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">92—Humanity </td><td class="r">By Sutton Vane</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">91—Sweet Violet </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">90—For Fair Virginia </td><td class="r">By Russ Whytal</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">89—A Gentleman from Gascony </td><td class="r">By Bicknell Dudley</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">88—Virgie’s Inheritance </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">87—Shenandoah </td><td class="r">By J. Perkins Tracy</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">86—A Widowed Bride </td><td class="r">By Lucy Randall Comfort</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">85—Lorrie; or, Hollow Gold </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">84—Between Two Hearts </td><td class="r">By Bertha M. Clay</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">83—The Locksmith of Lyons </td><td class="r">By Prof. Wm. Henry Peck</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">82—Captain Impudence </td><td class="r">By Edwin Milton Royle</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">81—Wedded for an Hour </td><td class="r">By Emma Garrison Jones</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">80—The Fair Maid of Fez </td><td class="r">By the author of Dr. Jack</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">79—Marjorie Deane </td><td class="r">By Bertha M. Clay</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">78—The Yankee Champion </td><td class="r">By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">77—Tina </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">76—Mavourneen </td><td class="r">From the celebrated play</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">75—Under Fire </td><td class="r">By T. P. James</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">74—The Cotton King </td><td class="r">By Sutton Vane</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">73—The Marquis </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">72—Willful Winnie </td><td class="r">By Harriet Sherburne</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">71—The Spiders Web </td><td class="r">By the author of Dr. Jack</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">70—In Love’s Crucible </td><td class="r">By Bertha M. Clay</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">69—His Perfect Trust </td><td class="r">By a popular author</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">68—The Little Cuban Rebel </td><td class="r">By Edna Winfield</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">67—Gismonda </td><td class="r">By Victorien Sardou</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">66—Witch Hazel </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">65—Won by the Sword </td><td class="r">By J. Perkins Tracy</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">64—Dora Tenney </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">63—Lawyer Bell from Boston </td><td class="r">By Robert Lee Tyler</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">62—Stella Stirling </td><td class="r">By Julia Edwards</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">61—La Tosca </td><td class="r">By Victorien Sardou</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">60—The County Fair </td><td class="r">By Neil Burgess</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">59—Gladys Greye </td><td class="r">By Bertha M. Clay</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">58—Major Matterson of Kentucky </td><td class="r">By the author of Dr. Jack</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">57—Rosamond </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">56—The Dispatch Bearer </td><td class="r">By Warren Edwards</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">55—Thrice Wedded </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">54—Cleopatra </td><td class="r">By Victorien Sardou</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">53—The Old Homestead </td><td class="r">By Denman Thompson</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">52—Woman Against Woman </td><td class="r">By Effie Adelaide Rowlands</td></tr> -<tr class="pbtr"><td colspan="2"> -</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">51—The Price He Paid </td><td class="r">By E. Werner</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">50—Her Ransom </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">49—None But the Brave </td><td class="r">By Robert Lee Tyler</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">48—Another Man’s Wife </td><td class="r">By Bertha M. Clay</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">47—The Colonel by Brevet </td><td class="r">By the author of Dr. Jack</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">46—Off with the Old Love </td><td class="r">By Mrs. M. V. Victor</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">45—A Yale Man </td><td class="r">By Robert Lee Tyler</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">44—That Dowdy </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">43—Little Coquette Bonnie </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">42—Another Woman’s Husband </td><td class="r">By Bertha M. Clay</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">41—Her Heart’s Desire </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">40—Monsieur Bob </td><td class="r">By the author of Dr. Jack</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">39—The Colonel’s Wife </td><td class="r">By Warren Edwards</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">38—The Nabob of Singapore </td><td class="r">By the author of Dr. Jack</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">37—The Heart of Virginia </td><td class="r">By J. Perkins Tracy</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">36—Fedora </td><td class="r">By Victorien Sardou</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">35—The Great Mogul </td><td class="r">By the author of Dr. Jack</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">34—Pretty Geraldine </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">33—Mrs. Bob </td><td class="r">By the author of Dr. Jack</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">32—The Blockade Runner </td><td class="r">By J. Perkins Tracy</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">31—A Siren’s Love </td><td class="r">By Robert Lee Tyler</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">30—Baron Sam </td><td class="r">By the author of Dr. Jack</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">29—Theodora </td><td class="r">By Victorien Sardou</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">28—Miss Caprice </td><td class="r">By the author of Dr. Jack</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">27—Estelle’s Millionaire Lover </td><td class="r">By Julia Edwards</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">26—Captain Tom </td><td class="r">By the author of Dr. Jack</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">25—Little Southern Beauty </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">24—A Wasted Love </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">23—Miss Pauline of New York </td><td class="r">By the author of Dr. Jack</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">22—Elaine </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">21—A Heart’s Idol </td><td class="r">By Bertha M. Clay</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">20—The Senator’s Bride </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">19—Mr. Lake of Chicago </td><td class="r">By Harry DuBois Milman</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">18—Dr. Jack’s Wife </td><td class="r">By the author of Dr. Jack</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">17—Leslie’s Loyalty </td><td class="r">By Charles Garvice</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">16—The Fatal Card </td><td class="r">By Haddon Chambers and B. C. Stephenson</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">15—Dr. Jack </td><td class="r">By St. George Rathborne</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">14—Violet Lisle </td><td class="r">By Bertha M. Clay</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">13—The Little Widow </td><td class="r">By Julia Edwards</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">12—Edrie’s Legacy </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">11—The Gypsy’s Daughter </td><td class="r">By Bertha M. Clay</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">10—Little Sunshine </td><td class="r">By Francis S. Smith</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">9—The Virginia Heiress </td><td class="r">By May Agnes Fleming</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">8—Beautiful But Poor </td><td class="r">By Julia Edwards</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">7—Two Keys </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">6—The Midnight Marriage </td><td class="r">By A. M. Douglas</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">5—The Senator’s Favorite </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">4—For a Woman’s Honor </td><td class="r">By Bertha M. Clay</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">3—He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not </td><td class="r">By Julia Edwards</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">2—Ruby’s Reward </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -<tr><td class="l">1—Queen Bess </td><td class="r">By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</td></tr> -</table> -<div class="box"> -<p>Public records will show that -there have been more women -restored to health and strength, -and more lives saved by</p> -<p class="center"><b class="xxlarge">Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound</b></p> -<p>than by any other medicine -in the world.</p> -<p>It therefore <i>must</i> be the best -medicine in the world for -woman’s special ills.</p> -<blockquote> -<p>NOTE.—If you are ill why -don’t you write to Mrs. Pinkham -at Lynn, Mass., and get -the advice which has restored -more than a million women to -health? It will cost you nothing, -and may save your life.</p> -</blockquote> -</div> -<h2 id="trnotes">Transcriber’s Notes</h2> -<ul> -<li>Silently corrected a few typos.</li> -<li>Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook is public-domain in the country of publication.</li> -<li>Added a Table of Contents, based on chapter headings.</li> -<li>In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by _underscores_.</li> -</ul> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TWIN MYSTERY ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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. 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