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diff --git a/old/68376-0.txt b/old/68376-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index fa802d1..0000000 --- a/old/68376-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5020 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Nick Carter Stories No. 120, December -26, 1914: An Uncanny Revenge;, 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: Nick Carter Stories No. 120, December 26, 1914: An Uncanny - Revenge; - or, Nick Carter and the Mind Murderer. - -Author: Nick Carter - -Editor: Chickering Carter - -Release Date: June 22, 2022 [eBook #68376] - -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 NICK CARTER STORIES NO. 120, -DECEMBER 26, 1914: AN UNCANNY REVENGE; *** - - - - - - 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, - 1914, 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. 2.50 - 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. 120.= NEW YORK, December 26, 1914. =Price Five Cents.= - - - - - AN UNCANNY REVENGE; - - Or, NICK CARTER AND THE MIND MURDERER. - - Edited by CHICKERING CARTER. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -A TRAGEDY OF THE STAGE. - - -The members of Nick Carter’s household all happened to meet at the -breakfast table that morning--a rather unusual circumstance. - -The famous New York detective sat at the head of the table. Ranged about -it were Chick Carter, his leading assistant; Patsy Garvan, and the -latter’s young wife, Adelina, and Ida Jones, Nick’s beautiful woman -assistant. - -It was the latter who held the attention of her companions at that -moment. She was a little late, and had just seated herself. Her flushed -cheeks and sparkling eyes gave no hint that she had reached the -house--they all shared the detective’s hospitable roof--a little after -three o’clock that morning. - -“You good people certainly missed a sensation last night,” she declared. -“It was the strangest thing--and one of the most pitiable I ever -beheld!” - -Nick, who had been glancing at his favorite newspaper, looked up. - -“What do you mean?” he asked. - -It was Ida’s turn to show surprise. - -“Is it possible you don’t know, any of you?” she demanded, looking -around the table. “Haven’t you read of Helga Lund’s breakdown, or -whatever it was?” - -Helga Lund, the great Swedish actress, who was electrifying New York -that season in a powerful play, “The Daughters of Men,” had consented, -in response to many requests, to give a special midnight performance, in -order that the many actors and actresses in the city might have an -opportunity to see her in her most successful rôle at an hour which -would not conflict with their own performances. - -The date had been set for the night before, and, since it was not to be -exclusively a performance for professionals, the manager of the -theater, who was a friend of Nick Carter’s, had presented the detective -with a box. - -Much to Nick’s regret, however, and that of his male assistants, an -emergency had prevented them from attending. To cap the climax, Adelina -Garvan had not been feeling well, so decided not to go. Consequently, -Ida Jones had occupied the box with several of her friends. - -Nick shook his head in response to his pretty assistant’s question. - -“I haven’t, anyway,” he said, glancing from her face back to his paper. -“Ah, here’s something about it--a long article!” he added. “I hadn’t -seen it before. It looks very serious. Tell us all about it.” - -Ida needed no urging, for she was full of her subject. - -“Oh, it was terrible!” she exclaimed, shuddering. “Helga Lund had been -perfectly wonderful all through the first and second acts. I don’t know -when I have been so thrilled. But soon after the third act began she -stopped right in the middle of an impassioned speech and stared fixedly -into the audience, apparently at some one in one of the front rows of -the orchestra. - -“I’m afraid I can’t describe her look. It seemed to express merely -recollection and loathing at first, as if she had recognized a face -which had very disagreeable associations. Then her expression--as I read -it, at any rate--swiftly changed to one of frightened appeal, and then -it jumped to one of pure harrowing terror. - -“My heart stopped, and the whole theater was as still as a death -chamber--at least, the audience was. Afterward I realized that the actor -who was on the stage with her at the time had been improvising something -in an effort to cover up her lapse; but I don’t believe anybody paid any -attention to him, any more than she did. Her chin dropped, her eyes were -wild and seemed ready to burst from their sockets. She put both hands to -her breast, and then raised one and passed it over her forehead in a -dazed sort of way. She staggered, and I believe she would have fallen if -her lover in the play hadn’t supported her. - -“The curtain had started to descend, when she seemed to pull herself -together. She pushed the poor actor aside with a strength that sent him -spinning, and began to speak. Her voice had lost all of its wonderful -music, however, and was rough and rasping. Her grace was gone, -too--Heaven only knows how! She was positively awkward. And her -words--they couldn’t have had anything to do with her part. They were -incoherent ravings. The curtain had started to go up again. Evidently, -the stage manager had thought the crisis was past when she began to -speak. But when she only made matters worse, it came down with a rush. -After a maddening delay, her manager came out, looking wild enough -himself, and announced, with many apologies, that Miss Lund had suffered -a temporary nervous breakdown. - -Nick Carter had listened intently, now and then scanning the article -which described the affair. - -“Too bad!” he commented soberly, when Ida had finished. “But haven’t you -any explanation, either? The paper doesn’t seem to have any--at least, -it doesn’t give any.” - -A curious expression crossed Ida’s face. - -“I had forgotten for the moment,” she replied. “I haven’t told you one -of the strangest things about it. In common with everybody else, I was -so engrossed in watching Helga Lund’s face that I didn’t have much time -for anything else. That is why there wasn’t a more general attempt to -see whom she was looking at. We wouldn’t ordinarily have been very -curious, but she held our gaze so compellingly. I did manage to tear my -eyes away once, though; but I wasn’t in a position to see--I was too far -to one side. She appeared to be looking at some one almost on a line -with our box, but over toward the other side of the theater. I turned my -glasses in that direction for a few moments and thought I located the -person, a man, but, of course, I couldn’t be sure. I could only see his -profile, but his expression seemed to be very set, and he was leaning -forward a little, in a tense sort of way.” - -Nick nodded, as if Ida’s words had confirmed some theory which he had -already formed. - -“But what was so strange about him?” he prompted. - -“Oh, it doesn’t mean anything, of course,” was the reply; “but he bore -the most startling resemblance to Doctor Hiram Grantley. If I hadn’t -known that Grantley was safe in Sing Sing for a long term of years, I’m -afraid I would have sworn that it was he.” - -The detective gave Ida a keen, slightly startled look. - -“Well, stranger things than that have happened in our experience,” he -commented thoughtfully. “I haven’t any reason to believe, though, that -Grantley is at large again. He would be quite capable of what you have -described, but surely Kennedy would have notified me before this if----” - -The telephone had just rung, and, before Nick could finish his sentence, -Joseph, his butler, entered. His announcement caused a sensation. It -was: - -“Long distance, Mr. Carter. Warden Kennedy, of Sing Sing, wishes to -speak with you.” - -The detective got up quickly, without comment, and stepped out into the -hall, where the nearest instrument of the several in the house was -located. - -Patsy Garvan gave a low, expressive whisper. - -“Suffering catfish!” he ejaculated. “It looks as if you were right, -Ida!” - -After that he relapsed into silence and listened, with the others. Nick -had evidently interrupted the warden. - -“Just a moment, Kennedy,” they heard him saying. “I think I can guess -what you have to tell me. It’s Doctor Grantley who has escaped, isn’t -it?” - -Naturally, the warden’s reply was inaudible, but the detective’s next -words were sufficient confirmation. - -“I thought so,” Nick said, in a significant tone. “One of my assistants -was just telling me of having seen, last night, a man who looked -surprisingly like him. When did you find out that he was missing?... As -early as that?... I see.... Yes, I’ll come up, if necessary, as soon as -I can; but first I must set the ball rolling here. I think we already -have a clew. I’ll call you up later.... Yes, certainly.... Yes, -good-by!” - -A moment later he returned to the dining room. - -“Maybe your eyes didn’t deceive you, after all, Ida,” he announced -gravely. “Grantley escaped last night--in time to have reached the -theater for the third act of that special performance, if not earlier. -And it looks as if he subjected one of the keepers of the prison to an -ordeal somewhat similar to that which Helga Lund seems to have endured.” - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -ESCAPE BY SCHEDULE. - - -“What do you mean by that, chief?” demanded Chick. - -“Kennedy says that one of the keepers was found, in a peculiar sort of -stupor, as he calls it, in Grantley’s cell, after the surgeon had gone. -He had evidently been overpowered in some way, and his keys had been -taken from him. Kennedy assumes, rightly enough, I suppose, that -Grantley lured him into the cell on some pretext, and then tried his -tricks. The man is still unconscious, and the prison physician can do -nothing to help him. Kennedy wants me to come up.” - -“But I don’t see what that has to do with Helga Lund,” objected Chick. -“Even if it was Grantley that Ida saw--which remains to be proved--I -don’t see any similarity. He didn’t render her unconscious, and, anyway, -he wasn’t near enough to----” - -“Think it over, Chick,” the detective interrupted. “The significance -will reach you, by slow freight, sooner or later, I’m sure. I, for one, -haven’t any doubt that Ida saw the fugitive last night. If so, Grantley -did a very daring thing to go there without any attempt at disguise--not -as daring as might be supposed, however. He doubtless counted on just -what happened. If any one who knew him by sight had noticed him in the -theater, the supposition would naturally be that it was a misleading -resemblance, for the chances were that any one who would be likely to -know him would be aware of his conviction, and be firmly convinced that -he was up the river. - -“There doesn’t seem to be any doubt that he disguised himself carefully -enough for his flight from Sing Sing, and covered his tracks with -unusual care, for Kennedy has been unable to obtain any reliable -information about his movements. If he was at the play, we may be sure -that he restored his normal appearance deliberately, in defiance of the -risks involved, in order that one person, at least, should recognize -him without fail--that person being Helga Lund. And that implies that he -was again actuated primarily by motives of private revenge, as in the -case of Baldwin. - -“The scoundrel seems to have a supply of enemies in reserve, and is -willing to go to any lengths in order to revenge himself upon them for -real or fancied grievances. If he’s the man who broke up Lund’s -performance last night, it is obvious that he knew of the special -occasion and the unusual hour before he made his escape. In fact, it -seems probable that he escaped when he did for the purpose of committing -this latest outrage. Even if his chief object has been attained, -however, I don’t imagine he will return to Sing Sing and give himself -up. We shall have to get busy, and, perhaps, keep so for some time. -Plainly, the first thing for me to do is to seek an interview with Helga -Lund, if she is in a condition to receive me. She can tell, if she will, -who or what it was that caused her breakdown. If there turns out to be -no way of connecting it with Grantley, we shall have to begin our work -at Sing Sing. If it was Grantley, we shall begin here. Did you see -anything more of the man you noticed, Ida?” - -“Nothing more worth mentioning. He slipped out quickly as soon as the -curtain went down; but lots of others were doing the same, although many -remained and exchanged excited conjectures. I left the box when I saw -him going, but by the time I reached the lobby he was nowhere in sight, -and I couldn’t find any one who had noticed him.” - -“Too bad! Then there’s nothing to do but try to see Helga. The rest of -you had better hang around the house until you hear from me. Whatever -the outcome, I shall probably want you all on the jump before long.” - -Nick hastily finished his breakfast, while his assistants read him -snatches from the accounts in the various morning newspapers. In that -way he got the gist of all that had been printed in explanation of the -actress’ “attack” and in regard to her later condition. - -All of the accounts agreed in saying that Helga Lund was in seclusion at -her hotel, in a greatly overwrought state, and that two specialists and -a nurse were in attendance. - -The prospect of a personal interview with her seemed exceedingly remote; -but Nick Carter meant to do his best, unless her condition absolutely -forbade. - - * * * * * - -Doctor Hiram A. Grantley was very well, if not favorably, known to the -detectives, in addition to thousands of others. - -For a quarter of a century he had been famous as an exceptionally daring -and skillful surgeon. In recent years, however, his great reputation had -suffered from a blight, due to his general eccentricities, and, in -particular, to his many heartless experiments upon live animals. - -At length, he had gone so far as to perform uncalledfor operations on -human beings in his ruthless search for knowledge. - -Nick Carter had heard rumors of this, and had set a trap for Grantley. -He had caught the surgeon and several younger satellites red-handed. - -Their victim at that time was a young Jewish girl, whose heart had been -cruelly lifted out of the chest cavity, without severing any of the -arteries or veins, despite the fact that the girl had sought treatment -only for consumption. - -Grantley and his accomplices had been placed on trial, charged with -manslaughter. The case was a complicated one, and the jury disagreed. -The authorities subsequently released the prisoners in the belief that -the chances for a conviction were not bright enough to warrant the great -expense of a new trial. - -Nevertheless, as a result of the agitation, a law was passed, which -attached a severe penalty to all such unjustifiable experiments or -operations on human beings. - -After a few weeks of freedom, Grantley had committed a still more -atrocious crime. His victim in this instance had been one of the most -prominent financiers in New York, J. Hackley Baldwin, who had been -totally blind for years. - -For years Grantley had been nursing two grievances against the afflicted -millionaire. Under pretense of operating on Baldwin’s eyes--after -securing the financier’s complete confidence--he had removed parts of -his patient’s brain. - -Owing to Grantley’s great skill, the operation had not proved fatal; but -Baldwin became a hopeless imbecile. - -Nick Carter and his assistants again captured the fugitive, who had fled -with his assistant, Doctor Siebold. This pair was locked up, together -with a nurse and Grantley’s German manservant, who were also involved. - -To these four defendants, Nick presently added a fifth, in the person of -Felix Simmons, another famous financier, who had been a bitter rival of -Baldwin’s for years, and who was found to have aided and abetted the -rascally surgeon. - -It was a startling disclosure, and all of the prisoners were convicted -under the new law and sentenced to long terms of confinement. - -That had been several months before; and now Doctor Grantley was at -large again, and under suspicion of having been guilty of some strange -and mysterious offense against the celebrated Swedish actress, who had -never before visited this country. - - * * * * * - -Nick had learned from the papers that Helga Lund was staying at the -Wentworth-Belding Hotel. Accordingly, he drove there in one of his motor -cars and sent a card up to her suite. On it he scribbled a request for a -word with one of the physicians or the nurse. - -Doctor Lightfoot, a well-known New York physician, with a large practice -among theatrical people, received him in one of the rooms of the -actress’ suite. - -He seemed surprised at the detective’s presence, but Nick quickly -explained matters to his satisfaction. Miss Lund, it seemed, was in a -serious condition. She had gone to pieces mentally, passed a sleepless -night, most of the time walking the floor, and appeared to be haunted by -the conviction that her career was at an end. - -She declared that she would not mind so much if it had happened before -any ordinary audience, but as it was, she had made a spectacle of -herself before hundreds of the members of her own profession. That -thought almost crazed her, and she insisted wildly that she would never -regain enough confidence to appear in public again. - -If that was the case, it was nothing short of a tragedy, in view of her -great gifts. - -Doctor Lightfoot hoped, however, that she would ultimately recover from -the shock of her experience, although he stated that it would be months, -at least, before she was herself again. Meanwhile, all of her -engagements would have to be canceled, of course. - -In response to Nick’s questions, the physician assured him that Helga -Lund had given no adequate explanation of her startling behavior of the -night before. She had simply said that she had recognized some one in -the audience, that the recognition had brought up painful memories, and -that she had completely forgotten her lines and talked at random. She -did not know what she had said or done. - -Her physicians realized that she was keeping something back, and had -pleaded with her to confide fully in them as a means of relieving her -mind from the weight that was so evidently pressing upon it. But she had -refused to do so, having declared that it would serve no good purpose, -and that the most they could do was to restore her shattered nerves. - -The detective was not surprised at this attitude, which, as a matter of -fact, paved the way to an interview with the actress. - -“In that case I think you will have reason to be glad I came,” he told -Doctor Lightfoot. “I believe I know, in general, what happened last -night, and if you will give me your permission to see Miss Lund alone -for half an hour, I have hope of being able to induce her to confide in -me. My errand does not reflect upon her in any way, nor does it imply -the slightest danger or embarrassment to her, so far as I am aware. My -real interest lies elsewhere, but you will readily understand how it -might help her and reënforce your efforts if I could induce her to -unbosom herself.” - -“There isn’t any doubt about that, Carter,” was the doctor’s reply; “but -it’s a risky business. She is in a highly excitable state, and uninvited -calls from men of your profession are not apt to be soothing, no matter -what their object may be. How do you know that some ghost of remorse is -not haunting her. If so, you would do much more harm than good.” - -“If she saw the person I think she saw in the audience last night,” Nick -replied, “it’s ten to one that the remorse is on the other side--or -ought to be. If I am mistaken, a very few sentences will prove it, and I -give you my word that I shall do my best to quiet any fears my presence -may have aroused, and withdraw at once. On the other hand, if I am -right, I can convince her that I am her friend, and that I know enough -to make it worth her while to shift as much of her burden as possible to -me. If she consents, the tension will be removed at once, and she will -be on the road to recovery. And, incidentally, I shall have gained some -very important information.” - -The detective was prepared, if necessary, to be more explicit with -Doctor Lightfoot; but the latter, after looking Nick over thoughtfully -for a few moments, gave his consent. - -“I’ve always understood that you always know what you are about, -Carter,” he said. “There is nothing of the blunderer or the brute about -you, as there is about almost all detectives. On the contrary, I am sure -you are capable of using a great deal of tact, aside from your warm -sympathies. My colleague isn’t here now, and I am taking a great -responsibility on my shoulders in giving you permission to see Miss -Lund alone at such a time. She is a great actress, remember, and, if it -is possible, we must give her back to the world with all of her splendid -powers unimpaired. She is like a musical instrument of incredible -delicacy, so, for Heaven’s sake, don’t handle her as if she were a -hurdy-gurdy!” - -“Trust me,” the famous detective said quietly. - -“Then wait,” was the reply, and the physician hurried from the room. - -Two or three minutes later he returned. - -“Come,” he said. “I have prepared her--told her you are a specialist in -psychology, which is true, of course, in one sense. You can tell her the -truth later, if all goes well.” - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE ACTRESS CONFIDES. - - -Nick was led through a couple of sumptuously furnished rooms into the -great Swedish actress’ presence. - -Helga Lund was a magnificently proportioned woman, well above medium -height, and about thirty years of age. - -She wore a loose, filmy negligee of silk and lace, and its pale blue was -singularly becoming to her fair skin and golden hair. Two thick, heavy -ropes of the latter hung down far below her waist. - -She was not merely pretty, but something infinitely better--she had the -rugged statuesque beauty of a goddess in face and form. - -She was pacing the floor like a caged lioness when Nick entered. Her -head was thrown back and her hands were clasped across her forehead, -allowing the full sleeves to fall away from her perfectly formed, -milk-white arms. - -“Miss Lund, this is Mr. Carter, of whom I spoke,” Doctor Lightfoot said -gently. “He believes he can help you. “I shall leave you with him, but I -will be within call.” - -He withdrew softly and closed the door. They were alone. - -The actress turned for the first time, and a pang shot through the -tender-hearted detective as he saw the tortured expression of her face. - -She nodded absent-mindedly, but did not speak. - -“Miss Lund,” the detective began, “I trust you will believe that I would -not have intruded at this time if I hadn’t believed that I might -possibly possess the key to last night’s unfortunate occurrence, and -that----” - -“You--the key? Impossible, sir?” the actress interrupted, in the precise -but rather labored English which she had acquired in a surprisingly -short time in anticipation of her American tour. - -“We shall soon be able to tell,” Nick replied. “If I am wrong, I assure -you that I shall not trouble you any further. If I am right, however, I -hope to be able to help you. In any case, you may take it for granted -that I am not trying to pry into your affairs. I have seen you on the -stage more than once, both here and abroad. It is needless to say that I -have the greatest admiration for your genius. Beyond that I know nothing -about you, except what I have read.” - -“Then, will you explain--briefly? You see that I am in no condition to -talk.” - -“I see that talking, of the right kind, would be the best thing for -you, if the floodgates could be opened, Miss Lund,” Nick answered -sympathetically. “I shall do better than explain; with your permission, -I shall ask you a question.” - -“What is it?” - -“Simply this: Are you acquainted with a New York surgeon who goes by the -name of Doctor Grantley--Hiram A. Grantley?” - -The actress, who had remained standing, started slightly at the -detective’s words. Her bosom rose and fell tumultuously, and her -clenched hands were raised to it, as Ida Jones had described them. - -A look of mingled amazement and fright overspread her face. - -Nick did not wait for her to reply, nor did he tell her that it was -unnecessary. Nevertheless, he had already received his answer and it -gave him the greatest satisfaction. - -He was on the right track. - -“Before you reply, let me say this,” he went on quickly, in order to -convince her that she had nothing to fear from him: “Grantley is one of -the worst criminals living, and it is solely because our laws are still -inadequate in certain ways that he is alive to-day. As it is, he is a -fugitive, an escaped prisoner, with a long term still to serve. He -escaped last night, but he will undoubtedly be caught soon, despite his -undeniable cleverness, and returned to the cell which awaits him. Now -you may answer, if you please.” - -He was, of course, unaware of the extent of Helga Lund’s knowledge of -Grantley. It might not be news to her, but he wished--in view of the -actress’ evident fear of Grantley--to prove to her that he himself could -not possibly be there in the surgeon’s interest. - -His purpose seemed to have been gained. Unless he was greatly mistaken, -a distinct relief mingled with the surprise which was stamped on Helga’s -face. - -“He is a--criminal, you say?” she breathed eagerly, leaning forward, -forgetful that she had not admitted any knowledge of Grantley at all. - -“You do not know what has happened to Doctor Grantley here in the last -year?” - -“No,” was the reply. “I have never been in America before, and I have -never even acted in England. I do not read the papers in English.” - -“You met Grantley abroad, then, some years ago, perhaps?” - -The actress realized that she had committed herself. She delayed for -some time before she replied, and when she did, it was with a graceful -gesture of surrender. - -“I will tell you all there is to tell, Mr. Carter,” she said, “if you -will give me your word as a gentleman that the facts will not be -communicated to the newspapers until I give you permission. Will you? I -think I have guessed your profession, but I am sure I have correctly -gauged your honor.” - -“I promise you that no word will find its way, prematurely, into print -through me,” Nick declared readily. “I am a detective, as you seem to -have surmised, Miss Lund. I called on you, primarily, to get a clew to -the whereabouts of Doctor Grantley, but, as I told you, I am confident -that it will have a beneficial effect on you to relieve your mind and to -be assured, in return, that Grantley is a marked and hunted man, and -that every effort will be made to prevent him from molesting you any -further.” - -“Thank you, Mr. Carter,” the actress responded, throwing herself down on -a couch and tucking her feet under her. - -The act suggested that her mental tension was already lessened to a -considerable degree. - -“There is very little to tell,” she went on, after a slight pause, “and -I should certainly have confided in my physicians if I had seen any use -in doing so. It is nothing I need be ashamed of, I assure you. I did -meet Doctor Grantley--to my sorrow--five years ago, in Paris. He was -touring Europe at the time, and I was playing in the French capital. He -was introduced to me as a distinguished American surgeon, and at first I -found him decidedly interesting, despite--or, perhaps, because of--his -eccentricities. Almost at once, however, he began to pay violent court -to me. He was much older than I, and I could not think of him as a -husband without a shudder. With all his brilliancy, there was something -sinister and cruel about him, even then. I tried to dismiss him as -gently as I knew how, but he would not admit defeat. He persisted in his -odious attentions, and one day he seized me in his arms and was covering -my face and neck with his detestable kisses, when a good friend, a young -Englishman, was announced. My friend was big and powerful, a trained -athlete. I was burning with shame and rage. I turned Doctor Grantley -over to his tender mercies and left the room. Doctor Grantley was very -strong, but he was no match for the Englishman. I am afraid he was -maltreated rather severely. At any rate, he was thrown out of the hotel, -and I did not see him again until last night. He wrote me a threatening -letter, however, to the effect that he would have his revenge some day -and ruin my career. - -“I was greatly frightened at first, but, as time passed and nothing -happened, I forgot him. Last night, those terrible, compelling eyes of -his drew mine irresistibly. I simply had to look toward him, and when I -did so, my heart seemed to turn to a lump of ice. I forgot my -lines--everything. I knew what he meant to do, but I could not resist -him. He was my master, and he was killing my art, my mastery. I was a -child, a witless fool, in his hands. My brain was in chaos. I tried to -rally my forces, to go on with my part, but it was impossible. I did -manage to speak, but I do not know what I said, and no one will tell me. -Doubtless, I babbled or raved, and the words were not mine. They were -words of delirium, or, worse still, words which his powerful brain of -evil put into my mouth.” - -Helga Lund halted abruptly and threw out her hands again in an -expressive gesture. - -“That is all, Mr. Carter,” she added. “It was not my guilty conscience -which made me afraid of him, you see. As for his whereabouts, I can tell -you nothing. I did not know that he had been in trouble, although I am -not surprised. I had neither heard nor seen anything of him since he -wrote me, five years ago. Consequently, I fear I can be of no assistance -to you in locating him--unless he should make another attempt of some -sort on me, and Heaven forbid that!” - -“I have learned that he was here last night,” said Nick, “and that is -all I hoped for. That will give us a point of departure. I assure you -that I greatly appreciate your confidence, and that I shall not violate -it. With your permission, I shall tell your physicians just enough, in -general terms, to give them a better understanding of your trouble. It -will be best, for the present, to let the public believe that you are -the victim of a temporary nervous breakdown, but I should strongly -advise you to allow the facts to become known as soon as Grantley is -captured. It will be good advertising, as we say over here, and, at the -same time, it will stop gossip and dispel the mystery. It will also -serve to reassure your many admirers, because it will give, for the -first time, an adequate explanation, and prove that the cause of your -mental disturbance has been removed.” - -The actress agreed to this, and Nick Carter took leave of her, after -promising to apprehend Grantley as soon as possible and to keep her -informed of the progress of his search. - -Before he left the hotel he had a short talk with Doctor Lightfoot, -which gave promise of a more intelligent handling of the case, aside -from the benefit which Helga Lund had already derived from her frank -talk with the sympathetic detective. - -The man hunt could now begin in New York City, instead of at Ossining, -and, since the preliminaries could be safely intrusted to his -assistants, Nick decided to comply with Warden Kennedy’s urgent request -and run up to the prison to see what he could make of the keeper’s -condition. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -STRONGER THAN BOLTS AND BARS. - - -The great detective set his men to work and called up the prison before -leaving New York. As a result of the telephone conversation, the warden -gave up the search for the fugitive in the neighborhood of Ossining. - -Ossining is up the Hudson, about an hour’s ride, by train, from the -metropolis. It did not take Nick long to reach his destination. - -He found Warden Kennedy in the latter’s office, and listened to a -characteristic account of Doctor Grantley’s escape, which--in view of -the fugitive’s subsequent appearance at the theater--need not be -repeated here. - -Bradley, the keeper, was still unconscious, and nobody seemed to know -what was the matter with him. Nick had a theory, which almost amounted -to a certainty; but it remained to confirm it by a personal examination. - -The warden presently led the way to the prison hospital, where the -unfortunate keeper lay. No second glance was necessary to convince the -detective that he had been right. - -The man was in a sort of semirigid state, curiously like that of a -trance. All ordinary restoratives had been tried and had failed, yet -there did not appear to be anything alarming about his condition. - -The prison physician started to describe the efforts which had been -made, but Nick interrupted him quietly. - -“Never mind about that, doctor,” he said. “I know what is the matter -with him, and I believe I can revive him--unless Grantley has blocked -the way.” - -“Is it possible!” exclaimed Kennedy and the doctor, in concert. “What is -it?” added the former, while the latter demanded: “What do you mean by -‘blocking the way’?” - -“Your ex-guest hypnotized him, Kennedy,” was the simple reply, “and, as -I have had more or less experience along that line myself, I ought to -be able to bring Bradley out of the hypnotic sleep, provided the man who -plunged him into it did not impress upon his victim’s mind too strong a -suggestion to the contrary. Grantley has gone deep into hypnotism, and -it is possible that he has discovered some way of preventing a third -person from reviving his subjects. There would have been nothing for him -to gain by it in this case, but he may--out of mere malice--have thrown -Bradley under a spell which no one but he can break. Let us hope not, -however.” - -“Hypnotism, eh?” ejaculated Kennedy. “By the powers, why didn’t we think -of that, doctor?” - -The prison physician hastily sought an excuse for his ignorance, but, as -a matter of fact, he could not be greatly blamed. He was not one of the -shining lights of his profession, as his not very tempting position -proved, and comparatively few medical practitioners have had any -practical experience with hypnotism or its occasional victims. - -Nick Carter, on the other hand, had made an exhaustive study of the -subject, both from a theoretical and a practical standpoint, and had -often had occasion to utilize his extensive knowledge. - -While Warden Kennedy, the physician, and a couple of nurses leaned -forward curiously, the detective bent over the figure on the narrow -white bed and rubbed the forehead and eyes a few times, in a peculiar -way. - -Then he spoke to the man. - -“Come, wake up, Bradley!” he said commandingly. “I want you! You’re -conscious! You’re answering me. You cannot resist! Get up!” - -And to the amazement of the onlookers, the keeper opened his eyes in a -dazed, uncomprehending sort of way, threw his feet over the edge of the -bed, and sat up. - -“What is it? Where have I been?” he asked, looking about him. And then -he added, in astonishment: “What--what am I doing here?” - -“You’ve been taking a long nap, but you’re all right now, Bradley,” the -detective assured him. “You remember what happened, don’t you?” - -For a few moments the man’s face was blank, but soon a look of shamed -understanding, mingled with resentment, overspread it. - -“It was that cursed Number Sixty Thousand One Hundred and Thirteen!” he -exclaimed, giving Grantley’s prison number. “He called to me, while I -was making my rounds--was it last night?” - -Nick nodded, and the keeper went on: - -“What do you know about that! Is he gone?” - -This time it was the warden who replied. - -“Yes, he’s skipped, Bradley; but we know he was down in New York later -in the night, and Carter here can be counted on to bring him back, -sooner or later.” - -Kennedy had begun mildly enough, owing to the experience which his -subordinate had so recently undergone, but, at this point, the autocrat -in him got the better of his sympathy. - -“What the devil did you mean, though, by going into his cell, keys and -all, like a confounded imbecile?” he demanded harshly. “Isn’t that the -first thing you had drilled into that reënforced-concrete dome of -yours--not to give any of these fellows a chance to jump you when you -have your keys with you? If you hadn’t fallen for his little game----” - -“But I didn’t fall for nothing, warden!” the keeper interrupted warmly. -“I didn’t go into his cell at all. I know better than that, believe me!” - -“You didn’t--what? What are you trying to put over, Bradley?” Kennedy -burst out. “You were found in his cell, with the door unlocked and the -keys gone, not to mention Number Sixty Thousand One Hundred and -Thirteen, curse him! Maybe that ain’t proof.” - -“It ain’t proof,” insisted the keeper, “no matter how it looks. He -called to me, and I started toward the grating to see what he wanted. He -fixed his eyes on me, like he was looking me through and through, and -made some funny motions with his hands. I’ll swear that’s all I -remember. If I was found in his cell, I don’t know how I got there, or -anything about it, so help me!” - -The warden started to give Bradley another tongue-lashing, but Nick -interposed. - -“He’s telling the truth, Kennedy,” he said. - -“But how in thunder----” - -“Very easily. It hadn’t occurred to me before, but it is evident that -Grantley hypnotized him through the bars and then commanded him to -unlock the door and come inside. There is nothing in hypnotism to -interfere; on the contrary, that would be the easiest and surest thing -to do, under the circumstances. Grantley is too clever to try any of the -old, outworn devices--such as feigning sickness, for instance--in order -to get a keeper in his power. All that was necessary was for him to -catch Bradley’s eye. The rest was as easy as rolling off a log. When he -got our friend inside, he put him to sleep, took his keys and his outer -clothing, and then--good-by, Sing Sing! It’s rather strange that he -succeeded in getting away without discovery of the deception, but he -evidently did; or else he bribed somebody. You might look into that -possibility, if you think best. The supposition isn’t essential, -however, for accident, or good luck, might easily have aided him. As for -the means he used to cover his trail after leaving the vicinity of the -prison, we need not waste any time over that question. Fortunately, we -have hit upon his trail down the river, and all that remains to do is to -keep on it, in the right direction, until we come up with him. It may be -a matter of hours or days or months, but Grantley is going to be brought -back here before we’re through. You can bank on that, gentlemen. And -when I return him to you it will be up to you to take some extraordinary -precautions to see that he doesn’t hypnotize any more keepers.” - -“I guess that’s right, Carter,” agreed Warden Kennedy, tugging at his -big mustache. “Bolts and bars are no good to keep in a man like that, -who can make anybody let him out just by looking at him and telling him -to hand over the keys. I suppose I’d have done it, too, if I’d been in -Bradley’s place.” - -“Exactly!” the detective responded, with a laugh. “You couldn’t have -helped yourself. Don’t worry, though. I think we can keep him from -trying any more tricks of that sort, when we turn him over to you -again.” - -“Hanged if I see how, unless we give him a dose of solitary confinement, -in a dark cell, and have the men blindfold themselves when they poke his -food in through the grating.” - -“That won’t be necessary,” Nick assured the warden as he prepared to -leave. “We can get around it easier than that.” - -Half an hour later Nick was on his way back to New York City. - -He was not as light-hearted or confident as he had allowed Warden -Kennedy to suppose, however. - -The fact that Grantley had turned to that mysterious and terrifying -agency, hypnotism, with all of its many evil possibilities, caused him -profound disquiet. - -Already the fugitive had used his mastery of the uncanny force in two -widely different ways. He had escaped from prison with startling ease by -means of it, and then, not content with that, he had hypnotized a famous -actress in the midst of one of her greatest triumphs--for Nick had known -all along that Helga Lund had yielded to hypnotic influence. - -If the escaped convict kept on in the way he had begun, there was no -means of foretelling the character or extent of his future crimes, in -case he was not speedily brought to bay. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE TRAIL VANISHES. - - -Grantley’s trail vanished into thin air--or seemed to--very quickly. - -Nick Carter and his assistants had comparatively little trouble in -finding the hotel which the fugitive had patronized the night before, -but their success amounted to little. - -Grantley had arrived there at almost one o’clock in the morning and -signed an assumed name on the register. He brought a couple of heavy -suit cases with him. - -He had not been in prison long enough to acquire the characteristic -prison pallor to an unmistakable degree, and a wig had evidently -concealed his closely cropped hair. - -He was assigned to an expensive room, but left his newly acquired key at -the desk a few minutes later, and sallied forth on foot. - -The night clerk thought nothing of his departure at the time, owing to -the fact that the Times Square hotel section is quite accustomed to the -keeping of untimely hours. - -That was the last any of the hotel staff had seen of him, however. His -baggage was still in his room, but, upon investigation, it was found to -contain an array of useless and valueless odds and ends, obviously -thrown in merely to give weight and bulk. In other words, the suit cases -had been packed in anticipation of their abandonment. - -It seemed likely that the doctor had had at least one accomplice in his -flight, for the purpose of aiding him in his arrangements. But not -necessarily so. - -If he had received such assistance, it was quite possible that one of -the six young physicians, who had formerly been associated with him in -his unlawful experiments, had lent the helping hand. - -Nick had kept track of them for some time, and now he determined to look -them up again. - -It was significant, however, that Grantley had, apparently, made no -provision for the escape of Doctor Siebold, his assistant, who had been -in Sing Sing with him. - -In the flight which had followed their ghastly crime against the blind -financier, Siebold had shown the white feather, and it was easy to -believe that the stern, implacable Grantley had no further use for his -erstwhile associate. - -There was no reason to doubt that the escaped convict had gone directly -to the theater after leaving the hotel. But why had he gone to the -latter at all, and, what had become of him after he had broken up Helga -Lund’s play? - -There was no reasonable doubt that Grantley had disguised himself pretty -effectually for his flight from Ossining to New York, and yet the night -clerk’s description was that of Grantley himself. - -It followed, therefore, that the fugitive had already shed his disguise -somewhere in the big city. But why not have gone directly from that -stopping, place, wherever it was, to the theater? - -Nick gave it up as unimportant. The hotel episode did not seem to have -served any desirable purpose, from Grantley’s standpoint, unless on the -theory that it was simply meant to confuse the detectives. - -However that might be, it would be much more worth while to know what -the surgeon’s movements had been after his dastardly attack on the -actress. - -Had he gone to another hotel, in disguise or otherwise? Had he returned -to his former house in the Bronx, which had been closed up since his -removal to Sing Sing? Had he left town, or--well, done any one of a -number of things? - -There was room only for shrewd guesswork, for the most part. - -An exhaustive search of the hotels failed to reveal his presence at any -of them that night or later. The closed house in the Bronx was -inspected, with a similar result. - -That was about as far as the detective got along that line. Nick had a -feeling that the fellow was still in New York. He had once tried to slip -away in an unusually clever fashion, and had come to grief. It was fair -to assume, therefore, that he would not make a second attempt, -especially in view of the fact that the metropolis offers countless -hiding places and countless multitudes to shield a fugitive. - -If he was still in the city, though, he was almost unquestionably in -disguise; and he could be counted on to see that that disguise was an -exceptionally good one. - -Certainly, the prospect was not an encouraging one. The proverbial -needle in a haystack would have been easy to find in comparison. - -And, meanwhile, Helga Lund would not know what real peace of mind was -until she was informed that her vindictive persecutor had been captured. - -Three days was spent in this fruitless tracking, and then, in the -absence of tangible clews, the great detective turned to something which -had often met with surprising success in the past. - -He banished everything else from his mind and tried to put himself, in -imagination, in Doctor Grantley’s place. - -What would this brilliant, erratic, but misguided genius, with all of -his unbridled enmities and his criminal propensities, have done that -night, after having escaped from prison and brought Helga Lund’s -performance to such an untimely and harrowing close? - -It was clear that much depended on the depth of his hatred for the -actress who had repulsed him five years before. Undoubtedly his enmity -for the beautiful Swede was great, else he would not have timed his -escape as he had done, or put the first hours of his liberty to such a -use. - -But would he have been content with what he had done that first night? -If he had considered his end accomplished, he might have shaken the dust -of New York from his feet at once. On the other hand, if his thirst for -revenge had not yet been slaked, it was probable that he was still -lurking near, ready to follow up his first blow with others. - -The more Nick thought about it the more certain he became that the -latter supposition was nearer the truth than the former. Grantley had -caused Helga Lund to break down completely before one of the most -important and critical audiences that had ever been assembled in New -York, to be sure, but, with a man of his type, was that likely to be -anything more than the first step? - -He had threatened to ruin her career, and he was nothing if not thorough -in whatever he attempted. Therefore--so Nick reasoned--further trouble -might be looked for in that quarter. - -The thought was an unwelcome one. The detective had taken every -practicable precaution to shield Helga from further molestation, but he -knew only too well that Grantley’s attacks were of a sort which usually -defied ordinary safeguards. - -The possibility of new danger to the actress spurred Nick on to added -concentration. - -Assuming that Grantley was still in New York, in disguise, and bent upon -inflicting additional injury on the woman he had once loved, where would -he be likely to hide himself, and what would be the probable nature of -his next move? - -The detective answered his last question first, after much weighing of -possibilities. - -Grantley was one of the most dangerous of criminals, simply because his -methods were about as far removed as possible from the ordinary methods -of criminals. He had confined himself, thus far, to crimes in which he -had made use of his immense scientific knowledge, surgical and hypnotic. - -Accordingly, the chances were that he would work along one of those two -lines in the future, or else along some other, in which his special -knowledge would be the determining factor. - -Moreover, since his escape, he had repeatedly called his mastery of -hypnotism to his aid. That being so, Nick was inclined to believe that -he would continue to use it, especially since Helga had shown herself so -susceptible to hypnotic influence. - -Could the detective guard against that? - -He vowed to do his best, notwithstanding the many difficulties involved. - -But it was not until he had carefully balanced the probabilities in -regard to Grantley’s whereabouts that Nick became seriously alarmed. - -As a consequence of his study of the problem, an overwhelming conviction -came to him that it would be just like the rascally surgeon to have gone -to Helga’s own hotel, under another name. - -The luxurious Wentworth-Belding would be as safe for the fugitive as any -other place, providing his disguise was adequate--safer, in fact, for it -was the very last place which would ordinarily fall under suspicion. - -In addition to that great advantage, it offered the best opportunity to -keep in touch with developments in connection with the actress’ -condition, and residence there promised comparatively easy access to -Helga when the time should come for the next act in the drama of -revenge. - -This astounding suspicion had sprung up, full-fledged, in Nick’s brain -in the space of a second. The detective knew that his preliminary -reasoning had been sound, however, and based upon a thorough knowledge -of Grantley’s characteristic methods. - -It was staggering, but his keen intuition told him that it was true. He -was now certain that Grantley would be found housed under the same huge -roof as his latest victim, and that meant that Helga’s danger was -greater than ever. - -The next blow might fall at any minute. - -It was very surprising, in fact, that Grantley had remained inactive so -long. - -The detective hastily but effectively disguised himself, left word for -his assistants, and hurried to the hotel--only to find that his flash of -inspiration had come a little too late. - -Helga Lund had mysteriously disappeared. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -HELGA IS AMONG THE MISSING. - - -Doctor Lightfoot, the actress’ physician, was greatly excited and had -just telephoned to Nick’s house, after the detective had left for the -hotel. - -The doctor had arrived there about half an hour before, for his regular -morning visit. To his consternation he had found the night nurse -stretched out on Helga Lund’s bed, unconscious, and clad only in her -undergarments. - -The actress was nowhere to be found. - -The anxious Lightfoot was of very different caliber from the prison -physician at Sing Sing. He had recognized the nurse’s symptoms at once, -and knew that she had been hypnotized. - -He set to work at once to revive her and succeeded in doing so, after -some little delay. As soon as she was in a condition to question, he -pressed her for all the details she could give. - -They were meager enough, but sufficiently disquieting. According to her -story, a man whom she had supposed to be Lightfoot himself had gained -entrance to the suite between nine and ten o’clock at night. - -He had sent up Doctor Lightfoot’s name, and his appearance, when she saw -him, had coincided with that of the attending physician. He had acted -rather strangely, to be sure, and the nurse had been surprised at his -presence at that hour, owing to the fact that Lightfoot had already made -his two regular calls that day. - -Before her surprise had had time to become full-fledged suspicion, -however, the intruder had fixed her commandingly with his eyes and she -had found herself powerless to resist the weakness of will which had -frightened her. - -She dimly remembered that he had approached her slowly, nearer and -nearer, and that his gleaming eyes had seemed to be two coals of fire in -his head. - -That was all she recalled, except that she had felt her senses reeling -and leaving her. She had known no more until Doctor Lightfoot broke the -dread spell, almost twelve hours afterward. - -She had met the bogus Lightfoot in one of the outer rooms of the suite, -not in the presence of the actress. Miss Lund had been in her bedroom -at the time, but had not yet retired. - -The nurse was horror-stricken to learn that her patient was missing, and -equally at a loss to explain how she herself came to be without her -uniform. - -But Doctor Lightfoot possessed a sufficiently analytical mind to enable -him to solve the puzzle, after a fashion, even before Nick arrived. - -The detective had told him that the sight of an enemy of the actress’ -had caused her seizure, and it was easy to put two and two together. -This enemy had doubtless made himself up to represent the attending -physician, had hypnotized the nurse, and then passed on, unhindered, to -the actress’ room. - -He had obviously subdued her in the same fashion, after which he had -removed the unconscious nurse’s uniform and compelled Helga to don it. - -The doctor remembered now that the two women were nearly alike in height -and build. The nurse had dark-brown hair, in sharp contrast to Helga’s -golden glory; but a wig could have remedied that. Neither was there any -similarity in features, but veils can be counted on to hide such -differences. - -Doctor Lightfoot, despite his alarm, was rather proud of his ability to -reason the thing out alone. He had no doubt that Helga Lund, under -hypnotic influence, had accompanied the strange man from the hotel, -against her will. - -It would have been very easy, with no obstacle worth mentioning to -interpose. No one who saw them would have thought it particularly -strange to see the nurse and the doctor leaving together. At most, it -would have suggested that they were on unusually good terms, and that he -was taking her out for an airing in his car. - -The keen-witted physician had progressed thus far by the time Nick -arrived, but he had not yet sought to verify his deductions by -questioning any of the hotel staff. - -Nick listened to his theory, put a few additional questions to the -nurse, and then complimented Doctor Lightfoot on his analysis. - -“That seems to be the way of it,” the detective admitted. “A light, -three-quarter-length coat, which the nurse often wore over her uniform, -is also missing, together with her hat. The distinctive nurse’s skirt -would have shown beneath the coat and thereby help the deception.” - -Confidential inquiries were made at once, and the fact was established -that the two masqueraders--one voluntary and one involuntary--had left -the building about ten o’clock the night before. - -The supposed Lightfoot had arrived in a smart, closed town car, which -had been near enough to the physician’s in appearance to deceive the -carriage starter. The chauffeur wore a quiet livery, a copy of that worn -by Lightfoot’s driver. The car had waited, and the two had ridden away -in it. - -That was all the hotel people could say. The night clerk had thought it -odd that Miss Lund’s nurse had not returned, but it was none of his -business, of course, if the actress’ physician had taken her away. - -It was of little importance now, but Nick was curious enough to make -inquiries, while he was about it, which brought out the fact that a man -had registered at the hotel the morning after the affair at the theater, -and had paid his bill and left the evening before. - -It might have been only a coincidence, but certain features of the -man’s description, as given, left room for the belief that Doctor -Grantley had really been at the Wentworth-Belding during that interval. - -But where was he now, and what had he done with the unfortunate actress? - -Such as it was, the slender clew furnished by the closed car must be -followed up for all it was worth. - -That was not likely to prove an easy matter, and, unless Grantley had -lost his cunning, the trail of the machine would probably lead to -nothing, even if it could be followed. Nevertheless, there seemed to be -nothing else to work on. - -The chauffeur of the car might have been an accomplice, but it was not -necessary to suppose so. It looked as if the wily Grantley had hunted up -a machine of the same make as Doctor Lightfoot’s, and had engaged it for -a week or a month, paying for it in advance. - -There are many cars to be had in New York on such terms, and they are -extensively used by people who wish to give the impression, for a -limited time, that they own a fine car. - -It is a favorite way of overawing visitors, and chauffeurs in various -sorts of livery go with the cars, both being always at the command of -the renter. - -It would not, therefore, have aroused suspicion if Grantley had -furnished a livery of his own choice for his temporary chauffeur. - -The first step was to ascertain the make of Doctor Lightfoot’s car. -Another make might have been used, of course, but it was not likely, -since the easiest way to duplicate the machine would have been to chose -another having the same lines and color. - -“Mine is a Palgrave,” the physician informed Nick, in response to the -latter’s question. - -“Humph! That made it easy for Grantley,” remarked the detective; “but it -won’t be so easy for us. The Palgrave is the favorite car for renting by -the week or month, and there are numerous places where that particular -machine might have been obtained. We’ll have to go the rounds.” - -Nick and his assistants set to work at once, with the help of the -telephone directory, which listed the various agencies for automobiles. -There were nearly twenty of them, but that meant comparatively little -delay, with several investigators at work. - -A little over an hour after the search began, Chick “struck oil.” - -Grantley, disguised as Doctor Lightfoot, had engaged a Palgrave town car -of the latest model at an agency on “Automobile Row,” as that section of -Broadway near Fifty-ninth Street is sometimes called. - -The machine had been engaged for a week--not under Lightfoot’s name, -however--and Grantley had furnished the suit of livery. The car had been -used by its transient possessor for the first time the night before, had -returned to the garage about eleven o’clock, and had not since been sent -for. - -The chauffeur was there, and, at Nick’s request, the manager sent for -him. - -The detective was about to learn something of Grantley’s movements; but -was it to be much, or little? - -He feared that the latter would prove to be the case. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -A SHREWD GUESS. - - -The detective had revealed his identity, and the chauffeur was quite -willing to tell all he knew. - -He had driven his temporary employer and the woman in nurse’s garb to -the Yellow Anchor Line pier, near the Battery. Grantley--or Thomas -Worthington, as he had called himself in this connection--had -volunteered the information that his companion was his niece, who had -been sent for suddenly to take care of some one who was to sail on the -_Laurentian_ at five o’clock in the morning. - -Both of the occupants of the car had alighted at the pier, and the man -had told the chauffeur not to wait, the explanation being that he might -be detained on board for some time. - -The pier was a long one, and the chauffeur could not, of course, say -whether the pair had actually gone on board the vessel or not. He had -obeyed orders and driven away at once. - -Neither the man nor the woman had carried any baggage. The chauffeur had -gathered that the person who was ill was a relative of both of them, and -that the nurse’s rather bewildered manner was due to her anxiety and the -suddenness of the call. - -That was all Nick could learn from him, and an immediate visit to the -Yellow Anchor Line’s pier was imperative. - -There it was learned that a man and woman answering the description -given had been noticed in the crowd of people who had come to bid -good-by to relatives and friends. One man was sure he had seen them -enter a taxi which had just dropped its passengers. When interrogated -further, he gave it as his impression that the taxi was a red-and-black -machine. He naturally did not notice its number, and no one else could -be found who had seen even that much. - -A wireless inquiry brought a prompt reply from the _Laurentian_, to the -effect that no couple of that description were on board, or had been -seen on the vessel the night before. - -It was clear that Grantley had made a false trail, for the purpose of -throwing off his pursuers. It had been a characteristic move, and no -more than Nick had expected. - -The detective turned his attention to the taxi clew. Red and black were -the distinctive colors of the Flanders-Jackson Taxicab Company’s -machines. Consequently, the main garage of that concern was next -visited. - -Luckily, the man at the pier had been right. One of the company’s taxis -had been at the Yellow Anchor Line pier the previous night, and had -picked up a couple of new passengers there, after having been dismissed -by those who had originally engaged it. - -Nick obtained the name and address of the chauffeur, who was off duty -until night. He was not at home when the detective called, but, after a -vexatious delay, he was eventually located. - -A tip loosened his tongue. - -“I remember them well, sir,” he declared. “The man looked like a doctor, -I thought, and, if I’m not mistaken, the woman had on a nurse’s uniform -under her long coat. I couldn’t see her face, though, on account of the -heavy veil she wore. She acted queer--sick or something. The fellow -told me, when they got in, to drive them to the Wentworth-Belding, but -when I got up to Fourteenth Street, he said to take them to the -Metropolitan Building. I did, and they got out. That’s all I know about -it. I drove them to the Madison Square side, and they had gone into the -building before I started away, but that’s the last I saw of them.” - -“Well, we’ve traced them one step farther, Chick,” Nick remarked to his -first assistant as they left, “but we haven’t tracked them down, by a -long shot. Grantley doubtless went through the Metropolitan Building to -Fourth Avenue. There he either took the subway, hailed another taxi, -or--hold on, though! Maybe there’s something in that! I wonder----” - -“Now, what?” Chick asked eagerly. - -“You remember Doctor Chester, one of the six young physicians who was -mixed up with Grantley in that vivisection case?” - -“Of course I do,” his assistant answered. “He has taken another name and -given up his profession--on the surface, at least. He’s living on East -Twenty-sixth Street----” - -“Exactly--a very few blocks from the Metropolitan Building!” interrupted -his chief. - -“You mean----” - -“I have a ‘hunch,’ as Patsy would call it, that Grantley has taken Helga -Lund to Chester’s house. Chester has rented one of those old-fashioned, -run-down bricks across from the armory. It’s liable to be demolished -almost any day, to make way for a new skyscraper, and he doubtless gets -it for a song. He can do what he pleases there, and I wouldn’t be -surprised to find that Grantley had been paying the rent in anticipation -of something of this sort. They undoubtedly think that we lost sight of -Chester long ago.” - -“By George! I’ll wager you’re right, chief!” exclaimed Chick. “The fact -that we’ve traced Grantley to the Metropolitan Building certainly looks -significant, in view of Chester’s house being so near to it. It’s only -about five minutes’ walk, and a man with Grantley’s resourcefulness -could easily have made enough changes in his appearance and that of Miss -Lund, while in the Metropolitan Building, to have made it impossible for -the two who entered Chester’s house to be identified with those who had -left the Wentworth-Belding an hour or so before.” - -“That’s the way it strikes me,” agreed the detective. “And, if the -scoundrel took her there last night, they are doubtless there now. I -think we’re sufficiently justified in forcing our way into the house and -searching it, and that without delay. We don’t know enough to take the -police into our confidence as yet; therefore, the raid will have to be -purely on our own responsibility. We must put our theory to the test at -once, however, without giving Grantley any more time to harm the -actress. Heaven knows he’s had enough opportunity to do so already!” - -“Right! We can’t wait for darkness or reënforcements. It will have to be -a daylight job, put through just as we are. If we find ourselves on the -wrong scent, Chester will be in a position to make it hot for us--or -would be, if he had any standing--but we’ll have to risk that.” - -“Well, if Chester--or Schofield, as he is calling himself now--is -tending to his new business as a commercial chemist, he ought to be away -at this hour. That remains to be seen, however. I imagine, at any rate, -that we can handle any situation that is likely to arise. If time were -not so precious, it would be better to have some of the other boys along -with us, but we don’t know what may be happening at this very moment. -Come on. We can plan our campaign on the way.” - -A couple of tall loft buildings had already replaced part of the old row -of houses on the north side of Twenty-sixth Street, beginning at Fourth -Avenue. Nick and his assistant entered the second of these and took the -elevator to one of the upper floors, from the eastern corridor of which -they could obtain a view of the house occupied by young Doctor Chester, -together with its approaches, back and front. - -The house consisted of a high basement--occupied by a little hand -laundry--and three upper stories, the main floor being reached by a -flight of iron steps at the front. - -Obviously, there was no exit from the body of the house at the rear. -There was only a basement door opening into the tiny back yard, and that -was connected with the laundry. - -The detective decided, as a result of their general knowledge of such -houses, not to bother with the back at all. Their plan was to march -boldly up the front stairs, outside, fit a skeleton key to the lock, and -enter the hall. - -They argued that, owing to the fact that the basement was sublet, any -crooked work that might be going on would be likely to be confined to -the second or third floor to prevent suspicion on the part of those -connected with the laundry. - -Therefore, they hoped to find the first floor deserted. If that were the -case, it was improbable that their entrance would be discovered -prematurely. - -There was, doubtless, a flight of steps at the rear of the house, -leading down to the laundry from the first floor; but they were -practically certain that these rear stairs did not ascend above the main -floor. If they did not, there was no way of retreat for the occupants of -the upper part of the house, except by the front stairs, and, as the -detective meant to climb them, it seemed reasonable to suppose that -Grantley, Chester & Company could easily be trapped. - -Nick and Chick returned to the street and made their way, without the -slightest attempt at concealment, toward the suspected house. - -They met no one whose recognition was likely to be embarrassing, and saw -no faces at the upper windows as they climbed the outer steps. - -They had already seen to it that their automatics were handy, and now -Nick produced a bunch of skeleton keys and began fitting them, one after -another. - -The fifth one worked. They stepped into the hall as if they belonged -there--taking care to make no noise, however--and gently closed the -doors behind them. - -The adventure was well under way, and, technically speaking, they were -already housebreakers. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -“HOW ARE THE MIGHTY FALLEN!” - - -The house in which Nick and Chick found themselves had been a good one, -but it was now badly in need of repair. - -The main hall was comparatively wide for so narrow a building, and a -heavy balustrade fenced off the stairs on one side. - -The detectives paused just inside the door and listened intently. The -doors on the first floor were all closed and the rooms behind them -appeared to be untenanted. At any rate, all was still on that floor. -Subdued noises of various sorts floated down to them from above, -however, seemingly from the third floor. - -They looked at each other significantly. Evidently, their theory had -been correct--to some extent, at least. - -They approached each of the doors in turn, but could hear nothing. Under -the stairway they found the expected door leading down to the basement, -but, as it was locked, and there was no key, they paid no further -attention to it. - -Instead, they started to mount the front stairs to the second floor. The -stairway was old and rather creaky, but the detectives knew how to step -in order to make the least noise. Consequently, they gained the next -landing without being discovered. - -Here they repeated the tactics they had used below, with a like result. -The sound of voices and footfalls were louder now, but they all came -from the third floor. The second seemed to be as quiet as the first. - -The doors on the second floor, like those on the first, were all closed, -but Nick ascertained that at least one of them was unlocked. - -That fact might be of great advantage in preventing discovery, in case -any one should start down unexpectedly from the third floor, for the -halls and stairs offered no place of concealment. - -The detectives noiselessly removed their shoes before attempting the -last flight, and placed them inside the unlocked room, which they -noiselessly closed again. - -They were now ready for the final reconnaissance. - -By placing the balls of their stockinged feet on the edges of the steps, -they succeeded in mounting to the third floor without making any more -noise than that produced by the contact of their clothing. - -A slight pause at the top served to satisfy them that the noises all -proceeded from one room at the front of the house. They were already -close to the door of this room, and they listened breathlessly. - -Words were plainly audible now, punctuated at frequent intervals by loud -bursts of laughter. - -It sounded like a merrymaking of some kind. What was going on behind -that closed door? Had they made a mistake in entering the house and -wasted precious time in following a will-o’-the-wisp, when Helga Lund -might be even then in the greatest danger? - -Nick and his assistants feared so, and their hearts sank heavily. - -But no. The next words they heard reassured, but, at the same time, -startled them. The voice was unmistakably Grantley’s. - -“That’s enough of pantomime,” it said, with a peculiar note of cruel, -triumphant command. “Now give us your confession from ‘The Daughters of -Men’--give it, but remember that you are not a great actress, that you -are so bad that you would be hooted from the cheapest stage. Remember -that you are ugly and dressed in rags, that you are awkward and ungainly -in your movements, that your voice is like a file. Remember it not only -now, but always. You will never be able to act. Your acting is a -nightmare, and you are a fright--when you aren’t a joke. But show us -what you can do in that confession scene.” - -Nick and Chick grew tense as they listened to those unbelievable words, -and to the heartless chuckles and whisperings with which they were -received. Apparently there were several men in the “audience”--probably -Chester and some of Grantley’s other former accomplices. - -The meaning was plain--all too plain. - -The proud, beautiful Helga Lund was once more under hypnotic influence, -and Grantley, with devilish ingenuity, was impressing suggestions upon -her poor, tortured brain, suggestions which were designed to rob her of -her great ability, not only for the moment, but, unless their baneful -effect could be removed, for all the rest of her life. - -She, who had earned the plaudits of royalty in most of the countries of -Europe, was being made a show of for the amusement of a handful of -ruthless scoffers. - -It made the detectives’ blood boil in their veins and their hands clench -until their knuckles were white, but they managed somehow to keep from -betraying themselves. - -The employment of hypnotism in such a way was plainly within the scope -of the new law against unwarranted operations or experiments on human -beings, without their consent; but it was necessary to secure as much -evidence as possible before interfering. - -To that end Nick Carter took out of a pocket case a curious little -instrument, which he was in the habit of calling his “keyhole -periscope.” - -It consisted of a small black tube, about the length and diameter of a -lead pencil. There was an eyepiece at one end. At the other a -semicircular lens bulged out. - -It was designed to serve the same purpose as the periscope of a -submarine torpedo boat--that is, to give a view on all sides of a given -area at once. The exposed convex lens, when thrust through a keyhole or -other small aperture, received images of objects from every angle in the -room beyond, and magnified them, in just the same way as the similarly -constructed periscope of a submarine projects above the level of the -water and gives those in the submerged vessel below a view of all -objects on the surface, within a wide radius. - -Nick had noted that there was no key in the lock of the door. Taking -advantage of that fact, he crept silently forward, inserted the -wonderful little instrument in the round upper portion of the hole, and, -stooping, applied his eye to the eyepiece. - -He could not resist an involuntary start as he caught his first glimpse -of the extraordinary scene within. - -The whole interior of the room was revealed to him. Around the walls -were seated three young men of professional appearance. Nick recognized -them all. They were Doctor Chester, Doctor Willard, and Doctor Graves, -three of Grantley’s former satellites. - -They were leaning forward or throwing themselves back in different -attitudes of cruel enjoyment and derision, while Grantley stood at one -side, his hawklike face thrust out, his keen, pitiless eyes fixed -malignantly on the figure in the center of the room. - -Nick’s heart went out in pity toward that pathetic figure, although he -could hardly believe his eyes. - -It was that of Helga Lund, but so changed as to be almost -unrecognizable. - -Her splendid golden hair hung in a matted, disordered snarl about her -face, which was pale and smudged with grime. She was clothed in the -cheapest of calico wrappers, hideously colored, soiled and torn, beneath -which showed her bare, dust-stained feet. - -She had thrown herself upon her knees, as the part required; her -outstretched hands were intertwined beseechingly, and her wonderful eyes -were raised to Grantley’s face. In them was the hurt, fearful look of a -faithful but abused dog in the presence of a cruel master. - -Her tattered sleeves revealed numerous bruises on her perfectly formed -arms. - -The part of the play which Grantley had ordered her to render was that -in which the heroine pleaded with her angry lover for his forgiveness of -some past act of hers, which she had bitterly repented. - -She was reciting the powerful lines now. They had always held her great -audiences breathless, but how different was this pitiable travesty! - -It would have been hard enough at best for her to make them ring true -when delivered before such unsympathetic listeners and in such an -incongruous garb, but she was not at her best. On the contrary, her -performance was infinitely worse than any one would have supposed -possible. - -She had unconsciously adopted every one of the hypnotist’s brutal -suggestions. - -There was not a vestige of her famous grace in any of her movements. The -most ungainly slattern could not have been more awkward. - -Her words were spoken parrotlike, as if learned by rote, without the -slightest understanding of their meaning. For the most part, they -succeeded one another without any attempt at emphasis, and when emphasis -was used, it was invariably in the wrong place. - -It was her voice itself, however, which gave Nick and Chick their -greatest shock. - -The Lund, as she was generally called in Europe, had always been -celebrated for her remarkably musical voice; but this sorry-looking -creature’s voice was alternately shrill and harsh. It pierced and rasped -and set the teeth on edge, just as the sound of a file does. - -Nothing could have given a more sickening sense of Grantley’s power over -the actress than this astounding transformation, this slavish adherence -to the conditions of abject failure which he had imposed upon her. - -It seemed incredible, and yet, there it was, plainly revealed to sight -and hearing alike. - -A subtler or more uncanny revenge has probably never been conceived by -the mind of man. The public breakdown which Grantley had so mercilessly -caused had only been the beginning of his scheme of vengeance. - -He doubtless meant to hypnotize his victim again and again, and each -time to impose his will upon her gradually weakening mind, until she had -become a mere wreck of her former self, and incapable of ever again -taking her former place in the ranks of genius. - -There was nothing impossible about it. On the contrary, the result was a -foregone conclusion if Grantley were left free to continue as he had -begun. - -The very emotional susceptibility which had made Helga Lund a great -actress had also made her an easy victim of hypnotic suggestion, and if -the process went on long enough, she would permanently lose everything -that had made her successful. - -Outright murder would have been innocent by comparison with such -infernal ingenuity of torture. It seemed to Nick as if he were watching -the destruction of a splendid priceless work of art. - -He had seen enough. - -He withdrew the little periscope from the keyhole and straightened up. -One hand went to his pocket and came out with an automatic. Chick -followed his example. - -They were outnumbered two to one, but that did not deter them. - -Helga must be rescued at once, and her tormentors caught red-handed. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE SWING OF THE PENDULUM. - - -What was to be done, though? - -To burst into the room and seek to overpower the four doctors then and -there, in Helga’s presence, would place the actress in additional -danger. - -Nick was convinced, however, that that risk would have to be run. He had -seen evidences that more than one of the men were tiring of the cruel -sport, and it might now come to an end at any moment. - -He swiftly considered two or three possible plans for drawing the four -away from their victim, but rejected them all. They would only increase -the danger of a slip of some sort, and he was bent upon capturing the -four, as well as releasing the actress. - -Furthermore, he did not believe that even Grantley would dare to harm -Helga further in his presence, even if the fortunes of war should give -the surgeon a momentary opportunity. - -He, accordingly, motioned to his assistant to follow close behind him, -and laid his left hand on the knob. - -He turned it noiselessly, and was greatly relieved to find that the door -yielded. Their advent would be a complete surprise, therefore, and would -find the four totally unprepared. - -Nick paused a moment, then flung the door back violently and strode into -the room. - -Grantley was the ringleader, the most dangerous of the lot at any time, -and the fact that he was an escaped convict would render his resistance -more than ordinarily desperate. The periscope had told Nick where the -fugitive stood, and thus the detective was enabled to cover him at once -with the unwavering muzzle of the automatic. - -“Hands up, Grantley! Hands up, everybody!” cried Nick, stepping a little -to one side to allow Chick to enter. - -His assistant took immediate advantage of the opening and stepped to his -chief’s side, with leveled weapon. Chick’s automatic was pointed at -Doctor Chester, however. After Grantley, the man whose house had been -invaded, was naturally the one who was likely to put up the hardest -fight. - -The guilty four were spellbound with astonishment and fear for a moment, -then the three younger ones jumped to their feet like so many -jacks-in-the-box. Grantley had already been standing when the detectives -broke in. - -“Did you hear me, gentlemen?” Nick demanded, crooking his finger a -little more closely about the trigger. “I said ‘Hands up!’ and it won’t -be healthy for any of you to ignore the invitation. One--two--three!” - -Before the last word passed his lips, however, four pairs of hands were -in the air. Doctor Willard’s had gone up first, and Grantley’s last. - -“Thank you so much!” the detective remarked, with mock politeness. Now, -if you will oblige me a little further, by lining up against that right -wall, I shall be still more grateful to you. Kindly place yourselves -about two feet apart, not less. I want you, Number Sixty Thousand One -Thirteen”--Grantley winced at his prison number--“at this end of the -line, next to me, with Chester, alias Schofield, next; Graves next to -him, and Willard last. You see, I haven’t forgotten any of my old -friends.” - -This disposition of the trapped quartet was designed to serve two -purposes. In the first place, it would remove them from proximity to -Helga Lund, who, crouched in the middle of the floor, was watching the -detectives with bewildered, uncomprehending eyes. In the second place, -it would enable Chick to handcuff them one by one, while Nick stood -ready to fire, at an instant’s notice, on any one who made a false move. - -It looked, for the time being, as if the capture would be altogether too -easy to have any spice in it, but the detectives did not make the -mistake of underrating their adversaries--Grantley, especially. - -To be sure, they were probably unarmed, and had been taken at such a -disadvantage that they would hardly have had an opportunity to draw -weapons, even if they had worn them. Still, any one of a number of -things might happen. - -The four doctors had been caught “with the goods,” as the police saying -is, and they might be expected to take desperate chances as soon as they -had had time to collect their scattered wits and to realize the -seriousness of their plight. - -Nick Carter had shown his usual generalship in the orders he had given -so crisply. - -Grantley himself, the most to be feared of the lot, was to be placed -nearest to the detective, where Nick could watch him most narrowly. That -was not all, however. The detective meant that Chick should handcuff -Grantley first, and thus put the leader out of mischief at the earliest -opportunity. - -After him, Chester was to be disposed of, and the two that would then -remain were comparatively harmless in themselves. - -Grantley doubtless saw through Nick’s tactics from the beginning, and if -the detective could have caught the gleam behind the wily surgeon’s -half-closed lids, he would have known that Grantley thought he saw an -opportunity to circumvent those tactics. - -With reasonable promptness, hands still in the air, Grantley started to -obey the detective’s order. He moved slowly, grudgingly, his face -distorted with rage and hate. - -Chester started to follow the older man toward the wall, but Chick -halted him. - -“Hold up, there, Schofield-Chester!” the young detective ordered. “One -at a time, if you don’t mind!” - -He wished to prevent the confusion that would result from the -simultaneous movement of the four scoundrels. - -Chester paused with a snarl, and Grantley went on alone. He was making -for the corner nearest to Nick, who still stood close to the door. In -doing so, he was obliged to pass in front of the detective. - -It had been no part of Nick’s plan to have the fugitive take to that -corner, and he suddenly realized that the criminal was crossing a little -too close to him for safety. - -“Here, keep to the left a little----” he began sharply, when Grantley -was about four feet away. - -But before he could complete his sentence, the escaped convict ducked -and threw his body sidewise, the long arms were already above his head -and he left them where they were. Their abnormal length helped to bridge -the distance between him and Nick as he flung himself at the detective. - -Nick guessed the nature of the move, as if by instinct, and when he -fired, which he did immediately, it was with depressed muzzle. He had -allowed, in other words, for the swift descent of Grantley’s body. - -In spite of that, however, the bullet merely plowed a furrow across the -criminal’s shoulder and back, as he dropped. It did not disable him in -the least, and, before Nick could fire again. Grantley’s peculiar dive -ended with a vicious impact against his legs, and clawlike hands gripped -him about the knees in an effort to pull him down. - -The convict’s daring act broke the spell which had held his companions. -Without waiting to see whether Grantley’s move was to prove successful -or not, the three of them threw themselves bodily upon Chick, while the -latter’s attention was diverted for a moment by his chief’s peril. - -Doctor Chester, who had been looking for something of the sort from -Grantley, was the first to pounce upon Nick’s assistant. He gripped -Chick’s right wrist and began to twist it in an attempt to loosen the -hold on the weapon. - -“Help Grantley, Willard,” he directed, at the same time, between his -clenched teeth. “Graves and I can handle this fellow, I guess.” - -Willard started for Nick, while Graves shifted his attack, and, edging -around behind Chick, seized him by the shoulders. At the same moment he -placed one knee in the small of the young detective’s back. - -There could be only one result. - -Chick was bent painfully back until his spine felt as if it was about to -crack in two; then, in his efforts to relieve the strain, he lost his -footing and went down, with Chester on top of him, and still clinging -doggedly to his wrists. - -A few feet away Nick was being hard pressed by two other rascals. - -The pendulum of chance had swung the other way, and things looked very -dubious for the detectives--and for what was left of Helga Lund! - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -A HUMAN WHEEL. - - -Chick had thrown himself to one side to ease the pressure on his back. -Accordingly, he struck the floor on his left side. - -Chester and Graves dropped heavily upon him before he had more than -touched the boards, the former at his feet, the latter on his shoulders. - -Their bony knees crushed him down, and Graves used his weight to try to -pull Chick over on his back. - -Nick’s assistant had twisted his left wrist out of Chester’s grasp as he -fell, but the renegade physician had clung for dear life to the hand -which held the automatic. - -Chick allowed himself to be pulled over on his back--for a very good -reason. His free arm had been under him as he lay on his side, and he -wanted an opportunity to use it. - -Graves grabbed at it at once, but Chick stretched it--all but the upper -arm--out of his antagonist’s reach. Graves would have to lean far over -Chick in order to reach the latter’s left wrist, and, in so doing, he -would expose himself not a little. Or else he would be obliged to edge -around on his knees, behind Chick’s head. - -He chose to try the latter maneuver, but Chick feinted with his left -arm. Graves dodged, and Chick’s hand darted in behind the other’s guard, -grasping Graves firmly by the hair. - -Almost at the same instant the young detective jerked his right foot -loose and gave the startled Chester a tremendous kick in the stomach. - -The master of the house gave a grunt and doubled up, like a jackknife. -His grip on Chick’s right wrist relaxed simultaneously, and its owner -tore it away. - -Chester had involuntarily lurched forward, and the act had brought his -head well within the reach of Chick’s right hand, which was now once -more at liberty. - -While Nick’s assistant held the struggling Graves at arm’s length by the -hair, with one hand, he brought down the butt of the automatic, with all -the strength he could bring to bear, on Chester’s lowered poll. - -He had juggled the weapon in a twinkling, so that it was clubbed when it -descended. The blow was surprisingly effective, considering the -circumstances. - -Chester groaned and toppled forward, over Chick’s legs. - -The detective’s assistant was ready to follow up his advantage at once. -He wriggled about until he was facing Graves, and then he began pulling -that individual toward him by the hair. - -Tears of pain were in Graves’ eyes, and he struck out blindly in a -desperate effort to break Chick’s relentless hold. The attempt was a -failure, however. Despite all of Graves’ struggles, he was irresistibly -drawn nearer and nearer. The fact that he wore his hair rather long -helped Chick to maintain his grip. - -Presently the young physician’s head was near enough to allow Chick to -strike it with his clubbed weapon. He drew the latter back for the blow, -but his enemy, seeing what was coming, suddenly changed his tactics. - -Instead of trying to pull away any more, he ducked and threw himself -into Chick’s arms. - -The revolver butt naturally missed its mark and, for a time, they fought -at too close quarters to permit such a blow to be tried again. - -Graves had seized Chick around the body as he closed in, and he drew -himself close, burying his head on Chick’s chest. Chick still maintained -his hold of his opponent’s hair, however, and now retaliated by rolling -over on Graves, working his feet from under the unconscious Chester as -he did so. - -Graves snuggled as close as he could to avoid the dreaded blow, but -Chick, now being on top, was able to hold Graves’ head on the floor by -main force, while he arched his own powerful back and began to tear his -body from his antagonist’s straining arms. - -Graves was game; there was no doubt about that. The pulling of his hair -must have been torture to him, but he did not relinquish his hold about -Chick’s waist. - -His eyes were closed, his face drawn and twisted with pain, but he clung -obstinately, and without a whimper. - -Slowly but surely, nevertheless, Chick raised himself, and the space -between their laboring breasts widened. Graves’ hold was being loosened -bit by bit, but it had not broken. - -As a matter of fact, Chick did not wait for it to break. It was not -necessary, for one thing; and for another, he realized that it would be -a kindness to Graves to end the painful struggle as soon as possible. - -Accordingly, as soon as he had raised himself enough to deliver a -reasonable effective blow with the clubbed automatic, he struck -downward, with carefully controlled aim and strength. - -The butt of the little weapon landed in the middle of the physician’s -forehead. A gasp followed, and the tugging arms fell away. - -Chick had floored his two opponents. - -He got quickly to his feet and looked to see if Nick needed him. Chester -and Graves ought to be handcuffed before they had time to revive, but -that could wait a little if necessary. - -It was well that Chick finished his business just when he did, for Nick -was in trouble. - -Doctor Grantley was not an athlete, and his long, lanky build gave -little promise of success against Nick Carter’s trained muscles and -varied experience in physical encounters of all sorts. - -On the other hand, the convict was possessed of amazing wiriness and -endurance, and, although he was not cut out for a fighting man, his -keen, quick mind made up for most of his bodily deficiencies. - -His original attack, for instance, was an example of unconventional but -startlingly successful strategy. On the surface, it would have seemed -that such a man, without weapons, had precious little chance of gaining -any advantage over Nick Carter, armed as the latter was, and a good four -feet away. - -But Grantley followed up his impetuous dive in a most surprising way. -His long arms closed about Nick’s legs, but, instead of endeavoring to -pull the detective down in the ordinary way, Grantley unexpectedly -plucked his legs apart with all his strength. - -The detective’s balance instantly became a very uncertain quantity, for -the surgeon’s abnormally long, gorilla-like arms tore his legs apart and -pushed them to right and left with astonishing ease. - -Nick felt like an involuntary Colossus of Rhodes as he was forced to -straddle farther and farther. He threw one hand behind him to brace -himself against the wall, reversed his automatic and leaned forward, -bent upon knocking the enterprising Grantley in the head. - -The fugitive had other plans, however. Just as Nick bent forward, -Grantley suddenly thrust his head and shoulders between the detective’s -outstretched limbs, and heaved upward and backward. - -The detective was lifted from his feet and pitched forward, head -downward. His discomfiture was a decided shock to him, but he neither -lost his presence of mind nor his grip on his weapon. - -Had he struck on his head and shoulders, as Grantley evidently intended -he should, the result might have been exceedingly disastrous. The -detective would almost certainly have been plunged into unconsciousness, -and his neck might easily have been broken. - -Nick saw his danger in a flash, though, drew his head and shoulders -sharply inward and downward, and at the same time grasped one of -Grantley’s thighs with his left hand. - -The result would have been ludicrous under almost any other -circumstances. The detective’s lowered head went, in turn, between -Grantley’s legs, and their intertwined bodies formed a wheel, such as -trained athletes sometimes contrive. - -This countermove of Nick’s was as much of a surprise to the surgeon as -the latter’s curious mode of attack had been to the detective. - -They rolled over and over a couple of times, until Nick, finding himself -momentarily on top, brought them to a stop. So awkward were their -positions that neither was able to strike an effective blow at the -other. - -Nick had the upper hand temporarily, however, and proceeded to wrench -himself loose. He had been busily engaged in this when Willard had -rushed to Grantley’s assistance. - -That put still another face on the situation at once. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -NICK’S EXTREMITY. - - -The newcomer saw his opportunity and snatched up a chair as he rushed -toward the tangled combatants. - -Nick heard him coming, but did not have time to extricate himself from -Grantley’s dogged grasp. - -He raised his weapon, though, and was about to fire at Willard, when he -saw that the latter was directly between him and Helga Lund. Under the -circumstances, the detective did not dare to fire for fear of hitting -the actress. - -He kept Grantley down as best he could with his left hand, and waited -for Willard with his right hand still extended, holding the automatic. - -He might have an opportunity to fire, but, if not, he could at least -partially ward off the expected blow from the chair. - -Just as Willard paused and swung the chair aloft, Grantley managed -partially to dislodge the detective, with the result that Nick was -obliged to lower his right arm quickly. Otherwise he would undoubtedly -have lost his balance completely, and the surgeon-convict would have had -the upper hand in another second or two. - -This involuntary lowering of Nick’s guard served the purpose that -Grantley had intended. Willard’s cumbersome weapon descended with -uninterrupted force on the detective’s shoulders and the back of his -head. - -Nick lowered the latter instinctively, and thus saved himself the worst -of the blow. Nevertheless, the impact of the chair was stunning in its -force. - -The detective felt his senses reeling, but he somehow managed to retain -them and to grasp the chair, which he blindly wrenched from Willard’s -grasp. - -As he did so, however, Grantley succeeded in throwing him off and -scrambling to his feet. Nick followed his example almost simultaneously, -dropped his revolver into his pocket--for fear it would fall into the -hands of one of his enemies--and, grasping the heavy chair with both -hands, whirled it about his head. - -His two antagonists dodged it hurriedly, thus clearing a space about -him. Their blood was up, however--especially Grantley’s--and they felt -sure that the detective had by no means recovered from the blow. - -“Catch the chair, Willard!” cried Grantley. - -The younger physician obeyed instantly, grasping the round of the chair -with both hands, and thus preventing Nick from using it to any -advantage. - -The detective shoved it forward into the pit of Willard’s stomach, but -the newcomer managed to retain his hold. He guessed that Grantley -merely meant him to keep Nick busy in front, in order to allow of a rear -attack; and such was the case. - -While the detective was occupied with Willard, Grantley stole behind him -and plunged his hand into Nick’s pocket, in search of the automatic. - -The detective was obliged to let go of the chair and clamp his hand on -Grantley’s wrist. He was still feeling very groggy as a result of the -punishment he had recently received, and a thrill of apprehension went -through him. - -Grantley’s hand was already deep in his pocket, grasping the butt of the -weapon; and there was nothing about the wrist hold to prevent the -criminal from turning the muzzle of the automatic toward his side and -pulling the trigger. - -Incidentally, Nick foresaw that he could not hope to hold the chair with -one hand. Willard would twist it away and turn it upon him. - -He was right. That was precisely what Willard did. Nick let go just in -time to escape a sprained, if not broken wrist, and dodged back. - -In order to keep his hand in Nick’s pocket, Grantley was then obliged to -circle about, between the detective and Willard. That saved Nick from -the latter for the moment, and, simultaneously, the detective shifted -his hold from Grantley’s wrist to his hand, pressing his thumb in under -the latter in such a way that it prevented the hammer of the automatic -from descending. - -He was just in time, for Grantley pulled the trigger almost at the same -moment. Thanks to Nick’s foresight, however, the weapon did not go off. - -Grantley cursed under his breath, but he had not emptied his bag of -tricks. He suddenly drove his head and shoulders in between Nick’s right -arm and side, and threw his own left arm around, with a back-hand -movement, in front of the detective’s body. - -The move threw the detective backward, over Grantley’s knee, which was -ready for him. At the same time, the criminal, whose right hand had -remained on the weapon in Nick’s pocket, began to draw the automatic out -and to the rear. - -In other words, he was forcing the detective in one direction with the -left arm and working the revolver in the other with his right. It was -manifestly impossible for Nick to stand the two opposing pressures for -long. - -Either he must break the hold of Grantley’s left arm, which pressed -across his chest like an iron band, or else he must let go of the -weapon. - -The former seemed out of the question in that position; and to -relinquish his hold on the revolver meant a shot in the side, which, -with Grantley’s knowledge of anatomy, would almost certainly prove -fatal. - -Backward went Nick’s straining right arm, inward turned the hard muzzle -of the weapon. Grantley was twisting the automatic now, hoping to loosen -the detective’s grasp all the quicker. - -Something was due in a few moments, and it promised to be a tragedy for -the detective. - -Then, to cap the climax, Willard circled about the two combatants, like -a hawk ready to swoop down on its prey, and, seeing Nick’s head -protruding from under Grantley’s left arm, hauled off and let drive with -the chair. - -The surgeon received part of the blow, but Nick’s head stopped enough of -it to end the strange tussle. - -The detective crumpled up, but Grantley held him from the floor and -wrested the weapon from the nerveless fingers. He withdrew it from -Nick’s pocket and put it to the detective’s left breast, determined to -end it all, without fail. - -It was at that supreme moment that Chick charged up and took a hand. - -Nick’s assistant reached Willard first. The latter’s back was toward -him, and he was just in the act of drawing back the chair. Chick’s -clubbed weapon descended on his head without warning, and Willard -pitched forward on his face. - -It was not until then that Chick saw the automatic at his chief’s -breast. There was no time to reach Grantley--not a second to waste. - -The young detective did what Nick and his men seldom allowed themselves -to do--he turned his automatic around again and shot to kill. - -Nick’s own life depended upon it, and there was nothing, else to do. - -The bullet struck Grantley full between the eyes, and the escaped -convict dropped without a sound. - -The battle was over and won. - - * * * * * - -Doctor Hiram A. Grantley--so called--master surgeon and monster of -crime, would never return to Sing Sing to serve out his unexpired term; -but neither would he trouble the world, or Helga Lund, again. - -If the truth were known, it would doubtless be found that Warden Kennedy -heaved a sigh of profound relief when he heard of Grantley’s death. It -left no room for anxiety over the possibility of another hypnotic -escape. - -Doctors Chester, Willard, and Graves were speedily brought to trial, and -they were convicted of aiding and abetting the deceased Grantley in an -illegal experiment in hypnotism on the person of the great Swedish -actress. - -As for Helga Lund, she was a nervous wreck for nearly a year, but -gradually, under the care of the best European physicians, she recovered -her health and her confidence in herself. - -She has now returned to the stage, and Nick Carter, who has seen her -recently in Paris, declares that she is more wonderful than ever. - -He wishes he could have spared her that last humiliating ordeal, but she -is wise enough to know that, but for him and Chick, the man she had -despised would have made his dreadful vengeance complete. - - -THE END. - - -“The Call of Death; or, Nick Carter’s Clever Assistant,” is the title of -the story that you will find in the next issue of this weekly, No. 121, -out January 2d. This story is the first of three, that will deal with a -most remarkable criminal and his associates in crime. - - - - -THE LARGEST LEAVES. - - -The palms are said to be the plants possessing the largest leaves. The -Quaja palm of the Amazons has leaves approaching fifty feet in length by -sixteen feet in breadth. The leaves of some palms in Ceylon are more -than eighteen feet long, and nearly as wide, and are used by the natives -for making tents. The cocoa palm has leaves nearly thirty feet long. In -other families than the palms, the parasol magnolia of Ceylon forms -leaves large enough to shelter fifteen or twenty persons. One of the -leaves, taken to England, as a specimen, measured nearly thirty-five -feet. The largest leaves grown in temperate climates are those of the -exotic Victoria regia, which sometimes reach about seven feet in -diameter. - - - - -The Riddle and the Ring. - -By Gordon MacLaren. - -(This interesting story was commenced in No. 113 of NICK CARTER STORIES. -Back numbers can always be obtained from your news dealer or the -publishers.) - - - - -CHAPTER XLIII. - -HIS SECOND HALF. - - -The rattle of the window shade and the tramping of a number of feet on -the stairs brought Barry to himself with a start just as the unknown put -his finger to his lips and stepped noiselessly back into the shadow. - -“Face round, but stand where you are,” breathed the unknown. - -Lawrence obeyed instinctively, and the next instant the hall door opened -to admit several men. The first was well on in years, with a tall, -splendid figure and a noble, distinguished face. He seemed in the grip -of some great, though partially suppressed, emotion; and, as he caught -sight of Barry, he sprang hastily toward him, both hands outstretched. - -“Oscar!” he cried, in a deep, vibrating voice which held a distinctly -foreign intonation. “My dear boy! I----” - -The words died in a queer gurgling sound. One of the men by the door -cried out sharply; another drew his breath through his teeth with an -odd, whistling noise. Then silence--tense, vibrating silence--fell upon -the room as out of the shadows appeared the other man and moved -noiselessly forward to Barry’s side. - -He did not speak or stir after he had taken up his position there. The -two men, so absolutely, unbelievably alike, stood shoulder to shoulder, -motionless as statues, while the seconds ticked away and those who -witnessed the amazing spectacle stared and stared with dazed faces, -unable to credit the evidence of their senses. - -Once only did Barry’s gaze waver from the stunned countenance of the -older man to the other end of the room, where Shirley Rives stood -bending far over the table, her face absolutely white, and her wide, -dark eyes staring at him as if she were looking at a ghost. - -At last a laugh, clear, hearty, and full of mirth, came from the man at -his side, and broke the spell. - -“Rather good, don’t you think, uncle?” the newcomer chuckled, stepping -forward a little. - -“_Gott in Himmel!_” breathed the older man. “You are----” - -“Of course. Don’t you know me? I never supposed that you would be -deceived.” - -With a swift motion, the other caught his hands and drew him over to the -light. - -“Let me look at you!” he exclaimed, speaking German in his agitation. “I -cannot tell! I do not know! I feel as if the whole world had been turned -topsy-turvy.” - -For a long minute he gazed searchingly into the young man’s face, while -the others moved unconsciously closer to the two, Barry quite as dazed -and bewildered as any of them. Suddenly he threw back his gray head and -flung one arm impulsively around the young fellow’s shoulder. - -“You _are_ Oscar!” he exclaimed. “I know it!” - -For a second he was silent. Then he turned swiftly toward the group of -men who had entered with him, and singled out one with his flashing -eyes. - -“What does this mean, Baron Hager?” he demanded imperiously. “How dare -you play such a trick upon me? It is infamous!” - -It was the man with the beard who stepped forward; and Barry saw that he -was trembling in every limb, while beads of perspiration stood out on -his forehead. - -“Your highness!” he gasped. “I--I---- It is not a trick. I--have never -seen--this man before.” - -“Never seen him! Nonsense! I’m not a child. How did he get here? What is -he doing in this house? Who is he?” - -Hager stared helplessly at Lawrence, and then his bewildered eyes -wandered dazedly to the smiling double. His emotion was so great, -however, that he did not speak, and it was Brennen who answered. - -“I can tell you that,” he said shortly. “He’s the man we’ve been -trailing all over New York, thinking he was your nephew. He’s the man we -decoyed here to-night for you to meet. If he ain’t the right one, we’re -a lot of suckers, that’s all.” - -“He’s my second half, uncle,” interposed the young man, smiling. “It -isn’t everybody who can have such a good one, you know.” - -“Is that the truth, Oscar?” demanded the older man. “Has he been passing -himself off for you all this time?” - -“Exactly, and he did it wonderfully well, too. I owe him an everlasting -debt----” - -The sentence was never finished. As he stood there, unable to make head -or tail of what was being said, Barry had a horrible conviction that -somehow his curiosity was never going to be gratified. He had come as -close as this several times before to learning the name of the man he so -resembled, and he was determined to take no more chances. - -“My dear fellow,” he burst out, unable longer to contain himself, “if -you owe me anything at all, for Heaven’s sake pay me now by telling me -who on earth you are.” - -“You mean to say you do not know!” exclaimed the older man -incredulously. “Why, such a thing is preposterous.” - -The laughter vanished suddenly from the nephew’s face, and, stepping -swiftly forward, he caught Barry’s hand in a firm grip. - -“I beg your pardon, Mr. Lawrence,” he said contritely. “I’ve been -fearfully discourteous. Please forgive me, and do not think me -ungrateful for what you have done. I am Prince Oscar, of Ostrau, and -this is my uncle, the Grand Duke Frederick.” - - - - -CHAPTER XLIV. - -THE RIDDLE SOLVED. - - -In the brief silence which followed there came to Barry’s ears the sound -of a quick gasp, followed by a strangled sob, from the girl at the -table. And in that second, as he stood holding his own hand, as it were, -and gazing into his own eyes, he realized with a rush of joy that this -was what had troubled Shirley. They had told her that he was the crown -prince of an Old World kingdom, and it was small wonder she had been -dismayed. - -“I am more than happy at meeting your highness at last,” he went on the -next instant, gazing into the pleasant face of the young foreigner. Then -his lips twitched and curved into an involuntary smile. “It seems as if -I had known you all my life instead of a scant ten minutes.” - -The prince laughed delightedly. From the very beginning he had -apparently enjoyed the situation to the full, and there was a total lack -of royal dignity and stiffness about him which was refreshing. - -“It’s the greatest lark I ever had,” he chuckled. “Haven’t you begun to -see the fun of it yet, uncle?” - -The grand duke sighed. “Are you never going to be serious?” he asked -sadly. “Do you mean to go through life taking everything as a jest, -content to remain an irresponsible boy always?” - -The prince straightened suddenly, and there came into his handsome face -an expression which was very far from boyish. His jaw squared, and he -pressed his lips firmly together as he stood regarding his uncle out of -clear, level, uncompromising eyes. - -“It isn’t any use, uncle,” he said abruptly. “My mind is made up, and -nothing you can say will induce me to change.” - -The grand duke’s lips parted as if he meant to speak, but closed swiftly -again, and he darted a significant glance at the man with the beard. - -“Be so good as to leave us, baron,” he said curtly. - -Baron Hager gave a start and turned hastily toward the door, followed -closely by his two compatriots and the American detectives. Brennen -brought up the rear, moving with evident reluctance, as if there were -numberless points about the affair he was pining to have cleared up. - -“By the way, Mr. Brennen,” Lawrence called after him, struck by a sudden -thought, “whatever you’ve done to my two friends, I’d be obliged if you -would undo it at once.” - -The detective nodded sourly and closed the door behind him. As he -disappeared, Barry realized that it would be more graceful for him also -to leave the room; but, when he made a move to do so, the crown prince -caught him by the arm. - -“Please stay,” he said quietly. “Mr. Lawrence is my friend, uncle. -Whatever you say before him will go no farther.” - -“As you will,” returned the grand duke indifferently. He hesitated an -instant, his eyes fixed pleadingly upon his nephew’s face. “Oscar,” he -went on swiftly, “your father, the king, has sent me to beg of you to -come home to your family, your people, your country. He wants you. He -needs you. You cannot realize the nature of the step you have taken. You -acted hastily--heedlessly. For the honor of the throne, Oscar, I beg of -you--I beseech you--to give up your harebrained scheme and resume again -the place in life to which you were born.” - -There was no gleam of mirth in the face of the crown prince now. It was -firm and serious and a little white; his eyes were fixed unfalteringly -on his uncle’s face. - -“And what of my wife?” he asked quietly. - -A flicker of pain flashed into the grand duke’s face and was gone. - -“There are ways----” he began hesitatingly. - -“Ways!” broke in the prince swiftly. “What ways? You mean a morganatic -marriage, I suppose. You know that is impossible, even if I would -consider it. She is an American girl.” - -Lawrence, standing a little behind the duke, listening with an interest -he made no attempt to conceal, noticed how the faint, foreign -intonation--it could hardly be called an accent--in the young man’s -voice was intensified in a moment of excitement. - -The grand duke did not answer at once, and, when finally he spoke, there -was a hopeless undercurrent in his voice which showed clearly that he -had little hope of his argument meeting with success. - -“Under the laws of Ostrau,” he said in a low tone, “a woman without -royal or noble blood cannot marry into the reigning family. She, -therefore, has no standing as your wife. In Ostrau the bond does not -exist, and you would be free to marry your father’s choice, Princess -Olga, of Gratz.” - -The young man’s lips curled and his eyes narrowed. “Never!” he exclaimed -impulsively. “She’s ten years too old and a thousand times impossible. -Luckily,” he went on more composedly, “we’re in America, not Ostrau, and -I propose to stay here. I’m beastly sorry, uncle, for your sake. We’ve -always been great pals, and ever since I was a kid I’ve loved you more -than my august father. I’d do anything else for you gladly, but this is -impossible. I’ll renounce my rights to the succession for myself and my -heirs forever. Let Maurice be crown prince, can’t you? He’ll make a lot -better king than I ever could. All I want is to be let alone; to be free -to live my own life and be happy in my own way. Ostrau stifles me with -its foolish, cramping etiquette and narrow bigotry. It’s ruined your -life, and I’ll take precious good care----” - -He broke off abruptly as the grand duke groaned and covered his face -with one hand. - -“Forgive me, uncle!” the prince begged. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I -forgot myself. But you understand,” he went on softly, “because you, -too, have suffered.” - - - - -CHAPTER XLV. - -THE GIFT OF THE RING. - - -The older man did not answer at once, and Lawrence, feeling as if he had -no right to listen, moved slowly backward till he touched the table. -Then he turned suddenly and looked down quizzically into Shirley’s eyes. - -“You--understand?” he whispered gently. - -She nodded swiftly. “What must you think of me?” she murmured a little -unsteadily. “I didn’t believe it at first, but they swore it--was true; -and, somehow, things--fitted in, and--and---- Do you think you’ll ever -forgive me?” - -One hand stole across the table, and the strong brown fingers closed -over the tiny gloved ones. - -“Did you really think I wouldn’t?” he questioned softly, gazing into her -wonderful eyes with an expression in his own which swiftly brought her -long lashes sweeping down on crimsoning cheek. - -“Well?” he queried as she made no answer. - -“I--I hoped,” she faltered. - -It was the voice of the grand duke, weary, sorrowful, but full of an -unmistakable resignation, which broke the silence. - -“I cannot blame you, Oscar,” he was saying quietly. “I have clung to the -old traditions because there seemed no other way--perhaps I lacked the -courage to do what you have done--and my life turned to dust and ashes. -I love you too well ever to wish to see that happen to you. Have you -any--plans?” - -“Heaps of them, uncle,” the prince answered jauntily. “I’m going to -become an American citizen. I think I’ll buy a big place in the South -and turn farmer. I’ve money enough.” - -The two at the table saw the old man wince slightly, but in an instant -he had recovered his composure. - -“What a thoroughbred he is!” Barry whispered admiringly. He had -apparently forgotten to release Shirley’s hand, but she seemed too -absorbed to notice the lapse. - -“There will be no difficulty on that score,” the duke remarked. “Your -estates belong to you personally, and their sale should net a million or -more.” - -Suddenly he gave a start and arose swiftly to his feet. - -“I beg your pardon, Oscar,” he ejaculated, in chagrin. “My preoccupation -has made me forget entirely my desire to meet your--wife. This lady----” - -He glanced at Shirley with a courtly inclination, just in time to see -her snatch her hand from Barry’s grasp and spring to her feet with -blazing cheeks. The prince saw it, too, and his eyes twinkled. - -“I have not the honor,” he said quietly. “My wife is just recovering -from an illness which has been the cause of most of these complications. -Mr. Lawrence, will you be so good as to present us?” - -With swiftly recovered composure, Shirley acknowledged the introduction -with a naïve dignity; and, when they had all seated themselves again, -the prince begged for a recital of Barry’s adventures. - -“Extraordinary and most diverting,” he said when the tale had been told. -“Perhaps a little more amusing in retrospect. My dear Mr. Lawrence, I -feel more than ever indebted to you for what you have done. When I -started the ball rolling last Monday morning I had no conception of the -strenuous experiences I was bringing upon you. You see, I had left -Ostrau secretly with only Watkins, my American secretary, who has been -with me for years, but I was almost certain of being followed. I hoped, -however, that we should succeed in losing ourselves somewhere in the -South or West before our trail was picked up. I should explain, perhaps, -that my wife and I were married in Paris, where she was spending the -winter. She was Miss Isabel Patterson, of Baltimore. We sailed under -assumed names; or, rather, under a name I used in England during our -exile----” - -“I beg your pardon,” Lawrence put in, “but was it Nordstrom?” - -“Why, yes. How did you know?” - -“I met a friend of yours who had known you at Cambridge. He was an -Englishman named Brandon.” - -“John Brandon!” exclaimed the prince. “Of course! We were great friends -during my university days, but I haven’t seen him in years. You see, Mr. -Lawrence, our family was exiled from Ostrau until the timely revolution -three years ago which restored my father to power. I was brought up in -England, and, as we were very poor, indeed, I went through Rugby and -Cambridge under the name of Nordstrom, which is one of our family names. -It would have been absurd for a poverty-stricken individual to be -strutting about as a prince. What times we had!” he sighed. “I think -they were the happiest days of my life--until now. But I am digressing. -Unfortunately for our plans, my wife was taken ill just as we were on -the point of leaving New York. I knew that the pursuit would be keen, -and, unless attention was diverted from us to another quarter, we would -be hunted out no matter how carefully we hid ourselves in New York. -Considering my wife’s health, I was most anxious to avoid anything of -that sort until she was recovered. - -“I was at my wit’s end,” he continued, “and could think of nothing until -one day, while waiting with Watkins in the Pennsylvania Station for a -physician from Philadelphia, whom I knew well, and who had promised to -come on, I suddenly caught sight of you. I was simply stumped, of -course; then, like a flash, I realized that here was the way out, which -I had hitherto been searching for in vain. It took but a moment for me -to outline a plan to Watkins, arrange my bill case, and place the ring -in it. You see, that had been given me by the Rajah of Sind when I -toured India two years ago, and I had scarcely had it off my finger -since then. If an added mark of identification were needed, that would -amply suffice. - -“The plan worked to a charm. When Hager, my father’s chief of police, -arrived, he was completely taken in. He kept on your trail day and -night, and my purpose was accomplished. We had taken rooms in what I -considered the most out-of-the-way locality in New York. When I went out -it was always after dark and wearing a semidisguise. In spite of every -care, however, fate seemed to be against me, and caused Hager to choose -this very house for the culmination of his little drama. My rooms are -just back of this. Through the door I heard all that passed; and, when I -found that my uncle was expected, I realized that the better way would -be to end everything at once and be free from further persecution. I can -only close, Mr. Lawrence, by offering my most sincere apologies for the -annoyance to which you have been subjected.” - -“There is not the slightest need of that, your highness,” Barry returned -hastily. “I am more grateful to you than I can say, for without your aid -I should probably have missed--the greatest happiness of my life.” - -“You are good to say that,” the prince said simply. “I am very happy.” - -“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Lawrence asked, as they arose. - -The crown prince looked slightly puzzled. “I’m afraid I do not -understand.” - -“This,” explained Lawrence, drawing the emerald ring from his finger and -holding it out. “It belongs to you, you know.” - -“Not at all. That is yours. It is part of the bargain, and I am sure you -have earned it.” - -“But it’s worth a king’s ransom,” Barry protested. “I really can’t take -it. You have given me more than enough without that. Besides, it is much -too rare a jewel for me to be wearing.” - -The prince darted a mischievous glance at Shirley Rives. - -“Perhaps there is some one else who might be willing to relieve you of -its care,” he murmured, his fine eyes twinkling. - -There was no mistaking his meaning, and the girl dropped her lids, while -a rush of color crimsoned her lovely face. The next instant, however, -she lifted them again and looked bravely into Barry’s questioning eyes. - -“Perhaps--some day,” she murmured. - - -THE END. - - - - -RUBY LIGHT. - -By BURKE JENKINS. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -QUICK ACTION. - - -At a quarter to five in the afternoon, when the thing really began as -far as I myself was concerned, I happened to be swinging my legs from -the stringpiece of the town dock of Port Washington. How and why I had -been sitting there some two hours, in a hot, summer sun, will develop in -due course. Sufficient now to state that my frame of mind was one of -general disgust at the world’s handling; this coupled to a dark-brown -ennui. - -Quite listlessly I had been running my eye over a trimlined launch of -the “day-cruiser” type that was moored, bow and stern, to a float below -me. For the most part, I love boats far more than people; so it must -have been something out of the ordinary that made me shift my attention -suddenly from the craft itself to the two men who manned it. - -One, a clean-limbed, undersized man of about forty, much spattered with -gilt braid and buttons, I sized up as the captain. He stood on the float -alongside the diminutive wheelhouse, steadying the slight roll of the -craft with his left hand, while his right constantly sought his watch in -nervous consultation of the exact time. - -“A precise and pompous bit of a fool!” I remember grunting to myself. -But my gaze happened that instant to travel toward the other. - -This fellow hadn’t quitted the boat, but busied himself lumbering, I -thought, about the engine, which was situated in the after cockpit. A -loosely knit chap he was, whose fingers were all thumbs. - -And I, who fairly caress a bit of machinery, wondered how in thunder -such a clumsy cuss could ever have got the position as engineer of so -trim a little vessel. - -But the little skipper again caught my attention, for he suddenly -snapped his watch case and quickened to attention. His gaze never left -the road that led to the wharf, which, by the way, was the way to the -railroad station. - -An auto, quick-driven and skidding slightly in the dust, rounded the -turn by the shore hotel and took to the wharf’s planks. - -Now, how it was that my eyes whirled from this decidedly new interest -back to the heavy man in the boat I don’t know; but I am certainly glad -now that I did glance that way on that particular second. - -For, with a furtive look at his little chief, the fellow made a quick -step forward and to starboard. It was but a second that his hand groped -under a locker; but, when he withdrew it, his face lighted to a grin. He -checked it quickly, though, as he slid back to his old position before -the flywheel. - -The car groaned to sharply applied brakes directly alongside the gangway -that led steeply down to the float, for the tide was low. - -Immediately a man popped from the limousine, and handed down a closely -veiled woman; then he slipped a coin to the chauffeur, who forthwith -made off. - -Somehow or other, I was getting mighty interested by this time; though, -of course, none of it was any of my business. - -The woman wore a dream of a little, high-heeled boot, which showed -prettily enough in her terror of the sharply sloping plank. But the man -steadied her firmly to the float, where he nodded curtly to the little, -gilded captain. - -“Well, we made it, Stevens,” I heard him say. - -Then he called his own bluff at being the gentleman, for he lighted a -cigarette, drawing his match across a polished mahogany panel of the -wheelhouse. I could see the little skipper fairly writhe. He had my -sympathy; for, owner or no owner, right is right. - -“New rich, and thinks he’s the real thing,” I muttered to myself, little -realizing how soon I was to assume another rôle. - -With but a moment’s delay, the girl reached a seat on a transom of the -midship half cabin; and, just before joining her, the man drew out a -handsomely jeweled watch. - -“No time to spare, eh, Stevens?” he inquired, a bit anxiously, I -thought. - -Stevens deftly cast off the moorings and took his position at the wheel. - -“I’ll get there,” said he, as he jangled the bell for “ahead.” - -The lumbering engineer leisurely grasped the starting lever and drew her -up to compression. The coil buzzed viciously, but no cough told of -explosion. - -His surprise was a fine imitation of the genuine as he cranked once -more, but without result. The engine lay dead. Then I saw a sharp look -of dismay flash across the features of the man I reckoned to be the -owner. - -“What’s the matter?” he snapped, in a tone far removed from his former -easy one. - -“Don’t know,” grumbled the engineer surlily. “She wuz runnin’ all right -comin’ over.” - -He went on with his futile cranking. Then the girl leaped to her feet -with a little cry, the wind whipping aside the veil a moment. Her face -decided me. If there was anything I could do to take away that look of -anxiety, almost terror, I’d do it. And, furthermore, I was pretty sure I -could. I knew I’d be taking a chance; but I didn’t believe it was much -of a one; and, besides, I like to take chances. - -By the time I had reached the boat’s side, Stevens had thrust aside the -burly fellow, and was trying to start the balky machine himself, while -the owner chafed in bitterest impatience. - -I caught his eye. - -“I think I can start her,” I said simply. - -He must have read something in my tone that conveyed more than the usual -talk of the “butter-in.” - -“You understand engines?” he queried sharply. - -“Enough to know that they need gasoline to run with,” I replied; and, -before even the engineer knew what I was up to, I entered the cockpit, -and strode quickly over to the tank locker, where I found my guess -correct. I was no longer taking any chances. - -A stopcock which I had counted upon finding there was there, and turned -off. - -“I saw him turn it off a moment before you arrived,” said I. - -I know now I should have been a trifle more diplomatic, and I might well -have regretted it; for the fellow had me nicely by the throat in the -time you could count three. - -But aid came speedily. - -With a neatness and dispatch with which I would never have credited his -build, the owner shot out a white-knuckled fist, and caught the engineer -prettily beneath the cheek. - -There’s a spot that effects the result nicely. - -Grip relaxed, he toppled over the rail. The next second he bobbed to the -surface, gurgling stertorously. - -I had regained my breath from the strangle by this time. - -“Here, quick!” said I, springing for the stopcock and turning it on -full. “I’ll run her for you.” - -I had caught the glitter of a constable’s star in the small crowd that -had collected on the dock from nowhere. I realized that explanation -would delay. - -And little Skipper Stevens proved a man of quick action, too; for this -time the bell jangled with a result. - -I threw her over, and she caught on the first spark. - -Two minutes after, we shaved the angle of the channel and headed -straight for Plum Beach Point. - -That engine, given fuel, certainly was a sweet-running piece of metal. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -A BIT OF ACTING. - - -For the next ten minutes I was too busy tuning the launch up to her best -performance to pay much attention to the others, or even to realize the -oddity of my position. - -I refilled the grease cups, which I found had run pretty low, screwed -them down to a good tension, and gave a look at the sight tubes of the -automatic oiler. - -Of course, the engine, new to me, was a bit of a problem. Twice she -choked--not to a stop, but enough to make Stevens cast an apprehensive -eye back at me. A quarter turn of the needle valve did the trick, -though; and, as though she were chortling at a mischievous prank, she -settled down to a steady, mile-eating gurgle. - -Finally--it was just about as we were quitting the harbor for the open -Sound--I found time to flop myself down upon the engineer’s transom and -size up the situation. - -Stevens, the skipper, was no problem at all. I had him right on my thumb -nail. His like are to be encountered the yacht world over. A -punctilious, efficient commander of any kind of a pleasure vessel from -two hundred feet to twenty overall length. No great head on him, but a -perfect wonder at taking orders and obeying them. And dumb as a bivalve. - -The owner bothered me far more; partly, as was natural, from the fact -that I didn’t get one really fair-and-square look at him. He stood -squarely beside Stevens at the wheel, his watch in his palm, and his -eyes never off the water ahead. This I did notice, though: his head, in -the intensity of his gaze, had a trick of settling forward and down. Not -a crouch, but buzzardlike and scouring. - -Somehow I caught myself fancying that I’d recognize that attitude when I -saw it again. Events, however, will prove that I wasn’t quite as smart -as I thought I was. - -But it was as though I had been saving up for the verdict that hit me -fairly between the eyes when I finally settled covert attention upon -the girl. Sudden is no name for it. - -Once clear of the harbor, and with the freshing, southerly breeze -whipping smartly, she flung aside the disgusting veil with a pleasure as -apparent as my own at having her do it. And, eyes dancing to the delight -of it all, for a bit of spray was flying, she fairly made me a comrade -with the smile of a gleeful child. - -Now I’m not going to waste any words as to whether such things ever -really do happen or not. I’m not even going to slack up my yarn, -describing the how, when, or where. - -The fact remains; and it was real fact. I dug it then and there from -somewhere ’way down in some inner chink of me where I’m only half awake. -But I never yet was fooled from that quarter. - -That little girl there on that plush-covered transom was born to be my -wife. - -And the funniest thing about it all was that it seemed to be the most -natural thing in the world. There was an “of-courseness” to it that was -fairly delicious; and the fact that she herself hadn’t waked to it quite -yet was immaterial. - -The bell brought me back to machinery, and suddenly. I checked her to -half speed, and peered ahead for the cause of it. We were just abreast -Stepping Stones Light, just to north’ard of it, and with plenty of clear -water ahead. I saw nothing to justify any change in speed, especially -since up to this time both men had seemed most keen to get every -revolution possible out of her. - -I noticed, however, that they were scanning closely a column of black -smoke that was slowly moving along the farther side of Throgg’s Neck. -Finally a long puff of white steam showed against the darker smoke, and, -some seconds thereafter, the hoarse toot of a whistle told me that a -steamer, whose hull was invisible beyond the land, was approaching the -turn at Fort Schuyler. - -Stevens and the owner whispered a moment, then the little skipper -jangled the bell once more for full speed. But even then I didn’t tumble -to the thing. I don’t believe yet that I am much to be blamed for -stupidity on this score, however; for the next few minutes certainly -were crowded with the unusual. - -I have often since marveled at the nicety with which Stevens had -calculated the relative distances. He certainly knew his book when it -came to helmsmanship. - -For, at the moment that the bluff bows of the steamer, rounding the -point and keeping to the channel, straightened out to lay a course to -Execution Rocks, then it was that Stevens edged our course sharply to -port. - -This, in turn, he followed by a frantic pawing of the wheel’s spoke to -starboard. It was some of the finest acting I had ever seen; and no one -in the world would have suspected him of being other than a distinctly -panic-stricken helmsman whose steering gear had suddenly gone all to -pot. - -And it really was dangerous. I can still see that black wall of steel -plates towering above us; for he had actually had the nerve to whirl the -launch within ten feet of the steamer. - -In the glance I shot up to the vessel’s rail, I could see the frightened -eyes of several passengers; and, above them, in the farther distance of -the bridge, an officer was fingering a bell pull hesitatingly. - -Whether the owner saw his indecision, I don’t know, but his action -seemed to point to that effect; for he suddenly grabbed our whistle -cord, and sent shriek after shriek in a perfect panic of nervousness. -And all this time Stevens was clawing the wheel. Then suddenly he gave -me “full speed astern.” It was enough to wrench the gears’ bearings -apart; but I swung her to it. And we groaned and churned astern. - -Then it was that the officer on the bridge did signal his engine room, -and he sang out in clear bass: - -“What’s the trouble? Can’t you work clear of me?” - -I could well understand the disgust that was only slightly veiled; for -yachtsmen certainly are a nuisance to the professional seaman, -especially the new-fledged power boatmen. - -But it was an imperative tone that met him. - -“The steering gear’s clean gone!” bellowed Stevens, in a volume I could -never have credited to his diminutive frame. “Drop us a ladder.” - -And, without so much as a hint of hesitancy, the little fellow shoved a -boat hook back at me with the word to keep by the steamer, which had not -yet quite lost her way. - -I believe it was really because he caught sight of the girl, who was -naturally terrified. Anyway, the officer shot out a sharp order, and -next instant the coils and rungs of a rope boarding ladder came swaying -down to us. - -“Come on, Stella,” chuckled the owner, taking her arm and trying hard to -repress his gleeful satisfaction at the way things were going. “Keep a -stiff upper lip, girl, and hold tight. There’s really no danger, and you -are as spry as a monkey. Up you go!” - -And up she did go with an agility and grace that only a man who knows a -rope ladder could appreciate. - -The owner followed her immediately; and, the instant he was fairly on -his way to the deck of the steamer above us, I got my next surprise. - -“Shove off!” snapped Stevens, in a sharp whisper to me. - -Almost mechanically I did so; for I was in that particular daze of -unreality we are all familiar with. - -“Full speed ahead!” came the next quick command; and I threw the gear -from the “neutral.” The cogs caught nicely, and we gathered instant -motion. - -And in less than a minute thereafter we were speeding away, the steering -gear working like new. - -In my day I have known more conventional ways of taking passage to -Portland, Maine. - -For I read the steamer’s name on the stern. I had sailed on her once -myself. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -BY CHANCE. - - -Not one word could I get out of that tight-mouthed little cuss, Stevens. -He didn’t even deign to look my way till we had rounded the couple of -points, and he was approaching the float of a hotel dock that ran -alongside the ferry slip at College Point. - -But what he did say then was rather complimentary, and I liked the smack -of it. We had come alongside the float; and both of us, at his nod, had -quitted the launch; and he stood there steadying her with his left hand. - -“Well,” said he heartily, as he stuck out his right for a shake, “you’re -a good man at obeying orders.” - -I felt something crumple in my fist as I withdrew it. A crisp twenty it -proved to be, and I realized that I had served my purpose. - -“That yellow boy was pretty easy earned; eh, lad?” said he, with a -chuckle. “And with a little excitement thrown in, eh? But a closed mouth -spills no mush. So I guess I’ll run her back myself.” - -And blow me if the little, old rascal didn’t pop right into the craft, -start her with the skill of an old hand at the game; and, steering with -the side lever with which the boat was fitted, he sped away, directly -retracing the course we had just covered. - -I strolled shoreward along the wharf toward the hotel porch, where I sat -myself at one of the tables and ordered a steak. And, while it was -cooking, I tried to dope out a little of the mystery. - -Fifteen minutes of hard concentration brought me but one point; and that -point, as I have already said, had already flashed to me on an -intuitional second. I mean about the girl. Beyond my sudden love for -her, nothing showed up to me at all. I simply couldn’t make head or tail -to a thing that had transpired since I had been sitting with my grouch -back there on the town dock at Port Washington. - -And now, perhaps, it’s the best time to explain the reason for the -grouch, and let out how I happened to be there at all. - -Briefly stated, I had been discharged the day before. Fired, -canned--call it what you will; and for what I now recognize to have been -an entirely good and sufficient reason. - -But in the hot-headed asininity which I had not the sense to master in -those days, I had flared up to the quiet, but firm, remonstrance of my -chief. It had been a case in which I had exceeded my orders, and I -thought he ought rather to have applauded my zeal. - -So that; in that blurting, blubbering fashion of the man who can’t keep -his temper, I had let out a string of heated nonsense. - -Whereupon Chief Garth’s tone had raised not a whit. - -“Well, Grey,” said he slowly--too slowly, “I’m sorry, though I was -afraid it would have to come. I had hoped it wouldn’t; but I simply -cannot brook such repeated displays of inability to control your temper. -I might waive the personal note; but I must not lose sight of the fact -that such a trait, unmastered, makes you less a man to be relied upon.” - -I started to interrupt him, but a gesture checked me. - -“You remember,” said he, holding his same evenness, “that I told you the -very first day you entered the detective service that orders were -orders, and that I was distinctly a martinet. Now, I like you, and I’m -not chary of admitting that you’re a very valuable man to me in many -ways. But----” - -And here I had been fool enough to whirl into my usual, youthful burst -of independence. As I look back upon the scene, the chief was too -moderate; though I did flounce from his office finally, with my pay to -date and walking papers. - -But now--what a change one look into certain eyes can make--I sat there -on that hotel porch and realized what an ass I was. And, by the way, -such a realization proved most salutary. - -For, next instant, I made up my mind to eat “humble pie.” I wouldn’t -waste a minute in finding the chief. I would make a straightforward -apology and ask him to reinstate me. - -Of course, it was long past office hours, but I decided not to let my -resolution cool. - -I knew where Chief Garth lived, and could count pretty well upon his -being at home; for that little wife of his held him snug enough by her -whenever he wasn’t personally engaged on an important case. - -So I bolted my meal, and caught the ferryboat which landed at East -Ninety-ninth Street. I even took a taxi to his house, so firmly did my -new resolution grip me. - -Finally we whirled the last corner, and brought up sharp before Chief -Garth’s house, which was brilliantly enough indicated by a Welsbach -light in the vestibule. - -It showed the number plainly, and, just as I stepped from the cab and -paid my fare, it showed more. For, at this moment, the door opened. I -heard a word or two exchanged; then the door closed, and a man came down -the stoop as hurriedly as a slight limp would let him. - -He passed close by me as I was about to mount the steps, and I -experienced that uncomfortable sensation of having seen him some time, -but no more. Such a haunting inability to spot my man is one of my worst -points as a detective. - -“Anyway,” thought I, “whoever he is, he’s in about as bad a temper as -I’ve ever seen ’em.” - -With that I rang, and was admitted by a negress. It wasn’t another -minute before I was ushered into the chief’s den. - -He was pacing up and down, puffing violently at a fat cigar. From his -first word, I knew him well enough to know that he was anything but -displeased at my showing up. - -“Well, Grey,” he grumbled, “what’s the lay now?” - -Five hours before I would have snapped back a sharp retort and seen him -to the deuce, but things glowed different now. - -“Why, chief,” I replied, with a laugh, “I just came back because I think -you’ll want me now. You see, I’ve sworn off--losing my temper.” - -He stopped short before me and shot me a glance. - -“You mean it?” said he. “Because if you do,” he went on, “I believe you. -The one thing that has always struck me about your past offenses -is--that you never have promised to do better in the future. And, -strange as it may seem,” he chuckled, “that’s the very reason I put up -with you so long.” - -“Well, I mean it now,” said I simply. - -My tone must have carried complete conviction, for his manner abruptly -changed. - -“Sit down,” said he suddenly, and we faced each other over his broad, -flat-top desk. “It just happens at this moment that I do need you, Grey; -and need you pretty bad, too; for I’ve just been put in line with a -thing that already got beyond Pawlinson, of Washington.” - -“Yes?” said I, catching fire at the interest. - -“The affair was important enough to warrant Pawlinson taking the trail -himself; and it certainly has led him a pretty dance during the two days -he’s been at it.” - -I had never met Pawlinson personally, but his position among us was the -byword of efficiency. I glowed to the compliment the chief was -indirectly paying me. - -“What’s the exact nature of the case?” said I. - -“That’s just it,” muttered Garth disgustedly. “What we’ve got to go on -is the slimmest ever. Pawlinson’s so cursed secretive that he hasn’t -even let out what the fellow’s wanted for. - -“Fact is, Pawlinson was here; just this moment gone. You must have -passed him coming in. But for all he’s been pretty definitely shaken off -the trail, he won’t let out but this much: - -“A man answering this description”--here the chief tossed me the usual -paper of height, color of hair, et cetera--“arrived off quarantine -aboard the _Benzobia_ yesterday at daylight. Pawlinson had one of his -men waiting for him when the vessel docked; but in some outlandish way -the chap managed to get the skipper to let him go over the side and into -a gasoline launch that hove alongside while they were slowing down just -abreast of Liberty. - -“Now Pawlinson gets kind of hazy as to just what happened directly after -that,” continued the chief; “nor does he give me any particulars as to -how he ever managed to get a berth as engineer of the little launch. But -how he lost the job he told me fully enough; and he sprinkled the -narrative with plenty of cuss words. It seems that while the launch was -waiting for the fellow at the town dock of Port Washington, Long Island, -that----” - -“Port Washington!” I cried sharply. - -“Why, yes--know the place?” He, of course, couldn’t understand my -excitement. - -“And do you mean to tell me that it was Pawlinson himself whom I saw -that fellow shoot so prettily over the rail with a punch that would do -your heart good?” Things were fitting together for me now. But they -certainly were not for the chief. - -“What the deuce are you talking about, anyway?” he said. “I hadn’t told -you about that yet.” - -“I know, I know,” I jumbled on; “but what does Pawlinson say of the -girl? What had she to do with the thing, anyway?” - -“The girl? For Heaven’s sake, Grey, how much do you know about this -thing?” - -But he got little satisfaction from me then, for a sudden realization -swept over me. - -I caught up the paper describing the man who was wanted, and crowded it -into my pocket. - -“Explain later, chief,” I blurted, making for the door. “I’ll wire you -the minute I’ve got him located. Meanwhile wire me money when I call for -it, will you?” - -“Aye, aye, boy!” agreed the chief, understanding thoroughly that even -his curiosity must wait. He was a big enough man to know when to play -second fiddle. - -So I caught the midnight train to Boston which connected with the -Portland express. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -TWO PANETELAS. - - -Upon quitting Chief Garth’s door and trotting down his stoop, I walked -briskly westward in the direction of a square which I counted upon -getting another cab; for, expecting no further use of him, I had -dismissed my former driver. I found two cabs, both taxis, and -immediately stepped toward the nearest. - -“Grand Central Station!” said I to the fellow dozing on his seat. - -He came to with a start just as I was yanking open the door. - -“Hold on a minute, mister,” stammered the man, “I’m engaged.” - -I glanced at his “clock.” Sure enough, his “vacant” sign was down. He -was waiting for somebody. - -“Bill, yonder, ain’t got no fare,” offered the driver, thumbing in the -direction of the car beyond. “He’ll carry ye.” - -And next minute I had given directions to “Bill,” who cranked forthwith; -and, speed having evidently showed in my attitude, we turned the corner -almost on two wheels. But my ear caught the whir of the first car as it, -in turn, was started. - -I might have saved myself some anxiety had I stopped to think that, near -midnight as it was, the streets were free from traffic. There is -something in me that delights in speed, and that ride was a little slice -of joy in itself. We reached the station in plenty of time for my train. - -I broke the twenty-dollar bill I had so easily earned that afternoon, -and secured my berth before boarding the Pullman. - -Some impulse prompted me to turn my head just as I was passing through -the gate entrance to trains; and the station, at this hour, was deserted -enough for me to note the fact that another man stood before the Pullman -ticket window, his back toward me. Once aboard the sleeping car, I -slipped a quarter into the eagerly expectant palm of the dusky -attendant, and said: “Make up number seven, George,” and then passed up -the aisle into the smoking room. - -I had been on a steady and momentous jump since the minute I had clapped -my eyes on the launch at a quarter to five. I must run over things a -bit; and I reasoned that the two dark-hued panetelas that still remained -unbroken in my upper vest pocket would help. - -What I wondered at was my own attitude in the matter of this chase. -Where did I stand? Here I was, without any data whatever as to what he -was wanted for, virtually throwing myself into the chase of a man who -had shown himself closely related in some way to a girl whom I had, in a -most freakish and outlandish manner, fallen in love with. Why? - -Honesty with myself soon told me that it wasn’t alone professional duty -that was whirling me toward Portland. - -But what of Pawlinson? It must be big game, or he wouldn’t be connected -with it, let alone personally engaged in sleuth work. - -Then, again, how was I going to figure with Pawlinson when he discovered -that I, who now was engaged as his own hireling through Chief Garth, was -the selfsame man who had just thwarted him by having him punched -prettily over the side of a launch? - -I was really not much to blame in this; for I had done the thing -unwittingly enough; but such things aren’t easily brooked. In spite of -myself, though, I couldn’t help chuckling at the memory of the incident. - -I had never seen Pawlinson before; but I stood in as much awe as the -rest of the cubs at his name; and it did me a bit of inward good to -think of the merriment I could make in recounting the thing to them -later. - -I knew little of the history of the man; but the little I did know was -out of the ordinary. - -To begin with, nobody had ever heard that such a man existed until a -short three years before; but then he had suddenly sprung into the most -dazzling limelight. - -At that time the entire country had been bewildered and infuriated by a -succession of daring safe-crackings. To make it worse, these jobs were, -in nearly every instance, characterized by what appeared to be the most -useless bloodshed. The perpetrators had seemed to go out of their way to -use pistol and dirk. - -Watchmen were found viciously stabbed; clerks, working late, had been -murdered; and all these crimes had been committed in small communities -and upon small dealers. - -From chagrin, the public had quickly turned to indignation and storm; -for the detective force had proved themselves absolutely powerless and -inefficient. - -Then had come Pawlinson. - -He entered Washington headquarters one day, and quietly informed the -chief there that he wanted to enter the detective service. Asked his -credentials and former experience, he as quietly stated that by the end -of that week he would bring in the entire gang that was puzzling them -all. - -And he did. Since which his place had been established, a place not a -little enhanced by the very mysteriousness of him; a mysteriousness -which I had heard he was at no pains to explain or eliminate. - -“Well”--I concluded my soliloquy finally--“here I am mixed right up--and -closely, too--with Pawlinson himself.” - -But my duty was clear enough. I had told the chief I would wire him when -I had located the man; and so, not only my own word, but his, as my -chief, was out. - -“That much I can do, anyway,” I grunted to myself, dropping the end of -my second cigar into the cuspidor. “Beyond that we shall see what we -shall see.” - -With that I quitted the smoking room and sought my berth. As I lurched -at a rolling gait down the aisle toward my number, for we were hitting -up a lively clip, I noticed that all the berths had been made up by this -time. - -Then I seemed to recall that, in my abstraction, I had been vaguely -conscious of a stop some half hour before; and I now reasoned that it -was Stamford, Connecticut, or thereabout. - -In the aisle I stripped off coat, vest, collar, tie, and shirt; then, -just before ducking under the heavy curtain for the berth, and for no -real reason that I yet know, I happened to sweep my eye up and down the -car from one end to the other. And I could vow to this day that I saw -the curtains of both number nine and number three drawn vigorously in -toward the respective berths. - -But really, down deep, I am of a care-free nature, and I was asleep in -three shakes. - - -TO BE CONTINUED. - - -CAUGHT IN THE COILS. - -The following adventure which befell Speke, the great explorer, forms -one of the most thrilling episodes in a life full of perils and escapes. -Captain Speke himself tells the tale. - -It appears that he, with his comrade Grant, left the camp together one -day to hunt game for their supper. Their first victim was a fine young -buffalo cow. - -Soon after, they had a prospect of still better fortune. An enormous -elephant with particularly fine tusks was observed within range. Speke -quickly brought his rifle up to his shoulder, took a careful aim, and -fired. - -A moment after, as he was watching for the effect of his shot, he heard -a startled exclamation from the attendant negroes, and looked round. - -To his horror, he saw a huge boa constrictor in the very act of darting -down upon him from a branch overhead. - -In less than a second--indeed, before he had time to stir a muscle to -spring aside--the beast had shot out of the heavy foliage and caught him -in a coil. Speke put out all his strength to get clear, and at the same -instant, glancing round for help, saw Grant standing a few paces away, -with rifle leveled. - -“In a moment,” he continues, “I comprehended all. The huge serpent had -struck the young buffalo cow, between which and him I had unluckily -placed myself at the moment of firing upon the elephant. A most singular -good fortune attended me, however, for, instead of being crushed into a -mangled mass with the unfortunate cow, my left forearm had only been -caught in between the buffalo’s body and a single fold of the -constrictor. The limb lay just in front of the shoulder, at the root of -the neck, and thus had a short bed of flesh, into which it was jammed, -as it were, by the immense pressure of the serpent’s body, that was like -iron in hardness. - -“As I saw Grant about to shoot, a terror took possession of me; for if -he refrained, I might possibly escape, after the boa released its folds -from the dead cow; but should he fire and strike the reptile, it would, -in its convulsions, crush or drag me to pieces. - -“Even as the idea came to me, I beheld Grant pause. He appeared fully to -comprehend all. He could see how I was situated, that I was still -living, and that my delivery depended upon the will of the constrictor. -We could see every one of each other’s faces, so close were we, and I -would have shouted or spoken or even whispered to him, had I dared. But -the boa’s head was reared within a few feet of mine, and a wink of an -eyelid would perhaps settle my doom; so I stared, stared, stared, like a -dead man at Grant and at the blacks. - -“Presently the serpent began very gradually to relax his folds, and, -after retightening them several times as the crushed buffalo quivered, -he unwound one fold entirely. Then he paused. - -“The next ironlike band was the one which held me a prisoner; and as I -felt it, little by little, unclasping, my heart stood still with hope -and fear. Perhaps, upon being free, the benumbed arm, uncontrolled by -any will, might fall from the cushionlike bed in which it lay! And such -a mishap might bring the spare fold around my neck or chest--and then -farewell to the sources of the Nile! - -“Oh, how hard, how desperately I struggled to command myself! I glanced -at Grant, and saw him handling his rifle anxiously. I glanced at the -negroes, and saw them still gazing, as though petrified with -astonishment. I glanced at the serpent’s loathsome head, and saw its -bright, deadly eyes watching for the least sign of life in its prey. - -“Now, then, the reptile loosened its fold on my arm a hair’s-breadth, -and now a little more, till half an inch of space separated my arm and -its mottled skin. I could have whipped out my hand, but dared not take -the risk. Atoms of time dragged themselves into ages, and a minute -seemed eternity itself. - -“The second fold was removed entirely, and the next one easing. Should I -dash away now, or wait a more favorable moment? I decided upon the -former: and with lightning speed I bounded away toward Grant, the crack -of whose piece I heard at the next instant. - -“For the first time in my life I was thoroughly overcome; and, sinking -down, I remained in a semiunconscious state for several minutes. When I -fully recovered, Grant and the overjoyed negroes held me up, and pointed -out the boa, which was still writhing in its death agonies. I shuddered -as I looked upon the effects of its tremendous dying strength. For yards -around where it lay, grass and bushes and saplings, and, in fact, -everything except the more fully grown trees were cut quite off, as -though they had been trimmed by an immense scythe. - -“The monster, when measured, was fifty-one feet two and a half inches in -extreme length, while round the thickest portion of its body the girth -was nearly three feet, thus proving, I believe, to be the largest -serpent that was ever authentically heard of.” - - -POWERFUL BEGGARS. - -The Chinese are more charitable than they have been given credit for. -They give freely, especially on occasions of public or private -rejoicing. - -Beggars are numerous everywhere, and are organized into a sort of union -or guild, with a master at the head, whose word is law to his mendicant -subjects, and whose laws are as unchanging as those of the Medes and -Persians. No man can be buried without a large share of “funeral baked -meats” falling to the lot of the beggars’ guild. - -No person is allowed to marry by this powerful union unless he or his -friends pay a tribute to the king of beggars, in the shape of a big -feast and a sum of money. - -The last varies from one to five hundred dollars, according to the means -of the tribute payer. The feast must consist of as good food as is -served to the wedding guests. - -On this the beggar king and his cabinet dine, with as much gusto, if not -as much ceremony, as the Emperor of China when feasting his ministers. -In almost every city you will find a beggars’ guild. The subjects of any -one king vary in number, according to the size of the city. These kings -of China’s submerged millions, whose territories consist of streets, -gutters, bridges, and doorsteps, and whose subjects have been won for -him by poverty, accident, vice, and disease, exercise a patriarchal sway -and dispense a rough and primitive justice. The office is not -hereditary, but elective, and tenable for life. - -The beggar king lives in a house that is almost a palace, compared to -the miserable shelter that his subjects have to be contented with. Not -infrequently he grows rich from the tribute paid him by the people of -the upper crust of society. He has powerful means of enforcing his -demands. He has means of annoyance which the police are unable to put a -stop to. - -Suppose a man about to marry refuses to recognize the claim of the -beggar king. His wedding procession will be blocked by thousands of -lame, halt, and leprous beggars, who will ease their minds by -imprecations such as are unfit for a bride to hear, and will be sure to -bring ill luck on the married couple. Else this unseemly rabble will -besiege the house of the unlucky bridegroom, and go through a similar -performance. It is worth a large sum to be rid of such pests. - -Even the magistrates, autocrats as they are in their own realms, respect -the office of the beggar king, and never offend him if they can avoid -it. - -Ordinarily beggars go from house to house and from shop to shop with a -bowl in hand, into which is poured the handful of rice, or is dropped -the copper coin of charity. They are irrepressible, and will not take -“no” for an answer. - - -QUEER THINGS TO EAT. - -At the department of agriculture in Washington, hidden away in an -obscure corner, is an odd sort of exhibit of queer foods eaten by -out-of-the-way people. There is a loaf of bread made from the roasted -leaves of a plant allied to the century plant. Another kind of bread is -from a dough of juniper berries. These are relished by some tribes of -Indians, while others manufacture cakes out of different kinds of bulbs. -The prairie Indians relish a dish of wild turnips, which civilized -people would not be likely to enjoy at all. In the great American desert -the “screw beans,” which grow on mesquite bushes, are utilized for food. -Soap berries furnish an agreeable diet for some savages in this country, -while in California the copper-colored aborigines do not disdain the -seeds of salt grass. Also in California the Digger Indians collect pine -nuts, which are seeds of a certain species of pine--sometimes called -“pinions”--by kindling fires against the trees, thus causing the nuts to -fall out of the cones. At the same time a sweet gum exudes from the -bark, serving the purpose of sugar. The seeds of gourds are consumed in -the shape of mush by Indians in Arizona. - -In addition to all these things, the exhibit referred to includes a jar -of pulverized crickets, which are eaten in that form by the Indians of -Oregon. They are roasted, as are likewise grasshoppers and even slugs. -These delicacies are cooked in a pit, being arranged in alternate layers -with hot stones. After being thus prepared, they are dried and ground to -powder. They are mixed with pounded acorns or berries, the flour made in -this way being kneaded into cakes and dried in the sun. The Assiniboines -used a kind of seed to stop bleeding at the nose. Among other curious -things used for food are acorns, sunflower seeds, grape seeds, flowers -of cattails, moss from the spruce fir tree, and the blossoms of wild -clover. The exhibit embraces a number of models representing grape seeds -enormously enlarged. It is actually possible to tell the species of a -grape by the shape of the seed. There is a jar of red willow bark which -Indians mix with tobacco for the sake of economy. This, however, is only -one of a thousand plants that are utilized in a similar fashion. - - -WHY HE WHISTLED. - -Old Lady (to grocer’s boy)--“Don’t you know that it is very rude to -whistle when dealing with a lady?” - -Boy--“That’s what the boss told me to do, ma’am.” - -“Told you to whistle?” - -“Yes’m. He said if we ever sold you anything we’d have to whistle for -our money.” - - - - -THE NEWS OF ALL NATIONS. - - -Honor for German Heroes. - -The German kaiser has conferred on the pioneer company of a Lorraine -battalion the right to wear the skull and crossbones on the cap, a -distinction monopolized by the Death’s Head Hussars. The action was -taken at the instance of the crown prince, who reported the valor of the -pioneers in building bridges and constructing earthworks under dangerous -circumstances. - - -Austrians and Germans Foes. - -Until recently the Austrians and German prisoners of war were kept -together, but the Russian authorities had so much difficulty in -preserving order among these nationalities that to prevent fights they -have separated them in the hospitals. In Saratoff the Austrian wounded -petitioned the authorities to separate them from the Prussians. - - -Mystery Man Fights for Estate. - -“J. C. R.,” the man of mystery, whose case has puzzled the country since -he was found at Watseka, Minn., in June, 1907, has stepped from a -comfortable home in Chicago into a tragic drama, the central figure in -which is a wealthy rancher of near Dickinson, N. D., whom he claims as -his father and from whom he is seeking to obtain $100,000 as his share -of the estate. - -No stranger story has ever been told than that of “J. C. R.,” the man -who couldn’t remember. In 1900, it is now claimed, he was Jay Allen -Caldwell, obstinate son of a former Chicagoan. Then he was struck on the -head with a spade. - -For a dozen years thereafter, without memory, without knowledge of his -own identity, and without means of caring for himself, he wandered -about, known only as J. C. R. - -A few months ago a Chicago woman identified him as her missing son, Earl -Iles, and J. C. R. gained a name and a home at the cost of his quondam -fame. Bereft of his chief attributes of interest, the man and his little -tragedy dropped from sight. - -The suit which his lawyers filed early this week against A. J. B. -Caldwell, whom he claims as his father, has been dismissed, but the -lawyers say this was permitted in order to get more evidence, and it -will be filed again within a few weeks. - -Dispatches from Dickinson, the scene of the tangle, disclose the fact -that seventy-five residents of the town, former neighbors of the -Caldwells, identified J. C. R. as the missing son three months ago. -Caldwell reiterates his charge that J. C. R. and his Chicago backers are -conspirators, but Caldwell’s daughter has identified the man of mystery -as her brother. - -Mrs. H. E. Pitkin, 895 East Oakwood Boulevard, Chicago, who identified -J. C. R. last summer as her long-lost son, Earl Iles, has disappeared -from her home. - -And to complete the complexity of the enigma, J. C. R., the mute object -of the whole identity tangle, is being kept in hiding by those who are -backing his claims for $100,000 worth of North Dakota farm lands now -held by the supposed father. - -Friends of the elder Caldwell alleged that it was Mrs. Pitkin’s early -knowledge of Caldwell, junior, that gave her the information on which -she satisfied the authorities with her identification of the man as her -son. They charge that it was through this information that Mrs. Pitkin -gained the custody of the man, which later resulted in the promotion of -his fight for the $100,000. - -It appears that for the last couple of months the mystery man has been -in Dickinson. In the first part of that time he was busy asking -questions of old residents--or, rather, writing them, for, along with -his other afflictions, he is a mute. - -The answers to the questions seemed to satisfy J. C. R. He filed suit -against Caldwell. Simultaneously papers were filed making it impossible -for Caldwell to transfer his lands in whole or in part. - -Dickinson rubbed its eyes and sat up with a start when news of the suit -filtered through town. The “dummy,” who had been going up and down Main -Street with his pencil, his paper, and his ever-increasing questions -about old times, had come into the open and announced himself as no -other than Jay Allen Caldwell, old man Caldwell’s son. - -No one who was willing to admit the fact knew what had happened to Jay. -He had just disappeared one day. Not a word did he send home in all the -ensuing months and years. His father, after waiting what seemed a decent -time, produced notes aggregating $70,000. The notes were signed with the -name of Jay Allen Caldwell and were drawn in favor of his father, who -went into court, got judgment, and took his son’s land in satisfaction. - - -Londoners Get “Zeppelin Neck”. - -“Zeppelin neck” is the form of malady now prevalent in London. This is -the popular term for stiff necks, commoner than ever now because so many -Londoners are craning their necks scanning the heavens for the enemy. - -Westminster Abbey has been insured for $750,000 against damages from -air-craft attacks. - - -Schoolboy Makes Record With Corn. - -The largest per-acre yield of corn ever grown in Becker County, Minn., -of which Detroit is the county seat, was raised during the season of -1914 by a thirteen-year-old schoolboy. Becker is one of the most -northerly of Minnesota counties, and its farmers have always declared -that it was useless to attempt corn-raising because of the cold climate -and short seasons. But thirteen-year-old Hilmer Carlson, who lives on a -farm three miles from Detroit, grew an acre of corn this year that -yielded 96¼ bushels to the acre. - -It was the first experiment for the Carlson boy in corn-raising. He was -induced to enter by a prize offered by the Minnesota Society of -Agriculture to the boy who should grow the most bushels of corn on an -acre of ground. Without the experience of father and friends, who never -had grown corn, the boy followed the instructions of the agricultural -society, planted the Minnesota No. 13 variety, and grew a field of -stalks that were twice as high as his head. It husked 95 bushels rough -measure. When the farmers of the community heard of the yield, they -declared it could not be true; that some deception had been practiced. -An expert of the State Agricultural College then came to the Carlson -farm, measured both field and yield and found the exact yield to have -been 96¼ bushels per acre. State authorities declared the yield to have -been by far the biggest per acre ever grown in the county. Ten Becker -County boys went into the acre-yield corn contest. The boy who took -second place grew 74 bushels to the acre. - -Indicating the unpopularity of corn-growing in Becker County, the State -board records show that of over 160,000 acres crop area in the county -only 4,880 are given over to corn. - - -Veteran Fulfills Vow. - -Sixty years ago, when, a lad ten years old, he fell from the limb of a -giant tree and broke a leg, forcing him to spend his birthday in bed, -Carl Grossmayer, of Evansville, Ind., vowed that on his seventieth -birthday he would blow the tree from the ground. Grossmayer, now a -veteran of the Second Regiment of Indiana Civil War Veterans, kept his -vow by blowing from the ground the stump of the tree. - -When he met with the accident, Grossmayer lived on a farm of 180 acres. -Now that area has shrunk to a house and three lots. The elderly -veteran’s only relative, a son living in St. Louis, came to this city to -see his father keep his sixty-year-old vow. A stump was all that -remained of the oak, but Grossmayer drilled under it, and, with a charge -of dynamite, blew it from the ground. - - -Placer Mining in Heart of City. - -The gold-mining industry, both placer and quartz, in most instances has -been for long so closely associated with the wilderness that the average -man instantly conjures up pictures of ice-bound mountain passes, or -glaring, sun-scorched stretches of desert, when he thinks of it. To such -places his imagination turns where men daily and hourly must face -hardship and danger in order to win the precious metal. - -Yet in the city of Edmonton, Canada, since the outbreak of war, some -thirty “grizzlies” have been at work on the banks of the Saskatchewan -River. Here, within half a block of the city’s main street, and always -with the sound of its traffic in their ears, nearly a hundred men daily -shovel and sluice for gold. - -The bars of the Saskatchewan River in the early days and as late as 1900 -were worked. Many prospectors at that time made from three to ten -dollars a day. Of late years, however, mining of this kind has been -abandoned, though a large dredge, working the bars of the river, has -proven a paying proposition. - -The river runs directly through the city. With the outbreak of war and -the possibility of large numbers of men being out of employment, the -city council suddenly turned their attention to gold mining, which -offered returns right in the heart of the city. Within its gates are -to-day a large number of old mining men. Men who, after going through -the Klondike rush, settled here. Most of them are to-day wealthy and -retired. But some half dozen of them offered their services as tutors. - -A number of grizzlies, so commonly used in the working of river bars and -other placer-mining propositions, were constructed and for a while they -gave instructions as how to work them. About a hundred men soon went to -work. Though the highest daily clean-up so far has been seven dollars, -the majority of the workers are making from one to two dollars a day. - -The workmen are from all classes of society. Old-time sourdoughs work -next to new-come English immigrants. Two college students, working their -way through a nearby university, put in their off hours shoveling and -panning. An out-of-work literary man and an out-of-work actor here are -working a claim together. - -The mining game has always been marked for its tragic side. The stories -of men made suddenly rich overnight by some fortunate strike has been -told in a hundred stories; but seldom is the other side mentioned, the -story of quick-flung-away wealth that went almost as rapidly as it came. - -Working slowly, toilfully, with the mark of old age upon him, in this -diggings within the heart of the city is at least one man who is a -living representative of this sad side of the game. His name is Tim -Foley. Ten years ago he sold his third interest in a quartz mine in -northern Ontario for $40,000. To-day he toils strenuously on the river -bank, his great hope, as he himself expressed it, to clean up three or -four dollars a day. - - -Stage Lines Still in the West. - -It has been many years since stage lines were the chief mode of -transportation across Kansas, and had regular time-tables and rate -schedules, as the railroads have at the present time. But there are -still several stage lines in Kansas, and the railroads are publishing -the schedules for these lines in their regular list of connections, as -they do in the more Western States, where stage transportation is still -common. - -Along the Union Pacific and the Rock Island lines in northern Kansas, -the Missouri Pacific through the center of the State and the Santa Fe in -southern Kansas, there are still connecting stage lines which operate as -regularly as the railroad trains. The building of the railroad from -Garden City north to Scott City on the Missouri Pacific and then to -Winona on the Union Pacific has caused several stage lines to go out of -business. The building of the Colmor cut-off in southwest Kansas has -caused the abandonment of several stage lines that reached the towns in -the railroadless counties of the State. - -There are two regular mail stage lines operated in Shawnee County, one -connecting Dover with the Rock Island and another connecting Auburn with -the Santa Fe. Both are only eight or nine miles long, but they carry -mail and passengers to the railroads. - -The Santa Fe “connecting-line” table shows stage lines connecting with -its trains at Syracuse, Lakin, and Coolidge to points in the extreme -southwest corner of the State not reached by rail. The Union Pacific has -half a dozen stage lines listed in its tables in Kansas. These lines -connect with the Missouri Pacific on the south or the Rock Island, or -another branch of the Union Pacific on the north, touching several -inland towns and saving traveling men long detours if they attempted to -make the trip by rail. From Grainfield to Gove City there is a regular -stage line, as Grain field is on the railroad while Gove City, the -county seat, is twelve miles away. - -The stages have comparatively low fares and haul almost as much baggage -free as does the railroad. The stage trips in Kansas are no longer the -picturesque outings of former days, as there are none of the old -stagecoaches left with a six- or eight-mule team and a driver with a long -whip and a fine command of “mule-killing” language. All the stage lines -in Kansas are motors now, one or two in the southwest part of the State -having real motor trucks for baggage, express, and freight, and the trip -is made almost as rapidly as the trains, unless a tire blows up. - - -Life-term Prisoner Gains Freedom - -When C. J. Livering, life-term prisoner, sent up on the charge that he -poisoned his wife in Louisville, Ky., eight years ago, walked out of the -Eddyville State’s prison under parole, it was to enter his own -manufacturing establishment, made possible by his own industry and -incentive genius, as he invented a patent while in prison that may net -him a fortune. - -His parole followed the declaration of the judge who sentenced him of -his belief in Livering’s innocence. Honorable H. S. Barker, president of -the State University, was the court-of-appeals judge at the time. In -addition to the judge’s opinion, Commonwealth Attorney Huffaker, of -Louisville, says he believes that if a man who filed an affidavit had -been called, he would have testified to hearing Mrs. Livering threaten -to take her own life. - -An effort was made at the trial to show that a woman was in love with -and jealous of Livering and was responsible for the story that Livering -had fixed up a suicide note in imitation of his wife’s handwriting, had -given his wife strychnine tablets as medicine and then went to his farm, -hurrying back in time to place the suicide note and poison before -calling any one to the scene. - -Livering testified that he was on his farm, twenty-five miles away, when -his wife phoned him to come home, and that he found her dead. A druggist -testified that Mrs. Livering bought strychnine tablets. The suicide note -was found on the dresser. The coroner’s jury returned a verdict of -suicide. - -It was two years later when the woman’s story resulted in Livering’s -conviction. - - -Machine Comes to Telegrapher’s Aid. - -Telegraph operators throughout the country are showing keen interest in -a device perfected by Walter P. Phillips, of Bridgeport, Conn., for the -purpose of rapidly handling commercial messages and press reports. -Phillips is an old-time telegrapher and newspaper man and an inventor of -wide fame. He was the originator of the “Phillips Code,” used by -newspapers. Operators from all parts of Connecticut gathered at -Bridgeport to watch the demonstration of the new device. - -It was shown that the invention will allow an operator receiving -messages or news dispatches to regulate the incoming flow of telegraphy -as fast or as slow as he may desire; to stop it altogether and go out to -lunch, resuming business at increased speed upon his return, and -catching up with the machine upon which the messages or news has been -continually recording itself in impressions of dots and dashes on a tape -awaiting reproduction. What the invention will do is to double or treble -the number of words that can be sent over a single wire and do it -without requiring that the operators learn anything more than they now -know. - -The result is brought about by adding to each office a set of very -simple instruments. At times when there is no need of hurrying matter -forward on the wires, the rapid system can be cut out through shifting a -plug. The wires are then used in the ordinary way, sending messages -directly by the key. As a result it is considered that the system is one -of value principally to telegraph companies or those using leased wires. -The general public, however, will benefit through the prompter sending -of messages and doing away with the delay so often experienced when -there are wire troubles and capacity is reduced below normal. - -In the new system the messages or reports to be sent are recorded in -raised telegraphic characters on a strip of paper. This paper is run -through a reproducing machine, the sounds being repeated at the other -end of the wire and being taken down by typewriter or hand. The sending -operator is able to vary the speed to suit himself, is able to stop it -at any point and pull it back, if there is need of repeating. The -superiority of the invention over the old system is said to lie in the -reading and sending. It is in this, telegraphers say, where the greater -number of mistakes occur. The ear of a trained operator is found to be -more accurate than the eye and also faster. - - -What a German Officer Saw. - -From the diary of a German petty officer who is fighting in France, -these extracts, as his own experience, are made: - -“On all sides and in front, as well as below in the valley, the red -breeches can be seen swarming in the underbrush. Thus both divisions of -our tenth company find themselves facing apparently overwhelming -superior forces. I myself make a run to where the captain should be. On -the way a trumpeter transmits this order to me: ‘Third column deploy and -continue firing, or, if possible, attack!’ I never ran so fast as I did -then over those stubbles. - -“‘Third column, up! up! Fix bayonets! Right turn, forward, double-quick! -Follow me!’ I cried. Out comes the shining steel from its sheath. I -catch a glimpse of an opening in a garden wall. “This way, through! -Occupy the hedge! Cut loopholes!’ - -“‘What range?’ the men call. - -“‘Range seven hundred! Half right, straight ahead in the poplars, -hostile infantrymen! Range seven hundred! Fire!’ was my reply. - -“Just as we opened fire the enemy comes charging from out the poplars. -Only a few steps they run, and then, as if thunder-stricken, the whole -line of red breeches sinks to the earth. Our aim was good. How quiet the -fallen Frenchmen lie! But soon the hellish racket begins again. In front -of us a machine gun goes ‘tap, tap, tap.’ Whizzing and whirring, the -bullets fly about us. - -“Through an opening the men swarm through to the left! The bravest hurry -on in advance. Five or six hang back till their leader roughly grabs -them and kicks them through the hedge opening. There must have been 800 -rifles or more! A withering fire tells us that the enemy has discovered -our movements. But we return his fire as we run. Many of our men fall. -But, lo! presently the enemy’s fire begins to dwindle and soon dies down -almost completely. There, what is that? In the midst of the enemy’s line -of fire a tremendous pillar of smoke. - -We saw how the French were blown yards high. A terrible thunderclap -reaches our ears. Hurrah! Our artillery! - -“Shell after shell buries itself, as if measured with extraordinary -exactitude in the very midst of the French infantry lines. We follow -this up with our own fast rifle fire. - -“Now we charge forward to where we can plainly see their faces. The -panic of the enemy was indescribable. Our fellows mow them down. And now -a new hail of shrapnel beats down upon them. Again the red breeches -surge back in wild flight. We fire on the retreating enemy in a -cornfield beyond. Many Frenchmen can be seen falling in the gold -cornfield beyond, never to rise again.” - - -Works Sixty Years on Propeller. - -At the age of seventy-four years, James Henry Miller, of Albany, Ore., -believes that the ambition of a lifetime is about to be realized. Sixty -years ago, when he first saw a river boat with a stern propeller, Miller -made up his mind to construct a propeller which would not strike the -water with such resistance. He says that his invention, now virtually -completed, will revolutionize river and ocean navigation throughout the -world. - -The propeller has eight blades, each six feet long and twelve inches -wide, and each working on ratchets, so that the edge of the blade -strikes the water as it enters, falls into propelling position while in -deepest water, and continues to adjust itself as the wheel turns, so -that it emerges from the water edge first. The flat side of the blade -never strikes the water. As the wheel turns, the blades enter and leave -the water with as little resistance as a feathered oar. - - -New Farming in South. - -One Southern landowner has a plan for diversification of crops that -might be followed by many others. He has divided his land into tracts -that rent for $100 a year each. This is about equivalent to two bales of -cotton under the old tenant system. But hereafter no cotton will be -accepted as rent for these tracts. Instead, it will be required in food -crops, according to this schedule: - - 50 bushels of corn $50 - 15 bushels of wheat 15 - 3 bushels of peas 5 -100 pounds of meat 15 - 15 bushels of potatoes 15 - ---- - Total rent $100 - -The landowner in question, realizing the novelty of his plan, proposes -to cooperate with his tenants in getting selected seed. If the scheme is -successful, it will merit a bulletin by the department of agriculture, -to be widely distributed. - - -Florida Sharks That Nurse Their Young. - -The curious piglike habits of the nurse sharks of Florida have been -brought to the notice of the North Carolina Academy of Science by E. W. -Gudger. A third of the circumference of Boca Grande Cay, a small coral -sand island twenty miles west of Key West, is bounded by a gently -sloping rock bottom, on which the water half a mile from the shore is -not more than four or five feet deep. - -On this bottom great numbers of the sharks gather in the sun, play, and -possibly feed. With seldom less than a dozen visible, as many as -thirty-three have been in view at one time. - -They are broad, sluggish, so little afraid that a boat may touch their -fins before they will move, and they lie piled together in a confused -herd, like well-fed pigs in a barnyard. Sometimes three or four swim -aimlessly about. - -They are harmless, with small mouths filled with small pointed teeth, -and, though they are vegetarians to some degree, their chief food seems -to be the young oysters, clams, crabs, and various other crustaceans. - - -Ostrich Farming as a Business. - -James H. Reece, of Joplin, Mo., who has been in California studying the -“ins and outs” of the Pasadena ostrich farm, with a view of giving the -business a try-out in this vicinity, has returned, and has considerable -to say on the subject of the profitable raising of the big birds. - -“Unless you have money to start with,” said he, “you shouldn’t attempt -to go into ostrich farming in the United States for profit. Still, there -are a number of ostrich farms in this country, and not all are failures. -The first ostriches were brought here in 1862 from South Africa, and -between that date and 1886, 120 birds were imported. We have now about -10,000 ostriches with us, nearly all of them American bred.” - -“And,” he continued, “Arizona is the leading ostrich-farming section, -though there are farms in California--the one at Pasadena being probably -the best known of all of them--Texas, Arkansas, and Florida. Something -like two millions of dollars is invested in the industry, not counting -the value of the land. The business pays if the climate is all right and -the birds receive proper care, for the ostrich, though tough, must be -looked after carefully. - -“An acre of alfalfa will support four ostriches with no other food than -gravel and ground bone. A cow will require the same amount of alfalfa, -but at the end of five years she is worth forty or fifty dollars, while -the four five-year-old ostriches are worth a thousand dollars. A bird -will yield a hundred dollars’ worth of feathers a year, besides the -eggs, which, even if they are not productive of little ostriches, bring -a good price as curios. - -“Ostrich plumes vary in price, from ten to one hundred and fifty dollars -a pound, so you see it is worth money to the ostrich farmer, not only to -have good birds, but to keep them in the best condition, for the better -the bird the better the product. - -“It costs about ten dollars a year to keep a bird; that is, to feed it. -The ostrich farm at Pasadena is one of the show places there, and -thousands of tourists visit it every year. Another good feature of the -ostrich is that he lasts so long. None in this country has died of old -age yet, and it is supposed that they will live seventy-five years.” - - -French Story of Bravery. - -A French battalion occupied Mezieres in order to guard the bridges over -the Meuse River. One detachment had hardly arrived at the railroad -bridge when its officer, Lieutenant de Lupel, was informed that a German -patrol was hidden in the station. The French at once attacked and drove -the Germans here and there among the heaps of coal and the buildings. -The French officer followed the German officer into the roundhouse, -revolver in hand, and caught sight of him crouching behind a tender. The -two men looked at each other. Mutual respect and a tacit understanding -sprang up. With fifteen paces between them, each took up a dueling -position. “Kindly fire,” cried the Frenchman, just as his ancestors had -cried at Fontenoy under similar circumstances. The German fired and -missed. Then the Frenchman slowly raised his arm and fired, killing his -opponent. - -He returned to his men, aided them to overcome the Germans’ last stand, -and walked away coolly at the head of his battalion. - - -Nail Snaps from Box to Eye. - -Joseph R. Henderson, proprietor of an Egg Harbor, N. J., poultry plant, -was opening a box when a nail snapped from the box and entered the -eyeball. He was taken to the Atlantic City Hospital. At this time it is -not known whether he will lose the sight of the eye. - - -Woman’s Throw Hits Mark. - -Mrs. Dervin Shumaker, of Jackson township, Pa., noticed a large hawk -feasting on her chickens. Picking up a stone, the woman threw it at the -intruder. The stone struck the hawk on the head, killing the bird. She -took the hawk to a justice of the peace and received forty cents bounty. - - -Man and Dogs Fight Rattler. - -The biggest snake ever encountered near Watonga, Okla., was killed by -Jeff Saunders seven miles north of that town. Mr. Saunders was hunting -coyotes in the cañons when his dogs ran on to the snake, and started the -fight which lasted an hour. After the battle, in which one dog was -killed, the snake was hacked to pieces. Mr. Saunders gathered up the -rattles which had been torn off. There were thirty-six of them. - -The snake showed a disposition to ignore the dogs and fight Mr. -Saunders, and several times he barely escaped being bitten. Mr. Saunders -brought one piece of the snake home with him which measured 6 feet 9 -inches in length, and there were several smaller pieces left on the -battle ground. - - -Honoring the Hero of Peace. - -Sixty-nine acts of heroism have just been given recognition by the -Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, at its annual meeting, through the -distribution of medals and pensions. The commission has awarded silver -medals in fifteen cases and bronze medals in fifty-four cases. Thirteen -of the heroes lost their lives. - -Among the number receiving silver medals is Miss Phoebe Briggs, of -Sacramento, Cal., a student at Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Miss -Briggs saved four girls from drowning. She was walking across the campus -at the college when a toboggan carrying five of her fellow students -coasted onto the ice on Vassar Lake and broke through. One of the girls -came up under the ice and was drowned, but the others grasped the edge -of the ice. Miss Briggs crawled toward the hole, pushing a small sled -ahead of her. Two of the girls in turn grasped the sled and were pulled -to safety. Miss Briggs went toward the hole a third time, but the ice -broke and she fell into water nine feet deep. She pushed the sled down, -and it remained in a perpendicular position, resting on the bottom. She -then got her feet on the sled and supported the other girls several -minutes until a man took them all to safety. - -A silver medal has been awarded to the father of Henry West, a negro, of -Chapel Hill, N. C. West, aged thirty-four, a crossing watchman, died -saving Judson A. Haviland, aged nine, and Charles W. Jones, aged eleven, -from being run over by a train at Asbury Park, N. J. The boys were -driving a pony toward a track on which a passenger train was -approaching. West, who had only one arm, waved a warning to them and -then ran across the track and grabbed the harness beneath the pony’s -head. The pony turned aside and West lost his hold, falling. A step of -the engine struck him, causing injuries from which he died. Neither of -the boys was injured. - -A bronze medal has been given to the father of Henry L. Wyman, of -Moorestown, N. J. Wyman, aged twenty-four, a painter, died attempting to -save G. Allen Seltzer, aged twenty-five, from drowning in Rancocas -Creek, at Boughter, N. J. Wyman waded and swam thirty-five feet to the -distressed man and caught him under the armpits. Wyman kept Seltzer’s -head above water for a time, but both men sank and were drowned. - -To the dependents of three heroes the commission granted pensions -aggregating $1,980 a year and the dependents of seven others who lost -their lives were granted sums totaling $4,700, to be applied in various -ways. Besides the money grants, in twelve cases sums aggregating $21,000 -were appropriated for educational purposes, payments to be made as -needed and approved. In forty-one cases awards aggregating $41,000 were -made, to be applied toward the purchase of homes and to other worthy -purposes. - - -Big Turtle Attacks Southern Fisherman. - -Henry Simmons, of New Orleans, went fishing in Bayou Bienvenue, Miss., -and had the unusual experience of being attacked by and afterward -killing, in terrific battle, a large water turtle. He was fishing from a -pirogue in ten feet of water, and the monster, a hundred-pounder, caught -his line. - -It came to the surface, and bit at the boat, tearing away a large piece -of the prow. It continued to bite at the small craft until it almost -turned over. - -Simmons then reached for his shotgun and shot the monster’s head off. He -carried it to New Orleans, where, with the bitten boat, it is now on -exhibition. - -Just before he shot it, the turtle had raised a heavy paw to strike him. -The experience of having such a vicious monster suddenly rise to the -surface and peer into one’s eyes with such evident determination to -fight to the death, is an awful one, says Simmons. - - -Can a Pup Inherit a Kink in His Tail? - -Deciding that a pup could inherit a kink in its tail from a similar -peculiarity attached to its father, no matter if the wagger did happen -to receive its twist through an accident after the “dad” had reached his -majority, District Court Judge Frank Smathers, after most careful -consideration of the unique problem, awarded Elmer D. Sooy, of Atlantic -City, N. J., a rabbit-hound pup, to which both Sooy and Thomas Hudson, -of Pleasantville, claim ownership. - -During the hearing of the case, Sooy trotted in a putative papa hound, -which had an odd curl in its wagger. Under cross-examination he -testified that the peculiar kink was there because a third-rail trolley -had run over it. The pup happened to have a similar Marcel to its tail. - -Hudson, on the other hand, led in another supposed pop hound, which had -blotches on its flanks identical to those that marked the pup, and said -it was this dog’s offspring. - -It was too much for the court to decide in one sitting, but the next -day, after his honor had spent his evening at home, pondering over -canine spots and tails, Sooy got the pup. - -The animal is worth fifty dollars, but the two men have spent more than -three times that amount in their dispute over it, and Hudson says he -will appeal and spend as much more, if necessary, to win. - - -Gypsies Travel in Auto. - -Nomads of the old days would probably have refused to believe their eyes -if they had seen a gypsy caravan which has just arrived at Worcester, -Mass., from Denver, Col. Instead of traveling in the familiar wagons, -drawn by worn horses, the tribe mounted the wagon tops on big automobile -trucks. On the top, sides, and rear of the two wagons were the tents, -pots, and others things inseparable to gypsy camps, and the dogs -followed as best they could. Needless to say, the journey was made in -record time. - - -Mother’s Appeal Granted. - -Mrs. Mathilda Zoll, of Washington, D. C., is happy in the thought that -when she dies, her final resting place will be beside the body of her -son in a soldier grave in Arlington National Cemetery. Her earnest plea -that permission to this effect be given was granted by Secretary -Garrison, although it is a rule that only the widows of army men may be -buried in Arlington. Mrs. Zoll’s son died a few weeks ago and was laid -at rest in the national cemetery. - -When Mrs. Zoll first made her request, it was refused, but her friends -told Secretary Garrison she did not ask that her name be placed on the -headstone, but would be satisfied to have her body cremated and the -ashes placed in an urn in her son’s grave. The secretary then issued the -necessary orders. - - -Devil Worm Has Eight Horns. - -Mrs. J. B. Lamb brought to the _Leader_ office, at Fulton, Ky., a -formidable-looking worm which she captured on a tree in the back yard of -her home on Carr Street. This monster worm is nearly six inches in -length and longer when in motion. It has eight horns on its head, -curving backward, and is a scary-looking object. It is more than one and -one-half inches in circumference, and is green in color. A little boy -called it a “devil worm,” and, for the lack of a better name, we will -let it go at that. - - -Rancher Bags Bird Maimed in June. - -While mowing hay last June, Abe Bruger, a Cathcart, Wash., rancher, -surprised a mother pheasant and her brood in the tall grass. One of the -flock was overtaken by the mower, which amputated both of its legs. It -escaped to an alder thicket. - -While hunting recently, Bruger winged a pheasant. When he recovered the -bird, both of its legs were missing, a fact which recalled the accident -of the early summer. The bird had become full grown, was in perfect -condition, plump, and, in fact, larger than the average of this year’s -birds taken in the locality. - -The wounds had completely healed, and, nature, in the process of -healing, had developed a substitute for claws in the form of hard scales -at the extremities. - - -Off Year for Peace Prize. - -A report from Christiania says that the managers of the Nobel Institute -have decided to give this year’s peace prize, which amounts to about -$40,000, to the Netherlands government, to be applied toward the support -of Belgian refugees in Holland. - - -Stallings a Brick Mason. - -The Waycross, Ga., _Herald_ is authority for the statement that George -Stallings, the “Miracle Man” of baseball, used to be a brick mason, and -a mighty good one, at Thomasville. Hence, it is not so hard to -understand his remarkable ability to “build up” a team. - - -Missourian’s Strange Pet. - -There are many strange pets in the world, but the one belonging to John -Barnes, of Maysville, Mo., is perhaps as strange as any. It is a giant -blue racer, five feet long, and as large in the middle as an average -man’s arm. Mr. Barnes keeps the snake for the purpose of freeing the -place of mice and other pests. It never molests any one and seems -perfectly tame. - - -War Correspondents’ Troubles. - -Who wants to be a war correspondent? Two American correspondents arrived -at Rouen, France. They had been shifted around the country for days. -They had hay in their hair and sleep in their eyes, and they hadn’t -eaten for years, it seemed to them. Every hotel and boarding house and -joint in Rouen was filled to overflowing. They found their way to -headquarters and placed their journalistic cards on the table. - -“Thank goodness, we’re here at last!” they said. “Tell us----” - -But the major wouldn’t tell them. He wouldn’t even listen to them. - -“For your impertinence in coming here,” he said severely, “you shall -sleep in jail to-night.” - -The correspondents smiled happily and shook hands with each other. - -“It began to look as though we’d sleep under a bridge,” they said to the -major. So he found out about their plight. - -“That being the case,” said he sternly, “you shall not sleep in jail -to-night. You shall take the train for the coast. There are no places -left in the train, but that makes no difference. You shall take it, just -the same.” - -When they got back to London they went to a Turkish bath and slept for -twenty hours before reporting at the office. - - - TOBACCO HABIT - - -You can =conquer it easily in 8 days=, improve your health, =prolong= -your life. No more stomach trouble, no foul breath, no heart weakness. -Regain manly =vigor=, =calm nerves=, clear eyes & superior mental -strength. Whether you chew; or smoke pipe, cigarettes, cigars, get my -interesting Tobacco Book. Worth its weight in gold. Mailed free. - - =E. J. WOODS, 534 Sixth Av. 230 C, New York, N.Y.= - - - - - 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. - -692--Doctor Quartz Again. -693--The Famous Case of Doctor Quartz. -694--The Chemical Clue. -695--The Prison Cipher. -696--A Pupil of Doctor Quartz. -697--The Midnight Visitor. -698--The Master Crook’s Match. -699--The Man Who Vanished. -700--The Garnet Gauntlet. -701--The Silver Hair Mystery. -702--The Cloak of Guilt. -703--A Battle for a Million. -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. -715--The Knife Thrower. -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. -737--The Mark of a Circle. -738--A Plot Within a Plot. -739--The Dead Accomplice. -741--The Green Scarab. -743--A Shot in the Dark. -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. -773--The Metal Casket Mystery. -774--The Great Buddha Beryl. -775--The Vanishing Heiress. -776--The Unfinished Letter. -777--A Difficult Trail. -778--A Six-word Puzzle. -782--A Woman’s Stratagem. -783--The Cliff Castle Affair. -784--A Prisoner of the Tomb. -785--A Resourceful Foe. -786--The Heir of Dr. Quartz. -787--Dr. Quartz, the Second. -788--Dr. Quartz II. at Bay. -789--The Great Hotel Tragedies. -790--Zanoni, the Witch. -791--A Vengeful Sorceress. -792--The Prison Demon. -793--Doctor Quartz on Earth Again. -794--Doctor Quartz’s Last Play. -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. -806--Nick Carter and the Broken Dagger. -807--Nick Carter’s Advertisement. -808--The Kregoff Necklace. -809--The Footprints on the Rug. -810--The Copper Cylinder. -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. -817--In the Canadian Wilds. -818--The Niagara Smugglers. -819--The Man Hunt. - - -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 Kidnapped 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. - - -Dated Nov. 7th, 1914. - -113--French Jimmie and His Forty Thieves. - - -Dated Nov. 14th, 1914. - -114--The Death Plot. - - -Dated Nov. 21st, 1914. - -115--The Evil Formula. - - -Dated Nov. 28th, 1914. - -116--The Blue Button. - - -=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. Postage stamps taken the same as -money. - -STREET & SMITH, Publishers, 79-89 Seventh Ave., NEW YORK CITY - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NICK CARTER STORIES NO. 120, -DECEMBER 26, 1914: AN UNCANNY REVENGE; *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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