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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f0300c4 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #67618 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/67618) diff --git a/old/67618-0.txt b/old/67618-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index caf13f6..0000000 --- a/old/67618-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5233 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Paying the Price, by Nick Carter - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Paying the Price - Nick Carter Stories No 120 - 160 / Dec 26, 1914 - Oct 2, 1915 - -Author: Nick Carter - -Editor: Chickering Carter - -Release Date: March 13, 2022 [eBook #67618] - -Language: English - -Produced by: David Edwards, Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (Northern - Illinois University Digital Library) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PAYING THE PRICE *** - - - - - - NICK CARTER - STORIES - -_Issued Weekly. Entered as Second-class Matter at the New York Post Office, by_ STREET & SMITH, _79-89 Seventh Ave., New York. -Copyright, 1915, by_ STREET & SMITH. _O. G. Smith and G. C. Smith, Proprietors._ - - =Terms to NICK CARTER STORIES Mail Subscribers.= - - (_Postage Free._) - - =Single Copies or Back Numbers, 5c. Each.= - - 3 months 65c. - 4 months 85c. - 6 months $1.25 - One year 2.5O - 2 copies one year 4.00 - 1 copy two years 4.00 - - =How to Send Money=--By post-office or express money order, - registered letter, bank check or draft, at our risk. At your own - risk if sent by currency, coin, or postage stamps in ordinary - letter. - - =Receipts=--Receipt of your remittance is acknowledged by proper - change of number on your label. If not correct you have not been - properly credited, and should let us know at once. - - =No. 146.= NEW YORK, June 26, 1915. =Price Five Cents.= - - - - - PAYING THE PRICE; - - Or, NICK CARTER’S PERILOUS VENTURE. - - Edited by CHICKERING CARTER. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE RECTORY MURDER. - - -Nick Carter paused only a moment before replying. He took that one -moment to consider the other strange matter that had brought him to -Washington, and whether compliance with the request just made by the -chief of police would seriously interfere with it. He decided that it -would not, and he then said quite gravely: - -“Why, yes, I will go with Detective Fallon, since you both press me so -earnestly. It is barely possible, chief, as you say, that I may detect -something that would escape his notice. Who is the victim of the crime, -if such it proves to be?” - -“There is no question about that, Nick,” said the chief. “The murdered -man is the Reverend Father Cleary, of the St. Lawrence Church. He was -found dead on the floor of his library in the rectory, which adjoins the -church, about half an hour ago.” - -“A Roman Catholic priest, eh?” - -“Yes.” - -“What do you know about it?” - -“Very little. I was notified by telephone. I directed that nothing -should be touched, nor anything said about the crime before I began an -investigation. I sent two policemen to take charge in the rectory until -I could get word to Detective Fallon. He is the best man on my force for -such a job.” - -“But I am not in your class, Nick; far from it,” put in Fallon, who was -an erect, dark man of forty, with a rather grave and resolute type of -face. “You are in a class of your own, Carter, as far as that goes.” - -“Cut it!” said the chief tersely. “Chucking violets is a waste of time. -Fallon will tell you all that is known, Nick, while you are on the road. -My car and chauffeur are outside. Take it, Fallon, and let me hear from -you. You have carte blanche, Nick. Dig into the matter in your own -peculiar way.” - -“I will see what I make of it,” Nick replied, turning to accompany -Fallon from the police headquarters. - -It then was about half past eight on the first day of November, and the -famous New York detective was in Washington on other business, the -nature of which will presently appear. He knew it could wait, however, -and he was not averse to complying with the urgent request of the local -police chief, who, in as serious a case as had been reported to him, was -more than eager to secure the aid and advice of the celebrated -detective. - -Nick took a seat with Fallon in the tonneau of the touring car, the -latter having hurriedly given the chauffeur his instructions. - -“We can run out there in ten minutes, Nick,” he added, when the -detective banged the door and sat down. - -“The St. Lawrence Church, eh?” queried Nick, gazing at him. “I don’t -recall having seen it.” - -“It is a new one,” said Fallon. “It was built only a year ago. It is -pretty well out and not in a wealthy and fashionable section of the -city. Father Cleary is a comparatively young priest, not over forty, and -is known for the good work he has done in the slums. He will be sadly -missed in the low districts.” - -“Were you acquainted with him?” Nick inquired. - -“Yes, slightly.” - -“How long has he been in Washington?” - -“About three years,” said Fallon. “You were here about a month ago, by -the way, on that government case against several foreign spies. I heard -of it after you left. I was sorry not to have seen you.” - -“I was here only a couple of days with two of my assistants,” Nick -replied. “We were fortunate in speedily rounding up the miscreants, -barring one.” - -“You refer to Andy Margate, I suppose.” - -“Yes. The net still is spread for him, however, and the others now are -doing time. Margate was not one of the spies. With the help of two local -crooks, he turned a trick on the foreigners that proved to be much to my -advantage.” - -“You refer to Larry Trent and Tom Carney?” - -“Yes.” - -“Both are bad eggs,” said Fallon. “I have known them from ’way back. -Trent is the worse of the two, for he is better educated and came from -decent people.” - -“So I have heard.” - -“He has a sister, Lottie Trent, who is an honest and industrious girl. -She’s employed as a stenographer in an office in the war department. I -knew her parents, also, who have been dead for several years. By the -way, Nick, there was mighty little published about the true inwardness -of that foreign-spy case. They went up without a legal fight, even.” - -“There was no fight coming to them,” said Nick dryly. “They had no -defense. I clinched the case against them, including Captain Casper -Dillon.” - -“But the bottom facts were nearly all suppressed.” - -“Yes, all of the bottom facts,” Nick allowed, smiling significantly. - -“It is hinted, nevertheless, that Senator Barclay and a young government -engineer in the war department, one Harold Garland, were somewhat -involved in the matter,” said Fallon. “Is that true?” - -“Really, Fallon, I cannot say,” said Nick, still smiling. - -Detective Fallon laughed lightly, knowing well enough that Nick could -have informed him concerning every part of the case, if so inclined. He -took no exceptions to his reticence, however, and inquired, after a -moment: - -“Is there any clew to Margate’s whereabouts?” - -“Not that I know of,” Nick admitted. “The police throughout the country -are on the watch for him. He is a very keen, crafty, and elusive fellow, -however, and is better known in Europe, where he has done most of his -knavish work. But we shall get him, Fallon, sooner or later. If----” - -“Here we are,” Fallon interrupted. “There is the church.” - -The touring car had turned a corner, bringing the sacred edifice into -view. It occupied the corner beyond and stood somewhat back from the -street, both front and side. In the rear, fronting on the side street, -was the dwelling occupied by Father Cleary, whose only servant was an -elderly housekeeper, one Honora Kane, who had been a widow many years. - -The church, the rectory, and the surrounding grounds extended back to -the next street, from which they were divided by a stone wall, the rear -grounds being adorned with several old shade trees, the wide-spreading -branches of which mingled with those in the side grounds of the -adjoining estate. - -Nick took in all these features of the scene while approaching the -rectory, on the sidewalk in front of which a policeman was pacing to and -fro. He touched his helmet when Fallon sprang from the car, but -evidently he did not know the face of the more famous detective. - -“What has been done, Bagley?” asked Fallon, pausing briefly. - -“Nothing, sir, except to keep it quiet,” said the policeman. “We have -been waiting for you. Grady is inside.” - -“We’ll go in,” said Fallon. - -“One moment,” Nick interposed, detaining him. “The murder has not leaked -out, Bagley, I take it?” - -“No, sir.” - -“I see that there are no inquisitive people hanging around here. Have -you seen any one, by the way, who appeared to have an interest in the -place?” - -“No, sir; I have not.” - -“That’s all, Bagley; thank you.” - -“I see the point, Nick,” Fallon remarked, as they entered the grounds -fronting the rectory. - -“Holy smoke!” Bagley muttered, starting after them. “That must be Nick -Carter. Great guns! there’ll be nothing to the case, if he is on it.” - -The two detectives were admitted to the hall by a pale young woman in a -calico wrapper and a long gingham apron. Her tear-filled eyes, together -with the low moans and sobs of a corpulent woman in an adjoining room, -evinced the grief and distress of both. - -“Let me take the ribbons, Fallon,” Nick said quietly. “We may go over -the traces if we drive too fast.” - -Fallon readily acquiesced, and Nick paused and questioned the woman who -had admitted them. - -He learned that her name was Margaret Dawson; that she was the nearest -neighbor to the rectory, and that she had hurried to assist Mrs. Kane, -the housekeeper, upon learning her cries when she discovered the -terrible crime. - -“Nora was nearly out of her bed, sir, and didn’t know what to do,” she -explained. “So I telephoned to the police station, sir, and was told to -let things alone till the officers came. That was not long, sir, and -nothing has been touched, not even Father Cleary’s body. An officer is -in the library, sir, where it’s lying.” - -“Mrs. Kane is the only servant?” questioned Nick, glancing at the -sobbing woman in the adjoining room. - -“Yes, sir. She is quite deaf, sir, and heard no disturbance during the -night. She went to bed before nine o’clock last evening, leaving Father -Cleary alone in the library.” - -“She has told you this?” - -“Yes, sir. The library door was closed when she came down this morning -to get breakfast, but she did not think of anything wrong on that -account. When the meal was nearly ready, however, she went up to call -Father Cleary and found his room had not been used. Then she came down -to the library, sir, and discovered what had been done.” - -Seeing the housekeeper gazing anxiously at him, Nick entered the room -and briefly questioned her. She could tell him only that Father Cleary -had had no visitors early in the evening, and that he expected none, as -far as she knew, and that he had not lately appeared at all troubled, or -in any way apprehensive. - -That was about all that the elderly housekeeper could tell him, and Nick -turned to the waiting detective. - -“She is too deaf to have heard any disturbance in the library, Fallon, -after having gone to her bedroom,” he said quietly, with a gesture -directing the two women to remain in the front room. - -“Yes, surely,” Fallon agreed. - -“Come. We will go into the library.” - -Nick led the way through the dim, simply furnished hall. He passed a -passageway leading to a side door. Beyond it was the library, in the -east side of the house, with a dining room nearly opposite across the -hall, and a kitchen and porch in the rear. - -The door of the library was then open. A policeman who had heard them -enter had stepped into the hall and was waiting for them. - -“One moment, Fallon,” said Nick. “What has been done in this room, -Grady, since the crime was discovered.” - -“Nothing, sir,” said the policeman, gazing curiously at him. “Both women -say they have not entered the room, though the housekeeper opened this -door. I have disturbed nothing. Things are just as I found them.” - -“Very good.” - -Nick paused on the threshold of the open door and studied with searching -scrutiny the tragic scene that met his gaze. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -CONFLICTING EVIDENCE. - - -The library was a square room of moderate size, comfortably, though -simply furnished. An open desk stood against one of the walls, with a -rise of shelves on each side, partly filled with books. In the middle of -the room was a square, cloth-topped table, on which were several books -and newspapers, also an oil lamp with a green porcelain shade. - -A large leather-covered armchair stood near the table, between it and a -swivel chair in front of the desk. A smaller chair near a window, the -roller shade of which was partly drawn down, was overturned on the -floor. - -To the right of the window hung a portière consisting of two heavy -tapestry curtains, suspended from a black walnut rod. They were drawn -nearly together, but between them could be seen a double door with -small, leaded glass windows. It opened upon a side veranda overlooking -the tree-shaded grounds east of and to the rear of the dwelling. - -Nick noticed that one of the curtains was awry, and, glancing up, he saw -that it had been torn from one of the pins that fastened it to the -transverse rod above the door. - -On the floor between this door and the table lay the body of the -murdered priest. He was a man of middle size, wearing the conventional -black garments of his calling. He was lying on his back, with his arms -extended, his head nearly touching a leg of the table, and with his -smooth-shaved face upturned in plain view of the detectives, a face on -which the pallor and peace of death long since had fallen. - -Father Cleary had been stabbed twice in the breast, nearly in a line -with his heart, and his garments and the rug on which he was lying were -saturated with blood, then dark and congealed. - -Nick Carter saw at a glance that the priest had been dead for several -hours. - -“The scene is suggestive, Fallon; very suggestive,” he said, after a few -moments. “We will proceed deliberately, however, since nothing can be -done for this man. It’s a case of murder, pure and simple, if that can -be. Let Grady wait in the hall. I will study the evidence in detail.” - -Fallon nodded and glanced significantly at the policeman. - -Nick crossed the room and raised the window curtain. In the brighter -light that entered, the scene was even more vividly tragic and gruesome. - -“No weapon is here,” said he, with searching gaze while he crouched to -examine the corpse. “The assassin took care not to leave it. It -evidently was a dagger, or a knife with a broad blade. Note the two -gashes in the garments. Either thrust would have been fatal. This man -has been dead since last evening, probably as early as nine o’clock.” - -Nick had lifted one stiffened arm while speaking and dropped it to the -floor. - -“Surely,” Fallon said simply. - -“Here are stains of ink on his middle finger. He evidently was writing -when----” - -Nick did not finish the remark. He arose and turned to the open desk, -then approached it. A sheet of paper was lying on it, also a pen that -evidently had been abruptly dropped. - -“Ah, here is proof of it,” said Nick. - -He bent forward and read from the sheet of paper merely the following -lines: - - “_To the Right Reverend Bishop Cassidy, Washington, D. C._ - - “MY DEAR BISHOP: I feel compelled to ask your consideration of a - matter of which I have just become informed. Though the sacred - secrecy of the confessional forbids----” - -That was all, written with a firm and flowing hand, and Nick -straightened up and turned to his companion. - -“Yes, this settles it, Fallon,” said he. “Father Cleary was writing when -his assassin entered. Observe that he quickly dropped his pen, instead -of placing it in this tray with the others.” - -“Yes, obviously,” Fallon agreed. - -“Plainly, then, he was startled, or even alarmed by some unexpected -noise. That would not have been the case, Fallon, if his bell had rung, -either that of the front or the side door.” - -“But he may not have been alone at that time,” suggested Fallon. “The -person by whom he was killed may have been here.” - -“That is not probable,” Nick quickly objected. “This letter which he -began to write denotes that he was alone, also that some person had just -left him, or only a short time before, and by whom serious information -of some kind had been imparted to him, so serious that he felt compelled -to write about it to Bishop Cassidy.” - -“It must in that case have been something relating to the church.” - -“Not necessarily. I do not, in fact, think that it was.” - -“Why so?” - -“Notice the next line: ‘Though the sacred secrecy of the confessional -forbids,’” Nick pointed out. “There he stopped and dropped his pen. -Forbids what? We know that it forbids his revealing what is imparted in -confession. That seems to have been the source of the information about -which he intended to write, judging from the beginning of the letter. It -may not, of course, have been part of a penitent’s confession. It may -have been something indirectly related with it, or referring to a -confession.” - -“I see,” Fallon nodded. “There seems to be no way to definitely -determine.” - -“Not at present,” Nick replied, folding the sheet of paper and putting -it in his pocket. “Let’s go a step farther.” - -Nick turned and took up the lamp on the table, shaking it gently and -peering into the chimney. - -“Empty,” said he tersely. “The wick is turned up and charred. The lamp -burned until the oil was exhausted. The assassin did not extinguish the -light. He left in a hurry, no doubt.” - -“He remained long enough to close the door leading into the hall,” said -Fallon. “The housekeeper found it closed this morning.” - -“Father Cleary may have closed it when he received his first visitor.” - -“You think there were two?” - -“I do,” said Nick. - -“Here together?” - -“No. One came after the other had departed.” - -“But why did he close the hall door after letting them out?” questioned -Fallon, a bit doubtfully. “Mrs. Kane’s statements imply that she usually -found it open in the morning.” - -“I don’t think that he let them out, not both of them at least,” said -Nick. “Here is another door.” - -“Ah, I see.” - -Nick pointed to the portière hanging across it. - -“He may have let the first visitor out this way, instead of by the front -or side door,” said he. “This door leading into the hall, in that case, -still would have been closed.” - -“I see the point.” - -“He may have admitted his second visitor through this curtained door, or -perhaps have left it open a little for ventilation after letting out the -other,” Nick continued to reason. “It may have been violently forced -from outside, on the other hand, alarming him while he was writing.” - -“I follow you,” nodded Fallon. - -“Notice that one side of the curtain is awry and torn from one of the -pins supporting it. The location of the body, too, between the window -and this table, shows that Father Cleary probably was approaching the -window when he was assaulted and stabbed. There is no evidence of a -struggle. His assailant evidently flung aside those curtains so -violently that one was partly torn from its fastening, and he then -sprang at the priest and stabbed him before he could defend himself.” - -“That certainly seems, Nick, to be a reasonable reconstruction of the -murder itself,” said Fallon, noting the points mentioned. - -“Let’s see what more we can find in support of it,” said Nick. - -He now approached the portière and examined it. On the edge of one of -the curtains, where a hand evidently had grasped it, was a plainly -discernible red stain, obviously a bloodstain. - -Nick called Fallon’s attention to it, then gazed at it with a puzzled -expression on his earnest face. - -“The miscreant’s hand was soiled with blood after the stabbing,” said -Fallon. “He tore the curtain from the pin when leaving, instead of when -he entered, as you were led to infer. What are you thinking about?” he -added, noting Nick’s look of perplexity. - -Nick parted the curtains before replying. He then found that the door -was set in a narrow casement, just wide enough to permit the two -sections of the door to open inward. - -Nick opened both and found on the woodwork of the right-hand section, or -that to the right of a person standing on the veranda and looking into -the room, four stains of blood, evidently from parts of the fingers of a -man’s hand that had grasped that section of the door. Though they were -too smeared to be of value as finger prints, in so far as revealing the -tissues of the skin was concerned, they showed plainly the size and -shape of the fingers, which could only have been those of a man. - -“By Jove, I don’t quite fathom this,” Nick remarked, after a moment. - -“Fathom what, Nick?” questioned Fallon. - -“These bloodstains.” - -“Why do they mystify you? I see nothing strange in them. The murderer -evidently drew the portière and closed this door with a bloodstained -hand.” - -“I am not so sure of it.” - -“How can you reason otherwise?” - -“You overlook something,” said Nick. “It may be a very important point.” - -“What is that? Explain.” - -“Notice that it was the man’s right hand that grasped this section of -the window,” said Nick. “The relative size and position of the finger -marks show that, also that he must have been facing toward the room, not -coming out of it.” - -“By gracious, that’s so!” said Fallon, gazing. - -“That part of the portière which is stained and torn from the pin, -moreover, is on the same side of the window.” - -“True.” - -“To have grasped them with his right hand, therefore, the man must have -been backing out of the room, if leaving it.” - -“True again.” - -“There is one alternative,” said Nick. - -“Namely?” - -“That instead of backing out of the room--he was entering it.” - -“But that is hardly tenable, Carter.” - -“Why?” - -“Because his hand was stained with blood. He must have been leaving the -room after the murder,” Fallon argued. - -“Unless----” - -“Unless what?” - -“Unless his hand was soiled with blood before he entered and killed the -priest.” - -“But----” - -“Stop a moment,” Nick interrupted. “I now am convinced that this murder -was committed in just the manner that I have described. Father Cleary -heard some one back of the portière, or forcing the window, and he -sprang up to see who was here. The intruder flung aside the portière and -stabbed him.” - -“Well?” - -“Notice this point,” said Nick. “The murderer evidently did not remain -to accomplish anything more. He did not go to the desk to see what the -priest had been writing, or he would, if my previous reasoning is -correct, have taken away the letter Father Cleary had begun.” - -“Surely,” Fallon quickly allowed. - -“We can safely assume, then, that the assassin got out as quickly as -possible,” Nick proceeded. “Surely, then, he would not have backed out. -He would have hurried straight out, drawing the portière and closing the -double door.” - -“Undoubtedly.” - -“The side of the curtain which is stained, also the same section of the -door, would have been to his left, therefore, and naturally would have -been grasped with his left hand.” - -“Certainly.” - -“That gives rise to a very pertinent question,” said Nick. “Why was his -left hand stained with blood?” - -“You mean?” - -“Most men wield a knife with the right hand,” Nick went on. “That is the -hand that should have been covered with blood from the knife used, not -the left, which naturally would have been raised to seize his victim by -the throat or shoulder to prevent resistance.” - -“By Jove, there’s no getting around that, Nick, as far as it goes,” -Fallon thoughtfully admitted, more deeply impressed and now more -mystified. “But these prints on the door show plainly enough that it was -the right hand that was soiled.” - -“They also show that he must have been facing the room,” said Nick. “In -other words, Fallon, that he was backing out of it, which you admit is -improbable--or that he was entering it with blood on his hand, which you -also think is untenable.” - -Fallon shook his head and frowned. - -“Hang it, Nick, you’re mixing me all up,” he declared. “I won’t know in -another minute whether I’m afoot or horseback. You tell me what you -think. Never mind what I think. Your head is worth two of mine--yes, -half a dozen.” - -“No, I think not,” said Nick, smiling faintly. “Plainly, nevertheless, -these bloodstains present inconsistencies not easily explained at this -moment.” - -“They do so, for fair.” - -“We will look a little farther. You saw that I found this door -unlocked?” - -“Yes, I noticed that.” - -“It was secured only by the latch, which can be lifted from either side. -It is safe to assume, since the lock is not damaged, that the assassin -found the door unlocked. Either that, or, as I have said, it was opened -a little for ventilation.” - -“The latter seems quite probable,” said Fallon. “It was unseasonably -warm last evening.” - -Nick stepped out on the veranda, instead of replying, Fallon following. - -It extended from the side door, where two low steps led down to a gravel -walk running out to the street. The veranda was about twelve feet in -length, with a vine-covered trellis at the rear end of it, and with the -outer side protected with a scroll railing. - -Near the trellis stood a large willow armchair, in which Father Cleary -had been accustomed to sit and read at times on warm, pleasant days. - -Nick glanced in that direction and made another strange discovery. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE MYSTERIOUS BANDAGE. - - -The first thing to catch Nick Carter’s eye after stepping out on the -veranda was a strip of white cotton cloth, also a piece of common white -string, both lying on the veranda floor near the willow chair mentioned. - -The strip of cloth was somewhat soiled and wrinkled, also creased and -curled in a way, and Nick picked it up and examined it. - -He found that it was about two feet in length and five inches wide, -also that it had been carefully folded lengthwise. On one soiled end of -it were stains of blood. - -“By Jove, here’s another bit of curious evidence,” said he, after a -careful examination. - -“It looks like a bandage,” said Fallon. - -“That’s just what it is.” - -“But why curious?” - -“Note the wrinkles and creases and the way it curls,” said Nick. -“Plainly enough, Fallon, it has been bound around a man’s hand, or it -would not have retained these several turns and creases.” - -“I see.” - -“Hold out your hands, both of them. We can find out by readjusting these -quirks and turns on which hand it was worn.” - -“Certainly. That’s a simple problem.” - -Nick proceeded to fit the bandage, so to speak, to Fallon’s hands. It -would not fit the right hand, though turned in either direction, without -altering the original turns and wrinkles. It could be perfectly bound -around the left hand, however, and the result of Nick’s experiment was -convincing. - -“This is as plain as twice two,” said he. “It was worn by some man on -his left hand.” - -“Surely,” Fallon agreed. “He probably had a sore hand, or a cut.” - -“You are wrong,” said Nick. “That’s the curious part of it.” - -“Wrong?” questioned Fallon, puzzled. “Why so?” - -Nick still had the bandage twined around his companion’s left hand. - -“Notice these bloodstains,” he replied. “They are not on the inside of -the bandage, which would come next to a cut, or sore. They are on the -outside of it.” - -“By Jove, that is a bit strange,” Fallon now declared. - -“The blood did not soak from a wound, moreover, for the layer of cloth -beneath this outside one is perfectly clean, as you see.” - -“True.” - -“So, as you now can see, is the inside of the bandage, which came next -to the hand,” Nick continued, removing it and displaying the inner side. -“There is not a sign of blood, pus, salve, or liniment, as if it had -been bound around a wounded hand. It is perfectly clean, in fact.” - -“Humph!” Fallon ejaculated, gazing at it with increasing perplexity. -“There is no question as to your being right. It speaks for itself. But -what in thunder do you make of it?” - -“The hand was not injured,” said Nick. - -“It may have been lame, or sprained.” - -“The bandage would not have been removed in that case, Fallon,” Nick -replied. “If sufficiently lame to require a bandage, it would not have -been removed when the man arrived here. No man about to attempt a -desperate job with a lame hand would first weaken the hand by removing a -bandage with which it had been protected, or strengthened.” - -“That’s true, also,” Fallon nodded. “You think it was worn by the -assassin?” - -“I do.” - -“When he entered?” - -“No. Before he entered,” said Nick. “In order to have free use of his -hand, he evidently tore off the bandage and string and threw them aside -before he entered. Here are stains of blood on the string, also, proving -that those on the bandage were on the outside of it, as I have already -demonstrated.” - -“You’re right, Nick,” agreed Fallon. “There is no denying it.” - -“Take it from me, too, the man’s hand was not injured.” - -“But why that bandage, then?” - -“For some other reason,” Nick said dryly. “What that reason was, Fallon, -remains to be learned. It would be a waste of time for us to try to -guess it.” - -“I agree with you.” - -“The blood on the outside of the bandage evidently came from the man’s -right hand, moreover, which I already have pointed out was stained, not -after, but before he entered this door. This mysterious bandage confirms -my previous deductions.” - -“By Jove, it’s a perplexing mess,” said Fallon, brows knitted. “I cannot -fathom why the scoundrel’s right hand was soiled with blood before he -entered this house. Why it afterward may have been is simple enough.” - -“Let’s go a step farther,” said Nick, thrusting the string and bandage -into his pocket. - -He then began a careful examination of the veranda floor, but he could -find no tracks, nor evidence of any description. - -Leaving the veranda, Nick then inspected the walk leading out to the -street, also the neatly trimmed lawn adjoining it. The gravel walk -retained no footprints, but Nick had taken only a few steps when, -abruptly halting, he pointed to the greensward. - -The grass was slightly bent and bruised. Faint though it was, the track -of a small shoe was discernible, showing its size and the direction in -which it was turned. - -“I see,” Fallon nodded, crouching with Nick to examine it. “Some one -recently stepped here, not longer ago than last evening.” - -“That some one was a child, a girl, or a woman with a small foot,” Nick -replied. “It most likely was the last, a young woman.” - -“Why so?” - -“Notice the prints of the heel, which sank a little into the sod. It was -small and quite high. The deduction is a simple one. Only young women -wear shoes with French heels. They are seldom found on girls, or on -elderly women.” - -“By Jove, you overlook nothing, Nick.” - -“Not this, surely, for it stares me in the face,” Nick replied. “Here’s -another. Notice that the first points nearly toward the street. This -points toward the rear grounds. Plainly, then, the woman was going -toward the street when she first stepped from the gravel walk, and she -then turned in the opposite direction.” - -“That’s plain, too,” Fallon agreed. “But what do you make of it?” - -Nick glanced back at the veranda for a moment. - -“The woman came from the side door, or from that opening on the -veranda,” said he. “She walked as far as here, as if about to go to the -street, then she turned toward the rear grounds. Take it from me, -Fallon, she was Father Cleary’s first visitor last evening. He let her -out, probably through the door opening upon the veranda, and she started -for the street. After hearing him close the door, however, and knowing -he was not watching her, she turned in the other direction.” - -“By Jove, I think you are right.” - -“Come. We’ll try to follow the tracks.” - -Nick traced them with no great difficulty. The trail led him for a short -distance diagonally across the grounds toward the back street. Then it -diverged abruptly in the direction of the low wall dividing the church -property from an adjoining estate. - -Gazing over the wall, Nick discovered other tracks in the next yard, -where the grass was not as closely trimmed and was considerably trampled -down. It was in the side yard of a wooden dwelling somewhat back from -the street and about thirty feet from the wall. - -Leaping over the low wall, Nick examined the sod and grass. He found -numerous intermingled tracks and indentations, including that of a -slender heel and others much broader and deeper. Passing his hand over -the grass and glancing at the palm, he found it slightly stained with -blood. - -“Here we have it, Fallon,” he said, rising and displaying his hand. -“Here is the key to the mystery, or to a part of it.” - -“Good heavens!” Fallon exclaimed, gazing at it and then at the trampled -grass. “There was a fight here.” - -“A very one-sided fight, Fallon, unless I am much mistaken,” Nick -replied. - -“You mean?” - -“It’s as plain as twice two, Fallon, as far as it goes,” said Nick, -confidently. “Father Cleary had a woman visitor last evening. She -confided something to him, or revealed it in a confession, about which -he then sat down to write to Bishop Cassidy.” - -“As the unfinished letter indicates.” - -“Exactly. After leaving him and pretending to start for the street, the -woman came this way and got over the wall into this yard. Here are her -heel prints in the sod. Why she came here and where she intended going -is an open question.” - -“Plainly.” - -“Be that as it may, she went no farther voluntarily,” Nick continued. -“She was intercepted by two men, at least; possibly three. I can find at -least two different heel tracks in the sod. The depth of them, also the -trampled condition of the grass, show plainly that there was a brief -struggle. The woman was overcome, though not without bloodshed, as also -appears on the grass.” - -“Considerable blood, too, Nick, judging from your hand.” - -“Enough to tell this part of the story,” Nick replied. “Probably, too, -here is where Father Cleary’s assailant got the blood on his right hand, -as well as on the outside of the bandage, before entering the rectory.” - -“Yes, surely.” - -“He tore off the bandage and cast it aside before undertaking the more -desperate game,” Nick added. “My opinion is, at present, that the -scoundrel knew that the woman had revealed something to the priest, whom -he then killed to prevent further exposure, while confederates who were -with him got away with the woman. That is my theory. Whether it is -correct, or not, remains to be discovered, as well as the identity of -the knaves and the whereabouts or fate of the woman.” - -“I agree with you,” said Fallon gravely. “That seems to be the most -reasonable theory, if not the only one. What’s next to be done. Can we -trace these tracks any farther?” - -“Not beyond the street, I fear, though I will try to do so,” said Nick. -“I will also question the people living in this house. They may have -heard some disturbance last evening. In the meantime, Fallon, you return -to the rectory and notify the coroner and a physician.” - -“The coroner is a physician, Doctor Hadley.” - -“He will be sufficient, then, for the present,” said Nick. “You had -better talk with the chief, also, and tell him what I make of the case. -I saw a telephone on a stand in the hall.” - -“I saw it, too.” - -“Go ahead, then. I will rejoin you there a little later.” - -Fallon readily acquiesced, turning and quickly retracing his steps to -the rectory. - -Nick glanced again at the trampled grass, then traced the several faint -tracks as far as the sidewalk, where, as he had expected, the trail -ended abruptly. - -He then rang at the door of the house, in the side yard of which he had -made his latest discoveries. The summons brought a middle-aged woman to -the door, who stated in reply to his questions that no disturbance had -been heard the previous evening, and that she knew nothing of what had -transpired outside of the house. - -Nick saw plainly that she was telling the truth, and he did not long -detain her. Returning to the sidewalk, he noted that there were no -dwellings opposite, only several vacant lots, none of which was inclosed -with a fence. - -“The rascals may have gone in that direction,” he said to himself, after -vainly searching the street for tracks of a carriage or a motor car. -“They must, if they got away with the woman, have had a conveyance of -some kind. They may have crossed those lots, however, to the next -street.” - -Bent upon confirming this, if possible, Nick walked in that direction. -He had only just entered the nearest of the several lots, however, when -he saw some pieces of white paper scattered over the dry ground. They -appeared to be fragments of a torn letter, and were so fresh and clean -that they must have been recently dropped. - -Nick picked up a few of the fragments and examined them. They were -written on only one side, in a dainty, feminine hand; but the few words -on each piece, none of which was more than an inch square, gave him only -a vague idea as to the character of the entire letter. - -That was so suggestive, however, that Nick carefully searched the ground -for the remaining fragments, which had been somewhat scattered by the -wind, or designedly done by the person who had destroyed the letter. He -succeeded in finding enough of the fragments to feel reasonably sure -that they would nearly complete the torn sheet, and he inclosed them in -his notebook. - -Nick then crossed the vacant lots to the next street, noting that the -locality was one in which such a crime as he now suspected could have -been committed without much danger of detection; but he could discover -no further clew to the movements of the woman and her assailants, and -then retraced his steps to the rectory. - -The coroner had arrived during his absence and was viewing the remains -of the murdered priest. Nick did not remain to talk with him, however, -but beckoned for Fallon to join him on the veranda. - -“I must be going, now, for I have an appointment this morning,” he -explained. “You can tell Doctor Hadley, also the chief, what I make of -the case. Here is Father Cleary’s unfinished letter, which you had -better hand to the coroner. I will try to see you later and give you -further assistance.” - -Detective Fallon thanked him, and Nick then departed. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -A CONNECTING LINK. - - -Nick Carter had spent much less time at the St. Lawrence rectory than -one might infer from the nature and extent of his investigations. He had -covered the ground rapidly, despite the numerous deductions and -explanations with which he had assisted Detective Fallon, from whom he -parted shortly before ten o’clock. - -Something like twenty minutes later, Nick alighted from a taxicab at a -handsome stone residence in Massachusetts Avenue. It was that of Senator -Ambrose Barclay, one of the leading statesmen then in the higher house, -and the man directly responsible for Nick Carter’s arrival in Washington -late the previous night. - -A butler admitted the detective and at once ushered him into a richly -furnished library, where Nick was almost immediately joined by both -Senator Barclay and his daughter Estella, a beautiful brunette in the -twenties. The great service already done them by the detective was fresh -in their minds, only a month having elapsed, and their greeting was -extremely cordial. - -“I got your wire saying you would see me this morning,” Senator Barclay -then said, while Stella quietly closed the door. “I’m very glad you -could make it convenient to comply with my request. I have not forgotten -how deeply I am indebted to you, Carter, for having saved my reputation -in that foreign-spy affair. I will not say my honor, of course, for I -was in no degree culpable, though malicious persons, or an uninformed -public, might have thought differently.” - -“I was very well aware of it, Senator Barclay, and I made sure that your -name did not appear in the matter,” Nick replied. “But let the dead bury -the dead. What’s the trouble, now, that you again need my aid?” - -“I am in a quandary, possibly in an equally bad mess,” said the -statesman. “It concerns, to begin with, the same young man who was -robbed of the government coast-defense plans by those infernal -foreigners, aided by that traitor, Dillon, all of whom woolly-eyed me -into friendly relations with them for more than a year. I cringe with -chagrin when I think of it.” - -“But how is Harold Garland involved in your present trouble?” questioned -Nick, keeping him to the point. - -“Involved in it!” blurted Senator Barclay. “Damn it--excuse me, Stella; -I forgot you were here. How is Garland involved in my present trouble? -Hang it, Carter, he is something more than involved in it. He is the -trouble.” - -Nick laughed, while Stella Barclay blushed profusely. - -“Suppose you explain, senator, without any expletives,” Nick suggested. - -“Yes, dad, dear, do,” pleaded Stella. “Tell Mr. Carter the whole -business. Don’t mind me, I shall survive it.” - -“It can be told in a nutshell, Carter,” said Senator Barclay familiarly. -“Since you opened his eyes to the devilish treachery of that jade, -Madame Irma Valaska, Garland has transferred his affection to my -daughter. He always was fond of her, mind you, and he now declares that -he loves her. I am glad that he does, and she him. I am fond of Garland -myself, as far as that goes, for he’s a clean-cut, manly, and -wonderfully capable fellow. I know of no man whom I would rather have -for a son-in-law.” - -“Permit me to extend my best wishes,” said Nick, with a sort of droll -pleasantry, glancing at the crimson face of the smiling girl. “I think, -like your father, that Harold Garland is a remarkably fine fellow.” - -“I think so, too, Mr. Carter,” Stella said simply. - -“But what is the trouble?” Nick inquired, turning again to her father. -“What is wrong with Garland?” - -“That is what I want you to learn,” Senator Barclay said gravely. -“Garland is not himself. He is frightfully worried about something.” - -“You don’t know about what?” - -“No; I only suspect. Although he firmly denies it, Nick, he is in -serious trouble of some kind. It is something that came up about a week -ago, when Stella and I first noticed his changed manner and appearance.” - -“Changed in what way?” Nick inquired. - -“He has become indescribably moody and depressed. I have watched him -covertly at times and seen him wearing an expression of utterly -indescribable anxiety. He has lost twenty pounds in a week and looks as -pale as a corpse. Something must be done, Carter, and you are the man -who must do it.” - -“We are dreadfully anxious,” put in Stella, with an appealing glance at -the detective. “Do, Mr. Carter, see what you can learn about him, or -from him.” - -“You have questioned him, of course,” said Nick. - -“Yes, vainly.” - -“Does he say nothing at all in explanation of these changes?” - -“He attributes them to our imagination and insists that there is nothing -wrong,” said Senator Barclay. “I know better, however, and that he is -all wrong. I called him down quite severely night before last, Mr. -Carter, and he then made the remark which afterward led me to send for -you.” - -“What was that?” - -“I charged him with being in serious trouble of some kind and insisted -that he must confide in me,” Senator Barclay explained. “My persistency -irritated him a little. He seemed to lose his head for a moment, and he -asserted quite resentfully that I must cease interrogating him. He then -added impulsively that I would be quite lucky if I kept out of the -trouble myself.” - -“H’m, is that so?” said Nick. “Did you ask him to explain?” - -“Yes, certainly. He declared that he meant nothing definite, however, -that he had spoken impulsively and only in a cursory way. I am sure, -nevertheless, that the remark had much more serious significance, and -that he implied that I might become involved in the very trouble with -which he was burdened.” - -“That is a natural inference,” Nick agreed. - -“And you know, too, what it might signify,” Senator Barclay responded -gravely. “There is only one bad mess, Mr. Carter, in which I could be -involved with Garland. That is something relating to the theft of those -government plans, and the fact that my name was kept out of that -unfortunate affair.” - -“That is what I have in mind,” bowed Nick. - -“You also know, of course, that the miscreant who stole them from Dillon -after he had received them from Irma Valaska, is still at large. I -refer to Andy Margate. He is capable of any kind of knavery. If he----” - -“I know all about Andy Margate and of what he is capable,” Nick -interposed. “It may be, of course, that he still is in Washington. He -may be attempting to blackmail Garland.” - -“That is precisely what I fear.” - -“I inferred so. Have you said as much to Garland?” - -“I have. He declares that he has not seen Margate, however, and that he -knows nothing about him. If he is lying, if my suspicions are -correct--well, you know, Carter, what that would mean for me. My -reputation would again be in jeopardy. My honor, my seat in the senate, -my political career--all would be frightfully threatened.” - -“I agree with you,” said Nick seriously. “I will look into the matter, -Senator Barclay, and sift it to the bottom.” - -“That is precisely what I want.” - -“There is, I infer, nothing more definite that you can tell me.” - -“No, nothing.” - -“When did you last see Garland?” - -“Night before last.” - -“Does he know that you have sent for me?” - -“He does not. He might resent it.” - -“Possibly,” Nick allowed. “Is he still living at the Grayling?” - -“Yes.” - -“Does he occupy the same office in the war department?” - -“He does.” - -“Very good. I will leave immediately, then, and try to see him during -the day,” said Nick, rising to go. “I will either call here again this -evening, or telephone to you and let you know what I have learned. I -think, as you do, that the matter may be serious.” - -“You will go right at it?” Barclay anxiously questioned. - -“Like a bull at a gate,” Nick assured him. “You will hear from me this -evening.” - -Nick did not, nevertheless, immediately start in search of Harold -Garland. He returned to the Willard, where he was registered under an -assumed name, and went up to his apartments. He was thinking of the -shocking murder brought to his notice that morning, of the dead priest, -of the unknown woman, or girl, who by that time perhaps had suffered a -like terrible fate. - -Hoping to give Detective Fallon further assistance, and suspecting that -the torn letter he had found might have a bearing upon the double crime, -Nick set to work matching the edges of the numerous fragments of the -letter, placing them together, and pasting them on a sheet of blank -paper. - -It took him half an hour to complete the work. He found that several -fragments from the bottom of the letter were missing, presumably having -been blown away from the vacant lot where he had found the others, or -dropped elsewhere by the recipient of the letter. It was decidedly -suggestive, in view of the double crime and the surrounding -circumstances. It was written with a pen, evidently by a woman, and read -as follows: - -“DEAR HARRY: You must meet me this evening, Tuesday, at the time and -place I mentioned. Do not disappoint me. There is no question as to the -conditions of which I informed you, and immediate steps to meet the -situation are absolutely imperative. Meet me this evening, therefore, -without fail. I will not take ‘no’ for an answer. Unless you comply, I -shall do what I have threatened. I will take steps to compel you to -rectify the terrible----” - -The remainder of the letter was missing several fragments from the -bottom of the torn sheet. They evidently had contained, however, only a -few concluding words and the signature of the writer. - -Nick read it, then reread it, with brows knitting, and a more serious -expression on his thoughtful face. - -“Tuesday evening,” he muttered. “That must have been last evening. The -scraps of paper would have blown away, or have become soiled, if dropped -on the ground a week ago. The appointment was for last evening, surely, -and the significance of the letter--by Jove, it might be!” - -Nick’s train of thought abruptly digressed. - -“He frequently is called Harry. He was not at the Barclay residence last -evening, not since night before last. Can this be what is troubling him? -Is he in some way involved with another woman? Was Harold Garland the -recipient of this letter? Have I blundered egregiously in my estimate of -his character? Is he a wolf under the surface? Now aiming to wed Stella -Barclay, has he found it necessary to rid himself of a woman and kill a -priest, in order to preclude an exposure of previous vices? I don’t -believe it, by Jove, but I’ll mighty soon find out.” - -Nick arose abruptly, folding the pasted letter and putting it into his -pocket. He then selected a simple disguise from among several in his -suit case, one of which he felt sure was adequate to serve his purpose. -He adjusted it carefully at his mirror, and then left the hotel and -headed straight for Harold Garland’s office in the War Department -Building. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -IN THE TOILS. - - -It was noon when Nick Carter entered the vast building on Pennsylvania -Avenue, in which the state, war, and navy departments of the nation are -located. - -Nick proceeded at once to the west wing and the office he was seeking, -which he entered without the ceremony of knocking. He found a young -woman at work with a typewriter. - -“Is Mr. Garland inside?” Nick inquired, glancing at the closed door of a -private office. - -“No, sir,” said the stenographer, turning from her table. “But he is -likely to come in at any moment.” - -“Where has he gone?” - -“To an office on the next floor, sir. A young lady is mysteriously -missing, one with whom he is acquainted, and he wanted to inquire about -her.” - -“Is she employed in the office to which he has gone?” - -“Yes, sir.” - -“How long has she been missing?” - -“She was at work yesterday, sir, and left at the usual hour. She has not -been seen since, according to Mr. Barstow, in whose office she is -employed. She was on some very important work and should have been here -this morning, which led to an immediate investigation. She lately has -been acting strangely, which also has caused some misgivings.” - -“How strangely?” questioned Nick. - -“Well, as if she was worried or in trouble of some kind, as near as I -could learn from one of Mr. Barstow’s clerks, who came here a short time -ago to inform Mr. Garland.” - -“You said that Garland is acquainted with her?” - -“I think so.” - -“Are you?” - -“I know her only by sight and name.” - -“What is her name?” - -“Charlotte Trent,” said the girl. “She is more commonly called Lottie -Trent.” - -Nick Carter evinced no surprise upon hearing the name of the missing -girl. It told him, nevertheless, in view of all of the circumstances, -that the case was rapidly becoming more serious and complicated. He -knew, recalling what Fallon had said that morning, that this same Lottie -Trent must be the sister of Larry Trent, the crook confederate of Andy -Margate in the recent theft of the government plans, a fact that at once -increased the detective’s misgivings. - -Nick did not then stop to consider the matter, however, nor to further -question the stenographer. He saw that she could tell him nothing more -definite. Without evincing any special interest in what he had heard, he -now said to her: - -“I wish to see Mr. Garland on very important business. Ask him to wait -for me if he comes in presently. I will return in a few minutes.” - -“I will, sir,” replied the girl. “I think you then will find him here.” - -Nick thanked her and withdrew to the corridor, where he found an -attendant who directed him to Barstow’s office on the floor above. While -he was approaching the stairway to walk up, Nick saw Garland leaving the -elevator, just returning to his own office. - -He looked gaunt and white, a shadow of his former self, as Senator -Barclay had stated. His refined, clean-cut face, which was as strong in -many respects as that of the detective, wore an expression of -overwhelming anxiety. His eyes had an abnormal glitter, as if the fever -of prolonged mental distress was consuming him. - -Nick watched him for a moment, then went up to Barstow’s office. There, -after partly confiding in the government official, whom he pledged to -subsequent secrecy, Nick obtained a specimen of Lottie Trent’s -handwriting. He also learned that Garland had been sent for only because -he recently had been seen talking with the girl in the corridors, which -had given rise to a hope that he might know what now occasioned her -absence. He had asserted, nevertheless, that he knew nothing about her. - -Nick returned to the corridor and compared the girl’s writing with that -in the torn letter found near the scene of the murder. A mere glance at -both, for Nick was a keen chirographist, convinced him that Lottie Trent -was the writer. He replaced the letter in his pocket and returned to -Garland’s office. - -“He came in soon after you went out,” remarked the stenographer, looking -up and smiling. “You will find him in his private office.” - -Nick entered it without knocking. - -Garland was seated at a large roll-top desk. He swung round in his -swivel chair and sharply eyed the detective. - -“Oh, you’re the gentleman who called while I was out,” he said, a bit -brusquely. “Sit down. What can I do for you? My clerk said you spoke of -having important business.” - -“It is very important,” Nick replied, drawing up a chair. - -“Concerning what? I don’t recall having met you.” - -“My name is Parsons,” said Nick, turning the lapel of his vest and -displaying the edge of his detective badge. “I am in the bureau of -secret investigation.” - -“A detective?” - -“Yes, in other words.” - -“But why have you called on me? What’s your business?” Garland demanded, -with sharper scrutiny. - -“This may give you a hint at it,” said Nick, unfolding the pasted letter -and handing it to him. - -Garland took it and viewed it curiously for a moment. He then read it -without speaking, but with brows knitting closer over his feverish eyes. -Looking up with a perplexity not easily to have been distrusted, he -asked, a bit curtly: - -“Why is it pasted together in this way? It gives me no hint at your -business. What’s the meaning of it?” - -“You don’t know?” questioned Nick, though already convinced of it. - -“Certainly not. It’s Greek to me.” - -“Have you never seen it before?” - -“No, never.” - -“Do you recognize the writing?” - -“I do not. I haven’t the slightest idea who wrote it. Why is the -signature missing?” - -“Because I could not find the fragment containing it where I found the -others,” said Nick. “I happen to know, however, who wrote the letter.” - -“Who?” - -“A girl named Lottie Trent.” - -“Lottie Trent--oh, by thunder!” Garland’s frown vanished as quick as a -flash. “By Jove this may help to clear up a mystery, Mr. Parsons. Lottie -Trent is missing and cannot be found. I have just talked with her -employer. He----” - -“So have I,” Nick interrupted. “He told me that you have frequently been -seen talking with the girl. Talking with her so earnestly that----” - -“Stop!” Garland’s teeth met with a quick snap. “And that led you to -suspect that this letter was sent to me. I see, now, why you covertly -approached the matter. You aimed to evoke some sign of self-betrayal on -my part. Understand one thing, Mr. Parsons, right here and now,” he -added with threatening vehemence. “I know nothing about this letter nor -about Lottie Trent.” - -“You did not see her, then, last evening,” said Nick, unruffled. - -“No, sir; I did not.” - -“Nor attempt to meet her?” - -“Certainly not,” snapped Garland. “Why would I attempt to meet her? I -would not have known where to find her. The girl is nothing to me.” - -“I also happen to know, Mr. Garland, where she was about half past eight -last evening,” Nick replied. “Unless I am very much mistaken, she was -forcibly abducted by two or three men. That was accomplished just before -the murder of the priest.” - -“Murder? Priest?” gasped Garland, staring. “What are you talking about? -What do you mean?” - -“I think, too, that it must have been before you, Mr. Garland, arrived -in the grounds back of the St. Lawrence Church and rectory. Otherwise, -you might have prevented the abduction of Lottie Trent and the murder of -Father Cleary. If you had arrived earlier----” - -“Stop a moment!” - -Garland lurched forward in his chair. He now was more than pale. The -last vestige of color had vanished from his cheeks, leaving him ghastly -and drawn, with lips as gray as ashes. - -“See here!” he cried, half in his throat. “At what are you driving? What -do you mean by the murder of a priest and the abduction of this girl? -Have you come here, Mr. Parsons, bent upon leading me into a net? Are -you one of those infernal, double-dealing detectives who seeks to stab a -suspect from behind, instead of attacking him openly? Why do you say I -was in the grounds of the St. Lawrence Church last evening? Why----” - -“Only because you were there,” Nick interrupted. “I can read it in your -eyes, in your colorless face. This patched letter alone would convince -me that you were there. What was the occasion? Why did you go there? A -denial will not avail you anything. Shape the opposite course, Mr. -Garland, and confide in me. It would be to your advantage, as it already -has been. I am not half a stranger to you--as you can see.” - -Nick whipped off his disguise with the last, but the immediate effect -upon his hearer was not what he expected. For a half-smothered cry of -alarm broke from Garland, instead of the cordial greeting the detective -anticipated, and the young man leaped up and darted to the door, at -which he listened intently for several seconds, as pale and trembling as -if a sheriff with a death warrant awaited him in the outer office. - -Nick was compelled to admit to himself that he was somewhat puzzled. He -waited without speaking, nevertheless, until Garland turned back and -resumed his seat. - -“I overlooked for a moment that you came in disguise,” he said -nervously, while he seized and warmly pressed both hands of the -detective. “Heavens, what a call-down I gave you. But it goes without -saying, Nick, and very well you know it, that I fairly worship you and -am overjoyed at seeing you.” - -Nick smiled oddly and shook his head. - -“That remains to be seen, Garland,” he replied. - -“What do you mean?” - -“I might believe it under different circumstances.” - -“Different circumstances? How different?” - -“You were not glad when you first recognized me. You were seriously -alarmed. You were glad only when you remembered that I entered this -office in disguise. You feared at first that some one had seen and -recognized me. Your looks and conduct admit of no other interpretation. -Come, come, what’s the meaning of it? What’s the answer?” - -Garland hesitated, settling back in his chair, looking white and worried -again, as if burdened with fears he could not overcome. - -“Really, Nick, there is no answer----” - -“Stop a bit,” Nick interrupted. “Don’t hand me anything of that kind. I -can read deeper than most men. You cannot get by me, Garland, with any -flimsy denials. You are living in abject fear of some one. You fear that -you are being secretly watched, and that this office is also under -stealthy espionage. You fear that I was seen and recognized when I -entered. - -“There can be only one reason for such a fear as that. Crooks are -putting something over on you, Garland, and you have been warned against -appealing to me for aid. You feel that you are absolutely in their -power, too, or you would have ignored their warning and their threats. -No other deductions are tenable. They would not have feet to stand on.” - -“Good heavens!” Garland huskily exclaimed, nervous and trembling. “You -don’t know what you are saying, Nick, nor----” - -“Oh, yes, I do,” Nick again interrupted. “Nor have I finished, Garland, -by any means. You listen to me for half a minute.” - -“But----” - -“There aren’t any buts,” Nick insisted impressively. “You hold your -horses and hear what I have to say. Father Cleary, of the St. Lawrence -Church, was murdered last evening. He was stabbed to death in the -rectory. Lottie Trent, after having seen him and confided something to -him, was abducted by the knaves who afterward killed him. Both crimes -were committed to prevent further exposure of what the girl had told -him. You, Garland, know what it was!” - -“On my word, Carter, I----” - -“Wait!” Nick cut in again. “I have adequate proof of all this. I am on -the case and I’m going to sift it to the bottom. You, Garland, were near -the scene of these two crimes. This torn letter written by Lottie Trent -convinces me of that. I now can guess, too, with what object it was left -there, and with what designs you were lured there. This girl is a sister -of Larry Trent, now in prison for complicity with Andy Margate in the -recent theft of your government plans. Now, Garland, you tell me the -truth. I’ll stand for nothing else, nor can anything else save you. I -once have pulled you out of the fire. I can, if necessary, do it again. -There is no middle course for you. I must arrest you, or know the whole -truth. Out with it. What is Andy Margate putting over on you?” - -There was no resisting Nick Carter under such conditions, and Garland -now seemed to realize it. A look of relief had appeared on his pale -face, that relief with which one burdened with a terrible secret sees -the way open to confiding in another. - -“You are right, Nick,” he admitted, with sudden determination. “I am in -just such a position as you suspect. I did fear that you had been seen -coming here. Now that you are here, however, and can leave in disguise, -as you entered, I will take a chance and tell you the whole business. I -have, in fact, been tempted to send for you in spite of threats and -warnings. Heavens, how I have longed for your aid and advice.” - -“You now may have both,” said Nick. “Get right at it, then, and tell me -the whole truth. You look like a nervous wreck.” - -“I am,” Garland admitted. “I have suffered the tortures of hell for more -than a week.” - -“Omit nothing. Tell me the whole business.” - -“It can be briefly told,” Garland began. “I was called up by telephone -nine days ago by an unknown man. He stated that I was about to receive a -package by mail, and that the sender of it insisted upon having a -personal interview with me. I was warned against confiding in any one, -and threatened with direful consequences if I did so. I was told that an -automobile would arrive at the first corner east of the Grayling, where -I am living, at precisely nine o’clock that evening, and I must be -there to immediately enter it, when I would be taken to the sender of -the mailed package. I was repeatedly warned, mind you----” - -“I understand,” Nick interposed. “Never mind the warnings. Let’s get at -the facts. What followed?” - -“I waited with indescribable misgivings, Nick, for the package said to -have been sent to me,” Garland continued. “It came an hour later. I -opened it and found--a photograph of the portfolio that contained the -government plans of which I was robbed by Irma Valaska and Captain -Casper Dillon, whose infamous designs you so successfully foiled.” - -“H’m, is that so?” said Nick, with brows drooping. “A photograph of the -portfolio, eh?” - -“Yes.” - -“Is there any doubt about it?” - -“Not the slightest. It shows the flap of the portfolio, turned back so -as to show my name and address, which I had written on the inner side of -it. The writing is plainly discernible and it corresponds precisely with -that in the portfolio now in my possession.” - -“Where is the photograph?” - -“Here in my safe, also the portfolio. I will get them. You may see for -yourself.” - -“Wait one moment,” Nick interposed. “I will examine them a little later. -Go on with your story. What did you do after receiving the photograph?” - -“What could I do?” questioned Garland nervously. “My misgivings were -redoubled, and since have been confirmed. I did not dare to deviate from -the directions given me. I confided in no one. I locked the photograph -in my safe and determined to learn what was back of such an ominous -beginning.” - -“Very good,” Nick nodded. “With what result?” - -“I followed the instructions given me,” Garland proceeded. “I was on the -corner mentioned at precisely nine o’clock that evening. A limousine -approached. I saw plainly that the chauffeur was prepared to speed on, -if in any way threatened.” - -“You entered it?” - -“Yes. It hardly stopped for me to do so. A masked man was seated in it. -He at once assured me that I was in no personal danger, and he then -insisted upon blindfolding me. I consented reluctantly and he drew a -black cap over my head. I then could see nothing, absolutely nothing, -and I have no idea where I was taken.” - -“Where did you bring up?” Nick inquired. - -“In a house or building into which I was led, still blindfolded,” said -Garland. “I do not know where it is located. I haven’t the slightest -idea. I heard the closing of a heavy door after entering, and I -presently felt the downward movement of an elevator. I found myself in a -lighted room a moment later, and the cap was removed from my head.” - -“And then?” - -“Two masked men stood beside me. A third was seated at a table. In one -corner stood a large photographic camera. The man at the table was not -masked. It was, as you probably infer, Andy Margate.” - -“Yes, no doubt,” Nick said dryly. “Well, what followed? What did Margate -want of you?” - -“That may be told in a nutshell.” - -“Briefly stated, then?” - -“Margate has photograph copies of all of the government plans stolen -from me a month ago. They were taken during the short time he had the -plans in his possession.” - -“Ah, I see!” said Nick. “That is, indeed, a serious matter. What does -Margate intend doing with them?” - -“He threatens to sell them to foreign powers,” replied Garland, -shuddering. “Think what that would mean! Thank God, however, he offered -me one alternative.” - -“Ah!” Nick again exclaimed a bit dryly. “What is the alternative?” - -“The privilege of buying them myself.” - -“Humph! Have you consented to do so?” - -“What else could I do?” Garland demanded. “My position is worse than it -was a month ago. If photograph copies of the government plans are -possessed by this scoundrel, they are even more dangerous than the -originals, which could be entirely changed if known to be hopelessly -lost. In view of uncertainty concerning photograph copies, however, -construction work in accord with the plans might be adhered to with -disastrous consequences. You know what might follow if----” - -“If war were declared, and our foes had photographic plans of our coast -defenses--yes, I know all about that,” Nick interrupted. “But that’s in -the dim and distant future. Let’s stick to the game that now is being -played. Did you consent to buy the photographs?” - -“Yes.” - -“For what price?” - -“One hundred thousand dollars was demanded,” Garland said, with a groan. -“I protested that it was more than I could possibly raise. Margate had -learned, however, that I had a fortune of about sixty thousand dollars. -He agreed to compromise at eighty thousand, and I was allowed ten days -in which to raise the needed twenty. The infernal knave will not only -leave me penniless, but also plunge me deep in debt.” - -“Have you raised the money?” - -“All but five thousand, for which I think I can make arrangements -to-morrow.” - -“To-morrow,” Nick echoed. “That is your last day of grace, is it not?” - -“Yes. I am to see Margate again to-morrow night.” - -“Where?” - -“Under the same conditions as before.” - -“And he expects you to hand him the money?” - -“He does. He insisted, in fact, that he would allow me only this one -meeting; that he would, if the price is not paid to-morrow, at once take -steps to sell the photographs abroad. He warned me that I would be -constantly watched, and threatened to instantly end all negotiations -with me if I confided in any one, or appealed for aid to the police. He -mentioned you in particular, and threatened----” - -“Never mind what he threatened,” Nick interrupted, with an ominous -frown. “He shall have good cause to threaten me.” - -“But consider my position, Nick,” Garland cried hopelessly. “I am -placed----” - -“I see just where you are placed,” Nick cut in again. “You have made the -whole knavish business sufficiently plain. But I, Garland, now propose -to take a hand in it.” - -“You mean----” - -“I mean that the price shall be paid--but Andy Margate is the man who -shall pay it,” Nick forcibly declared. “I’ll bring that rat up with a -round turn, Garland, or I’ll chuck my vocation.” - -“But how----” - -“Don’t ask me how,” Nick interrupted. “Let me see your portfolio and the -photograph you received by mail.” - -Garland hastened to get them from his safe. - -Nick examined them carefully, inspecting the photograph with a powerful -convex lens, particularly the address mentioned. He saw plainly that the -photograph was a genuine one, that the writing could not otherwise have -been so perfectly imitated, and he then returned them to his waiting -companion. - -“Lock them up again,” he directed. “Now, Garland, answer me a few -questions. Why have you recently been talking with Lottie Trent?” - -“For only one reason, Nick. She has repeatedly stopped me in the -corridors, or on the stairs, to beg me to use my influence to have her -brother pardoned and liberated from prison. I have told her it would be -useless, but she still persisted. She is a good girl, mind you, honest -and industrious, with none of her brother’s characteristics.” - -“There was no other occasion for your interviews with her?” - -“Absolutely none.” - -“Did you go to the St. Lawrence Church last evening, or somewhere in -that locality?” - -“I did,” Garland admitted. - -“For what?” - -“I was called up by telephone at the Grayling about nine o’clock. I -recognized the voice of the same man who had talked with me about the -photograph sent by mail. He said that he must see me, and directed me to -meet him back of the St. Lawrence Church. I went there and waited until -midnight, but he did not join me. I inferred that I had arrived too -late.” - -“Have you since heard from him?” - -“Yes, this morning. He telephoned that he was prevented from meeting me, -and that I must keep the appointment made for to-morrow night.” - -“That will be kept, all right,” Nick said a bit dryly. “Can you get a -New York wire with this telephone?” he added, glancing at the instrument -on Garland’s desk. - -“Yes, of course.” - -“Do so. I want my business office. I will have Chick and Patsy join me -here to-morrow,” said Nick, referring to his two most reliable -assistants. “We’ll show Andy Margate what wood shingles are made of, -take my word for it.” - -Garland hastened to obey, and Nick soon was in communication with Chick -Carter, to whom he gave such instructions as served his purpose, the -nature of which will presently appear. - -“Now, Garland, you must leave this matter to me and follow my -instructions to the letter,” said he, after talking with Chick. “There -must be no change from your recent conduct and appearance. I do not want -our meeting suspected, in case you are being watched, and you must -govern yourself accordingly.” - -“I will do so,” Garland assured him. “Heaven knows, in fact, I see no -way out of this scrape.” - -“I’ll find the way,” Nick replied. “Let me have the key to your -apartments in the Grayling.” - -“Certainly,” Garland consented, with a look of surprise. “But what do -you intend----” - -“Never mind what I intend doing,” Nick interrupted, carefully replacing -his disguise. “At what time do you usually arrive at your apartments?” - -“After business hours?” - -“Yes.” - -“About five o’clock.” - -“Very good,” said Nick, rising to go. “You will not need the key, -Garland. I will be there to admit you.” - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -HOW NICK SIZED UP THE CASE. - - -Ten o’clock the following morning found three persons seated in Harold -Garland’s apartments in the Grayling--Nick Carter and his two -assistants, Chick Carter and Patsy Garvan. - -The murder of Father Cleary then was on every tongue. Newspapers -throughout the country were describing the shocking crime under glaring -headlines. It had leaked out, too, though Nick had not revealed it, that -Lottie Trent had been abducted by the assassins and was in some way -concerned in the crime. - -The thousand tongues of rumor were never more busy. Conjectures of every -description were in the air. Linked with the name of the missing girl, -in circles where he was well known and his recent changed appearance had -been noticed, was that of Harold Garland, and many already were -whispering suspicions that he knew more than he was willing to tell. - -These insinuations were given additional impulse by the fact that -several newspapers were describing a man who had been noticed near the -scene of the double crime, and whose actions, as reported by several -observers, were of a kind to warrant suspicion. His identity had not yet -been discovered by the newspapers, however, and thus matters stood at -ten o’clock that morning on the second day following the murder. - -“By Jove, it’s a bad mess, an awfully bad mess,” Chick Carter gravely -remarked, after Nick had described the case in detail to both of his -assistants. - -Both had arrived in disguise at the Grayling that morning, in accord -with instructions Nick had telephoned, and they had been given -apartments on the same floor with those of Garland. - -“Bad enough, Chick, but not nearly as bad as it might be,” Nick replied. -“I have stated only the superficial facts, not what I have detected -under the surface.” - -“The case has redeeming features, then?” - -“Decidedly.” - -“How so?” - -“I suspect, to begin with, that Margate’s scheme at the outset was only -a colossal bluff. I don’t believe he had, nor has, photograph copies of -the government plans.” - -“Great Scott!” exclaimed Patsy, gazing. “He must have a nerve, chief, in -that case.” - -“The proof of a pudding is its eating,” Nick replied. “Whether it’s a -big bluff, or not, the rascal was in a fair way to get by with it. He -has brought Garland to the point of planking down the money demanded.” - -“You think it a case of blackmail, then,” said Chick. - -“I do.” - -“But the photograph of the portfolio--he certainly must have taken -that,” Chick argued. - -“Very true,” Nick admitted. “It is a small photograph, however, and may -have been taken with an ordinary kodak. Margate may have had a camera of -that kind. He is a keen, far-sighted fellow. He may have apprehended -that his designs at that time might miscarry, and that he later could -work out the scheme I now suspect. Having that in view, he may have -taken a photograph of the portfolio. A photograph of a big government -plan with such a camera, however, would be of no earthly use.” - -“That’s very true,” Chick admitted. - -“Bear in mind, now, that Margate had the plans considerably less than -twenty-four hours after stealing them from Dillon,” Nick continued. -“It’s not reasonable to suppose that he would immediately have thought -of having them photographed, nor be supplied with the necessary -paraphernalia.” - -“True again, Nick, as far as that goes.” - -“We can safely assume, too, that he would not have dared to employ a -photographer to make the negatives. The nature of the plans would have -forbidden that. It’s a hundred to one, too, as I have said, that he was -not provided with a camera large enough to have been of any use in -making photographs of the plans, though he might have taken that of the -portfolio.” - -“Gee! that’s right, too, chief,” put in Patsy, who had been listening -attentively. “It was not in the crib where we recovered the plans, or we -should have seen it. Chick and I searched the shack from cellar to -attic. Besides, they must have been photographed by daylight, and -Margate had the plans only one morning, when you come right down to it. -We nailed the whole gang, you remember, soon after noon.” - -“Those are the very points, Patsy, on which I base my suspicions,” Nick -replied. “In so serious a matter as this, however, we must not bank on -suspicions only. Aside from getting the photographs, if Margate really -has them, we must put that thoroughbred rascal where he belongs.” - -“Didn’t Garland see the photographs during his interview with Margate?” -Chick questioned. - -“He saw a batch of photographs and blue prints on a table, but was so -unnerved by the threatening situation that he did not examine them, -taking it for granted that they were what Margate stated.” - -“The more fool he,” Chick said dryly. - -“I suspect that the rascal would not have let him examine them, in case -my suspicions are correct,” said Nick. “I suspect, too, that the big -camera Garland saw in the room was brought there only to give color to -Margate’s assertions.” - -“By gracious, chief, if we could find out where he got it----” - -“That’s the very point, Patsy,” Nick interrupted. “He may have bought it -in some store, or hired it from some photographer. You must start out -this morning and follow up that thread.” - -“I’ve got you.” - -“You may be able to learn from whom the camera was obtained and where it -was delivered. Garland has stated that it was too large for one to have -carried away by hand. It may have been sent by express, or taken away in -an automobile by the rascal himself. Follow up the thread, if possible, -wherever it leads.” - -“Trust me for that, chief,” said Patsy expressively. - -“In the meantime, Chick, you must see Lottie Trent’s brother, in prison, -and find out from him whether the girl is acquainted with Margate, and, -if possible, where he has been living since he slipped through our -fingers a month ago. If you tell Larry Trent what has befallen his -sister and of what Margate is guilty, I think he will state all he knows -about the rascal.” - -“Very likely,” Chick agreed. “You have no doubt, I infer, that Margate -is the man who killed the priest.” - -“Not the slightest,” said Nick confidently. - -“But for what reason?” - -“Because, unless I am much mistaken, Lottie Trent has been friendly with -Margate for some little time, not knowing his true name and character, -nor anything about his relations with her convict brother,” Nick -explained. “I think she in some way discovered, however, that Margate -was plotting with confederates against Garland, and that she went to -Father Cleary and confided in him.” - -“Confided what?” - -“One fact on which hinges the whole business and which further confirms -my suspicions.” - -“Namely?” - -“The fact that Margate is out only to blackmail Garland, and that he has -not a single photograph of the government plans.” - -“But why didn’t she inform Garland himself, in that case, instead of -confiding in the priest?” - -“She may have had no opportunity,” Nick pointed out. “She may have made -the discovery that very evening. She may have been threatened by Margate -and others engaged in the scheme.” - -“I see,” Chick nodded. - -“She could frame up a plausible reason to visit the priest, perhaps, and -take a chance that she could save Garland by doing so,” Nick went on. -“This is consistent with her recent appeals to him, and she would have -been eager to do him such a service. She went out to expose the whole -business to Father Cleary, I think, and was probably seen and followed -by Margate and his confederates. They afterward killed the priest and -got away with the girl, that nothing should prevent their getting the -money expected from Garland.” - -“But how do you account for the letter written by the girl?” - -“She was lured into writing it.” - -“When?” - -“That very evening, Chick, after Margate learned that she was wise to -his game,” Nick continued to explain. “She probably did not know that he -had discovered the fact and suspected that she might expose him.” - -“I see.” - -“He paved the way to further incriminate Garland, therefore, bent upon -making a sure thing of bleeding him out of this money. He wrapped his -hand with a bandage, pretending that he had sprained it, and got the -girl to write the letter, she supposing it was for him.” - -“That’s quite obvious, of course.” - -“Lottie Trent probably consented, not thinking of Garland’s given name, -in which the letter was addressed, nor of the covert significance of the -letter. Margate did not ask her to sign it, of course, which explains -why a few fragments of the bottom of the sheet could not be found where -I found the others.” - -“I see the point,” Chick said thoughtfully. “You may be right.” - -“It is further confirmed by another bit of evidence.” - -“What is that?” - -“The bandage I found on the rectory veranda,” said Nick. “It bore no -evidence of having been bound around a wound, or sprain. Plainly -enough, nevertheless, it had been wrapped around the left hand of a -man.” - -“And you deduce from that?” - -“Something quite suggestive,” said Nick, smiling. “I happen to know that -Andy Margate is left-handed.” - -“By Jove, that is doubly significant,” Chick declared. “Did you recall -that when making your investigations?” - -“No. Not until I talked with Senator Barclay and learned about Garland.” - -“You suspect, then, that the girl was heard confiding in the priest.” - -“Exactly.” - -“And that she was abducted after leaving the rectory, and the priest -afterward killed.” - -“Precisely.” - -“And that Garland was afterward lured to that locality, and this torn -letter dropped in the opposite lots in order to so incriminate him, -apparently, that he would be helplessly in the power of these rascals.” - -“That is my theory, Chick, and I’ll bank on its being very close to the -truth,” Nick nodded. - -“Gee! my money goes with yours, chief,” said Patsy. “I wish I could -place a real bet on it, instead of only a mental wager.” - -“I think you would win,” Nick said a bit dryly. - -Chick straightened up in his chair. - -“Have you confided all of these points to Garland?” he asked abruptly. - -“You bet I haven’t,” said Nick. “I’m taking no chance that a feeling of -relief will betray, in case of his being watched, the scheme that I now -have in view.” - -“I thought you had something up your sleeve,” smiled Chick. “What is -your scheme?” - -Nick took a cigar from his pocket and lit it before replying. - -“I’ll tell you,” he then said seriously. “Garland joined me here late -yesterday afternoon. I had come here in disguise, providing that the -house might be watched, which I have not taken the trouble to confirm, -knowing it might be impossible.” - -“Quite likely.” - -“I talked with Garland about half an hour, merely to give my -instructions. I then sent him out, wearing my garments and disguise, and -he last night occupied my apartments in the Willard. He is to remain -quartered there until I have cleaned up this affair. I remained here in -his place, as well as in the garments belonging to him. You have -observed, no doubt, that I’m wearing a new set of scenery, and that my -suit case stands there in the corner.” - -“Yes, I noticed both,” laughed Chick. “But what is your scheme?” - -“A very simple one, though open to many possibilities,” Nick replied. -“Garland has a final appointment to-night with Andy Margate. He is to be -met as before, and taken to the present quarters of that archscoundrel, -where he undoubtedly is established with his confederates in this job. -He is expected to hand over eighty thousand dollars in return for the -alleged photographs--but he will do nothing of the kind.” - -“You intend----” - -“Garland is about my height and build,” Nick cut in. “His cast of -features resembles mine. It will require but very little artistic work -with grease paints and powders to turn me into a likeness of him that -will pass muster under ordinary conditions.” - -“And you----” - -“I mean that Garland will not keep the appointment,” said Nick, with -ominous intonation. “He is to come here this evening in disguise, but -only to serve me as a model. He then will return to the Willard. I shall -go in his place--to meet Andy Margate.” - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -NICK CARTER’S VENTURE. - - -Nick Carter’s project was a daring one, even though ventured against -crooks of ordinary caliber. Against as lawless, determined, and -desperate a knave as Andy Margate, who, if Nick’s deductions and -suspicions were correct, had not shrunk for an instant from killing a -priest and abducting a girl to prevent the perversion of his knavish -designs--against a man of that type, such a project was doubly bold and -hazardous. - -Nick Carter realized from the outset that he would carry his life in his -hand. He realized, too, that it would be utterly vain to attempt to -pursue the man and the motor car described by Garland. - -That they would guard against anything of that kind not only was obvious -to Nick, but he further reasoned that any attempt to do so would surely -be detected, and result only in perverting his own more promising -designs. He preferred to take his own chance, therefore, and to rely -upon the other work about to be done by Chick Carter and Patsy. - -Shortly before eight o’clock that evening, a tall man clad in black, -wearing gold-bowed spectacles and a pointed beard, issued from the -Grayling as if he were a resident in the house, and sauntered away -through Vermont Avenue. - -This man was Harold Garland, wearing the garments and disguise of the -detective, the same worn by Nick when he visited the office of the -government engineer the previous day. - -Nearly an hour later, or close upon nine o’clock, the light in Garland’s -apartments suddenly vanished. Half a minute later, wearing a soft felt -hat, a long frieze overcoat, and a suit of plaid woolen, precisely the -same garments worn by Garland when he visited Margate, Nick Carter -emerged from the apartment house and strode toward the first corner -east. - -A man who was turning it just as Nick was approaching it gazed at him -sharply, then smiled and bowed. - -“Good evening, Garland,” he said familiarly. - -“Ah, good evening,” Nick returned genially. - -“I thought I recognized you. A misty night, this.” - -“Yes, quite so,” said the detective. - -They then had passed one another, scarce two feet between them, and in -the bright glare from a near arc light, and Nick halted on the corner. - -“By Jove, that’s quite encouraging,” he said to himself. “That man -evidently is well acquainted with Garland. He felt sure that he -recognized me. He saw me plainly, too, in the bright glare from this arc -light. I also got by with the voice. Having done so under these -conditions, I ought to succeed in fooling Margate. Yes, indeed, it was -encouraging.” - -Nick was justified in congratulating himself, in fact, for he had, with -consummate skill and artistic applications of paint and powder, -transformed himself into an almost perfect likeness of the man he was -aiming to impersonate. - -It was, as the passing stranger’s remark implied, a fit night for such -an undertaking. A mist hung like a gray pall on the quiet night air. It -obscured all but the brightest stars. A half-filled moon shone through -it only faintly, surrounded with a great circle, like a halo around the -head of a saint. - -It was, in fact, a damp, chilly, and disagreeable November night. - -Nick gazed up and down the avenue and through the side street. The -latter was less brightly lighted. Lamps of motor cars could be seen in -each direction on the avenue. They came and went, many of them passing -him, but none showing any sign of stopping to pick him up. - -Suddenly a clock on a neighboring church began to boom the hour--nine -o’clock. - -Nick counted the slow strokes of the bell, falling with sonorous -reverberations on the night air. They brought to his mind the church and -rectory visited the previous morning. - -Nick thought of the white, upturned face of the murdered priest, found -dead on his library floor. He thought of the missing girl and wondered -what her fate had been. - -His features hardened under these contemplations. His eyes took on a -more threatening gleam and glitter. He was in a fit mood to face danger -in behalf of justice, and bring to righteous punishment the miscreants -guilty of these crimes. - -A sudden glare of light shot across the avenue a block away. A limousine -came quickly around the corner and approached the Grayling, but it did -not stop. Its lamps, seen through the gray mist, were like the glowing -eyes of an uncouth monster. - -“By Jove, there comes my man,” flashed through Nick’s mind. “He came by -the Grayling in order to see whether Garland’s rooms are lighted. I’ll -turn up my collar to offset the bright light from that electric.” - -Nick did so, and then began to think he was mistaken. - -The rapidly moving limousine was swerving toward the opposite side of -the avenue. Suddenly it made a quick turn, however, and sped directly -toward the curbing on which the detective was standing. - -The door flew open and a man thrust out his head. - -“Get in!” he cried sharply. “Be quick!” - -Nick sprang into the car and sank upon the seat. The door banged behind -him. - -“Let her go, Jimmy!” shouted his companion. - -The car had not stopped, in fact, and it now sped on rapidly through the -side street. - -Nick’s companion sprang up and gazed intently from the back window until -more than a hundred yards had been covered. Any pursuing car or motor -cycle would have been plainly visible to him. There was none, however, -and the limousine turned again and sped toward Florida Avenue. - -The man sat down and leaned from the open window on his side of the car, -that on which Nick sat being closed. - -“You’re well away, Jimmy,” he called to the driver. “There’s nothing -doing. Let her go lively.” - -Nick had been quick to see that this man was not masked, as when Garland -had accompanied him. No sooner had he a good look at his dark, -thin-featured face, moreover, than Nick instantly recognized him. He -had arrested him in New York more than a year before. - -“Bartholomew Lombard, better known as Batty Lombard,” he said to -himself. “The rat I took in for lifting a diamond in Tiffany’s. I’m -certainly in right for the present, at least. I wonder what other -jailbird is driving the machine” - -Nick could see only the back of his head and broad shoulders, his woolen -cap and thick overcoat, with the collar turned up to his ears. - -“What are you afraid of?” Nick asked, when the man turned and settled -down beside him. - -Lombard glanced sharply at him. - -“Can’t you guess?” he questioned, with a growl. - -“I suppose you think I’ve put the police wise and that you may be -followed,” said Nick. - -“That calls the turn,” Lombard nodded. “I’m guarded against that, all -right.” - -“Well, that’s not my style,” Nick replied, cleverly imitating Garland’s -voice all the while. “I always do what I have agreed to do.” - -“Is that so?” questioned Lombard, with a groan. “Well, you sure have got -a little something on most men, then.” - -“Are you the same man who met me before?” - -“Don’t I look it?” - -“How can I tell? He wore a mask.” - -Lombard chuckled oddly, with a mischievous gleam in his narrow eyes. He -drew from his pocket a black bag, replying a bit dryly: - -“I’m the same gazabo and here’s the same bandage that you wore. If it’s -all the same to you, Mr. Garland, I will slip it over your block as -before.” - -“It’s not all the same, by any means, but I suppose I must stand for -it,” Nick protested. - -“Stand for it is right,” said Lombard, rising. “I have to guard against -your putting anything over on us. Safety first, you know. If you had the -use of your lamps, you might serve us some scurvy trick sooner or -later.” - -“As scurvy a trick, perhaps, as you rascals are serving me,” Nick -retorted. - -“That’s not half bad,” Lombard returned. “We’re letting you down easy. -Some ginks would bleed you to a standstill. You’re playing dead lucky, -Mr. Garland.” - -“That’s not my opinion.” - -“The which has not been asked for.” - -“Are we going to the same place as before?” - -“That’s what.” - -“Why----” - -“Cut it, now,” Lombard interrupted. “There’ll be time enough for a spiel -after you get there. Sit back and keep quiet.” - -The rascal had drawn the black bag over Nick’s head while speaking, and -Nick was forced to comply with the last. He settled back in the -cushioned corner and relapsed into silence. - -Though enough air entered from the bottom for him to breathe freely, the -thick black bag completely blinded him. It was like being enveloped in -Stygian darkness, and Nick bent his mind upon trying to determine the -course the limousine was taking. - -That also proved entirely futile. He soon decided that many turns were -being purposely made, and that they were not going direct to their -destination. - -For nearly half an hour, as well as he could judge, the car sped on and -not a word came from his companion. - -Nick then felt through the open window a more damp and chilly air, as if -it came from the Potomac. - -The varied noises of the city had been left far behind. Only the -occasional distant clang of a trolley-car gong reached his listening -ears. The road had become more rough. He knew that he was passing -through one of the less thickly settled outskirts. - -The car at length turned sharply, and Nick sensed that it was entering -an inclosed area of some kind. Suddenly it stopped and he heard the -driver spring to the ground. Lombard opened the door and seized the -detective’s wrist. - -“Steady, now, and keep your trap closed,” he said, with a growl. “Step -out of the car. I’ll guide you.” - -Nick obeyed without replying. - -He felt his way from the car, and then the hand of the driver gripped -his other arm. He felt the crunch of gravel under his feet, then the -stone step of a doorway. - -The tread of all three then fell upon bare planking, and Nick could -sense that they had entered a building and were in a corridor of -considerable size, which he determined from the sound of their footsteps -on the floor. - -Nick had taken only a few steps, however, when he felt the two men -thrust him through another doorway. Their hands left his arms. He heard -the crash of a closed door behind him--and then found himself alone and -in sudden silence. - -“What’s the meaning of this?” he asked himself, recalling what Garland -had told him of his own experiences. “This isn’t quite in line with what -he stated. Have these rascals----” - -Nick held his breath for an instant. - -The floor on which he stood was descending. - -“An elevator!” flashed through his mind. “Garland mentioned an elevator, -and that he was taken down to the room in which he met Margate. This -must be the same place.” - -The descending floor stopped in a few seconds, so gently that Nick -rightly inferred that electricity was the motive power. He reached out -in each direction and could touch only--four bare walls. - -“By Jove, I’ll find out what kind of a box I’m in,” he said to himself -abruptly. “I’ll not wait for these rats to show me.” - -Nick removed the black bag and still found himself in inky darkness. He -could discover in no direction the faintest ray of light. He waited a -few seconds, thinking he might be released from these stuffy quarters, -but not a sound broke the tomblike silence. - -Deciding not to use his searchlight, lest it might betray him if he was -being covertly watched, Nick fished out a match from his pocket and lit -it. - -The flame revealed four bare walls of wood, a ceiling and floor of like -planking, the whole forming a boxlike structure about five feet square. -As well as he then could judge from the brief flickering light from the -match, there was no way to open it from the inside. - -“Box is right, by Jove,” he said to himself, with increasing suspicions. -“I may be in more of a box than I bargained for right off the reel. Can -it be that these rascals already suspect----” - -A quick, metallic snap cut short Nick’s train of thought. - -A panel in one of the walls flew open, slipping quickly to one side. It -revealed a window about a foot square and nearly six feet from the -floor. - -Through it came a flood of electric light from a corridor, only a small -part of which could be seen by the detective. - -Nick’s attention was instantly claimed, moreover, by something more -portentous--the head and face of a man gazing through the bright -opening. - -They were the head and face of--Andy Margate. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -CAUGHT IN A BOX. - - -Nick Carter gazed for a moment without speaking. The face of the knave -peering in at him wore an expression the detective did not fancy. - -Mingled malice, merciless hatred, and vicious exultation were pictured -in every feature of Margate’s white, hardset face. His eyes had a gleam -as cold and murderous as that reflected from a blade of steel. His thin, -cruel lips were drawn like those of a dog about to bite. - -“So you’re here again, eh?” he questioned, breaking the momentary -silence. - -Nick eyed him sharply, suspecting the truth, yet still maintaining the -part he had undertaken to play. - -“Yes, as I agreed,” he replied curtly. “Let me out. Why are you keeping -me here?” - -“Aren’t you comfortable?” - -“No. It’s close and stuffy.” - -“It’s not half as close and stuffy a box as you might land in,” Margate -said, with a malicious grin. “Haven’t you thought of that?” - -“I’m not thinking along those lines,” Nick replied. “Come, come, Mr. -Margate, let me out.” - -“Not yet,” leered the rascal. “I want to talk with you. Have you brought -the money agreed upon?” - -“We’ll discuss that in the room where I previously talked with you,” -said Nick. “I refuse to discuss it, or anything else, as long as you -keep me in this place.” - -“Is that so?” sneered Margate. “Listen, then! When you leave it--you’ll -leave it for a worse place.” - -“What do you mean by that?” - -“Can’t you guess? Hold on! Keep your hands in front of you!” - -Nick was stealthily reaching toward his hip pocket. - -Margate’s sneering voice had taken on a fierce and threatening ring. His -right hand leaped into view at the lighted window, and a revolver was -aimed point-blank at the detective’s breast. - -“Don’t try to pull a gun, Carter, or you’ll be a dead one on the -instant,” he now threatened sternly. - -“Ah!” Nick exclaimed, casting subterfuge to the winds. “You know me, -then.” - -“You bet I know you,” sneered Margate, with vicious asperity. “I have -mighty good cause to know you. I’ve been wise to you from the first--and -I now have you where I want you. You’re going to pay the price for what -you put over on me a month ago.” - -“I see,” Nick said coolly, despite the ominous outlook. “You’re a very -clever fellow, Margate, after all.” - -“Clever enough to get the best of you.” - -“So it appears,” Nick agreed, bent upon learning just what the rascal -knew of his movements and doings. “I did not suppose you were half as -keen. You make me curious.” - -“I’ll do more than that to you, Carter,” scowled the other. “Curious -about what?” - -“How you discovered my identity. I thought my tracks were perfectly -covered.” - -“You did, eh?” - -“Otherwise, Margate, I would not be in this box,” said Nick. “You can -bet on that.” - -“It looks like a safe bet,” Margate allowed, with a leer. “You’re not -half as crafty, Carter, as you think. Do you suppose for a moment that I -would not make sure that Garland did not send for you?” - -“He did not send for me,” Nick replied carelessly, bent upon leading him -on. - -“I know he didn’t--but Senator Barclay did.” - -“Ah!” - -“I’ll soon have both where I want them--as I’ve got you!” Margate -exultantly added. - -“Admitting that, which now seems quite probable, I don’t see how you -discovered that Senator Barclay sent for me,” said Nick, pretending he -was merely puzzled and had no covert design. - -“You don’t, eh?” leered Margate, evidently pleased to discuss his own -cunning. “I’ll tell you how.” - -“Well, I’m listening.” - -“I sent a man to watch your New York residence.” - -“Ah!” - -“I knew that if any detective was employed, you would be the one.” - -“I see.” - -“And you were seen when you left home alone with a suit case and took -the train for Washington,” Margate went on sneeringly. “You were -shadowed when you arrived at the Willard. You were watched throughout -yesterday. You were seen with Fallon, the infernal dick, dipping into a -mess you had better kept out of. You were seen going in disguise to -Garland’s office, and afterward to his rooms in the Grayling, where he -joined you about five o’clock. You were seen leaving and returning to -the Willard, where you remained until to-night, when you went to his -rooms again and fixed yourself up to turn this trick on me.” - -Nick Carter’s face evinced no sign of the satisfaction he now felt. - -It was obvious to him that Margate had blundered and been deceived, in -spite of his precautions. He evidently had, or one of his confederates, -been watching Garland in the disguise of the detective, and that none of -them suspected the ruse Nick had adopted. - -It was perfectly plain, therefore, that the presence of Chick and Patsy -in Washington was not suspected, and no steps having been taken by the -rascals to guard against what they might accomplish, Nick now felt -reasonably sure that one or both of them would make good along the lines -he had laid out. His own situation did not look nearly as dark as it had -before evoking these disclosures, and Nick was content to meet it as he -found it. - -The situation took a more threatening turn, however, sooner than he -really expected. - -Seeing Nick apparently nonplussed by what he had heard, Margate laughed -exultantly and quickly added: - -“But you’ll turn no trick on me, Carter, take my word for it. The boot -is on the other leg. I still have Garland where I want him, as well as -you. The newspapers tell me all that you have disclosed. I’ll get -Garland later--and finish you at once.” - -“Don’t hurry, Margate,” Nick put in coolly. “I’m in no rush.” - -“But I am!” snapped the scowling miscreant. “I’m itching to get even -with you, to pay you for what you have done to me, to see you dead at my -feet. It won’t be long, Carter, not long. You shall pay the price. Take -it from me--you shall pay the price!” - -The threatening face vanished like a flash with the last. - -The panel flew back into place with a sharp, ominous click. - -Nick Carter found himself again in inky darkness. - -He stepped quickly to the opposite wall and listened at the closed -panel. - -He now could hear Margate’s voice in the adjoining corridor, followed by -others replying. They told him only too plainly what fate the miscreants -had in view for him. - -“The sooner it’s done, Batty, the better,” Margate was forcibly saying. -“We’ll wait only for Nell to show up. I want her here when we put out -his light. That’s the only sure way to prevent her from peaching, or any -one else. Put them in the same boat with you. Then they’ll never -squeal.” - -“That’s right, too, Andy,” declared a voice which Nick recognized as -that of the burly chauffeur. - -“Sure it’s right, Baldwin,” Margate returned. - -“But where is she, Andy?” Lombard demanded. “You must have seen her this -evening. She hasn’t had charge of the girl since afternoon. When will -she show up?” - -“By Jove, they have Lottie Trent here, also,” thought Nick. “There would -be something doing, all right, if I could break out of this thing.” - -Listening while indulging in these thoughts, Nick heard Margate reply: - -“I left her in Brady’s just before coming out here, before seeing you -and Baldwin start out on this job. She had had no supper, so waited to -get it. She may show up at any moment.” - -“But Carter has guns, Andy, and will put up a fight. If----” - -“Hang his guns!” Margate cut in harshly. “He’ll get no chance to use -them. We’ll not need a gun.” - -“How can you fix him?” - -“Dead easy. We’ll attach the hose to the gas meter and run it to the -trap. It will reach from the meter to the elevator shaft. We’ll bore a -hole for it through the plank ceiling. Carter then can’t stop the flow -of gas. We’ll suffocate him like a rat in a copper boiler.” - -“That’s the stuff,” growled Baldwin approvingly. “Dead easy is right.” - -“Come out to the office,” Margate added. “We’ll wait there till Nell -comes in.” - -“But the girl----” - -“We’ll silence her later. She can’t get out. I’ve made sure of that. -Come out to the office.” - -Nick heard their heavy tread through the corridor and up a short flight -of stairs, which convinced him that he was in the basement of some -building. - -“By Jove, I’ve got to make a bid for liberty, at least,” he said to -himself. - -Whipping out his electric searchlight, he at once began a hurried -inspection of the four walls and the section where the panel was -located. He saw plainly that the trap had been constructed on a small -elevator, and so made that it could be opened only from the outside. He -quickly found, moreover, that the planking was of sufficient strength to -preclude escape, nor could he start the panel in either direction. - -“By gracious, it don’t look very promising,” Nick muttered, grim and -frowning. “But there’ll be some gun play, all right, if the rascals try -to bore a hole through this ceiling. I’ll foil them yet, barring----” - -Nick then was given the surprise of his life. - -A sharp click broke his train of thought. The door of the trap flew open -and a girl stood directly in front of him in the lighted corridor. - -She was deathly pale and frightfully excited, but her eyes were aglow -with fierce determination. Her hair and garments were in disorder. Her -lace collar was stained with blood. She was trembling from head to foot -with frantic eagerness. - -“I heard them--I know!” she wildly whispered. “I’m Lottie Trent. I was -imprisoned in that room opposite. I picked the lock with a hairpin. I -had seen them open this door and knew you could not----” - -Her torrent of words was cut short by the sudden sharp crack of a -revolver. - -A bullet splintered the woodwork above her head. - -“They’ve heard me!” she gasped. - -Nick already had seized her and drawn her into the trap, beyond reach of -bullet from that end of the corridor where Margate and his two -confederates were plunging down a low flight of stairs. - -“Wait here!” Nick commanded, forcing the girl to one corner and -snatching out both of his revolvers. “I’ll give these rats a taste of -their own medicine.” - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -BETWEEN TWO FIRES. - - -Chick Carter and Patsy Garvan, though this case was one in which nearly -all of the work had devolved upon Nick Carter himself, were not idle -while their chief was engaged as described. - -Following the instructions given him, Patsy spent most of the day in -running down the place where Margate had obtained a large photographic -camera, as Nick had been led to suspect. - -Patsy finally found that such a camera had been bought ten days before -from a pawnbroker in one of the lower sections of the city, and that the -purchaser was a man of Margate’s description. - -The pawnbroker stated that he had not left his address, however, but had -paid for the camera and sent an expressman to get it, but whose name the -pawnbroker did not know. - -Patsy then began a vigorous hunt for the expressman, but his efforts -were not rewarded until nearly nine in the evening, when he found the -man he was seeking. - -This man then informed him that he had taken the camera to a building -out Georgetown way, which had been vacated a short time before by a -manufacturing concern that had failed in business, and which had -recently been rented by parties who contemplated moving into it for a -similar business, but who were not yet under way. - -Patsy needed to hear no more than that. He learned precisely where the -building was located, thanked the expressman for his information, and -then headed for the trolley-car line running out there. - -“It’s after nine, and the chief must have left the Grayling,” he -shrewdly reasoned. “If there is anything doing, it will be in that same -building. I’ll hike out there at once, in case I am needed.” - -It was half past nine when Patsy boarded a trolley car, and he then was -given a surprise. - -In one corner of it sat--Chick Carter. - -He was not alone. - -His companion was a flashily clad blonde of about thirty, with yellow -hair and rouged cheeks, and whose rather bleared eyes and maudlin -expression plainly denoted that she had been looking on the wine when it -is red in the cup. - -“Gee whiz!” thought Patsy, immensely tickled for more reasons than one. -“Where did he get next to that? She’s a bird with wilted plumage. He -looks all right, but she certainly has her load. There must be something -doing, or he wouldn’t be heading out this way with her. But where did he -gather her in? That’s what puzzles me.” - -Their eyes met a moment later, but no observable sign passed between the -two. A momentary twinkle in Chick’s eyes, however, gave Patsy the only -needed cue. - -Nick Carter’s anticipations were speedily verified when Chick, visiting -Larry Trent in his prison cell that afternoon, told the convict what had -befallen his sister, and of the other crimes of which Margate was -guilty. - -Resenting the wrong done the girl, Trent informed Chick that his sister -had known Margate only under the name of Matt Gaffney; that the latter -had lodged in the same house with her, and that they had been quite -friendly, also that Margate could be found almost every evening in a red -disguise in a saloon and restaurant run by one Phil Brady, in a -red-light section of the city. - -Chick thus obtained enough information as he thought would serve his -purpose, and eight o’clock that evening found him watching Brady’s -establishment from the opposite side of the street. - -Half an hour brought no results, however, and Chick then sauntered into -the saloon and bought a drink, carelessly asking the bartender: - -“Seen Gaffney this evening?” - -“Not yet,” was the reply. “But he’ll soon show up. There’s a skirt -waiting for him in the last booth.” - -Chick took a look at her with the aid of the bar mirror. - -“She’s a new one to me,” he said indifferently. - -“She ain’t new around here,” grinned the bartender. “That’s Nell Breen.” - -Chick turned away without another question and repaired to his former -vantage point across the street. - -Ten minutes later he saw Margate enter the saloon and talk a few moments -with the woman, buying a drink for both. - -Margate then came out, hastening to a limousine that had stopped at a -near corner. He talked earnestly with the driver and one passenger for a -short time and then hurried away. - -The limousine departed in the opposite direction. - -Chick made one of his characteristic clever moves. He scribbled a few -words on a blank card with a lead pencil, then hurried to the booth in -which Nell Breen was sipping a Martini and waiting for pork chops. - -“Here, Nell, read that,” he whispered impressively, slipping her the -card. “Andy sent me in with it.” - -The woman looked up suspiciously, then read the card: - - “NELL: This fellow is all right. Bring him along. I have a use for - him. Hastily, - - ANDY.” - - - -“Who gave you this?” Nell demanded, gazing again, but less suspiciously. - -Chick had taken a chance that she was to rejoin Margate later, or would -know where to find him. - -“Oh, get wise, get wise, kid,” he said significantly. “Matt Gaffney sent -me in, or Andy Margate, if that hits you any better. Can’t you read it?” - -“Why didn’t he come in with you?” - -“He hadn’t time,” Chick glibly explained. “He was spieling to two blokes -in a taxi. He sent them away and was in a big rush himself. He said -you’d know what to do when you saw his note. What am I up against, -anyway?” - -Chick began to scowl--and the woman then began to laugh. She had taken -just enough liquor to feel silly, and want more. - -“He wants me to bring you out, eh?” she asked. - -“That’s what he said. You can read it, can’t you?” - -“Sure I can read it,” grinned Nell. “But I’m not going out there till -I’ve had my feed. You can bet your boots on that.” - -“I’m a bit hungry myself,” Chick vouchsafed. - -“Sit down and order something. Say, what’s your moniker?” - -“Sandy Billings. I’ve known Andy from ’way back. Will you wrap yourself -around another drink?” - -“Sure! Make it dry.” - -With the way thus cleverly paved, Chick afterward found it easy walking. -Nell Breen made good in so far as Chick desired. She left the car at the -proper point and conducted him about a quarter mile to the building then -the scene of episodes already described. - -Patsy Garvan followed them with no great need for caution, owing to the -woman’s intoxication. - -They entered a yard leading to an end door of the somewhat ancient stone -building. The limousine was one of the first things to catch Chick’s -eye, and it told him all he then wanted to know. - -He glanced back and saw Patsy stealing after him. - -“Must we ring, or knock?” he asked, as he approached the door with the -reeling woman. - -“Neizer,” she muttered, with maudlin thickness. “I’ve gotta key.” - -“Let’s have it,” Chick said quietly. “You couldn’t find the keyhole.” - -“I’ll be dead lucky if I find the key,” said Nell, feeling for a pocket -in her skirt. - -She presently found it and produced the key, nevertheless, placing it in -the detective’s hand. - -Chick tried to insert it noiselessly into the lock, and stopped--for the -hundredth part of a second. - -There came from within, sending a thrill through him from head to -foot--the sudden, sharp, spiteful crack of a revolver. - -Patsy also heard it, and three quick leaps brought him to Chick’s side. - -Both swept the woman aside, throwing her to the ground, and Chick -unlocked the door and threw it open. - -Their gaze fell upon a lighted corridor, a low flight of stairs leading -down to it, and upon Margate, Lombard, and Baldwin, now shooting wildly -at a man crouching near what appeared to be a narrow door. - -“There’s Nick!” Chick yelled. “At them, Patsy!” - -Both dashed into the corridor, revolvers in hand. - -Batty Lombard fell at that moment, pierced with a bullet from Nick’s -revolver. - -Baldwin turned to flee--only to find himself caught between two fires. -He dropped his revolver to the floor and threw up his hands. - -Andy Margate did nothing of the kind. He suddenly seemed to grasp the -altered situation. He reached into his vest pocket and clapped something -to his mouth. - -Then he dropped as if struck by lightning, landing with a thud on the -floor, face up. - -An empty vial was rolling to one side, glistening in the bright light. - -Nick approached, shaking hands with Chick and Patsy, and then he gazed -down at the vial and the white, upturned face. - -“Paying the price--that’s right,” he said a bit grimly. “He has saved us -the trouble. He spoke the truth for once in his life. The price has been -paid.” - -Midnight saw Baldwin and Nell Breen lodged in a prison cell, Lombard -dying in a hospital, and Andy Margate laid out temporarily in the back -room of a city undertaker, his bier a plank, his covering a sheet. - -Lombard confessed before he died, but it needs no record in these pages. -For it confirmed in nearly every detail the theories of Nick Carter, as -already set forth in his discussion of his suspicions and deductions. - -The relief of Garland, as well as that of Senator Barclay and Stella, -the gratitude of all for Nick and his assistants--these go without -saying, as Nick remarked when they attempted to thank him. - -“It’s satisfaction enough for me that we have canned Andy Margate,” he -added. “Lombard will not live till morning, moreover, and the others -will get what’s coming to them. Who could ask more in behalf of -justice?” - - -THE END. - - -“On Death’s Trail; or, Nick Carter’s Strangest Case,” will be the title -of the long, complete story that you will find in the next issue, No. -147, of the NICK CARTER STORIES, out July 3d. In this story are -recounted some of the most interesting adventures which have ever -befallen the famous detective and his almost equally famous assistants. -Then, too, there will be the usual installment of a corking good serial, -together with several short but interesting and instructive articles. - - - - -FIGHTING WITH CHEESE. - - -The most remarkable ammunition ever heard of was used by the celebrated -Commodore Coe, of the Montevidian navy, who, in an engagement with -Admiral Brown, of the Buenos Airean service, fired every shot from his -lockers. - -“What shall we do, sir?” asked his first lieutenant. - -It looked as if Coe would have to strike his colors, when it occurred to -his first lieutenant to use Dutch cheese as cannon balls. There happened -to be a large quantity of these on board, and in a few minutes the fire -of the old _Santa Maria_--Coe’s ship--which had ceased entirely, was -reopened, and Admiral Brown found more shot flying over his head. -Directly, one of them struck his mainmast, and, as it did so, shattered -and flew in every direction. - -“What the dickens is the enemy firing?” asked Brown. - -But nobody could tell. Directly another came in through a port and -killed two men who were near him, and then, striking the opposite -bulwarks, burst into pieces. - -Brown believed it to be some newfangled paixhan or other, and as four or -five more of them came slap through his sails, he gave orders to fill -away, and actually backed out of the fight, receiving a parting -broadside of Dutch cheese. - - - - -Where’s the Commandant? - -By C. C. WADDELL. - -(This interesting story was commenced in No. 140 of NICK CARTER STORIES. -Back numbers can always be obtained from your news dealer or the -publishers.) - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -STRANGE PRECAUTIONS. - - -While Grail was shaving, at that two-minute gait which, once acquired at -West Point, is never forgotten, a sudden suggestion came to him, and he -laid down his razor to draft out on a telegraph blank a composition, -which seemed, from the way he frowned and bit his pen over it, to -require careful consideration. - -Finishing it at last, he slipped it into a sealed envelope, and when he -had completed his dressing, carried it and the note from Appleby over to -the post-telegraph office. - -The Appleby note he laid on the table under a paper weight. - -“Sergeant,” he said to the man in charge, “I want you to keep your eye -on that paper, and if it disappears, instantly transmit this to the -address within.” He handed over the sealed envelope. - -The man stared at him as though he thought he had suddenly gone crazy. -“If the paper disappears?” he gasped. - -“Exactly.” Grail looked at him sternly. “And let there be no mistake in -carrying out instructions, please. As you may surmise, there are strange -things going on, and much may depend on you to-night. I repeat, if the -paper on the desk disappears, you are to send without delay the dispatch -in that sealed envelope.” - -Then he started for the waiting taxi; but the operator halted him at the -door. - -“Oh, by the way, captain,” he called, “Miss Vedant was trying to get you -several times this afternoon.” A bit confused by Grail’s impressive -manner and the peculiar instructions given him, he did not think to add -that the call had come by wireless. - -“Miss Vedant?” The adjutant swung around, his hand on the knob. “Did she -leave any message for me?” - -“No, sir. Merely said she would call again.” - -“Very well. It makes no difference now. I shall probably see her in -person in ten or fifteen minutes.” - -Whirling uptown with Cato in the cab, he kept pondering over the matter, -wondering why Meredith had been so anxious to communicate with him, and -trying to piece out an answer from the facts at his disposal. - -Then he suddenly slapped his knee, as what seemed to be a solution broke -upon him. - -“Cato,” he exclaimed, “do you remember what Simmons was saying when he -was interrupted by that pistol shot, and the arrival of the Japs?” - -“Something about a family reunion between the colonel and his daughter, -wasn’t it, sir?” - -“Yes; the exact words, as I remember, were that it would be quite a -family reunion to have father and daughter under----” Then he stopped. -“Cato, what he was about to say was ‘under one roof.’ Don’t you see it, -man? Colonel Vedant was taken from the hut last night to the home of -Otto Schilder.” - -Cato looked puzzled. “Is Mr. Schilder one of the gang, too?” he -demanded. - -“No.” He hesitated, then added, in a lower tone: “But, as I have known -from the beginning, a member of Schilder’s household has long been on -terms of clandestine friendship with this man Dabney, or Rezonoff. She -has, in fact, been his chief aid in all this matter.” - -“She?” Cato glanced at him. - -“Yes; Mrs. Schilder. There is no longer any use in trying to protect -her, for I gather from the circumstances that her husband already knows -all. To my mind, that is the explanation of his summoning Appleby to his -office this afternoon, and of the conference of officers at the house -to-night. He probably wants to arrange some plan to hush the affair up -with as little scandal as possible. - -“I should not be surprised, too,” he went on, “to learn that it was Miss -Vedant who discovered the secret of the colonel’s presence in the house; -for she is quick-witted enough to have outgeneraled even so crafty a -schemer as that woman. Yes, that must be it,” he repeated; “she found it -out and tried to communicate with me, but, failing in that, finally -turned to Schilder.” - -“Well, we’ll know for certain in a minute now,” said Cato, as the cab -halted under the porte-cochère; “for here we are.” - -The door swung open to them, as they climbed the steps. - -“If you please, sir,” the man who admitted them said to Grail, “Miss -Vedant wishes to see you at once. Will you follow me? She is in madame’s -boudoir.” Then, with less ceremony, he directed Sergeant Cato to -accompany another man to a room belowstairs. - -Up a softly carpeted flight Grail was led by his guide, and along the -hall; then the man, drawing aside heavy portières, disclosed a room -suffused with a dim, rosy light. - -Grail took a step forward, but halted as he saw no one there. Before he -could turn, however, he was dealt a stunning blow over the head. He -reeled, threw up his hands to clutch vainly at the air, then felt -himself falling, and knew no more. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -A MEETING. - - -As Meredith Vedant had halted, fear-stricken, paralyzed with terror at -her startling discovery in the lonely attic, a sudden flash of lightning -from the rising storm blazed down through the windows overhead, and for -a second illuminated the face of the prostrate prisoner. - -It was Ormsby Grail! - -Instantly her trepidation, the swooning weakness she had felt coming -over her, was gone, swallowed up, like her feminine apprehensions in -coming to the place, in a greater emotion. - -He was in danger. He was bound and helpless. He needed her aid. -Hurriedly she flung herself down beside him, and wrenched away the gag -from his lips, meanwhile calling on him breathlessly to tell her what -had happened. - -But he made no answer. His head rolled from side to side at her touch. - -She drew back with a gasp. Was he dead? But no; a long-drawn sigh, and -the beating of his heart as she laid her ear to his chest, reassured her -on that point. - -Still, he was insensible, injured--perhaps fatally. He must have proper -aid and attention at once; and where could she get it in this house, -which was only too evidently dominated by his enemies and hers? - -For a moment her head drooped helplessly; then, with quick recollection, -she sprang to the wireless instrument. - -Feverishly she twisted the knobs, and sent in call after call to the -post; but her only response was an ear-splitting crackling and snapping. -There was too much electricity in the air; the “static” was baffling -her. - -Still, useless though she knew the attempt to be, she kept on sending -the call, until at last she was interrupted by the sound of a mutter -behind her, and, turning, saw, in the lightning flashes, Grail halfway -up on one elbow. - -“That chemist is crazy”--his words came jerkily--“that wasn’t what he -said it was; that was a picric-acid compound, and the Russians are -adepts with picric. Why didn’t I think of that before?” - -The girl sprang toward him. “Ormsby! Ormsby!” she cried, slipping her -arm under him and supporting his head on her shoulder. “Tell me you are -not badly hurt!” - -But he paid no heed. His befogged brain had room only for the -calculations upon which he was engaged. - -“I understand the trick about the typewriting, too, now,” he went on. -“In case the explosive failed to work, they had another come-back. By -imitating the defects of Schilder’s typewriter, and using his -letterhead, they could always, as a last resource, throw suspicion on -him. I’ll bet, though, the woman was responsible for that touch, Cato; -she is just the sort to----” - -He halted suddenly, realizing, as his wits cleared, that it was not -Cato’s strong arm supporting him, nor Cato’s gruff voice so beseechingly -imploring him. - -He raised his head bewilderedly to see, and a kindly flash of lightning -showed him her face. - -“Meredith!” he exclaimed. “Are you a prisoner, too?” - -“No, no!” she cried. “I am here to help you, if I can. But tell me first -that you are not hurt?” - -“Hurt?” he scoffed, although as a matter of fact his head was still -dazed and ringing from the blow it had received. “Help me loosen this -strap about my feet, and I’ll show you how little I am hurt.” - -Then, while she relieved him of his remaining bonds, and assisted him to -stand, he drew from her the story of how she had happened to come to his -rescue. - -“My dear girl,” he murmured tenderly, and although neither of them could -tell just how it happened, another moment found them in each other’s -arms. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - -THE WAY. - - -“We are neglecting the colonel!” said Grail presently. “Come, we must -lose no time in releasing him.” - -“Father?” She stared at him. - -“Yes. I am satisfied that he is somewhere here, held a prisoner just as -I was.” - -As he spoke, he began lighting matches, and holding them above his head; -and in a moment he caught sight of the strong room, with its -iron-sheathed door. - -“What is that?” he inquired. Then, as Meredith told him, he stepped over -to inspect it. - -Meredith hesitated. “But, Ormsby,” she faltered, “the place is full of -rats. I heard them when I stood at the door to-day.” - -“It was not rats, my dear. It was doubtless your father trying to -attract your attention. It was an ideal place of incarceration, and they -have had him here ever since last night, when you saw the two men leave -in the automobile, whom you took for burglars.” - -Thus assured, Meredith lost no time in opening the door herself; it was -fastened merely by a heavy bolt, and the lock was broken; but, to -Grail’s intense surprise, although there was ample evidence there of a -recent prisoner, the place was empty. - -“By Jove!” ejaculated Grail, glancing about at the iron-sheathed walls, -and high-up, narrow window. “Impossible as it seems, the colonel must -have managed to escape. How any one of his build, though, could -have----” - -He ceased at the abrupt, warning clutch of Meredith’s hand on his arm. -“Some one is coming!” she whispered tensely. - -Grail thrust her behind him, and, closing the door of the strong room to -a crack, listened. Unquestionably there were footsteps on the stairs, -and looking out he could see the gleam of an electric flash light -playing against the ceiling. What new danger menaced them now? - -The steps came on; the ray of the flash light descended until it spread -across the floor; then Grail received one of the surprises of his life. - -Through the door, breathing a little heavily from their climb, came Otto -Schilder and Colonel Vedant. - -They paused at the threshold, a trifle perplexedly; then came on toward -the strong room. - -“If they have put Grail in here, though,” muttered the colonel, “they -must have discovered my escape.” - -The adjutant and Meredith waited no longer. Quickly stepping out, they -disclosed themselves; and, while Meredith went to her father’s arms, -Grail obtained from Schilder some rather enlightening explanations. - -“My wife, you must understand, Captain Grail,” said the foundryman, “has -a brother, Ivan Rezonoff, to whom she is devotedly attached, but whom, -on account of his profession, I have forbidden her to have anything to -do with. I am a loyal American citizen, and I stand for no spying by the -emissaries of any foreign government. Recently, though, I learned that -Rezonoff was in Brentford under an assumed name; and before I could make -up my mind just what course to take in the matter, the colonel’s -abduction occurred. - -“I was satisfied that Rezonoff had engineered it,” he continued, “from -the fact that my wife had induced me to employ several of her countrymen -at the plant; but I determined to say nothing until I could confirm my -suspicions. Last night I discovered that my brother-in-law and two other -men had secretly visited the house, and by putting two and two together -I finally reached the conclusion that it was for the purpose of -secreting the colonel on these premises. I could find out nothing from -the servants, since they are all under Mrs. Schilder’s domination; but -by conducting a quiet search on my own hook, I eventually found the -colonel, released him, and for the last two hours have had him in my -apartment, restoring him and getting him in shape after his experiences. - -“I also kept on the watch for developments in the meantime,” he went on, -“and by cross-examining one of the footmen who appeared to me to be -acting suspiciously, forced him to confess what had befallen you and -your companion. The colonel and I then came here at once to liberate -you; and since the sergeant, as I understand, is in the cellar, we will -proceed there at once to set him free, also. - -“First, however”--he turned so as to include the colonel in his -remarks--“I wish to consult you gentlemen in regard to future steps. I -make no plea for Rezonoff, of course; he must be dealt with as you see -fit. But I do hope that some way can be found to cover up Mrs. -Schilder’s folly, and----” - -“Don’t worry about that, dear Otto,” interrupted a taunting voice from -the head of the stairs. “The way is here!” - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - -THE EXPIATION. - - -Turning in the flood of light which suddenly burst on them, the -surprised four saw Rezonoff and his accomplice, Pepernik, each with a -flash light in one hand and a big revolver in the other. Catlike, the -Russians had crept up the stairs, and had caught their quarry napping. - -“Hands up, there!” Rezonoff snapped. “I don’t believe any of you are -armed, but all the same, I am taking no chances. Pepernik, step over and -search those men.” - -The ceremony concluded to his satisfaction, he lowered his gun, and, -stepping forward, swept the faces in front of him with a grin of -malicious triumph. - -“Rats in a trap, eh?” His tone was savage, pitiless. “Well, like rats -you shall perish. The old man there was to have been my only victim; but -since you all have--what is the American phrase? Ah, yes--‘butted in,’ -you will all--even you, Otto--have to share his fate. I shall lock you -all in up here, and then set fire to the house. Already there are -inflammables in every room below, the nearest fire-alarm boxes are -disconnected, and all surrounding telephone wires cut. The blaze will -get a rare start, I assure you.” - -Involuntarily, Schilder, Meredith, and her father recoiled before such -fiendish malice. Only Grail held himself unmoved. - -“Ah, captain?” The Russian turned to him. “You doubt me, eh? You don’t -think I will do what I say? Well, I will show you. I go now to set the -torch.” - -“No; I don’t think so!” There was something in Grail’s quiet tone which -held the other in spite of himself. - -“I won’t, eh? Why not?” - -“Because, despite the cleverness of the note you sent me to-night, I -suspected it was a forgery, and left it with the telegraph operator at -the fort, instructing him, in case it disappeared, to transmit without -delay a dispatch I left with him at the same time. - -“The dispatch,” he continued, “was to our secretary of state at -Washington, giving a full account of your acts of the past three days, -and asking him to communicate them to the Russian ambassador. So, -Captain Rezonoff, inasmuch as you have already exceeded your -instructions, and, as the agent of your government, been guilty of an -outrage which must seriously embarrass the Russian foreign office, I do -not think you will care to go to such extremes as you threaten.” - -The emissary’s face paled. He knew what it meant to fail in such a -mission as he had undertaken--to be recalled in disgrace. - -“The Russian government,” Grail added pointedly, “will hardly -countenance criminal acts on the part of one of its emissaries, done for -purposes of private revenge. More than that, Rezonoff, you know that the -affair in which Colonel Vedant was involved, many years ago, in Russia, -affected his honor, and that he acquitted himself with honor. Your -present attempts at a belated revenge are the acts of a vindictive and -dishonorable man. It looks very bad for you!” - -Captain Rezonoff took a step forward, and gazed at Grail anxiously. “Has -that message been sent to Washington?” he asked chokingly. - -“Many hours ago, I believe,” returned Grail quietly. “It has surely been -sent if your forged letter disappeared, as you planned to have it, and -if the----” - -But there was no need for Grail to say more. There came to their ears a -swish of silken skirts on the stairway, and Mrs. Schilder, in an -elaborate dinner gown, but pale and agitated, burst in upon them. - -She paid no heed to any of the others, but swiftly singling out her -brother, thrust a telegram toward him. - -He gave one glance at it, then, crumpling it in his hand, dropped it to -the floor. - -“What does it mean, Ivan?” the woman cried, clinging to him -hysterically. “What does it mean?” - -He put her away from him, nodding over his shoulder to Schilder to take -her. - -“Believe me, gentlemen”--he swept the group with a glance--“my sister -had no idea of my full intentions. She thought it only ordinary -secret-service work, and was chiefly concerned with fear that her -husband would find out what she was doing. I deceived her as to my -object. Russia has no use for failures! I know what my duty is!” - -And, before any one could intervene, he moved briskly out of the attic -and down the stairs. - -“Quick!” cried Colonel Vedant. “The man will escape!” - -Grail raised a restraining hand. “I don’t think he cares to get away,” -he said quietly. - -The look in the adjutant’s face held them all spellbound. Mrs. Schilder -clung to her husband, her face as white as chalk. Pepernik, the -conspirator, stood silent and nonplussed, making no effort to leave the -room. Every eye was upon him when suddenly, from below, in one of the -larger apartments, came the muffled report of a revolver. - -Mrs. Schilder swooned, without a cry. Meredith Vedant gazed with -fascination, silently, at the imperturbable countenance of the -adjutant. The colonel and the adjutant, grim fighting men, turned cold, -inquiring looks upon the white and trembling Pepernik. The man seemed to -feel their question, and he raised his hands in a weak gesture of -helplessness. “I--I have not the courage of Captain Rezonoff,” he -muttered. “I surrender. Send for your police.” - -Grail took the revolver which the man held out weakly, then turned and -went downstairs to the telephone. - - -THE END. - - - - -AN ODD GHOST STORY. - - -“It is strange,” said my grandfather one winter’s evening, as we sat by -the log fire, roasting chestnuts and watching the flames leaping and -dancing in harmony with the music of the crackling of the fuel and the -bursting of the nuts. “I was saying, Tom, that it was strange that the -trivial incidents and events of one’s early life stand out so clearly -through all the years that have slipped by, and seem as vivid and real -as the things of yesterday.” - -Then grandfather stopped and looked at the fire, evidently in deep -thought, from which we children knew from past experience he would -evolve some story which would call for all our interest and attention. - -And so it proved, for, rousing himself suddenly, he hurried into a -narrative at once strange and interesting. - -“Yes,” he said, “ghost stories are, as a rule, capable of explanation. I -know it for a fact. If only those who see the apparition were to exert a -little presence of mind, it would be possible for them to solve what -they precipitately put down as supernatural and mysterious. - -“I remember when I was a young man that I received an urgent invitation -from a very valued friend to spend a couple of weeks at his father’s -house at Mobberley. Of course, I responded most willingly, the more so -that I had never been to his place before, although I had heard much of -it. We traveled by coaches in those days, and a journey from London to -the north of Lincolnshire was no unconsidered trifle, I can assure you. -However, in a few days I found myself speeding up the drive which led to -the ancestral home of the Arden Howard family, and was, in truth, highly -gratified at the hearty reception my friend and his people extended to -me. - -“There was no event of unusual interest for some days. Hunting, -shooting, and skating parties were organized, and in a downright -old-fashioned way we young people did justice to the entertainment so -lavishly provided. - -“But it so happened that one day during the first week of my stay, and -some few days before Christmas, I met with a slight accident while on -the ice, and a sprained ankle prevented me from further indulging in -outside sports for the remainder of my stay. Nevertheless, I insisted -that my inability to join them should in no way deter my companions from -following their own sweet will. Thus it happened that one evening I was -the sole occupant of the great hall, which was, in point of fact, the -largest room in the whole house, and a most imposing apartment it was. -The lofty ceiling was supported by massive beams of oak finely carved, -and blackened by the smoke of centuries, while hanging round its walls -were some of the most beautiful tapestries I have ever seen. At -intervals were placed suits of armor, shields, swords, spears, and other -warlike implements, which shone and glistened in the glow of the immense -fire which burned in the open hearth. - -“For a while I had occupied myself with a book, sitting far back in the -chimney corner, in order to avoid, as much as possible, the drafts which -seemed to steal upon one from all quarters; but as it grew dusk I threw -it aside, and fell into a state of musing, which must have lasted some -considerable time, since I found afterward that my pipe, which I had -just filled, was empty when I roused myself. The immediate cause of my -arousal is the point of my tale, which is most interesting and curious. -I was, as I said, sitting far in the chimney recess--where the light of -the fire, which made more or less visible the whole of the room, was -unable to penetrate--and was speculating on the various objects of -interest the place contained, when a door at the farther end of the room -was cautiously opened, and a figure arrayed in a garment of white -noiselessly entered and glided over the stone floor. It came straight -across the apartment, and casting a furtive glance round, took from its -place on the wall what in the distance seemed a long dagger, and in -another moment it was gone--disappearing, it would seem, behind the -tapestry hangings. - -“You may judge I was somewhat startled at the apparition, yet being -curious to see for myself what further would happen, I sat immovable for -the period of--it may have been--fifteen minutes, when I was both -shocked and horrified to see the figure return, with the same noiseless -tread, clutching the dagger in its hand; while the drapery, the hand, -and the dagger itself were now covered with stains of blood. Before -replacing it, however, the figure wiped the blade upon its dress, and -left thereon a most ghastly and appalling stain. Then, with a -significant, almost noiseless laugh, it withdrew as it had come. If I -was startled at first, you may judge that the ‘creepy’ sensation was not -a little augmented by the second appearance, and I had come to no -satisfactory solution of the matter, when my friend, returning, entered -the hall, and burst into an excited account of his afternoon’s sport. - -“That night I questioned the family as to the ghostly visitor, but found -that the house was quite free from any such tradition, not even -possessing, as most old country houses do, a haunted chamber; and the -family were as much astonished at my vision as I was myself. They had -never heard of any such apparition, and for some time stoutly held that -I had fallen asleep and dreamed the whole thing. Finally it was agreed -that on the following day Herbert and I should watch together, and -accordingly, at the same hour next day, we stationed ourselves in the -chimney recess to await events; but we waited in vain. - -“Three days we watched thus, and for three days I endured the -good-natured banter of the whole family; but on the fourth -day--Christmas Eve--our patience was rewarded, for scarcely had we -settled into comfortable shape, when the ghost walked. Never shall I -forget my companion’s face as the door opened, disclosing the form -swathed in white. Hitherto he had been skeptical, and was the most -aggressive of my many tormentors; yet I can now see how his eyes became -fixed and his ruddy face paled before the dimly outlined form, which, -with many a sidelong, cautious glance, neared the spot it had visited -when I first observed it. So still and deathlike was the silence, that -the crackling of the log startled us, and I believe we both felt as -though ‘our each particular hair’ was standing on end, as the white arm -of the figure drew out the dagger from its sheath; it certainly is true -we drew breath more easily when the door was once more closed. Still, we -were determined to unravel the mystery, and so with tremulous steps we -followed our unearthly visitant. Herbert was familiar with the passage -along which we hurried, through a concealed door, into a large -courtyard, from which the various outbuildings were entered. - -“There was just light enough to enable us to discern the movements of -the object we were tracking. Leaving the yard, it entered a building -opposite our point of observation. Immediately there was a scuffling -sound as of some one struggling, and, terrified and alarmed, we rushed -across the yard. What a spectacle we beheld! Never shall I forget the -sight which met our gaze. The figure in white was stooping over a living -form, which emitted the most horrifying cries and sounds that ever fell -on mortal ears. One hand was on the throat, and in the other was the -uplifted weapon of destruction. - -“As we looked we seemed to gain fresh courage, and rushed forward to -prevent, if possible, the coming blow, but as we entered, the hand -dropped, and the dagger entered the throat. Then, with one terrible -shriek and an unavailing struggle, the eyes closed and the living, -animate form became forever still. There, facing us, stood the form in -white, with the dreadful instrument now dripping blood still in his -hands. Yet neither of us moved until, with a strange gesture, it spoke -thus: ‘Oh, Mr. Herbert, sir; please, sir; indeed, sir; I’m awful sorry, -sir, that I used this, sir, but them other knives ain’t a bit sharp, an’ -them ’ere suckin’ pigs wants to be dealt with quicklike. An’ please, -sir, don’t tell master as ’ow I used this, or ’e’ll be after giving me -notice to quit. An’ please, sir, indeed, Mr. Herbert, sir, I’ll never do -it agen, sir.’ - -“The fact of the matter was, that the cook, having to provide sucking -pigs for dinner, clandestinely purloined one of the sharpest -instruments, in order to overcome, as speedily as possible, the -obstacles which lay in the way of pig killing. His white blouse and -apron in the dim, uncertain firelight, together with his strange and -uncanny conduct, had deluded us into the belief that his appearance was -of a supernatural character. - -“This is my ghost story, and I venture to believe that the majority of -those told would, if treated to a similar investigation, prove just as -delusive.” - -And my grandfather, having ended his tale, resumed once more his pipe, -and sat laughingly enjoying our somewhat amusing criticism of his story -of the cook’s ghost. - - - - -A KING WHO WANTED FRESH AIR. - - -Not long ago there was terrible excitement at the royal court of Annam. -The king, Thanh Tai, who is now fourteen years old, was missing. -Etiquette requires that the Annamese king shall never leave the royal -grounds. He is a kingly prisoner. - -But the young potentate was not hard to find. Though he was a king, he -was a boy; and it is natural for a boy, when he has some money in his -pocket, to want to go out and spend it. - -That was exactly what the King of Annam had done. Entirely alone, he had -started on a “shopping” expedition through the streets of Hue. Of -course, no one knew him, because he had never shown his face in public. -He was simply a boy, like any boy; and this was exactly what he wanted. - -But he was treated with great respect by the shopkeepers, because he -seemed to have plenty of money. Curiously enough, the thing which seemed -to attract him most was a head-shearing machine, or hair clipper, and -when the frightened nobles of the court discovered him at last, it was -with this singular implement in his possession. - -He had already begun to experiment with it on the heads of several small -street boys, who were proving rebellious subjects, when the courtiers -approached him, prostrating themselves upon the ground, and making -alarmed outcries. - -The king no longer goes out shopping, but he retains his hair clipper as -a souvenir of a happy day of freedom with the street boys. - - - - -THE FLAGSTAFF ON THE TOWER. - -By WARREN BELL. - - -“Well,” said Mr. Grafton, as he pushed his chair back from the breakfast -table, “I think you’ve seen everything there is to be seen in such an -out-of-the-way place. Now, Harry, are you sure you’ve shown your friend -everything?” - -Harry Grafton was my great chum, and I was spending a part of the -vacation with him. On hearing his father’s question, he puckered up his -brow and gave his not usually overtaxed brain a little exercise. - -“Let’s see,” he replied, “you’ve seen the town hall and the old powder -mill, my rabbits, the bridge, and the lake. Yes, he’s seen everything, -father.” - -“But he hasn’t been up the tower yet!” put in Jack Grafton, a young imp -of ten summers--and other seasons--who faithfully followed his brother -and myself about wherever we went. - -Mr. Grafton’s beautiful country house was built of stone, with a tower -at one corner. This tower was very high and intersected with little -windows here and there. - -“No, that he hasn’t!” exclaimed Harry, pleased at the idea of having -something else left to show me. “If you’ll let me have the keys, father, -we’ll go at once.” - -Mr. Grafton hesitated before procuring the needful keys. - -“You must be very careful,” he said; “and, Harry, my boy, you mustn’t -play any foolhardy pranks up there. Jack, I shan’t allow you to go at -all.” - -Jack looked doleful as Mr. Grafton handed over the keys to his eldest -son, who promptly led the way to the tower. - -With some difficulty Harry opened the massive door of the edifice, and -just as we were commencing our ascent on the spiral staircase we heard a -patter of small feet behind us, and, on looking round, observed that -Jack, unknown to his father, had managed to get into the tower as well, -by means, as he explained, of a side door which had been left open by -some servant. - -At first his elder brother was for sending him back, but the little chap -pleaded so hard to be allowed to accompany us, that at length Harry -yielded to his entreaties, and we continued our journey up the tower, -Harry leading the way, myself next, and Jack last. - -After a toilsome and dusty climb, we at length emerged on the roof of -the tower, from which post of vantage we could see the country for many -miles round. - -But neither Harry nor Jack troubled themselves much about the view. -Delighted at being in such an exalted position, young Jack scampered -about the leaden roof in a most frisky manner, while Harry took in his -surroundings with all the gusto of a sixteen-year-old schoolboy. After a -time they fell to cutting their initials on the leadwork, and, this -done, looked about them for a fresh source of amusement. They were not -long in finding one. - -In the center of the tower had been erected a tall and noble-looking -flagstaff. On the morning in question no flag was flying, only the staff -and its cordage being visible. - -Harry, looking round for something fresh for his “idle hands to do,” -spied the vacant staff, and at once came to the conclusion that, as no -flag was to hand, something in the shape of one should be made to float -in the air in recognition of my visit to the village. So he quickly -collected all the handkerchiefs and ties appertaining to the trio, -knotted them together, and in a very short time had run them up to the -top of the flagstaff, where they floated defiantly in the breeze. - -Small Jack clapped his hands with delight, and, climbing a little way up -the staff, began to lower and raise the impromptu flag with a too -energetic rapidity, for, on running it swiftly up to the top, the cord -got entangled in some way, with the result that the string of ties and -handkerchiefs remained fixed at the top of the staff, some eighteen feet -out of our reach. - -“Well, you are a young idiot, Jack!” exclaimed his elder brother -angrily. “See what you’ve done!” - -The young gentleman addressed had no need to look, for he was fully -aware of the magnitude of his crime. - -“The cord has come off the roller,” I remarked. - -“Yes,” said Harry. “The same thing happened a year ago last Fourth of -July, and Tom Cartwright, one of the gardeners, had to climb to the top -of the staff and put it right.” - -“It’s rather a slender pole to bear a man’s weight,” I said. - -“Yes,” said Harry, “everybody thought it was a risky thing to do; but -Tom’s a light chap, and he managed it all right. Father gave him two -dollars, I remember, for his pluck.” - -Harry stopped speaking, and we all three gazed at the far-away ties and -handkerchiefs. - -“Father will be awfully angry,” said Harry; “and, by Jove! Jack, you’ll -get it for coming up when he told you not to.” - -Jack was looking exceedingly troubled at this piece of information, when -a voice in our rear observed: - -“Well, young gentlemen, this is a pretty piece of work!” - -We turned round quickly, and perceived that a grimy head, clad in a -rough tweed cap, had been poked through the trapdoor which led onto the -top of the tower, and that a pair of brown eyes belonging to the same -was watching us with considerable interest. - -“Oh, Tom, is that you?” exclaimed Harry. “This is the very man I was -telling you about,” he continued, turning to me. - -Tom Cartwright, after showing us his head, next proceeded to manifest -that he possessed a body and a complete set of limbs, by hoisting -himself through the trap and standing upright on the roof. - -“I’ve been mending a window,” he explained, “and saw you go up the -staircase, although you didn’t see me.” - -“How are we to get it down?” asked Harry despondingly, pointing to his -flag. - -Tom jerked and pulled the ropes for some little time, and at length gave -it as his opinion that nothing short of “climbin’ would do it.” - -“Look here, Tom,” said Harry desperately, “if you’ll climb up and get -those things down, I’ll give you all the money I have--fifty cents.” - -“And I’ll give you ten cents,” chimed in Jack, putting a grubby little -hand in his pocket and pulling out the sum in question. - -“I don’t want your money, Master Harry,” said the gardener sturdily, -“and if I did, I don’t think I could earn it, as I doubt if this pole -’u’d bear me now. I’m heavier than I was a year ago, and the pole’s not -so tough.” - -“Oh, it’ll bear you,” said Harry. “You see Tom, I don’t want father to -know anything about this.” - -Tom smiled grimly as he proceeded to take off his coat and boots. - -“I’ll try it, Master Harry,” he said, getting up and shaking the staff -by way of testing its bearing properties. “‘Never say die’ is my motto, -so here goes.” - -With these words the gardener commenced his ascent of the staff, which -began to tremble violently beneath his weight. We three clustered at its -foot, watching the climber’s movements with hard-drawn breath and -straining eyes, for it was no light task that Cartwright had set himself -to accomplish. Up, up, up, he went, with the skill of a practiced -climber, never pausing and never looking down. In order to find out -whether he was observed, Harry ran to the parapet and looked over. - -“Why, there’s quite a crowd of people there!” he exclaimed, starting -back, “and--and--yes, I can see father among them.” - -I took a hasty glance over the parapet myself, and noticed that all the -people in the neighborhood were hastening out of their houses in order -to get a better view of the intrepid climber. From the point where I -looked over, the tower went sheer down to the ground, without a break of -any kind. - -“Tom has reached the top!” sang out Harry, while I was still gazing at -the people below. - -I hastened back to the foot of the staff, and perceived that the -gardener was rapidly disengaging the line of ties and handkerchiefs from -the rope. The staff was trembling violently, and so I suggested to Harry -that we three should hold it by its stem, since we might, in that way, -be able to steady it in a measure. - -So we all seized it, and, as subsequent events proved, it was very -fortunate that we did so, for just as Tom had unfastened Harry’s flag -and adjusted the line in its proper place, the staff gave a loud crack. - -“Look out, Tom!” Harry was just shouting, when the staff broke at the -bottom and fell, with its human burden, right across the side of the -tower which faced the people below. I remember--indeed, shall I ever -forget?--the glimpse that I got of the gardener’s face as the top of -the pole flashed over the parapet. He was pale as death, and seemed, as -he passed through the air, already to taste the bitterness of death. It -was truly an awful moment! - -We three at the foot of the pole mechanically clung to it, with the -result that our combined weight kept the staff from going right over the -parapet. For a few seconds the catastrophe took the shape of a terrible -game of seesaw, Cartwright, with the majority of the staff, hanging over -the parapet, and ourselves, with little more than the stem of the pole, -balancing it down on our side. Meanwhile, the gardener, with wonderful -nerve and strength, clung to his frail support. First the staff went -down on his side, and we went up in the air. Then, as our combined -weight altered our position, Harry got one foot into the trap, with the -result that the gardener was poised in the air and held there simply by -the strength of Harry’s leg. Cartwright grasped the situation in a -moment, and, with a shout to Harry to keep the pole in that position, -came down the staff hand over hand till he reached the parapet, when he -slid onto the leaden roof and sank down in a dead faint. - -Instantly we pulled up the staff amid a tremendous yell of relief from -the people below. Two minutes later Mr. Grafton and a dozen of his -neighbors were by our side, some attending to Cartwright, and some to -little Jack, who had also fainted with fright. - -Thus did a boyish freak almost end in a terrible tragedy. - - - - -SWISS WATCH SCHOOLS. - - -The famous Swiss watch schools are the most exacting industrial -institutions in the world. Their methods, which are doubtless the secret -of their success, are very curious and interesting. - -In one of the most celebrated of these institutions in Geneva, for -example, a boy must first of all be at least fourteen years of age in -order to enter. - -After being admitted, the student is first introduced to a wood-turning -lathe, and put it work at turning tool handles. This exercise lasts for -several weeks, according to the beginner’s aptitude. This is followed by -exercises in filing and shaping screw drivers and small tools. In this -way he learns to make for himself a fairly complete set of tools. - -He next undertakes to make a large wooden pattern of a watch frame, -perhaps a foot in diameter, and, after learning how this frame is to be -shaped, he is given a ready-cut one of brass, of the ordinary size, in -which he is taught to drill holes for the wheels and screws. Throughout -this instruction the master stands over the pupil, directing him with -the greatest care. - -The pupil is next taught to finish the frame so that it will be ready to -receive the wheels. He is then instructed to make fine tools and to -become expert in handling them. - -This completes the instruction in the first room, and the young -watchmaker next passes to the department where he is taught to fit the -stem-winding parts, and to do fine cutting and filing by hand. - -Later on he learns to make the more complex watches, which will strike -the hour, minute, et cetera, and the other delicate mechanisms for which -the Swiss are famous. - - - - -THE NEWS OF ALL NATIONS. - - -Tobacco Going Out of Style. - -Discussing smoking among students in a chapel address, President Main, -of Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa, declared that he expected the day -to come when the use of the weed would be as obsolete as snuff taking -now is. - -“Time was,” said the president, “when everybody, from prince to pauper, -prided himself on his ability to dip snuff, but now the only place you -can find snuff boxes is in a museum of antiquities, and some day our -descendants may have to go to these same museums to find our pipes and -other smokers’ utensils.” - -There is no definite faculty ordinance at Grinnell against smoking, but -for years one of the unwritten laws of the students has been that there -shall be no use of tobacco in public. - - -Pet Ground Hog Leaves Home. - -About four years ago H. M. Adington, living near Hilliard, Ky., captured -a ground hog. He soon had it tamed like any of his other domestic pets, -and running about his premises as freely as his dog or cat. He finally -had it so it would obey him just like a child. - -While the ground hog was small, Adington pierced holes in its ears, -intending to insert silver rings in the punctures for novelty and -ornament, but he never could secure the rings. - -Later, for some unsolved reason, unless the ground hog started out in -search of its shadow, it disappeared. This was about four years ago. -Recently a farmer living near Mr. Adington’s place shot and killed a -ground hog, and in descriptions of it Adington quickly recognized that -it was none other than his former pet. - - -Boy Weds Twelve-year-old Bride. - -Eugene Bowman, aged twenty, has married Leona Hemphill, whose age is -twelve years and six months, after courting the little maid for over two -years. The bride’s mother is a widow with six children and she is said -to have made no objection to the wedding. All parties are residents of -Independence, La. - - -Bow and Arrows Fatal Weapon. - -A bow and arrows constitute a deadly weapon. For driving two surveyors -off his reservation farm with a shower of glass-tipped arrows, Willie -Anton, an aged Pima, was convicted in the Federal court for the district -of Arizona of assault with a deadly weapon and given a jail sentence of -sixty days. Anton had a lawyer who interposed the defense that a bow and -arrows are not a deadly weapon. - - -A Pleasant Railroad Story. - -A grudge turned to gratitude is the unusual experience of John Hansen, a -railroad conductor of Atchison, Kan. Years ago when he was a freight -conductor he whipped a boy for hopping his train. The boy threatened to -kill him, and for several years shouted threats at him when the train -passed by. - -Finally Hansen was promoted to a passenger train, and did not see the -boy, as he passed through the town at night. Not long ago the conductor -was in the lobby of a hotel at the terminal of his run when a powerfully -framed man approached him and asked: - -“Are you John Hansen?” - -The conductor admitted it, and the stranger continued: - -“Do you think you could whip me?” - -Hansen admitted it was unlikely, as the stranger was a near giant. - -“Well,” continued the stranger, “I am the fellow you whipped once for -hopping trains, and I probably owe my sound legs, arms, and life to you. -Shake hands.” - - -Girls, Do You Get This? - -Declaring they were “watchfully waiting” for the right girl, twenty-two -per cent of Princeton University’s seniors declared they had never been -kissed. A fellow “never wanted to,” while others said they objected to -kissing for “hygienic reasons.” - - -Oregon Town Has a Flesh-eating Horse. - -In Seaside, Ore., they have what is often spoken of as the -“flesh-eating” horse. This animal actually eats the flesh of raw clams, -oysters, mussels, and some meats. He is especially fond of clams, and -will eat them raw in preference to hay or grain; in fact, he will eat -almost anything that is eaten by man or horse. - -“Billie Bitters,” as he is called, is a horse of more than ordinary -intelligence. He will point at a crab in a crab hole as a pointer points -at a bird. He will follow his master from one digging ground to another, -and should he be spoken harshly to, he will sulk like a scolded child, -and the only way that he can be persuaded to follow his master again is -to feed him some more clams. - -Billie understands nearly everything that Mr. Scott says to him. Should -he say: “Billie, it’s time to go home,” the horse will immediately turn -the wagon around and start on the return trip for home. - -Billie is a bunch-grass seven-year-old, and a native of eastern Oregon. -He was brought to the beach by W. B. Scott, of Seaside, when but three -years old and broken into the clam business. Billie has followed this -line of work ever since. - - -Belle of the Ranch is Won by Movie Manager. - -When Leonard B. Gratz arrived at the Laflin Beumer ranch in Vici, Okla., -three years ago in charge of a moving-picture troupe, he found that not -one of the movie actresses was capable of making one of those mad dashes -on horseback that causes thrills in Western dramas. - -He was about to give up hope, when he observed a pretty girl, with her -hair streaming back, riding a galloping horse down the roadway. Gratz -learned that the fair rider was Nellie Beumer, the ranch owner’s -daughter. That same afternoon she successfully portrayed the rôle of the -heroine before the movie camera, and Gratz was more than pleased. - -When the picture players left the ranch, they observed a strong -friendship between Miss Beumer and Gratz. This friendship was kept -alive by correspondence, which finally led in the direction Gratz -desired. - -As a result they were married in a Congregational church in Chicago. -Gratz is now president of a movie ticket company. The couple will spend -their honeymoon at the Panama Exposition. - - -Interesting New Invention. - -A machine with which he says any child can cut its own hair has been -perfected by Joseph J. McDonough, of Rochester, Pa. The invention -consists of an ordinary comb so constructed that a safety-razor blade is -held firmly against each side, at any desired distance from the edge of -the comb. By a system of springs these blades can be regulated so as to -make the cut long or short. According to the inventor, a man can cut his -hair while riding on a fast-moving train, an automobile, or even an -aëroplane, without danger of cutting himself or spoiling the job. - - -Rich Youth is Killed by Saw. - -John B. Tucker, twenty-three years old, fell against a circular saw in a -mill near Haskell, Okla., and was killed. Tucker’s home was in -Meadville, Pa., and he had inherited considerable property. He was -working at the sawmill just because he liked the excitement, and was not -on the pay roll. - - -Finds a Strange Gold Coin. - -C. J. Poole, of Troy, N. C., reports having found a strange gold coin -while plowing near Harrisville. He describes it as follows: - -It is about the size of our silver half dollar; a little larger on the -face, but not quite so thick. Obverse--female head and neck long, -flowing curly hair, decorated with arrowheads; very prominent face, nose -and mouth. Legend--10 Annes, V. D. G. Port, Et. A£g. Rex date 1750. A -large capital “R” on bottom of neck and extending almost into the date -figures. Reverse--crown coat of arms. - -The coin is not quite round, but is evidently in its original shape. It -weighs nearly half an ounce. This coin was probably lying in the ground -during the Revolutionary War, but where it came from, who lost it or hid -it, no one here knows. The coin is in fine condition. - - -Digs Out Mastodon’s Leg. - -Ott Workman, while digging fence-post holes on his river bottom, near -Sholes, Ind., unearthed a leg bone of a mastodon. It is in a good state -of preservation. - - -Newspaper Recalls His Mind. - -J. Foster Jenkins, a wealthy real-estate operator of Yonkers, N. Y., who -disappeared April 7th, has been found in Cincinnati, Ohio, whither he -wandered while a victim of amnesia. Mrs. Jenkins received from him a -letter telling of his recovery. His picture, printed in a newspaper, -restored his memory. - - -Canoe Owner Solves Problem. - -The little power devices which have in recent years been placed on the -market for use on rowboats by placing the device over the stern have -proven very popular, but the owner of the canoe has been prevented from -using it on account of the shape of the stern of the latter, which -leaves no means of securing the engine and its necessary parts. - -This has now been accomplished by an ingenious canoe owner by building a -well in the canoe by two partitions extending across the boat, into -which the engine is lowered after a hole has been cut through the bottom -to accommodate the propeller shaft and blades. This arrangement has been -found to be entirely satisfactory in practice. - - -Most Surprising Discovery. - -The following was found on the examination papers of eleven-year-old -Jimmy Henderson of the public school in Miami, Okla. It was entirely -unintentional, being a list of names of the countries at war, which the -pupils were required to write down: - -G-ermany. -R-ussia. -A-ustria. -B-elgium. -F-rance. -E-ngland. -S-ervia. -T-urkey. - - -What Compound Interest Does. - -One dollar at five per cent compounded interest for one thousand years -would amount to 104 quintillion, 69 quatrillion, 620 trillion, 917 -billion, 985 million, 83 thousand, 389 dollars -($104,069,620,917,985,083,389). This is the result obtained by Edwin -Soule, a freshman in the Newport High School in Marysville, Pa. - -Assistant Principal G. W. Barnitz, of the school, wagered young Soule -that he could not solve the problem. Soule worked until midnight, -consuming two tablets and four pencils. He received his dollar. - - -Barefoot “Baron” of Kentucky Dies. - -Rankin Clemmons, who died last week at the residence of D. B. Cawby, a -tenant on one of his farms, near South Elkhorn, Ky., where he had made -his home for nearly a year, was the largest individual holder of lands -in the blue-grass region of Kentucky, probably the wealthiest citizen of -Lexington County, and a man of many eccentricities. - -Mr. Clemmons owned between 8,000 and 9,000 acres of land in Mercer, -Jessamine, Woodford, and Fayette Counties, of which about 1,100 acres -are in the latter. - -All of Mr. Clemmons’ lands are of high quality, none being valued at -less than $100 per acre, while much of it is estimated to be worth from -$125 to $150 an acre. In addition, Mr. Clemmons is understood to have -held considerable personalty, including cash, pending deals for more -land, and his estate is estimated at nearly $1,500,000. - -A notable feature of Mr. Clemmons’ acquisition of great wealth was the -fact that he had never engaged in speculation or dabbled in city -property, or stocks and bonds, but had amassed his wealth from the -direct products of the soil. - -His whole life was given to the accumulation of his fortune, his entire -being seeming to be centered to that end. He had apparently no other -interests, few attachments, no recreations, and many eccentricities, and -by the latter he was most generally known in this county. - -He had up to the end of his life gone barefooted in the summertime, -except when he came to town; had never bought a newspaper or book; had -never ridden in an automobile or upon an electric car, used a telephone, -or, as far as is known, sent a telegraph message. - -He was, however, a shrewd and alert observer, and kept well informed on -current events through association with others and perusal of newspapers -which happened to come into his hands without cost, and was not averse -to utilizing modern farming implements in his agricultural operations. -However, his life business was that of agricultural financier rather -than farmer, he personally working little of his vast domain of -blue-grass land. - -The farming upon his property was done almost entirely by tenants, -though he himself had daily done hard manual labor throughout his long -life. Only last fall, when eighty-nine years old, he was cutting briers -upon his place just before he became confined with the illness which -caused his death. - -A peculiarity was that he would never raise tobacco, not even on the -shares with his tenants, as is the almost universal custom in the burley -belt. If a man wanted to raise tobacco upon his land, Mr. Clemmons would -rent him the ground at forty dollars an acre. - -“I don’t know anything about raising tobacco,” he would say, “but if you -want to raise it upon my land you can go on and do so, and give me your -note at forty dollars an acre per annum, which people say tobacco land -is worth, and pay it when you sell the crop.” - -He never wore a watch in his life, although he at one time had two -clocks in the house, one which was an ancient brass timepiece, probably -an heirloom, but both of these were stolen many years ago and were never -replaced. The sun was his timekeeper, he going to work by its rising and -considering it time to quit when it had set. He never used a vehicle for -travel, but came to town on horseback, he having made his last visit -here several weeks ago by that method. - -Only one time in all his ninety years, as far as there is any record, -did Mr. Clemmons “blow himself” in an extravagant outlay of money. This -was when he got married, some sixty years ago. On that occasion he not -only bought himself a nice horse and new buggy, but paid fifty dollars -for a set of harness, as he himself was wont to relate. But when the -wedding festivities were over, the buggy was placed in the barn, never -to come out again. Its leather decayed, and fell apart, its wheels -rusted in idleness, and the whole vehicle, with the lapse of time, fell -to pieces. - -Also Mr. Clemmons, in honor of one great event of his life, purchased -extravagantly of wedding garments. Complete as any dandy could have it, -a broadcloth suit, a pair of fine, soft-leather boots, and even a plug -hat, which was in the fashion of that day, were bought to adorn the -bridegroom, but they were never worn but once. - -After the marriage Mr. Clemmons said he must now go to work, and the -stovepipe hat, the soft-leather boots, and the broadcloth suit were hung -upon nails in the attic, and there remained until a few years ago, when -a hard-up thief, who took the clocks likewise, carried off the wedding -raiment. - -Mr. Clemmons’ wife, who had been Miss Virginia Brock, of near Keene, in -Jessamine County, died about thirteen years ago. Two of his three -children had met violent deaths, but he is survived by one child, Mrs. -John Larkin, wife of a farmer near South Elkhorn. - -Mr. Clemmons would have been ninety years old next fall, and with the -exception of his nearly fatal injuries when he was attacked by robbers -in 1891, and on several occasions when he met with accidents in his -work, he had never been critically ill in his life until about a year -ago. - - -Drives Horse 62,868 Miles. - -Adam Puerkle, carrier on R. F. D. Route 2, out of Stuttgart, Ark., has a -horse that he began driving on the route March 9, 1903, and since that -date he has had this horse in constant use, a portion of the time making -daily trips and the rest of the time making three trips a week. - -He has made a total mileage of 62,868 in the mail service with this -horse, and is still using him three trips per week, with a fair prospect -of several years’ more service. This horse is fifteen years old. - - -Cow Chews Tobacco and Dies. - -When William Rogers, a farmer west of Bethany, Mo., returned home from -town late the other night, in the rush of putting away his team and -doing sundry chores he forgot some chewing tobacco which he had -purchased, and left the package containing over two pounds on the wagon -seat. - -Rogers thought of his tobacco in the night, but decided that it would be -safe till morning. - -When he appeared in the barnyard next morning, he was surprised to see -one of his best milch cows standing by the wagon, diligently chewing. An -investigation showed that she had devoured nearly all of the tobacco. -The cow showed symptoms of illness immediately, and a veterinarian was -summoned, but the animal died the next day. - - -His Heart Sewn Up, Patient Recovers. - -A remarkable operation, involving the sewing up of a wound in a man’s -heart, was performed successfully recently at the Beth Israel Hospital, -Monroe and Jefferson Streets, New York City. The injured man, Israel -Ziff, of 238 East 105th Street, is well on the way to recovery, and -probably will be out of the hospital in a few days. - -Ziff operates a pushcart in Monroe Street, near the hospital, selling -slices of coconut to passers-by. He is in the habit of slicing the -coconut himself with a knife, more than a foot long, whose wide blade -tapers down to a sharp point. - -Several months ago Ziff cut himself badly while cutting up his wares, -and his wife and children begged him to give up his occupation and find -some other method of earning a living. He tried to do it, but he could -find nothing else. His pushcart was well known in the neighborhood, and -his business was good; so he was compelled to keep at it. - -Business was brisk one night, and the coconuts were going fast. Ziff had -to cut up new ones from time to time, and every few minutes found him -bending over with his knife at work. Presently the thing he had always -feared happened; his knife slipped and cut through the left breast, a -deep wound. - -Ziff knew he was badly hurt. So he straightened up, laid down his knife, -and started for the Beth Israel Hospital, about a block and a half away. -How he got there continues to be a mystery to the surgeons, but he did -get there. He walked into the office in Jefferson Street, near Cherry -Street, looking as if nothing much matter. - -Doctor George Levy, who received him, saw that his injuries were -serious, and notified Doctor Alfred A. Schwartz, the house surgeon. -Doctor Schwartz’s examination disclosed a wound at least an inch and a -half long at the outer surface and going far down in. - -Doctor Schwartz called up Doctor Charles Goodman, of 969 Madison Avenue, -the attending surgeon, and told him that he was badly needed at once. -Doctor Simon D. Ehrlich, the hospital’s anæsthetist, also was notified, -and Ziff was carried to the operating room. Here Doctor Schwartz packed -the wound with gauze and stopped the flow of blood, and everything was -made ready to start work when Doctor Goodman arrived. - -The operating surgeon arrived in record time, and then began some quick -work. The flow of blood had to be stopped in the first place, and the -patient anæsthetized for the operation. But if the chest where cut open -to check the hemorrhage, the lungs would have collapsed from the air -pressure on the outside, so air had to be pumped in until the inflation -was sufficient to resist the pressure from without. - -This process was combined with the application of the anæsthetic by the -method known as intertracheal anæsthesia. By means of an apparatus -operated by electricity, ether was mixed in a jar with air in the -proportion considered advisable, and the resultant mixture forced -through a tube far down into the patient’s throat. By this means -anæsthesia was produced and the air within the lungs was raised to -double the normal pressure. - -With the patient anæsthetized and the lungs secured against danger of -collapse, Doctor Goodman cut away three ribs and a piece of the -breastbone. He found the chest full of blood, and this had to be drawn -off before anything more could be done. When the blood was cleared away, -Doctor Goodman found that the knife had made a big cut in the -pericardium and that the point had gone flown nearly three-eighths of an -inch into the heart. - -The most ticklish part of the operation followed--sewing up the heart -while it was palpitating. One stitch was sufficient to close the wound -in the heart itself, three more did the work with the pericardium. -Doctor Goodman sewed the skin together over the wound, and Ziff was put -away to recover. He came out of the operation as rapidly as could have -been expected, and except that the protection of the ribs over the heart -will be missing, he is likely to be in no way the worse for his -experience. - -Had the point of the knife gone a millimeter or so farther in, Ziff -never would have lived to get to the hospital, as the consequent -hemorrhage would have been almost instantly fatal. The hospital -authorities at first supposed from the nature and depth of the wound -that he had been stabbed in a fight, and it was not until a day or two -ago that Ziff recovered sufficiently to tell them how he had been -injured. - - -“The Lady of the Lighthouse.” - -Beautiful Mrs. Helen S. Woodruff, of New York, who lived in darkness for -two years, is now working hard for the cause of the blind. In her own -time of trial she patiently learned to “see through her fingers” and -wrote the story, “The Lady of the Lighthouse,” which has made her -famous. - -When her sight was restored by a marvelous operation, she was so -grateful that she has devoted all her time and energy for the benefit of -the New York Association of the Blind, which has established the -original “Lighthouse” in New York. - -Mrs. Woodruff is the first society woman who has acted for the “movies,” -and she only consented to do this in the dramatization of her story -because it would aid the cause of the blind. The photo play which -illustrates her talks on the blind is to be shown all over the country, -for charity. - - -Humorous Exploits of Old-time Editor. - -For a short time immediately preceding the Civil War, Henry Faxon, who, -according to William Lightfoot Vischer, was the “father of American -newspaper humor,” was a special writer on the Louisville _Journal_. -Afterward he went from Louisville to Columbia, Tenn., and was the editor -there, for perhaps a year or so, of a weekly newspaper; but he really -belonged to Buffalo, N. Y. - -Henry Faxon, familiarly called Hank, was a man of innumerable -accomplishments. He could speak many tongues. He was an excellent -electrician, a brilliant musician, had a rich singing voice, and -frequently delighted his company with songs that he sang to his own -accompaniment on the piano. He was a fine draftsman and cartoonist, and -often made pictures with his pencil that were full of fun. - -In newspaper work he wrote with a humor that has never been excelled, -and in a broad, exaggerated style, which was not widely appreciated in -his day. Indeed, he was the originator of that class of newspaper humor, -and a brilliant poet withal. - -It was Faxon who caused Blondin to achieve the first great performance -in rope walking that gave that artist a world-wide fame in--and on--his -particular line. Faxon induced Blondin to walk across Niagara River at -the falls the first time the rope walker attempted that seemingly -perilous feat, which he performed so many times afterward. - -Faxon was the editor of a little newspaper at Buffalo at the time under -consideration--the summer of 1859. A circus had stranded in Buffalo, and -with it was this Frenchman, Emile Gravelot Blondin, who came to this -country in 1855. He was part owner of the broken circus. Faxon took a -fancy to Blondin, or, at any rate, sympathized with him in his distress, -and, after serious discussion of the proposed thrilling feat, Faxon -agreed to supply the paraphernalia, at the cost of several hundred -dollars, and Blondin declared he was ready to perform it, which he did -for the first time on June 30, 1859, later doing that same act with a -man strapped on his back, and again with a wheelbarrow, stove, and -cooking utensils, with which he cooked a meal when halfway over the -rope. - -The thing was widely advertised; great excursions went to see it. -Blondin’s fame and fortune were made. - -Faxon was happiest when doing something to relieve the distress of -another, and he was moreover greatly given to practical joking. These -two characteristics in him produced a hoax that became famous at the -time. - -A little south of Buffalo is a beautiful sheet of water called Silver -Lake, and it had some mysteries about it. In its center was a deep place -that soundings could not measure. Its waters were cold as ice, and there -were no fish or other living creatures in it. On its banks a man had -built a fine hotel, hoping to make it an attractive resort, but guests -were few and tribulation plenty. Bankruptcy threatened, and the landlord -told his troubles to Faxon, who had run down there for a few days’ rest. - -Faxon fixed up a plan to fill the hotel. Faxon went back to Buffalo and -secured the services of another genius--a mechanical genius--a young -German, whose only wealth was his ingenuity and a little tinsmithery. -Faxon told him what he wanted. The German jumped at the idea. - -He constructed a great tin or zinc monster like a sea serpent. It had an -immense and fearful red mouth, from which darted a forked tongue, and -its huge jaws worked like an alligator’s. - -This thing was so anchored near the deepest place in the lake and was so -arranged with pulleys and tiller ropes, or something of that nature, -that being worked from a secret subcellar in the hotel, it could be made -to dart its head and hideous length up out of the lake and lash the -water with its tail until it would send big ripples to the shores. - -Its movements were so rapid and eccentric that the artificiality of the -thing could not be detected, and it had no regular hours for appearance, -but was a sort of a go-as-you-please serpent. - -Faxon wrote blazing columns in his newspapers about it. The newspapers, -all over the country had many lengths of that snake in them, in word -paintings and other picture. The hotel became crowded, and the landlord -put up sheds and tents on his premises and filled them with guests, and -he coined money, so to speak. - -The monstrous serpent was a wonder and a mystery for a great many more -than seven days, but at last, in a specially strenuous flop one day, the -apparatus broke and that old tin serpent turned its white belly up to -the sun, and the Silver Lake snake business exploded. - -Meantime, the landlord had become as rich as a king and could have -afforded to give the hotel away, but he used it for many years as a -country seat, and looked complacently at his fortune as a monument to -the wit of Hank Faxon and the credulity of mankind. - - -How to Live Long, Told by Eleven Men. - -What is the secret of long life? Probably there is no question that has -so many answers, nor such a variety of answers. But it’s still the big -question. The other day eleven recipes for long lives were given at a -dinner at Amarillo, Texas, held in honor of the Reverend James -Cunningham, celebrating his ninetieth birthday. The guests were veterans -of the Confederacy, whose ages ranged from seventy-five to eighty-one, -and each told briefly of the manner of living that had enabled him to -reach old age and retain good health and vigor. - -In substance, the recipes provide for hard work, fresh air, outdoor -living, the avoidance of trouble and worry, good humor, plenty of sleep, -temperance, and the avoidance of tobacco. - -“For fifty years my habits have been regular,” said Doctor Cunningham. -“Before that time I was careless. Then I went outdoors and engaged in -farm work. The change was marvelous, and I have exceeded the record for -longevity that has appeared in other generations of the family.” - -Captain W. W. Kidd has been a carpenter thirty-five years, and naturally -has spent much of his time out-of-doors. Regular habits and care of his -health enabled him to pass the eighty mark. “My father lived to be -ninety-eight,” he said, “and one of my grandmothers to be ninety-six. -While long life runs in the family, I am sure that fresh air and plenty -of exercise will make a man live a long time.” - -J. L. Caldwell said that for fifty years he had not lived in a plastered -house, and that he attributes to that fact much responsibility for his -excellent health and long life. “Before I abandoned the plastered -house,” he said, “I was in poor health, and after it I had no physical -complaints worth mentioning. I have had exercise sufficient to keep up -circulation.” - -“I have always avoided worry and courted good humor,” said J. G. Hudson. - -“I attribute my long life to my service in the army as a soldier,” said -A. B. Kinnebrew. “Before entering the army I was sickly and weak. The -camp life and marches and excitement recuperated me, and thereafter I -enjoyed good health by being careful of my habits and eating.” - -“I have lived temperately, eaten coarse victuals, and slept well, and -these things have much to do with a man’s health,” said J. H. Rockwell. -“There is something, too, in ancestry. My father lacked but four months -reaching the century mark; another ancestor lived to the age of one -hundred and seven. I have traced my ancestry back three hundred years, -and find that a majority of them have lived beyond the age of eighty.” - -“At the age of fourteen, when I left home,” said W. J. Patton, “I made a -vow to myself never to use intoxicants or gamble. I have worked -out-of-doors most of the time since the war, and much of the time have -slept in the open. I have always taken plenty of exercise.” - -J. M. White said he had never used tobacco and had always been -temperate, and he believed those two facts were largely responsible for -his reaching a ripe old age. - -Richard Wren’s health was poor before he entered the army, but the -change made him robust and strong, and he has enjoyed good health to -this day. - -D. L. Britain said hard work and regular and temperate habits had caused -him to grow into a stout and happy old age. - -“I have never had any trouble with my neighbors, and that means a lot in -the matter of health,” said Doctor W. A. Lockett. - -“Early to bed and early to rise has been my motto,” said J. H. Sowder. -“Added to that I have been temperate, regular in my habits, and avoided -things that might injure my health.” - - -Brothers as Like as Two Peas. - -Leslie and Hallie Woodcock are brothers, who have the entire marine -corps at League Island, near Philadelphia. They are as remarkable -“twins” as ever made any one gasp, and, after eight months, their -officers and fellow marines of Company 17 cannot tell them apart. - -Leslie and Hallie are seventeen years and twenty years old and enlisted -from their home in South Carolina. At enlistment they were promised that -they would never be placed in separate companies. Not long ago a -disgusted captain was for assigning them to different companies. They -smiled and told him of their enlistment agreement. - -In reading the list of those detailed for various police duties in the -mornings, the company officers merely mention the name of Woodcock. They -realize that one blond young twin will report for duty. Further -investigation is useless. - -“I’ve done a pile of stuff for you, old boy,” said Hallie to his -brother. “Remember the time----” - -“I know you stole my girl about a month ago,” replied Leslie. “Thought I -was solid. But she never knew the difference.” - -“Maybe we haven’t got some girls up in town buffaloed,” grinned Hallie. -“When we get paid we toss a coin to see who is to spend his money first. -The one that wins goes uptown and sees the crowd. Our salaries aren’t -fat and they don’t last forever, but when the first one of us begins to -run low, the other one steps into his shoes, and then our citizen -friends think that there is only one of us and that one is there with -considerable dough.” - -Each of the boys holds in his voice the smooth drawl of the South. One -can’t tell the difference between the tones. There is something uncanny -in the similarity of the two smiles. Their lips go back in exactly the -same fashion and four eyes twinkle alike. They smile often, too, for to -them the resemblance is life’s one grand joke. Each weighs 149 pounds; -wears an eight shoe, a 14-3/4 collar, and the same size hat. - -One or two of the men have discovered that one of the twins has a small -piece chipped from one of his front teeth. - -“That would be a hot one,” observed an old sergeant: “Who goes -there--Woodcock? Halt and uncover tooth.” - - -Farmer Finds Hornets’ Nest. - -C. E. Demurr, a farmer living near the Kansas-Oklahoma line, found a -hornets’ nest on the Chickaskia River, and believing it empty, took it -home for an ornament in his room. - -Demurr thought nothing more of it until the next day, when he heard a -buzzing sound. The hornets, which had been awakened from their stupor by -the fire, left the nest and made things lively about the Demurr home for -the next few hours. All efforts to dislodge the “bald heads” were -unavailing until the room doors were closed and the fire permitted to -burn out. The hornets became benumbed with the cold and were easily -killed. - - -A Smart Youngster. - -Two women whose husbands are members of the faculty of Oberlin College -went to call on the new professor’s wife. They were shown into a room -where the small daughter of the house was playing. While awaiting the -appearance of their hostess, one of the ladies remarked to her friend, -at the same time nodding toward the little girl. “Not very p-r-e-t-t-y, -is she?” spelling the word so that the child should not understand. - -Instantly, before there was time for the friend to reply, came the -answer from the little girl: “No, not very p-r-e-t-t-y, but awfully -s-m-a-r-t.” - - -The Original Rattlesnake Flag. - -Pennsylvania’s State museum, at Harrisburg, has just received one of the -most precious of the historic relics housed there. It is the original -rattlesnake flag of the Revolutionary War, the oldest banner -representing what is now the United States. - -The flag was donated by the heirs of Samuel Craig, of Westmoreland -County, who died six years ago. One of the forbears of the Craigs -carried it in the early days of the Revolution. - -Edmund S. Craig, of New Alexandria, and P. M. Hill, of Greensburg, two -of the donors, took the flag to the museum. Jesse E. B. Cunningham, -ex-deputy attorney general and a former Westmoreland County man, -accompanied the pair and presented the relic to Thomas Lynch Montgomery, -State librarian and curator of the museum. The flag is red, with the -coiled rattlesnake and the “Don’t Tread on Me” warning in the center. - - -_The Weekly 101_, Most Unique Paper. - -Robert R. Fitzgerald, of Lawrenceburg, Ind., is the editor of the most -unique newspaper in the world--_The Weekly 101_. It is printed in lead -pencil throughout, though the editions run from eight to twenty pages of -standard newspaper size. The advertisements, illustrations, comic -section--everything about the paper is hand-lettered by the editor, who -prefers to hide himself behind the pseudonym of “Mooney Mingles.” - -Fitzgerald is twenty years old, and started his paper more than a year -ago. Two editions are turned out weekly, and, thus far, more than 170 -editions have been printed. The regular editions are penciled on white -print paper, but the baseball extra is generally done on paper of a -better quality and known as the “green sheet.” In this supplement the -baseball events of the week are briefly and ably reported. - -A special edition was recently turned out to become a part of the -Indiana exhibit at the Panama-Pacific Exposition. Another special number -was sent to President Wilson, who congratulated the editor upon the -patience and ingenuity necessary to produce such a newspaper. - -_The Weekly 101_ is prepared during the editor’s spare hours, and these -are limited, because Fitzgerald works ten hours a day in a local factory -to support his mother and a family of five. - -The ambitious young man is anxious to own a real newspaper plant, -because, as he complains, the press he now uses frequently breaks down -through an attack of writer’s cramp. - -Those who have received sample pages of the pencil editor’s work say -that the young man seems to be competent to take his place among the -live editors of to-day. Lawrenceburg is already proud of his remarkable -and unique weekly, but the thriving little city will probably be doubly -proud when the young editor launches forth into the regular channels of -newspaper work. - -The following paragraph is from one of the sample sheets submitted by -our correspondent: - -“_The 101 Weekly_ newspaper will be just one year old next week. Mooney -Mingles, the little editor, has planned to put out a big special edition -on that day. During this whole year Mooney has not, like hundreds--yes, -like thousands--of other boys, wasted his time, but during all of his -spare moments has published just 160 of these copies, all printed by -hand. The young editor has sent copies of this penciled newspaper to the -exposition at San Francisco, Cal., to Chicago, New York, Indianapolis, -Kansas City, Detroit, London, England, and many other large cities, and -figures that it has been seen by 10,000,000 people.” - - - - -The Nick Carter Stories - -ISSUED EVERY SATURDAY BEAUTIFUL COLORED COVERS - - -When it comes to detective stories worth while, the =Nick Carter Stories= -contain the only ones that should be considered. They are not overdrawn -tales of bloodshed. They rather show the working of one of the finest -minds ever conceived by a writer. The name of Nick Carter is familiar -all over the world, for the stories of his adventures may be read in -twenty languages. No other stories have withstood the severe test of -time so well as those contained in the =Nick Carter Stories=. It proves -conclusively that they are the best. We give herewith a list of some of -the back numbers in print. You can have your news dealer order them, or -they will be sent direct by the publishers to any address upon receipt -of the price in money or postage stamps. - -704--Written in Red. -707--Rogues of the Air. -709--The Bolt from the Blue. -710--The Stockbridge Affair. -711--A Secret from the Past. -712--Playing the Last Hand. -713--A Slick Article. -714--The Taxicab Riddle. -717--The Master Rogue’s Alibi. -719--The Dead Letter. -720--The Allerton Millions. -728--The Mummy’s Head. -729--The Statue Clue. -730--The Torn Card. -731--Under Desperation’s Spur. -732--The Connecting Link. -733--The Abduction Syndicate. -736--The Toils of a Siren. -738--A Plot Within a Plot. -739--The Dead Accomplice. -741--The Green Scarab. -746--The Secret Entrance. -747--The Cavern Mystery. -748--The Disappearing Fortune. -749--A Voice from the Past. -752--The Spider’s Web. -753--The Man With a Crutch. -754--The Rajah’s Regalia. -755--Saved from Death. -756--The Man Inside. -757--Out for Vengeance. -758--The Poisons of Exili. -759--The Antique Vial. -760--The House of Slumber. -761--A Double Identity. -762--“The Mocker’s” Stratagem. -763--The Man that Came Back. -764--The Tracks in the Snow. -765--The Babbington Case. -766--The Masters of Millions. -767--The Blue Stain. -768--The Lost Clew. -770--The Turn of a Card. -771--A Message in the Dust. -772--A Royal Flush. -774--The Great Buddha Beryl. -775--The Vanishing Heiress. -776--The Unfinished Letter. -777--A Difficult Trail. -782--A Woman’s Stratagem. -783--The Cliff Castle Affair. -784--A Prisoner of the Tomb. -785--A Resourceful Foe. -789--The Great Hotel Tragedies. -795--Zanoni, the Transfigured. -796--The Lure of Gold. -797--The Man With a Chest. -798--A Shadowed Life. -799--The Secret Agent. -800--A Plot for a Crown. -801--The Red Button. -802--Up Against It. -803--The Gold Certificate. -804--Jack Wise’s Hurry Call. -805--Nick Carter’s Ocean Chase. -807--Nick Carter’s Advertisement. -808--The Kregoff Necklace. -811--Nick Carter and the Nihilists. -812--Nick Carter and the Convict Gang. -813--Nick Carter and the Guilty Governor. -814--The Triangled Coin. -815--Ninety-nine--and One. -816--Coin Number 77. - - - - -NEW SERIES - -NICK CARTER STORIES - - -1--The Man from Nowhere. -2--The Face at the Window. -3--A Fight for a Million. -4--Nick Carter’s Land Office. -5--Nick Carter and the Professor. -6--Nick Carter as a Mill Hand. -7--A Single Clew. -8--The Emerald Snake. -9--The Currie Outfit. -10--Nick Carter and the Kidnaped Heiress. -11--Nick Carter Strikes Oil. -12--Nick Carter’s Hunt for a Treasure. -13--A Mystery of the Highway. -14--The Silent Passenger. -15--Jack Dreen’s Secret. -16--Nick Carter’s Pipe Line Case. -17--Nick Carter and the Gold Thieves. -18--Nick Carter’s Auto Chase. -19--The Corrigan Inheritance. -20--The Keen Eye of Denton. -21--The Spider’s Parlor. -22--Nick Carter’s Quick Guess. -23--Nick Carter and the Murderess. -24--Nick Carter and the Pay Car. -25--The Stolen Antique. -26--The Crook League. -27--An English Cracksman. -28--Nick Carter’s Still Hunt. -29--Nick Carter’s Electric Shock. -30--Nick Carter and the Stolen Duchess. -31--The Purple Spot. -32--The Stolen Groom. -33--The Inverted Cross. -34--Nick Carter and Keno McCall. -35--Nick Carter’s Death Trap. -36--Nick Carter’s Siamese Puzzle. -37--The Man Outside. -38--The Death Chamber. -39--The Wind and the Wire. -40--Nick Carter’s Three Cornered Chase. -41--Dazaar, the Arch-Fiend. -42--The Queen of the Seven. -43--Crossed Wires. -44--A Crimson Clew. -45--The Third Man. -46--The Sign of the Dagger. -47--The Devil Worshipers. -48--The Cross of Daggers. -49--At Risk of Life. -50--The Deeper Game. -51--The Code Message. -52--The Last of the Seven. -53--Ten-Ichi, the Wonderful. -54--The Secret Order of Associated Crooks. -55--The Golden Hair Clew. -56--Back From the Dead. -57--Through Dark Ways. -58--When Aces Were Trumps. -59--The Gambler’s Last Hand. -60--The Murder at Linden Fells. -61--A Game for Millions. -62--Under Cover. -63--The Last Call. -64--Mercedes Danton’s Double. -65--The Millionaire’s Nemesis. -66--A Princess of the Underworld. -67--The Crook’s Blind. -68--The Fatal Hour. -69--Blood Money. -70--A Queen of Her Kind. -71--Isabel Benton’s Trump Card. -72--A Princess of Hades. -73--A Prince of Plotters. -74--The Crook’s Double. -75--For Life and Honor. -76--A Compact With Dazaar. -77--In the Shadow of Dazaar. -78--The Crime of a Money King. -79--Birds of Prey. -80--The Unknown Dead. -81--The Severed Hand. -82--The Terrible Game of Millions. -83--A Dead Man’s Power. -84--The Secrets of an Old House. -85--The Wolf Within. -86--The Yellow Coupon. -87--In the Toils. -88--The Stolen Radium. -89--A Crime in Paradise. -90--Behind Prison Bars. -91--The Blind Man’s Daughter. -92--On the Brink of Ruin. -93--Letter of Fire. -94--The $100,000 Kiss. -95--Outlaws of the Militia. -96--The Opium-Runners. -97--In Record Time. -98--The Wag-Nuk Clew. -99--The Middle Link. -100--The Crystal Maze. -101--A New Serpent in Eden. -102--The Auburn Sensation. -103--A Dying Chance. -104--The Gargoni Girdle. -105--Twice in Jeopardy. -106--The Ghost Launch. -107--Up in the Air. -108--The Girl Prisoner. -109--The Red Plague. -110--The Arson Trust. -111--The King of the Firebugs. -112--“Lifter’s” of the Lofts. -113--French Jimmie and His Forty Thieves. -114--The Death Plot. -115--The Evil Formula. -116--The Blue Button. -117--The Deadly Parallel. -118--The Vivisectionists. -119--The Stolen Brain. -120--An Uncanny Revenge. -121--The Call of Death. -122--The Suicide. -123--Half a Million Ransom. -124--The Girl Kidnaper. -125--The Pirate Yacht. -126--The Crime of the White Hand. -127--Found in the Jungle. -128--Six Men in a Loop. -129--The Jewels of Wat Chang. -130--The Crime in the Tower. -131--The Fatal Message. -132--Broken Bars. -133--Won by Magic. -134--The Secret of Shangore. -135--Straight to the Goal. -136--The Man They Held Back. -137--The Seal of Gijon. -138--The Traitors of the Tropics. -139--The Pressing Peril. -140--The Melting-Pot. - Dated May 22d, 1915. -141--The Duplicate Night. - Dated May 29th, 1915. -142--The Edge of a Crime. - Dated June 5th, 1915. -143--The Sultan’s Pearls. - Dated June 12th, 1915. -144--The Clew of the White Collar. - - -=PRICE, FIVE CENTS PER COPY.= If you want any back numbers of our weeklies -and cannot procure them from your news dealer, they can be obtained -direct from this office. 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Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/67618-0.zip b/old/67618-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index a8491d5..0000000 --- a/old/67618-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/67618-h.zip b/old/67618-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 16903b9..0000000 --- a/old/67618-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/67618-h/67618-h.htm b/old/67618-h/67618-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index f80e197..0000000 --- a/old/67618-h/67618-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5275 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" -"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> - -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en" xml:lang="en"> - <head> <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover" /> -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" /> -<title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of Paying the Price. -</title> -<style type="text/css"> -body{margin-left:4%;margin-right:6%;background:#ffffff;color:black;font-family:"Times New Roman", serif;font-size:medium;} - -.boxx {border:solid 2px black;padding:.5em; -margin:.5em auto 1em auto;max-width:95%;} - -.blockquot {margin-top:2%;margin-bottom:2%;} - -.c {text-align:center;text-indent:0%;} - -.fint {text-align:center;text-indent:0%; -margin-top:2em;} - -.hang {text-indent:-2%;margin-left:2%;} - - h1 {margin-top:5%;text-align:center;clear:both; -font-weight:normal;} - - h2 {margin-top:4%;margin-bottom:2%;text-align:center;clear:both; - font-size:120%;font-weight:normal;} - - h3 {margin:4% auto 2% auto;text-align:center;clear:both;} - - hr.full {width: 60%;margin:2% auto 2% auto;border-top:1px solid black; -padding:.1em;border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left:none;border-right:none;} - - img {border:none;} - -.lftspc {margin-left:.25em;} - -.nind {text-indent:0%;} - - p {margin-top:.2em;text-align:justify;margin-bottom:.2em;text-indent:4%;} - -.pagenum {display: none;} - -.r {text-align:right;margin-right: 5%;} - -.rt {text-align:right;} - -small {font-size: 70%;} - -.smcap {font-variant:small-caps;font-size:100%;} - -table {margin:2% auto;border:none;} -</style> - </head> -<body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Paying the Price, by Nick Carter</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Paying the Price</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>Nick Carter Stories No 120 - 160 / Dec 26, 1914 - Oct 2, 1915</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Nick Carter</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Editor: Chickering Carter</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: March 13, 2022 [eBook #67618]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: David Edwards, Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (Northern Illinois University Digital Library)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PAYING THE PRICE ***</div> -<hr class="full" /> - -<div class="c"> -<a href="images/cover.jpg"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" height="500" alt="[The -image of the book's cover is unavailable.]" /></a> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_1" id="page_1">{1}</a></span>  </p> - -<p class="c"><img src="images/nickcarter.png" alt="NICK CARTER STORIES" width="500" /></p> - -<p class="c"><i>Issued Weekly. Entered as Second-class Matter at the New York Post -Office, by</i> <span class="smcap">Street & Smith</span>, <i>79-89 Seventh Ave., New York. Copyright, -1915, by</i> <span class="smcap">Street & Smith</span>. <i>O. G. Smith and G. C. Smith, Proprietors.</i></p> - -<div class="boxx"> -<p class="c">TERMS TO NICK CARTER STORIES MAIL SUBSCRIBERS.</p> - -<p class="c">(<i>Postage Free.</i>)</p> - -<p class="c"><b>Single Copies or Back Numbers, 5c. Each.</b></p> - -<table cellpadding="0"> -<tr><td align="left">3 months</td><td class="rt">65c.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">4 months</td><td class="rt">85c.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">6 months</td><td class="rt">$1.25</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">One year</td><td class="rt">2.50</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">2 copies one year</td><td class="rt">4.00</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">1 copy two years</td><td class="rt">4.00</td></tr> -</table> - -<p><b>How to Send Money</b>—By post-office or express money order, -registered letter, bank check or draft, at our risk. At your own -risk if sent by currency, coin, or postage stamps in ordinary -letter.</p> - -<p><b>Receipts</b>—Receipt of your remittance is acknowledged by proper -change of number on your label. If not correct you have not been -properly credited and should let us know at once.</p></div> - -<p class="c"> -<b>No. 146.</b> <span style="margin-left: 2em; -margin-right:2em;">NEW YORK, June 26, 1915.</span> -<b>Price Five Cents.</b></p> - -<h1> -PAYING  THE  PRICE;<br /> - -<small>Or, NICK CARTER’S PERILOUS VENTURE.</small></h1> - -<p class="c">Edited by CHICKERING CARTER.<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_2" id="page_2">{2}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.<br /><br /> -<small>THE RECTORY MURDER.</small></h2> - -<p>Nick Carter paused only a moment before replying. He took that one -moment to consider the other strange matter that had brought him to -Washington, and whether compliance with the request just made by the -chief of police would seriously interfere with it. He decided that it -would not, and he then said quite gravely:</p> - -<p>“Why, yes, I will go with Detective Fallon, since you both press me so -earnestly. It is barely possible, chief, as you say, that I may detect -something that would escape his notice. Who is the victim of the crime, -if such it proves to be?”</p> - -<p>“There is no question about that, Nick,” said the chief. “The murdered -man is the Reverend Father Cleary, of the St. Lawrence Church. He was -found dead on the floor of his library in the rectory, which adjoins the -church, about half an hour ago.”</p> - -<p>“A Roman Catholic priest, eh?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“What do you know about it?”</p> - -<p>“Very little. I was notified by telephone. I directed that nothing -should be touched, nor anything said about the crime before I began an -investigation. I sent two policemen to take charge in the rectory until -I could get word to Detective Fallon. He is the best man on my force for -such a job.”</p> - -<p>“But I am not in your class, Nick; far from it,” put in Fallon, who was -an erect, dark man of forty, with a rather grave and resolute type of -face. “You are in a class of your own, Carter, as far as that goes.”</p> - -<p>“Cut it!” said the chief tersely. “Chucking violets is a waste of time. -Fallon will tell you all that is known, Nick, while you are on the road. -My car and chauffeur are outside. Take it, Fallon, and let me hear from -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_3" id="page_3">{3}</a></span>you. You have carte blanche, Nick. Dig into the matter in your own -peculiar way.”</p> - -<p>“I will see what I make of it,” Nick replied, turning to accompany -Fallon from the police headquarters.</p> - -<p>It then was about half past eight on the first day of November, and the -famous New York detective was in Washington on other business, the -nature of which will presently appear. He knew it could wait, however, -and he was not averse to complying with the urgent request of the local -police chief, who, in as serious a case as had been reported to him, was -more than eager to secure the aid and advice of the celebrated -detective.</p> - -<p>Nick took a seat with Fallon in the tonneau of the touring car, the -latter having hurriedly given the chauffeur his instructions.</p> - -<p>“We can run out there in ten minutes, Nick,” he added, when the -detective banged the door and sat down.</p> - -<p>“The St. Lawrence Church, eh?” queried Nick, gazing at him. “I don’t -recall having seen it.”</p> - -<p>“It is a new one,” said Fallon. “It was built only a year ago. It is -pretty well out and not in a wealthy and fashionable section of the -city. Father Cleary is a comparatively young priest, not over forty, and -is known for the good work he has done in the slums. He will be sadly -missed in the low districts.”</p> - -<p>“Were you acquainted with him?” Nick inquired.</p> - -<p>“Yes, slightly.”</p> - -<p>“How long has he been in Washington?”</p> - -<p>“About three years,” said Fallon. “You were here about a month ago, by -the way, on that government case against several foreign spies. I heard -of it after you left. I was sorry not to have seen you.”</p> - -<p>“I was here only a couple of days with two of my assistants,” Nick -replied. “We were fortunate in speedily rounding up the miscreants, -barring one.”</p> - -<p>“You refer to Andy Margate, I suppose.”</p> - -<p>“Yes. The net still is spread for him, however, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_4" id="page_4">{4}</a></span> others now are -doing time. Margate was not one of the spies. With the help of two local -crooks, he turned a trick on the foreigners that proved to be much to my -advantage.”</p> - -<p>“You refer to Larry Trent and Tom Carney?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Both are bad eggs,” said Fallon. “I have known them from ’way back. -Trent is the worse of the two, for he is better educated and came from -decent people.”</p> - -<p>“So I have heard.”</p> - -<p>“He has a sister, Lottie Trent, who is an honest and industrious girl. -She’s employed as a stenographer in an office in the war department. I -knew her parents, also, who have been dead for several years. By the -way, Nick, there was mighty little published about the true inwardness -of that foreign-spy case. They went up without a legal fight, even.”</p> - -<p>“There was no fight coming to them,” said Nick dryly. “They had no -defense. I clinched the case against them, including Captain Casper -Dillon.”</p> - -<p>“But the bottom facts were nearly all suppressed.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, all of the bottom facts,” Nick allowed, smiling significantly.</p> - -<p>“It is hinted, nevertheless, that Senator Barclay and a young government -engineer in the war department, one Harold Garland, were somewhat -involved in the matter,” said Fallon. “Is that true?”</p> - -<p>“Really, Fallon, I cannot say,” said Nick, still smiling.</p> - -<p>Detective Fallon laughed lightly, knowing well enough that Nick could -have informed him concerning every part of the case, if so inclined. He -took no exceptions to his reticence, however, and inquired, after a -moment:</p> - -<p>“Is there any clew to Margate’s whereabouts?”</p> - -<p>“Not that I know of,” Nick admitted. “The police throughout the country -are on the watch for him. He is a very keen, crafty, and elusive fellow, -however, and is better known in Europe, where he has done most of his -knavish work. But we shall get him, Fallon, sooner or later. If——”</p> - -<p>“Here we are,” Fallon interrupted. “There is the church.”</p> - -<p>The touring car had turned a corner, bringing the sacred edifice into -view. It occupied the corner beyond and stood somewhat back from the -street, both front and side. In the rear, fronting on the side street, -was the dwelling occupied by Father Cleary, whose only servant was an -elderly housekeeper, one Honora Kane, who had been a widow many years.</p> - -<p>The church, the rectory, and the surrounding grounds extended back to -the next street, from which they were divided by a stone wall, the rear -grounds being adorned with several old shade trees, the wide-spreading -branches of which mingled with those in the side grounds of the -adjoining estate.</p> - -<p>Nick took in all these features of the scene while approaching the -rectory, on the sidewalk in front of which a policeman was pacing to and -fro. He touched his helmet when Fallon sprang from the car, but -evidently he did not know the face of the more famous detective.</p> - -<p>“What has been done, Bagley?” asked Fallon, pausing briefly.</p> - -<p>“Nothing, sir, except to keep it quiet,” said the policeman. “We have -been waiting for you. Grady is inside.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll go in,” said Fallon.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_5" id="page_5">{5}</a></span></p> - -<p>“One moment,” Nick interposed, detaining him. “The murder has not leaked -out, Bagley, I take it?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir.”</p> - -<p>“I see that there are no inquisitive people hanging around here. Have -you seen any one, by the way, who appeared to have an interest in the -place?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir; I have not.”</p> - -<p>“That’s all, Bagley; thank you.”</p> - -<p>“I see the point, Nick,” Fallon remarked, as they entered the grounds -fronting the rectory.</p> - -<p>“Holy smoke!” Bagley muttered, starting after them. “That must be Nick -Carter. Great guns! there’ll be nothing to the case, if he is on it.”</p> - -<p>The two detectives were admitted to the hall by a pale young woman in a -calico wrapper and a long gingham apron. Her tear-filled eyes, together -with the low moans and sobs of a corpulent woman in an adjoining room, -evinced the grief and distress of both.</p> - -<p>“Let me take the ribbons, Fallon,” Nick said quietly. “We may go over -the traces if we drive too fast.”</p> - -<p>Fallon readily acquiesced, and Nick paused and questioned the woman who -had admitted them.</p> - -<p>He learned that her name was Margaret Dawson; that she was the nearest -neighbor to the rectory, and that she had hurried to assist Mrs. Kane, -the housekeeper, upon learning her cries when she discovered the -terrible crime.</p> - -<p>“Nora was nearly out of her bed, sir, and didn’t know what to do,” she -explained. “So I telephoned to the police station, sir, and was told to -let things alone till the officers came. That was not long, sir, and -nothing has been touched, not even Father Cleary’s body. An officer is -in the library, sir, where it’s lying.”</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Kane is the only servant?” questioned Nick, glancing at the -sobbing woman in the adjoining room.</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir. She is quite deaf, sir, and heard no disturbance during the -night. She went to bed before nine o’clock last evening, leaving Father -Cleary alone in the library.”</p> - -<p>“She has told you this?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir. The library door was closed when she came down this morning -to get breakfast, but she did not think of anything wrong on that -account. When the meal was nearly ready, however, she went up to call -Father Cleary and found his room had not been used. Then she came down -to the library, sir, and discovered what had been done.”</p> - -<p>Seeing the housekeeper gazing anxiously at him, Nick entered the room -and briefly questioned her. She could tell him only that Father Cleary -had had no visitors early in the evening, and that he expected none, as -far as she knew, and that he had not lately appeared at all troubled, or -in any way apprehensive.</p> - -<p>That was about all that the elderly housekeeper could tell him, and Nick -turned to the waiting detective.</p> - -<p>“She is too deaf to have heard any disturbance in the library, Fallon, -after having gone to her bedroom,” he said quietly, with a gesture -directing the two women to remain in the front room.</p> - -<p>“Yes, surely,” Fallon agreed.</p> - -<p>“Come. We will go into the library.”</p> - -<p>Nick led the way through the dim, simply furnished hall. He passed a -passageway leading to a side door. Beyond it was the library, in the -east side of the house, with a dining room nearly opposite across the -hall, and a kitchen and porch in the rear.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_6" id="page_6">{6}</a></span></p> - -<p>The door of the library was then open. A policeman who had heard them -enter had stepped into the hall and was waiting for them.</p> - -<p>“One moment, Fallon,” said Nick. “What has been done in this room, -Grady, since the crime was discovered.”</p> - -<p>“Nothing, sir,” said the policeman, gazing curiously at him. “Both women -say they have not entered the room, though the housekeeper opened this -door. I have disturbed nothing. Things are just as I found them.”</p> - -<p>“Very good.”</p> - -<p>Nick paused on the threshold of the open door and studied with searching -scrutiny the tragic scene that met his gaze.</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.<br /><br /> -<small>CONFLICTING EVIDENCE.</small></h2> - -<p>The library was a square room of moderate size, comfortably, though -simply furnished. An open desk stood against one of the walls, with a -rise of shelves on each side, partly filled with books. In the middle of -the room was a square, cloth-topped table, on which were several books -and newspapers, also an oil lamp with a green porcelain shade.</p> - -<p>A large leather-covered armchair stood near the table, between it and a -swivel chair in front of the desk. A smaller chair near a window, the -roller shade of which was partly drawn down, was overturned on the -floor.</p> - -<p>To the right of the window hung a portière consisting of two heavy -tapestry curtains, suspended from a black walnut rod. They were drawn -nearly together, but between them could be seen a double door with -small, leaded glass windows. It opened upon a side veranda overlooking -the tree-shaded grounds east of and to the rear of the dwelling.</p> - -<p>Nick noticed that one of the curtains was awry, and, glancing up, he saw -that it had been torn from one of the pins that fastened it to the -transverse rod above the door.</p> - -<p>On the floor between this door and the table lay the body of the -murdered priest. He was a man of middle size, wearing the conventional -black garments of his calling. He was lying on his back, with his arms -extended, his head nearly touching a leg of the table, and with his -smooth-shaved face upturned in plain view of the detectives, a face on -which the pallor and peace of death long since had fallen.</p> - -<p>Father Cleary had been stabbed twice in the breast, nearly in a line -with his heart, and his garments and the rug on which he was lying were -saturated with blood, then dark and congealed.</p> - -<p>Nick Carter saw at a glance that the priest had been dead for several -hours.</p> - -<p>“The scene is suggestive, Fallon; very suggestive,” he said, after a few -moments. “We will proceed deliberately, however, since nothing can be -done for this man. It’s a case of murder, pure and simple, if that can -be. Let Grady wait in the hall. I will study the evidence in detail.”</p> - -<p>Fallon nodded and glanced significantly at the policeman.</p> - -<p>Nick crossed the room and raised the window curtain. In the brighter -light that entered, the scene was even more vividly tragic and gruesome.</p> - -<p>“No weapon is here,” said he, with searching gaze while he crouched to -examine the corpse. “The assassin took<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_7" id="page_7">{7}</a></span> care not to leave it. It -evidently was a dagger, or a knife with a broad blade. Note the two -gashes in the garments. Either thrust would have been fatal. This man -has been dead since last evening, probably as early as nine o’clock.”</p> - -<p>Nick had lifted one stiffened arm while speaking and dropped it to the -floor.</p> - -<p>“Surely,” Fallon said simply.</p> - -<p>“Here are stains of ink on his middle finger. He evidently was writing -when——”</p> - -<p>Nick did not finish the remark. He arose and turned to the open desk, -then approached it. A sheet of paper was lying on it, also a pen that -evidently had been abruptly dropped.</p> - -<p>“Ah, here is proof of it,” said Nick.</p> - -<p>He bent forward and read from the sheet of paper merely the following -lines:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“<i>To the Right Reverend Bishop Cassidy, Washington, D. C.</i></p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">My Dear Bishop</span>: I feel compelled to ask your consideration of a -matter of which I have just become informed. Though the sacred -secrecy of the confessional forbids——”</p></div> - -<p>That was all, written with a firm and flowing hand, and Nick -straightened up and turned to his companion.</p> - -<p>“Yes, this settles it, Fallon,” said he. “Father Cleary was writing when -his assassin entered. Observe that he quickly dropped his pen, instead -of placing it in this tray with the others.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, obviously,” Fallon agreed.</p> - -<p>“Plainly, then, he was startled, or even alarmed by some unexpected -noise. That would not have been the case, Fallon, if his bell had rung, -either that of the front or the side door.”</p> - -<p>“But he may not have been alone at that time,” suggested Fallon. “The -person by whom he was killed may have been here.”</p> - -<p>“That is not probable,” Nick quickly objected. “This letter which he -began to write denotes that he was alone, also that some person had just -left him, or only a short time before, and by whom serious information -of some kind had been imparted to him, so serious that he felt compelled -to write about it to Bishop Cassidy.”</p> - -<p>“It must in that case have been something relating to the church.”</p> - -<p>“Not necessarily. I do not, in fact, think that it was.”</p> - -<p>“Why so?”</p> - -<p>“Notice the next line: ‘Though the sacred secrecy of the confessional -forbids,’<span class="lftspc">”</span> Nick pointed out. “There he stopped and dropped his pen. -Forbids what? We know that it forbids his revealing what is imparted in -confession. That seems to have been the source of the information about -which he intended to write, judging from the beginning of the letter. It -may not, of course, have been part of a penitent’s confession. It may -have been something indirectly related with it, or referring to a -confession.”</p> - -<p>“I see,” Fallon nodded. “There seems to be no way to definitely -determine.”</p> - -<p>“Not at present,” Nick replied, folding the sheet of paper and putting -it in his pocket. “Let’s go a step farther.”</p> - -<p>Nick turned and took up the lamp on the table, shaking it gently and -peering into the chimney.</p> - -<p>“Empty,” said he tersely. “The wick is turned up and charred. The lamp -burned until the oil was exhausted.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_8" id="page_8">{8}</a></span> The assassin did not extinguish the -light. He left in a hurry, no doubt.”</p> - -<p>“He remained long enough to close the door leading into the hall,” said -Fallon. “The housekeeper found it closed this morning.”</p> - -<p>“Father Cleary may have closed it when he received his first visitor.”</p> - -<p>“You think there were two?”</p> - -<p>“I do,” said Nick.</p> - -<p>“Here together?”</p> - -<p>“No. One came after the other had departed.”</p> - -<p>“But why did he close the hall door after letting them out?” questioned -Fallon, a bit doubtfully. “Mrs. Kane’s statements imply that she usually -found it open in the morning.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think that he let them out, not both of them at least,” said -Nick. “Here is another door.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, I see.”</p> - -<p>Nick pointed to the portière hanging across it.</p> - -<p>“He may have let the first visitor out this way, instead of by the front -or side door,” said he. “This door leading into the hall, in that case, -still would have been closed.”</p> - -<p>“I see the point.”</p> - -<p>“He may have admitted his second visitor through this curtained door, or -perhaps have left it open a little for ventilation after letting out the -other,” Nick continued to reason. “It may have been violently forced -from outside, on the other hand, alarming him while he was writing.”</p> - -<p>“I follow you,” nodded Fallon.</p> - -<p>“Notice that one side of the curtain is awry and torn from one of the -pins supporting it. The location of the body, too, between the window -and this table, shows that Father Cleary probably was approaching the -window when he was assaulted and stabbed. There is no evidence of a -struggle. His assailant evidently flung aside those curtains so -violently that one was partly torn from its fastening, and he then -sprang at the priest and stabbed him before he could defend himself.”</p> - -<p>“That certainly seems, Nick, to be a reasonable reconstruction of the -murder itself,” said Fallon, noting the points mentioned.</p> - -<p>“Let’s see what more we can find in support of it,” said Nick.</p> - -<p>He now approached the portière and examined it. On the edge of one of -the curtains, where a hand evidently had grasped it, was a plainly -discernible red stain, obviously a bloodstain.</p> - -<p>Nick called Fallon’s attention to it, then gazed at it with a puzzled -expression on his earnest face.</p> - -<p>“The miscreant’s hand was soiled with blood after the stabbing,” said -Fallon. “He tore the curtain from the pin when leaving, instead of when -he entered, as you were led to infer. What are you thinking about?” he -added, noting Nick’s look of perplexity.</p> - -<p>Nick parted the curtains before replying. He then found that the door -was set in a narrow casement, just wide enough to permit the two -sections of the door to open inward.</p> - -<p>Nick opened both and found on the woodwork of the right-hand section, or -that to the right of a person standing on the veranda and looking into -the room, four stains of blood, evidently from parts of the fingers of a -man’s hand that had grasped that section of the door. Though they were -too smeared to be of value as finger prints, in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_9" id="page_9">{9}</a></span> so far as revealing the -tissues of the skin was concerned, they showed plainly the size and -shape of the fingers, which could only have been those of a man.</p> - -<p>“By Jove, I don’t quite fathom this,” Nick remarked, after a moment.</p> - -<p>“Fathom what, Nick?” questioned Fallon.</p> - -<p>“These bloodstains.”</p> - -<p>“Why do they mystify you? I see nothing strange in them. The murderer -evidently drew the portière and closed this door with a bloodstained -hand.”</p> - -<p>“I am not so sure of it.”</p> - -<p>“How can you reason otherwise?”</p> - -<p>“You overlook something,” said Nick. “It may be a very important point.”</p> - -<p>“What is that? Explain.”</p> - -<p>“Notice that it was the man’s right hand that grasped this section of -the window,” said Nick. “The relative size and position of the finger -marks show that, also that he must have been facing toward the room, not -coming out of it.”</p> - -<p>“By gracious, that’s so!” said Fallon, gazing.</p> - -<p>“That part of the portière which is stained and torn from the pin, -moreover, is on the same side of the window.”</p> - -<p>“True.”</p> - -<p>“To have grasped them with his right hand, therefore, the man must have -been backing out of the room, if leaving it.”</p> - -<p>“True again.”</p> - -<p>“There is one alternative,” said Nick.</p> - -<p>“Namely?”</p> - -<p>“That instead of backing out of the room—he was entering it.”</p> - -<p>“But that is hardly tenable, Carter.”</p> - -<p>“Why?”</p> - -<p>“Because his hand was stained with blood. He must have been leaving the -room after the murder,” Fallon argued.</p> - -<p>“Unless——”</p> - -<p>“Unless what?”</p> - -<p>“Unless his hand was soiled with blood before he entered and killed the -priest.”</p> - -<p>“But——”</p> - -<p>“Stop a moment,” Nick interrupted. “I now am convinced that this murder -was committed in just the manner that I have described. Father Cleary -heard some one back of the portière, or forcing the window, and he -sprang up to see who was here. The intruder flung aside the portière and -stabbed him.”</p> - -<p>“Well?”</p> - -<p>“Notice this point,” said Nick. “The murderer evidently did not remain -to accomplish anything more. He did not go to the desk to see what the -priest had been writing, or he would, if my previous reasoning is -correct, have taken away the letter Father Cleary had begun.”</p> - -<p>“Surely,” Fallon quickly allowed.</p> - -<p>“We can safely assume, then, that the assassin got out as quickly as -possible,” Nick proceeded. “Surely, then, he would not have backed out. -He would have hurried straight out, drawing the portière and closing the -double door.”</p> - -<p>“Undoubtedly.”</p> - -<p>“The side of the curtain which is stained, also the same section of the -door, would have been to his left, there<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_10" id="page_10">{10}</a></span>fore, and naturally would have -been grasped with his left hand.”</p> - -<p>“Certainly.”</p> - -<p>“That gives rise to a very pertinent question,” said Nick. “Why was his -left hand stained with blood?”</p> - -<p>“You mean?”</p> - -<p>“Most men wield a knife with the right hand,” Nick went on. “That is the -hand that should have been covered with blood from the knife used, not -the left, which naturally would have been raised to seize his victim by -the throat or shoulder to prevent resistance.”</p> - -<p>“By Jove, there’s no getting around that, Nick, as far as it goes,” -Fallon thoughtfully admitted, more deeply impressed and now more -mystified. “But these prints on the door show plainly enough that it was -the right hand that was soiled.”</p> - -<p>“They also show that he must have been facing the room,” said Nick. “In -other words, Fallon, that he was backing out of it, which you admit is -improbable—or that he was entering it with blood on his hand, which you -also think is untenable.”</p> - -<p>Fallon shook his head and frowned.</p> - -<p>“Hang it, Nick, you’re mixing me all up,” he declared. “I won’t know in -another minute whether I’m afoot or horseback. You tell me what you -think. Never mind what I think. Your head is worth two of mine—yes, -half a dozen.”</p> - -<p>“No, I think not,” said Nick, smiling faintly. “Plainly, nevertheless, -these bloodstains present inconsistencies not easily explained at this -moment.”</p> - -<p>“They do so, for fair.”</p> - -<p>“We will look a little farther. You saw that I found this door -unlocked?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I noticed that.”</p> - -<p>“It was secured only by the latch, which can be lifted from either side. -It is safe to assume, since the lock is not damaged, that the assassin -found the door unlocked. Either that, or, as I have said, it was opened -a little for ventilation.”</p> - -<p>“The latter seems quite probable,” said Fallon. “It was unseasonably -warm last evening.”</p> - -<p>Nick stepped out on the veranda, instead of replying, Fallon following.</p> - -<p>It extended from the side door, where two low steps led down to a gravel -walk running out to the street. The veranda was about twelve feet in -length, with a vine-covered trellis at the rear end of it, and with the -outer side protected with a scroll railing.</p> - -<p>Near the trellis stood a large willow armchair, in which Father Cleary -had been accustomed to sit and read at times on warm, pleasant days.</p> - -<p>Nick glanced in that direction and made another strange discovery.</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.<br /><br /> -<small>THE MYSTERIOUS BANDAGE.</small></h2> - -<p>The first thing to catch Nick Carter’s eye after stepping out on the -veranda was a strip of white cotton cloth, also a piece of common white -string, both lying on the veranda floor near the willow chair mentioned.</p> - -<p>The strip of cloth was somewhat soiled and wrinkled, also creased and -curled in a way, and Nick picked it up and examined it.</p> - -<p>He found that it was about two feet in length and five<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_11" id="page_11">{11}</a></span> inches wide, -also that it had been carefully folded lengthwise. On one soiled end of -it were stains of blood.</p> - -<p>“By Jove, here’s another bit of curious evidence,” said he, after a -careful examination.</p> - -<p>“It looks like a bandage,” said Fallon.</p> - -<p>“That’s just what it is.”</p> - -<p>“But why curious?”</p> - -<p>“Note the wrinkles and creases and the way it curls,” said Nick. -“Plainly enough, Fallon, it has been bound around a man’s hand, or it -would not have retained these several turns and creases.”</p> - -<p>“I see.”</p> - -<p>“Hold out your hands, both of them. We can find out by readjusting these -quirks and turns on which hand it was worn.”</p> - -<p>“Certainly. That’s a simple problem.”</p> - -<p>Nick proceeded to fit the bandage, so to speak, to Fallon’s hands. It -would not fit the right hand, though turned in either direction, without -altering the original turns and wrinkles. It could be perfectly bound -around the left hand, however, and the result of Nick’s experiment was -convincing.</p> - -<p>“This is as plain as twice two,” said he. “It was worn by some man on -his left hand.”</p> - -<p>“Surely,” Fallon agreed. “He probably had a sore hand, or a cut.”</p> - -<p>“You are wrong,” said Nick. “That’s the curious part of it.”</p> - -<p>“Wrong?” questioned Fallon, puzzled. “Why so?”</p> - -<p>Nick still had the bandage twined around his companion’s left hand.</p> - -<p>“Notice these bloodstains,” he replied. “They are not on the inside of -the bandage, which would come next to a cut, or sore. They are on the -outside of it.”</p> - -<p>“By Jove, that is a bit strange,” Fallon now declared.</p> - -<p>“The blood did not soak from a wound, moreover, for the layer of cloth -beneath this outside one is perfectly clean, as you see.”</p> - -<p>“True.”</p> - -<p>“So, as you now can see, is the inside of the bandage, which came next -to the hand,” Nick continued, removing it and displaying the inner side. -“There is not a sign of blood, pus, salve, or liniment, as if it had -been bound around a wounded hand. It is perfectly clean, in fact.”</p> - -<p>“Humph!” Fallon ejaculated, gazing at it with increasing perplexity. -“There is no question as to your being right. It speaks for itself. But -what in thunder do you make of it?”</p> - -<p>“The hand was not injured,” said Nick.</p> - -<p>“It may have been lame, or sprained.”</p> - -<p>“The bandage would not have been removed in that case, Fallon,” Nick -replied. “If sufficiently lame to require a bandage, it would not have -been removed when the man arrived here. No man about to attempt a -desperate job with a lame hand would first weaken the hand by removing a -bandage with which it had been protected, or strengthened.”</p> - -<p>“That’s true, also,” Fallon nodded. “You think it was worn by the -assassin?”</p> - -<p>“I do.”</p> - -<p>“When he entered?”</p> - -<p>“No. Before he entered,” said Nick. “In order to have free use of his -hand, he evidently tore off the bandage and string and threw them aside -before he entered. Here are stains of blood on the string, also, proving -that those<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_12" id="page_12">{12}</a></span> on the bandage were on the outside of it, as I have already -demonstrated.”</p> - -<p>“You’re right, Nick,” agreed Fallon. “There is no denying it.”</p> - -<p>“Take it from me, too, the man’s hand was not injured.”</p> - -<p>“But why that bandage, then?”</p> - -<p>“For some other reason,” Nick said dryly. “What that reason was, Fallon, -remains to be learned. It would be a waste of time for us to try to -guess it.”</p> - -<p>“I agree with you.”</p> - -<p>“The blood on the outside of the bandage evidently came from the man’s -right hand, moreover, which I already have pointed out was stained, not -after, but before he entered this door. This mysterious bandage confirms -my previous deductions.”</p> - -<p>“By Jove, it’s a perplexing mess,” said Fallon, brows knitted. “I cannot -fathom why the scoundrel’s right hand was soiled with blood before he -entered this house. Why it afterward may have been is simple enough.”</p> - -<p>“Let’s go a step farther,” said Nick, thrusting the string and bandage -into his pocket.</p> - -<p>He then began a careful examination of the veranda floor, but he could -find no tracks, nor evidence of any description.</p> - -<p>Leaving the veranda, Nick then inspected the walk leading out to the -street, also the neatly trimmed lawn adjoining it. The gravel walk -retained no footprints, but Nick had taken only a few steps when, -abruptly halting, he pointed to the greensward.</p> - -<p>The grass was slightly bent and bruised. Faint though it was, the track -of a small shoe was discernible, showing its size and the direction in -which it was turned.</p> - -<p>“I see,” Fallon nodded, crouching with Nick to examine it. “Some one -recently stepped here, not longer ago than last evening.”</p> - -<p>“That some one was a child, a girl, or a woman with a small foot,” Nick -replied. “It most likely was the last, a young woman.”</p> - -<p>“Why so?”</p> - -<p>“Notice the prints of the heel, which sank a little into the sod. It was -small and quite high. The deduction is a simple one. Only young women -wear shoes with French heels. They are seldom found on girls, or on -elderly women.”</p> - -<p>“By Jove, you overlook nothing, Nick.”</p> - -<p>“Not this, surely, for it stares me in the face,” Nick replied. “Here’s -another. Notice that the first points nearly toward the street. This -points toward the rear grounds. Plainly, then, the woman was going -toward the street when she first stepped from the gravel walk, and she -then turned in the opposite direction.”</p> - -<p>“That’s plain, too,” Fallon agreed. “But what do you make of it?”</p> - -<p>Nick glanced back at the veranda for a moment.</p> - -<p>“The woman came from the side door, or from that opening on the -veranda,” said he. “She walked as far as here, as if about to go to the -street, then she turned toward the rear grounds. Take it from me, -Fallon, she was Father Cleary’s first visitor last evening. He let her -out, probably through the door opening upon the veranda, and she started -for the street. After hearing him close the door, however, and knowing -he was not watching her, she turned in the other direction.”</p> - -<p>“By Jove, I think you are right.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_13" id="page_13">{13}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“Come. We’ll try to follow the tracks.”</p> - -<p>Nick traced them with no great difficulty. The trail led him for a short -distance diagonally across the grounds toward the back street. Then it -diverged abruptly in the direction of the low wall dividing the church -property from an adjoining estate.</p> - -<p>Gazing over the wall, Nick discovered other tracks in the next yard, -where the grass was not as closely trimmed and was considerably trampled -down. It was in the side yard of a wooden dwelling somewhat back from -the street and about thirty feet from the wall.</p> - -<p>Leaping over the low wall, Nick examined the sod and grass. He found -numerous intermingled tracks and indentations, including that of a -slender heel and others much broader and deeper. Passing his hand over -the grass and glancing at the palm, he found it slightly stained with -blood.</p> - -<p>“Here we have it, Fallon,” he said, rising and displaying his hand. -“Here is the key to the mystery, or to a part of it.”</p> - -<p>“Good heavens!” Fallon exclaimed, gazing at it and then at the trampled -grass. “There was a fight here.”</p> - -<p>“A very one-sided fight, Fallon, unless I am much mistaken,” Nick -replied.</p> - -<p>“You mean?”</p> - -<p>“It’s as plain as twice two, Fallon, as far as it goes,” said Nick, -confidently. “Father Cleary had a woman visitor last evening. She -confided something to him, or revealed it in a confession, about which -he then sat down to write to Bishop Cassidy.”</p> - -<p>“As the unfinished letter indicates.”</p> - -<p>“Exactly. After leaving him and pretending to start for the street, the -woman came this way and got over the wall into this yard. Here are her -heel prints in the sod. Why she came here and where she intended going -is an open question.”</p> - -<p>“Plainly.”</p> - -<p>“Be that as it may, she went no farther voluntarily,” Nick continued. -“She was intercepted by two men, at least; possibly three. I can find at -least two different heel tracks in the sod. The depth of them, also the -trampled condition of the grass, show plainly that there was a brief -struggle. The woman was overcome, though not without bloodshed, as also -appears on the grass.”</p> - -<p>“Considerable blood, too, Nick, judging from your hand.”</p> - -<p>“Enough to tell this part of the story,” Nick replied. “Probably, too, -here is where Father Cleary’s assailant got the blood on his right hand, -as well as on the outside of the bandage, before entering the rectory.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, surely.”</p> - -<p>“He tore off the bandage and cast it aside before undertaking the more -desperate game,” Nick added. “My opinion is, at present, that the -scoundrel knew that the woman had revealed something to the priest, whom -he then killed to prevent further exposure, while confederates who were -with him got away with the woman. That is my theory. Whether it is -correct, or not, remains to be discovered, as well as the identity of -the knaves and the whereabouts or fate of the woman.”</p> - -<p>“I agree with you,” said Fallon gravely. “That seems to be the most -reasonable theory, if not the only one. What’s next to be done. Can we -trace these tracks any farther?”</p> - -<p>“Not beyond the street, I fear, though I will try to do so,” said Nick. -“I will also question the people living<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_14" id="page_14">{14}</a></span> in this house. They may have -heard some disturbance last evening. In the meantime, Fallon, you return -to the rectory and notify the coroner and a physician.”</p> - -<p>“The coroner is a physician, Doctor Hadley.”</p> - -<p>“He will be sufficient, then, for the present,” said Nick. “You had -better talk with the chief, also, and tell him what I make of the case. -I saw a telephone on a stand in the hall.”</p> - -<p>“I saw it, too.”</p> - -<p>“Go ahead, then. I will rejoin you there a little later.”</p> - -<p>Fallon readily acquiesced, turning and quickly retracing his steps to -the rectory.</p> - -<p>Nick glanced again at the trampled grass, then traced the several faint -tracks as far as the sidewalk, where, as he had expected, the trail -ended abruptly.</p> - -<p>He then rang at the door of the house, in the side yard of which he had -made his latest discoveries. The summons brought a middle-aged woman to -the door, who stated in reply to his questions that no disturbance had -been heard the previous evening, and that she knew nothing of what had -transpired outside of the house.</p> - -<p>Nick saw plainly that she was telling the truth, and he did not long -detain her. Returning to the sidewalk, he noted that there were no -dwellings opposite, only several vacant lots, none of which was inclosed -with a fence.</p> - -<p>“The rascals may have gone in that direction,” he said to himself, after -vainly searching the street for tracks of a carriage or a motor car. -“They must, if they got away with the woman, have had a conveyance of -some kind. They may have crossed those lots, however, to the next -street.”</p> - -<p>Bent upon confirming this, if possible, Nick walked in that direction. -He had only just entered the nearest of the several lots, however, when -he saw some pieces of white paper scattered over the dry ground. They -appeared to be fragments of a torn letter, and were so fresh and clean -that they must have been recently dropped.</p> - -<p>Nick picked up a few of the fragments and examined them. They were -written on only one side, in a dainty, feminine hand; but the few words -on each piece, none of which was more than an inch square, gave him only -a vague idea as to the character of the entire letter.</p> - -<p>That was so suggestive, however, that Nick carefully searched the ground -for the remaining fragments, which had been somewhat scattered by the -wind, or designedly done by the person who had destroyed the letter. He -succeeded in finding enough of the fragments to feel reasonably sure -that they would nearly complete the torn sheet, and he inclosed them in -his notebook.</p> - -<p>Nick then crossed the vacant lots to the next street, noting that the -locality was one in which such a crime as he now suspected could have -been committed without much danger of detection; but he could discover -no further clew to the movements of the woman and her assailants, and -then retraced his steps to the rectory.</p> - -<p>The coroner had arrived during his absence and was viewing the remains -of the murdered priest. Nick did not remain to talk with him, however, -but beckoned for Fallon to join him on the veranda.</p> - -<p>“I must be going, now, for I have an appointment this morning,” he -explained. “You can tell Doctor Hadley, also the chief, what I make of -the case. Here is Father Cleary’s unfinished letter, which you had -better hand to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_15" id="page_15">{15}</a></span> the coroner. I will try to see you later and give you -further assistance.”</p> - -<p>Detective Fallon thanked him, and Nick then departed.</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.<br /><br /> -<small>A CONNECTING LINK.</small></h2> - -<p>Nick Carter had spent much less time at the St. Lawrence rectory than -one might infer from the nature and extent of his investigations. He had -covered the ground rapidly, despite the numerous deductions and -explanations with which he had assisted Detective Fallon, from whom he -parted shortly before ten o’clock.</p> - -<p>Something like twenty minutes later, Nick alighted from a taxicab at a -handsome stone residence in Massachusetts Avenue. It was that of Senator -Ambrose Barclay, one of the leading statesmen then in the higher house, -and the man directly responsible for Nick Carter’s arrival in Washington -late the previous night.</p> - -<p>A butler admitted the detective and at once ushered him into a richly -furnished library, where Nick was almost immediately joined by both -Senator Barclay and his daughter Estella, a beautiful brunette in the -twenties. The great service already done them by the detective was fresh -in their minds, only a month having elapsed, and their greeting was -extremely cordial.</p> - -<p>“I got your wire saying you would see me this morning,” Senator Barclay -then said, while Stella quietly closed the door. “I’m very glad you -could make it convenient to comply with my request. I have not forgotten -how deeply I am indebted to you, Carter, for having saved my reputation -in that foreign-spy affair. I will not say my honor, of course, for I -was in no degree culpable, though malicious persons, or an uninformed -public, might have thought differently.”</p> - -<p>“I was very well aware of it, Senator Barclay, and I made sure that your -name did not appear in the matter,” Nick replied. “But let the dead bury -the dead. What’s the trouble, now, that you again need my aid?”</p> - -<p>“I am in a quandary, possibly in an equally bad mess,” said the -statesman. “It concerns, to begin with, the same young man who was -robbed of the government coast-defense plans by those infernal -foreigners, aided by that traitor, Dillon, all of whom woolly-eyed me -into friendly relations with them for more than a year. I cringe with -chagrin when I think of it.”</p> - -<p>“But how is Harold Garland involved in your present trouble?” questioned -Nick, keeping him to the point.</p> - -<p>“Involved in it!” blurted Senator Barclay. “Damn it—excuse me, Stella; -I forgot you were here. How is Garland involved in my present trouble? -Hang it, Carter, he is something more than involved in it. He is the -trouble.”</p> - -<p>Nick laughed, while Stella Barclay blushed profusely.</p> - -<p>“Suppose you explain, senator, without any expletives,” Nick suggested.</p> - -<p>“Yes, dad, dear, do,” pleaded Stella. “Tell Mr. Carter the whole -business. Don’t mind me, I shall survive it.”</p> - -<p>“It can be told in a nutshell, Carter,” said Senator Barclay familiarly. -“Since you opened his eyes to the devilish treachery of that jade, -Madame Irma Valaska, Garland has transferred his affection to my -daughter. He always was fond of her, mind you, and he now declares that -he loves her. I am glad that he does, and she him.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_16" id="page_16">{16}</a></span> I am fond of Garland -myself, as far as that goes, for he’s a clean-cut, manly, and -wonderfully capable fellow. I know of no man whom I would rather have -for a son-in-law.”</p> - -<p>“Permit me to extend my best wishes,” said Nick, with a sort of droll -pleasantry, glancing at the crimson face of the smiling girl. “I think, -like your father, that Harold Garland is a remarkably fine fellow.”</p> - -<p>“I think so, too, Mr. Carter,” Stella said simply.</p> - -<p>“But what is the trouble?” Nick inquired, turning again to her father. -“What is wrong with Garland?”</p> - -<p>“That is what I want you to learn,” Senator Barclay said gravely. -“Garland is not himself. He is frightfully worried about something.”</p> - -<p>“You don’t know about what?”</p> - -<p>“No; I only suspect. Although he firmly denies it, Nick, he is in -serious trouble of some kind. It is something that came up about a week -ago, when Stella and I first noticed his changed manner and appearance.”</p> - -<p>“Changed in what way?” Nick inquired.</p> - -<p>“He has become indescribably moody and depressed. I have watched him -covertly at times and seen him wearing an expression of utterly -indescribable anxiety. He has lost twenty pounds in a week and looks as -pale as a corpse. Something must be done, Carter, and you are the man -who must do it.”</p> - -<p>“We are dreadfully anxious,” put in Stella, with an appealing glance at -the detective. “Do, Mr. Carter, see what you can learn about him, or -from him.”</p> - -<p>“You have questioned him, of course,” said Nick.</p> - -<p>“Yes, vainly.”</p> - -<p>“Does he say nothing at all in explanation of these changes?”</p> - -<p>“He attributes them to our imagination and insists that there is nothing -wrong,” said Senator Barclay. “I know better, however, and that he is -all wrong. I called him down quite severely night before last, Mr. -Carter, and he then made the remark which afterward led me to send for -you.”</p> - -<p>“What was that?”</p> - -<p>“I charged him with being in serious trouble of some kind and insisted -that he must confide in me,” Senator Barclay explained. “My persistency -irritated him a little. He seemed to lose his head for a moment, and he -asserted quite resentfully that I must cease interrogating him. He then -added impulsively that I would be quite lucky if I kept out of the -trouble myself.”</p> - -<p>“H’m, is that so?” said Nick. “Did you ask him to explain?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, certainly. He declared that he meant nothing definite, however, -that he had spoken impulsively and only in a cursory way. I am sure, -nevertheless, that the remark had much more serious significance, and -that he implied that I might become involved in the very trouble with -which he was burdened.”</p> - -<p>“That is a natural inference,” Nick agreed.</p> - -<p>“And you know, too, what it might signify,” Senator Barclay responded -gravely. “There is only one bad mess, Mr. Carter, in which I could be -involved with Garland. That is something relating to the theft of those -government plans, and the fact that my name was kept out of that -unfortunate affair.”</p> - -<p>“That is what I have in mind,” bowed Nick.</p> - -<p>“You also know, of course, that the miscreant who stole them from Dillon -after he had received them from<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_17" id="page_17">{17}</a></span> Irma Valaska, is still at large. I -refer to Andy Margate. He is capable of any kind of knavery. If he——”</p> - -<p>“I know all about Andy Margate and of what he is capable,” Nick -interposed. “It may be, of course, that he still is in Washington. He -may be attempting to blackmail Garland.”</p> - -<p>“That is precisely what I fear.”</p> - -<p>“I inferred so. Have you said as much to Garland?”</p> - -<p>“I have. He declares that he has not seen Margate, however, and that he -knows nothing about him. If he is lying, if my suspicions are -correct—well, you know, Carter, what that would mean for me. My -reputation would again be in jeopardy. My honor, my seat in the senate, -my political career—all would be frightfully threatened.”</p> - -<p>“I agree with you,” said Nick seriously. “I will look into the matter, -Senator Barclay, and sift it to the bottom.”</p> - -<p>“That is precisely what I want.”</p> - -<p>“There is, I infer, nothing more definite that you can tell me.”</p> - -<p>“No, nothing.”</p> - -<p>“When did you last see Garland?”</p> - -<p>“Night before last.”</p> - -<p>“Does he know that you have sent for me?”</p> - -<p>“He does not. He might resent it.”</p> - -<p>“Possibly,” Nick allowed. “Is he still living at the Grayling?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Does he occupy the same office in the war department?”</p> - -<p>“He does.”</p> - -<p>“Very good. I will leave immediately, then, and try to see him during -the day,” said Nick, rising to go. “I will either call here again this -evening, or telephone to you and let you know what I have learned. I -think, as you do, that the matter may be serious.”</p> - -<p>“You will go right at it?” Barclay anxiously questioned.</p> - -<p>“Like a bull at a gate,” Nick assured him. “You will hear from me this -evening.”</p> - -<p>Nick did not, nevertheless, immediately start in search of Harold -Garland. He returned to the Willard, where he was registered under an -assumed name, and went up to his apartments. He was thinking of the -shocking murder brought to his notice that morning, of the dead priest, -of the unknown woman, or girl, who by that time perhaps had suffered a -like terrible fate.</p> - -<p>Hoping to give Detective Fallon further assistance, and suspecting that -the torn letter he had found might have a bearing upon the double crime, -Nick set to work matching the edges of the numerous fragments of the -letter, placing them together, and pasting them on a sheet of blank -paper.</p> - -<p>It took him half an hour to complete the work. He found that several -fragments from the bottom of the letter were missing, presumably having -been blown away from the vacant lot where he had found the others, or -dropped elsewhere by the recipient of the letter. It was decidedly -suggestive, in view of the double crime and the surrounding -circumstances. It was written with a pen, evidently by a woman, and read -as follows:</p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Dear Harry</span>: You must meet me this evening, Tuesday, at the time and -place I mentioned. Do not disappoint me. There is no question as to the -conditions of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_18" id="page_18">{18}</a></span> which I informed you, and immediate steps to meet the -situation are absolutely imperative. Meet me this evening, therefore, -without fail. I will not take ‘no’ for an answer. Unless you comply, I -shall do what I have threatened. I will take steps to compel you to -rectify the terrible——”</p> - -<p>The remainder of the letter was missing several fragments from the -bottom of the torn sheet. They evidently had contained, however, only a -few concluding words and the signature of the writer.</p> - -<p>Nick read it, then reread it, with brows knitting, and a more serious -expression on his thoughtful face.</p> - -<p>“Tuesday evening,” he muttered. “That must have been last evening. The -scraps of paper would have blown away, or have become soiled, if dropped -on the ground a week ago. The appointment was for last evening, surely, -and the significance of the letter—by Jove, it might be!”</p> - -<p>Nick’s train of thought abruptly digressed.</p> - -<p>“He frequently is called Harry. He was not at the Barclay residence last -evening, not since night before last. Can this be what is troubling him? -Is he in some way involved with another woman? Was Harold Garland the -recipient of this letter? Have I blundered egregiously in my estimate of -his character? Is he a wolf under the surface? Now aiming to wed Stella -Barclay, has he found it necessary to rid himself of a woman and kill a -priest, in order to preclude an exposure of previous vices? I don’t -believe it, by Jove, but I’ll mighty soon find out.”</p> - -<p>Nick arose abruptly, folding the pasted letter and putting it into his -pocket. He then selected a simple disguise from among several in his -suit case, one of which he felt sure was adequate to serve his purpose. -He adjusted it carefully at his mirror, and then left the hotel and -headed straight for Harold Garland’s office in the War Department -Building.</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.<br /><br /> -<small>IN THE TOILS.</small></h2> - -<p>It was noon when Nick Carter entered the vast building on Pennsylvania -Avenue, in which the state, war, and navy departments of the nation are -located.</p> - -<p>Nick proceeded at once to the west wing and the office he was seeking, -which he entered without the ceremony of knocking. He found a young -woman at work with a typewriter.</p> - -<p>“Is Mr. Garland inside?” Nick inquired, glancing at the closed door of a -private office.</p> - -<p>“No, sir,” said the stenographer, turning from her table. “But he is -likely to come in at any moment.”</p> - -<p>“Where has he gone?”</p> - -<p>“To an office on the next floor, sir. A young lady is mysteriously -missing, one with whom he is acquainted, and he wanted to inquire about -her.”</p> - -<p>“Is she employed in the office to which he has gone?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p>“How long has she been missing?”</p> - -<p>“She was at work yesterday, sir, and left at the usual hour. She has not -been seen since, according to Mr. Barstow, in whose office she is -employed. She was on some very important work and should have been here -this morning, which led to an immediate investigation. She lately has -been acting strangely, which also has caused some misgivings.”</p> - -<p>“How strangely?” questioned Nick.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_19" id="page_19">{19}</a></span></p> - -<p>“Well, as if she was worried or in trouble of some kind, as near as I -could learn from one of Mr. Barstow’s clerks, who came here a short time -ago to inform Mr. Garland.”</p> - -<p>“You said that Garland is acquainted with her?”</p> - -<p>“I think so.”</p> - -<p>“Are you?”</p> - -<p>“I know her only by sight and name.”</p> - -<p>“What is her name?”</p> - -<p>“Charlotte Trent,” said the girl. “She is more commonly called Lottie -Trent.”</p> - -<p>Nick Carter evinced no surprise upon hearing the name of the missing -girl. It told him, nevertheless, in view of all of the circumstances, -that the case was rapidly becoming more serious and complicated. He -knew, recalling what Fallon had said that morning, that this same Lottie -Trent must be the sister of Larry Trent, the crook confederate of Andy -Margate in the recent theft of the government plans, a fact that at once -increased the detective’s misgivings.</p> - -<p>Nick did not then stop to consider the matter, however, nor to further -question the stenographer. He saw that she could tell him nothing more -definite. Without evincing any special interest in what he had heard, he -now said to her:</p> - -<p>“I wish to see Mr. Garland on very important business. Ask him to wait -for me if he comes in presently. I will return in a few minutes.”</p> - -<p>“I will, sir,” replied the girl. “I think you then will find him here.”</p> - -<p>Nick thanked her and withdrew to the corridor, where he found an -attendant who directed him to Barstow’s office on the floor above. While -he was approaching the stairway to walk up, Nick saw Garland leaving the -elevator, just returning to his own office.</p> - -<p>He looked gaunt and white, a shadow of his former self, as Senator -Barclay had stated. His refined, clean-cut face, which was as strong in -many respects as that of the detective, wore an expression of -overwhelming anxiety. His eyes had an abnormal glitter, as if the fever -of prolonged mental distress was consuming him.</p> - -<p>Nick watched him for a moment, then went up to Barstow’s office. There, -after partly confiding in the government official, whom he pledged to -subsequent secrecy, Nick obtained a specimen of Lottie Trent’s -handwriting. He also learned that Garland had been sent for only because -he recently had been seen talking with the girl in the corridors, which -had given rise to a hope that he might know what now occasioned her -absence. He had asserted, nevertheless, that he knew nothing about her.</p> - -<p>Nick returned to the corridor and compared the girl’s writing with that -in the torn letter found near the scene of the murder. A mere glance at -both, for Nick was a keen chirographist, convinced him that Lottie Trent -was the writer. He replaced the letter in his pocket and returned to -Garland’s office.</p> - -<p>“He came in soon after you went out,” remarked the stenographer, looking -up and smiling. “You will find him in his private office.”</p> - -<p>Nick entered it without knocking.</p> - -<p>Garland was seated at a large roll-top desk. He swung round in his -swivel chair and sharply eyed the detective.</p> - -<p>“Oh, you’re the gentleman who called while I was out,” he said, a bit -brusquely. “Sit down. What can I do for<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_20" id="page_20">{20}</a></span> you? My clerk said you spoke of -having important business.”</p> - -<p>“It is very important,” Nick replied, drawing up a chair.</p> - -<p>“Concerning what? I don’t recall having met you.”</p> - -<p>“My name is Parsons,” said Nick, turning the lapel of his vest and -displaying the edge of his detective badge. “I am in the bureau of -secret investigation.”</p> - -<p>“A detective?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, in other words.”</p> - -<p>“But why have you called on me? What’s your business?” Garland demanded, -with sharper scrutiny.</p> - -<p>“This may give you a hint at it,” said Nick, unfolding the pasted letter -and handing it to him.</p> - -<p>Garland took it and viewed it curiously for a moment. He then read it -without speaking, but with brows knitting closer over his feverish eyes. -Looking up with a perplexity not easily to have been distrusted, he -asked, a bit curtly:</p> - -<p>“Why is it pasted together in this way? It gives me no hint at your -business. What’s the meaning of it?”</p> - -<p>“You don’t know?” questioned Nick, though already convinced of it.</p> - -<p>“Certainly not. It’s Greek to me.”</p> - -<p>“Have you never seen it before?”</p> - -<p>“No, never.”</p> - -<p>“Do you recognize the writing?”</p> - -<p>“I do not. I haven’t the slightest idea who wrote it. Why is the -signature missing?”</p> - -<p>“Because I could not find the fragment containing it where I found the -others,” said Nick. “I happen to know, however, who wrote the letter.”</p> - -<p>“Who?”</p> - -<p>“A girl named Lottie Trent.”</p> - -<p>“Lottie Trent—oh, by thunder!” Garland’s frown vanished as quick as a -flash. “By Jove this may help to clear up a mystery, Mr. Parsons. Lottie -Trent is missing and cannot be found. I have just talked with her -employer. He——”</p> - -<p>“So have I,” Nick interrupted. “He told me that you have frequently been -seen talking with the girl. Talking with her so earnestly that——”</p> - -<p>“Stop!” Garland’s teeth met with a quick snap. “And that led you to -suspect that this letter was sent to me. I see, now, why you covertly -approached the matter. You aimed to evoke some sign of self-betrayal on -my part. Understand one thing, Mr. Parsons, right here and now,” he -added with threatening vehemence. “I know nothing about this letter nor -about Lottie Trent.”</p> - -<p>“You did not see her, then, last evening,” said Nick, unruffled.</p> - -<p>“No, sir; I did not.”</p> - -<p>“Nor attempt to meet her?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly not,” snapped Garland. “Why would I attempt to meet her? I -would not have known where to find her. The girl is nothing to me.”</p> - -<p>“I also happen to know, Mr. Garland, where she was about half past eight -last evening,” Nick replied. “Unless I am very much mistaken, she was -forcibly abducted by two or three men. That was accomplished just before -the murder of the priest.”</p> - -<p>“Murder? Priest?” gasped Garland, staring. “What are you talking about? -What do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“I think, too, that it must have been before you, Mr. Garland, arrived -in the grounds back of the St. Lawrence<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_21" id="page_21">{21}</a></span> Church and rectory. Otherwise, -you might have prevented the abduction of Lottie Trent and the murder of -Father Cleary. If you had arrived earlier——”</p> - -<p>“Stop a moment!”</p> - -<p>Garland lurched forward in his chair. He now was more than pale. The -last vestige of color had vanished from his cheeks, leaving him ghastly -and drawn, with lips as gray as ashes.</p> - -<p>“See here!” he cried, half in his throat. “At what are you driving? What -do you mean by the murder of a priest and the abduction of this girl? -Have you come here, Mr. Parsons, bent upon leading me into a net? Are -you one of those infernal, double-dealing detectives who seeks to stab a -suspect from behind, instead of attacking him openly? Why do you say I -was in the grounds of the St. Lawrence Church last evening? Why——”</p> - -<p>“Only because you were there,” Nick interrupted. “I can read it in your -eyes, in your colorless face. This patched letter alone would convince -me that you were there. What was the occasion? Why did you go there? A -denial will not avail you anything. Shape the opposite course, Mr. -Garland, and confide in me. It would be to your advantage, as it already -has been. I am not half a stranger to you—as you can see.”</p> - -<p>Nick whipped off his disguise with the last, but the immediate effect -upon his hearer was not what he expected. For a half-smothered cry of -alarm broke from Garland, instead of the cordial greeting the detective -anticipated, and the young man leaped up and darted to the door, at -which he listened intently for several seconds, as pale and trembling as -if a sheriff with a death warrant awaited him in the outer office.</p> - -<p>Nick was compelled to admit to himself that he was somewhat puzzled. He -waited without speaking, nevertheless, until Garland turned back and -resumed his seat.</p> - -<p>“I overlooked for a moment that you came in disguise,” he said -nervously, while he seized and warmly pressed both hands of the -detective. “Heavens, what a call-down I gave you. But it goes without -saying, Nick, and very well you know it, that I fairly worship you and -am overjoyed at seeing you.”</p> - -<p>Nick smiled oddly and shook his head.</p> - -<p>“That remains to be seen, Garland,” he replied.</p> - -<p>“What do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“I might believe it under different circumstances.”</p> - -<p>“Different circumstances? How different?”</p> - -<p>“You were not glad when you first recognized me. You were seriously -alarmed. You were glad only when you remembered that I entered this -office in disguise. You feared at first that some one had seen and -recognized me. Your looks and conduct admit of no other interpretation. -Come, come, what’s the meaning of it? What’s the answer?”</p> - -<p>Garland hesitated, settling back in his chair, looking white and worried -again, as if burdened with fears he could not overcome.</p> - -<p>“Really, Nick, there is no answer——”</p> - -<p>“Stop a bit,” Nick interrupted. “Don’t hand me anything of that kind. I -can read deeper than most men. You cannot get by me, Garland, with any -flimsy denials. You are living in abject fear of some one. You fear that -you are being secretly watched, and that this office is also under -stealthy espionage. You fear that I was seen and recognized when I -entered.</p> - -<p>“There can be only one reason for such a fear as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_22" id="page_22">{22}</a></span> that. Crooks are -putting something over on you, Garland, and you have been warned against -appealing to me for aid. You feel that you are absolutely in their -power, too, or you would have ignored their warning and their threats. -No other deductions are tenable. They would not have feet to stand on.”</p> - -<p>“Good heavens!” Garland huskily exclaimed, nervous and trembling. “You -don’t know what you are saying, Nick, nor——”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, I do,” Nick again interrupted. “Nor have I finished, Garland, -by any means. You listen to me for half a minute.”</p> - -<p>“But——”</p> - -<p>“There aren’t any buts,” Nick insisted impressively. “You hold your -horses and hear what I have to say. Father Cleary, of the St. Lawrence -Church, was murdered last evening. He was stabbed to death in the -rectory. Lottie Trent, after having seen him and confided something to -him, was abducted by the knaves who afterward killed him. Both crimes -were committed to prevent further exposure of what the girl had told -him. You, Garland, know what it was!”</p> - -<p>“On my word, Carter, I——”</p> - -<p>“Wait!” Nick cut in again. “I have adequate proof of all this. I am on -the case and I’m going to sift it to the bottom. You, Garland, were near -the scene of these two crimes. This torn letter written by Lottie Trent -convinces me of that. I now can guess, too, with what object it was left -there, and with what designs you were lured there. This girl is a sister -of Larry Trent, now in prison for complicity with Andy Margate in the -recent theft of your government plans. Now, Garland, you tell me the -truth. I’ll stand for nothing else, nor can anything else save you. I -once have pulled you out of the fire. I can, if necessary, do it again. -There is no middle course for you. I must arrest you, or know the whole -truth. Out with it. What is Andy Margate putting over on you?”</p> - -<p>There was no resisting Nick Carter under such conditions, and Garland -now seemed to realize it. A look of relief had appeared on his pale -face, that relief with which one burdened with a terrible secret sees -the way open to confiding in another.</p> - -<p>“You are right, Nick,” he admitted, with sudden determination. “I am in -just such a position as you suspect. I did fear that you had been seen -coming here. Now that you are here, however, and can leave in disguise, -as you entered, I will take a chance and tell you the whole business. I -have, in fact, been tempted to send for you in spite of threats and -warnings. Heavens, how I have longed for your aid and advice.”</p> - -<p>“You now may have both,” said Nick. “Get right at it, then, and tell me -the whole truth. You look like a nervous wreck.”</p> - -<p>“I am,” Garland admitted. “I have suffered the tortures of hell for more -than a week.”</p> - -<p>“Omit nothing. Tell me the whole business.”</p> - -<p>“It can be briefly told,” Garland began. “I was called up by telephone -nine days ago by an unknown man. He stated that I was about to receive a -package by mail, and that the sender of it insisted upon having a -personal interview with me. I was warned against confiding in any one, -and threatened with direful consequences if I did so. I was told that an -automobile would arrive at the first corner east of the Grayling, where -I am living, at precisely nine o’clock that evening, and I must be -there<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_23" id="page_23">{23}</a></span> to immediately enter it, when I would be taken to the sender of -the mailed package. I was repeatedly warned, mind you——”</p> - -<p>“I understand,” Nick interposed. “Never mind the warnings. Let’s get at -the facts. What followed?”</p> - -<p>“I waited with indescribable misgivings, Nick, for the package said to -have been sent to me,” Garland continued. “It came an hour later. I -opened it and found—a photograph of the portfolio that contained the -government plans of which I was robbed by Irma Valaska and Captain -Casper Dillon, whose infamous designs you so successfully foiled.”</p> - -<p>“H’m, is that so?” said Nick, with brows drooping. “A photograph of the -portfolio, eh?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Is there any doubt about it?”</p> - -<p>“Not the slightest. It shows the flap of the portfolio, turned back so -as to show my name and address, which I had written on the inner side of -it. The writing is plainly discernible and it corresponds precisely with -that in the portfolio now in my possession.”</p> - -<p>“Where is the photograph?”</p> - -<p>“Here in my safe, also the portfolio. I will get them. You may see for -yourself.”</p> - -<p>“Wait one moment,” Nick interposed. “I will examine them a little later. -Go on with your story. What did you do after receiving the photograph?”</p> - -<p>“What could I do?” questioned Garland nervously. “My misgivings were -redoubled, and since have been confirmed. I did not dare to deviate from -the directions given me. I confided in no one. I locked the photograph -in my safe and determined to learn what was back of such an ominous -beginning.”</p> - -<p>“Very good,” Nick nodded. “With what result?”</p> - -<p>“I followed the instructions given me,” Garland proceeded. “I was on the -corner mentioned at precisely nine o’clock that evening. A limousine -approached. I saw plainly that the chauffeur was prepared to speed on, -if in any way threatened.”</p> - -<p>“You entered it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. It hardly stopped for me to do so. A masked man was seated in it. -He at once assured me that I was in no personal danger, and he then -insisted upon blindfolding me. I consented reluctantly and he drew a -black cap over my head. I then could see nothing, absolutely nothing, -and I have no idea where I was taken.”</p> - -<p>“Where did you bring up?” Nick inquired.</p> - -<p>“In a house or building into which I was led, still blindfolded,” said -Garland. “I do not know where it is located. I haven’t the slightest -idea. I heard the closing of a heavy door after entering, and I -presently felt the downward movement of an elevator. I found myself in a -lighted room a moment later, and the cap was removed from my head.”</p> - -<p>“And then?”</p> - -<p>“Two masked men stood beside me. A third was seated at a table. In one -corner stood a large photographic camera. The man at the table was not -masked. It was, as you probably infer, Andy Margate.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, no doubt,” Nick said dryly. “Well, what followed? What did Margate -want of you?”</p> - -<p>“That may be told in a nutshell.”</p> - -<p>“Briefly stated, then?”</p> - -<p>“Margate has photograph copies of all of the <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_24" id="page_24">{24}</a></span>government plans stolen -from me a month ago. They were taken during the short time he had the -plans in his possession.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, I see!” said Nick. “That is, indeed, a serious matter. What does -Margate intend doing with them?”</p> - -<p>“He threatens to sell them to foreign powers,” replied Garland, -shuddering. “Think what that would mean! Thank God, however, he offered -me one alternative.”</p> - -<p>“Ah!” Nick again exclaimed a bit dryly. “What is the alternative?”</p> - -<p>“The privilege of buying them myself.”</p> - -<p>“Humph! Have you consented to do so?”</p> - -<p>“What else could I do?” Garland demanded. “My position is worse than it -was a month ago. If photograph copies of the government plans are -possessed by this scoundrel, they are even more dangerous than the -originals, which could be entirely changed if known to be hopelessly -lost. In view of uncertainty concerning photograph copies, however, -construction work in accord with the plans might be adhered to with -disastrous consequences. You know what might follow if——”</p> - -<p>“If war were declared, and our foes had photographic plans of our coast -defenses—yes, I know all about that,” Nick interrupted. “But that’s in -the dim and distant future. Let’s stick to the game that now is being -played. Did you consent to buy the photographs?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“For what price?”</p> - -<p>“One hundred thousand dollars was demanded,” Garland said, with a groan. -“I protested that it was more than I could possibly raise. Margate had -learned, however, that I had a fortune of about sixty thousand dollars. -He agreed to compromise at eighty thousand, and I was allowed ten days -in which to raise the needed twenty. The infernal knave will not only -leave me penniless, but also plunge me deep in debt.”</p> - -<p>“Have you raised the money?”</p> - -<p>“All but five thousand, for which I think I can make arrangements -to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>“To-morrow,” Nick echoed. “That is your last day of grace, is it not?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. I am to see Margate again to-morrow night.”</p> - -<p>“Where?”</p> - -<p>“Under the same conditions as before.”</p> - -<p>“And he expects you to hand him the money?”</p> - -<p>“He does. He insisted, in fact, that he would allow me only this one -meeting; that he would, if the price is not paid to-morrow, at once take -steps to sell the photographs abroad. He warned me that I would be -constantly watched, and threatened to instantly end all negotiations -with me if I confided in any one, or appealed for aid to the police. He -mentioned you in particular, and threatened——”</p> - -<p>“Never mind what he threatened,” Nick interrupted, with an ominous -frown. “He shall have good cause to threaten me.”</p> - -<p>“But consider my position, Nick,” Garland cried hopelessly. “I am -placed——”</p> - -<p>“I see just where you are placed,” Nick cut in again. “You have made the -whole knavish business sufficiently plain. But I, Garland, now propose -to take a hand in it.”</p> - -<p>“You mean——”</p> - -<p>“I mean that the price shall be paid—but Andy Margate is the man who -shall pay it,” Nick forcibly de<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_25" id="page_25">{25}</a></span>clared. “I’ll bring that rat up with a -round turn, Garland, or I’ll chuck my vocation.”</p> - -<p>“But how——”</p> - -<p>“Don’t ask me how,” Nick interrupted. “Let me see your portfolio and the -photograph you received by mail.”</p> - -<p>Garland hastened to get them from his safe.</p> - -<p>Nick examined them carefully, inspecting the photograph with a powerful -convex lens, particularly the address mentioned. He saw plainly that the -photograph was a genuine one, that the writing could not otherwise have -been so perfectly imitated, and he then returned them to his waiting -companion.</p> - -<p>“Lock them up again,” he directed. “Now, Garland, answer me a few -questions. Why have you recently been talking with Lottie Trent?”</p> - -<p>“For only one reason, Nick. She has repeatedly stopped me in the -corridors, or on the stairs, to beg me to use my influence to have her -brother pardoned and liberated from prison. I have told her it would be -useless, but she still persisted. She is a good girl, mind you, honest -and industrious, with none of her brother’s characteristics.”</p> - -<p>“There was no other occasion for your interviews with her?”</p> - -<p>“Absolutely none.”</p> - -<p>“Did you go to the St. Lawrence Church last evening, or somewhere in -that locality?”</p> - -<p>“I did,” Garland admitted.</p> - -<p>“For what?”</p> - -<p>“I was called up by telephone at the Grayling about nine o’clock. I -recognized the voice of the same man who had talked with me about the -photograph sent by mail. He said that he must see me, and directed me to -meet him back of the St. Lawrence Church. I went there and waited until -midnight, but he did not join me. I inferred that I had arrived too -late.”</p> - -<p>“Have you since heard from him?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, this morning. He telephoned that he was prevented from meeting me, -and that I must keep the appointment made for to-morrow night.”</p> - -<p>“That will be kept, all right,” Nick said a bit dryly. “Can you get a -New York wire with this telephone?” he added, glancing at the instrument -on Garland’s desk.</p> - -<p>“Yes, of course.”</p> - -<p>“Do so. I want my business office. I will have Chick and Patsy join me -here to-morrow,” said Nick, referring to his two most reliable -assistants. “We’ll show Andy Margate what wood shingles are made of, -take my word for it.”</p> - -<p>Garland hastened to obey, and Nick soon was in communication with Chick -Carter, to whom he gave such instructions as served his purpose, the -nature of which will presently appear.</p> - -<p>“Now, Garland, you must leave this matter to me and follow my -instructions to the letter,” said he, after talking with Chick. “There -must be no change from your recent conduct and appearance. I do not want -our meeting suspected, in case you are being watched, and you must -govern yourself accordingly.”</p> - -<p>“I will do so,” Garland assured him. “Heaven knows, in fact, I see no -way out of this scrape.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll find the way,” Nick replied. “Let me have the key to your -apartments in the Grayling.”</p> - -<p>“Certainly,” Garland consented, with a look of surprise. “But what do -you intend——”</p> - -<p>“Never mind what I intend doing,” Nick interrupted,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_26" id="page_26">{26}</a></span> carefully replacing -his disguise. “At what time do you usually arrive at your apartments?”</p> - -<p>“After business hours?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“About five o’clock.”</p> - -<p>“Very good,” said Nick, rising to go. “You will not need the key, -Garland. I will be there to admit you.”</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.<br /><br /> -<small>HOW NICK SIZED UP THE CASE.</small></h2> - -<p>Ten o’clock the following morning found three persons seated in Harold -Garland’s apartments in the Grayling—Nick Carter and his two -assistants, Chick Carter and Patsy Garvan.</p> - -<p>The murder of Father Cleary then was on every tongue. Newspapers -throughout the country were describing the shocking crime under glaring -headlines. It had leaked out, too, though Nick had not revealed it, that -Lottie Trent had been abducted by the assassins and was in some way -concerned in the crime.</p> - -<p>The thousand tongues of rumor were never more busy. Conjectures of every -description were in the air. Linked with the name of the missing girl, -in circles where he was well known and his recent changed appearance had -been noticed, was that of Harold Garland, and many already were -whispering suspicions that he knew more than he was willing to tell.</p> - -<p>These insinuations were given additional impulse by the fact that -several newspapers were describing a man who had been noticed near the -scene of the double crime, and whose actions, as reported by several -observers, were of a kind to warrant suspicion. His identity had not yet -been discovered by the newspapers, however, and thus matters stood at -ten o’clock that morning on the second day following the murder.</p> - -<p>“By Jove, it’s a bad mess, an awfully bad mess,” Chick Carter gravely -remarked, after Nick had described the case in detail to both of his -assistants.</p> - -<p>Both had arrived in disguise at the Grayling that morning, in accord -with instructions Nick had telephoned, and they had been given -apartments on the same floor with those of Garland.</p> - -<p>“Bad enough, Chick, but not nearly as bad as it might be,” Nick replied. -“I have stated only the superficial facts, not what I have detected -under the surface.”</p> - -<p>“The case has redeeming features, then?”</p> - -<p>“Decidedly.”</p> - -<p>“How so?”</p> - -<p>“I suspect, to begin with, that Margate’s scheme at the outset was only -a colossal bluff. I don’t believe he had, nor has, photograph copies of -the government plans.”</p> - -<p>“Great Scott!” exclaimed Patsy, gazing. “He must have a nerve, chief, in -that case.”</p> - -<p>“The proof of a pudding is its eating,” Nick replied. “Whether it’s a -big bluff, or not, the rascal was in a fair way to get by with it. He -has brought Garland to the point of planking down the money demanded.”</p> - -<p>“You think it a case of blackmail, then,” said Chick.</p> - -<p>“I do.”</p> - -<p>“But the photograph of the portfolio—he certainly must have taken -that,” Chick argued.</p> - -<p>“Very true,” Nick admitted. “It is a small photograph, however, and may -have been taken with an ordinary kodak. Margate may have had a camera of -that kind. He is a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_27" id="page_27">{27}</a></span> keen, far-sighted fellow. He may have apprehended -that his designs at that time might miscarry, and that he later could -work out the scheme I now suspect. Having that in view, he may have -taken a photograph of the portfolio. A photograph of a big government -plan with such a camera, however, would be of no earthly use.”</p> - -<p>“That’s very true,” Chick admitted.</p> - -<p>“Bear in mind, now, that Margate had the plans considerably less than -twenty-four hours after stealing them from Dillon,” Nick continued. -“It’s not reasonable to suppose that he would immediately have thought -of having them photographed, nor be supplied with the necessary -paraphernalia.”</p> - -<p>“True again, Nick, as far as that goes.”</p> - -<p>“We can safely assume, too, that he would not have dared to employ a -photographer to make the negatives. The nature of the plans would have -forbidden that. It’s a hundred to one, too, as I have said, that he was -not provided with a camera large enough to have been of any use in -making photographs of the plans, though he might have taken that of the -portfolio.”</p> - -<p>“Gee! that’s right, too, chief,” put in Patsy, who had been listening -attentively. “It was not in the crib where we recovered the plans, or we -should have seen it. Chick and I searched the shack from cellar to -attic. Besides, they must have been photographed by daylight, and -Margate had the plans only one morning, when you come right down to it. -We nailed the whole gang, you remember, soon after noon.”</p> - -<p>“Those are the very points, Patsy, on which I base my suspicions,” Nick -replied. “In so serious a matter as this, however, we must not bank on -suspicions only. Aside from getting the photographs, if Margate really -has them, we must put that thoroughbred rascal where he belongs.”</p> - -<p>“Didn’t Garland see the photographs during his interview with Margate?” -Chick questioned.</p> - -<p>“He saw a batch of photographs and blue prints on a table, but was so -unnerved by the threatening situation that he did not examine them, -taking it for granted that they were what Margate stated.”</p> - -<p>“The more fool he,” Chick said dryly.</p> - -<p>“I suspect that the rascal would not have let him examine them, in case -my suspicions are correct,” said Nick. “I suspect, too, that the big -camera Garland saw in the room was brought there only to give color to -Margate’s assertions.”</p> - -<p>“By gracious, chief, if we could find out where he got it——”</p> - -<p>“That’s the very point, Patsy,” Nick interrupted. “He may have bought it -in some store, or hired it from some photographer. You must start out -this morning and follow up that thread.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve got you.”</p> - -<p>“You may be able to learn from whom the camera was obtained and where it -was delivered. Garland has stated that it was too large for one to have -carried away by hand. It may have been sent by express, or taken away in -an automobile by the rascal himself. Follow up the thread, if possible, -wherever it leads.”</p> - -<p>“Trust me for that, chief,” said Patsy expressively.</p> - -<p>“In the meantime, Chick, you must see Lottie Trent’s brother, in prison, -and find out from him whether the girl is acquainted with Margate, and, -if possible, where he has been living since he slipped through our -fingers a month ago. If you tell Larry Trent what has befallen<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_28" id="page_28">{28}</a></span> his -sister and of what Margate is guilty, I think he will state all he knows -about the rascal.”</p> - -<p>“Very likely,” Chick agreed. “You have no doubt, I infer, that Margate -is the man who killed the priest.”</p> - -<p>“Not the slightest,” said Nick confidently.</p> - -<p>“But for what reason?”</p> - -<p>“Because, unless I am much mistaken, Lottie Trent has been friendly with -Margate for some little time, not knowing his true name and character, -nor anything about his relations with her convict brother,” Nick -explained. “I think she in some way discovered, however, that Margate -was plotting with confederates against Garland, and that she went to -Father Cleary and confided in him.”</p> - -<p>“Confided what?”</p> - -<p>“One fact on which hinges the whole business and which further confirms -my suspicions.”</p> - -<p>“Namely?”</p> - -<p>“The fact that Margate is out only to blackmail Garland, and that he has -not a single photograph of the government plans.”</p> - -<p>“But why didn’t she inform Garland himself, in that case, instead of -confiding in the priest?”</p> - -<p>“She may have had no opportunity,” Nick pointed out. “She may have made -the discovery that very evening. She may have been threatened by Margate -and others engaged in the scheme.”</p> - -<p>“I see,” Chick nodded.</p> - -<p>“She could frame up a plausible reason to visit the priest, perhaps, and -take a chance that she could save Garland by doing so,” Nick went on. -“This is consistent with her recent appeals to him, and she would have -been eager to do him such a service. She went out to expose the whole -business to Father Cleary, I think, and was probably seen and followed -by Margate and his confederates. They afterward killed the priest and -got away with the girl, that nothing should prevent their getting the -money expected from Garland.”</p> - -<p>“But how do you account for the letter written by the girl?”</p> - -<p>“She was lured into writing it.”</p> - -<p>“When?”</p> - -<p>“That very evening, Chick, after Margate learned that she was wise to -his game,” Nick continued to explain. “She probably did not know that he -had discovered the fact and suspected that she might expose him.”</p> - -<p>“I see.”</p> - -<p>“He paved the way to further incriminate Garland, therefore, bent upon -making a sure thing of bleeding him out of this money. He wrapped his -hand with a bandage, pretending that he had sprained it, and got the -girl to write the letter, she supposing it was for him.”</p> - -<p>“That’s quite obvious, of course.”</p> - -<p>“Lottie Trent probably consented, not thinking of Garland’s given name, -in which the letter was addressed, nor of the covert significance of the -letter. Margate did not ask her to sign it, of course, which explains -why a few fragments of the bottom of the sheet could not be found where -I found the others.”</p> - -<p>“I see the point,” Chick said thoughtfully. “You may be right.”</p> - -<p>“It is further confirmed by another bit of evidence.”</p> - -<p>“What is that?”</p> - -<p>“The bandage I found on the rectory veranda,” said Nick. “It bore no -evidence of having been bound around<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_29" id="page_29">{29}</a></span> a wound, or sprain. Plainly -enough, nevertheless, it had been wrapped around the left hand of a -man.”</p> - -<p>“And you deduce from that?”</p> - -<p>“Something quite suggestive,” said Nick, smiling. “I happen to know that -Andy Margate is left-handed.”</p> - -<p>“By Jove, that is doubly significant,” Chick declared. “Did you recall -that when making your investigations?”</p> - -<p>“No. Not until I talked with Senator Barclay and learned about Garland.”</p> - -<p>“You suspect, then, that the girl was heard confiding in the priest.”</p> - -<p>“Exactly.”</p> - -<p>“And that she was abducted after leaving the rectory, and the priest -afterward killed.”</p> - -<p>“Precisely.”</p> - -<p>“And that Garland was afterward lured to that locality, and this torn -letter dropped in the opposite lots in order to so incriminate him, -apparently, that he would be helplessly in the power of these rascals.”</p> - -<p>“That is my theory, Chick, and I’ll bank on its being very close to the -truth,” Nick nodded.</p> - -<p>“Gee! my money goes with yours, chief,” said Patsy. “I wish I could -place a real bet on it, instead of only a mental wager.”</p> - -<p>“I think you would win,” Nick said a bit dryly.</p> - -<p>Chick straightened up in his chair.</p> - -<p>“Have you confided all of these points to Garland?” he asked abruptly.</p> - -<p>“You bet I haven’t,” said Nick. “I’m taking no chance that a feeling of -relief will betray, in case of his being watched, the scheme that I now -have in view.”</p> - -<p>“I thought you had something up your sleeve,” smiled Chick. “What is -your scheme?”</p> - -<p>Nick took a cigar from his pocket and lit it before replying.</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell you,” he then said seriously. “Garland joined me here late -yesterday afternoon. I had come here in disguise, providing that the -house might be watched, which I have not taken the trouble to confirm, -knowing it might be impossible.”</p> - -<p>“Quite likely.”</p> - -<p>“I talked with Garland about half an hour, merely to give my -instructions. I then sent him out, wearing my garments and disguise, and -he last night occupied my apartments in the Willard. He is to remain -quartered there until I have cleaned up this affair. I remained here in -his place, as well as in the garments belonging to him. You have -observed, no doubt, that I’m wearing a new set of scenery, and that my -suit case stands there in the corner.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I noticed both,” laughed Chick. “But what is your scheme?”</p> - -<p>“A very simple one, though open to many possibilities,” Nick replied. -“Garland has a final appointment to-night with Andy Margate. He is to be -met as before, and taken to the present quarters of that archscoundrel, -where he undoubtedly is established with his confederates in this job. -He is expected to hand over eighty thousand dollars in return for the -alleged photographs—but he will do nothing of the kind.”</p> - -<p>“You intend——”</p> - -<p>“Garland is about my height and build,” Nick cut in. “His cast of -features resembles mine. It will require but very little artistic work -with grease paints and powders<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_30" id="page_30">{30}</a></span> to turn me into a likeness of him that -will pass muster under ordinary conditions.”</p> - -<p>“And you——”</p> - -<p>“I mean that Garland will not keep the appointment,” said Nick, with -ominous intonation. “He is to come here this evening in disguise, but -only to serve me as a model. He then will return to the Willard. I shall -go in his place—to meet Andy Margate.”</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.<br /><br /> -<small>NICK CARTER’S VENTURE.</small></h2> - -<p>Nick Carter’s project was a daring one, even though ventured against -crooks of ordinary caliber. Against as lawless, determined, and -desperate a knave as Andy Margate, who, if Nick’s deductions and -suspicions were correct, had not shrunk for an instant from killing a -priest and abducting a girl to prevent the perversion of his knavish -designs—against a man of that type, such a project was doubly bold and -hazardous.</p> - -<p>Nick Carter realized from the outset that he would carry his life in his -hand. He realized, too, that it would be utterly vain to attempt to -pursue the man and the motor car described by Garland.</p> - -<p>That they would guard against anything of that kind not only was obvious -to Nick, but he further reasoned that any attempt to do so would surely -be detected, and result only in perverting his own more promising -designs. He preferred to take his own chance, therefore, and to rely -upon the other work about to be done by Chick Carter and Patsy.</p> - -<p>Shortly before eight o’clock that evening, a tall man clad in black, -wearing gold-bowed spectacles and a pointed beard, issued from the -Grayling as if he were a resident in the house, and sauntered away -through Vermont Avenue.</p> - -<p>This man was Harold Garland, wearing the garments and disguise of the -detective, the same worn by Nick when he visited the office of the -government engineer the previous day.</p> - -<p>Nearly an hour later, or close upon nine o’clock, the light in Garland’s -apartments suddenly vanished. Half a minute later, wearing a soft felt -hat, a long frieze overcoat, and a suit of plaid woolen, precisely the -same garments worn by Garland when he visited Margate, Nick Carter -emerged from the apartment house and strode toward the first corner -east.</p> - -<p>A man who was turning it just as Nick was approaching it gazed at him -sharply, then smiled and bowed.</p> - -<p>“Good evening, Garland,” he said familiarly.</p> - -<p>“Ah, good evening,” Nick returned genially.</p> - -<p>“I thought I recognized you. A misty night, this.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, quite so,” said the detective.</p> - -<p>They then had passed one another, scarce two feet between them, and in -the bright glare from a near arc light, and Nick halted on the corner.</p> - -<p>“By Jove, that’s quite encouraging,” he said to himself. “That man -evidently is well acquainted with Garland. He felt sure that he -recognized me. He saw me plainly, too, in the bright glare from this arc -light. I also got by with the voice. Having done so under these -conditions, I ought to succeed in fooling Margate. Yes, indeed, it was -encouraging.”</p> - -<p>Nick was justified in congratulating himself, in fact, for he had, with -consummate skill and artistic applications<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_31" id="page_31">{31}</a></span> of paint and powder, -transformed himself into an almost perfect likeness of the man he was -aiming to impersonate.</p> - -<p>It was, as the passing stranger’s remark implied, a fit night for such -an undertaking. A mist hung like a gray pall on the quiet night air. It -obscured all but the brightest stars. A half-filled moon shone through -it only faintly, surrounded with a great circle, like a halo around the -head of a saint.</p> - -<p>It was, in fact, a damp, chilly, and disagreeable November night.</p> - -<p>Nick gazed up and down the avenue and through the side street. The -latter was less brightly lighted. Lamps of motor cars could be seen in -each direction on the avenue. They came and went, many of them passing -him, but none showing any sign of stopping to pick him up.</p> - -<p>Suddenly a clock on a neighboring church began to boom the hour—nine -o’clock.</p> - -<p>Nick counted the slow strokes of the bell, falling with sonorous -reverberations on the night air. They brought to his mind the church and -rectory visited the previous morning.</p> - -<p>Nick thought of the white, upturned face of the murdered priest, found -dead on his library floor. He thought of the missing girl and wondered -what her fate had been.</p> - -<p>His features hardened under these contemplations. His eyes took on a -more threatening gleam and glitter. He was in a fit mood to face danger -in behalf of justice, and bring to righteous punishment the miscreants -guilty of these crimes.</p> - -<p>A sudden glare of light shot across the avenue a block away. A limousine -came quickly around the corner and approached the Grayling, but it did -not stop. Its lamps, seen through the gray mist, were like the glowing -eyes of an uncouth monster.</p> - -<p>“By Jove, there comes my man,” flashed through Nick’s mind. “He came by -the Grayling in order to see whether Garland’s rooms are lighted. I’ll -turn up my collar to offset the bright light from that electric.”</p> - -<p>Nick did so, and then began to think he was mistaken.</p> - -<p>The rapidly moving limousine was swerving toward the opposite side of -the avenue. Suddenly it made a quick turn, however, and sped directly -toward the curbing on which the detective was standing.</p> - -<p>The door flew open and a man thrust out his head.</p> - -<p>“Get in!” he cried sharply. “Be quick!”</p> - -<p>Nick sprang into the car and sank upon the seat. The door banged behind -him.</p> - -<p>“Let her go, Jimmy!” shouted his companion.</p> - -<p>The car had not stopped, in fact, and it now sped on rapidly through the -side street.</p> - -<p>Nick’s companion sprang up and gazed intently from the back window until -more than a hundred yards had been covered. Any pursuing car or motor -cycle would have been plainly visible to him. There was none, however, -and the limousine turned again and sped toward Florida Avenue.</p> - -<p>The man sat down and leaned from the open window on his side of the car, -that on which Nick sat being closed.</p> - -<p>“You’re well away, Jimmy,” he called to the driver. “There’s nothing -doing. Let her go lively.”</p> - -<p>Nick had been quick to see that this man was not masked, as when Garland -had accompanied him. No sooner had he a good look at his dark, -thin-featured face, more<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_32" id="page_32">{32}</a></span>over, than Nick instantly recognized him. He -had arrested him in New York more than a year before.</p> - -<p>“Bartholomew Lombard, better known as Batty Lombard,” he said to -himself. “The rat I took in for lifting a diamond in Tiffany’s. I’m -certainly in right for the present, at least. I wonder what other -jailbird is driving the machine”</p> - -<p>Nick could see only the back of his head and broad shoulders, his woolen -cap and thick overcoat, with the collar turned up to his ears.</p> - -<p>“What are you afraid of?” Nick asked, when the man turned and settled -down beside him.</p> - -<p>Lombard glanced sharply at him.</p> - -<p>“Can’t you guess?” he questioned, with a growl.</p> - -<p>“I suppose you think I’ve put the police wise and that you may be -followed,” said Nick.</p> - -<p>“That calls the turn,” Lombard nodded. “I’m guarded against that, all -right.”</p> - -<p>“Well, that’s not my style,” Nick replied, cleverly imitating Garland’s -voice all the while. “I always do what I have agreed to do.”</p> - -<p>“Is that so?” questioned Lombard, with a groan. “Well, you sure have got -a little something on most men, then.”</p> - -<p>“Are you the same man who met me before?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t I look it?”</p> - -<p>“How can I tell? He wore a mask.”</p> - -<p>Lombard chuckled oddly, with a mischievous gleam in his narrow eyes. He -drew from his pocket a black bag, replying a bit dryly:</p> - -<p>“I’m the same gazabo and here’s the same bandage that you wore. If it’s -all the same to you, Mr. Garland, I will slip it over your block as -before.”</p> - -<p>“It’s not all the same, by any means, but I suppose I must stand for -it,” Nick protested.</p> - -<p>“Stand for it is right,” said Lombard, rising. “I have to guard against -your putting anything over on us. Safety first, you know. If you had the -use of your lamps, you might serve us some scurvy trick sooner or -later.”</p> - -<p>“As scurvy a trick, perhaps, as you rascals are serving me,” Nick -retorted.</p> - -<p>“That’s not half bad,” Lombard returned. “We’re letting you down easy. -Some ginks would bleed you to a standstill. You’re playing dead lucky, -Mr. Garland.”</p> - -<p>“That’s not my opinion.”</p> - -<p>“The which has not been asked for.”</p> - -<p>“Are we going to the same place as before?”</p> - -<p>“That’s what.”</p> - -<p>“Why——”</p> - -<p>“Cut it, now,” Lombard interrupted. “There’ll be time enough for a spiel -after you get there. Sit back and keep quiet.”</p> - -<p>The rascal had drawn the black bag over Nick’s head while speaking, and -Nick was forced to comply with the last. He settled back in the -cushioned corner and relapsed into silence.</p> - -<p>Though enough air entered from the bottom for him to breathe freely, the -thick black bag completely blinded him. It was like being enveloped in -Stygian darkness, and Nick bent his mind upon trying to determine the -course the limousine was taking.</p> - -<p>That also proved entirely futile. He soon decided that many turns were -being purposely made, and that they were not going direct to their -destination.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_33" id="page_33">{33}</a></span></p> - -<p>For nearly half an hour, as well as he could judge, the car sped on and -not a word came from his companion.</p> - -<p>Nick then felt through the open window a more damp and chilly air, as if -it came from the Potomac.</p> - -<p>The varied noises of the city had been left far behind. Only the -occasional distant clang of a trolley-car gong reached his listening -ears. The road had become more rough. He knew that he was passing -through one of the less thickly settled outskirts.</p> - -<p>The car at length turned sharply, and Nick sensed that it was entering -an inclosed area of some kind. Suddenly it stopped and he heard the -driver spring to the ground. Lombard opened the door and seized the -detective’s wrist.</p> - -<p>“Steady, now, and keep your trap closed,” he said, with a growl. “Step -out of the car. I’ll guide you.”</p> - -<p>Nick obeyed without replying.</p> - -<p>He felt his way from the car, and then the hand of the driver gripped -his other arm. He felt the crunch of gravel under his feet, then the -stone step of a doorway.</p> - -<p>The tread of all three then fell upon bare planking, and Nick could -sense that they had entered a building and were in a corridor of -considerable size, which he determined from the sound of their footsteps -on the floor.</p> - -<p>Nick had taken only a few steps, however, when he felt the two men -thrust him through another doorway. Their hands left his arms. He heard -the crash of a closed door behind him—and then found himself alone and -in sudden silence.</p> - -<p>“What’s the meaning of this?” he asked himself, recalling what Garland -had told him of his own experiences. “This isn’t quite in line with what -he stated. Have these rascals——”</p> - -<p>Nick held his breath for an instant.</p> - -<p>The floor on which he stood was descending.</p> - -<p>“An elevator!” flashed through his mind. “Garland mentioned an elevator, -and that he was taken down to the room in which he met Margate. This -must be the same place.”</p> - -<p>The descending floor stopped in a few seconds, so gently that Nick -rightly inferred that electricity was the motive power. He reached out -in each direction and could touch only—four bare walls.</p> - -<p>“By Jove, I’ll find out what kind of a box I’m in,” he said to himself -abruptly. “I’ll not wait for these rats to show me.”</p> - -<p>Nick removed the black bag and still found himself in inky darkness. He -could discover in no direction the faintest ray of light. He waited a -few seconds, thinking he might be released from these stuffy quarters, -but not a sound broke the tomblike silence.</p> - -<p>Deciding not to use his searchlight, lest it might betray him if he was -being covertly watched, Nick fished out a match from his pocket and lit -it.</p> - -<p>The flame revealed four bare walls of wood, a ceiling and floor of like -planking, the whole forming a boxlike structure about five feet square. -As well as he then could judge from the brief flickering light from the -match, there was no way to open it from the inside.</p> - -<p>“Box is right, by Jove,” he said to himself, with increasing suspicions. -“I may be in more of a box than I bargained for right off the reel. Can -it be that these rascals already suspect——”</p> - -<p>A quick, metallic snap cut short Nick’s train of thought.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_34" id="page_34">{34}</a></span></p> - -<p>A panel in one of the walls flew open, slipping quickly to one side. It -revealed a window about a foot square and nearly six feet from the -floor.</p> - -<p>Through it came a flood of electric light from a corridor, only a small -part of which could be seen by the detective.</p> - -<p>Nick’s attention was instantly claimed, moreover, by something more -portentous—the head and face of a man gazing through the bright -opening.</p> - -<p>They were the head and face of—Andy Margate.</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.<br /><br /> -<small>CAUGHT IN A BOX.</small></h2> - -<p>Nick Carter gazed for a moment without speaking. The face of the knave -peering in at him wore an expression the detective did not fancy.</p> - -<p>Mingled malice, merciless hatred, and vicious exultation were pictured -in every feature of Margate’s white, hardset face. His eyes had a gleam -as cold and murderous as that reflected from a blade of steel. His thin, -cruel lips were drawn like those of a dog about to bite.</p> - -<p>“So you’re here again, eh?” he questioned, breaking the momentary -silence.</p> - -<p>Nick eyed him sharply, suspecting the truth, yet still maintaining the -part he had undertaken to play.</p> - -<p>“Yes, as I agreed,” he replied curtly. “Let me out. Why are you keeping -me here?”</p> - -<p>“Aren’t you comfortable?”</p> - -<p>“No. It’s close and stuffy.”</p> - -<p>“It’s not half as close and stuffy a box as you might land in,” Margate -said, with a malicious grin. “Haven’t you thought of that?”</p> - -<p>“I’m not thinking along those lines,” Nick replied. “Come, come, Mr. -Margate, let me out.”</p> - -<p>“Not yet,” leered the rascal. “I want to talk with you. Have you brought -the money agreed upon?”</p> - -<p>“We’ll discuss that in the room where I previously talked with you,” -said Nick. “I refuse to discuss it, or anything else, as long as you -keep me in this place.”</p> - -<p>“Is that so?” sneered Margate. “Listen, then! When you leave it—you’ll -leave it for a worse place.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean by that?”</p> - -<p>“Can’t you guess? Hold on! Keep your hands in front of you!”</p> - -<p>Nick was stealthily reaching toward his hip pocket.</p> - -<p>Margate’s sneering voice had taken on a fierce and threatening ring. His -right hand leaped into view at the lighted window, and a revolver was -aimed point-blank at the detective’s breast.</p> - -<p>“Don’t try to pull a gun, Carter, or you’ll be a dead one on the -instant,” he now threatened sternly.</p> - -<p>“Ah!” Nick exclaimed, casting subterfuge to the winds. “You know me, -then.”</p> - -<p>“You bet I know you,” sneered Margate, with vicious asperity. “I have -mighty good cause to know you. I’ve been wise to you from the first—and -I now have you where I want you. You’re going to pay the price for what -you put over on me a month ago.”</p> - -<p>“I see,” Nick said coolly, despite the ominous outlook. “You’re a very -clever fellow, Margate, after all.”</p> - -<p>“Clever enough to get the best of you.”</p> - -<p>“So it appears,” Nick agreed, bent upon learning just what the rascal -knew of his movements and doings. “I<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_35" id="page_35">{35}</a></span> did not suppose you were half as -keen. You make me curious.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll do more than that to you, Carter,” scowled the other. “Curious -about what?”</p> - -<p>“How you discovered my identity. I thought my tracks were perfectly -covered.”</p> - -<p>“You did, eh?”</p> - -<p>“Otherwise, Margate, I would not be in this box,” said Nick. “You can -bet on that.”</p> - -<p>“It looks like a safe bet,” Margate allowed, with a leer. “You’re not -half as crafty, Carter, as you think. Do you suppose for a moment that I -would not make sure that Garland did not send for you?”</p> - -<p>“He did not send for me,” Nick replied carelessly, bent upon leading him -on.</p> - -<p>“I know he didn’t—but Senator Barclay did.”</p> - -<p>“Ah!”</p> - -<p>“I’ll soon have both where I want them—as I’ve got you!” Margate -exultantly added.</p> - -<p>“Admitting that, which now seems quite probable, I don’t see how you -discovered that Senator Barclay sent for me,” said Nick, pretending he -was merely puzzled and had no covert design.</p> - -<p>“You don’t, eh?” leered Margate, evidently pleased to discuss his own -cunning. “I’ll tell you how.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I’m listening.”</p> - -<p>“I sent a man to watch your New York residence.”</p> - -<p>“Ah!”</p> - -<p>“I knew that if any detective was employed, you would be the one.”</p> - -<p>“I see.”</p> - -<p>“And you were seen when you left home alone with a suit case and took -the train for Washington,” Margate went on sneeringly. “You were -shadowed when you arrived at the Willard. You were watched throughout -yesterday. You were seen with Fallon, the infernal dick, dipping into a -mess you had better kept out of. You were seen going in disguise to -Garland’s office, and afterward to his rooms in the Grayling, where he -joined you about five o’clock. You were seen leaving and returning to -the Willard, where you remained until to-night, when you went to his -rooms again and fixed yourself up to turn this trick on me.”</p> - -<p>Nick Carter’s face evinced no sign of the satisfaction he now felt.</p> - -<p>It was obvious to him that Margate had blundered and been deceived, in -spite of his precautions. He evidently had, or one of his confederates, -been watching Garland in the disguise of the detective, and that none of -them suspected the ruse Nick had adopted.</p> - -<p>It was perfectly plain, therefore, that the presence of Chick and Patsy -in Washington was not suspected, and no steps having been taken by the -rascals to guard against what they might accomplish, Nick now felt -reasonably sure that one or both of them would make good along the lines -he had laid out. His own situation did not look nearly as dark as it had -before evoking these disclosures, and Nick was content to meet it as he -found it.</p> - -<p>The situation took a more threatening turn, however, sooner than he -really expected.</p> - -<p>Seeing Nick apparently nonplussed by what he had heard, Margate laughed -exultantly and quickly added:</p> - -<p>“But you’ll turn no trick on me, Carter, take my word for it. The boot -is on the other leg. I still have Garland where I want him, as well as -you. The newspapers tell<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_36" id="page_36">{36}</a></span> me all that you have disclosed. I’ll get -Garland later—and finish you at once.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t hurry, Margate,” Nick put in coolly. “I’m in no rush.”</p> - -<p>“But I am!” snapped the scowling miscreant. “I’m itching to get even -with you, to pay you for what you have done to me, to see you dead at my -feet. It won’t be long, Carter, not long. You shall pay the price. Take -it from me—you shall pay the price!”</p> - -<p>The threatening face vanished like a flash with the last.</p> - -<p>The panel flew back into place with a sharp, ominous click.</p> - -<p>Nick Carter found himself again in inky darkness.</p> - -<p>He stepped quickly to the opposite wall and listened at the closed -panel.</p> - -<p>He now could hear Margate’s voice in the adjoining corridor, followed by -others replying. They told him only too plainly what fate the miscreants -had in view for him.</p> - -<p>“The sooner it’s done, Batty, the better,” Margate was forcibly saying. -“We’ll wait only for Nell to show up. I want her here when we put out -his light. That’s the only sure way to prevent her from peaching, or any -one else. Put them in the same boat with you. Then they’ll never -squeal.”</p> - -<p>“That’s right, too, Andy,” declared a voice which Nick recognized as -that of the burly chauffeur.</p> - -<p>“Sure it’s right, Baldwin,” Margate returned.</p> - -<p>“But where is she, Andy?” Lombard demanded. “You must have seen her this -evening. She hasn’t had charge of the girl since afternoon. When will -she show up?”</p> - -<p>“By Jove, they have Lottie Trent here, also,” thought Nick. “There would -be something doing, all right, if I could break out of this thing.”</p> - -<p>Listening while indulging in these thoughts, Nick heard Margate reply:</p> - -<p>“I left her in Brady’s just before coming out here, before seeing you -and Baldwin start out on this job. She had had no supper, so waited to -get it. She may show up at any moment.”</p> - -<p>“But Carter has guns, Andy, and will put up a fight. If——”</p> - -<p>“Hang his guns!” Margate cut in harshly. “He’ll get no chance to use -them. We’ll not need a gun.”</p> - -<p>“How can you fix him?”</p> - -<p>“Dead easy. We’ll attach the hose to the gas meter and run it to the -trap. It will reach from the meter to the elevator shaft. We’ll bore a -hole for it through the plank ceiling. Carter then can’t stop the flow -of gas. We’ll suffocate him like a rat in a copper boiler.”</p> - -<p>“That’s the stuff,” growled Baldwin approvingly. “Dead easy is right.”</p> - -<p>“Come out to the office,” Margate added. “We’ll wait there till Nell -comes in.”</p> - -<p>“But the girl——”</p> - -<p>“We’ll silence her later. She can’t get out. I’ve made sure of that. -Come out to the office.”</p> - -<p>Nick heard their heavy tread through the corridor and up a short flight -of stairs, which convinced him that he was in the basement of some -building.</p> - -<p>“By Jove, I’ve got to make a bid for liberty, at least,” he said to -himself.</p> - -<p>Whipping out his electric searchlight, he at once began a hurried -inspection of the four walls and the section<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_37" id="page_37">{37}</a></span> where the panel was -located. He saw plainly that the trap had been constructed on a small -elevator, and so made that it could be opened only from the outside. He -quickly found, moreover, that the planking was of sufficient strength to -preclude escape, nor could he start the panel in either direction.</p> - -<p>“By gracious, it don’t look very promising,” Nick muttered, grim and -frowning. “But there’ll be some gun play, all right, if the rascals try -to bore a hole through this ceiling. I’ll foil them yet, barring——”</p> - -<p>Nick then was given the surprise of his life.</p> - -<p>A sharp click broke his train of thought. The door of the trap flew open -and a girl stood directly in front of him in the lighted corridor.</p> - -<p>She was deathly pale and frightfully excited, but her eyes were aglow -with fierce determination. Her hair and garments were in disorder. Her -lace collar was stained with blood. She was trembling from head to foot -with frantic eagerness.</p> - -<p>“I heard them—I know!” she wildly whispered. “I’m Lottie Trent. I was -imprisoned in that room opposite. I picked the lock with a hairpin. I -had seen them open this door and knew you could not——”</p> - -<p>Her torrent of words was cut short by the sudden sharp crack of a -revolver.</p> - -<p>A bullet splintered the woodwork above her head.</p> - -<p>“They’ve heard me!” she gasped.</p> - -<p>Nick already had seized her and drawn her into the trap, beyond reach of -bullet from that end of the corridor where Margate and his two -confederates were plunging down a low flight of stairs.</p> - -<p>“Wait here!” Nick commanded, forcing the girl to one corner and -snatching out both of his revolvers. “I’ll give these rats a taste of -their own medicine.”</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.<br /><br /> -<small>BETWEEN TWO FIRES.</small></h2> - -<p>Chick Carter and Patsy Garvan, though this case was one in which nearly -all of the work had devolved upon Nick Carter himself, were not idle -while their chief was engaged as described.</p> - -<p>Following the instructions given him, Patsy spent most of the day in -running down the place where Margate had obtained a large photographic -camera, as Nick had been led to suspect.</p> - -<p>Patsy finally found that such a camera had been bought ten days before -from a pawnbroker in one of the lower sections of the city, and that the -purchaser was a man of Margate’s description.</p> - -<p>The pawnbroker stated that he had not left his address, however, but had -paid for the camera and sent an expressman to get it, but whose name the -pawnbroker did not know.</p> - -<p>Patsy then began a vigorous hunt for the expressman, but his efforts -were not rewarded until nearly nine in the evening, when he found the -man he was seeking.</p> - -<p>This man then informed him that he had taken the camera to a building -out Georgetown way, which had been vacated a short time before by a -manufacturing concern that had failed in business, and which had -recently been rented by parties who contemplated moving into it for a -similar business, but who were not yet under way.</p> - -<p>Patsy needed to hear no more than that. He learned precisely where the -building was located, thanked the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_38" id="page_38">{38}</a></span> expressman for his information, and -then headed for the trolley-car line running out there.</p> - -<p>“It’s after nine, and the chief must have left the Grayling,” he -shrewdly reasoned. “If there is anything doing, it will be in that same -building. I’ll hike out there at once, in case I am needed.”</p> - -<p>It was half past nine when Patsy boarded a trolley car, and he then was -given a surprise.</p> - -<p>In one corner of it sat—Chick Carter.</p> - -<p>He was not alone.</p> - -<p>His companion was a flashily clad blonde of about thirty, with yellow -hair and rouged cheeks, and whose rather bleared eyes and maudlin -expression plainly denoted that she had been looking on the wine when it -is red in the cup.</p> - -<p>“Gee whiz!” thought Patsy, immensely tickled for more reasons than one. -“Where did he get next to that? She’s a bird with wilted plumage. He -looks all right, but she certainly has her load. There must be something -doing, or he wouldn’t be heading out this way with her. But where did he -gather her in? That’s what puzzles me.”</p> - -<p>Their eyes met a moment later, but no observable sign passed between the -two. A momentary twinkle in Chick’s eyes, however, gave Patsy the only -needed cue.</p> - -<p>Nick Carter’s anticipations were speedily verified when Chick, visiting -Larry Trent in his prison cell that afternoon, told the convict what had -befallen his sister, and of the other crimes of which Margate was -guilty.</p> - -<p>Resenting the wrong done the girl, Trent informed Chick that his sister -had known Margate only under the name of Matt Gaffney; that the latter -had lodged in the same house with her, and that they had been quite -friendly, also that Margate could be found almost every evening in a red -disguise in a saloon and restaurant run by one Phil Brady, in a -red-light section of the city.</p> - -<p>Chick thus obtained enough information as he thought would serve his -purpose, and eight o’clock that evening found him watching Brady’s -establishment from the opposite side of the street.</p> - -<p>Half an hour brought no results, however, and Chick then sauntered into -the saloon and bought a drink, carelessly asking the bartender:</p> - -<p>“Seen Gaffney this evening?”</p> - -<p>“Not yet,” was the reply. “But he’ll soon show up. There’s a skirt -waiting for him in the last booth.”</p> - -<p>Chick took a look at her with the aid of the bar mirror.</p> - -<p>“She’s a new one to me,” he said indifferently.</p> - -<p>“She ain’t new around here,” grinned the bartender. “That’s Nell Breen.”</p> - -<p>Chick turned away without another question and repaired to his former -vantage point across the street.</p> - -<p>Ten minutes later he saw Margate enter the saloon and talk a few moments -with the woman, buying a drink for both.</p> - -<p>Margate then came out, hastening to a limousine that had stopped at a -near corner. He talked earnestly with the driver and one passenger for a -short time and then hurried away.</p> - -<p>The limousine departed in the opposite direction.</p> - -<p>Chick made one of his characteristic clever moves. He scribbled a few -words on a blank card with a lead pencil, then hurried to the booth in -which Nell Breen was sipping a Martini and waiting for pork chops.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_39" id="page_39">{39}</a></span></p> - -<p>“Here, Nell, read that,” he whispered impressively, slipping her the -card. “Andy sent me in with it.”</p> - -<p>The woman looked up suspiciously, then read the card:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“<span class="smcap">Nell</span>: This fellow is all right. Bring him along. I have a use for -him. Hastily,</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">Andy</span>.”<br /> -</p></div> - -<p>“Who gave you this?” Nell demanded, gazing again, but less suspiciously.</p> - -<p>Chick had taken a chance that she was to rejoin Margate later, or would -know where to find him.</p> - -<p>“Oh, get wise, get wise, kid,” he said significantly. “Matt Gaffney sent -me in, or Andy Margate, if that hits you any better. Can’t you read it?”</p> - -<p>“Why didn’t he come in with you?”</p> - -<p>“He hadn’t time,” Chick glibly explained. “He was spieling to two blokes -in a taxi. He sent them away and was in a big rush himself. He said -you’d know what to do when you saw his note. What am I up against, -anyway?”</p> - -<p>Chick began to scowl—and the woman then began to laugh. She had taken -just enough liquor to feel silly, and want more.</p> - -<p>“He wants me to bring you out, eh?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“That’s what he said. You can read it, can’t you?”</p> - -<p>“Sure I can read it,” grinned Nell. “But I’m not going out there till -I’ve had my feed. You can bet your boots on that.”</p> - -<p>“I’m a bit hungry myself,” Chick vouchsafed.</p> - -<p>“Sit down and order something. Say, what’s your moniker?”</p> - -<p>“Sandy Billings. I’ve known Andy from ’way back. Will you wrap yourself -around another drink?”</p> - -<p>“Sure! Make it dry.”</p> - -<p>With the way thus cleverly paved, Chick afterward found it easy walking. -Nell Breen made good in so far as Chick desired. She left the car at the -proper point and conducted him about a quarter mile to the building then -the scene of episodes already described.</p> - -<p>Patsy Garvan followed them with no great need for caution, owing to the -woman’s intoxication.</p> - -<p>They entered a yard leading to an end door of the somewhat ancient stone -building. The limousine was one of the first things to catch Chick’s -eye, and it told him all he then wanted to know.</p> - -<p>He glanced back and saw Patsy stealing after him.</p> - -<p>“Must we ring, or knock?” he asked, as he approached the door with the -reeling woman.</p> - -<p>“Neizer,” she muttered, with maudlin thickness. “I’ve gotta key.”</p> - -<p>“Let’s have it,” Chick said quietly. “You couldn’t find the keyhole.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll be dead lucky if I find the key,” said Nell, feeling for a pocket -in her skirt.</p> - -<p>She presently found it and produced the key, nevertheless, placing it in -the detective’s hand.</p> - -<p>Chick tried to insert it noiselessly into the lock, and stopped—for the -hundredth part of a second.</p> - -<p>There came from within, sending a thrill through him from head to -foot—the sudden, sharp, spiteful crack of a revolver.</p> - -<p>Patsy also heard it, and three quick leaps brought him to Chick’s side.</p> - -<p>Both swept the woman aside, throwing her to the ground, and Chick -unlocked the door and threw it open.</p> - -<p>Their gaze fell upon a lighted corridor, a low flight<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_40" id="page_40">{40}</a></span> of stairs leading -down to it, and upon Margate, Lombard, and Baldwin, now shooting wildly -at a man crouching near what appeared to be a narrow door.</p> - -<p>“There’s Nick!” Chick yelled. “At them, Patsy!”</p> - -<p>Both dashed into the corridor, revolvers in hand.</p> - -<p>Batty Lombard fell at that moment, pierced with a bullet from Nick’s -revolver.</p> - -<p>Baldwin turned to flee—only to find himself caught between two fires. -He dropped his revolver to the floor and threw up his hands.</p> - -<p>Andy Margate did nothing of the kind. He suddenly seemed to grasp the -altered situation. He reached into his vest pocket and clapped something -to his mouth.</p> - -<p>Then he dropped as if struck by lightning, landing with a thud on the -floor, face up.</p> - -<p>An empty vial was rolling to one side, glistening in the bright light.</p> - -<p>Nick approached, shaking hands with Chick and Patsy, and then he gazed -down at the vial and the white, upturned face.</p> - -<p>“Paying the price—that’s right,” he said a bit grimly. “He has saved us -the trouble. He spoke the truth for once in his life. The price has been -paid.”</p> - -<p>Midnight saw Baldwin and Nell Breen lodged in a prison cell, Lombard -dying in a hospital, and Andy Margate laid out temporarily in the back -room of a city undertaker, his bier a plank, his covering a sheet.</p> - -<p>Lombard confessed before he died, but it needs no record in these pages. -For it confirmed in nearly every detail the theories of Nick Carter, as -already set forth in his discussion of his suspicions and deductions.</p> - -<p>The relief of Garland, as well as that of Senator Barclay and Stella, -the gratitude of all for Nick and his assistants—these go without -saying, as Nick remarked when they attempted to thank him.</p> - -<p>“It’s satisfaction enough for me that we have canned Andy Margate,” he -added. “Lombard will not live till morning, moreover, and the others -will get what’s coming to them. Who could ask more in behalf of -justice?”</p> - -<p class="fint">THE END.</p> - -<p>“On Death’s Trail; or, Nick Carter’s Strangest Case,” will be the title -of the long, complete story that you will find in the next issue, No. -147, of the <span class="smcap">Nick Carter Stories</span>, out July 3d. In this story are -recounted some of the most interesting adventures which have ever -befallen the famous detective and his almost equally famous assistants. -Then, too, there will be the usual installment of a corking good serial, -together with several short but interesting and instructive articles.</p> - -<h2><a name="FIGHTING_WITH_CHEESE" id="FIGHTING_WITH_CHEESE"></a>FIGHTING WITH CHEESE.</h2> - -<p>The most remarkable ammunition ever heard of was used by the celebrated -Commodore Coe, of the Montevidian navy, who, in an engagement with -Admiral Brown, of the Buenos Airean service, fired every shot from his -lockers.</p> - -<p>“What shall we do, sir?” asked his first lieutenant.</p> - -<p>It looked as if Coe would have to strike his colors, when it occurred to -his first lieutenant to use Dutch cheese as cannon balls. There happened -to be a large quantity of these on board, and in a few minutes the fire -of the old <i>Santa Maria</i>—Coe’s ship—which had ceased entirely, was -reopened, and Admiral Brown found more shot flying over his head. -Directly, one of them struck his main<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_41" id="page_41">{41}</a></span>mast, and, as it did so, shattered -and flew in every direction.</p> - -<p>“What the dickens is the enemy firing?” asked Brown.</p> - -<p>But nobody could tell. Directly another came in through a port and -killed two men who were near him, and then, striking the opposite -bulwarks, burst into pieces.</p> - -<p>Brown believed it to be some newfangled paixhan or other, and as four or -five more of them came slap through his sails, he gave orders to fill -away, and actually backed out of the fight, receiving a parting -broadside of Dutch cheese.</p> - -<h2><a name="Wheres_the_Commandant" id="Wheres_the_Commandant"></a>Where’s the Commandant?<br /><br /> -<small>By C. C. WADDELL.</small></h2> - -<p>(This interesting story was commenced in No. 140 of <span class="smcap">Nick Carter Stories</span>. -Back numbers can always be obtained from your news dealer or the -publishers.)</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVII" id="CHAPTER_XXVII"></a>CHAPTER XXVII.<br /><br /> -<small>STRANGE PRECAUTIONS.</small></h2> - -<p>While Grail was shaving, at that two-minute gait which, once acquired at -West Point, is never forgotten, a sudden suggestion came to him, and he -laid down his razor to draft out on a telegraph blank a composition, -which seemed, from the way he frowned and bit his pen over it, to -require careful consideration.</p> - -<p>Finishing it at last, he slipped it into a sealed envelope, and when he -had completed his dressing, carried it and the note from Appleby over to -the post-telegraph office.</p> - -<p>The Appleby note he laid on the table under a paper weight.</p> - -<p>“Sergeant,” he said to the man in charge, “I want you to keep your eye -on that paper, and if it disappears, instantly transmit this to the -address within.” He handed over the sealed envelope.</p> - -<p>The man stared at him as though he thought he had suddenly gone crazy. -“If the paper disappears?” he gasped.</p> - -<p>“Exactly.” Grail looked at him sternly. “And let there be no mistake in -carrying out instructions, please. As you may surmise, there are strange -things going on, and much may depend on you to-night. I repeat, if the -paper on the desk disappears, you are to send without delay the dispatch -in that sealed envelope.”</p> - -<p>Then he started for the waiting taxi; but the operator halted him at the -door.</p> - -<p>“Oh, by the way, captain,” he called, “Miss Vedant was trying to get you -several times this afternoon.” A bit confused by Grail’s impressive -manner and the peculiar instructions given him, he did not think to add -that the call had come by wireless.</p> - -<p>“Miss Vedant?” The adjutant swung around, his hand on the knob. “Did she -leave any message for me?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir. Merely said she would call again.”</p> - -<p>“Very well. It makes no difference now. I shall probably see her in -person in ten or fifteen minutes.”</p> - -<p>Whirling uptown with Cato in the cab, he kept pondering over the matter, -wondering why Meredith had been so anxious to communicate with him, and -trying to piece out an answer from the facts at his disposal.</p> - -<p>Then he suddenly slapped his knee, as what seemed to be a solution broke -upon him.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_42" id="page_42">{42}</a></span></p> - -<p>“Cato,” he exclaimed, “do you remember what Simmons was saying when he -was interrupted by that pistol shot, and the arrival of the Japs?”</p> - -<p>“Something about a family reunion between the colonel and his daughter, -wasn’t it, sir?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; the exact words, as I remember, were that it would be quite a -family reunion to have father and daughter under——” Then he stopped. -“Cato, what he was about to say was ‘under one roof.’ Don’t you see it, -man? Colonel Vedant was taken from the hut last night to the home of -Otto Schilder.”</p> - -<p>Cato looked puzzled. “Is Mr. Schilder one of the gang, too?” he -demanded.</p> - -<p>“No.” He hesitated, then added, in a lower tone: “But, as I have known -from the beginning, a member of Schilder’s household has long been on -terms of clandestine friendship with this man Dabney, or Rezonoff. She -has, in fact, been his chief aid in all this matter.”</p> - -<p>“She?” Cato glanced at him.</p> - -<p>“Yes; Mrs. Schilder. There is no longer any use in trying to protect -her, for I gather from the circumstances that her husband already knows -all. To my mind, that is the explanation of his summoning Appleby to his -office this afternoon, and of the conference of officers at the house -to-night. He probably wants to arrange some plan to hush the affair up -with as little scandal as possible.</p> - -<p>“I should not be surprised, too,” he went on, “to learn that it was Miss -Vedant who discovered the secret of the colonel’s presence in the house; -for she is quick-witted enough to have outgeneraled even so crafty a -schemer as that woman. Yes, that must be it,” he repeated; “she found it -out and tried to communicate with me, but, failing in that, finally -turned to Schilder.”</p> - -<p>“Well, we’ll know for certain in a minute now,” said Cato, as the cab -halted under the porte-cochère; “for here we are.”</p> - -<p>The door swung open to them, as they climbed the steps.</p> - -<p>“If you please, sir,” the man who admitted them said to Grail, “Miss -Vedant wishes to see you at once. Will you follow me? She is in madame’s -boudoir.” Then, with less ceremony, he directed Sergeant Cato to -accompany another man to a room belowstairs.</p> - -<p>Up a softly carpeted flight Grail was led by his guide, and along the -hall; then the man, drawing aside heavy portières, disclosed a room -suffused with a dim, rosy light.</p> - -<p>Grail took a step forward, but halted as he saw no one there. Before he -could turn, however, he was dealt a stunning blow over the head. He -reeled, threw up his hands to clutch vainly at the air, then felt -himself falling, and knew no more.</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVIII" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII"></a>CHAPTER XXVIII.<br /><br /> -<small>A MEETING.</small></h2> - -<p>As Meredith Vedant had halted, fear-stricken, paralyzed with terror at -her startling discovery in the lonely attic, a sudden flash of lightning -from the rising storm blazed down through the windows overhead, and for -a second illuminated the face of the prostrate prisoner.</p> - -<p>It was Ormsby Grail!<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_43" id="page_43">{43}</a></span></p> - -<p>Instantly her trepidation, the swooning weakness she had felt coming -over her, was gone, swallowed up, like her feminine apprehensions in -coming to the place, in a greater emotion.</p> - -<p>He was in danger. He was bound and helpless. He needed her aid. -Hurriedly she flung herself down beside him, and wrenched away the gag -from his lips, meanwhile calling on him breathlessly to tell her what -had happened.</p> - -<p>But he made no answer. His head rolled from side to side at her touch.</p> - -<p>She drew back with a gasp. Was he dead? But no; a long-drawn sigh, and -the beating of his heart as she laid her ear to his chest, reassured her -on that point.</p> - -<p>Still, he was insensible, injured—perhaps fatally. He must have proper -aid and attention at once; and where could she get it in this house, -which was only too evidently dominated by his enemies and hers?</p> - -<p>For a moment her head drooped helplessly; then, with quick recollection, -she sprang to the wireless instrument.</p> - -<p>Feverishly she twisted the knobs, and sent in call after call to the -post; but her only response was an ear-splitting crackling and snapping. -There was too much electricity in the air; the “static” was baffling -her.</p> - -<p>Still, useless though she knew the attempt to be, she kept on sending -the call, until at last she was interrupted by the sound of a mutter -behind her, and, turning, saw, in the lightning flashes, Grail halfway -up on one elbow.</p> - -<p>“That chemist is crazy”—his words came jerkily—“that wasn’t what he -said it was; that was a picric-acid compound, and the Russians are -adepts with picric. Why didn’t I think of that before?”</p> - -<p>The girl sprang toward him. “Ormsby! Ormsby!” she cried, slipping her -arm under him and supporting his head on her shoulder. “Tell me you are -not badly hurt!”</p> - -<p>But he paid no heed. His befogged brain had room only for the -calculations upon which he was engaged.</p> - -<p>“I understand the trick about the typewriting, too, now,” he went on. -“In case the explosive failed to work, they had another come-back. By -imitating the defects of Schilder’s typewriter, and using his -letterhead, they could always, as a last resource, throw suspicion on -him. I’ll bet, though, the woman was responsible for that touch, Cato; -she is just the sort to——”</p> - -<p>He halted suddenly, realizing, as his wits cleared, that it was not -Cato’s strong arm supporting him, nor Cato’s gruff voice so beseechingly -imploring him.</p> - -<p>He raised his head bewilderedly to see, and a kindly flash of lightning -showed him her face.</p> - -<p>“Meredith!” he exclaimed. “Are you a prisoner, too?”</p> - -<p>“No, no!” she cried. “I am here to help you, if I can. But tell me first -that you are not hurt?”</p> - -<p>“Hurt?” he scoffed, although as a matter of fact his head was still -dazed and ringing from the blow it had received. “Help me loosen this -strap about my feet, and I’ll show you how little I am hurt.”</p> - -<p>Then, while she relieved him of his remaining bonds, and assisted him to -stand, he drew from her the story of how she had happened to come to his -rescue.</p> - -<p>“My dear girl,” he murmured tenderly, and although neither of them could -tell just how it happened, another moment found them in each other’s -arms.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_44" id="page_44">{44}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIX" id="CHAPTER_XXIX"></a>CHAPTER XXIX.<br /><br /> -<small>THE WAY.</small></h2> - -<p>“We are neglecting the colonel!” said Grail presently. “Come, we must -lose no time in releasing him.”</p> - -<p>“Father?” She stared at him.</p> - -<p>“Yes. I am satisfied that he is somewhere here, held a prisoner just as -I was.”</p> - -<p>As he spoke, he began lighting matches, and holding them above his head; -and in a moment he caught sight of the strong room, with its -iron-sheathed door.</p> - -<p>“What is that?” he inquired. Then, as Meredith told him, he stepped over -to inspect it.</p> - -<p>Meredith hesitated. “But, Ormsby,” she faltered, “the place is full of -rats. I heard them when I stood at the door to-day.”</p> - -<p>“It was not rats, my dear. It was doubtless your father trying to -attract your attention. It was an ideal place of incarceration, and they -have had him here ever since last night, when you saw the two men leave -in the automobile, whom you took for burglars.”</p> - -<p>Thus assured, Meredith lost no time in opening the door herself; it was -fastened merely by a heavy bolt, and the lock was broken; but, to -Grail’s intense surprise, although there was ample evidence there of a -recent prisoner, the place was empty.</p> - -<p>“By Jove!” ejaculated Grail, glancing about at the iron-sheathed walls, -and high-up, narrow window. “Impossible as it seems, the colonel must -have managed to escape. How any one of his build, though, could -have——”</p> - -<p>He ceased at the abrupt, warning clutch of Meredith’s hand on his arm. -“Some one is coming!” she whispered tensely.</p> - -<p>Grail thrust her behind him, and, closing the door of the strong room to -a crack, listened. Unquestionably there were footsteps on the stairs, -and looking out he could see the gleam of an electric flash light -playing against the ceiling. What new danger menaced them now?</p> - -<p>The steps came on; the ray of the flash light descended until it spread -across the floor; then Grail received one of the surprises of his life.</p> - -<p>Through the door, breathing a little heavily from their climb, came Otto -Schilder and Colonel Vedant.</p> - -<p>They paused at the threshold, a trifle perplexedly; then came on toward -the strong room.</p> - -<p>“If they have put Grail in here, though,” muttered the colonel, “they -must have discovered my escape.”</p> - -<p>The adjutant and Meredith waited no longer. Quickly stepping out, they -disclosed themselves; and, while Meredith went to her father’s arms, -Grail obtained from Schilder some rather enlightening explanations.</p> - -<p>“My wife, you must understand, Captain Grail,” said the foundryman, “has -a brother, Ivan Rezonoff, to whom she is devotedly attached, but whom, -on account of his profession, I have forbidden her to have anything to -do with. I am a loyal American citizen, and I stand for no spying by the -emissaries of any foreign government. Recently, though, I learned that -Rezonoff was in Brentford under an assumed name; and before I could make -up my mind just what course to take in the matter, the colonel’s -abduction occurred.</p> - -<p>“I was satisfied that Rezonoff had engineered it,” he continued, “from -the fact that my wife had induced me to employ several of her countrymen -at the plant; but I<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_45" id="page_45">{45}</a></span> determined to say nothing until I could confirm my -suspicions. Last night I discovered that my brother-in-law and two other -men had secretly visited the house, and by putting two and two together -I finally reached the conclusion that it was for the purpose of -secreting the colonel on these premises. I could find out nothing from -the servants, since they are all under Mrs. Schilder’s domination; but -by conducting a quiet search on my own hook, I eventually found the -colonel, released him, and for the last two hours have had him in my -apartment, restoring him and getting him in shape after his experiences.</p> - -<p>“I also kept on the watch for developments in the meantime,” he went on, -“and by cross-examining one of the footmen who appeared to me to be -acting suspiciously, forced him to confess what had befallen you and -your companion. The colonel and I then came here at once to liberate -you; and since the sergeant, as I understand, is in the cellar, we will -proceed there at once to set him free, also.</p> - -<p>“First, however”—he turned so as to include the colonel in his -remarks—“I wish to consult you gentlemen in regard to future steps. I -make no plea for Rezonoff, of course; he must be dealt with as you see -fit. But I do hope that some way can be found to cover up Mrs. -Schilder’s folly, and——”</p> - -<p>“Don’t worry about that, dear Otto,” interrupted a taunting voice from -the head of the stairs. “The way is here!”</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXX" id="CHAPTER_XXX"></a>CHAPTER XXX.<br /><br /> -<small>THE EXPIATION.</small></h2> - -<p>Turning in the flood of light which suddenly burst on them, the -surprised four saw Rezonoff and his accomplice, Pepernik, each with a -flash light in one hand and a big revolver in the other. Catlike, the -Russians had crept up the stairs, and had caught their quarry napping.</p> - -<p>“Hands up, there!” Rezonoff snapped. “I don’t believe any of you are -armed, but all the same, I am taking no chances. Pepernik, step over and -search those men.”</p> - -<p>The ceremony concluded to his satisfaction, he lowered his gun, and, -stepping forward, swept the faces in front of him with a grin of -malicious triumph.</p> - -<p>“Rats in a trap, eh?” His tone was savage, pitiless. “Well, like rats -you shall perish. The old man there was to have been my only victim; but -since you all have—what is the American phrase? Ah, yes—‘butted in,’ -you will all—even you, Otto—have to share his fate. I shall lock you -all in up here, and then set fire to the house. Already there are -inflammables in every room below, the nearest fire-alarm boxes are -disconnected, and all surrounding telephone wires cut. The blaze will -get a rare start, I assure you.”</p> - -<p>Involuntarily, Schilder, Meredith, and her father recoiled before such -fiendish malice. Only Grail held himself unmoved.</p> - -<p>“Ah, captain?” The Russian turned to him. “You doubt me, eh? You don’t -think I will do what I say? Well, I will show you. I go now to set the -torch.”</p> - -<p>“No; I don’t think so!” There was something in Grail’s quiet tone which -held the other in spite of himself.</p> - -<p>“I won’t, eh? Why not?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_46" id="page_46">{46}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“Because, despite the cleverness of the note you sent me to-night, I -suspected it was a forgery, and left it with the telegraph operator at -the fort, instructing him, in case it disappeared, to transmit without -delay a dispatch I left with him at the same time.</p> - -<p>“The dispatch,” he continued, “was to our secretary of state at -Washington, giving a full account of your acts of the past three days, -and asking him to communicate them to the Russian ambassador. So, -Captain Rezonoff, inasmuch as you have already exceeded your -instructions, and, as the agent of your government, been guilty of an -outrage which must seriously embarrass the Russian foreign office, I do -not think you will care to go to such extremes as you threaten.”</p> - -<p>The emissary’s face paled. He knew what it meant to fail in such a -mission as he had undertaken—to be recalled in disgrace.</p> - -<p>“The Russian government,” Grail added pointedly, “will hardly -countenance criminal acts on the part of one of its emissaries, done for -purposes of private revenge. More than that, Rezonoff, you know that the -affair in which Colonel Vedant was involved, many years ago, in Russia, -affected his honor, and that he acquitted himself with honor. Your -present attempts at a belated revenge are the acts of a vindictive and -dishonorable man. It looks very bad for you!”</p> - -<p>Captain Rezonoff took a step forward, and gazed at Grail anxiously. “Has -that message been sent to Washington?” he asked chokingly.</p> - -<p>“Many hours ago, I believe,” returned Grail quietly. “It has surely been -sent if your forged letter disappeared, as you planned to have it, and -if the——”</p> - -<p>But there was no need for Grail to say more. There came to their ears a -swish of silken skirts on the stairway, and Mrs. Schilder, in an -elaborate dinner gown, but pale and agitated, burst in upon them.</p> - -<p>She paid no heed to any of the others, but swiftly singling out her -brother, thrust a telegram toward him.</p> - -<p>He gave one glance at it, then, crumpling it in his hand, dropped it to -the floor.</p> - -<p>“What does it mean, Ivan?” the woman cried, clinging to him -hysterically. “What does it mean?”</p> - -<p>He put her away from him, nodding over his shoulder to Schilder to take -her.</p> - -<p>“Believe me, gentlemen”—he swept the group with a glance—“my sister -had no idea of my full intentions. She thought it only ordinary -secret-service work, and was chiefly concerned with fear that her -husband would find out what she was doing. I deceived her as to my -object. Russia has no use for failures! I know what my duty is!”</p> - -<p>And, before any one could intervene, he moved briskly out of the attic -and down the stairs.</p> - -<p>“Quick!” cried Colonel Vedant. “The man will escape!”</p> - -<p>Grail raised a restraining hand. “I don’t think he cares to get away,” -he said quietly.</p> - -<p>The look in the adjutant’s face held them all spellbound. Mrs. Schilder -clung to her husband, her face as white as chalk. Pepernik, the -conspirator, stood silent and nonplussed, making no effort to leave the -room. Every eye was upon him when suddenly, from below, in one of the -larger apartments, came the muffled report of a revolver.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Schilder swooned, without a cry. Meredith Vedant gazed with -fascination, silently, at the imperturbable<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_47" id="page_47">{47}</a></span> countenance of the -adjutant. The colonel and the adjutant, grim fighting men, turned cold, -inquiring looks upon the white and trembling Pepernik. The man seemed to -feel their question, and he raised his hands in a weak gesture of -helplessness. “I—I have not the courage of Captain Rezonoff,” he -muttered. “I surrender. Send for your police.”</p> - -<p>Grail took the revolver which the man held out weakly, then turned and -went downstairs to the telephone.</p> - -<p class="fint">THE END.</p> - -<h2><a name="AN_ODD_GHOST_STORY" id="AN_ODD_GHOST_STORY"></a>AN ODD GHOST STORY.</h2> - -<p>“It is strange,” said my grandfather one winter’s evening, as we sat by -the log fire, roasting chestnuts and watching the flames leaping and -dancing in harmony with the music of the crackling of the fuel and the -bursting of the nuts. “I was saying, Tom, that it was strange that the -trivial incidents and events of one’s early life stand out so clearly -through all the years that have slipped by, and seem as vivid and real -as the things of yesterday.”</p> - -<p>Then grandfather stopped and looked at the fire, evidently in deep -thought, from which we children knew from past experience he would -evolve some story which would call for all our interest and attention.</p> - -<p>And so it proved, for, rousing himself suddenly, he hurried into a -narrative at once strange and interesting.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” he said, “ghost stories are, as a rule, capable of explanation. I -know it for a fact. If only those who see the apparition were to exert a -little presence of mind, it would be possible for them to solve what -they precipitately put down as supernatural and mysterious.</p> - -<p>“I remember when I was a young man that I received an urgent invitation -from a very valued friend to spend a couple of weeks at his father’s -house at Mobberley. Of course, I responded most willingly, the more so -that I had never been to his place before, although I had heard much of -it. We traveled by coaches in those days, and a journey from London to -the north of Lincolnshire was no unconsidered trifle, I can assure you. -However, in a few days I found myself speeding up the drive which led to -the ancestral home of the Arden Howard family, and was, in truth, highly -gratified at the hearty reception my friend and his people extended to -me.</p> - -<p>“There was no event of unusual interest for some days. Hunting, -shooting, and skating parties were organized, and in a downright -old-fashioned way we young people did justice to the entertainment so -lavishly provided.</p> - -<p>“But it so happened that one day during the first week of my stay, and -some few days before Christmas, I met with a slight accident while on -the ice, and a sprained ankle prevented me from further indulging in -outside sports for the remainder of my stay. Nevertheless, I insisted -that my inability to join them should in no way deter my companions from -following their own sweet will. Thus it happened that one evening I was -the sole occupant of the great hall, which was, in point of fact, the -largest room in the whole house, and a most imposing apartment it was. -The lofty ceiling was supported by massive beams of oak finely carved, -and blackened by the smoke of centuries, while hanging round its walls -were some of the most beautiful tapestries I<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_48" id="page_48">{48}</a></span> have ever seen. At -intervals were placed suits of armor, shields, swords, spears, and other -warlike implements, which shone and glistened in the glow of the immense -fire which burned in the open hearth.</p> - -<p>“For a while I had occupied myself with a book, sitting far back in the -chimney corner, in order to avoid, as much as possible, the drafts which -seemed to steal upon one from all quarters; but as it grew dusk I threw -it aside, and fell into a state of musing, which must have lasted some -considerable time, since I found afterward that my pipe, which I had -just filled, was empty when I roused myself. The immediate cause of my -arousal is the point of my tale, which is most interesting and curious. -I was, as I said, sitting far in the chimney recess—where the light of -the fire, which made more or less visible the whole of the room, was -unable to penetrate—and was speculating on the various objects of -interest the place contained, when a door at the farther end of the room -was cautiously opened, and a figure arrayed in a garment of white -noiselessly entered and glided over the stone floor. It came straight -across the apartment, and casting a furtive glance round, took from its -place on the wall what in the distance seemed a long dagger, and in -another moment it was gone—disappearing, it would seem, behind the -tapestry hangings.</p> - -<p>“You may judge I was somewhat startled at the apparition, yet being -curious to see for myself what further would happen, I sat immovable for -the period of—it may have been—fifteen minutes, when I was both -shocked and horrified to see the figure return, with the same noiseless -tread, clutching the dagger in its hand; while the drapery, the hand, -and the dagger itself were now covered with stains of blood. Before -replacing it, however, the figure wiped the blade upon its dress, and -left thereon a most ghastly and appalling stain. Then, with a -significant, almost noiseless laugh, it withdrew as it had come. If I -was startled at first, you may judge that the ‘creepy’ sensation was not -a little augmented by the second appearance, and I had come to no -satisfactory solution of the matter, when my friend, returning, entered -the hall, and burst into an excited account of his afternoon’s sport.</p> - -<p>“That night I questioned the family as to the ghostly visitor, but found -that the house was quite free from any such tradition, not even -possessing, as most old country houses do, a haunted chamber; and the -family were as much astonished at my vision as I was myself. They had -never heard of any such apparition, and for some time stoutly held that -I had fallen asleep and dreamed the whole thing. Finally it was agreed -that on the following day Herbert and I should watch together, and -accordingly, at the same hour next day, we stationed ourselves in the -chimney recess to await events; but we waited in vain.</p> - -<p>“Three days we watched thus, and for three days I endured the -good-natured banter of the whole family; but on the fourth -day—Christmas Eve—our patience was rewarded, for scarcely had we -settled into comfortable shape, when the ghost walked. Never shall I -forget my companion’s face as the door opened, disclosing the form -swathed in white. Hitherto he had been skeptical, and was the most -aggressive of my many tormentors; yet I can now see how his eyes became -fixed and his ruddy face paled before the dimly outlined form, which, -with many a sidelong, cautious glance, neared the spot it had<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_49" id="page_49">{49}</a></span> visited -when I first observed it. So still and deathlike was the silence, that -the crackling of the log startled us, and I believe we both felt as -though ‘our each particular hair’ was standing on end, as the white arm -of the figure drew out the dagger from its sheath; it certainly is true -we drew breath more easily when the door was once more closed. Still, we -were determined to unravel the mystery, and so with tremulous steps we -followed our unearthly visitant. Herbert was familiar with the passage -along which we hurried, through a concealed door, into a large -courtyard, from which the various outbuildings were entered.</p> - -<p>“There was just light enough to enable us to discern the movements of -the object we were tracking. Leaving the yard, it entered a building -opposite our point of observation. Immediately there was a scuffling -sound as of some one struggling, and, terrified and alarmed, we rushed -across the yard. What a spectacle we beheld! Never shall I forget the -sight which met our gaze. The figure in white was stooping over a living -form, which emitted the most horrifying cries and sounds that ever fell -on mortal ears. One hand was on the throat, and in the other was the -uplifted weapon of destruction.</p> - -<p>“As we looked we seemed to gain fresh courage, and rushed forward to -prevent, if possible, the coming blow, but as we entered, the hand -dropped, and the dagger entered the throat. Then, with one terrible -shriek and an unavailing struggle, the eyes closed and the living, -animate form became forever still. There, facing us, stood the form in -white, with the dreadful instrument now dripping blood still in his -hands. Yet neither of us moved until, with a strange gesture, it spoke -thus: ‘Oh, Mr. Herbert, sir; please, sir; indeed, sir; I’m awful sorry, -sir, that I used this, sir, but them other knives ain’t a bit sharp, an’ -them ’ere suckin’ pigs wants to be dealt with quicklike. An’ please, -sir, don’t tell master as ’ow I used this, or ’e’ll be after giving me -notice to quit. An’ please, sir, indeed, Mr. Herbert, sir, I’ll never do -it agen, sir.’</p> - -<p>“The fact of the matter was, that the cook, having to provide sucking -pigs for dinner, clandestinely purloined one of the sharpest -instruments, in order to overcome, as speedily as possible, the -obstacles which lay in the way of pig killing. His white blouse and -apron in the dim, uncertain firelight, together with his strange and -uncanny conduct, had deluded us into the belief that his appearance was -of a supernatural character.</p> - -<p>“This is my ghost story, and I venture to believe that the majority of -those told would, if treated to a similar investigation, prove just as -delusive.”</p> - -<p>And my grandfather, having ended his tale, resumed once more his pipe, -and sat laughingly enjoying our somewhat amusing criticism of his story -of the cook’s ghost.</p> - -<h2><a name="A_KING_WHO_WANTED_FRESH_AIR" id="A_KING_WHO_WANTED_FRESH_AIR"></a>A KING WHO WANTED FRESH AIR.</h2> - -<p>Not long ago there was terrible excitement at the royal court of Annam. -The king, Thanh Tai, who is now fourteen years old, was missing. -Etiquette requires that the Annamese king shall never leave the royal -grounds. He is a kingly prisoner.</p> - -<p>But the young potentate was not hard to find. Though he was a king, he -was a boy; and it is natural for a boy, when he has some money in his -pocket, to want to go out and spend it.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_50" id="page_50">{50}</a></span></p> - -<p>That was exactly what the King of Annam had done. Entirely alone, he had -started on a “shopping” expedition through the streets of Hue. Of -course, no one knew him, because he had never shown his face in public. -He was simply a boy, like any boy; and this was exactly what he wanted.</p> - -<p>But he was treated with great respect by the shopkeepers, because he -seemed to have plenty of money. Curiously enough, the thing which seemed -to attract him most was a head-shearing machine, or hair clipper, and -when the frightened nobles of the court discovered him at last, it was -with this singular implement in his possession.</p> - -<p>He had already begun to experiment with it on the heads of several small -street boys, who were proving rebellious subjects, when the courtiers -approached him, prostrating themselves upon the ground, and making -alarmed outcries.</p> - -<p>The king no longer goes out shopping, but he retains his hair clipper as -a souvenir of a happy day of freedom with the street boys.</p> - -<h2><a name="THE_FLAGSTAFF_ON_THE_TOWER" id="THE_FLAGSTAFF_ON_THE_TOWER"></a>THE FLAGSTAFF ON THE TOWER.<br /><br /> -<small>By WARREN BELL.</small></h2> - -<p>“Well,” said Mr. Grafton, as he pushed his chair back from the breakfast -table, “I think you’ve seen everything there is to be seen in such an -out-of-the-way place. Now, Harry, are you sure you’ve shown your friend -everything?”</p> - -<p>Harry Grafton was my great chum, and I was spending a part of the -vacation with him. On hearing his father’s question, he puckered up his -brow and gave his not usually overtaxed brain a little exercise.</p> - -<p>“Let’s see,” he replied, “you’ve seen the town hall and the old powder -mill, my rabbits, the bridge, and the lake. Yes, he’s seen everything, -father.”</p> - -<p>“But he hasn’t been up the tower yet!” put in Jack Grafton, a young imp -of ten summers—and other seasons—who faithfully followed his brother -and myself about wherever we went.</p> - -<p>Mr. Grafton’s beautiful country house was built of stone, with a tower -at one corner. This tower was very high and intersected with little -windows here and there.</p> - -<p>“No, that he hasn’t!” exclaimed Harry, pleased at the idea of having -something else left to show me. “If you’ll let me have the keys, father, -we’ll go at once.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Grafton hesitated before procuring the needful keys.</p> - -<p>“You must be very careful,” he said; “and, Harry, my boy, you mustn’t -play any foolhardy pranks up there. Jack, I shan’t allow you to go at -all.”</p> - -<p>Jack looked doleful as Mr. Grafton handed over the keys to his eldest -son, who promptly led the way to the tower.</p> - -<p>With some difficulty Harry opened the massive door of the edifice, and -just as we were commencing our ascent on the spiral staircase we heard a -patter of small feet behind us, and, on looking round, observed that -Jack, unknown to his father, had managed to get into the tower as well, -by means, as he explained, of a side door which had been left open by -some servant.</p> - -<p>At first his elder brother was for sending him back, but the little chap -pleaded so hard to be allowed to accompany us, that at length Harry -yielded to his entreaties,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_51" id="page_51">{51}</a></span> and we continued our journey up the tower, -Harry leading the way, myself next, and Jack last.</p> - -<p>After a toilsome and dusty climb, we at length emerged on the roof of -the tower, from which post of vantage we could see the country for many -miles round.</p> - -<p>But neither Harry nor Jack troubled themselves much about the view. -Delighted at being in such an exalted position, young Jack scampered -about the leaden roof in a most frisky manner, while Harry took in his -surroundings with all the gusto of a sixteen-year-old schoolboy. After a -time they fell to cutting their initials on the leadwork, and, this -done, looked about them for a fresh source of amusement. They were not -long in finding one.</p> - -<p>In the center of the tower had been erected a tall and noble-looking -flagstaff. On the morning in question no flag was flying, only the staff -and its cordage being visible.</p> - -<p>Harry, looking round for something fresh for his “idle hands to do,” -spied the vacant staff, and at once came to the conclusion that, as no -flag was to hand, something in the shape of one should be made to float -in the air in recognition of my visit to the village. So he quickly -collected all the handkerchiefs and ties appertaining to the trio, -knotted them together, and in a very short time had run them up to the -top of the flagstaff, where they floated defiantly in the breeze.</p> - -<p>Small Jack clapped his hands with delight, and, climbing a little way up -the staff, began to lower and raise the impromptu flag with a too -energetic rapidity, for, on running it swiftly up to the top, the cord -got entangled in some way, with the result that the string of ties and -handkerchiefs remained fixed at the top of the staff, some eighteen feet -out of our reach.</p> - -<p>“Well, you are a young idiot, Jack!” exclaimed his elder brother -angrily. “See what you’ve done!”</p> - -<p>The young gentleman addressed had no need to look, for he was fully -aware of the magnitude of his crime.</p> - -<p>“The cord has come off the roller,” I remarked.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Harry. “The same thing happened a year ago last Fourth of -July, and Tom Cartwright, one of the gardeners, had to climb to the top -of the staff and put it right.”</p> - -<p>“It’s rather a slender pole to bear a man’s weight,” I said.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Harry, “everybody thought it was a risky thing to do; but -Tom’s a light chap, and he managed it all right. Father gave him two -dollars, I remember, for his pluck.”</p> - -<p>Harry stopped speaking, and we all three gazed at the far-away ties and -handkerchiefs.</p> - -<p>“Father will be awfully angry,” said Harry; “and, by Jove! Jack, you’ll -get it for coming up when he told you not to.”</p> - -<p>Jack was looking exceedingly troubled at this piece of information, when -a voice in our rear observed:</p> - -<p>“Well, young gentlemen, this is a pretty piece of work!”</p> - -<p>We turned round quickly, and perceived that a grimy head, clad in a -rough tweed cap, had been poked through the trapdoor which led onto the -top of the tower, and that a pair of brown eyes belonging to the same -was watching us with considerable interest.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Tom, is that you?” exclaimed Harry. “This is the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_52" id="page_52">{52}</a></span> very man I was -telling you about,” he continued, turning to me.</p> - -<p>Tom Cartwright, after showing us his head, next proceeded to manifest -that he possessed a body and a complete set of limbs, by hoisting -himself through the trap and standing upright on the roof.</p> - -<p>“I’ve been mending a window,” he explained, “and saw you go up the -staircase, although you didn’t see me.”</p> - -<p>“How are we to get it down?” asked Harry despondingly, pointing to his -flag.</p> - -<p>Tom jerked and pulled the ropes for some little time, and at length gave -it as his opinion that nothing short of “climbin’ would do it.”</p> - -<p>“Look here, Tom,” said Harry desperately, “if you’ll climb up and get -those things down, I’ll give you all the money I have—fifty cents.”</p> - -<p>“And I’ll give you ten cents,” chimed in Jack, putting a grubby little -hand in his pocket and pulling out the sum in question.</p> - -<p>“I don’t want your money, Master Harry,” said the gardener sturdily, -“and if I did, I don’t think I could earn it, as I doubt if this pole -’u’d bear me now. I’m heavier than I was a year ago, and the pole’s not -so tough.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, it’ll bear you,” said Harry. “You see Tom, I don’t want father to -know anything about this.”</p> - -<p>Tom smiled grimly as he proceeded to take off his coat and boots.</p> - -<p>“I’ll try it, Master Harry,” he said, getting up and shaking the staff -by way of testing its bearing properties. “<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Never say die’ is my motto, -so here goes.”</p> - -<p>With these words the gardener commenced his ascent of the staff, which -began to tremble violently beneath his weight. We three clustered at its -foot, watching the climber’s movements with hard-drawn breath and -straining eyes, for it was no light task that Cartwright had set himself -to accomplish. Up, up, up, he went, with the skill of a practiced -climber, never pausing and never looking down. In order to find out -whether he was observed, Harry ran to the parapet and looked over.</p> - -<p>“Why, there’s quite a crowd of people there!” he exclaimed, starting -back, “and—and—yes, I can see father among them.”</p> - -<p>I took a hasty glance over the parapet myself, and noticed that all the -people in the neighborhood were hastening out of their houses in order -to get a better view of the intrepid climber. From the point where I -looked over, the tower went sheer down to the ground, without a break of -any kind.</p> - -<p>“Tom has reached the top!” sang out Harry, while I was still gazing at -the people below.</p> - -<p>I hastened back to the foot of the staff, and perceived that the -gardener was rapidly disengaging the line of ties and handkerchiefs from -the rope. The staff was trembling violently, and so I suggested to Harry -that we three should hold it by its stem, since we might, in that way, -be able to steady it in a measure.</p> - -<p>So we all seized it, and, as subsequent events proved, it was very -fortunate that we did so, for just as Tom had unfastened Harry’s flag -and adjusted the line in its proper place, the staff gave a loud crack.</p> - -<p>“Look out, Tom!” Harry was just shouting, when the staff broke at the -bottom and fell, with its human burden, right across the side of the -tower which faced the people below. I remember—indeed, shall I ever -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_53" id="page_53">{53}</a></span>forget?—the glimpse that I got of the gardener’s face as the top of -the pole flashed over the parapet. He was pale as death, and seemed, as -he passed through the air, already to taste the bitterness of death. It -was truly an awful moment!</p> - -<p>We three at the foot of the pole mechanically clung to it, with the -result that our combined weight kept the staff from going right over the -parapet. For a few seconds the catastrophe took the shape of a terrible -game of seesaw, Cartwright, with the majority of the staff, hanging over -the parapet, and ourselves, with little more than the stem of the pole, -balancing it down on our side. Meanwhile, the gardener, with wonderful -nerve and strength, clung to his frail support. First the staff went -down on his side, and we went up in the air. Then, as our combined -weight altered our position, Harry got one foot into the trap, with the -result that the gardener was poised in the air and held there simply by -the strength of Harry’s leg. Cartwright grasped the situation in a -moment, and, with a shout to Harry to keep the pole in that position, -came down the staff hand over hand till he reached the parapet, when he -slid onto the leaden roof and sank down in a dead faint.</p> - -<p>Instantly we pulled up the staff amid a tremendous yell of relief from -the people below. Two minutes later Mr. Grafton and a dozen of his -neighbors were by our side, some attending to Cartwright, and some to -little Jack, who had also fainted with fright.</p> - -<p>Thus did a boyish freak almost end in a terrible tragedy.</p> - -<h2><a name="SWISS_WATCH_SCHOOLS" id="SWISS_WATCH_SCHOOLS"></a>SWISS WATCH SCHOOLS.</h2> - -<p>The famous Swiss watch schools are the most exacting industrial -institutions in the world. Their methods, which are doubtless the secret -of their success, are very curious and interesting.</p> - -<p>In one of the most celebrated of these institutions in Geneva, for -example, a boy must first of all be at least fourteen years of age in -order to enter.</p> - -<p>After being admitted, the student is first introduced to a wood-turning -lathe, and put it work at turning tool handles. This exercise lasts for -several weeks, according to the beginner’s aptitude. This is followed by -exercises in filing and shaping screw drivers and small tools. In this -way he learns to make for himself a fairly complete set of tools.</p> - -<p>He next undertakes to make a large wooden pattern of a watch frame, -perhaps a foot in diameter, and, after learning how this frame is to be -shaped, he is given a ready-cut one of brass, of the ordinary size, in -which he is taught to drill holes for the wheels and screws. Throughout -this instruction the master stands over the pupil, directing him with -the greatest care.</p> - -<p>The pupil is next taught to finish the frame so that it will be ready to -receive the wheels. He is then instructed to make fine tools and to -become expert in handling them.</p> - -<p>This completes the instruction in the first room, and the young -watchmaker next passes to the department where he is taught to fit the -stem-winding parts, and to do fine cutting and filing by hand.</p> - -<p>Later on he learns to make the more complex watches, which will strike -the hour, minute, et cetera, and the other delicate mechanisms for which -the Swiss are famous.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_54" id="page_54">{54}</a></span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_55" id="page_55">{55}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="THE_NEWS_OF_ALL_NATIONS" id="THE_NEWS_OF_ALL_NATIONS"></a>THE NEWS OF ALL NATIONS.</h2> - -<h3>Tobacco Going Out of Style.</h3> - -<p>Discussing smoking among students in a chapel address, President Main, -of Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa, declared that he expected the day -to come when the use of the weed would be as obsolete as snuff taking -now is.</p> - -<p>“Time was,” said the president, “when everybody, from prince to pauper, -prided himself on his ability to dip snuff, but now the only place you -can find snuff boxes is in a museum of antiquities, and some day our -descendants may have to go to these same museums to find our pipes and -other smokers’ utensils.”</p> - -<p>There is no definite faculty ordinance at Grinnell against smoking, but -for years one of the unwritten laws of the students has been that there -shall be no use of tobacco in public.</p> - -<h3>Pet Ground Hog Leaves Home.</h3> - -<p>About four years ago H. M. Adington, living near Hilliard, Ky., captured -a ground hog. He soon had it tamed like any of his other domestic pets, -and running about his premises as freely as his dog or cat. He finally -had it so it would obey him just like a child.</p> - -<p>While the ground hog was small, Adington pierced holes in its ears, -intending to insert silver rings in the punctures for novelty and -ornament, but he never could secure the rings.</p> - -<p>Later, for some unsolved reason, unless the ground hog started out in -search of its shadow, it disappeared. This was about four years ago. -Recently a farmer living near Mr. Adington’s place shot and killed a -ground hog, and in descriptions of it Adington quickly recognized that -it was none other than his former pet.</p> - -<h3>Boy Weds Twelve-year-old Bride.</h3> - -<p>Eugene Bowman, aged twenty, has married Leona Hemphill, whose age is -twelve years and six months, after courting the little maid for over two -years. The bride’s mother is a widow with six children and she is said -to have made no objection to the wedding. All parties are residents of -Independence, La.</p> - -<h3>Bow and Arrows Fatal Weapon.</h3> - -<p>A bow and arrows constitute a deadly weapon. For driving two surveyors -off his reservation farm with a shower of glass-tipped arrows, Willie -Anton, an aged Pima, was convicted in the Federal court for the district -of Arizona of assault with a deadly weapon and given a jail sentence of -sixty days. Anton had a lawyer who interposed the defense that a bow and -arrows are not a deadly weapon.</p> - -<h3>A Pleasant Railroad Story.</h3> - -<p>A grudge turned to gratitude is the unusual experience of John Hansen, a -railroad conductor of Atchison, Kan. Years ago when he was a freight -conductor he whipped a boy for hopping his train. The boy threatened to -kill him, and for several years shouted threats at him when the train -passed by.</p> - -<p>Finally Hansen was promoted to a passenger train, and did not see the -boy, as he passed through the town at night.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_56" id="page_56">{56}</a></span> Not long ago the conductor -was in the lobby of a hotel at the terminal of his run when a powerfully -framed man approached him and asked:</p> - -<p>“Are you John Hansen?”</p> - -<p>The conductor admitted it, and the stranger continued:</p> - -<p>“Do you think you could whip me?”</p> - -<p>Hansen admitted it was unlikely, as the stranger was a near giant.</p> - -<p>“Well,” continued the stranger, “I am the fellow you whipped once for -hopping trains, and I probably owe my sound legs, arms, and life to you. -Shake hands.”</p> - -<h3>Girls, Do You Get This?</h3> - -<p>Declaring they were “watchfully waiting” for the right girl, twenty-two -per cent of Princeton University’s seniors declared they had never been -kissed. A fellow “never wanted to,” while others said they objected to -kissing for “hygienic reasons.”</p> - -<h3>Oregon Town Has a Flesh-eating Horse.</h3> - -<p>In Seaside, Ore., they have what is often spoken of as the -“flesh-eating” horse. This animal actually eats the flesh of raw clams, -oysters, mussels, and some meats. He is especially fond of clams, and -will eat them raw in preference to hay or grain; in fact, he will eat -almost anything that is eaten by man or horse.</p> - -<p>“Billie Bitters,” as he is called, is a horse of more than ordinary -intelligence. He will point at a crab in a crab hole as a pointer points -at a bird. He will follow his master from one digging ground to another, -and should he be spoken harshly to, he will sulk like a scolded child, -and the only way that he can be persuaded to follow his master again is -to feed him some more clams.</p> - -<p>Billie understands nearly everything that Mr. Scott says to him. Should -he say: “Billie, it’s time to go home,” the horse will immediately turn -the wagon around and start on the return trip for home.</p> - -<p>Billie is a bunch-grass seven-year-old, and a native of eastern Oregon. -He was brought to the beach by W. B. Scott, of Seaside, when but three -years old and broken into the clam business. Billie has followed this -line of work ever since.</p> - -<h3>Belle of the Ranch is Won by Movie Manager.</h3> - -<p>When Leonard B. Gratz arrived at the Laflin Beumer ranch in Vici, Okla., -three years ago in charge of a moving-picture troupe, he found that not -one of the movie actresses was capable of making one of those mad dashes -on horseback that causes thrills in Western dramas.</p> - -<p>He was about to give up hope, when he observed a pretty girl, with her -hair streaming back, riding a galloping horse down the roadway. Gratz -learned that the fair rider was Nellie Beumer, the ranch owner’s -daughter. That same afternoon she successfully portrayed the rôle of the -heroine before the movie camera, and Gratz was more than pleased.</p> - -<p>When the picture players left the ranch, they observed a strong -friendship between Miss Beumer and Gratz. This<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_57" id="page_57">{57}</a></span> friendship was kept -alive by correspondence, which finally led in the direction Gratz -desired.</p> - -<p>As a result they were married in a Congregational church in Chicago. -Gratz is now president of a movie ticket company. The couple will spend -their honeymoon at the Panama Exposition.</p> - -<h3>Interesting New Invention.</h3> - -<p>A machine with which he says any child can cut its own hair has been -perfected by Joseph J. McDonough, of Rochester, Pa. The invention -consists of an ordinary comb so constructed that a safety-razor blade is -held firmly against each side, at any desired distance from the edge of -the comb. By a system of springs these blades can be regulated so as to -make the cut long or short. According to the inventor, a man can cut his -hair while riding on a fast-moving train, an automobile, or even an -aëroplane, without danger of cutting himself or spoiling the job.</p> - -<h3>Rich Youth is Killed by Saw.</h3> - -<p>John B. Tucker, twenty-three years old, fell against a circular saw in a -mill near Haskell, Okla., and was killed. Tucker’s home was in -Meadville, Pa., and he had inherited considerable property. He was -working at the sawmill just because he liked the excitement, and was not -on the pay roll.</p> - -<h3>Finds a Strange Gold Coin.</h3> - -<p>C. J. Poole, of Troy, N. C., reports having found a strange gold coin -while plowing near Harrisville. He describes it as follows:</p> - -<p>It is about the size of our silver half dollar; a little larger on the -face, but not quite so thick. Obverse—female head and neck long, -flowing curly hair, decorated with arrowheads; very prominent face, nose -and mouth. Legend—10 Annes, V. D. G. Port, Et. A£g. Rex date 1750. A -large capital “R” on bottom of neck and extending almost into the date -figures. Reverse—crown coat of arms.</p> - -<p>The coin is not quite round, but is evidently in its original shape. It -weighs nearly half an ounce. This coin was probably lying in the ground -during the Revolutionary War, but where it came from, who lost it or hid -it, no one here knows. The coin is in fine condition.</p> - -<h3>Digs Out Mastodon’s Leg.</h3> - -<p>Ott Workman, while digging fence-post holes on his river bottom, near -Sholes, Ind., unearthed a leg bone of a mastodon. It is in a good state -of preservation.</p> - -<h3>Newspaper Recalls His Mind.</h3> - -<p>J. Foster Jenkins, a wealthy real-estate operator of Yonkers, N. Y., who -disappeared April 7th, has been found in Cincinnati, Ohio, whither he -wandered while a victim of amnesia. Mrs. Jenkins received from him a -letter telling of his recovery. His picture, printed in a newspaper, -restored his memory.</p> - -<h3>Canoe Owner Solves Problem.</h3> - -<p>The little power devices which have in recent years been placed on the -market for use on rowboats by placing the device over the stern have -proven very popular, but the owner of the canoe has been prevented from -using it on account of the shape of the stern of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_58" id="page_58">{58}</a></span> latter, which -leaves no means of securing the engine and its necessary parts.</p> - -<p>This has now been accomplished by an ingenious canoe owner by building a -well in the canoe by two partitions extending across the boat, into -which the engine is lowered after a hole has been cut through the bottom -to accommodate the propeller shaft and blades. This arrangement has been -found to be entirely satisfactory in practice.</p> - -<h3>Most Surprising Discovery.</h3> - -<p>The following was found on the examination papers of eleven-year-old -Jimmy Henderson of the public school in Miami, Okla. It was entirely -unintentional, being a list of names of the countries at war, which the -pupils were required to write down:</p> - -<p class="nind"> -G-ermany.<br /> -R-ussia.<br /> -A-ustria.<br /> -B-elgium.<br /> -F-rance.<br /> -E-ngland.<br /> -S-ervia.<br /> -T-urkey.<br /> -</p> - -<h3>What Compound Interest Does.</h3> - -<p>One dollar at five per cent compounded interest for one thousand years -would amount to 104 quintillion, 69 quatrillion, 620 trillion, 917 -billion, 985 million, 83 thousand, 389 dollars -($104,069,620,917,985,083,389). This is the result obtained by Edwin -Soule, a freshman in the Newport High School in Marysville, Pa.</p> - -<p>Assistant Principal G. W. Barnitz, of the school, wagered young Soule -that he could not solve the problem. Soule worked until midnight, -consuming two tablets and four pencils. He received his dollar.</p> - -<h3>Barefoot “Baron” of Kentucky Dies.</h3> - -<p>Rankin Clemmons, who died last week at the residence of D. B. Cawby, a -tenant on one of his farms, near South Elkhorn, Ky., where he had made -his home for nearly a year, was the largest individual holder of lands -in the blue-grass region of Kentucky, probably the wealthiest citizen of -Lexington County, and a man of many eccentricities.</p> - -<p>Mr. Clemmons owned between 8,000 and 9,000 acres of land in Mercer, -Jessamine, Woodford, and Fayette Counties, of which about 1,100 acres -are in the latter.</p> - -<p>All of Mr. Clemmons’ lands are of high quality, none being valued at -less than $100 per acre, while much of it is estimated to be worth from -$125 to $150 an acre. In addition, Mr. Clemmons is understood to have -held considerable personalty, including cash, pending deals for more -land, and his estate is estimated at nearly $1,500,000.</p> - -<p>A notable feature of Mr. Clemmons’ acquisition of great wealth was the -fact that he had never engaged in speculation or dabbled in city -property, or stocks and bonds, but had amassed his wealth from the -direct products of the soil.</p> - -<p>His whole life was given to the accumulation of his fortune, his entire -being seeming to be centered to that end. He had apparently no other -interests, few attachments, no recreations, and many eccentricities, and -by the latter he was most generally known in this county.</p> - -<p>He had up to the end of his life gone barefooted in the summertime, -except when he came to town; had<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_59" id="page_59">{59}</a></span> never bought a newspaper or book; had -never ridden in an automobile or upon an electric car, used a telephone, -or, as far as is known, sent a telegraph message.</p> - -<p>He was, however, a shrewd and alert observer, and kept well informed on -current events through association with others and perusal of newspapers -which happened to come into his hands without cost, and was not averse -to utilizing modern farming implements in his agricultural operations. -However, his life business was that of agricultural financier rather -than farmer, he personally working little of his vast domain of -blue-grass land.</p> - -<p>The farming upon his property was done almost entirely by tenants, -though he himself had daily done hard manual labor throughout his long -life. Only last fall, when eighty-nine years old, he was cutting briers -upon his place just before he became confined with the illness which -caused his death.</p> - -<p>A peculiarity was that he would never raise tobacco, not even on the -shares with his tenants, as is the almost universal custom in the burley -belt. If a man wanted to raise tobacco upon his land, Mr. Clemmons would -rent him the ground at forty dollars an acre.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know anything about raising tobacco,” he would say, “but if you -want to raise it upon my land you can go on and do so, and give me your -note at forty dollars an acre per annum, which people say tobacco land -is worth, and pay it when you sell the crop.”</p> - -<p>He never wore a watch in his life, although he at one time had two -clocks in the house, one which was an ancient brass timepiece, probably -an heirloom, but both of these were stolen many years ago and were never -replaced. The sun was his timekeeper, he going to work by its rising and -considering it time to quit when it had set. He never used a vehicle for -travel, but came to town on horseback, he having made his last visit -here several weeks ago by that method.</p> - -<p>Only one time in all his ninety years, as far as there is any record, -did Mr. Clemmons “blow himself” in an extravagant outlay of money. This -was when he got married, some sixty years ago. On that occasion he not -only bought himself a nice horse and new buggy, but paid fifty dollars -for a set of harness, as he himself was wont to relate. But when the -wedding festivities were over, the buggy was placed in the barn, never -to come out again. Its leather decayed, and fell apart, its wheels -rusted in idleness, and the whole vehicle, with the lapse of time, fell -to pieces.</p> - -<p>Also Mr. Clemmons, in honor of one great event of his life, purchased -extravagantly of wedding garments. Complete as any dandy could have it, -a broadcloth suit, a pair of fine, soft-leather boots, and even a plug -hat, which was in the fashion of that day, were bought to adorn the -bridegroom, but they were never worn but once.</p> - -<p>After the marriage Mr. Clemmons said he must now go to work, and the -stovepipe hat, the soft-leather boots, and the broadcloth suit were hung -upon nails in the attic, and there remained until a few years ago, when -a hard-up thief, who took the clocks likewise, carried off the wedding -raiment.</p> - -<p>Mr. Clemmons’ wife, who had been Miss Virginia Brock, of near Keene, in -Jessamine County, died about thirteen years ago. Two of his three -children had met violent deaths, but he is survived by one child, Mrs. -John Larkin, wife of a farmer near South Elkhorn.</p> - -<p>Mr. Clemmons would have been ninety years old next<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_60" id="page_60">{60}</a></span> fall, and with the -exception of his nearly fatal injuries when he was attacked by robbers -in 1891, and on several occasions when he met with accidents in his -work, he had never been critically ill in his life until about a year -ago.</p> - -<h3>Drives Horse 62,868 Miles.</h3> - -<p>Adam Puerkle, carrier on R. F. D. Route 2, out of Stuttgart, Ark., has a -horse that he began driving on the route March 9, 1903, and since that -date he has had this horse in constant use, a portion of the time making -daily trips and the rest of the time making three trips a week.</p> - -<p>He has made a total mileage of 62,868 in the mail service with this -horse, and is still using him three trips per week, with a fair prospect -of several years’ more service. This horse is fifteen years old.</p> - -<h3>Cow Chews Tobacco and Dies.</h3> - -<p>When William Rogers, a farmer west of Bethany, Mo., returned home from -town late the other night, in the rush of putting away his team and -doing sundry chores he forgot some chewing tobacco which he had -purchased, and left the package containing over two pounds on the wagon -seat.</p> - -<p>Rogers thought of his tobacco in the night, but decided that it would be -safe till morning.</p> - -<p>When he appeared in the barnyard next morning, he was surprised to see -one of his best milch cows standing by the wagon, diligently chewing. An -investigation showed that she had devoured nearly all of the tobacco. -The cow showed symptoms of illness immediately, and a veterinarian was -summoned, but the animal died the next day.</p> - -<h3>His Heart Sewn Up, Patient Recovers.</h3> - -<p>A remarkable operation, involving the sewing up of a wound in a man’s -heart, was performed successfully recently at the Beth Israel Hospital, -Monroe and Jefferson Streets, New York City. The injured man, Israel -Ziff, of 238 East 105th Street, is well on the way to recovery, and -probably will be out of the hospital in a few days.</p> - -<p>Ziff operates a pushcart in Monroe Street, near the hospital, selling -slices of coconut to passers-by. He is in the habit of slicing the -coconut himself with a knife, more than a foot long, whose wide blade -tapers down to a sharp point.</p> - -<p>Several months ago Ziff cut himself badly while cutting up his wares, -and his wife and children begged him to give up his occupation and find -some other method of earning a living. He tried to do it, but he could -find nothing else. His pushcart was well known in the neighborhood, and -his business was good; so he was compelled to keep at it.</p> - -<p>Business was brisk one night, and the coconuts were going fast. Ziff had -to cut up new ones from time to time, and every few minutes found him -bending over with his knife at work. Presently the thing he had always -feared happened; his knife slipped and cut through the left breast, a -deep wound.</p> - -<p>Ziff knew he was badly hurt. So he straightened up, laid down his knife, -and started for the Beth Israel Hospital, about a block and a half away. -How he got there continues to be a mystery to the surgeons, but he did -get there. He walked into the office in Jefferson Street,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_61" id="page_61">{61}</a></span> near Cherry -Street, looking as if nothing much matter.</p> - -<p>Doctor George Levy, who received him, saw that his injuries were -serious, and notified Doctor Alfred A. Schwartz, the house surgeon. -Doctor Schwartz’s examination disclosed a wound at least an inch and a -half long at the outer surface and going far down in.</p> - -<p>Doctor Schwartz called up Doctor Charles Goodman, of 969 Madison Avenue, -the attending surgeon, and told him that he was badly needed at once. -Doctor Simon D. Ehrlich, the hospital’s anæsthetist, also was notified, -and Ziff was carried to the operating room. Here Doctor Schwartz packed -the wound with gauze and stopped the flow of blood, and everything was -made ready to start work when Doctor Goodman arrived.</p> - -<p>The operating surgeon arrived in record time, and then began some quick -work. The flow of blood had to be stopped in the first place, and the -patient anæsthetized for the operation. But if the chest where cut open -to check the hemorrhage, the lungs would have collapsed from the air -pressure on the outside, so air had to be pumped in until the inflation -was sufficient to resist the pressure from without.</p> - -<p>This process was combined with the application of the anæsthetic by the -method known as intertracheal anæsthesia. By means of an apparatus -operated by electricity, ether was mixed in a jar with air in the -proportion considered advisable, and the resultant mixture forced -through a tube far down into the patient’s throat. By this means -anæsthesia was produced and the air within the lungs was raised to -double the normal pressure.</p> - -<p>With the patient anæsthetized and the lungs secured against danger of -collapse, Doctor Goodman cut away three ribs and a piece of the -breastbone. He found the chest full of blood, and this had to be drawn -off before anything more could be done. When the blood was cleared away, -Doctor Goodman found that the knife had made a big cut in the -pericardium and that the point had gone flown nearly three-eighths of an -inch into the heart.</p> - -<p>The most ticklish part of the operation followed—sewing up the heart -while it was palpitating. One stitch was sufficient to close the wound -in the heart itself, three more did the work with the pericardium. -Doctor Goodman sewed the skin together over the wound, and Ziff was put -away to recover. He came out of the operation as rapidly as could have -been expected, and except that the protection of the ribs over the heart -will be missing, he is likely to be in no way the worse for his -experience.</p> - -<p>Had the point of the knife gone a millimeter or so farther in, Ziff -never would have lived to get to the hospital, as the consequent -hemorrhage would have been almost instantly fatal. The hospital -authorities at first supposed from the nature and depth of the wound -that he had been stabbed in a fight, and it was not until a day or two -ago that Ziff recovered sufficiently to tell them how he had been -injured.</p> - -<h3>“The Lady of the Lighthouse.”</h3> - -<p>Beautiful Mrs. Helen S. Woodruff, of New York, who lived in darkness for -two years, is now working hard for the cause of the blind. In her own -time of trial she patiently learned to “see through her fingers” and -wrote the story, “The Lady of the Lighthouse,” which has made her -famous.</p> - -<p>When her sight was restored by a marvelous opera<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_62" id="page_62">{62}</a></span>tion, she was so -grateful that she has devoted all her time and energy for the benefit of -the New York Association of the Blind, which has established the -original “Lighthouse” in New York.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Woodruff is the first society woman who has acted for the “movies,” -and she only consented to do this in the dramatization of her story -because it would aid the cause of the blind. The photo play which -illustrates her talks on the blind is to be shown all over the country, -for charity.</p> - -<h3>Humorous Exploits of Old-time Editor.</h3> - -<p>For a short time immediately preceding the Civil War, Henry Faxon, who, -according to William Lightfoot Vischer, was the “father of American -newspaper humor,” was a special writer on the Louisville <i>Journal</i>. -Afterward he went from Louisville to Columbia, Tenn., and was the editor -there, for perhaps a year or so, of a weekly newspaper; but he really -belonged to Buffalo, N. Y.</p> - -<p>Henry Faxon, familiarly called Hank, was a man of innumerable -accomplishments. He could speak many tongues. He was an excellent -electrician, a brilliant musician, had a rich singing voice, and -frequently delighted his company with songs that he sang to his own -accompaniment on the piano. He was a fine draftsman and cartoonist, and -often made pictures with his pencil that were full of fun.</p> - -<p>In newspaper work he wrote with a humor that has never been excelled, -and in a broad, exaggerated style, which was not widely appreciated in -his day. Indeed, he was the originator of that class of newspaper humor, -and a brilliant poet withal.</p> - -<p>It was Faxon who caused Blondin to achieve the first great performance -in rope walking that gave that artist a world-wide fame in—and on—his -particular line. Faxon induced Blondin to walk across Niagara River at -the falls the first time the rope walker attempted that seemingly -perilous feat, which he performed so many times afterward.</p> - -<p>Faxon was the editor of a little newspaper at Buffalo at the time under -consideration—the summer of 1859. A circus had stranded in Buffalo, and -with it was this Frenchman, Emile Gravelot Blondin, who came to this -country in 1855. He was part owner of the broken circus. Faxon took a -fancy to Blondin, or, at any rate, sympathized with him in his distress, -and, after serious discussion of the proposed thrilling feat, Faxon -agreed to supply the paraphernalia, at the cost of several hundred -dollars, and Blondin declared he was ready to perform it, which he did -for the first time on June 30, 1859, later doing that same act with a -man strapped on his back, and again with a wheelbarrow, stove, and -cooking utensils, with which he cooked a meal when halfway over the -rope.</p> - -<p>The thing was widely advertised; great excursions went to see it. -Blondin’s fame and fortune were made.</p> - -<p>Faxon was happiest when doing something to relieve the distress of -another, and he was moreover greatly given to practical joking. These -two characteristics in him produced a hoax that became famous at the -time.</p> - -<p>A little south of Buffalo is a beautiful sheet of water called Silver -Lake, and it had some mysteries about it. In its center was a deep place -that soundings could not measure. Its waters were cold as ice, and there -were no fish or other living creatures in it. On its banks a man<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_63" id="page_63">{63}</a></span> had -built a fine hotel, hoping to make it an attractive resort, but guests -were few and tribulation plenty. Bankruptcy threatened, and the landlord -told his troubles to Faxon, who had run down there for a few days’ rest.</p> - -<p>Faxon fixed up a plan to fill the hotel. Faxon went back to Buffalo and -secured the services of another genius—a mechanical genius—a young -German, whose only wealth was his ingenuity and a little tinsmithery. -Faxon told him what he wanted. The German jumped at the idea.</p> - -<p>He constructed a great tin or zinc monster like a sea serpent. It had an -immense and fearful red mouth, from which darted a forked tongue, and -its huge jaws worked like an alligator’s.</p> - -<p>This thing was so anchored near the deepest place in the lake and was so -arranged with pulleys and tiller ropes, or something of that nature, -that being worked from a secret subcellar in the hotel, it could be made -to dart its head and hideous length up out of the lake and lash the -water with its tail until it would send big ripples to the shores.</p> - -<p>Its movements were so rapid and eccentric that the artificiality of the -thing could not be detected, and it had no regular hours for appearance, -but was a sort of a go-as-you-please serpent.</p> - -<p>Faxon wrote blazing columns in his newspapers about it. The newspapers, -all over the country had many lengths of that snake in them, in word -paintings and other picture. The hotel became crowded, and the landlord -put up sheds and tents on his premises and filled them with guests, and -he coined money, so to speak.</p> - -<p>The monstrous serpent was a wonder and a mystery for a great many more -than seven days, but at last, in a specially strenuous flop one day, the -apparatus broke and that old tin serpent turned its white belly up to -the sun, and the Silver Lake snake business exploded.</p> - -<p>Meantime, the landlord had become as rich as a king and could have -afforded to give the hotel away, but he used it for many years as a -country seat, and looked complacently at his fortune as a monument to -the wit of Hank Faxon and the credulity of mankind.</p> - -<h3>How to Live Long, Told by Eleven Men.</h3> - -<p>What is the secret of long life? Probably there is no question that has -so many answers, nor such a variety of answers. But it’s still the big -question. The other day eleven recipes for long lives were given at a -dinner at Amarillo, Texas, held in honor of the Reverend James -Cunningham, celebrating his ninetieth birthday. The guests were veterans -of the Confederacy, whose ages ranged from seventy-five to eighty-one, -and each told briefly of the manner of living that had enabled him to -reach old age and retain good health and vigor.</p> - -<p>In substance, the recipes provide for hard work, fresh air, outdoor -living, the avoidance of trouble and worry, good humor, plenty of sleep, -temperance, and the avoidance of tobacco.</p> - -<p>“For fifty years my habits have been regular,” said Doctor Cunningham. -“Before that time I was careless. Then I went outdoors and engaged in -farm work. The change was marvelous, and I have exceeded the record for -longevity that has appeared in other generations of the family.”</p> - -<p>Captain W. W. Kidd has been a carpenter thirty-five years, and naturally -has spent much of his time <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_64" id="page_64">{64}</a></span>out-of-doors. Regular habits and care of his -health enabled him to pass the eighty mark. “My father lived to be -ninety-eight,” he said, “and one of my grandmothers to be ninety-six. -While long life runs in the family, I am sure that fresh air and plenty -of exercise will make a man live a long time.”</p> - -<p>J. L. Caldwell said that for fifty years he had not lived in a plastered -house, and that he attributes to that fact much responsibility for his -excellent health and long life. “Before I abandoned the plastered -house,” he said, “I was in poor health, and after it I had no physical -complaints worth mentioning. I have had exercise sufficient to keep up -circulation.”</p> - -<p>“I have always avoided worry and courted good humor,” said J. G. Hudson.</p> - -<p>“I attribute my long life to my service in the army as a soldier,” said -A. B. Kinnebrew. “Before entering the army I was sickly and weak. The -camp life and marches and excitement recuperated me, and thereafter I -enjoyed good health by being careful of my habits and eating.”</p> - -<p>“I have lived temperately, eaten coarse victuals, and slept well, and -these things have much to do with a man’s health,” said J. H. Rockwell. -“There is something, too, in ancestry. My father lacked but four months -reaching the century mark; another ancestor lived to the age of one -hundred and seven. I have traced my ancestry back three hundred years, -and find that a majority of them have lived beyond the age of eighty.”</p> - -<p>“At the age of fourteen, when I left home,” said W. J. Patton, “I made a -vow to myself never to use intoxicants or gamble. I have worked -out-of-doors most of the time since the war, and much of the time have -slept in the open. I have always taken plenty of exercise.”</p> - -<p>J. M. White said he had never used tobacco and had always been -temperate, and he believed those two facts were largely responsible for -his reaching a ripe old age.</p> - -<p>Richard Wren’s health was poor before he entered the army, but the -change made him robust and strong, and he has enjoyed good health to -this day.</p> - -<p>D. L. Britain said hard work and regular and temperate habits had caused -him to grow into a stout and happy old age.</p> - -<p>“I have never had any trouble with my neighbors, and that means a lot in -the matter of health,” said Doctor W. A. Lockett.</p> - -<p>“Early to bed and early to rise has been my motto,” said J. H. Sowder. -“Added to that I have been temperate, regular in my habits, and avoided -things that might injure my health.”</p> - -<h3>Brothers as Like as Two Peas.</h3> - -<p>Leslie and Hallie Woodcock are brothers, who have the entire marine -corps at League Island, near Philadelphia. They are as remarkable -“twins” as ever made any one gasp, and, after eight months, their -officers and fellow marines of Company 17 cannot tell them apart.</p> - -<p>Leslie and Hallie are seventeen years and twenty years old and enlisted -from their home in South Carolina. At enlistment they were promised that -they would never be placed in separate companies. Not long ago a -disgusted captain was for assigning them to different companies. They -smiled and told him of their enlistment agreement.</p> - -<p>In reading the list of those detailed for various police duties in the -mornings, the company officers merely mention the name of Woodcock. They -realize that one blond<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_65" id="page_65">{65}</a></span> young twin will report for duty. Further -investigation is useless.</p> - -<p>“I’ve done a pile of stuff for you, old boy,” said Hallie to his -brother. “Remember the time——”</p> - -<p>“I know you stole my girl about a month ago,” replied Leslie. “Thought I -was solid. But she never knew the difference.”</p> - -<p>“Maybe we haven’t got some girls up in town buffaloed,” grinned Hallie. -“When we get paid we toss a coin to see who is to spend his money first. -The one that wins goes uptown and sees the crowd. Our salaries aren’t -fat and they don’t last forever, but when the first one of us begins to -run low, the other one steps into his shoes, and then our citizen -friends think that there is only one of us and that one is there with -considerable dough.”</p> - -<p>Each of the boys holds in his voice the smooth drawl of the South. One -can’t tell the difference between the tones. There is something uncanny -in the similarity of the two smiles. Their lips go back in exactly the -same fashion and four eyes twinkle alike. They smile often, too, for to -them the resemblance is life’s one grand joke. Each weighs 149 pounds; -wears an eight shoe, a 14-3/4 collar, and the same size hat.</p> - -<p>One or two of the men have discovered that one of the twins has a small -piece chipped from one of his front teeth.</p> - -<p>“That would be a hot one,” observed an old sergeant: “Who goes -there—Woodcock? Halt and uncover tooth.”</p> - -<h3>Farmer Finds Hornets’ Nest.</h3> - -<p>C. E. Demurr, a farmer living near the Kansas-Oklahoma line, found a -hornets’ nest on the Chickaskia River, and believing it empty, took it -home for an ornament in his room.</p> - -<p>Demurr thought nothing more of it until the next day, when he heard a -buzzing sound. The hornets, which had been awakened from their stupor by -the fire, left the nest and made things lively about the Demurr home for -the next few hours. All efforts to dislodge the “bald heads” were -unavailing until the room doors were closed and the fire permitted to -burn out. The hornets became benumbed with the cold and were easily -killed.</p> - -<h3>A Smart Youngster.</h3> - -<p>Two women whose husbands are members of the faculty of Oberlin College -went to call on the new professor’s wife. They were shown into a room -where the small daughter of the house was playing. While awaiting the -appearance of their hostess, one of the ladies remarked to her friend, -at the same time nodding toward the little girl. “Not very p-r-e-t-t-y, -is she?” spelling the word so that the child should not understand.</p> - -<p>Instantly, before there was time for the friend to reply, came the -answer from the little girl: “No, not very p-r-e-t-t-y, but awfully -s-m-a-r-t.”</p> - -<h3>The Original Rattlesnake Flag.</h3> - -<p>Pennsylvania’s State museum, at Harrisburg, has just received one of the -most precious of the historic relics housed there. It is the original -rattlesnake flag of the Revolutionary War, the oldest banner -representing what is now the United States.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_66" id="page_66">{66}</a></span></p> - -<p>The flag was donated by the heirs of Samuel Craig, of Westmoreland -County, who died six years ago. One of the forbears of the Craigs -carried it in the early days of the Revolution.</p> - -<p>Edmund S. Craig, of New Alexandria, and P. M. Hill, of Greensburg, two -of the donors, took the flag to the museum. Jesse E. B. Cunningham, -ex-deputy attorney general and a former Westmoreland County man, -accompanied the pair and presented the relic to Thomas Lynch Montgomery, -State librarian and curator of the museum. The flag is red, with the -coiled rattlesnake and the “Don’t Tread on Me” warning in the center.</p> - -<h3><i>The Weekly 101</i>, Most Unique Paper.</h3> - -<p>Robert R. Fitzgerald, of Lawrenceburg, Ind., is the editor of the most -unique newspaper in the world—<i>The Weekly 101</i>. It is printed in lead -pencil throughout, though the editions run from eight to twenty pages of -standard newspaper size. The advertisements, illustrations, comic -section—everything about the paper is hand-lettered by the editor, who -prefers to hide himself behind the pseudonym of “Mooney Mingles.”</p> - -<p>Fitzgerald is twenty years old, and started his paper more than a year -ago. Two editions are turned out weekly, and, thus far, more than 170 -editions have been printed. The regular editions are penciled on white -print paper, but the baseball extra is generally done on paper of a -better quality and known as the “green sheet.” In this supplement the -baseball events of the week are briefly and ably reported.</p> - -<p>A special edition was recently turned out to become a part of the -Indiana exhibit at the Panama-Pacific Exposition. Another special number -was sent to President Wilson, who congratulated the editor upon the -patience and ingenuity necessary to produce such a newspaper.</p> - -<p><i>The Weekly 101</i> is prepared during the editor’s spare hours, and these -are limited, because Fitzgerald works ten hours a day in a local factory -to support his mother and a family of five.</p> - -<p>The ambitious young man is anxious to own a real newspaper plant, -because, as he complains, the press he now uses frequently breaks down -through an attack of writer’s cramp.</p> - -<p>Those who have received sample pages of the pencil editor’s work say -that the young man seems to be competent to take his place among the -live editors of to-day. Lawrenceburg is already proud of his remarkable -and unique weekly, but the thriving little city will probably be doubly -proud when the young editor launches forth into the regular channels of -newspaper work.</p> - -<p>The following paragraph is from one of the sample sheets submitted by -our correspondent:</p> - -<p>“<i>The 101 Weekly</i> newspaper will be just one year old next week. Mooney -Mingles, the little editor, has planned to put out a big special edition -on that day. During this whole year Mooney has not, like hundreds—yes, -like thousands—of other boys, wasted his time, but during all of his -spare moments has published just 160 of these copies, all printed by -hand. The young editor has sent copies of this penciled newspaper to the -exposition at San Francisco, Cal., to Chicago, New York, Indianapolis, -Kansas City, Detroit, London, England, and many other large cities, and -figures that it has been seen by 10,000,000 people.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_68" id="page_68">{68}</a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_67" id="page_67">{67}</a></span>”</p> - -<h2>The Nick Carter Stories</h2> - -<p class="c"> -ISSUED EVERY SATURDAY <span style="margin-left: 10%;">BEAUTIFUL COLORED COVERS</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>When it comes to detective stories worth while, the <b>Nick Carter Stories</b> -contain the only ones that should be considered. They are not overdrawn -tales of bloodshed. They rather show the working of one of the finest -minds ever conceived by a writer. The name of Nick Carter is familiar -all over the world, for the stories of his adventures may be read in -twenty languages. No other stories have withstood the severe test of -time so well as those contained in the <b>Nick Carter Stories</b>. It proves -conclusively that they are the best. We give herewith a list of some of -the back numbers in print. You can have your news dealer order them, or -they will be sent direct by the publishers to any address upon receipt -of the price in money or postage stamps.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_69" id="page_69">{69}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind"> -704—Written in Red.<br /> -707—Rogues of the Air.<br /> -709—The Bolt from the Blue.<br /> -710—The Stockbridge Affair.<br /> -711—A Secret from the Past.<br /> -712—Playing the Last Hand.<br /> -713—A Slick Article.<br /> -714—The Taxicab Riddle.<br /> -717—The Master Rogue’s Alibi.<br /> -719—The Dead Letter.<br /> -720—The Allerton Millions.<br /> -728—The Mummy’s Head.<br /> -729—The Statue Clue.<br /> -730—The Torn Card.<br /> -731—Under Desperation’s Spur.<br /> -732—The Connecting Link.<br /> -733—The Abduction Syndicate.<br /> -736—The Toils of a Siren.<br /> -738—A Plot Within a Plot.<br /> -739—The Dead Accomplice.<br /> -741—The Green Scarab.<br /> -746—The Secret Entrance.<br /> -747—The Cavern Mystery.<br /> -748—The Disappearing Fortune.<br /> -749—A Voice from the Past.<br /> -752—The Spider’s Web.<br /> -753—The Man With a Crutch.<br /> -754—The Rajah’s Regalia.<br /> -755—Saved from Death.<br /> -756—The Man Inside.<br /> -757—Out for Vengeance.<br /> -758—The Poisons of Exili.<br /> -759—The Antique Vial.<br /> -760—The House of Slumber.<br /> -761—A Double Identity.<br /> -762—“The Mocker’s” Stratagem.<br /> -763—The Man that Came Back.<br /> -764—The Tracks in the Snow.<br /> -765—The Babbington Case.<br /> -766—The Masters of Millions.<br /> -767—The Blue Stain.<br /> -768—The Lost Clew.<br /> -770—The Turn of a Card.<br /> -771—A Message in the Dust.<br /> -772—A Royal Flush.<br /> -774—The Great Buddha Beryl.<br /> -775—The Vanishing Heiress.<br /> -776—The Unfinished Letter.<br /> -777—A Difficult Trail.<br /> -782—A Woman’s Stratagem.<br /> -783—The Cliff Castle Affair.<br /> -784—A Prisoner of the Tomb.<br /> -785—A Resourceful Foe.<br /> -789—The Great Hotel Tragedies.<br /> -795—Zanoni, the Transfigured.<br /> -796—The Lure of Gold.<br /> -797—The Man With a Chest.<br /> -798—A Shadowed Life.<br /> -799—The Secret Agent.<br /> -800—A Plot for a Crown.<br /> -801—The Red Button.<br /> -802—Up Against It.<br /> -803—The Gold Certificate.<br /> -804—Jack Wise’s Hurry Call.<br /> -805—Nick Carter’s Ocean Chase.<br /> -807—Nick Carter’s Advertisement.<br /> -808—The Kregoff Necklace.<br /> -811—Nick Carter and the Nihilists.<br /> -812—Nick Carter and the Convict Gang.<br /> -813—Nick Carter and the Guilty Governor.<br /> -814—The Triangled Coin.<br /> -815—Ninety-nine—and One.<br /> -816—Coin Number 77.<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_70" id="page_70">{70}</a></span></p> - -<h2>NEW SERIES<br /><br /> -NICK CARTER STORIES</h2> - -<p class="nind"> -1—The Man from Nowhere.<br /> -2—The Face at the Window.<br /> -3—A Fight for a Million.<br /> -4—Nick Carter’s Land Office.<br /> -5—Nick Carter and the Professor.<br /> -6—Nick Carter as a Mill Hand.<br /> -7—A Single Clew.<br /> -8—The Emerald Snake.<br /> -9—The Currie Outfit.<br /> -10—Nick Carter and the Kidnaped Heiress.<br /> -11—Nick Carter Strikes Oil.<br /> -12—Nick Carter’s Hunt for a Treasure.<br /> -13—A Mystery of the Highway.<br /> -14—The Silent Passenger.<br /> -15—Jack Dreen’s Secret.<br /> -16—Nick Carter’s Pipe Line Case.<br /> -17—Nick Carter and the Gold Thieves.<br /> -18—Nick Carter’s Auto Chase.<br /> -19—The Corrigan Inheritance.<br /> -20—The Keen Eye of Denton.<br /> -21—The Spider’s Parlor.<br /> -22—Nick Carter’s Quick Guess.<br /> -23—Nick Carter and the Murderess.<br /> -24—Nick Carter and the Pay Car.<br /> -25—The Stolen Antique.<br /> -26—The Crook League.<br /> -27—An English Cracksman.<br /> -28—Nick Carter’s Still Hunt.<br /> -29—Nick Carter’s Electric Shock.<br /> -30—Nick Carter and the Stolen Duchess.<br /> -31—The Purple Spot.<br /> -32—The Stolen Groom.<br /> -33—The Inverted Cross.<br /> -34—Nick Carter and Keno McCall.<br /> -35—Nick Carter’s Death Trap.<br /> -36—Nick Carter’s Siamese Puzzle.<br /> -37—The Man Outside.<br /> -38—The Death Chamber.<br /> -39—The Wind and the Wire.<br /> -40—Nick Carter’s Three Cornered Chase.<br /> -41—Dazaar, the Arch-Fiend.<br /> -42—The Queen of the Seven.<br /> -43—Crossed Wires.<br /> -44—A Crimson Clew.<br /> -45—The Third Man.<br /> -46—The Sign of the Dagger.<br /> -47—The Devil Worshipers.<br /> -48—The Cross of Daggers.<br /> -49—At Risk of Life.<br /> -50—The Deeper Game.<br /> -51—The Code Message.<br /> -52—The Last of the Seven.<br /> -53—Ten-Ichi, the Wonderful.<br /> -54—The Secret Order of Associated Crooks.<br /> -55—The Golden Hair Clew.<br /> -56—Back From the Dead.<br /> -57—Through Dark Ways.<br /> -58—When Aces Were Trumps.<br /> -59—The Gambler’s Last Hand.<br /> -60—The Murder at Linden Fells.<br /> -61—A Game for Millions.<br /> -62—Under Cover.<br /> -63—The Last Call.<br /> -64—Mercedes Danton’s Double.<br /> -65—The Millionaire’s Nemesis.<br /> -66—A Princess of the Underworld.<br /> -67—The Crook’s Blind.<br /> -68—The Fatal Hour.<br /> -69—Blood Money.<br /> -70—A Queen of Her Kind.<br /> -71—Isabel Benton’s Trump Card.<br /> -72—A Princess of Hades.<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_71" id="page_71">{71}</a></span>73—A Prince of Plotters.<br /> -74—The Crook’s Double.<br /> -75—For Life and Honor.<br /> -76—A Compact With Dazaar.<br /> -77—In the Shadow of Dazaar.<br /> -78—The Crime of a Money King.<br /> -79—Birds of Prey.<br /> -80—The Unknown Dead.<br /> -81—The Severed Hand.<br /> -82—The Terrible Game of Millions.<br /> -83—A Dead Man’s Power.<br /> -84—The Secrets of an Old House.<br /> -85—The Wolf Within.<br /> -86—The Yellow Coupon.<br /> -87—In the Toils.<br /> -88—The Stolen Radium.<br /> -89—A Crime in Paradise.<br /> -90—Behind Prison Bars.<br /> -91—The Blind Man’s Daughter.<br /> -92—On the Brink of Ruin.<br /> -93—Letter of Fire.<br /> -94—The $100,000 Kiss.<br /> -95—Outlaws of the Militia.<br /> -96—The Opium-Runners.<br /> -97—In Record Time.<br /> -98—The Wag-Nuk Clew.<br /> -99—The Middle Link.<br /> -100—The Crystal Maze.<br /> -101—A New Serpent in Eden.<br /> -102—The Auburn Sensation.<br /> -103—A Dying Chance.<br /> -104—The Gargoni Girdle.<br /> -105—Twice in Jeopardy.<br /> -106—The Ghost Launch.<br /> -107—Up in the Air.<br /> -108—The Girl Prisoner.<br /> -109—The Red Plague.<br /> -110—The Arson Trust.<br /> -111—The King of the Firebugs.<br /> -112—“Lifter’s” of the Lofts.<br /> -113—French Jimmie and His Forty Thieves.<br /> -114—The Death Plot.<br /> -115—The Evil Formula.<br /> -116—The Blue Button.<br /> -117—The Deadly Parallel.<br /> -118—The Vivisectionists.<br /> -119—The Stolen Brain.<br /> -120—An Uncanny Revenge.<br /> -121—The Call of Death.<br /> -122—The Suicide.<br /> -123—Half a Million Ransom.<br /> -124—The Girl Kidnaper.<br /> -125—The Pirate Yacht.<br /> -126—The Crime of the White Hand.<br /> -127—Found in the Jungle.<br /> -128—Six Men in a Loop.<br /> -129—The Jewels of Wat Chang.<br /> -130—The Crime in the Tower.<br /> -131—The Fatal Message.<br /> -132—Broken Bars.<br /> -133—Won by Magic.<br /> -134—The Secret of Shangore.<br /> -135—Straight to the Goal.<br /> -136—The Man They Held Back.<br /> -137—The Seal of Gijon.<br /> -138—The Traitors of the Tropics.<br /> -139—The Pressing Peril.<br /> -140—The Melting-Pot.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Dated May 22d, 1915.</span> -<br /> -141—The Duplicate Night. -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Dated May 29th, 1915.</span> -<br /> -142—The Edge of a Crime. -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Dated June 5th, 1915.</span> -<br /> -143—The Sultan’s Pearls. -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Dated June 12th, 1915.</span> -<br /> -144—The Clew of the White Collar. -</p> - -<p class="c"><b>PRICE, FIVE CENTS PER COPY.</b> If you want any back numbers of our weeklies -and cannot procure them from your news dealer, they can be obtained -direct from this office. 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