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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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