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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..eaf7af4 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #68499 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68499) diff --git a/old/68499-0.txt b/old/68499-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index edceb61..0000000 --- a/old/68499-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5259 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Nick Carter Stories No. 143, The -sultan's pearls; or, Nick Carter's Porto Rico trail, 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. 143, The sultan's pearls; or, Nick - Carter's Porto Rico trail - -Author: Nick Carter - -Editor: Chickering Carter - -Release Date: July 11, 2022 [eBook #68499] - -Language: English - -Produced by: David Edwards, Amber Black 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. 143, -THE SULTAN'S PEARLS; OR, NICK CARTER'S PORTO RICO TRAIL *** - - - -NICK CARTER STORIES - -_Issued Weekly. Entered as Second-class Matter at the New York Post -Office, by_ STREET & SMITH, _79-89 Seventh Ave., New York. Copyright, -1915, by_ STREET & SMITH. _O. G. Smith and G. C. Smith, Proprietors._ - - -Terms to NICK CARTER STORIES Mail Subscribers. - -(_Postage Free._) - -Single Copies or Back Numbers, 5c. Each. - - 3 months 65c. - 4 months 85c. - 6 months $1.25 - One year 2.50 - 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. 143.= NEW YORK, June 5, 1915. =Price Five Cents.= - - - - -THE SULTAN’S PEARLS; - -Or, NICK CARTER’S PORTO RICO TRAIL. - -Edited by CHICKERING CARTER. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE MAN WHO WAS LOST. - - -“Man overboard!” - -Nick Carter--known to the captain and crew of the tramp steamer -_Cherokee_ as Sykes, the bos’n--heard this shout, taken up by man -after man, as he lay stretched out on the foc’s’le head, in the early -morning, just as the ship nosed her way into San Juan harbor, on the -northern coast of Porto Rico. - -The thrilling warning that somebody has fallen into the sea, which -always sends a shock through both crew and passengers whenever heard, -does not permit any ordinary person to remain quietly dozing. - -The famous detective was one of the first to rush over to the side of -the ship when the alarm had been given. - -Close by him were his two assistants, Chick and Patsy Garvan, who, in -the rôles of common sailors, had come down to Porto Rico to help him -get back the fortune in jewels which had been stolen from Stephen Reed, -the well-known New York millionaire. - -“Who is it, chief?” asked Patsy, forcing his way to the front. - -“I haven’t heard.” - -“One of the crew, I suppose?” hazarded Chick. - -“No doubt. There is only one passenger on board now, Paul Clayton. It -isn’t he, for there he is, behind you.” - -Meanwhile, under orders from Captain Bill Lawton himself, two life -rings, each with some thirty fathoms of line attached, had been hurled -over in the direction of where the drowning man might be expected to be. - -It was too dark to make out plainly anything in the water, but a sharp -lookout was kept for an hour, until the vessel reached her anchorage -and the “mud hooks” were let go. - -“Well, we couldn’t do any better,” grunted Captain Lawton, through his -shaggy mustache, as he and his big, two-fisted first mate, Van Cross, -stood together on the bridge. “We might have a roll call of the crew. I -don’t know who it was went over. I reckon it wasn’t anybody who might -have become President of the United States, nor nothing like that.” - -The saturnine skipper gave vent to a husky “Haw-haw!” at his own joke, -and Van Cross joined in with an equally raucous guffaw. - -Nick Carter was the only person on board the _Cherokee_ who thought of -a certain possibility which would attach more importance to the falling -off the vessel of the man than its commander had supposed. - -“Patsy!” whispered Nick. “Go to Mr. Clayton’s cabin and see if that -suit case of his, containing the Reed jewelry, is safe.” - -“I can’t see it unless Clayton is there,” objected Patsy. - -“Naturally. But he is there. I saw him go down just now. You may tell -him I sent you to inquire.” - -“Who shall I say? Sykes?” - -“Of course. I have no other name on the _Cherokee_.” - -As Patsy Garvan disappeared to obey his chief, although without -understanding what it all meant, Nick Carter beckoned to Chick, and the -two went down a forward hatch. - -“What’s the idea, chief?” asked Chick. - -“I want to see that the prisoners are secure, Chick. It has always been -difficult to keep John Garrison Rayne behind the bars--except when he -is inside the stone walls of a State’s prison--and I have not much -faith in the place they have him in on the _Cherokee_.” - -“The same about his man French, I suppose?” - -“French is an insignificant scoundrel,” returned Nick. “He is entirely -under Rayne’s influence. I dare say he regrets that he ever was -persuaded to come on this ship--to act as assistant engineer and to do -what he could toward robbing Clayton of the Reed jewelry.” - -“The whole case strikes me as curious,” observed Chick. “To begin -with, the robbery of Stephen Reed was traced directly to Paul Clayton, -the passenger they call Miles.” - -“I know, Chick. But I don’t want that talked about.” - -“Nobody’s talking about it,” rejoined Chick. “Except to you. Of course, -I think enough of Clayton--and his sweetheart, Lethia Ford--to be glad -you are letting him go. But that isn’t all. If there should be any -hitch about the delivery of the loot to Stephen Reed, it might put you -in a bad position.” - -Chick spoke with a gravity and directness that no one else would have -ventured on with Nick Carter. But as the principal assistant of the -great detective he had gained the right to advise with his chief, and -the latter valued his counsel. - -“There will not be any hitch,” answered Nick positively. “Paul Clayton -has kept a constant eye on his suit case ever since we got it away from -Rayne the other day.” - -“Rayne nearly had it, in the engine room, that time,” remarked Chick, -with a shrug. - -“I cannot admit that,” was the detective’s quick negative. “He had -stolen the suit case, jewelry and all, from Clayton’s stateroom, it is -true. Also, he had stowed it away in the engine room. But, unless he -got it off the ship, of what use could it ever have been to him?” - -Chick shook his head dubiously. - -“He’s as cunning as any old-time Indian, and you can’t tell what he -might have done. No wonder they call him the Apache.” - -“He is called the Apache partly because he is so ruthless when pursuing -any object,” said Nick. “Remember that. I don’t believe I ever knew -another white man with quite so cruel a disposition. He neither asks -nor gives quarter. I give him credit for being a fighter. Only, like -the Indian warrior of thirty or forty years ago, he is not satisfied -with merely overcoming his foe. He wants to torture and kill him, too. -But, come on, Chick! We’ll take a look at the door of his glory hole, -anyhow. I don’t suppose it was Rayne who jumped or fell overboard just -now. But I want to make sure.” - -Chick was a few paces ahead of his chief as they turned a corner in a -narrow passage, lighted by an oil lantern swinging from the ceiling, -and it was Chick who exploded in a shout of astonishment and dismay. - -“Chief! He’s gone!” - -“Who?” - -“Rayne!” - -Nick Carter required only one glance at the open door of the confined -space used as a prison cell on the _Cherokee_ to understand that -the man who had gone overboard was really John Garrison Rayne, the -international crook, known as the Apache. - -There were three cells in a row. When not employed as prisons they were -used as storerooms for rope, spare canvas, and similar material. Now -one was full of such stuff, the second was locked, and the third stood -open. - -“Well, it doesn’t so much matter,” remarked Nick Carter, when satisfied -that Rayne had got away. “Of course he dived off the ship and swam to -shore. He may hang about San Juan. But most likely he will get away as -soon as there is a ship sailing that suits him. We have the comfort of -knowing that he failed to steal the Reed jewelry, and that is the main -point, after all. Come on, Chick! We’ll go on deck.” - -Hardly had they got there when they heard Captain Lawton raging -profanely up and down. - -“Six hundred dollars!” howled the skipper. “In good American money! -Took it out of my locker, and had to break a lock that was strong -enough for a jail door! But I’ll get the thief somehow. Mr. Cross!” - -Van Cross, who had been enjoying a quiet cigar, looked down from the -bridge, and, in a surly tone, asked what was wanted. - -“Line up the whole crew and find out first who it was that went -overboard,” growled Captain Lawton. - -“I can tell you that,” put in Nick Carter, in his character of Sykes, -the boatswain. - -“Whoever he is, he got six hundred dollars out of my cabin!” roared the -skipper. “I’ll skin him alive when I get my hands on him. Who is he?” - -“The passenger you shut up for’ard for trying to steal the property of -the passenger you call Mr. Miles,” replied Nick. “He has got out of the -brig, and he is not on the ship.” - -“What?” bellowed the wrathful skipper. “Do you mean to tell me that -lubber has broken out? Who is he, anyhow? He says he is a business man, -and he looks like it. Do you know anything about him?” - -“I think I do,” replied the detective. “I believe he is an ex-convict -named John Garrison Rayne.” - -“John Garrison Rayne?” shouted Lawton. “I’ve heard of that fellow. He -operates all over this continent.” - -“And on others, too,” put in Chick. - -“Come down to my cabin with me, Sykes, and help me go through my sea -chest again. Bring your two men with you. Come on, Cross! I’ll rummage -it from top to the very bottom.” - -That is exactly what they did do. The locker belonging to Captain -Lawton was an old-fashioned affair, such as seamen were more accustomed -to use fifty years ago than in these days. - -They had everything out and in again before the skipper was convinced -that his money really was gone. - -“Cross!” he bellowed. - -The mate stepped to his side, looking at him questioningly. - -“I’m going ashore!” announced Captain Lawton. - -“When?” - -“Now!” thundered the commander. “I’m going to find that lubber who -dived overboard with my money. And, when I get him, I’ll turn him -inside out. Then I’ll----” - -“I wouldn’t,” advised Van Cross. “You have to look after the ship now -we are in port.” - -“You can do that,” interrupted Lawton savagely. “A captain can trust -his first mate to do some things, can’t he?” - -“Sure!” assented Van Cross. “But I don’t believe you’d ever find that -man if you did go after him. Now, here’s this Sykes, who has just said -he knows the man. Why don’t you let him go?” - -“How do I know he’d ever come back?” - -“He hasn’t got his wages, has he?” grinned Cross. “Don’t give him -anything to spend, and he’s bound to come back. Besides, he’s got it in -for that tall, gray-haired lubber himself. I know that from some words -he let drop when he didn’t know I was near.” - -Nick Carter overheard this confab, notwithstanding that it was -conducted in hoarse whispers, and it coincided with his inclinations -exactly. - -He wanted to get ashore, for he was nervous over the way Rayne had left -the ship. - -He knew it was not like the Apache to give up a purpose he had nearly -carried to fruition without fighting it to the end, and he believed -something more would be heard of him before they were out of San Juan. - -It would suit Nick exactly to go ashore, and, as he did not know just -when he would be back, he resolved that he would take at least one of -his assistants with him. - -He was glad when he found that the master of the _Cherokee_ was willing -that he should go. - -“Will you go into the town and see if you can get any trace of that -lubber who jumped overboard, Sykes?” asked Captain Lawton, turning to -him with as propitiatory an expression as his rocky face would permit. -“Just loaf around in saloons and places where you’d be likely to pick -up news.” - -“And if I find the man?” asked Nick. - -“Bring him aboard, and I’ll deal with him,” was the significant answer. -“Once you find him, that will be enough.” - -“How many men can I have with me?” asked Nick. - -“How many do you want?” - -“Two. Give me my two old shipmates. We’ve worked together before, and -I’d rather have them than anybody else.” - -The captain gave a growling consent, and Nick Carter went forward to -get his two assistants. - -“The suit case is all right,” announced Patsy. “I talked to Clayton, -and he said he would not let it out of his hands until he had taken it -to a bank in San Juan.” - -“The wise course!” approved Nick. “We are going ashore--you and -Chick--with me.” - -“Bully! To get Rayne?” asked Patsy. - -“If we can.” - -“Well, you bet we can,” was the confident response, accompanied by a -chuckle of delight at the prospect of some real action. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -A HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE. - - -Nick Carter and his two assistants had been gone since the morning, and -no report had come from them, nor had any one else gone ashore from -the _Cherokee_, when, at about three o’clock in the afternoon, Captain -Lawton told Van Cross he was going to see the agents to whom were -consigned his miscellaneous cargo, so that he could begin to unload in -the morning. - -“Those fellows here would never come to me unless I went to them,” -growled the commander. “They think a tramp steamer doesn’t need to be -treated like a ship belonging to a regular line. Well, I’ll make them -pay for that, too. You’ll see. Cross--you’ll see!” - -He dressed himself in what he called his shore-going toggery, and gave -orders for a boat to be brought around to the foot of the sea ladder, -with four men. - -Captain Bill Lawton had his own little vanities. One of them was to go -ashore in a strange port in state, with four oarsmen to propel him from -his ship to the landing stage. - -As the captain prepared to descend to his boat, he turned to Van Cross -and shook his fist at the town across the harbor. - -“What are you going to do, cap?” asked Cross carelessly. “What have -the people of San Juan done to you?” - -“Done? Some of them have got my six hundred dollars.” - -“You mean that high-toned passenger of ours has it?” grinned the mate. -“You can’t blame the people of Porto Rico for that.” - -“Can’t I?” yelled Lawton. “Well, I do. When I get ashore the police -have got to get my wad back for me. If they don’t, by Cæsar, I’ll raise -a revolution in politics in the town that will put half of ’em out of a -job.” - -It was at this moment that he saw a boat coming up to the _Cherokee_ -in a businesslike way, with a frowning, dignified man in some sort of -uniform cap in the stern, while two fellows, who looked like ordinary -dock wallopers, plied the oars. - -The official in the stern was dark-haired, and wore a heavy black -mustache. He had eyes that seemed to pierce anything at which they -looked. It was not easy to say just what color they were. In some -lights they seemed to be a yellowish green, like an angry cat’s. - -“Hello!” he shouted, in a gruff voice, as he saw Lawton. - -“Hello!” replied Lawton, equally gruff. - -“This the _Cherokee_, from New York?” - -“Yes.” - -“Captain William Lawton in command?” - -“That’s my name.” - -The captain had had an occasional argument with the police of San Juan, -as he had in many other ports, on account of doubtful cargoes. He did -not care for the police on general principles, therefore. - -As this man in the boat, who looked like a lieutenant in undress -uniform, questioned him, he tried to think of anything he had done -against the law in Porto Rico the last time he had been there. - -The man in the boat did not give him much time to think, however. He -told his men to row up to the ladder and make fast. - -They hardly had had time to obey, when he stepped out of the boat, and -with one hand touching the hand rope lightly, as if he did not need its -help, mounted to the deck. - -His eyes seemed to take in everything at a glance, including the crew -and captain. He touched Lawton on the elbow in a peremptory way. - -“Take me to your cabin. I want a word with you,” he snapped. “There is -my card.” - -He thrust the card into Lawton’s hand, and pointed, with an offhand -gesture, to the companionway. The captain read the words on the card -with anything but a comfortable feeling. They were: - -“Detective Lieutenant Sawyer, New York City.” - -That was all, but it was more than enough for the skipper of the -_Cherokee_. He did not know that he ever had seen a detective’s card -before, but he supposed this was the regular formula. - -Only a few moments previously, Captain Lawton had been anxious to get -to the police, to complain about the loss of his six hundred dollars. -Now that there was a detective at his elbow--probably a good one--he -felt nervous. His own record was not clean, and he feared that this -stern-mannered Sawyer might know more than would be healthful for him. - -When they reached the cabin, the detective shrugged his shoulders as he -glanced about him. - -“Lost anything?” he snapped. “Looks as if you’d been making a search -down here.” - -“I’ve lost six hundred dollars.” - -“Stolen?” - -“Yes.” - -“Some of the crew?” - -“One of ’em. A man I signed on in New York, just to help him out. He -was flat broke. This is what he did to me in return. Came down here and -looted the cabin. But I’ll get him! I’ll sure get him! If he’s anywhere -in Porto Rico, I’ll get him.” - -“Don’t you think he was drowned?” - -“No. Some of the crew saw him swimming, and he was headed for shore. It -was early morning, and not light. That gave him a chance to get away, -and he made the shore all right, no doubt.” - -“You only think that, don’t you? You are not sure?” - -“Sure enough to satisfy me,” growled Lawton. “In fact----” - -“Well, that’s no business of mine,” interrupted Sawyer. “I want you to -answer a few questions.” - -The imperative manner of this man from police headquarters, New York, -awed Captain Bill Lawton, in spite of himself, and he prepared to tell -anything that might be asked of him. - -“All right, lieutenant,” he grunted. - -“Have you a passenger on board named Miles?” - -“Yes.” - -“Where is he?” - -“In his stateroom, I believe. He went in there a while ago, and I have -not seen him on deck since.” - -“Is he a young man, who looks as if he might be a sort of society -darling--plenty of money and nothing to do but to blow it in?” - -“That fits him.” - -“Tall, rather light-brown hair, gray eyes, and straight nose?” - -“That’s a photograph of him,” replied Lawton. “You’ve got his -description all right. What about him?” - -“Nothing much.” - -As the detective lieutenant said this carelessly, he took a pair of -handcuffs from the left-hand pocket of his coat and placed them in one -on the right. - -The captain started. This looked like serious business for somebody. So -long as it was not for himself, however, he did not care. Excitement -was pleasant to him, as a rule. - -“What do you want him for?” he asked, in a low tone. “He has kept -himself away from me and the other officers all through the trip. I -didn’t think much about it, but I can see now why it was.” - -“That was the reason,” remarked Sawyer dryly. “He’s charged with -stealing about eighty thousand dollars’ worth of diamonds and other -jewelry from Mr. Stephen Reed, of New York.” - -“What, the multimillionaire?” exclaimed the captain. - -Sawyer nodded. - -“Holy smoke!” ejaculated Lawton. “I heard of that job before I left New -York. But it never struck me that I had the man who did it right on my -ship. Why, say!” he added eagerly, moved by a sudden thought. - -“Well?” - -“I’ll bet it was he who took my six hundred dollars! I’ll----” - -Captain Lawton made a dive across the saloon toward the door of a -stateroom. Sawyer grinned momentarily, straightening his face before -the other could look around. - -“Wait a minute, captain!” he ordered. “Don’t ask him anything about -your six hundred. Leave that to me.” - -“I’d like to take him by the throat and throttle the money out of him,” -hissed Lawton. - -“I dare say. But that wouldn’t be according to law. Let me handle him. -If he has your money, I’ll guarantee that you’ll get it back.” - -“All right!” answered the captain reluctantly. “If I have your word, -why----” - -“Well, you have my word,” was the quick assurance. “I’ll hide behind -this curtain at the foot of the companionway until you bring him out of -his stateroom. He’s a desperate man, for all that he looks so meek in -general, and I don’t want to have a fight here. It isn’t necessary, and -I always like to do my work in a quiet way--when I can.” - -“What shall I say he is wanted for?” asked Lawton, hesitating. - -“Tell him he has to sign a declaration for the customs department. Be -sure you don’t give him a hint that there is anything wrong.” - -“I’m not afraid of him,” snapped the captain. - -“Of course you’re not. I don’t mean that he would hurt you--or me, -either. But he might have a gun handy, and send a bullet through his -own head. That’s all.” - -“I’ll be careful,” promised Lawton, as he went to the door of the -stateroom and knocked. - -Sawyer was behind the sailcloth curtain that protected the saloon from -the wind in bad weather, but he could see everything done from a narrow -chink. - -The door of the stateroom was flung open, and Paul Clayton stood in the -opening, his figure silhouetted against the light that streamed through -the porthole behind him. - -“Custom officer on board, Mr. Miles,” announced the captain gruffly. -“You’ll have to declare any baggage you have. They are particular here -in San Juan.” - -“I don’t see why,” objected Clayton. “We have come from one American -port to another, and have not touched anywhere. It seems strange to me.” - -“It’s the regular thing. That’s all I know. I’ll call the custom -officer. He’ll come down to see you.” - -Paul Clayton turned back into his little cabin, and cast a rather -anxious glance at the suit case on a chair at the back. - -“Very well!” he said, at last. “I’ll stay right here till he comes.” - -Captain Bill Lawton went to the companionway, and, as he ascended, he -whispered to the officer from police headquarters: - -“There’s your man. I’m going on deck.” - -“All right!” - -For a minute--or a fraction of one--during which the still-puzzled -skipper ascended to the deck, Sawyer stood behind the sailcloth -portière. Then he swung out and strode down the saloon with an official -step that no one could mistake. - -He stopped opposite Clayton and looked him steadily in the eye. Placing -a hand on the young man’s shoulder, he said coldly: - -“Paul Clayton! That is your name?” - -“Yes.” - -“I am from police headquarters, New York. You are under arrest.” - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -A POINT FOR THE ARCHCROOK. - - -For the merest part of a second Paul Clayton neither moved nor spoke. -Then his hand shot down to a side pocket and came up with a heavy -revolver. - -The officer had been looking for some such move. He seized the young -man’s wrist and gave it a wrench that caused the weapon to fall -clattering to the floor. - -“That won’t help you,” was the quiet warning. “Don’t resist, because -you will be the person to suffer if you do.” - -“What am I arrested for?” asked Clayton, composing himself with a -tremendous effort. - -“Stealing jewels estimated at about eighty thousand dollars from Mr. -Stephen Reed, of New York City. He is said to be your uncle. We think -we have the goods on you, too.” - -Paul Clayton dropped his head despairingly. To think that, just when -he had been so sure that he could return to his uncle the jewels he -knew now he never had meant to keep, and begin life anew, with no stain -on his name, he had to be arrested by this strange detective, who had -followed him all this way, and seemed to have got to San Juan before -him! - -“Very well!” he sighed. “I’ll go with you quietly. There is nothing -else I can do. I only want to say that Mr. Reed would have had all his -property back as soon as it could reach him by express, and that there -would have been no need for this arrest.” - -“I guess so!” remarked the detective, with an incredulous shrug. “But -I caution you that anything you say may be used against you at your -trial. My advice to you is not to talk.” - -“I have been a fool, I know,” went on Clayton, seemingly unable to keep -his tongue quiet. “But I meant to make good.” - -“Be careful.” - -“I am careful. I have nothing to hide. The suit case holding the -property is over on that chair, in my cabin. On the table is a letter I -have written to Mr. Reed, and which would have been mailed as soon as I -could get ashore. You can read it, and it will convince you that I have -been telling the truth.” - -“You’d better tell that to the judge,” interrupted the officer. - -“I want to tell it to you. I wish you’d look at that letter.” - -“It isn’t necessary. Hold out your hands.” - -In another second the handcuffs were clapped on the wrists of Paul -Clayton. - -For the first time in his life he was a manacled prisoner. A dry sob -broke from his throat. - -It was then, as the officer stepped behind him and placed a hand on the -precious suit case, that a curious change came over the face of the man -from headquarters. - -He bent over the suit case and a grin widened his mouth in so -extraordinary a way that, if anybody who knew him had seen him at that -instant, he would have declared that this detective lieutenant from -New York was none other than John Garrison Rayne, the Apache! - -“This is dead easy!” he muttered. “And it’s good that Nick Carter has -gone off the ship. I’ll take these few things from my innocent young -friend here, and he can get the handcuffs off when Carter comes back.” - -How the scoundrel had contrived to get hold of the semiofficial uniform -he wore in so short a time was his own secret. - -It need only be said that when a man has six hundred dollars in cash -in his pocket, he can get most things he wants, up to the value of his -pile, in San Juan, just as he can in any other busy center. - -At all events, here was John Garrison Rayne on the _Cherokee_, in the -guise of a detective, seemingly carrying everything before him. - -He had completely fooled Captain Bill Lawton, and Paul Clayton had not -the least suspicion that he was anything but what he pretended to be. - -“You will remain in this cabin a prisoner for the present,” he said -shortly, turning to Clayton. “I shall have to go ashore and telegraph -to New York for instructions. Ah, here’s Captain Lawton!” - -The skipper was coming down the companionway. He raised his eyebrows -as he saw that Paul Clayton was standing at the stateroom door, with -handcuffs on his wrists. - -“Nabbed him, eh?” he growled. - -“I have him under arrest,” replied Rayne, with dignity. “If you will -bring a couple of your men to guard the prisoner, I will stay till you -come back.” - -“All right! I’ll get my bos’n, Clegg, and another man,” replied the -captain. “Clegg is the sort of fellow who won’t take any funny business -from anybody. With him and another, your prisoner will be as safe as if -he was in jail ashore.” - -The captain hurried away to get Clegg--who, in the absence of Joe -Sykes, was acting as bos’n. He was glad to do anything he could to help -the officer from New York. - -John Garrison Rayne watched the captain till he disappeared up the -stairway. Then he stooped and picked up the revolver Clayton had -dropped, putting it into his pocket. - -The young man had fallen into a chair at the big table in the middle of -the saloon, and was sitting there, his head resting upon his arms, the -picture of despair. - -The Apache strode deliberately into the stateroom--for he was afraid to -hurry or show any eagerness, lest he should be suspected--and picked up -the suit case. - -As he brought it to the table, he was surprised to find that it was not -locked. - -He opened it and turned out its contents upon the table as if they had -been a heap of pebbles. It was his way of showing that he regarded the -booty from a purely official point of view. - -Paul Clayton did not look up. He seemed to have lost interest in -everything in the world just then. - -Rayne had seen the jewels before. But he could not keep the glint out -of his eyes as they fell upon the glittering stones and gold settings -which would mean a fortune to him. - -He had been at his last gasp financially when he had come on board -the old tramp steamer. He had had enough to pay his fare and provide -himself with cigars, and that was about all. He felt that he must make -a killing now, no matter at what risk. - -It was just as Rayne had the jewels spread out on the table that -Captain Bill Lawton came down again. His eyes fell upon the display, -and he could not get his breath. - -The genial skipper did not know much about the value of gems and richly -chased gold ornaments. But he felt sure this heap must be worth a great -deal of money. He found himself regretting that he had not known what -this young man had in his cabin. - -How easy it would have been for the captain to get hold of the suit -case, empty it into a bag of his own, and go ashore, saying good-by to -the sea forever! - -Captain Lawton might not have been guilty of this bit of villainy, even -if he had had the opportunity. But certainly he allowed his thoughts to -roam in this way, while a ruminative smile moved his hard lips. - -John Garrison Rayne, familiar with the look of cupidity that steals -over the faces of some men, divined pretty well what was passing in -Captain Lawton’s mind. He brought the commander to himself sharply, by -remarking, in a matter-of-fact tone: - -“This stuff seems to be all right. I don’t see that anything is -missing. But I’ll have to compare them with my list before I can be -sure.” - -He shoveled the jewelry back into the suit case as if he had no -personal interest in the valuables, and shut the case with a snap. - -“You will have two men to guard my prisoner, Captain Lawton,” he said -shortly. “I shall have to hold you responsible for his safe-keeping. -But I am not afraid that he will get away. I don’t see how he can, -so long as he is kept down here. He couldn’t get out of any of the -portholes.” - -“He won’t get away!” grunted Captain Lawton. “I’ll answer for that.” - -“All right! You’ll be paid for any trouble you have to take, of course. -I’ll take this stuff ashore to my hotel, and keep it until I get -instructions from New York.” - -“I’ll be glad to see it off my ship,” declared Captain Lawton. “If you -like, I’ll send a couple of men ashore with you, to help you guard the -stuff till you put it away. I suppose you’ll stow it in the hotel safe.” - -“Yes,” answered Rayne carelessly. “That will be the best place for it. -Meantime, I can look after it myself. You will hear from me some time -during the day.” - -He took the suit case in his hand, and, with a grim smile under his -heavy mustache, walked to the companionway and up to the deck. - -His impulse was to make a rush for his boat. But the Apache had too -much control of himself to yield to such an inclination. Instead, he -sauntered over to the head of the sea ladder and shouted to his two -oarsmen. - -“Aye, aye, sir!” responded one of them, as they brought the craft up to -the small platform at the foot of the ladder. “All right, sir!” - -With a slow and dignified step, John Garrison Rayne went down the -ladder. At the foot of it he stopped to wave a farewell to Captain -Lawton, who, with his first mate, Van Cross, was at the top. Then he -stepped into his boat and sat down in the stern, the valuable suit case -between his knees. - -No sooner had the men got the boat clear of the steamer than Rayne -leaned forward and told them to hurry with all their might. - -“It will be half a dollar extra for each of you if you put me ashore -inside of fifteen minutes,” he told them. “I have to meet a gentleman -who is going away on the train. Hurry!” - -“Aye, aye, sir!” came in chorus from both of the oarsmen. - -The promise of a tip has just as potent an effect in Porto Rico as it -has in any other part of the world. They rowed with savage eagerness, -and promised to get to shore in twelve minutes. - -As the yawl cut its way through the heaving waters, John Garrison Rayne -mused over his good luck. He hugged the suit case between his knees, -and tried to decide on his next move. - -“It was dead easy!” he muttered. “All I had to do was to get rid of -that gray wig, put on the mustache, and buy the clothes I wanted out -of the captain’s six hundred. Then I stepped into this boat, went up -to the _Cherokee_, clapped handcuffs on Paul Clayton, picked up the -suit case--after making sure it had the things in it--and quietly rowed -away. Why, it was like taking candy from a baby.” - -He chuckled so loudly that both of his oarsmen looked quickly at him in -astonishment. He recovered himself immediately, and frowning severely -at them, told them to pull harder. - -It was just as he administered this rebuke to his men that he glanced -over to the left, where a motor boat was chugging its way across the -harbor. - -There were three men in it. - -At first they were too far away for him to make out who they were. -Then, as the morning sun fell full upon their faces, he recognized them. - -They were Nick Carter, Chick, and Patsy Garvan! - -The motor boat swept past, causing the yawl to rock violently in its -back wash. - -Rayne bent over and appeared to be tying the lace of his shoe. His face -was thus entirely concealed from the occupants of the motor boat. - -When the danger of recognition was past, he hissed to his two -perspiring oarsmen: - -“Make it in eight minutes, and I’ll give you a dollar apiece!” - -The little yawl fairly leaped through the water, as the men put in all -the strength and activity they could muster. - -“They’re going to the ship,” muttered Rayne. “I’ve got to be out of -the way quickly. There may be a way of signaling shore. If there is -anything like that to be done, that infernal Nick Carter will know how -to do it.” - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -A PUZZLE FOR THE SKIPPER. - - -It was not without thoroughly understanding the situation that John -Garrison Rayne told himself he would be in danger if he did not get -away before Nick Carter could communicate with the shore. - -Even if it should be impossible to telegraph, that motor boat was a -swift-moving craft, and it would take very little time for it to get to -the wharf from the _Cherokee_, if the famous detective should determine -to go, instead of trying to signal. - -It happened that Rayne was just stepping on the quay as the motor boat -swirled alongside of the steamer. - -Nick Carter, no longer dressed as a sailor, but in a neat, light, -business suit, stepped upon the platform at the foot of the sea ladder, -while his two assistants--who also had changed their attire--followed -him closely. - -Nick had removed the heavy beard he had worn as Joe Sykes, the -boatswain, and there was little in his face to remind one of the sailor -except his penetrating dark eyes. - -Patsy and Chick, too, had changed their faces, so that no one on board -the steamer would be likely to suspect that they ever had been members -of the crew, taking the hard work, and the equally hard language of the -bullying mate, all as part of the day’s work. - -Captain Lawton was worried over the taking away of the suit case. He -had begun to feel misgivings, and it had disturbed his nerves. So he -scowled when he saw three strangers boarding his ship. - -“What do you want?” was his inhospitable greeting, as Nick gained the -top of the ladder. - -“I am a detective, and I’ve come to see your passenger, Paul Clayton,” -replied Nick Carter, as he looked the skipper up and down. “He took -passage with you under the name of Miles. Where is he?” - -“Search me,” grinned the captain. - -“He’s on board your vessel, isn’t he?” demanded Nick sternly. “A -passenger of yours?” - -“No. He ain’t nothing of the kind. You say you’re a detective. Well, -you’re a little late. Another detective, from New York, has been here -and arrested him. So he isn’t a passenger. He’s a prisoner.” - -“Impossible!” ejaculated Nick Carter. - -“Nothing impossible about it,” sneered the captain. “He’s down in the -cabin he’s had since we left New York. Only now it’s a cell, instead of -a stateroom, and I have two of my men watching to see that he doesn’t -get away. That’s all there is to it.” - -“How do you know this man who arrested Paul Clayton--or Miles--is a -detective?” - -The captain held out a card, which Nick Carter took and scanned hastily. - -“Detective Lieutenant Sawyer!” murmured Nick, reading from the card. “I -don’t know of any New York detective by that name.” - -“Well, anyhow, he was here, and he’s gone ashore with the stolen -property, in a suit case. If you look over there, you can just make him -out, landing on the wharf from a yawl.” - -“Gee!” whispered Patsy. “I believe that’s right. Eh, Chick?” - -“Looks like his walk,” returned Chick. - -“I wish we could make out his face. What kind of clothes do you suppose -he has on? We’re going to have a fine time running him down,” was -Patsy’s low-toned remark--in which there was plenty of confidence, -however. - -Nick Carter was thinking quickly. He had seen the man getting out -of the rowboat at the wharf. But it was too far to make him out for -certain, and Nick had very little faith in Captain Lawton’s integrity. - -“I’ll go down and see the prisoner, anyhow,” he said sharply. - -“I don’t know whether you can,” hesitated Captain Lawton. “I have -orders to keep the man safe, but nothing was said to me about allowing -any one to see him.” - -Nick Carter turned back the lapel of his waistcoat and showed a jeweled -badge. It was very seldom that he exhibited this insignia. But there -were occasionally times, like the present, when it was desirable that -he should prove his identity. - -Captain Lawton leaned forward to scan the badge. He saw that it bore -the arms of New York State, and that in the center was a medallion -portrait of the man who wore it. - -But the skipper was naturally suspicious, and he did not accept even -this proof immediately--or pretended he did not. As a matter of fact, -he had seen Nick Carter before, in his proper person, and he was -obliged to admit to himself that this calm, self-possessed man seemed -to be the same. - -“If that badge is straight, it is all right,” he growled. “Only I do -not know that.” - -“Here’s my card,” said Nick impatiently, as he took one of his cards -from its case. “You may see my name and address there.” - -“‘Nicholas Carter, Madison Avenue, New York City,’” read the captain. -“It looks as if you might be the man you say you are.” - -“You say that this other man, who pretended he was a detective, has -taken the jewels stolen from Stephen Reed, and that it was he we just -now saw climbing out of a small boat at the wharf?” demanded Nick, who -was tired of arguing about his own identity. - -“He took the jewelry,” replied, Lawton, more surly than ever. “I have -not had proof that he was a fake detective any more than I know you’re -a real one.” - -“We’ll prove who I am by the chief of police of San Juan,” interrupted -Nick sharply. “But there is no time to argue longer about that. I’ll -send my men ashore, and I dare say they will round up this man. He -seems to have fooled you completely.” - -“There ain’t nobody can fool me!” grunted the captain indignantly. - -“Chick!” called out Nick, turning his back on the wrathful Lawton. “You -and Patsy go and see the chief of police, give him my compliments, and -tell him to look out for this man. Most likely the rascal will try to -get out of town right away.” - -“Who are we to look for?” asked Chick. - -“The Apache.” - -“Who’s that?” asked the captain. - -“Gee! You don’t want to get in his way. That’s all!” grinned Patsy. -“He’d steal the ship from under you while you was giving orders to stop -him.” - -Patsy said this with so much earnestness, even though he grinned, that -Captain Lawton was visibly impressed, while Nick Carter frowned at his -irrepressible assistant. - -“You don’t want me to tell the chief of police why we want the Apache, -do you?” whispered Chick in Nick Carter’s ear. - -“No. Let him think it is a smuggling case. Anyhow, he won’t ask too -many questions if you tell him it is my case. He knows me.” - -“What’s his name? Douglas, isn’t it?” - -“Yes. He knows you as well as me.” - -By this time Captain Lawton had come to the conclusion that it was -the real Nick Carter who stood before him, and he desired to give so -eminent a crime detector all the aid he could. But it never entered his -head that this well-groomed man could be the sloppy-looking Joe Sykes, -who had sailed in the _Cherokee_ as a boatswain. - -“This man who took the jewelry was about the same height as yourself, -Mr. Carter,” he volunteered. “He wore a blue suit of clothes, that -didn’t fit any too well, and his cap had a gold band around it, as if -he might be an officer of some kind.” - -“Thank you,” responded Nick. “I dare say we shall get him before we are -much older. But we’ll talk more about that after I’ve got my men here -away.” - -“All right, Mr. Carter! Anything you say.” - -“Look here, Chick!” - -“Well, chief?” - -“When you have finished your work--seen the chief of police, and made -any inquiries you can, come to the Ionic Hotel. I’ll go there when I -get through on the ship. Now hustle, boys!” - -“All right!” grinned Patsy. “We’ll round up this citizen we’re after -before he knows whether he’s afloat or ashore. Eh, Chick?” - -“We’ll do our best,” was Chick’s earnest response. - -The two assistants went down the ladder, and Nick Carter leaned over -the side of the steamer, watching them make good time to the shore. - -Even when the motor boat had almost covered the expanse of water -between the _Cherokee_ and the wharf, the detective remained in the -same position. He was reflecting. He had the faculty of being able to -do that anywhere, even with all kinds of confusion around him. - -The new complication of the theft of the Stephen Reed jewelry just when -it seemed as if the troubles of Paul Clayton might be over, was bad -enough. But the added fact that the Apache was posing as a detective, -and might even get the police to help him, unwittingly, to get away, -made it worse. - -Nick had gone ashore originally to look for Rayne, but had not been -able to hear anything about a man answering the description of the -cunning rascal. Then he had decided that he could do more effective -work in behalf of Paul Clayton by dropping his disguise of Joe Sykes -and cutting off all connection with the _Cherokee_ as a member of its -crew. - -There would be nothing gained by continuing on board as a boatswain, -with Captain Lawton and Van Cross giving him orders. Neither was it -desirable that Chick and Patsy should be sailors, either. - -Having come to this decision, it had not been difficult for all three -to get rid of their make-ups, and so well did they accomplish this that -Captain Lawton had not the slightest suspicion they ever had been on -his ship before. - -“Do you want to see the prisoner, Mr. Carter?” asked the captain, in -a tone of respect that was rather amusing, considering how surly and -insolent he had been at first. - -“Yes. Take me to him, please,” answered Nick. “And I should be glad if -you will have a boat ready to put me ashore when I have looked over -things below.” - -“Sure you shall have a boat,” assented the captain promptly. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -NICK HAS HIS OWN WAY. - - -Two men were guarding the top of the companionway during the colloquy -between Nick Carter and the captain, but, at a signal from the latter, -they drew aside to allow the detective to go down to the prisoner. - -The man at the cabin door opened it as Nick Carter stepped forward, -for he knew the detective could not have got below without special -permission from the captain. Besides, he had heard enough of the -argument on deck to know pretty nearly all that had taken place. - -Paul Clayton was sitting on the edge of his berth, his chin on his -breast, and evidently in deep thought. He looked up sharply as Nick -Carter went into the cabin, a question in his glance. - -Instinctively, he made an effort to hide the handcuffs under a blanket -on the berth. Then he laughed bitterly and brought his hands forward to -rest on his knees, as if defying the opinion of his visitor, whatever -it might be. - -“I beg your pardon,” said Nick, with a smile. “I don’t suppose you want -to wear these decorations any longer than you are obliged. Let me see -if I can take them off.” - -Paul Clayton stared hard at the detective. He did not know him, now -that he had removed the clothing and beard of Joe Sykes, the boatswain. -But it seemed as if there were a familiar note in his voice. - -“May I ask----” he began. - -“Not just now,” interrupted Nick. “Let me look at these bracelets of -yours.” - -One close look at the handcuffs was enough for Nick Carter. - -Taking from his pocket a jackknife, he pressed a spring, and a steel -rod shot forth. With this he opened the handcuffs so quickly and easily -that the sailor at the door, who had been watching him, gave vent to an -involuntary grunt of admiration. - -“I’m responsible for this,” remarked Nick, looking at the sailor. -“Captain Lawton will tell you.” - -“Aye, aye, sir!” returned the man, as he moved away from the door. - -“Now we can talk more comfortably,” was the detective’s smiling -suggestion. “No sense in wearing those things that I can see.” - -“Who are you?” faltered Paul Clayton. - -“You ought to know me,” returned Nick lightly. “We sailed from New York -together.” - -He said this with the drawl he had used as Joe Sykes, and Clayton -started up from the bunk in astonishment. - -“The bos’n?” - -“Exactly! But, when I use my own name, I am Nicholas Carter.” - -“The detective?” - -“Yes. But you need not speak so loudly. Don’t let us talk about that.” - -“But,” protested Clayton, “this is amazing.” - -“Never mind. Tell me what this man said who came and got the jewelry -away from you.” - -“The New York detective?” - -“Yes.” - -Paul Clayton--still wondering, as he looked at his visitor--went over -in detail all that had passed between him and John Garrison Rayne. - -Nick Carter compressed his lips and his brows came together over his -eyes as he listened. - -“What a scoundrel the fellow is!” was the detective’s comment at the -end. “Well, Clayton, that means that we have to go after him.” - -Clayton got to his feet and seemed eager to move out of the cabin -without delay. - -“To think that I was so easily cheated of the jewels I stole----” - -“Not that you stole, Mr. Clayton,” interrupted Nick. “Let us say ‘the -jewels you were minding for Mr. Reed.’ That sounds much better, and it -is the truth, isn’t it?” - -“Yes, indeed it is,” assented the young man, with a wan smile of -gratitude. “I took the jewelry. But I did not use any of it, and when -I had got over the first madness that made me take it from my uncle’s -room, I never had a thought but to return it as soon as possible.” - -“But you came to Porto Rico to do it?” - -“Because I was afraid that, if I sent the jewels back from New York, -Stephen Reed would put the police on my heels. I did want a chance to -begin life over again and prove that I am honest at heart,” replied -Clayton pathetically. “If I were once sent to prison, I never could -hold up my head again.” - -“Well, we will get the jewelry, and back it will go to Mr. Reed. It may -be some little trouble, but I believe I can rely on you to keep at it -till we round up this blackguard who has tried to fool us all.” - -“You are quite sure this detective was not really a detective,” asked -Clayton. “He did not look to me at all like the man I knew as James -Boris on this ship.” - -“Nevertheless, he is the same. He took the name of James Boris on this -vessel. He is John Garrison Rayne, the Apache. I _know_ that.” - -“If there were any mistake, and he really represented the police, he -would have me arrested----” - -“My dear Clayton!” interrupted Nick. “Why will you harp on that? You -and I both know that we had him a prisoner on this ship, after taking -the suit case away from him in the engine room. Then he managed to get -free and dive overboard.” - -“I suppose it was this Boris who fell or jumped off the ship in the -early morning,” murmured Paul. - -“Beyond all question. He swam to shore, got a new suit of clothes, -altered the look of his face, and came back, in the guise of a -detective, to steal the jewelry for the second time. There is only one -man I know of who could carry out such a trick successfully, and that -is the man I am going to find--John Garrison Rayne--the fellow you know -as James Boris.” - -“Can I go with you? Or shall I have to stay here?” asked Clayton. -“Remember, you found me a handcuffed prisoner, and the captain promised -that I should not get away.” - -“I’ll attend to that,” replied Nick briefly. “Come with me.” - -The sailor who had been at the door of the cabin was on the -companionway, talking to the two men at the top, one of whom was Clegg, -the boatswain. He was telling of what had happened in Paul Clayton’s -stateroom. - -“I don’t know anything about it,” rumbled Clegg. “But there’s Captain -Lawton. We can ask him.” - -It was at this moment that Nick Carter pushed Clayton ahead of him up -the stairs, and led him to the deck. - -Clegg stepped aside involuntarily before Nick Carter’s masterful -manner, although not without glancing at the captain, to see what he -would do in such a strange situation. - -“Is the boat ready?” asked Nick, stepping up to Lawton. - -“I’ll have it ready in a brace of shakes.” - -The captain turned to give an order to Clegg, who passed it forward, -and the activity of half a dozen sailors gave promise that the boat -would be at the ladder in a few moments. - -“I am going ashore--with Mr.--er--Miles,” announced Nick carelessly. - -“Well, I don’t know about that,” hesitated the captain. “I don’t feel -as if this passenger ought to go without something more being known -about him. I believe you are really Nicholas Carter, and that the other -detective is a fraud. Still, if he should turn out to be the genuine -article, where would I be?” - -“He is not the genuine article,” returned Nick. “So you need not -speculate on that.” - -“But, if he _should_ be, you see, I’d be on the rocks--piled up, with -my back broke and out of the game for good.” - -Captain Lawton shook his head with an air of ponderous wisdom that -tried Nick Carter’s patience sorely. - -“You have my word that he’s a fraud,” the detective reminded him -sternly. “I thought that would be enough. If you like, I’ll sign a -paper taking all the responsibility. Only, let’s have that boat!” - -“Well, all right! Let it go at that!” grumbled the captain; “I guess -I’m going to get the worst of it. I always do. Boat, there!” - -He bellowed this last at his men, and Nick Carter went down the ladder, -with Paul Clayton following him into the boat. - -Four sailors rowed them to shore, and it seemed to the detective as if -they were trying to move as lazily as they possibly could. - -“Pity they don’t hurry!” broke out Clayton impatiently. - -“It wouldn’t do any good,” returned Nick. “Our man has got a good -start, and a few minutes more or less in crossing the harbor won’t make -much difference. When we get ashore we can hustle. Meanwhile, we shall -have to take it philosophically.” - -The boat trip was over at last, and Nick Carter, who was familiar with -the beautiful city of San Juan, walked with Paul Clayton along the -shaded avenues until he got to the Ionic Hotel. - -Situated on the side of a hill, and overlooking the harbor, the hotel -was a favorite stopping place for visitors, and one could be sure of -hearing most of the gossip of Porto Rico if he lounged about the lobby -for an hour or so. - -This was one of the reasons that Nick Carter had taken up his abode -there. Another was that he knew John Garrison Rayne’s love of luxury, -and he felt pretty sure that the Apache would be at the Ionic if he -thought it safe. - -“It ought to be easy to catch him, I should think,” observed Paul -Clayton, as Nick Carter said this. - -“Can’t tell,” answered the detective. “I have had dealings with this -scoundrel before, and he is as cunning as a rat. However, we’ll go into -the grill room and have a good meal, anyhow. I expect my two men here -soon.” - -The anticipation of the detective proved to be correct. He and Paul -Clayton had not yet begun on the luncheon Nick Carter had ordered, -when his quick eye made out Chick and Patsy strolling along the big -lobby, looking in every direction, but in a careless way that disarmed -suspicion. - -Suddenly Chick caught sight of his chief, and whispered to Patsy to -stay behind for a moment or two. - -“All right, Chick!” responded Patsy. “I see what you mean. There’s the -chief over there. You go slowly to him, and I’ll join you afterward.” - -These precautions were rather elaborate, perhaps. But the two -assistants knew that they were dealing with a dangerous man in Rayne, -and that he was quite likely to have some spies at work in the hotel, -even if he should not be there himself. - -“What do you know?” asked Nick casually, as he bent over his plate, -when Chick and Patsy were both seated at the table. “Have some luncheon -and answer me cautiously.” - -“We haven’t found out a thing,” acknowledged Chick. - -“Haven’t seen or heard anything about him,” added Patsy. - -“Exactly! Just what I expected,” returned Nick Carter coolly. “Let me -help you to some salad, Mr. Clayton.” - -The detective did the honors of the table with as calm and smiling an -air as if there were not a thing on his mind. But his brain was working -busily. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -HOW NICK GOT A LIGHT. - - -It was two days later. Nick Carter, his two assistants, and Paul -Clayton were in the bedroom of Nick in the Ionic Hotel. - -All four looked perplexed and disgusted. Patsy Garvan, who was standing -at the window, gazing moodily across the harbor, indulged in various -expletives in an undertone, and wished he had somebody whose head it -would be permissible to punch. - -“If I don’t get a chance to lick somebody soon,” he muttered, “I’ll get -a cramp in my elbow. This case is the kind of thing that makes a man go -stale. Gee! To think that a dub like John Garrison Rayne can keep out -of our way on an island that you can almost spit across! Jumping cats! -I’d rather go out and----” - -“Patsy!” - -It was the voice of Nick Carter. Garvan swung around. - -“What is it, chief? Anything I can do?” - -“Only stop your growling over there,” answered the detective, -good-humoredly. “It’s got on your nerves, I dare say. But so it has on -those of the rest of us. Grumbling and complaining never moved even -a pebble out of the road yet. Brace up, and let’s talk about it in a -sensible way.” - -Nick Carter was not obliged to mollify his younger assistant in this -way. A gruff order would have quieted Patsy Garvan just as effectively. -But it was a principle with the eminent detective to make his -subordinates feel that they were his partners, rather than just his -employees, and he had found that it paid. - -“We’ve been pretty nearly all over Porto Rico, looking for this -fellow,” returned Patsy. “I was thinking we might as well try somewhere -else.” - -“We’ve only looked through San Juan,” corrected Chick. “Even in a city -of some fifty thousand people, it is not easy to get into every nook -and cranny. Besides, there isn’t any doubt that Rayne has changed his -appearance since he left the _Cherokee_.” - -Nick Carter nodded approvingly. - -“That is as certain as that he stole that suit case,” he declared. “It -is possible that we pass him several times a day without knowing him.” - -“Oh, chief! Come off!” exclaimed Patsy. “That couldn’t be. I never saw -the make-up that would fool you.” - -“That’s because you don’t know,” rejoined Nick Carter. “Don’t think you -or I know it all, Patsy. The men who do things are those who think they -may still learn. What you all need now is a little rest.” - -“That’s so!” yawned Chick. “We are about all in, it seems to me. Still, -if there is anything we can do, we ought not to waste time resting.” - -Nick Carter smiled and slapped Chick on the back, in appreciation of -his pluck, as he answered: - -“Go to bed, Chick. And you, Patsy. It won’t be dark for another hour. -But you are so tired that you need not wait for that.” - -“And what about yourself?” asked Patsy. “Are you going to sit up?” - -“Indeed I’m not,” was the quick reply. “I’m going to tumble into this -bed as soon as you get out.” - -“There doesn’t seem anything for me to do to-night, either,” remarked -Paul Clayton. “But I do not feel as if I ought to sleep until I have -got back the Stephen Reed jewelry.” - -“That may be a matter of days--or weeks--yet, Clayton,” the detective -warned him. “You must try to forget it sometimes.” - -“How can I?” was the dejected response. “If I had never touched it, -nothing of this would have happened. I am the person responsible, and -it is I who must make good.” - -For three hours all four of the men who were trying to hunt down John -Garrison Rayne lay quietly in their respective bedrooms in the Ionic -Hotel. - -Nick Carter was the only one of the three who did not undress entirely. -He contented himself with removing part of his clothing and taking off -his shoes. - -Lying on the outside of the bed, he slept as soundly as any of his -associates. - -It was about eleven o’clock when he awoke. Immediately he sat up, with -all his faculties about him. - -The famous detective had long before trained himself to wake at the -very instant he desired, without any outside help. When he lay down he -impressed it on his mind that he must arouse at a certain time. Never -yet had he failed to do so. - -So, when he woke up now in the darkness, he knew, before he turned his -pocket flash lamp on his watch, what the time would be. - -Pulling down the window shade in the darkness, he switched on two -electric lights at the dresser and smiled at his own reflection. - -“I’ll have to change this a little,” he muttered. “Just a gray -mustache and goatee, with a few lines on my face, will make me safe. My -clothes will do, I think.” - -Porto Rico is one of the most healthful climates on the American side -of the world. The mean temperature in San Juan is officially a little -over eighty degrees, and it never goes above ninety-five at any time. -So the costume worn by Nick Carter was a business suit of light cloth, -such as might be suitable for New York or Chicago in the summer. - -The detective was careful in making up his face to represent a man in -his sixties. - -Crow’s-feet at the corners of his eyes, a deep line on either side -from the nose to the corner of the mouth, and gray brows, as well as -mustache and beard, made him look the part. - -He topped it off by adjusting a well-made gray wig, which fitted so -well that it appeared actually to grow on his head. - -When he put on his broad-brimmed panama hat, so that it shaded his -eyes, he was a typical Porto Rican, and nothing at all like the Nick -Carter familiar to so many people in New York. - -He moved about very quietly, for he did not want to disturb either of -his assistants, who occupied a double-bedded room adjoining his own. - -When he was ready to depart, he listened, for an instant, at the -communicating door. Then, satisfied that nobody was stirring within, -he went down the stairs to the office of the hotel, and out to the -beautiful, verdure-scented avenue. - -He had gone two blocks along the avenue on which the hotel stood, and -was turning a corner, when he noticed two persons walking slowly along -the other side, shadowed by the trees. - -“Taking an evening stroll for their health, I reckon,” he thought. - -He turned to see what had become of them when he had gone down the side -street some distance. As they were not in sight, he decided that they -had kept along the main avenue, to enjoy the breeze from the sea that -swept gustily across the thoroughfare at intervals. - -In all cities, no matter how well regulated, there are drinking resorts -that have not the entire approval of the police. - -It was into one of these that Nick Carter stepped at last. The place -was not far from the water front, but the patrons were not of the rough -class one so often finds in saloons near the wharves in larger cities. -It is doubtful whether they were so good at heart, however. - -There was a porch in front of the place. Several men were sitting -there, lazily tilted back in their chairs, with cigarettes in their -teeth and a cool drink at their elbows on the small tables. - -Nick seated himself on the porch, and told the waiter to bring him a -lemonade. - -In the absence of the serving man to get the drink, Nick looked about -him casually. - -The half dozen men on the porch beside himself all appeared to be -giving themselves up to the enjoyment of the hour. Tobacco and drinks -kept them mildly amused, it seemed. - -Every lounger looked as if he might be in fairly comfortable -circumstances. The detective put them down as storekeepers, -mechanics--cigarmakers, probably--and men connected with the shipping -of the harbor. - -Next to him was a dark-complexioned individual, who looked like a -Cuban, with a mixture of West Indian negro blood. Such persons are -rather frequent in Porto Rico. - -He was dressed in a linen suit, with a panama hat and white shoes. -There was a diamond ring on one of his brown fingers, and another -diamond sparkled in the bosom of his narrow-plaited, soft, white shirt -bosom. Prosperity oozed from him. - -He had just lighted a long cigar as Nick Carter sat down by his side. - -The Cuban did not look up. As he smoked, he seemed to have enough -affairs of his own to occupy his mind, without wasting any time on a -stranger. - -Nick Carter took one of his own favorite perfectos from a cigar case -and bit off the end with a snap of his even, white teeth. Then he felt -in his pockets for a match. - -He brought out a silver match box first, and, finding it empty, -explored his clothing with what appeared to be rapidly increasing -vexation. Not a match could he find. - -He looked on the tables, but no matches were there. - -“Deuce take it! I wish I had a match!” he muttered, in a carefully -disguised tone. “Where’s that confounded waiter?” - -The Cuban turned and looked Nick Carter over with a gaze that took him -in from head to foot. Then, moved by a sudden impulse, he said, in a -voice with a strong Spanish accent: - -“May I give you a light?” - -“Thanks!” answered Nick. - -“I am sorry I have no match,” went on the Cuban. “Will you honor me by -taking a light from my cigarro?” - -“If you will favor me.” - -The little dialogue had been carried on with the punctilious politeness -that usually distinguishes the intercourse of Latin peoples. - -The detective fell easily into it, while to the Cuban it appeared to be -entirely natural. - -Both men arose from their chairs, and the Cuban drew up his cigar with -several strong inhalations. Then he bowed, as a signal that he was -ready. - -Nick Carter stepped in front of him, and, while the Cuban held his -cigar between his teeth, the detective, perfecto in mouth, came close. - -“Now!” smiled the Cuban. - -“Thanks!” - -“I’ll draw up a little more.” - -“All right! I can get it,” replied Nick. - -With the ends of their cigars touching, as the detective drew some of -the fire from the Cuban’s to his own, the two men stared directly into -each other’s eyes. - -The glow of the cigars lighted up their faces, and each had an -opportunity to study the other at very close range. - -Somehow, it was difficult for Nick Carter to get his cigar alight. -Once, when he thought he had it, he was obliged to go back again. - -The Cuban did not show or express any impatience, however. He seemed to -be desirous only to oblige his casual acquaintance. - -For more than half a minute they stood with their faces only the -combined length of the two cigars apart--that is to say, about six -inches. - -Then, as Nick Carter slowly drew back, his cigar burning brightly, he -suddenly shot out both hands and gripped the Cuban by the shoulders! - -“What does this mean?” hissed the dark-visaged stranger indignantly. - -“Only that I want a little conversation with you, John Garrison Rayne,” -replied Nick Carter. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE SLIPPERY APACHE. - - -The words were hardly out of the detective’s mouth, when the Cuban, -with a snarl of rage, tore the cigar from Nick’s teeth and pressed the -burning end upon the bare hand of his captor. - -There were few things that would have made Nick Carter loosen his hold. -The exquisite pain of the burning cigar was one of them, however. - -Anybody who ever has been hurt in this way can testify that the red-hot -ash sticks to the flesh in a cruel fashion, causing excruciating agony. - -As Nick took away one hand, John Garrison Rayne pulled the other loose. -Then, hissing defiance between his set teeth, he dragged a long knife -from inside his coat and aimed a blow at the detective’s heart. - -Nick Carter was unable to ward off the blow entirely, but it only cut -a long slit in his sleeve. The next moment he had seized the rascal -around the waist and slammed him down upon the table by his side. - -The table never was meant to stand such a shock. Down it went, in a -muddle of broken legs and splintered top, with the Cuban and Nick in -the ruins, for the Cuban had pulled his assailant down with him. - -“Thieves!” roared the Cuban. “Look out! Grab him before he can get -away!” - -Four big men piled on top of Nick behind, and, under their combined -weight, down he went, flat upon the floor, while the cunning rascal, -who had incited the attack, slipped away in the darkness. - -“Let me get up!” shouted Nick. “The thief has got away.” - -“Oh, I guess not!” came from one of the men holding him down. “I saw -the whole thing. This man asked for a light, and when he had it, he -tried to go through the other man’s pockets for his roll. Where are the -police? This is the worst holdup I ever saw.” - -“You idiot!” exploded Nick. - -He was enraged at seeing Rayne get away when so nearly caught. So -exerting all his enormous strength, he threw the four men off, and, -picking up a chair, swung it around his head to hold them back. - -By this time there was a full-sized riot on the porch and in the café. -But the detective’s blood was up, and he cared nothing for that. - -It was seldom he allowed his anger to make him lose sight of the main -purpose in view. But he was so disgusted with the interference of these -men, at such a critical moment, that he was determined to make them pay. - -He dropped the chair and shot out his two fists, sending the talkative -individual, who had called for the police, one way, and another busy -person another. - -He was setting himself for an onslaught on three others who were -coming toward him, when suddenly two men he had not seen before -ranged themselves on his side. They disposed of four of the foes with -well-directed blows. - -Before Nick could look around to see who his unexpected reënforcements -were, Patsy Garvan whispered in his ear: - -“Break away, chief! The fellow you knocked down is hustling along the -avenue. Let’s get after him.” - -A hand was laid on each of his arms, and, as he was drawn away into -the shadows, where the people on the porch could not see him, he found -Chick on one side of him and Patsy on the other. - -“Do you know who he was?” asked Nick. - -“I didn’t see,” replied Patsy. “I only made out that he was dark, and -that he had on light clothes. I’ll know him again, though. Come on!” - -“Who was he, chief?” asked Chick. - -“John Garrison Rayne,” replied Nick Carter shortly. - -“Wha-at?” - -His two assistants delivered themselves of this interrogative -monosyllable together, and with enough astonishment to make it seem ten -times as strong a word as it was. - -“Get after him!” replied Nick, as he hustled along the dark -thoroughfare. “He can’t have got far.” - -But if Rayne had not got far, at least he had managed to elude his -pursuers on this occasion. - -He laughed silently, as, standing in the shadow of a tree, he saw Nick -Carter and his two men go past. He watched them till they were out of -sight. - -“That settles it,” he muttered. “I’ve got to get this coat of chocolate -off my face and hands, and tackle something else. It will be a bold -thing, but I guess I can put it over. It seems to be about my only -chance, for that cursed Carter has every part of the wharf and all the -roads guarded. He thinks I don’t know, perhaps--but I do.” - -He walked slowly on until he stood in front of the handsome “palace,” -which was at one time the residence of the Spanish captain general, but -is now the home of the governor. - -This building is one of the finest in a city of imposing edifices, and -as John Garrison Rayne gazed at it, his busy brain worked with a scheme -that, as he had confessed to himself, was decidedly bold, to say the -least. - -“It is the one best bet for me,” he muttered. “It is something that -Carter never would suspect, and for that reason I feel sure I can carry -it out as smoothly as anything of that kind could be done.” - -He grinned as he moved away, and the grin was still on his dark face -when he reached the obscure house in which he had engaged a room--a -house where the people never asked questions so long as the rent was -paid promptly. - -Once in his bedchamber, he locked the door and made sure the window -shade was adjusted so that no glimmer of light could show outside. Then -he took from his pockets two bags and emptied their contents upon the -bed. - -The bags had contained some of the jewelry stolen from Stephen Reed, -including a string of magnificent pearls which he prized more than -anything else he had. The pearls had been the property of Abdul Hamid, -Sultan of Turkey, and were regarded by experts as unique in their -beauty. - -“If I could only sell those sultan pearls,” thought Rayne, “I should -have enough cash to do anything. But I daren’t try to work them off in -San Juan. I’ll have to get along the best way I can on the balance of -Captain Lawton’s six hundred dollars.” - -He lighted a cigar--one of the long, slim rolls of tobacco that are so -common in Porto Rico--and sat down on the bed to meditate. - -“I may as well see that the others are all right,” he said, half aloud. -“Though, so long as I can feel the package under my clothes, there is -no likelihood of anything having happened to them.” - -He opened the front of his soft shirt and revealed a flat bag, hanging -to a string around his neck, and which showed no bulkiness from the -outside. - -He opened the top of this bag and pulled from it a flat package in -tissue paper. This he emptied out on the bed, apart from the other -jewels. The paper had contained several unset diamonds. - -He sifted these through his fingers for a few moments, his eyes -glittering with avaricious triumph. Then he put them back and fastened -the bag. As he buttoned the front of the shirt over it, he muttered: - -“Eighty thousand dollars, eh? I’m sure I can raise at least a hundred -on all these. There are stones worth a great deal more than the price -the old man put on them. All I want is to get to some place where I can -market them. And that market is New York. Even if I could not turn them -into cash there, it is so easy to slip across to Europe. Yes, I must -get to New York as quickly as I can. I must.” - -He restored the Abdul Hamid pearls and the other glittering gewgaws to -their two bags and placed them both under the pillow on the bed. - -“I’ll have a busy, hard day to-morrow,” he told himself, with a grin, -as he began to undress. “I must get a good sleep to-night. I wonder -whether Carter is still looking for me.” - -He repeated this last sentence as he turned out the lights and got into -bed. His thoughts were very much on the detective and his doings. - -Nick Carter had got the better of him on more than one occasion, and, -in spite of his boastful promise to himself that this was the time when -he would win, John Garrison Rayne did not feel any too sure. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -IN THE SOUNDPROOF ROOM. - - -It was evening of the day after Nick Carter’s encounter with the Cuban -whom he had recognized as John Garrison Rayne, and Acting Governor -Portersham, who temporarily represented the United States in San Juan, -had just finished dinner. - -Jabez Portersham was a young man, considering the importance of the -office he held, and, as he was a bachelor, he had taken dinner alone. -Afterward he had strolled into his library, lighted a cigar, and sat -himself down for an hour or two of reading. - -The palace, which was the governor’s official residence, was well -supplied with books, so that it would be easy for Mr. Portersham to -find something that would interest him. - -He could have gone into the billiard room if he had cared for a game, -and a touch of his electric bell would have brought somebody to play -with him. - -His official family included several bright, companionable men of -about his own age, somewhere in the thirties, and very often he had -one of the heads of departments to dine with him and spend the evening -afterward. - -This happened to be an evening when he was disinclined for society, and -he was quite alone when he sank into a well-cushioned rocker, with a -novel in his hand. - -Jabez Portersham had lived in a Middle State, and had been prominent -in the affairs of his own city. Also, he had had experience in the -government service in Washington. Natural ability, plus some influence, -had put him where he was. - -He had hardly got well into the first page of his book, when there was -a discreet tap at the door, followed by the entrance of a soft-footed -butler, who had a card on a salver. - -The acting governor took up the card, with a slight frown at being -interrupted at this hour of privacy, but with the knowledge that Briggs -would not have come unless he had felt sure that he had a sound excuse. - -“Senator Micah Garnford” was the name on the card. - -Portersham threw his book on the table at his elbow and sat up in his -chair, as he told the butler, in a sharp, businesslike tone, to “Show -the senator in.” - -Senator Garnford was an influential man. Portersham had met him only -once, and then but for a minute or two, in company with many other -people, at a reception at the senator’s house in Washington, but -he knew that he was largely indebted to Garnford for his present -appointment. - -It must be urgent business of some sort that had induced the senator to -come to the palace at this hour. - -The acting governor had not known that he was even in Porto Rico. The -last he had heard of Senator Garnford, he was taking an active part in -the deliberations of the distinguished body of which he was a member in -the Capitol at Washington. - -Briggs was not long in bringing the visitor into the library. - -Portersham got up and shook hands heartily with the ruddy, white-haired -man who came forward with a springy step that was much younger than his -appearance. - -“Your cigar smells good,” laughed the senator. “May I have one?” - -He took a cigar from the open humidor on the table, and, as he lighted -it by the wax candle that burned beside it, remarked: - -“Two things I have a weakness for--a good horse and a good cigar.” - -Portersham nodded and smiled. He liked the free-and-easy manner of this -important lawmaker, and he was glad he had come. - -“What about a motor car, senator?” he asked, as his visitor took a -chair. “It hasn’t knocked out the horse for you altogether, eh?” - -“Not in the least,” was the positive reply. “You can’t pat the neck of -a motor car. At least, unless you call the hood its neck. You can pat -that, if you like. And, even then, the pesky thing does not acknowledge -the caress. Now, a horse----” - -At that moment the door clicked behind the retiring Briggs. The noise -was slight, but a curious change came over Senator Garnford as he heard -it. The smile left his face, his rather big body seemed to stiffen in -his white suit, and his strong, white teeth bit into his cigar. - -“No chance of our being overheard in this room, is there?” he asked, in -a grave, sharp tone. - -“Not the slightest,” replied the acting governor. “It was made -soundproof when the palace was built. Many a secret meeting was held -here in the days of the Spanish sovereignty of San Juan.” - -“I suppose so. Only right, too.” - -“I’ve looked into it since I’ve been here,” went on Portersham. “The -walls, ceiling, and floor are lined with felt. You might shoot off a -gun in here without its being heard inside.” - -“Fine!” smiled the senator. “How about the door?” - -“That is so thick that a person on the other side could not hear -anything--even a very loud noise. The keyhole is blinded, of course, -and I can slip the deadlatch with a touch of my finger. See!” - -He walked over to the door and touched a spring, which clicked rather -loudly in response. - -“That makes it safe for anything you might have to say that must not be -heard outside--state secrets, I mean?” remarked the senator. - -“Yes. You could commit a murder in here without any one knowing -it--until the door was broken open.” - -Portersham said this a little impatiently. He was curious to hear what -Senator Micah Garnford had to say to him. It was not often that so -important a personage came with a special message from Washington. - -“I am glad to know that the room is so well protected,” observed -the senator. “Just draw a little closer to the table, will you? I -want to show you the papers that have brought me all the way from -Washington--and at a time when I really ought not to have left the -Senate.” - -He got up from his own chair, as if to move it, and, as Portersham -hitched nearer the table, the senator managed to get right behind him. - -At the same instant he thrust his hand into an inside pocket. - -If the acting governor had chanced to turn, he would have observed that -the good-humored expression had entirely left his visitor’s face. His -lips had drawn down at the corners, while his eyes seemed to narrow and -come closer together. - -There was a strange ferocity in the whole countenance, curiously at -variance with the light and pleasant words with which he had entered -the room. - -When Senator Garnford’s hand came out of his pocket, it did not hold -papers. Instead, he brought forth a small bottle and a folded pad of -white cloth. - -Keeping a wary eye on Portersham, who was trying to get his chair into -a convenient position at the table, the senator gently drew the cork -from the bottle in his hand. - -He placed the pad of cloth over the neck of the bottle and let the -contents saturate it through and through. - -“What’s that?” exclaimed the acting governor, as he began to turn in -his chair. “I thought I smelled a strange----” - -He did not get any further. Senator Garnford seized him around the -throat in an iron grip and pulled his head back. - -“Let go!” gasped Portersham. “What the----” - -The pad, reeking with the sickly smelling stuff, was jammed over his -mouth and nostrils and held there. - -The acting governor was a sturdy fellow, and if he had not been taken -so entirely by surprise, might have given this steel-muscled senator -a hard tussle. As it was, he could only struggle feebly, while vainly -endeavoring to shout for help. - -Not that it would have done him any good. He had spoken truly when he -said that any sort of disturbance might take place in this felt-lined -room without its being heard outside. - -But it was only natural for him to endeavor to cry out. It was the -involuntary act of an animal in extreme peril or pain, when a human -being does not reason any more than a dog. - -The chloroform worked rapidly. Moreover, the senator had jerked his -head against the back of the chair with a force that would have half -stunned him, even without the anæsthetic. - -Jabez Portersham managed to emit a gurgling cry. But the arm around his -throat pressed more tightly, while the fumes of the drug crept upward -and gripped his brain. - -Vainly the acting governor tried to get out of the chair, with only a -vague consciousness of what was happening. - -In the few seconds during which he tried to fight off the effect of the -deadly, nauseating fumes, he half realized that he actually was being -drugged by one of the most prominent men in the United States--one who -might have been supposed absolutely incapable of such a crime--or of -any crime, for that matter. - -That was his last incoherent thought. Then everything became blank to -him. - -The senator stepped back when he saw that his victim was thoroughly -overcome, and an evil grin spread over his face. - -“It would be possible to commit a murder in this room without any one -knowing it!” he muttered. “If you had known just who Senator Garnford -was, my trusting friend, I guess you wouldn’t have said that.” - -He snatched from his face the gray mustache and beard he had worn, and, -if Nick Carter had been in the room, he would have known that the real -name of this Senator Micah Garnford was none other than John Garrison -Rayne, alias the Apache! - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -BLUFFING IT THROUGH. - - -Rayne stood looking steadily into the still face of the acting governor -for a few moments, as if studying the features. - -“Not a difficult face to make, I think,” he muttered. - -He stepped lightly across the room to make sure that the door was -secure. Inspecting the deadlatch sharply, he decided that it would hold -the door against any possible interruption. - -“When I get ready to go, I shall have to leave that unfastened,” he -muttered. “But I dare say I can make it secure enough on the outside to -suit my purpose. So long as I make my get-away, I need not care what -they do here afterward.” - -He took off his gray wig, and stuffed it into a pocket, in company with -the mustache and beard. - -“If I hadn’t had so much experience in making up, I should be a little -nervous over this thing,” he murmured. “As it is, I dare say I can make -myself into a Portersham that will pass muster.” - -From one of his pockets he drew a small leather case, which contained -sticks of grease paint in tin foil, with other articles that he might -require in making up his face. - -First of all, he had to take the Garnford red out of his cheeks. Then -he carefully imitated the complexion of the acting governor, being -particular to put on two small moles that he observed on the cheek and -chin respectively of the unconscious man. - -In the course of ten minutes he had almost completely reproduced the -features of Jabez Portersham on his own countenance. - -Line by line he brought out the contour of the young man’s face, with -every light wrinkle, every depression, every rounded part, and every -turn of expression that was part of the original, no matter how elusive -and slight it might be. - -The first thing he did was to put on a wig of light hair, so near -the hue of Portersham’s that it might almost have been made from the -original. It had a touch of gray at the temples, which was so exactly -like that on the sides of the acting governor’s head that it might have -deceived his most intimate acquaintance. - -“Good!” chuckled Rayne softly. “I’m glad I managed to have a good -squint at him on the street to-day. I reckon I’m getting it about as -close as any one could hope to do it.” - -Actors, in making up, always put the wig on first, building up the face -afterward, and Rayne did the work in the approved professional way. - -When everything seemed to be done, Rayne took a small mirror from -his pocket and examined himself critically under the strong, shaded -electric light. Then he walked over to a large mirror on the mantel and -took a general view. - -He was entirely satisfied with himself in the large mirror, as well as -in the small one. - -The nature of the Apache was so strange, and he had so much vanity in -his composition, stern as he was, that just then he thought much more -of the skill he had displayed in the art of make-up than of the fortune -in gems he was fighting so hard to retain, in the very teeth of the -detective who always had overcome him heretofore, Nick Carter. - -“I reckon I’m going to show my friend Carter that his luck has changed, -so far as I am concerned,” he muttered. “If those men of his hadn’t -turned up at that café last night, I’d have put him in such a condition -that he would not have troubled me for a while, anyhow. I’m sorry my -knife missed him.” - -There was a demoniacal snarl on the scoundrel’s lips. He was truly -sorry that he had not been able to commit a foul murder when he aimed -that stroke at the detective. As for compunction, that was a sentiment -that never troubled him. - -“Well, my face is all right! Now for the clothes.” - -His tone was businesslike. He might have been engaged in an entirely -legitimate task, so far as that was concerned. - -“I’ll have to hurry,” he went on. “There is always the off chance of -somebody trying to get into this room. Even if I didn’t open the -door--which I certainly would not do--that very fact might stir up -suspicion. One never knows.” - -He bent over the supine figure of Jabez Portersham, huddled in the -chair, and, deftly as a well-trained valet, took off the acting -governor’s outer garments, leaving him in his underclothing. - -Deliberately, but without any waste of time, he put the suit of clothes -on himself, finishing off with the collar and necktie, and wearing the -watch and fob that was part of Portersham’s ordinary costume. - -“By Jove!” he chuckled, as he surveyed himself in the large mirror. -“I am Jabez Portersham to the life. I don’t think I’ve overlooked -anything. Oh, yes! Here’s something.” - -On the little finger of the unconscious man’s left hand was a large -diamond solitaire ring. - -Rayne slipped it off and put it on his own little finger. It was loose -for him, but he decided that it would stay on, and that no one would -notice its being a little large. - -“These details are important, sometimes,” he muttered. “Everybody who -knows this chap must have observed the ring. Besides, it is worth about -a thousand dollars, I should think. I should be a fool not to take it -with me.” - -Now came the next move, which he had had in mind from the first, and -for which he had come fully prepared. - -He took from his pockets a coil of thin wire and a small pad of cloth -like that with which he had administered the chloroform. - -The pad he put in Portersham’s mouth, fastening it with a twist of the -wire around his head. Then he secured the arms and legs with the wire, -making sure that the acting governor would not be able to get free, -even if he should come to his senses. - -“So far, good!” was his savage comment. “I shall have to put him where -he won’t be seen too quickly if any one comes in.” - -It was easy for the athletic Apache to lift the young man from the -chair and stow him under the large library table. - -“I’ll pile up these magazines and papers in front of him. Then he will -be masked in. I hope he’ll be comfortable under there, too.” - -He grinned at this brutal jest, and heaped a few more papers under the -table, hiding his victim completely. - -“With the wires on him, and the dose of dope he has in his system, he -will be safe enough for a while,” he reflected. “Now I come to the real -risk of the job. I’m glad I’m not deficient in nerve.” - -He looked around him, felt in all the pockets of the clothing he had -taken off to make sure he had everything out--including the bags of -jewelry--patted his chest to assure himself that the flat bag was in -its place under his shirt, and pushed his discarded garments under the -table with the senseless Portersham. - -“Now for it!” he breathed softly. - -He opened the door without any noise and stepped into the hallway. His -heart beat a little faster than usual, but he never faltered in what -he had set himself to do. Neither did he show in his demeanor what a -strain there was upon even his steely nerves. - -Briggs was sitting inside a small room off the hall that was his -particular domain. The door was open, so that the butler could see -everybody who might pass up and down. - -His orders were to make sure no one loafed about the palace unless he -had business there. - -As a public building, many strangers were in the palace during the -day. But in the late afternoon and evening, when official business was -suspended for the day, only those living in the house, or authorized -visitors, could be permitted to remain. - -Briggs jumped to his feet and stood in the hall, waiting for orders, as -he saw the supposed acting governor coming along from his room. - -Rayne was obliged to grip himself as he came face to face with Briggs. -This butler was more than a mere servant. He was expected to take on -himself the duties of a detective, and, naturally, he was disposed to -be suspicious. - -The Apache took the bull by the horns. - -“Is my secretary in?” he asked sharply--and his imitation of the tones -of Jabez Portersham was marvelous. - -“Yes, sir,” answered Briggs. “Mr. Morlein is in his office. Shall I -send him to you?” - -Rayne smiled inwardly. He had not known the name of the private -secretary, but he had learned it now, and without difficulty. The game -was playing into his hands. - -The butler walked a little way down the hallway--it was on the second -floor of the building--and was about to knock on a door. - -“Never mind!” interrupted Rayne. “I’ll go in and see him. You need not -knock.” - -The Apache had found out where Morlein’s room was. This, also, was a -piece of information that had not been in his possession before. He did -not know the way of the palace. In fact, this was the first time he -ever had been within its walls. - -Again getting a firm grip on his nerves, Rayne opened the door of the -secretary’s room and walked in with the authoritative manner of a chief -visiting a subordinate. - -Henry Morlein was a tail, athletic young fellow, whose greeting -indicated that he was on very friendly terms with his chief. - -His feet were on the edge of his desk, and though he took them down -when the supposed acting governor entered, he did it languidly, as if -it were not an unusual thing for him to be caught in this careless -attitude. - -“Hello, chief!” he drawled, as he removed a cigar from his mouth. “I -thought you’d gone to the theater. They’re doing opera, I’m told--and -rather well, at that.” - -“I was going, but I changed my mind.” - -Rayne said this carelessly, but he trembled lest his imitation of Jabez -Portersham’s tones should fail to deceive this wide-awake young man. - -He reflected that Henry Morlein was accustomed to the sound of the -acting governor’s voice every day, and should be able to detect an -imitation where many others might fail. - -But Morlein did not appear to observe anything unusual in the accent -and inflection, and Rayne went on calmly: - -“It’s just as well that I didn’t go. Did you know that Senator Micah -Garnford was in to see me a little while ago?” - -“Senator Garnford?” ejaculated Morlein, in surprise. “Why, I thought -he was in Washington. Seems to me I was reading in the paper that he -made a great speech on the tariff the day before yesterday.” - -“That was last week,” declared Rayne. “He’s in San Juan now. Do you -know the senator personally, Morlein?” - -“Never saw him in my life,” was the prompt reply. “I never even saw his -picture. Rather a fine man, I’ve been told.” - -“I think so. But that isn’t the point. I’ve got to go to Washington -right away--on official business.” - -Henry Morlein threw the end of his cigar into a cuspidor and looked up -in astonishment. - -“Geewhillikins! That’s sudden, isn’t it?” - -“Government business is often sudden, Morlein,” replied Rayne gravely. -“I wish you would telephone the wharf where the steamer _Spangled Star_ -lies, and tell the agent to hold a deck stateroom for Mr. Portersham, -will you?” - -“She is to sail at ten o’clock,” remarked Morlein. “It’s half past nine -now. There won’t be much time.” - -“Of course not. That’s why I want you to phone without delay. Tell them -I will try to be there at ten o’clock. If I am a little late, they are -to hold the ship for me.” - -“All right, sir,” replied Morlein, as he turned to the telephone on his -desk. - -Rayne took a seat and lighted one of the cigars that he took from -Portersham’s cigar case, which he had found in his pocket. - -The Apache wanted a smoke. Even if he had not, most likely he would -have taken out the case. It would be one of the little proofs of his -identity which might impress Henry Morlein in case he were suspicious. - -The venturesome scoundrel listened to one end of the telephonic -conversation between his private secretary and the steamship agent at -the wharf. - -He gathered, from Morlein’s replies, that the agent was objecting to -holding the _Spangled Star_ for any one, even the acting governor of -Porto Rico. But Morlein shut him off sharply on that, telling him that -those were Mr. Portersham’s orders, and they had to be obeyed. - -John Garrison Rayne grinned slightly behind his cigar. He was thinking -how different everything would be if either Morlein or the steamship -agent were to find out who this supposed Jabez Portersham really was. - -“All right, sir,” observed Morlein, at last, as he hung up the -receiver. “They are reserving stateroom B for you on the upper deck. -There is a suite of two rooms and bath. I hope you will have a pleasant -trip. The steamer goes right through to New York. That will be your -quickest route to Washington.” - -“I know that,” answered Rayne. “It will suit me, all right. I may have -to stay over in New York for an hour or two.” - -“What about your baggage? Do you want me to give orders about it?” - -“No,” was Rayne’s reply. “I’ve no time to bother about that. I can -borrow anything I need from some of the officers on the ship. Pajamas -are about all I should want till I get to New York. It is easy to buy -things there. Is my automobile ready?” - -“I’ll have it at the front door by the time we get there,” answered -Morlein, as he took up the telephone receiver again. - -“Very well. You might come down to the ship with me, Morlein.” - -“All right!” - - * * * * * - -An hour later, John Garrison Rayne was sitting in his comfortable suite -on board the modern and well-equipped steamer, _Spangled Star_, as it -skimmed out of San Juan harbor on its way to the Atlantic. - -“Well, it is rather a relief to get away from San Juan,” he muttered, -with a grim smile. “There are people there I don’t much like.” - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -NICK CARTER SMELLS A RAT. - - -It was early on the following morning when Nick Carter was awakened by -Patsy Garvan coming into his bedroom to inquire if his chief could get -up. - -“What time is it?” asked Nick. - -“Well, it is only six o’clock,” answered Patsy. “And you didn’t go to -bed till two. I don’t like to bother you.” - -“That’s nothing. Go on,” broke in the detective impatiently. “What’s in -the wind?” - -“Captain Douglas, of the San Juan police,” said Patsy shortly. - -“Wants to see me?” - -“Says so.” - -“Where is he?” - -“In the lobby, downstairs. Chick is with him.” - -“What does he want to see me about?” - -“I don’t know. I’ll find out, if you like.” - -“Do. Hustle down, and come right back. I’ll get dressed.” - -Nick Carter could make his toilet about as quickly as anybody. But, by -the time he had been under the shower and rubbed himself off, and got -into his clothes, a good twenty minutes had elapsed. - -“Wonder why Patsy did not come back. I’ll have to go down and see what -Douglas wants.” - -Nick Carter had not much hope that it was a matter which would concern -him, for he had worked so hard on the case of the jewels without -success, that he did not believe anybody else could help him. - -“I didn’t ask where Paul Clayton was,” he said to himself, as he went -down the stairs. “Perhaps he is with Chick and Patsy. I suppose he is.” - -This supposition turned out to be correct. As the detective stepped -away from the stairs--there was no elevator at the Hotel Ionic--he saw -Clayton listening interestedly to a narration by Captain Douglas. - -The chief of police turned as soon as he perceived Nick. Obviously, he -had been merely filling in his time by talking to Clayton until the -detective should come down. - -Captain Douglas, head of the police force of San Juan, was a tall, lean -man, with a keen face--lighted up by a pair of steel-blue eyes--and a -short manner. - -He had the reputation of being a splendid policeman, and it was not -often that he would confess himself at a loss on any case. - -Just now, however, his haggard, worried face fairly shrieked of -disappointment. Nick Carter, accustomed to reading stories in the human -countenance, saw that something had gone wrong, and that Douglas was -metaphorically up a tree. - -The captain shook hands with Nick Carter. Then he suggested that they -step over to a quiet corner of the lobby, where there were several -chairs. - -“What’s up, captain?” asked Nick. - -Douglas hesitated and passed a nervous hand across his chin. - -“I suppose I may trust to your keeping it quiet?” - -“Of course.” - -“I know that,” returned the captain feverishly. “But this is such an -extraordinary affair, and it concerns so many big men that I don’t like -to speak of it even to myself.” - -“Gee! Why don’t he cough it up?” grumbled Patsy, in a low tone. - -Chick twitched his sleeve. - -“Keep quiet, Patsy!” - -“Go ahead, captain!” requested Nick. - -“Well, the acting governor has suddenly bolted on the steamer _Spangled -Star_, which left port last night----” - -“What of that?” asked Nick. “Nothing remarkable, is it?” - -“Well, yes; it is very remarkable when one considers all the -circumstances.” - -“What are the circumstances?” - -“He went from the palace to the wharf in his automobile, with his -private secretary, Henry Morlein.” - -“Yes?” - -“Mr. Portersham went on board the ship by himself, and was shown to the -stateroom that Morlein had engaged for him by telephone. He got there -at the last moment, and as soon as he was aboard, the gangplank was -taken in, and off went the ship.” - -“I see. Well?” - -“His automobile was on the wharf, with the regular chauffeur, José, -at the wheel. José did not turn around to see whether the secretary -was in the back seat until fifteen or twenty minutes after the steamer -had gone. Then he thought he was being kept there longer than seemed -necessary, and he turned his head, to ask Morlein for orders.” - -“Go on,” urged Nick. “What is the point of all this?” - -“The point is,” replied Captain Douglas impressively, “that Henry -Morlein was lying in the back seat of the car, senseless from -chloroform, and everything in his pockets, including several hundred -dollars belonging to the government, had been taken. He had been robbed -of every valuable thing that had been about him.” - -“Chloroformed?” - -“Yes. That’s what the doctor says it was.” - -“Who is supposed to have done it?” - -“Men about the wharf say there was no one near the automobile except -Mr. Portersham. He was seen talking to Morlein before he went to the -steamer, and José remembers hearing Mr. Portersham tell Morlein not to -get out of the car, but to go right back.” - -“José is sure of that, eh?” - -“Quite.” - -“What kind of a man is this José?” - -“He’s a reliable fellow. Everybody speaks well of him. He is a Cuban by -birth. If he makes a statement, it is safe to accept it, as a rule.” - -“Where has Mr. Portersham gone?” - -“The steamer is bound for New York. So he must be going there. Briggs, -a butler at the palace, says he heard Mr. Portersham tell Morlein that -he had been called to Washington.” - -“By telegraph?” - -“No. Senator Micah Garnford called on him a little while before he -sailed, telling him that he was required in Washington at once, on some -government business.” - -“Senator Garnford?” exclaimed Nick. “Why, he is in Washington.” - -“No. He is in San Juan. Briggs saw him, he says.” - -“Briggs? I shall have to see Briggs and ask him a few things,” said -Nick thoughtfully. “I’m sure the senator could not be here now.” - -“Briggs is sure he took in Senator Garnford’s card, and that he went -into Mr. Portersham’s room for a talk. Afterward the senator left the -palace by a back doorway.” - -“Did any one see him go?” - -“I believe not. But that is what Mr. Portersham said to Briggs.” - -Like a flash it came to Nick Carter that all this mystery might be -mixed up with John Garrison Rayne. - -The fact that somebody supposed to be the acting governor had left so -abruptly on the steamer, as well as the injury to and robbery of Henry -Morlein, smelled so strongly of the Apache’s methods that Nick could -not think of anything else. - -“I should like to go to the palace, captain,” he said. “Is your car -outside?” - -“Yes. I was hoping you would come.” - -“I’ll take my two assistants with me. You have no objection?” - -“Of course not, Mr. Carter. They’ll be useful, I dare say.” - -“I hope so,” put in Patsy. “How about Mr. Clayton?” - -“I should like to go,” announced Paul Clayton. “I have nothing to do -here.” - -“All right,” agreed Captain Douglas. “There’s room for all of us in the -car. Tumble in!” - -Douglas took the wheel himself, and in a very short time the car -stopped at the main entrance of the palace. - -“Do you think there is anything in this that may help us to get that -jewelry?” whispered Paul Clayton anxiously, in Nick Carter’s ear. - -“It wouldn’t surprise me,” was the guarded reply. “I seem to see -Rayne’s hand in this affair, somehow.” - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -READY FOR A CLINCH. - - -When the party entered the big residence, Briggs met them at the door. -He was white, trembling, and generally disgruntled. - -He had no hesitation about admitting the chief of police, but it was -not until Captain Douglas had said that his companions were friends of -his, and important persons from New York, that he made room for Nick -Carter and the others to go in. - -“Take us to Mr. Portersham’s rooms,” ordered Douglas sharply, in his -most official tone. - -“There is no one in any of them,” returned Briggs. “I have not let -anybody go near them this morning. Mr. Morlein is in bed in his room, -and the doctor is with him.” - -“He is not in a serious condition, is he?” - -“No, sir. I don’t think so. But he hasn’t come properly out of the -sleep he was in. He must have had an awfully strong dose of dope, -according to what I hear.” - -“Very likely,” agreed the captain. “We’ll see him later. Where was Mr. -Portersham when he saw Senator Garnford?” - -“In the library.” - -“I’ll go into the library,” announced Douglas. - -“The door is locked. I guess Mr. Portersham locked it when he went -away. The other rooms are open.” - -“All right!” - -Nick Carter did not take any part in this colloquy. He was listening -closely, however, and making a mental note of everything that was said. - -They went into the dining room, bedroom, sitting room, and public -office that had been used by Portersham, but not into the library. The -door of this last-named apartment was the only one that was closed and -fastened. - -“Haven’t got a key to this door, have you, Briggs?” - -“No, sir. Mr. Portersham carries it himself, always.” - -“What do you think, Mr. Carter?” asked the chief of police, in a rather -dubious tone. - -“We’ve got to see the inside of that room,” was Nick’s short response. - -“Break it open?” - -“If there is no other way.” - -“There doesn’t seem to be.” - -“I might climb up to the window, with a ladder--or without one, for -that matter,” volunteered Chick. - -“That wouldn’t do. Everybody outside would wonder what was going on,” -objected Nick Carter. “We don’t want to call general attention to this -trouble. Eh, captain?” - -“Certainly not,” was Douglas’ hurried response. - -“I should like to shin up to that window,” put in Patsy. - -“Well, you can’t,” said Chick. “I’ll do it, if it were to be done at -all. You can’t have all the fun.” - -“It’s mighty little fun I’ve had since I’ve been down here,” grumbled -Patsy. “It’s the dullest place I ever was in.” - -“It wouldn’t be hard to force the door, would it?” asked Paul Clayton. -“We can all tackle it together.” - -“It’s a pretty heavy door,” remarked Douglas. “I’ve seen it open, and -it is nearly three inches thick.” - -“What’s the idea?” asked Patsy. - -“To keep the sound in when they are talking.” - -“Gee! I don’t see what they want a three-inch door for, just for that,” -was Patsy’s scornful comment. “Why couldn’t they whisper if they were -talking secrets.” - -“Well, never mind about that,” interposed Nick Carter. “We’ve got to -break it down.” - -“Hold on!” cried Douglas. “This is a pretty dangerous thing. I don’t -know that we have the right to do it. When the governor comes back he -might raise Hail Columbia with us.” - -“You mean the acting governor, don’t you?” asked Chick. - -“Either one,” replied the chief of police. “What are we expecting to -find in there, anyhow?” - -“I’m convinced that we shall find something,” declared Nick Carter. “I -want to make sure that Senator Garnford really did come in here. I have -what I regard as positive proof that the senator is in Washington, and -I want to find out who has been impersonating him in San Juan.” - -“You think that is what has happened?” asked Douglas, elevating his -eyebrows. “That sounds rather wild, don’t you think?” - -“Perhaps it does,” answered Nick. “But I’ve been on the trail of a wild -man since I came to San Juan, and I fancy I can detect the fine Italian -hand of that person in this whole affair.” - -Captain Douglas knew the reputation of Nick Carter as a detective who -did not make mistakes, and he had the highest respect for his ability -and acumen. He did not press his objection. - -At the worst, he would have Carter to share the responsibility. - -“All right, Mr. Carter!” he said. “Let her go!” - -Nick Carter, Chick, Patsy, and Clayton put their shoulders against the -door, and, at a word from Nick, the four pushed with all their might. - -There was a crash, but the door did not break down. Only a splintering -of wood told that it had been weakened by the assault. - -“Stop!” shouted Captain Douglas. “I’m afraid to go on with this. It is -liable to put us all in jail. You can’t fool with the United States -government. This is a government building, and I don’t propose to----” - -Nick Carter took no heed of this protest. He had made up his mind to -find out what was in this room, at any cost. He had come so near the -actual truth in his surmise, that he would not have drawn back now, no -matter who might have objected. - -“Again, boys!” he shouted. - -The four hurled themselves again at the weakened door. This time there -was more effect than at first. - -Another crash resounded through the building, and, as the door toppled, -the quartet went sprawling into the room, with Patsy and Chick landing -with a bump against the heavy table in the middle. - -Nick Carter and Paul Clayton fell on top of the door. - -The detective was the first to gain his feet. He had caught a glimpse -of something under the table that made him rush over in a hurry. - -“Push this table away!” he shouted. - -His two assistants and Paul Clayton put their hands to the ponderous -piece of furniture and shoved. - -Heavy as it was, it had good, easy casters. Therefore the table rolled -away several feet at once. - -As it did so, there was revealed, lying on the floor, Jabez Portersham, -his eyes asking dumbly for assistance. - -The gag was in his mouth, and the cruel wires with which he had been -bound were cutting into his flesh. He was nearly exhausted. - -“Heaven save us!” ejaculated Captain Douglas. “It’s Mr. Portersham!” - -Deeply as Nick Carter sympathized with the unfortunate acting governor, -he could not help glancing, with a slight smile of triumph, at the -chief of police. - -The detective’s vague suspicion had been verified to a degree by the -discovery. He had been certain that the man who had posed as Senator -Garnford was an impostor. Here was part proof, at least. - -Nick Carter’s ever-useful pocketknife, with its many tools in the -handle, came into play again. A pair of wire cutters was included -in its equipment, and it did not take long to snip the wires off the -unfortunate official. - -They soon had Portersham on his feet. Then Patsy and Chick, in -obedience to the instructions of Nick Carter, ran him up and down the -room a few times, to take the stiffness out of his limbs. - -Afterward they sat him in his own easy-chair, and waited for him to -compose himself. - -“What does it mean?” he asked, in a dazed way, as he passed his tongue -over his dry lips. “What could have induced Senator Garnford, of all -men, to play such a trick on me?” - -“It was Senator Garnford, then?” asked Douglas. - -“Yes. I remember that much,” was the reply. - -“You are mistaken,” put in Nick Carter. - -“No,” insisted Portersham. “I saw him. We were talking, in a friendly -way. Then, all at once, he caught me around the neck and put some -stuff to my face in a cloth that made me lose my senses. I know it was -Senator Garnford. There is no mistake about that.” - -“You’re wrong,” said Nick. “There was a mistake. A rascal pretended to -be the senator. He wanted to get to you, and now he has got away as the -result of his game here.” - -“I don’t see how it could be,” said Portersham, shaking his head -feebly. “Who do you think the man was?” - -“His name is John Garrison Rayne.” - -“What?” cried Portersham. “The safe robber and bank sneak? Rayne? I’ve -heard of him.” - -“So have I,” added Douglas bitterly. “To my cost. If it is that -blackguard, I’ll have him before he gets out of San Juan.” - -“I’m afraid not,” contradicted Nick Carter. “Unless I am very much -mistaken, he is on the Atlantic Ocean, well on his way to New York by -this time.” - -“What makes you think so?” - -“I can’t give you all my reasons in detail. It would take too long. But -we will inquire at the wharf, and I think we shall find that he went on -the _Spangled Star_, pretending he was Jabez Portersham.” - -“Pretending he was I?” put in the acting governor. “I don’t understand.” - -“You will later,” answered Nick. “There’s a telephone on the floor, -Patsy. It was knocked off the table when we shoved it away. See if you -can get the agent of the steamship line, will you?” - -“Sure!” replied Patsy, glad to have something to do. - -There was ten minutes at the telephone, and Patsy announced that Mr. -Portersham had been a passenger on the steamer _Spangled Star_, which -left at ten o’clock the night before. - -“The blackguard!” ejaculated Portersham, adding something under his -breath that was rather strong, but hardly to be wondered at in the -circumstances. “You’ll follow him up, won’t you?” - -The eyes of Nick Carter narrowed, and his firm jaw seemed to take on -additional hardness, as he replied: - -“I have business with that fellow, John Garrison Rayne, Mr. Portersham, -that has brought me all the way from New York. That is the only reason -I am here. When I do round him up--as I will before he is a month -older--I’ll make him answer for all that he has done. That means that -you will be avenged, I assure you.” - -“You will have to go to New York after him, I suppose?” - -“That is where we must look first,” returned Nick. - -Portersham clenched his fists, and, although weakened by his many hours -of torturing confinement, he showed an energy which would become more -powerful as he regained his strength. - -“I wish I could go with you, Mr. Carter,” he said. “I don’t mind a -straight fight. But this----” - -The telephone bell rang. Patsy whipped the receiver off the hook and -shouted “Hello!” - -“What’s that?” he went on, into the instrument. “You say she’s in -trouble? Got a wireless?” - -He turned to those in the room, putting a hand over the transmitter. - -“Gee!” he ejaculated. “Here’s more of it! Well, what do you think of -that?” - -“What?” demanded Chick. - -“Great Cæsar! Wouldn’t that jar you?” was all Patsy responded, as he -turned again to the telephone. - -He listened a few moments. Then, as he clapped the receiver on the -hook, he announced, trying to speak calmly: - -“The steamer _Spangled Star_ is in trouble a hundred miles out. One of -her engines has broken down, and she is limping back to port as well as -she can with the other.” - -“What? To San Juan?” demanded Chick. - -“Sure!” replied Patsy. - -“That’s good. We’ll be there to meet her when she comes in,” said Nick -Carter, with a smile that was partly a vengeful frown. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -A PRESENT FOR SAN JUAN. - - -The steamer _Spangled Star_, very lame, with only one engine working, -and with her propeller finding it difficult to urge her along on a -straight course, came into San Juan harbor, wabbling toward her wharf. - -Before she got in altogether, she stopped, for she was hardly -manageable at intervals, and a motor boat put out from the shore and -hailed her. - -In the boat were Nick Carter and his two assistants, with Captain -Douglas and Paul Clayton. - -The police uniform of Douglas was enough to make the captain of the -steamer lower a sea ladder right away. He might not have done it for -one in citizen’s clothes--which was the reason Nick Carter had insisted -on Douglas putting on his blue and brass, gold badge and all, to -impress the commander. - -Nick wasted no time when once he got on deck. Taking the skipper aside, -he asked if Jabez Portersham was aboard. - -“You bet he is. Of course, he is acting governor of Porto Rico, and I -couldn’t help taking him as a passenger, even though it made us nearly -half an hour late in getting away. I believe he’s hoodooed us, too, -for I never had my machinery break down before. We’d had our engines -inspected, and there was no need for them to throw off. Yet, here’s -our sta’boa’d engine gone so far it’ll be only good for the junk pile, -and----” - -“Where’s Mr. Portersham’s cabin?” interrupted Nick, when he saw that -the irate captain was likely to keep on airing his woes indefinitely. -“Can we see him?” - -The skipper glanced at Douglas inquiringly. An almost imperceptible -nod reassured him, and he pointed to a doorway which led to the deck -cabins--the most expensive on the vessel. - -“Look out, chief!” whispered Patsy. “He may be waiting for us. You -don’t want to run right into a gun before you know it.” - -“I don’t think he would dare to shoot just now,” smiled Nick. “When he -is cornered, Rayne knows enough to give in. He depends on his cunning -to escape later.” - -“That may be all so,” admitted Patsy grudgingly. “But you’d better let -me go first. If he plugs me, it won’t matter, because I ain’t of any -importance. It’s different with you. If he got you, where would we find -another to take your place. So----” - -Patsy was surging ahead, to go into the narrow corridor, without -waiting for permission. - -Nick caught him by the shoulder and swung him aside, with playful -sternness. - -“You rat!” he laughed. “Get out! I’m going in myself. You and Chick -keep watch on deck. You never know what Rayne will do. Get out of the -way!” - -The detective had got into the corridor, and had his eye on the door of -the stateroom that had been pointed out to him as Portersham’s, when -he was startled by a loud shout from Patsy, echoed by Chick and Paul -Clayton. - -He understood at once that the disturbance had been caused by some act -of Rayne’s, but he did not know what it was. - -It would not be safe for him to go out of the corridor now, leaving a -free route for Rayne to liberty. - -“They may have seen him at a window,” he muttered. “Anyhow, he can’t -get away so long as we have him on the ship.” - -The door of the stateroom was locked. But Nick Carter had anticipated -that, and already had his jackknife in his hand. - -One jab and a turn of the wrist, and open came the stateroom door. - -There were two rooms and a bath, it will be remembered, but only one -door led to the corridor. The others communicated with each other. - -Nick ran into the first room. It was empty! - -He hurried to the next. To his surprise, that was unoccupied, too! - -He looked into the diminutive bathroom, which was the last of the -three. But he was not astonished to see that no one was in there. - -“Chief!” bellowed Patsy, outside. - -“By all the gods!” exclaimed Nick Carter. “He’s trying to trick us, -after all.” - -The window of the middle room was wide open, with the curtains flapping -idly in the opening. - -It was not a large window, but a man not too stout, and who was fairly -active, could get through. - -This was apparent to the detective at a glance. The next moment he had -gone through headfirst, falling on the deck in a heap. - -It was rather an uncomfortable proceeding, and he bumped his head so -that it rang again. But it was the quickest way to get out, and Nick -Carter did not mind a crack on the head when on the heels of a slippery -criminal. - -He was on his feet in an instant, and looking around to see what the -situation might be. - -He heard Chick and Patsy both shouting on the other side of the vessel, -and could distinguish the sound of running feet. Then he saw Captain -Douglas holding out his arms, as if to stop somebody at the forward end -of the deck, while the commander of the steamer indulged himself in -picturesque profanity, because, as he declared, they were making a fool -of his ship. - -“Hey, chief!” bellowed Patsy. - -“What is it?” responded Nick. - -“Catch him when he comes around!” came from Chick. - -“Stop, or I’ll plug you!” roared Captain Douglas at somebody. - -It was just as this threat emanated from the chief of police that a man -came tearing across the deck, in the shadow of the smokestacks, and -made a leap for the gangway, where the ladder hung. - -The ladder was a perfectly straight one, the sort of things to be -negotiated only by a nimble person, whose head was cool and level. - -But John Garrison Rayne was both nimble and unterrified. - -He gave one glance at the ladder, saw that the motor boat was made fast -to it at the bottom, and over he went! - -He was not quick enough to elude Nick Carter, however. - -The detective surmised what he intended to do before he did it. - -So it came about that, when Rayne was nearly at the bottom of the -ladder, the detective had already begun to climb down, and was three or -four rungs on his way. - -Rayne feverishly began to untie the painter. - -“Ha! ha!” he shouted, with laughter that had a touch of hysteria in it. -“Fooled you again, Carter!” - -“Not yet, my friend!” was the detective’s rejoinder. “Look out! I’m -coming!” - -“If you do you’ll drop into the water!” - -Rayne had the boat loose by this time. Then, turning the engine over, -he got it to moving as he took the wheel to steer toward the shore. - -Again the rascal laughed loudly, while Chick and Patsy, on the deck -above, screamed warnings to their chief. - -“Look out!” begged Patsy. “Better let him go than you tumble into the -sea. Don’t take the chance!” - -“That’s so. Keep back!” added Chick. - -Paul Clayton and Douglas were both standing near the side of the ship, -looking over. - -The former did not speak, while the chief of police contented himself -with pointing his revolver at John Garrison Rayne, in the motor boat, -and threatening to fill him so full of lead that he would weigh a ton. - -It was just now that Nick Carter took the chance which his assistants -pleaded so hard with him not to attempt. - -He saw that there was a considerable width of open water between him -and the motor boat. On the other hand, he was far enough up the ladder -to be able to make a considerable broad jump. - -The thought of this scoundrel getting away, now that he was so nearly -caught, maddened him. So, judging his distance carefully, he leaped out -from the ladder with all the power he could summon. - -It was a risky performance. But luck reënforced judgment, and the -detective came plump down into the waist of the little craft, -immediately behind Rayne, who stood at the wheel, with his feet far -down in the well. - -The motor boat rocked dangerously from the concussion when Nick Carter -dropped. Before it could quite recover, it was caught in a cross sea -that tested it a little more. - -Only the most skillful manipulation by Rayne prevented it capsizing. - -Nick gave him just time to get the boat on an even keel. Then he fell -upon the rascal with both hands! - -A rough and tumble in a motor boat is necessarily full of risk. It is -always likely to end in a ducking for both combatants. - -How Nick Carter and John Garrison Rayne escaped this unpleasantness is -not to be explained. Only the fact can be stated. - -Perhaps it was because Nick Carter was so dexterous in putting on the -handcuffs when the Apache was not looking. - -At all events, in less than two minutes, after a hard fight, John -Garrison Rayne lay in the bottom of the dinky little craft, handcuffed, -and with the detective sitting on him. - -The boat was steered back to the ship, and the others came aboard. - -“See if he has got the jewelry, Chick,” ordered Nick Carter. “I’ll hold -him.” - -“Get back there, Chick!” commanded Patsy, grinning. “I’m the boy that -can frisk him.” - -“Here’s two bags,” announced Chick, as he brought them forth from the -rascal’s inside pockets. - -“Let Mr. Clayton look at them and see what’s inside.” - -The bags were given to Clayton, and while he went hastily through their -contents and saw that they made up a large part of the Stephen Reed -booty, including the sultan’s pearls, Patsy found the flat packing -inside Rayne’s shirt. - -“That about makes the tally,” said Clayton. “How can I ever thank you, -Mr. Carter?” he added, with something like a sob. - -“Nonsense,” was Nick Carter’s reply. “It was all in the day’s work. Now -that we’ve got the jewelry, we’ll watch it closer than we did before.” - -“When are we going to New York?” asked Patsy. - -“As soon as we can get a ship to take us,” said Nick earnestly. - -“What are you going to do with this fellow?” asked Captain Douglas, -stirring John Garrison Rayne with his foot. “Do you want to take him to -New York to answer to this charge of stealing the jewelry, or will you -leave him in San Juan, to be put through in our criminal courts?” - -“You can have him,” laughed Nick Carter. - - -THE END. - - -“The Clew of the White Collar; or, Nick Carter on a Twisted Trail,” -will be the title of the long, complete story which you will find in -the next issue, No. 144, of the NICK CARTER STORIES, out June 12th. In -the forthcoming story you will read of the further adventures of the -famous detective with the clever John Garrison Rayne. - - - - -Where’s the Commandant? - -By C. C. WADDELL. - -(This interesting story was commenced in No. 140 of NICK CARTER -STORIES. Back numbers can always be obtained from your news dealer or -the publishers.) - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -IN THE ATTIC. - - -There is little to be gained, however, from regrets over lost -opportunities, and Meredith, as befitted the daughter of an officer -rated one of the most resourceful in the service, turned very speedily -from that bootless pursuit to consider what advantage she still might -glean from the information which had come her way. - -One point she settled without delay; she would not hold to her -intention of leaving the roof she was under immediately after -breakfast. On the other hand--distasteful as the experience might -prove--she would remain until she had successfully ferreted out the -true cause of all the mystery which seemed to envelop the place and its -occupants. Heedless of her obligations as a guest, she would watch with -unremitting vigilance every move of her host and hostess. - -A higher law than that of hospitality now demanded her allegiance; for, -convinced that Mrs. Schilder was concerned in the colonel’s abduction, -or at least friendly to the abductors, she was prepared to cast off all -restraints, and stand solely on the principle. “All is fair in war.” - -Also she realized that she must communicate her discoveries promptly -to Grail. The intelligence might very readily dovetail in with what he -already had, and aid him materially in his task. - -Therefore, as soon as the morning had sufficiently advanced to make -her appearance seem natural to any servants who might be about, she -arose, and, leaving Mrs. Schilder still soundly asleep, hastened to -her own room, with the idea of dressing, and proceeding to the nearest -telephone station. There were telephones in the house, of course, but -she did not care to use any of them at the risk of being overheard. - -On arriving at the chamber she had left in such panic the night before, -she looked vainly about for the frock she had taken off, which, owing -to the haste of her departure from Chicago, was the only one she had -brought with her. - -Hurriedly she rang the bell to summon Marie, and institute inquiries. - -“Pardon, ma’mselle.” The maid shrugged her shoulders. “Ze skirt -had rubbed against ze w’eel of ze motor, and was in a condition -deplorable--all covered wiz grease and dust down ze side. I took ze -liberty, ma’mselle, to have eet sent to ze cleanair’s, and eet weel -not be back before twelve o’clock. Naturally, I did not anticipate zat -ma’mselle would arise so early.” - -Meredith gave a gasp. She herself had not noticed that the dress was -soiled on removing it, although she was fair enough to admit that in -her preoccupation at that time she might have overlooked even more -serious damage. Still, that was not the point. Was she to be held -prisoner for any such absurd cause until noon? - -“But I wish to go out, Marie,” she expostulated, “now, at once! You -must get me something to wear.” - -The girl again shrugged helplessly. “Pardon once more, ma’mselle, -but Madame Schildair’s figure is so tall and slendair zat I fear eet -would be impossible for ma’mselle to wear any of her gowns. Her waist -ees only twenty-two inch, w’ereas ma’mselle”--she cast a calculating -glance--“must be fully twenty-six.” - -“Then get me something of yours,” it was on Meredith’s lips to demand; -“something of somebody’s, if even only a raincoat to cover me with.” -But she checked herself in time. It would not do to attach too much -importance to her errand; already Marie was beginning to eye her -curiously. - -“Very well, then,” she said carelessly. “I suppose I shall simply have -to wait. Fortunately, it does not make any especial difference.” - -After all, the thought had struck her, there would be very little risk -in telephoning from the house, provided she used the main instrument -in the library downstairs, and saw to it that all the extensions were -switched off. - -But when, with this project in view, she repaired to the library, she -found, to her disgust, that Schilder was ensconced there, going over -some papers, and she had to fabricate a hasty and rather feeble excuse -to account for her intrusion. - -Moreover, a second visit, a half hour later, found him still there; and -when a third trip revealed him seemingly anchored to his chair, and she -ventured to inquire, in a casual way, what time he usually departed for -business, he informed her, rather shortly, that he was not going to the -office that morning. He had matters to attend to at home. - -A messenger call box in the hall seemed to offer her recourse, and, -grasping at the suggestion, she gave the handle a twist which almost -jerked it off; then hastened to her room to write a note to Grail. - -But, with the note finished, the slow minutes passed without any -response to her ring, until it seemed certain that even the most -tortoiselike messenger ought to have arrived, and she started an -investigation, only to learn that the boy had come and been sent away -again, since she had failed to apprise the man at the door of having -sent in a call. - -Swallowing her chagrin as best she could, she gave another twist to -the knob, and this time not only gave notice of her action, but seated -herself at the window to watch for the messenger. - -Presently a blue-uniformed boy hove in sight down the street, and -turned his bicycle into the drive leading up to the door. Meredith, -note in hand, lost no time in getting downstairs; but it was only to -see the servant on guard turning back from the entrance. - -“Boy hasn’t showed up yet, ma’am,” he assured her unfalteringly. -“Wonderful how long them little rascals does take sometimes to get -around.” - -Meredith realized now, with a sick feeling, what she had begun to -suspect for an hour or more past--that she was being deliberately -thwarted and baffled in her attempts to communicate with Grail, -probably under instructions from Mrs. Schilder herself. - -The incident of the dress, the palpable falsehood in regard to the -coming of the messenger boy; more than all, the constant if unobtrusive -surveillance exercised by Marie, all assured her that she was making no -mistake. Now that she came to think of it, she could not recall a time -that morning when the maid, with her sly, watchful eyes, had not been -hovering close at hand, apparently absorbed in her duties, yet always -in a position to note everything that Meredith might do. - -Did it mean, then, that she was to be cut off from all intercourse with -the outside world? If she should assert herself, and insist on using -the telephone, would the polite evasions and lies she had hitherto met -change to harsher and more restrictive measures? - -For a moment she was tempted to put the matter to the test; then, with -more sober second thought, she decided to wait. To provoke a scene at -this juncture, or to display any undue eagerness to get away, would be -but to disclose her hand to Mrs. Schilder. It was not by force, but by -craft, and a pretense of innocence, that she must undermine her wily -antagonist. She must match her wits against those of the other woman -and overcome. - -Suddenly, like a flash of inspiration, there came to her mind the -recollection of the wireless telephone apparatus which her father had -once rigged up for experimental purposes in the attic of this very -house. The colonel had become very friendly with Otto Schilder, and, -being an enthusiastic electrician, had suggested the installation -of the wireless apparatus, with which they might hold experimental -conversations, and had forthwith secured the instruments and arranged -them in the Schilders’ attic. Meredith was not especially interested in -such experiments, but she had often seen her father use the apparatus -at the fort, and believed she could manage it in such an emergency. - -The door leading up to the attic from the third floor was unlocked, -but how to escape the sharp espionage of Marie presented a difficulty, -and after vainly trying a number of ruses, she almost despaired of -accomplishing it, until at last, about noon, hope was revived by the -ringing of a bell summoning Marie to her mistress. - -The maid who took her place on guard, a stupid sort of girl, Meredith -had little difficulty in disposing of; then, the coast clear at last, -she hurried to the floor above. - -The place, lighted only from above by small skylights, stretched away, -dim and shadowy, into the recesses and corners under the eaves. There -were boxes and packing cases all around, behind which anything might -be lurking. The silence, too, was a little fearsome; the only sound to -break the stillness was the buzzing of a fly. - -Meredith did not falter long, however, but turned to the business -before her, and, lightly threading her way between the boxes, reached -the table, with its black cabinet on top, and the wires running up to -the mast on the roof. - -Instrument, table and all were covered with the dust of long disuse, -but when she had slipped the receiver on over her ears, and had touched -a knob or two on the box, she was delighted to find that the instrument -had lost none of its efficiency. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -WIRELESS TALK. - - -At first, a mere jumble of indistinguishable sounds greeted her, -punctuated by the sharp crack-crack from two amateur wireless -telegraphers holding conversation across her field of hearing; but soon -she had remedied all that, and had her apparatus tuned down to the wave -lengths of the instrument at the post. - -“Hello, there!” she broke in heedlessly on some practice work being -given a couple of recruits by a sergeant instructor. “This is -important,” she said, as the sergeant advised her, rather brusquely, -not to “butt in.” “I wish to speak to Adjutant Grail at once!” - -“And who are you?” the sergeant demanded, still truculent over the -interruption. - -“Miss Vedant!” - -“Oh!” The voice, borne on the wings of the air, was now smooth and soft -as oil. “Excuse me, miss, for speaking as I did. I mistook you for one -of those amateurs that’s always bothering around. I’m sorry, miss, but -Captain Grail ain’t at the post just now.” - -“Do you know where he is, then? Or could you get hold of him for me?” - -“I haven’t the slightest idea where he is, ma’am.” The sergeant’s stiff -tone seemed also to indicate that neither did he care. Evidently he was -of the party to whom Grail’s very name had become hateful. - -Recollecting, however, to whom he was talking, he added, less -churlishly: “The adjutant, ma’am, as I understand it, hasn’t been on -the reservation since seven o’clock last night, and he left no word -where he was going.” - -“Nor when to expect him back?” - -“Nor when to expect him back,” the sergeant echoed, a trifle cynically, -for it was a matter of general belief at the barracks that Grail, -unable to face the charges against him, had skipped out. Still, it was -not for him to voice any such rumor to the colonel’s daughter, and he -inquired diplomatically: “In case he does come in, ma’am, is there any -message you wish to leave for him?” - -“No; I guess not.” She hesitated. “No. I will try to call him up later -in the day.” - -Bitterly disappointed at the failure, and doubtful whether another -opportunity would be granted her to reach the attic, she leaned her -head in her two hands over the table, and tried to decide what to do. - -Might it not be better, now that she was here, to remain beside the -instrument until she could effect communication with Grail, rather -than to risk the very dubious chances of again eluding the vigilance -belowstairs? But she shook her head. Her absence, once discovered, -and with the certainty that she could not have left the house in -dishabille, they would never rest until they had ransacked the place -from cellar to roof. Her retreat could not fail to be discovered, -unless she were able to hide from the prying eyes of the searchers. - -The suggestion drew her glance to a closet or compartment at one side -of the attic, which, sheathed with iron, and having a combination lock -on the door, had been fitted up as a sort of strong room. She had heard -it spoken of, and remembered hearing that it was now in disuse and -unlocked. - -It was the very place. No one would ever dream of her being secreted -inside, and she would be almost as safe from discovery as in a -burglar-proof vault; yet there was a window at one side to give her -light and air, and she could be just as comfortable there as in the -wider spaces of the attic outside. - -She stepped quickly to the door, but as she paused to fumble with the -latch there reached her from within a faint sound of rustling and -scratching. - -Rats! The idea of opening that door, or seeking refuge in the strong -room, died abruptly. With a timorous gasp, she fled down the attic -steps as fast as her feet could carry her. - -Fortunately, there was no one on the third floor to witness her -breathless exit, and, recovering somewhat from her panic, she managed -to close the attic door and regain her own room without detection. - -Hardly was she safe, however, before Marie made her appearance, looking -distinctly worried and upset. - -“Where has ma’mselle been?” she demanded, almost crossly. “I have been -looking everywhere for her to serve her ze luncheon.” - -“I?” Meredith found it hard work not to pant. “Oh, I have just been -strolling about the house. By the way, Marie,” deftly turning the -subject, “has not that frock of mine come back from the cleaner’s yet?” - -Marie was apologetic. The “pig of a cleaner” had deceived her -outrageously; she had just sent over for the frock, only to be informed -that it would not be finished until four o’clock. - -“Oh, well, it really makes no difference,” Meredith assured her -carelessly. “Since I have given up the idea of going out to-day. -Indeed, I think I shall try to take a long nap this afternoon. I did -not sleep at all well last night.” - -With this plausible excuse, she managed to throw the sentinel maid -off guard, and, as Mrs. Schilder went out in the automobile, was -able to effect two more trips to the attic undiscovered, although, -unfortunately, without result. Each time she was informed that Captain -Grail had not yet returned to the post. - -So the long afternoon wore away fruitlessly, and with the passing of -the hours passed also that feeling of buoyancy which Meredith had -experienced in the morning, and which, no doubt, was largely due to the -excitement of finding herself actively involved in the game. - -Now, with the reaction, she was growing dispirited and apprehensive -once more. Nothing seemed to have been accomplished. Her father’s -whereabouts still continued a mystery; and, in addition, she now -began to worry over Grail’s protracted absence. What if something had -happened to him, too? Indeed, was it not almost certain that something -must have happened to him? - -Darker and darker grew her misgivings as she gave rein to her -imagination, until, when Mrs. Schilder at last came in, she found the -poor girl a picture of disconsolate woe. - -“Is there no news?” Meredith raised her wan face in piteous question. -Even from this deceitful source she might gather something in the way -of a glance or expression. - -But Mrs. Schilder’s countenance revealed nothing. - -“I am sorry,” she said, “but the investigation seems to have come to a -standstill. Every clew has been carefully worked out, the officers tell -me, but to absolutely no avail. However,” she dropped her gloved hand -on Meredith’s shoulder, “you must not let that discourage you, my dear. -No news is always good news, remember; and no one concerned is lacking -in activity in any direction. Mr. Schilder, indeed, is so deeply -concerned that he has invited all the officers of the post to meet him -here to-night and discuss what measures shall next be undertaken, and -he says that unless they can show him a reasonable promise of success -he will report the disappearance to the civil authorities. - -“He told me to tell you of this conference, my dear,” she went on, “and -ask you if you did not want to be present; although I told him that I -hardly deemed it wise, since theories and conjectures are sure to be -advanced which cannot help but be harrowing to you.” - -“No.” Meredith’s tremors ceased with the offer of a change of action. -Major Appleby might be bombastic, and Lieutenant Hemingway a fool, but -surely there was some one among the officers--blunt old Dobbs, the -surgeon, maybe--to whom she could whisper her suspicions. - -“No,” she repeated, with decision, “there can be nothing said to cause -me more apprehension than the possibilities I have already pictured to -myself. Thank Mr. Schilder for me, please, and tell him that I shall -certainly attend the conference.” - -First, however, she determined to call up Grail once more; then, if -she failed to find him at the fort, she would be satisfied that some -calamity had befallen him, and that both for his sake and her father’s -she would have to resort to another ally. - -Accordingly, an opportunity arising for her to slip away just as Major -Appleby and his associates commenced to arrive, she stole once more to -the attic. - -Confronted by the darkness and the possibility of scampering rats, she -halted for a moment, strongly tempted to turn and flee; then, nerving -herself to the effort, although still quaking with trepidation, she -dashed up the steps and over toward the wireless instrument. - -Halfway across the space, her wild rush was abruptly stayed, and she -came to her knees, a stifled shriek of terror on her lips. - -She had stumbled over the body of a man, bound and gagged, lying -directly in her path. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -THE MARKED NAMES. - - -As Grail turned back into his quarters, after seeing Meredith off, that -night of her arrival from Chicago, his face had fallen into lines of -troubled solicitude, and he gave an ominous shake of the head, for it -was idle to deny that the startling news concerning Sasaku had filled -him with the gravest sort of misgivings. Indicating that this was no -ordinary game of hide and seek, such as the gumshoe men of the various -powers are accustomed to play with each other, but a sinister intrigue, -prepared to balk at nothing to gain its ends, it raised a serious -question as to the possible fate which had befallen the colonel. - -Hurriedly summoning his “striker,” he sent him out for a copy of the -extra _Herald_ containing an account of the murder; then, when the -paper had arrived, he devoted himself to a careful perusal and analysis -of the details. - -There was really but little to be gleaned. The body of the Japanese -had been found on the stairs of a rooming house for laboring men, down -near the river front, and, as Grail noted, not more than a block or two -away from the Dolliver Foundry. Struck evidently from behind, by an -unexpected knife thrust, as he was starting to go out, he had lurched -forward, clutching at the banister, then sagged down lifeless on the -third step from the top, his straw hat rolling on down the flight, and, -by exciting the curiosity of a lodger on the floor below, leading, -later on, to a discovery of the dead man. - -Life had not been extinct more than half an hour when he was found, -it was stated, and thus the time of the murder was definitely fixed -at about two o’clock in the afternoon; yet, although a number of the -occupants of the place had been in their rooms at that hour, no one -could be unearthed who had heard any outcry or sound of altercation. - -Indeed, there seemed an utter lack of any clew to indicate the motive -or perpetrator of the crime. The door of the house was usually -left open, all kinds of people coming and going at will; so it was -assumed that the murderer must have entered deliberately, gained the -third floor, then laid in wait in the dark hallway until Sasaku, all -unsuspecting, came out. That the assassin did not belong in the house -seemed certain, from the fact that the Japanese was an utter stranger -in the place, having only engaged his room the afternoon before, and -being, so far as could be learned, unacquainted with any of the other -tenants. Besides, all those at home at the time of the affair were able -to account satisfactorily for their movements. - -Some significance, at first, was attached to the circumstance that the -door of the room directly across the corridor from Sasaku’s was found -ajar, whereas the man to whom the room belonged, a foundry worker by -the name of Marice Matschka, was known to be very circumspect about -keeping his door locked, and one of the fourth-floor lodgers, who -had come in at noon, asserted that when he passed by the door had -undoubtedly been closed. - -Matschka, however, was able to prove conclusively that he himself had -not been back to the place since leaving for work at six o’clock that -morning, and also stoutly denied having given up his key, or sent any -one else there. He was confident, he said, that he had locked the door -behind him, as usual, that morning, but, of course, might be mistaken, -and in that case it would have been an easy matter for the unlatched -portal to have swung open in the draft. - -There was, moreover, no reason to believe that he had known the -Japanese, or could have harbored ill will against him for any cause, so -this line of investigation was very speedily abandoned. - -In short, the case was a puzzle, looked at from any angle. Sasaku’s -scanty effects, consisting chiefly of his clothes, a few letters, and a -notebook containing a few names and addresses, offered nothing in the -way of a clew; nor did his history, so far as it could be traced out, -disclose the existence of any enemies. He had been an affable, friendly -sort of a little chap, generally well liked. Finally, it was plain -that robbery was not the cause, since a diamond ring, a gold watch and -chain, and some fifty dollars in his pocket, had been left untouched. - -The police, all at sea for an adequate motive, had to fall back on the -fantastic theory that he had been the victim of some sort of Oriental -vendetta at the hands of his own countrymen; and, with great pretense -at secret knowledge, made significant allusions to oath-bound clans and -mysterious brotherhoods. - -Grail had just about completed his reading of the newspaper narrative, -digesting carefully not only what appeared, but also what lay between -the lines, when Sergeant Cato entered and saluted him. - -The sergeant was dusty and perspiring from what had evidently been an -arduous day, but his beaming expression showed that his efforts had not -been in vain. - -“You’ve found out what I wanted, eh?” Grail glanced up eagerly. - -“I think I’ve got it all, sir.” - -“Good!” The adjutant nodded toward a chair, and extended a cigar. “Sit -down and make yourself comfortable, sergeant, and let’s have the story -as quickly as possible. I would tell you to go and get something to -eat first, but things have been happening since you’ve been away that -make haste imperative.” - -“Oh, I’m not hungry, sir,” Cato assured him. “This beats a meal any -old time”--puffing luxuriously at the perfecto--“and, besides, I had a -sandwich over at Sunset Bluffs.” - -“Sunset Bluffs, eh? Then you _did_ have time to look up the motor-boat -business for me?” - -“Sure, sir. It came in yesterday morning, just as you said, billed to -Otto Schilder, and was taken out on his order late yesterday afternoon -by Mike Flannery, a truckman over there on the other side of the river.” - -“And you talked to Flannery, of course?” - -“No.” Cato shook his head. “He was out with his wagon. But I did -better, sir. I had a chin with Flannery’s kid, a boy about ten years -old.” - -“Ah!” - -“Yes, sir. He and I took in a moving-picture show together”--the -sergeant grinned--“and before it was over I guess he had told enough to -earn him the licking of his life, if the old man should ever find it -out. His father, it seems, intended to haul the boat out to the lake -last night, but just as he was getting ready to start out a stranger -came around to engage him for an immediate moving job. A big, dark-eyed -man, the boy said he was, who gave the name of Dabney, and seemed to be -in a great hurry.” - -“A big, dark-eyed man, who gave the name of Dabney,” Grail echoed. “Go -on!” - -“Well sir, Flannery, seeing a chance to squeeze in some extra money, -took him up, and, leaving the boat there in his stable yard, went off -with his truck and horses, expecting to be back and start for the lake -about one o’clock, Dabney telling him that his job wouldn’t take more -than that long. What with one thing and another, though, he didn’t get -back until the six-o’clock whistles were blowing, and then, according -to the kid, he sure turned the air blue. Somebody had borrowed the -motor boat during his absence, for a joy ride--his yard is only a -stone’s throw from the river--and it was a sight to look at, all -covered with river mud and grease, and dripping wet inside and out. He -was in an awful sweat for fear Schilder would find out about it, and he -worked like a nailer for over two hours, cleaning it up and polishing -the brasswork, before he dared set out with it for the lake. Funny -thing, though,” Cato concluded, “he doesn’t suspect this man Dabney in -the matter at all. He blames a gang of young roughs who live in the -neighborhood.” - -Grail smiled. “As you infer, sergeant, it was Dabney, all right,” he -said. “He had need for a swift boat on the river last night, and he -didn’t want the hiring of one to be traced to him. Consequently, he -adopted this rather elaborate ruse to get hold of the one in Flannery’s -care. Dabney, although passing himself off as an Englishman, and -ostensibly conducting a real-estate office, is, I may as well tell you, -the man tipped off to me by Sasaku as a Russian spy, and the leader of -the operations to which Colonel Vedant has fallen victim.” - -“Then you think,” Cato inquired quickly, “that the colonel was carried -off in this motor boat?” - -“Assuredly,” Grail answered, and briefly explained his theory of -the seizure, and the employment of the electric crane to convey the -prisoner and his captors outside of the inclosure. - -“The next thing, of course,” he concluded, “was to get their man away -as quickly and quietly as possible, and, naturally, the river suggested -itself as the most convenient avenue.” - -“That sounds plausible enough.” Cato thoughtfully scratched his head. -“But what gets me, captain, is how did they know so much about the -motor boat, and just how to get hold of it? Is this Dabney-ovitch, or -whatever his real name is, a pal of Mr. Schilder’s?” - -“No,” the adjutant admitted. “On the other hand, I think he has taken -especial pains to avoid meeting Schilder, or coming under his eye. -But”--he hesitated slightly--“the point you raise offers no difficulty. -Take my word for it, sergeant, there was a way for Dabney to find out -with absolute certainty anything he wanted.” - -“And now,” he broke off, rather abruptly, “tell me what you discovered -in regard to the cigarette?” - -“Oh, that was easy.” Cato’s brows cleared. “I scored a bull’s-eye the -second place I went into. It’s a little tobacco and stationery shop -down on Third Street, and the old fellow who runs it is one of the -talkative kind. He said he’d laid in a stock of these cigarettes for -four customers of his who get their newspapers there every morning, and -who live at a rooming house just around the corner. Here, I have the -names.” He produced a card on which he had jotted a memorandum. “Miller -Vance----” - -“Ah!” Grail interrupted sharply. “The man who operated the crane. I had -a very strong suspicion that he was Russian, for all his alias, and the -American twist he had managed to acquire to his tongue. However, that -is not especially important. Go on, sergeant.” - -“I, Pepernik, Louis Minowsky,” read Cato, “and Maurice Matschka.” - -“Maurice Matschka!” The officer sprang to his feet. “That is a link -worth looking into,” he muttered. “Come on!” He caught up his hat, and -gave a quick nod of the head toward Cato. “I am going to the city hall.” - -Arriving at the municipal building, and proceeding to police -headquarters, he was directed, on inquiry, to a certain Detective -Krause, as having the case of the murdered Japanese in charge. - -“What makes all you people out at the fort so interested in this -affair, anyhow?” the detective asked, with a curious glance at Grail. -“Major Appleby and Lieutenant Hemingway was over here before supper, -and I told them all there was to know. The best I can do for you, -captain, is just to go over the same ground.” - -“Of course,” Grail assented, with a smile. “Still you know how it is, -Mr. Krause; every one wants to hear a story at firsthand; and, as I -was, perhaps, better acquainted with poor Sasaku than any of the other -officers at the mess, there is just a possibility that I may be able to -throw some light on the tragedy.” - -As a matter of fact, the detective required very little urging. He had -come to such an absolute halt in the investigation that he was only too -willing to repeat the story to any one who offered even the faintest -show of providing a solution. - -His recital, though, if somewhat more diffuse, was practically the same -as that which Grail had already read in the newspaper. He presented -nothing new in the way of any material details. - -“H’m!” The adjutant thoughtfully stroked his chin at the completion of -the narrative. “There would be no objection, I suppose, to letting me -examine the notebook which you say was found on Sasaku?” - -“Certainly not, sir.” He stepped away to get it, adding, as he returned -and handed it over: “You won’t find anything there to help you, -captain. We’ve been over it already with a fine-tooth comb, and it -seems nothing but a list of names and people he’d met; some of them in -the city directory, and some not.” - -Grail, however, evidently preferred to decide this point for himself; -for slowly and painstakingly he ran over the pages, scrutinizing each -entry carefully before he passed on to the next. - -The detective, fidgeting at what he manifestly regarded as wasted -time, presently excused himself, on the plea of wanting to do some -telephoning, and sauntered off, and, with his going, Grail turned -back a couple of pages to point out significantly to Cato the name of -Dabney, with a little, almost indistinguishable mark set opposite it. - -No further discovery was elicited until they reached the last page; -then Grail gave a sudden start, as he read, with the same cabalistic -mark against it, the name of Rezonoff. - -“Rezonoff!” he muttered, with a frown of grave foreboding. “That can -only be Count Boris Rezonoff, captain in the imperial engineers!” - -Cato, gathering from his tone that something was seriously wrong, edged -up closer. - -“Is it bad, sir?” he whispered. - -Grail vouchsafed no answer, but stood silent a moment, the look of -apprehension growing on his face; then snapped open his watch and -glanced at the time. - -“Too early, by far,” he commented, under his breath. “I shall have to -wait at least two hours yet.” - -Meanwhile, Cato, glancing over his shoulder, had been reading down the -page of the notebook, and now he gave a quick exclamation. - -“There’s another name with that same mark against it,” he breathed -excitedly. “Don’t you see it! Down there at the bottom, underneath your -thumb!” - -But Grail, as though recalled to himself, sharply closed the book. - -“Oh, that one is of no consequence,” he insisted; yet he knew that it -was, for he had already noted the name with the telltale check opposite. - -In Sasaku’s stiff, angular handwriting was set down: “Mrs. Otto -Schilder!” - - -TO BE CONTINUED. - - - - -THE NEGRO AND THE HORSE. - - -There is a time for everything, and the secret of success in life lies -in doing things at just the right minute. - -A veterinary surgeon had occasion to instruct a colored stableman how -to administer medicine to an ailing horse. He was to get a common tin -tube--a bean blower--put a dose of the medicine in it, insert one end -of the tube into the horse’s mouth, and blow vigorously into the other -end, and so force the medicine down the horse’s throat. - -Half an hour afterward, the colored man appeared at the surgeon’s -office, looking very much out of sorts. - -“What is the matter?” inquired the doctor, with some concern. - -“Why, boss, dat hoss, he--he blew fust!” - - - - -THE NEWS OF ALL NATIONS. - - -Story of “Scotty” Hero of Zinc Fields. - -Picture a man who has been badly bent at times--aye, even broke unto -the last jitney--one who has tasted the bitter things of life along -with the sweet, one who has seen a fortune swept away in a twinkling, -only to be regained after a long, persistent struggle. Picture a good -loser, who has lost more than most men will ever earn, and who pins -his faith in the mining industry to such an extent that he laughs at -failure and hangs on like a bulldog until he succeeds, and you have a -mind’s-eye view of J. M. Short, the best known operator in the mining -district near Joplin, Mo.--the “Scotty” of the zinc fields. - -Thirty-two years ago Short was working for $1.25 a per day at Galena, -Kan., and a few years later moved to Joplin, landing here with the -price of one ham sandwich. He worked for low wages until he had saved -enough to buy a prospect drill, and decided to look for ore on his own -responsibility. - -His first few holes were blanks; the cost of sinking them was heavy, -considering Short’s limited finances. For a time it looked as though -he was destined to go back to wages. However, he hung on until almost -his last penny was gone; then luck smiled on him, and he made his -first strike. He had been watching the drill clippings for so long -and finding only barren pieces of rock that he could hardly believe -the truth when at last the sand bucket brought up a quantity of -yellow-looking dirt, rich in zinc ore. - -Short sold this “prospect” for $5,000 cash, and immediately invested -the whole amount in what was known as the Bunker Hill Mine, which -netted him $65,000 in eighteen months, part of which--$3,000--he -reinvested in the Sacagawea Zinc Company, from which he profited, -inside of three months, to the tune of $17,000 more. A year later Short -again became “dead broke” on another mining venture, and again went to -work for wages. - -Depriving himself of all luxuries and many necessities, he continued -to work for wages until he had saved up $1,800, when he determined -to again “try his hand.” One day, during an extremely dry summer, he -was driving by a piece of land where the Sitting Bull Mine was later -developed. He noticed a man sinking a hole to get water at a point -where a spring had once been. The land was low and boggy and the digger -was taking out shale and soapstone. The formation looked good to Short, -and he at once procured a forty-acre lease from the owner. With $1,800, -his sole capital, Short drilled the ground, discovered a rich run of -ore, and put down a shaft to the 185-foot level. The owner of the land -put up the capital for building a $15,000 mill. Ninety days later Short -had paid for the mill, had $10,000 in the bank to his credit, and had -a vast body of ore blocked out which netted him more than $100,000 in -profits in the next few months. - -Almost immediately he secured another lease and opened up what is known -as the Pocahontas Mine, from which he cleared another $100,000. Then -followed in quick succession the Geronimo and the Waneta-Pearl. Short -is now interested in, if not the entire owner of, more than a dozen -valuable properties, so that, with the sudden jump in price of zinc -concentrates from thirty-five to seventy-five dollars per ton, this -Scotty of the zinc mines has but faint idea of what he is really worth. - - -Talk is Cheap. - -A retired United States army officer says the European war is “a -horrible slaughter, which should be halted by some neutral power.” The -neutral power that attempted to halt it forcibly would simply increase -the slaughter and add its own blood to the crimson tide. - - -Canada Spends Millions on Ports. - -Canada is making extensive improvements in her seaports. At Halifax -work is under way which will cost $10,000,000, while at St. John, -New Brunswick, $8,000,000 is being spent. Levis, opposite Quebec, is -building the largest dry dock in America. Much work is also being done -at the Pacific coast ports. - - -Finds Petrified Snake in Rock. - -While blasting some limestone rocks in the side of Stone Mountain, near -Big Laurel, Va., the workmen found a petrified snake imbedded in the -rocks. The snake was coiled as if making ready to spring at something, -and is believed to have been a copperhead. - - -Failures. - -Commercial failures in the United States last year were 8,344. - - -Cossacks Rescue Little Girl. - -A little incident, told in Danish newspapers which have arrived in -Chicago, shows that the Cossacks are not as cruel as they are sometimes -depicted. Recently while advancing against a detachment of Turks, a -company of Cossacks found a little girl, two years old, who had been -deserted by her parents in their precipitate flight. They brought the -little one to the headquarters of the regiment, where she received food -and was made comfortable in every way. - -In the Greek Catholic Church in the village of Bardus the little -foundling was baptized according to the orthodox ritual. The commander -of the regiment and Princess Gelovana, wife of a member of the Duma, -served as godparents of the child. The little girl received the name -of Alexandre Donshaga, after the regiment known as Don Cossacks. The -officers promised to contribute monthly toward the maintenance and -education of this little “daughter of the regiment.” - - -Girl in Soldier’s Uniform. - -People in the vicinity of Cooke’s Church, on Queen Street, in Toronto, -at two-thirty in the afternoon were left wondering whether the Germans -had landed in the city in such large numbers that the military -authorities had found it necessary to mobilize a regiment of the fair -sex to aid the soldiers in driving them back. - -The cause of the sensation was a pretty young lady named Clara Philip, -who, by the terms of a wager she had made with a lady friend, had to -walk down Mutual Street from Shuter to Queen Street dressed in full -soldier’s uniform, for a box of chocolates. - -The young lady with curly hair peeping out under the service cap, -looked bewitching in the uniform, although it was somewhat too large -for her, and despite the fact that the heavy army boots were dispensed -with for her own dainty pair of “threes.” - -“It certainly did feel funny walking down the street with some of the -people turning up their noses at me and others convulsed in laughter, -but I was determined to win the bet, and did,” said Miss Philip, after -her sensational parade. - -“Oh, it was funny. On the way along I had the pleasure of saluting -a ‘brother’ soldier, who with much grace returned the salute, and a -little farther along a ‘guardian of the law’ discreetly turned and -walked in the opposite direction. That is the way I became richer by a -large box of chocolates.” - - -Sings as Surgeons Operate. - -Zouave Besson, a French trooper, while undergoing an operation at the -Grand Palais, in Paris, a hospital for the last three months, lustily -sang the “Marseillaise” from the beginning to the end, weakening -slightly toward the close of the last stanza. - -This patriotic demonstration is a contradiction of the proverb that -a good man will swear while he is under the influence of chloroform. -After the operation Besson’s nurse told him of his patriotism in -singing the national anthem. - -He replied: “When I was just going on I realized that I was singing the -‘Marseillaise,’ and brought all my will power to bear to sing it to the -end.” He recovered nicely. - - -Death of a Spy. - -Death to all spies is the military rule. One of the most dramatic of -the many minor tragedies of the war was seen at Lassigny recently, -when a captive in a black gown, to all appearances a nun, was suddenly -led before a firing squad and shot down at the officer’s command. The -startled onlookers learned that the squad’s victim was a daring young -lieutenant in the German army who had got inside the French lines by -donning a nun’s attire. So good was his disguise that he had gone for a -considerable distance and probably had obtained much information that -would have proved valuable had he escaped. - -Had the spy been a woman, the penalty would have been the same. Such is -the law of war. Many women spies have been caught and executed. - - -Oldest Veteran in Southwest Section. - -Probably the oldest, and surely the most noted Confederate veteran now -living in the Southwest is Doctor Thomas E. Berry, of Oklahoma City, -Okla., a typical “Kentucky colonel,” who is now eighty-three years old. -He walks as straight as a young Indian, has never used intoxicating -beverages or tobacco and has never suffered from fever or other -sickness, and during his long and eventful career he has been soldier, -globe trotter, author, duelist, physician, and surgeon. - -In the Civil War he served with the Confederate generals, Morgan and -Forest, was captured twelve times by the Yankees, and escaped that many -times from their prisons. He received twenty-two bullet wounds and -several saber cuts during the four years of fighting, and since the -close of the war has fought six duels in foreign lands. - -Doctor Berry served under Joe Shelby in Mexico and helped to organize -the French army in Algeria. He rendered valuable service to King -Menelik in Abyssinia and sojourned for a while in Constantinople, -where, like many others, he swam across the Bosporus. He received -several decorations from foreign rulers, but never wears them in this -“land of the free.” - -In a recent chat with a friend Doctor Berry said: - -“My father and grandfather admonished me to never forgive or forget -an insult; never offer the left cheek after having been slapped on my -right cheek. They also requested me to always keep the Berry escutcheon -untarnished; never be a craven nor a coward.” - -The doctor comes from a wealthy family that owned large areas of land -near Perryville, Ky., but the Civil War made them comparatively poor. -The doctor wrote a book entitled “Four Years With Generals Forest and -Morgan.” He is now writing a book about his foreign military service. - -He has also made several valuable discoveries in materia medica and -surgery while practicing medicine forty years. Some of them are very -original and should not be allowed to perish with the doctor’s death. - -Doctor Berry, though one of the best physicians and surgeons, quit -practicing four years ago. He is an inveterate reader and has read -2,000 books. He also enjoys newspapers and magazines. It is needless to -say that the doctor’s personal appearance and courteous manners denote -him to be a gentleman and scholar. He belongs to no religious sect, but -is what he terms a “practical Christian.” He will no doubt be as brave -when Death calls him as he always has been during his long life. The -doctor is optimistic, however, and says he will probably live to be a -centenarian. - - -Some Facts You May Not Know. - -The highest speed ever attained by man on the face of the earth is one -mile in 25.2 seconds, equivalent to 142.85 miles an hour, according -to the _Railway Age Gazette_. It was in an automobile run by Teddy -Tetzlaff on the level salt beds at Salduro, Utah, 112 miles west of -Salt Lake City. The best speed ever made on rails was with an electric -car between Berlin and Zossen, Germany, 130.5 miles an hour. - -Birds, in the construction of their nests, almost without exception -avoid bright-colored materials, which might possibly lead to the -discovery of their place of abode by an enemy. - -Apple wood, used almost exclusively for saw handles, also furnishes the -material for many so-called brierwood pipes. - -On a peace footing the Portuguese army consists of 32,000 men. When -fully mobilized, the army should have 105,000 first-line troops and -145,000 of the second to put into the field. - -In Germany, one man in 213 goes to college; in Scotland, one in 520; in -the United States, one in 2,000, and in England, one in 5,000. - -Damage to American crops by insects yearly amounts to $580,000,000. - -There are fewer suicides among miners than among any other class of -workmen. - -A booby is not merely a human dunce, but is a Bahama bird, which is -so spiritless that when attacked by other birds it fails to fight and -gives up the fish it has caught without resistance. - -Drawings of human beings and animals in ancient caves in France are -regarded as proof that man was right-handed as far back as in the stone -age. - - -Taking Precautions. - -A rosy-cheeked youngster, dressed in his best clothes, entered the -village post office and carefully laid a huge slice of iced cake on the -counter. - -“With my sister’s, the bride’s, compliments, and will you please eat as -much as you can,” he said. - -The postmistress smiled delightedly. - -“How very kind of the bride to remember me!” she cried. “Did she know -of my weakness for wedding cake?” - -“She did,” answered the youngster coldly, “and she thought she’d -send over a bite of it this afternoon just to take the edge off your -appetite before she posted any boxes off to her friends.” - - -Kitchner’s Caustic Comment. - -A story is going the rounds about what Lord Kitchener, the British war -secretary, said the other day after he had inspected some defense works -on the east coast of England. It is short and sweet. - -The war minister motored from point to point, walked over the ground, -but never said a word all afternoon until the moment he was leaving for -London. Then he opened his grim mouth. - -“Those trenches of yours,” he said, “wouldn’t keep out the Salvation -Army.” - - -Many Wolves in Texas. - -The people of Texas destroyed 98,600 wolves and wild cats--including -fifty-three panthers and twenty-two leopards--between September 1, -1912, and March, 1914, according to the State comptroller. But there -are many thousands more of these wild beasts still alive, a serious -menace to the rapidly growing industry of sheep and Angora-goat raising. - - -Bandit Starr is Second Robin Hood. - -Is Henry Starr, of Lawton, Okla., the bandit chief, another Robin Hood? -Does he, while engaged in robbing banks, keep in mind the hardships -of the poor, as did the picturesque highwayman and poacher of early -England? If only a part of the stories told of Starr are true, he might -be called the “Robin Hood of Oklahoma,” although just now he is in -Lincoln County Jail at Chandler, suffering from a broken leg, and with -a long prison term pretty thoroughly mapped out for him. But here is -what some of his admirers say he did: - -“These things are of no value to me, but I’d hate it if the farmers -had them to pay,” and with that remark Henry Starr, the bandit leader -who, with his band of desperadoes, robbed two banks at Stroud and was -shot down and captured by eighteen-year-old Paul Curry, once threw a -heavy bundle of mortgages and notes, with a stone tied to them, into -California Creek in Northern Oklahoma, and they were never recovered. -Starr and his men had taken the bank’s papers when they rifled the bank -at Caney, Kan., several years ago, and he said he took them just so the -farmers would not have them to pay. - -This incident in Starr’s bandit career was told by a long-time resident -of the Cherokee country. He has known Starr for a number of years, has -played poker with him frequently, and he insists that Starr is really -one of the kindliest of men. After the Kansas robbery the Starr gang -rode into northern Oklahoma and hid for some time, and it was at this -time that the mortgages and notes were destroyed. The total value of -the papers was perhaps never known, but a man who saw them declares the -bundle was a foot thick. - -It was following this same robbery, too, that Starr made one of his -most spectacular get-aways. He and two men rode into an isolated -community during the night and concealed themselves in a big stone -barn, which was on the edge of a small valley with hills not far -distant and almost surrounding it. Starr and his men slept until late -in the day and then played pitch and shot craps for the small change -they had obtained at the bank. They would shoot for a handful of the -small silver, dimes and quarters, without any attempt being made to -ascertain the amount. - -The whereabouts of Starr and his two companions became known to the -county sheriff, who, with a posse of twenty or thirty men, went to the -barn with the intention of capturing the trio. The members of the posse -were stationed on the hills surrounding the barn, and they thought it -would be impossible for the outlaws to escape. When Starr was notified -of the presence of the officers, he went into the barnyard and motioned -to the sheriff, whom he knew, to confer with him. When the sheriff rode -into the yard, Starr shook hands with him as though he was glad to meet -an old friend, and then said: - -“I am going to leave here at five o’clock; there are three of us. If -you do not want your men hurt, you had better get them out of the way, -for when we start we are going through your lines. Tell your men that -for me.” - -The sheriff returned to his men, called them together, and told them -what Starr had said; within five minutes there was not a man other than -the sheriff left within rifle distance of Henry Starr. That evening at -five, as he had announced, Starr and his men rode quietly, and without -being molested, away from the barn and toward the Osage Hills. - -That Starr’s wife was the original of a photograph, “The Cherokee -Milkmaid,” which was published worldwide several years ago, is the -statement of Representative Walter R. Eaton, of Muskogee and Oilton. -Eaton was engaged at that time in promoting the town site of Porum, -and was going through the country in that vicinity with a photographer -getting pictures to advertise that section. - -Late one evening Eaton and the photographer drove by the home of Mrs. -Starr, Henry’s mother, at a time when a very pretty young woman was -milking a cow in the barnyard. The entire scene was one that would make -a beautiful picture, and the two men finally persuaded the young woman -to pose for several pictures. - -“We got one fine picture,” said Eaton, “which we labeled ‘The Cherokee -Milkmaid.’ It attracted instant attention because of its artistic -merits and was published widely throughout the United States in both -newspapers and magazines. It was about a year afterward that this -young woman married Henry Starr.” Eaton says the young woman was a -school-teacher at the time and was boarding at the Starr home. - - -Boy Hero Saves Five Lives. - -The heroism of Aaron S. Ashbrook, twelve years old, saved the lives -of his mother, his grandmother, two sisters, and his uncle, George -Ashbrook, when they were trapped in the second story of their burning -home in Cynthiana, Ky. - -Escape was cut off by means of the stairway, and the little fellow -leaped from the second-story window, and, running to a barn, secured -a ladder, which he placed to the window, and the inmates of the house -escaped without injury, with the exception of Mrs. Mary Gray, the -aged mother of Mrs. Ashbrook, who fell from the ladder and was badly -injured. The house was totally destroyed. - - -Town of 4,000; No Post Office. - -Although boasting of a population of almost 4,000, and with mail -business sufficient, it is said, to justify free delivery, Oilton, -Okla., the recent metropolis of the Cushing oil field, has no post -office. Residents have chipped in and employed men to sort the mail, -while some concerns have employed their own carriers. - -Two months ago Oilton was an alfalfa field. To-day it is one of the -fastest-growing towns in the country. It is the southern terminus of -the recently completed Oil Belt Terminal Railroad. - -It is a great sight when the mail comes in. If it is not raining, the -mail is sorted out in piles on the ground. Usually the entire populace -stands around watching the assorting of the mail. - -The post office department has been requested to designate a post -office at Oilton. - - -Builds Town Near His Farm. - -Because he raised 150,000 bushels of wheat in 1914 and needed a place -to market it without a haul of ten miles, Ben Foster, a large land -owner, of Colby, Kan., built a town of his own. He constructed an -elevator, a coal and lumber yard, and some houses to go with it. The -town was named Breton. - - -Boy Flags and Saves a Train. - -An attempt to wreck an east-bound Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad passenger -train, near Eastbrook, W. Va., was frustrated by a boy, who flagged the -train in time to prevent it from running into an obstruction placed on -the track. A pile of ties had been placed on the track at the end of a -curve. Railroad police are investigating. - - -Boston Has Giant Lobster. - -The great-great-grandfather of all lobsters--according to Mike -O’Donnell, who is an authority on such matters--has arrived in Boston, -Mass. It is on exhibition in a stall in the Quincy Market. - -The lobster, which in its natural state weighed thirty-three pounds -and one ounce, measures forty-two inches from the tip of its tail to -the end of its giant claws, the body alone measuring twenty-three and -one-half inches. Since arriving here the lobster has been boiled, the -meat removed, and the shell painted so that it now looks much the same -as it did when it left the waters of Newfoundland. - -This giant lobster, the biggest one ever seen here, according to some -authorities, and one of the biggest on record, was caught off Grand -Manan by a fisherman named John Moses. - - -Buy-a-Pig Movement, Latest. - -Isn’t it about time to buy a pig? This is no joke. One of the causes of -the high cost of living is in the fact that society is growing faster -than the farmers. There is no more profitable animal than a pig. He -improves the dressing and gives the gardener a valuable asset to begin -the season with. He stands in the doorway to keep the wolf away through -the winter. And the social part of it is no small item. The pig is the -most social of animals, especially when he is hungry, and a good pig -has a continuous appetite. It is no disgrace for any one to raise a -pig--not even a school-teacher. Buy a pig and get your name on the roll -of honor. - - -Motor Saw for Felling Trees. - -In attempting to develop an electrically operated device for bucking -and felling trees, a lumber company in Marshfield, Ore., constructed a -portable motor-driven chain saw, which will cut through a two-foot log -in less than a minute, declares the _Electrical World_. The cutting -element consists of a motor-driven saw-toothed chain traveling around -the peripheries of two pulleys, one at each end of the frame. The -motor is connected direct to one of the pulleys and is supplied with -electricity through a flexible cord. The apparatus weighs only eighty -pounds complete. - - -Left Home on Freight; Back in Limousine. - -To celebrate the anniversary of forty years ago, when he jumped a -freight at the old Delanco, N. J., station and beat his way in a -side-door palace car to a near-by metropolis in search of a chance to -make good, which he thought his home had denied him, a former Delanco -boy came back a day or two ago in a limousine to call on old friends -and renew the friendships of school-days. - -The boy was John Cahill, who is now chief counsel of the American Bell -Telephone Company, with offices in New York, London, and Paris. - - -Is Given Fullest Penalty. - -Judge Maxwell sentenced Merton C. Pierce, of Canton, Pa., to three -months in jail and a fine of $500 and costs of prosecution, for -furnishing liquor to a person of known intemperate habits. Pierce -pleaded guilty to supplying liquor to a man who could not buy for -himself. - -“Oh, that the law was more severe in such cases,” said Judge Maxwell. -“I have the utmost contempt for a man who will buy liquor for a man who -is forbidden to buy it himself, and would like to send you to jail for -a longer period, but the law does not allow. However, I will give you -the fullest penalty, and that will keep you behind the bars for at -least six months,” said the judge, in passing sentence. - -Another Canton man has been arrested on the same charge, but will fight -the case. - - -This Cow is Strong for Twins. - -James Billingsley, a farmer residing near Axtell, Kan., has a Red -Polled cow that has made a record in raising calves. The animal, though -only eight years old, has given birth to eight calves, four of which -were born within a period of thirteen months. A year ago she gave birth -to twins, and recently she gave birth to a set of twins. - -The cow is a fine milker, and all of her calves have brought prices as -high as fifty dollars a head. - - -Lone Hunter’s Tragic End. - -“Have been torn up by a brown bear. No chance to get out. Good-by.” - -Mortally wounded, and with his right arm incapacitated, King Thurman, -a lone hunter and trapper on Chickaloon Flats, Alaska, crawled to his -cabin, printed the above note with his left hand, and then shot himself -with his rifle. - -This was the story that was read by the hunters who found Thurman’s -body in his cabin two weeks ago and reported the tragedy to the -authorities at Seward, Alaska. - - -Twin Brothers Marry Sisters. - -Ashland, Pa., had a novel wedding, when Lewis and James Baglin, twin -brothers, were married to Ruth and Ada Maurer, sisters, by Reverend M. -H. Jones. - - -Refuses to Quit on Pension. - -Thomas Strong, of Pine Meadow, Conn., who has been a trackman on the -New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad for more than forty years, and -is nearly eighty years old, has refused to be retired on a pension, -saying he wants to die in harness. He says he wouldn’t know what to do -with himself if he quit work. - - -Mustn’t “Cuss” by Wireless. - -Radio operators in the United States can’t cuss each other out or use -profanity or indecent language of any kind “in the air.” - -A few days ago an operator in the commercial station in Massachusetts -ended up a message with a word that shocked the inspector in the -government station at Boston, where it was picked up. The department of -commerce has sent the offending operator a strong letter of reprimand, -warning him to be careful of his language in the air in the future or -he would lose his license. - - -Cat’s Cradle Cost One Hundred Dollars. - -Louis Newman, of Bayonne, N. J., owns a cat which is the possessor of a -litter of five kittens which Newman values at twenty dollars a piece, -despite their being decidedly common cats, of the back-fence variety. - -Two weeks ago Newman left his safe open and later missed a roll of -bills, containing one hundred dollars. Chief Michael S. Reilly, of the -Bayonne police, and the entire detective force examined the premises -and found them clewless. - -Newman solved the mystery himself. In the woodshed at the rear of his -home, at 73 West Twenty-sixth Street, he heard a cat’s voice, and spied -Spondulix, the household pet, in a box with five kittens. Newman picked -one up and at the same time caught sight of something green at the -bottom of the box. He investigated and found four ten-dollar bills, two -twenties, two fives, and some twos. - -The mother cat, in seeking for something with which to line her cradle, -had appropriated the money from the safe. - - -Hog Without Food or Water. - -That a hog can live fifty-five days without food or water has been -proven. Burch Dowell, of Cookville, Tenn., one of Putnam County’s -prosperous farmers, states that he has a Duroc hog that lived for -fifty-five days without either food or water, in a deep gully into -which it had fallen and became entangled in the dense undergrowth, -rendering its escape impossible. - -The hog was accidentally discovered a few days ago by Dowell, who -extricated it from its helpless predicament. It had lost 175 pounds -in weight, but was still alive, and bids fair to rapidly recover its -former vigor. - - -Oldest Writing is of War on Locusts. - -A number of ancient Sumerian tablets recording the deeds of the -Babylonians thousands of years ago have just been deciphered by -George A. Barton, at the University of Pennsylvania museum. One of -these tablets, which tells how a farmer rid his field of locusts and -caterpillars, is dated 4,000 B. C., and is the oldest piece of writing -extant, according to an announcement to-night by officials of the -museum. The farmer, Doctor Barton’s translation says, called in a -necromancer, who “broke a jar, cut open a sacrifice, a word of cursing -he repeated, and the locusts and caterpillars fled.” For this service -he received a tall palm tree. - - -Death in Electric Wringer. - -Miss Margaret McConnell, aged thirty, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David L. -McConnell, of Washington, Pa., a society girl and active in church and -charitable work, met a horrible death while investigating the mechanism -of an electric clothes wringer that had been installed in the home that -morning. - -A long scarf the girl had thrown about her head caught in the wringer -and she was strangled before her mother, who was standing close by, -could shut off the current or go to her assistance. - -Mrs. McConnell, too late, made frantic efforts to save the life of her -daughter. Unsuccessful, she summoned aid and then collapsed. - - -Pleads for Aged “Boy” Drug Fiend. - -Pleading for her sixty-year-old “boy,” who, she says, will die if he is -not permitted to obtain the drugs denied him by the Harrison antidrug -bill, an eighty-one-year-old Colorado woman has written a pitiful -letter to Doctor B. R. Reese, of the Federal internal revenue division -of the treasury department. She addressed her letter to President -Wilson, but Secretary Tumulty sent it to Doctor Reese, whose office is -the clearing house of such correspondence. - -Much as the appeal of the old Colorado woman moved the officials, no -exception will be made in that case. There is no intention on the part -of the internal revenue division to issue blanket permits to obtain -drugs for individual cases. - - -Cheer Their Boy Soldiers. - -Paris was enlivened early this week by gay crowds of conscripts of the -1916 class parading the streets to the strains of the “Marseillaise” -and other patriotic songs previous to departing to join their regiments -in the center and the south of France. - -These nineteen-year-old recruits compare favorably with those of -previous levies, and they showed the better effect of physical training -in preparation for their service in the army. - -All appeared to be full of confidence, and they departed without a sign -of reluctance or regret. - - -Wet and Dry Vote for Alaska. - -The Alaska Senate passed a bill submitting territorial prohibition -to the voters at the November election in 1916. The bill has already -passed the House. If the voters approve prohibition, it will become -effective January 1, 1918. - - -Missouri Town Gets a Bomb. - -The glass in almost every alley window in a half block in the business -section of Excelsior Springs, Mo., was broken when what is believed to -have been a stick of dynamite was thrown into the alley. One arrest has -been made. - -A number of people narrowly escaped injury. - -The explosion is believed to be the outgrowth of ill feeling engendered -at the local-option election here, January 18. - - -Kills Big She-wolf and All Her Young. - -General Putnam, of early-day fame, who crawled into a hole and -dispatched a ferocious “painter” therein, has a rival at Worland, near -Gillette, Wyo., in the person of Henry Schumacher, who recently tracked -a monster she-wolf to her den, and, with six-shooter in hand, crawled -in after her. - -He had only proceeded a few feet when the wolf sprang for him, but -Henry was quick with his gun, as usual, placing several bullets in her -head before she could reach him. - -Eight pups, about a month old, were found at the end of the den. -Schumacher killed them all, but, small as they were, they put up a -stiff fight, repeatedly biting him before he succeeded in killing them -all. Bounty to the amount of one hundred and fifty-five dollars was -collected on the old wolf and her young. - - -Girl Was Dumb and Now Talks. - -Miss Helen Dodge, eighteen years old, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. G. -Dodge, of Lestershire, N. Y., born deaf and dumb, will deliver an oral -oration at her graduation from the Malone State Institution for the -Deaf and Dumb in June. - -Miss Dodge’s case is considered one of the most remarkable in -the history of teaching the deaf and dumb. She was placed in the -institution when only four years old, and has been a student there ever -since. - -Her teacher soon discovered that she was unusually intelligent and -began experimenting in an effort to teach her to speak. Her vocal -chords were found to be in normal condition, and before she was seven -years old she had been taught to make sounds which were intelligible. -She now speaks as distinctly and with as much expression as a person -with the normal faculty of hearing, and it is declared that hers is the -first case of the kind in this or any other institution. - - -Educates Herself to Free Husband. - -Fired with the ambition to become a lawyer, that she may some day -obtain the freedom of her husband, who is serving a life sentence for -the murder of Charles Reuter, a Tulsa, Okla., lawyer, Mrs. Mamie Baker, -dividing her time between household duties and public school, has -advanced from the lowest grammar grades to the high school in less than -two years. Mrs. Baker is a Bohemian, and unfamiliarity with the English -language has been an additional drawback to her. - -When she completes high school, it is her aim to enter a law office. -She insists she will be a practising attorney in three years. - -Mrs. Baker does not seek to obtain the freedom of her husband that she -may again live with him, but to take the stain of crime from her name. -She has always insisted her husband is innocent of murder. - - -Horse Stops Fast Express. - -An engineer on a fast express on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad received -a signal to stop his train near Defiance, Ohio. It was an emergency -signal, so the train was stopped as quickly as possible. - -The conductor, amazed at the sudden stop, ran to the engine and reached -it just as the engineer was preparing to go back to the train to -ascertain the trouble. Both were dismayed when told no person had given -the signal. - -An investigation of the express car, however, revealed that a horse had -the signal cord in its mouth and was pulling it with all its might. - - -Forgets He’s in Prison as He Hears Fifes Play. - -A fife-and-drum corps visited the State Penitentiary, at Joliet, Ill., -to give the prisoners a treat. - -The 1,500 convicts pushed back their plates when the corps marched down -the aisle of the big dining hall to the stirring tune of “Marching -Through Georgia.” - -A grizzled old man seated at one of the benches rose and followed, -keeping step with the players. He was Thomas McNally, a life convict -from Chicago, who for twenty-five years has been “No. 3,692.” - -“I am an old soldier--fought in the Civil War,” he mumbled in apology -when the music stopped. “I forgot where I was.” - -An appeal for McNally’s pardon is pending. It is supported by the judge -before whom he was tried and twenty lawyers who believe he is innocent. - - -SONG POEMS WANTED for publication. - -You may write a big song hit! Experience unnecessary. Publication -guaranteed if acceptable. Send us your verses or melodies today. Write -for free valuable booklet. - -MARKS-GOLDSMITH CO. [Dept. 70] WASHINGTON, D.C. - - - - -The Nick Carter Stories - -ISSUED EVERY SATURDAY BEAUTIFUL COLORED COVERS - - -When it comes to detective stories worth while, the =Nick Carter -Stories= contain the only ones that should be considered. They are not -overdrawn tales of bloodshed. They rather show the working of one of -the finest minds ever conceived by a writer. The name of Nick Carter is -familiar all over the world, for the stories of his adventures may be -read in twenty languages. No other stories have withstood the severe -test of time so well as those contained in the =Nick Carter Stories=. -It proves conclusively that they are the best. We give herewith a list -of some of the back numbers in print. You can have your news dealer -order them, or they will be sent direct by the publishers to any -address upon receipt of the price in money or postage stamps. - - 704--Written in Red. - 707--Rogues of the Air. - 709--The Bolt from the Blue. - 710--The Stockbridge Affair. - 711--A Secret from the Past. - 712--Playing the Last Hand. - 713--A Slick Article. - 714--The Taxicab Riddle. - 717--The Master Rogue’s Alibi. - 719--The Dead Letter. - 720--The Allerton Millions. - 728--The Mummy’s Head. - 729--The Statue Clue. - 730--The Torn Card. - 731--Under Desperation’s Spur. - 732--The Connecting Link. - 733--The Abduction Syndicate. - 736--The Toils of a Siren. - 738--A Plot Within a Plot. - 739--The Dead Accomplice. - 741--The Green Scarab. - 746--The Secret Entrance. - 747--The Cavern Mystery. - 748--The Disappearing Fortune. - 749--A Voice from the Past. - 752--The Spider’s Web. - 753--The Man With a Crutch. - 754--The Rajah’s Regalia. - 755--Saved from Death. - 756--The Man Inside. - 757--Out for Vengeance. - 758--The Poisons of Exili. - 759--The Antique Vial. - 760--The House of Slumber. - 761--A Double Identity. - 762--“The Mocker’s” Stratagem. - 763--The Man that Came Back. - 764--The Tracks in the Snow. - 765--The Babbington Case. - 766--The Masters of Millions. - 767--The Blue Stain. - 768--The Lost Clew. - 770--The Turn of a Card. - 771--A Message in the Dust. - 772--A Royal Flush. - 774--The Great Buddha Beryl. - 775--The Vanishing Heiress. - 776--The Unfinished Letter. - 777--A Difficult Trail. - 782--A Woman’s Stratagem. - 783--The Cliff Castle Affair. - 784--A Prisoner of the Tomb. - 785--A Resourceful Foe. - 789--The Great Hotel Tragedies. - 795--Zanoni, the Transfigured. - 796--The Lure of Gold. - 797--The Man With a Chest. - 798--A Shadowed Life. - 799--The Secret Agent. - 800--A Plot for a Crown. - 801--The Red Button. - 802--Up Against It. - 803--The Gold Certificate. - 804--Jack Wise’s Hurry Call. - 805--Nick Carter’s Ocean Chase. - 807--Nick Carter’s Advertisement. - 808--The Kregoff Necklace. - 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. - - -NEW SERIES - -NICK CARTER STORIES - - 1--The Man from Nowhere. - 2--The Face at the Window. - 3--A Fight for a Million. - 4--Nick Carter’s Land Office. - 5--Nick Carter and the Professor. - 6--Nick Carter as a Mill Hand. - 7--A Single Clew. - 8--The Emerald Snake. - 9--The Currie Outfit. - 10--Nick Carter and the Kidnaped Heiress. - 11--Nick Carter Strikes Oil. - 12--Nick Carter’s Hunt for a Treasure. - 13--A Mystery of the Highway. - 14--The Silent Passenger. - 15--Jack Dreen’s Secret. - 16--Nick Carter’s Pipe Line Case. - 17--Nick Carter and the Gold Thieves. - 18--Nick Carter’s Auto Chase. - 19--The Corrigan Inheritance. - 20--The Keen Eye of Denton. - 21--The Spider’s Parlor. - 22--Nick Carter’s Quick Guess. - 23--Nick Carter and the Murderess. - 24--Nick Carter and the Pay Car. - 25--The Stolen Antique. - 26--The Crook League. - 27--An English Cracksman. - 28--Nick Carter’s Still Hunt. - 29--Nick Carter’s Electric Shock. - 30--Nick Carter and the Stolen Duchess. - 31--The Purple Spot. - 32--The Stolen Groom. - 33--The Inverted Cross. - 34--Nick Carter and Keno McCall. - 35--Nick Carter’s Death Trap. - 36--Nick Carter’s Siamese Puzzle. - 37--The Man Outside. - 38--The Death Chamber. - 39--The Wind and the Wire. - 40--Nick Carter’s Three Cornered Chase. - 41--Dazaar, the Arch-Fiend. - 42--The Queen of the Seven. - 43--Crossed Wires. - 44--A Crimson Clew. - 45--The Third Man. - 46--The Sign of the Dagger. - 47--The Devil Worshipers. - 48--The Cross of Daggers. - 49--At Risk of Life. - 50--The Deeper Game. - 51--The Code Message. - 52--The Last of the Seven. - 53--Ten-Ichi, the Wonderful. - 54--The Secret Order of Associated Crooks. - 55--The Golden Hair Clew. - 56--Back From the Dead. - 57--Through Dark Ways. - 58--When Aces Were Trumps. - 59--The Gambler’s Last Hand. - 60--The Murder at Linden Fells. - 61--A Game for Millions. - 62--Under Cover. - 63--The Last Call. - 64--Mercedes Danton’s Double. - 65--The Millionaire’s Nemesis. - 66--A Princess of the Underworld. - 67--The Crook’s Blind. - 68--The Fatal Hour. - 69--Blood Money. - 70--A Queen of Her Kind. - 71--Isabel Benton’s Trump Card. - 72--A Princess of Hades. - 73--A Prince of Plotters. - 74--The Crook’s Double. - 75--For Life and Honor. - 76--A Compact With Dazaar. - 77--In the Shadow of Dazaar. - 78--The Crime of a Money King. - 79--Birds of Prey. - 80--The Unknown Dead. - 81--The Severed Hand. - 82--The Terrible Game of Millions. - 83--A Dead Man’s Power. - 84--The Secrets of an Old House. - 85--The Wolf Within. - 86--The Yellow Coupon. - 87--In the Toils. - 88--The Stolen Radium. - 89--A Crime in Paradise. - 90--Behind Prison Bars. - 91--The Blind Man’s Daughter. - 92--On the Brink of Ruin. - 93--Letter of Fire. - 94--The $100,000 Kiss. - 95--Outlaws of the Militia. - 96--The Opium-Runners. - 97--In Record Time. - 98--The Wag-Nuk Clew. - 99--The Middle Link. - 100--The Crystal Maze. - 101--A New Serpent in Eden. - 102--The Auburn Sensation. - 103--A Dying Chance. - 104--The Gargoni Girdle. - 105--Twice in Jeopardy. - 106--The Ghost Launch. - 107--Up in the Air. - 108--The Girl Prisoner. - 109--The Red Plague. - 110--The Arson Trust. - 111--The King of the Firebugs. - 112--“Lifter’s” of the Lofts. - 113--French Jimmie and His Forty Thieves. - 114--The Death Plot. - 115--The Evil Formula. - 116--The Blue Button. - 117--The Deadly Parallel. - 118--The Vivisectionists. - 119--The Stolen Brain. - 120--An Uncanny Revenge. - 121--The Call of Death. - 122--The Suicide. - 123--Half a Million Ransom. - 124--The Girl Kidnaper. - 125--The Pirate Yacht. - 126--The Crime of the White Hand. - 127--Found in the Jungle. - 128--Six Men in a Loop. - 129--The Jewels of Wat Chang. - 130--The Crime in the Tower. - 131--The Fatal Message. - 132--Broken Bars. - 133--Won by Magic. - 134--The Secret of Shangore. - 135--Straight to the Goal. - 136--The Man They Held Back. - - -Dated April 24th, 1915. - -137--The Seal of Gijon. - - -Dated May 1st, 1915. - -138--The Traitors of the Tropics. - - -Dated May 8th, 1915. - -139--The Pressing Peril. - - -Dated May 15th, 1915. - -140--The Melting-Pot. - - -=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 - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes: - -Minor errors and omissions in punctuation have been fixed, otherwise -spelling and punctuation has been left in original condition, except -for the below - -Page 3: “Dawton” changed to “Lawton” - -Page 12: “the jewelry slolen” changed to “the jewelry stolen” - -Page 19: “messenger on the steamer” changed to “passenger on the -steamer” - -Page 26: “Mr. Kruse” changed to “Mr. Krause” - -Page 27: “detachments of Turks” changed to “detachment of Turks” - -Page 27: “brought the little ones” changed to “brought the little one” - -Page 27: “milita authorities” changed to “military authorities” - -Page 28: “Some Facts You May Not Nnow” changed to “Some Facts You May -Not Know” - -Page 31: “Twin Brothers Marry Sisiers” changed to “Twin Brothers Marry -Sisters” - -Page 31: “ended up a mesage” changed to “ended up a message” - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NICK CARTER STORIES NO. 143, -THE SULTAN'S PEARLS; OR, NICK CARTER'S PORTO RICO TRAIL *** - -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. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Nick Carter Stories No. 143, The sultan's pearls; or, Nick Carter's Porto Rico trail</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Nick Carter</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Editor: Chickering Carter</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: July 11, 2022 [eBook #68499]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: David Edwards, Amber Black and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (Northern Illinois University Digital Library)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NICK CARTER STORIES NO. 143, THE SULTAN'S PEARLS; OR, NICK CARTER'S PORTO RICO TRAIL ***</div> - - -<div class="center"> -<a href="images/cover.jpg"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" class="w25" alt="Nick Carter Stories: The Sultan's Pearls or Nick Carter's Porto Rico Trail" /></a> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<p class="vbig center"><b>NICK CARTER STORIES</b></p> - -<div class="center mt3"> -<a href="images/nickcarter.jpg"> -<img src="images/nickcarter.jpg" class="w50" alt="Nick Carter Stories" /></a> -</div> - -<p class="center mb0"><i>Issued Weekly. Entered as Second-class Matter at the New York Post Office, by</i> <span class="smcap">Street & Smith</span>, <i>79-89 Seventh Ave., New York.</i></p> -<p class="center mt0"><i>Copyright, 1915, by</i> <span class="smcap">Street & Smith</span>. <i>O. G. Smith and G. C. Smith, Proprietors.</i></p> - -<p class="center mt0 mb0"><b>Terms to NICK CARTER STORIES Mail Subscribers.</b></p> - -<p class="center small mt0 mb0">(<i>Postage Free.</i>)</p> - -<p class="center small mt0 mb0"><b>Single Copies or Back Numbers, 5<abbr title="cents">c.</abbr> Each.</b></p> - -<table class="subscription"> -<tr> -<td class="small">3 months</td> -<td class="small right">65<abbr title="cents">c.</abbr></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="small">4 months</td> -<td class="small right">85<abbr title="cents">c.</abbr></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="small">6 months</td> -<td class="small right">$1.25</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="small">One year</td> -<td class="small right">2.50</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="small">2 copies one year</td> -<td class="small right">4.00</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="small">1 copy two years</td> -<td class="small right">4.00</td> -</tr> -</table> - -<p class="mtad"><b>How to Send Money</b>—By post-office or express money order, registered letter, bank check or draft, at our risk. At your own risk if sent by currency, coin, or postage stamps in ordinary letter.</p> -<p class="mtad"><b>Receipts</b>—Receipt of your remittance is acknowledged by proper change of number on your label. If not correct you have not been properly credited, and should let us know at once.</p> - - -<table class="topbottom" style="margin-top:.25em;"> -<tr style="110%"> -<td class="tdl" style="width: 33.3%;"><b><abbr title="number">No.</abbr> 143.</b></td><td class="tdc" style="width: 33.3%;">NEW YORK, June 5, 1915.</td><td class="tdr" style="width: 33.3%;"><b>Price Five Cents.</b></td> -</tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h1 class="notbold center vbig" id="THE_SULTANS_PEARLS">THE SULTAN’S PEARLS;</h1> -</div> - -<p class="center big mt1">Or, NICK CARTER’S PORTO RICO TRAIL.</p> - -<p class="center big mt1">Edited by CHICKERING CARTER.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center small">THE MAN WHO WAS LOST.</p> - - -<p>“Man overboard!”</p> - -<p>Nick Carter—known to the captain and crew of the tramp steamer -<i>Cherokee</i> as Sykes, the bos’n—heard this shout, taken up by man -after man, as he lay stretched out on the foc’s’le head, in the early -morning, just as the ship nosed her way into San Juan harbor, on the -northern coast of Porto Rico.</p> - -<p>The thrilling warning that somebody has fallen into the sea, which -always sends a shock through both crew and passengers whenever heard, -does not permit any ordinary person to remain quietly dozing.</p> - -<p>The famous detective was one of the first to rush over to the side of -the ship when the alarm had been given.</p> - -<p>Close by him were his two assistants, Chick and Patsy Garvan, who, in -the rôles of common sailors, had come down to Porto Rico to help him -get back the fortune in jewels which had been stolen from Stephen Reed, -the well-known New York millionaire.</p> - -<p>“Who is it, chief?” asked Patsy, forcing his way to the front.</p> - -<p>“I haven’t heard.”</p> - -<p>“One of the crew, I suppose?” hazarded Chick.</p> - -<p>“No doubt. There is only one passenger on board now, Paul Clayton. It -isn’t he, for there he is, behind you.”</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, under orders from Captain Bill Lawton himself, two life -rings, each with some thirty fathoms of line attached, had been hurled -over in the direction of where the drowning man might be expected to be.</p> - -<p>It was too dark to make out plainly anything in the water, but a sharp -lookout was kept for an hour, until the vessel reached her anchorage -and the “mud hooks” were let go.</p> - -<p>“Well, we couldn’t do any better,” grunted Captain Lawton, through his -shaggy mustache, as he and his big, two-fisted first mate, Van Cross, -stood together on the bridge. “We might have a roll call of the crew. I -don’t know who it was went over. I reckon it wasn’t anybody who might -have become President of the United States, nor nothing like that.”</p> - -<p>The saturnine skipper gave vent to a husky “Haw-haw!” at his own joke, -and Van Cross joined in with an equally raucous guffaw.</p> - -<p>Nick Carter was the only person on board the <i>Cherokee</i> who -thought of a certain possibility which would attach more importance to -the falling off the vessel of the man than its commander had supposed.</p> - -<p>“Patsy!” whispered Nick. “Go to <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Clayton’s cabin and see if that -suit case of his, containing the Reed jewelry, is safe.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t see it unless Clayton is there,” objected Patsy.</p> - -<p>“Naturally. But he is there. I saw him go down just now. You may tell -him I sent you to inquire.”</p> - -<p>“Who shall I say? Sykes?”</p> - -<p>“Of course. I have no other name on the <i>Cherokee</i>.”</p> - -<p>As Patsy Garvan disappeared to obey his chief, although without -understanding what it all meant, Nick Carter beckoned to Chick, and the -two went down a forward hatch.</p> - -<p>“What’s the idea, chief?” asked Chick.</p> - -<p>“I want to see that the prisoners are secure, Chick. It has always been -difficult to keep John Garrison Rayne behind the bars—except when he -is inside the stone walls of a State’s prison—and I have not much -faith in the place they have him in on the <i>Cherokee</i>.”</p> - -<p>“The same about his man French, I suppose?”</p> - -<p>“French is an insignificant scoundrel,” returned Nick. “He is entirely -under Rayne’s influence. I dare say he regrets that he ever was -persuaded to come on this ship—to act as assistant engineer and to do -what he could toward robbing Clayton of the Reed jewelry.”</p> - -<p>“The whole case strikes me as curious,” observed Chick.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</span> “To begin -with, the robbery of Stephen Reed was traced directly to Paul Clayton, -the passenger they call Miles.”</p> - -<p>“I know, Chick. But I don’t want that talked about.”</p> - -<p>“Nobody’s talking about it,” rejoined Chick. “Except to you. Of course, -I think enough of Clayton—and his sweetheart, Lethia Ford—to be glad -you are letting him go. But that isn’t all. If there should be any -hitch about the delivery of the loot to Stephen Reed, it might put you -in a bad position.”</p> - -<p>Chick spoke with a gravity and directness that no one else would have -ventured on with Nick Carter. But as the principal assistant of the -great detective he had gained the right to advise with his chief, and -the latter valued his counsel.</p> - -<p>“There will not be any hitch,” answered Nick positively. “Paul Clayton -has kept a constant eye on his suit case ever since we got it away from -Rayne the other day.”</p> - -<p>“Rayne nearly had it, in the engine room, that time,” remarked Chick, -with a shrug.</p> - -<p>“I cannot admit that,” was the detective’s quick negative. “He had -stolen the suit case, jewelry and all, from Clayton’s stateroom, it is -true. Also, he had stowed it away in the engine room. But, unless he -got it off the ship, of what use could it ever have been to him?”</p> - -<p>Chick shook his head dubiously.</p> - -<p>“He’s as cunning as any old-time Indian, and you can’t tell what he -might have done. No wonder they call him the Apache.”</p> - -<p>“He is called the Apache partly because he is so ruthless when pursuing -any object,” said Nick. “Remember that. I don’t believe I ever knew -another white man with quite so cruel a disposition. He neither asks -nor gives quarter. I give him credit for being a fighter. Only, like -the Indian warrior of thirty or forty years ago, he is not satisfied -with merely overcoming his foe. He wants to torture and kill him, too. -But, come on, Chick! We’ll take a look at the door of his glory hole, -anyhow. I don’t suppose it was Rayne who jumped or fell overboard just -now. But I want to make sure.”</p> - -<p>Chick was a few paces ahead of his chief as they turned a corner in a -narrow passage, lighted by an oil lantern swinging from the ceiling, -and it was Chick who exploded in a shout of astonishment and dismay.</p> - -<p>“Chief! He’s gone!”</p> - -<p>“Who?”</p> - -<p>“Rayne!”</p> - -<p>Nick Carter required only one glance at the open door of the confined -space used as a prison cell on the <i>Cherokee</i> to understand that -the man who had gone overboard was really John Garrison Rayne, the -international crook, known as the Apache.</p> - -<p>There were three cells in a row. When not employed as prisons they were -used as storerooms for rope, spare canvas, and similar material. Now -one was full of such stuff, the second was locked, and the third stood -open.</p> - -<p>“Well, it doesn’t so much matter,” remarked Nick Carter, when satisfied -that Rayne had got away. “Of course he dived off the ship and swam to -shore. He may hang about San Juan. But most likely he will get away as -soon as there is a ship sailing that suits him. We have the comfort of -knowing that he failed to steal the Reed jewelry, and that is the main -point, after all. Come on, Chick! We’ll go on deck.”</p> - -<p>Hardly had they got there when they heard Captain Lawton raging -profanely up and down.</p> - -<p>“Six hundred dollars!” howled the skipper. “In good American money! -Took it out of my locker, and had to break a lock that was strong -enough for a jail door! But I’ll get the thief somehow. <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Cross!”</p> - -<p>Van Cross, who had been enjoying a quiet cigar, looked down from the -bridge, and, in a surly tone, asked what was wanted.</p> - -<p>“Line up the whole crew and find out first who it was that went -overboard,” growled Captain Lawton.</p> - -<p>“I can tell you that,” put in Nick Carter, in his character of Sykes, -the boatswain.</p> - -<p>“Whoever he is, he got six hundred dollars out of my cabin!” roared the -skipper. “I’ll skin him alive when I get my hands on him. Who is he?”</p> - -<p>“The passenger you shut up for’ard for trying to steal the property of -the passenger you call <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Miles,” replied Nick. “He has got out of the -brig, and he is not on the ship.”</p> - -<p>“What?” bellowed the wrathful skipper. “Do you mean to tell me that -lubber has broken out? Who is he, anyhow? He says he is a business man, -and he looks like it. Do you know anything about him?”</p> - -<p>“I think I do,” replied the detective. “I believe he is an ex-convict -named John Garrison Rayne.”</p> - -<p>“John Garrison Rayne?” shouted Lawton. “I’ve heard of that fellow. He -operates all over this continent.”</p> - -<p>“And on others, too,” put in Chick.</p> - -<p>“Come down to my cabin with me, Sykes, and help me go through my sea -chest again. Bring your two men with you. Come on, Cross! I’ll rummage -it from top to the very bottom.”</p> - -<p>That is exactly what they did do. The locker belonging to Captain -Lawton was an old-fashioned affair, such as seamen were more accustomed -to use fifty years ago than in these days.</p> - -<p>They had everything out and in again before the skipper was convinced -that his money really was gone.</p> - -<p>“Cross!” he bellowed.</p> - -<p>The mate stepped to his side, looking at him questioningly.</p> - -<p>“I’m going ashore!” announced Captain Lawton.</p> - -<p>“When?”</p> - -<p>“Now!” thundered the commander. “I’m going to find that lubber who -dived overboard with my money. And, when I get him, I’ll turn him -inside out. Then I’ll——”</p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t,” advised Van Cross. “You have to look after the ship now -we are in port.”</p> - -<p>“You can do that,” interrupted Lawton savagely. “A captain can trust -his first mate to do some things, can’t he?”</p> - -<p>“Sure!” assented Van Cross. “But I don’t believe you’d ever find that -man if you did go after him. Now, here’s this Sykes, who has just said -he knows the man. Why don’t you let him go?”</p> - -<p>“How do I know he’d ever come back?”</p> - -<p>“He hasn’t got his wages, has he?” grinned Cross. “Don’t give him -anything to spend, and he’s bound to come back. Besides, he’s got it in -for that tall, gray-haired lubber himself. I know that from some words -he let drop when he didn’t know I was near.”</p> - -<p>Nick Carter overheard this confab, notwithstanding that it was -conducted in hoarse whispers, and it coincided with his inclinations -exactly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</span></p> - -<p>He wanted to get ashore, for he was nervous over the way Rayne had left -the ship.</p> - -<p>He knew it was not like the Apache to give up a purpose he had nearly -carried to fruition without fighting it to the end, and he believed -something more would be heard of him before they were out of San Juan.</p> - -<p>It would suit Nick exactly to go ashore, and, as he did not know just -when he would be back, he resolved that he would take at least one of -his assistants with him.</p> - -<p>He was glad when he found that the master of the <i>Cherokee</i> was -willing that he should go.</p> - -<p>“Will you go into the town and see if you can get any trace of that -lubber who jumped overboard, Sykes?” asked Captain Lawton, turning to -him with as propitiatory an expression as his rocky face would permit. -“Just loaf around in saloons and places where you’d be likely to pick -up news.”</p> - -<p>“And if I find the man?” asked Nick.</p> - -<p>“Bring him aboard, and I’ll deal with him,” was the significant answer. -“Once you find him, that will be enough.”</p> - -<p>“How many men can I have with me?” asked Nick.</p> - -<p>“How many do you want?”</p> - -<p>“Two. Give me my two old shipmates. We’ve worked together before, and -I’d rather have them than anybody else.”</p> - -<p>The captain gave a growling consent, and Nick Carter went forward to -get his two assistants.</p> - -<p>“The suit case is all right,” announced Patsy. “I talked to Clayton, -and he said he would not let it out of his hands until he had taken it -to a bank in San Juan.”</p> - -<p>“The wise course!” approved Nick. “We are going ashore—you and -Chick—with me.”</p> - -<p>“Bully! To get Rayne?” asked Patsy.</p> - -<p>“If we can.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you bet we can,” was the confident response, accompanied by a -chuckle of delight at the prospect of some real action.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center small">A HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE.</p> - - -<p>Nick Carter and his two assistants had been gone since the morning, and -no report had come from them, nor had any one else gone ashore from the -<i>Cherokee</i>, when, at about three o’clock in the afternoon, Captain -Lawton told Van Cross he was going to see the agents to whom were -consigned his miscellaneous cargo, so that he could begin to unload in -the morning.</p> - -<p>“Those fellows here would never come to me unless I went to them,” -growled the commander. “They think a tramp steamer doesn’t need to be -treated like a ship belonging to a regular line. Well, I’ll make them -pay for that, too. You’ll see. Cross—you’ll see!”</p> - -<p>He dressed himself in what he called his shore-going toggery, and gave -orders for a boat to be brought around to the foot of the sea ladder, -with four men.</p> - -<p>Captain Bill Lawton had his own little vanities. One of them was to go -ashore in a strange port in state, with four oarsmen to propel him from -his ship to the landing stage.</p> - -<p>As the captain prepared to descend to his boat, he turned to Van Cross -and shook his fist at the town across the harbor.</p> - -<p>“What are you going to do, cap?” asked Cross carelessly. “What have -the people of San Juan done to you?”</p> - -<p>“Done? Some of them have got my six hundred dollars.”</p> - -<p>“You mean that high-toned passenger of ours has it?” grinned the mate. -“You can’t blame the people of Porto Rico for that.”</p> - -<p>“Can’t I?” yelled Lawton. “Well, I do. When I get ashore the police -have got to get my wad back for me. If they don’t, by Cæsar, I’ll raise -a revolution in politics in the town that will put half of ’em out of a -job.”</p> - -<p>It was at this moment that he saw a boat coming up to the -<i>Cherokee</i> in a businesslike way, with a frowning, dignified man -in some sort of uniform cap in the stern, while two fellows, who looked -like ordinary dock wallopers, plied the oars.</p> - -<p>The official in the stern was dark-haired, and wore a heavy black -mustache. He had eyes that seemed to pierce anything at which they -looked. It was not easy to say just what color they were. In some -lights they seemed to be a yellowish green, like an angry cat’s.</p> - -<p>“Hello!” he shouted, in a gruff voice, as he saw Lawton.</p> - -<p>“Hello!” replied <a id="Dawton"></a>Lawton, equally gruff.</p> - -<p>“This the <i>Cherokee</i>, from New York?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Captain William Lawton in command?”</p> - -<p>“That’s my name.”</p> - -<p>The captain had had an occasional argument with the police of San Juan, -as he had in many other ports, on account of doubtful cargoes. He did -not care for the police on general principles, therefore.</p> - -<p>As this man in the boat, who looked like a lieutenant in undress -uniform, questioned him, he tried to think of anything he had done -against the law in Porto Rico the last time he had been there.</p> - -<p>The man in the boat did not give him much time to think, however. He -told his men to row up to the ladder and make fast.</p> - -<p>They hardly had had time to obey, when he stepped out of the boat, and -with one hand touching the hand rope lightly, as if he did not need its -help, mounted to the deck.</p> - -<p>His eyes seemed to take in everything at a glance, including the crew -and captain. He touched Lawton on the elbow in a peremptory way.</p> - -<p>“Take me to your cabin. I want a word with you,” he snapped. “There is -my card.”</p> - -<p>He thrust the card into Lawton’s hand, and pointed, with an offhand -gesture, to the companionway. The captain read the words on the card -with anything but a comfortable feeling. They were:</p> - -<p>“Detective Lieutenant Sawyer, New York City.”</p> - -<p>That was all, but it was more than enough for the skipper of the -<i>Cherokee</i>. He did not know that he ever had seen a detective’s -card before, but he supposed this was the regular formula.</p> - -<p>Only a few moments previously, Captain Lawton had been anxious to get -to the police, to complain about the loss of his six hundred dollars. -Now that there was a detective at his elbow—probably a good one—he -felt nervous. His own record was not clean, and he feared that this -stern-mannered Sawyer might know more than would be healthful for him.</p> - -<p>When they reached the cabin, the detective shrugged his shoulders as he -glanced about him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</span></p> - -<p>“Lost anything?” he snapped. “Looks as if you’d been making a search -down here.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve lost six hundred dollars.”</p> - -<p>“Stolen?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Some of the crew?”</p> - -<p>“One of ’em. A man I signed on in New York, just to help him out. He -was flat broke. This is what he did to me in return. Came down here and -looted the cabin. But I’ll get him! I’ll sure get him! If he’s anywhere -in Porto Rico, I’ll get him.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you think he was drowned?”</p> - -<p>“No. Some of the crew saw him swimming, and he was headed for shore. It -was early morning, and not light. That gave him a chance to get away, -and he made the shore all right, no doubt.”</p> - -<p>“You only think that, don’t you? You are not sure?”</p> - -<p>“Sure enough to satisfy me,” growled Lawton. “In fact——”</p> - -<p>“Well, that’s no business of mine,” interrupted Sawyer. “I want you to -answer a few questions.”</p> - -<p>The imperative manner of this man from police headquarters, New York, -awed Captain Bill Lawton, in spite of himself, and he prepared to tell -anything that might be asked of him.</p> - -<p>“All right, lieutenant,” he grunted.</p> - -<p>“Have you a passenger on board named Miles?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Where is he?”</p> - -<p>“In his stateroom, I believe. He went in there a while ago, and I have -not seen him on deck since.”</p> - -<p>“Is he a young man, who looks as if he might be a sort of society -darling—plenty of money and nothing to do but to blow it in?”</p> - -<p>“That fits him.”</p> - -<p>“Tall, rather light-brown hair, gray eyes, and straight nose?”</p> - -<p>“That’s a photograph of him,” replied Lawton. “You’ve got his -description all right. What about him?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing much.”</p> - -<p>As the detective lieutenant said this carelessly, he took a pair of -handcuffs from the left-hand pocket of his coat and placed them in one -on the right.</p> - -<p>The captain started. This looked like serious business for somebody. So -long as it was not for himself, however, he did not care. Excitement -was pleasant to him, as a rule.</p> - -<p>“What do you want him for?” he asked, in a low tone. “He has kept -himself away from me and the other officers all through the trip. I -didn’t think much about it, but I can see now why it was.”</p> - -<p>“That was the reason,” remarked Sawyer dryly. “He’s charged with -stealing about eighty thousand dollars’ worth of diamonds and other -jewelry from <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Stephen Reed, of New York.”</p> - -<p>“What, the multimillionaire?” exclaimed the captain.</p> - -<p>Sawyer nodded.</p> - -<p>“Holy smoke!” ejaculated Lawton. “I heard of that job before I left New -York. But it never struck me that I had the man who did it right on my -ship. Why, say!” he added eagerly, moved by a sudden thought.</p> - -<p>“Well?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll bet it was he who took my six hundred dollars! I’ll——”</p> - -<p>Captain Lawton made a dive across the saloon toward the door of a -stateroom. Sawyer grinned momentarily, straightening his face before -the other could look around.</p> - -<p>“Wait a minute, captain!” he ordered. “Don’t ask him anything about -your six hundred. Leave that to me.”</p> - -<p>“I’d like to take him by the throat and throttle the money out of him,” -hissed Lawton.</p> - -<p>“I dare say. But that wouldn’t be according to law. Let me handle him. -If he has your money, I’ll guarantee that you’ll get it back.”</p> - -<p>“All right!” answered the captain reluctantly. “If I have your word, -why——”</p> - -<p>“Well, you have my word,” was the quick assurance. “I’ll hide behind -this curtain at the foot of the companionway until you bring him out of -his stateroom. He’s a desperate man, for all that he looks so meek in -general, and I don’t want to have a fight here. It isn’t necessary, and -I always like to do my work in a quiet way—when I can.”</p> - -<p>“What shall I say he is wanted for?” asked Lawton, hesitating.</p> - -<p>“Tell him he has to sign a declaration for the customs department. Be -sure you don’t give him a hint that there is anything wrong.”</p> - -<p>“I’m not afraid of him,” snapped the captain.</p> - -<p>“Of course you’re not. I don’t mean that he would hurt you—or me, -either. But he might have a gun handy, and send a bullet through his -own head. That’s all.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll be careful,” promised Lawton, as he went to the door of the -stateroom and knocked.</p> - -<p>Sawyer was behind the sailcloth curtain that protected the saloon from -the wind in bad weather, but he could see everything done from a narrow -chink.</p> - -<p>The door of the stateroom was flung open, and Paul Clayton stood in the -opening, his figure silhouetted against the light that streamed through -the porthole behind him.</p> - -<p>“Custom officer on board, <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Miles,” announced the captain gruffly. -“You’ll have to declare any baggage you have. They are particular here -in San Juan.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t see why,” objected Clayton. “We have come from one American -port to another, and have not touched anywhere. It seems strange to me.”</p> - -<p>“It’s the regular thing. That’s all I know. I’ll call the custom -officer. He’ll come down to see you.”</p> - -<p>Paul Clayton turned back into his little cabin, and cast a rather -anxious glance at the suit case on a chair at the back.</p> - -<p>“Very well!” he said, at last. “I’ll stay right here till he comes.”</p> - -<p>Captain Bill Lawton went to the companionway, and, as he ascended, he -whispered to the officer from police headquarters:</p> - -<p>“There’s your man. I’m going on deck.”</p> - -<p>“All right!”</p> - -<p>For a minute—or a fraction of one—during which the still-puzzled -skipper ascended to the deck, Sawyer stood behind the sailcloth -portière. Then he swung out and strode down the saloon with an official -step that no one could mistake.</p> - -<p>He stopped opposite Clayton and looked him steadily in the eye. Placing -a hand on the young man’s shoulder, he said coldly:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</span></p> - -<p>“Paul Clayton! That is your name?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“I am from police headquarters, New York. You are under arrest.”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center small">A POINT FOR THE ARCHCROOK.</p> - - -<p>For the merest part of a second Paul Clayton neither moved nor spoke. -Then his hand shot down to a side pocket and came up with a heavy -revolver.</p> - -<p>The officer had been looking for some such move. He seized the young -man’s wrist and gave it a wrench that caused the weapon to fall -clattering to the floor.</p> - -<p>“That won’t help you,” was the quiet warning. “Don’t resist, because -you will be the person to suffer if you do.”</p> - -<p>“What am I arrested for?” asked Clayton, composing himself with a -tremendous effort.</p> - -<p>“Stealing jewels estimated at about eighty thousand dollars from <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> -Stephen Reed, of New York City. He is said to be your uncle. We think -we have the goods on you, too.”</p> - -<p>Paul Clayton dropped his head despairingly. To think that, just when -he had been so sure that he could return to his uncle the jewels he -knew now he never had meant to keep, and begin life anew, with no stain -on his name, he had to be arrested by this strange detective, who had -followed him all this way, and seemed to have got to San Juan before -him!</p> - -<p>“Very well!” he sighed. “I’ll go with you quietly. There is nothing -else I can do. I only want to say that <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Reed would have had all his -property back as soon as it could reach him by express, and that there -would have been no need for this arrest.”</p> - -<p>“I guess so!” remarked the detective, with an incredulous shrug. “But -I caution you that anything you say may be used against you at your -trial. My advice to you is not to talk.”</p> - -<p>“I have been a fool, I know,” went on Clayton, seemingly unable to keep -his tongue quiet. “But I meant to make good.”</p> - -<p>“Be careful.”</p> - -<p>“I am careful. I have nothing to hide. The suit case holding the -property is over on that chair, in my cabin. On the table is a letter I -have written to <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Reed, and which would have been mailed as soon as I -could get ashore. You can read it, and it will convince you that I have -been telling the truth.”</p> - -<p>“You’d better tell that to the judge,” interrupted the officer.</p> - -<p>“I want to tell it to you. I wish you’d look at that letter.”</p> - -<p>“It isn’t necessary. Hold out your hands.”</p> - -<p>In another second the handcuffs were clapped on the wrists of Paul -Clayton.</p> - -<p>For the first time in his life he was a manacled prisoner. A dry sob -broke from his throat.</p> - -<p>It was then, as the officer stepped behind him and placed a hand on the -precious suit case, that a curious change came over the face of the man -from headquarters.</p> - -<p>He bent over the suit case and a grin widened his mouth in so -extraordinary a way that, if anybody who knew him had seen him at that -instant, he would have declared that this detective lieutenant from -New York was none other than John Garrison Rayne, the Apache!</p> - -<p>“This is dead easy!” he muttered. “And it’s good that Nick Carter has -gone off the ship. I’ll take these few things from my innocent young -friend here, and he can get the handcuffs off when Carter comes back.”</p> - -<p>How the scoundrel had contrived to get hold of the semiofficial uniform -he wore in so short a time was his own secret.</p> - -<p>It need only be said that when a man has six hundred dollars in cash -in his pocket, he can get most things he wants, up to the value of his -pile, in San Juan, just as he can in any other busy center.</p> - -<p>At all events, here was John Garrison Rayne on the <i>Cherokee</i>, in -the guise of a detective, seemingly carrying everything before him.</p> - -<p>He had completely fooled Captain Bill Lawton, and Paul Clayton had not -the least suspicion that he was anything but what he pretended to be.</p> - -<p>“You will remain in this cabin a prisoner for the present,” he said -shortly, turning to Clayton. “I shall have to go ashore and telegraph -to New York for instructions. Ah, here’s Captain Lawton!”</p> - -<p>The skipper was coming down the companionway. He raised his eyebrows -as he saw that Paul Clayton was standing at the stateroom door, with -handcuffs on his wrists.</p> - -<p>“Nabbed him, eh?” he growled.</p> - -<p>“I have him under arrest,” replied Rayne, with dignity. “If you will -bring a couple of your men to guard the prisoner, I will stay till you -come back.”</p> - -<p>“All right! I’ll get my bos’n, Clegg, and another man,” replied the -captain. “Clegg is the sort of fellow who won’t take any funny business -from anybody. With him and another, your prisoner will be as safe as if -he was in jail ashore.”</p> - -<p>The captain hurried away to get Clegg—who, in the absence of Joe -Sykes, was acting as bos’n. He was glad to do anything he could to help -the officer from New York.</p> - -<p>John Garrison Rayne watched the captain till he disappeared up the -stairway. Then he stooped and picked up the revolver Clayton had -dropped, putting it into his pocket.</p> - -<p>The young man had fallen into a chair at the big table in the middle of -the saloon, and was sitting there, his head resting upon his arms, the -picture of despair.</p> - -<p>The Apache strode deliberately into the stateroom—for he was afraid to -hurry or show any eagerness, lest he should be suspected—and picked up -the suit case.</p> - -<p>As he brought it to the table, he was surprised to find that it was not -locked.</p> - -<p>He opened it and turned out its contents upon the table as if they had -been a heap of pebbles. It was his way of showing that he regarded the -booty from a purely official point of view.</p> - -<p>Paul Clayton did not look up. He seemed to have lost interest in -everything in the world just then.</p> - -<p>Rayne had seen the jewels before. But he could not keep the glint out -of his eyes as they fell upon the glittering stones and gold settings -which would mean a fortune to him.</p> - -<p>He had been at his last gasp financially when he had come on board -the old tramp steamer. He had had enough to pay his fare and provide -himself with cigars,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</span> and that was about all. He felt that he must make -a killing now, no matter at what risk.</p> - -<p>It was just as Rayne had the jewels spread out on the table that -Captain Bill Lawton came down again. His eyes fell upon the display, -and he could not get his breath.</p> - -<p>The genial skipper did not know much about the value of gems and richly -chased gold ornaments. But he felt sure this heap must be worth a great -deal of money. He found himself regretting that he had not known what -this young man had in his cabin.</p> - -<p>How easy it would have been for the captain to get hold of the suit -case, empty it into a bag of his own, and go ashore, saying good-by to -the sea forever!</p> - -<p>Captain Lawton might not have been guilty of this bit of villainy, even -if he had had the opportunity. But certainly he allowed his thoughts to -roam in this way, while a ruminative smile moved his hard lips.</p> - -<p>John Garrison Rayne, familiar with the look of cupidity that steals -over the faces of some men, divined pretty well what was passing in -Captain Lawton’s mind. He brought the commander to himself sharply, by -remarking, in a matter-of-fact tone:</p> - -<p>“This stuff seems to be all right. I don’t see that anything is -missing. But I’ll have to compare them with my list before I can be -sure.”</p> - -<p>He shoveled the jewelry back into the suit case as if he had no -personal interest in the valuables, and shut the case with a snap.</p> - -<p>“You will have two men to guard my prisoner, Captain Lawton,” he said -shortly. “I shall have to hold you responsible for his safe-keeping. -But I am not afraid that he will get away. I don’t see how he can, -so long as he is kept down here. He couldn’t get out of any of the -portholes.”</p> - -<p>“He won’t get away!” grunted Captain Lawton. “I’ll answer for that.”</p> - -<p>“All right! You’ll be paid for any trouble you have to take, of course. -I’ll take this stuff ashore to my hotel, and keep it until I get -instructions from New York.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll be glad to see it off my ship,” declared Captain Lawton. “If you -like, I’ll send a couple of men ashore with you, to help you guard the -stuff till you put it away. I suppose you’ll stow it in the hotel safe.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” answered Rayne carelessly. “That will be the best place for it. -Meantime, I can look after it myself. You will hear from me some time -during the day.”</p> - -<p>He took the suit case in his hand, and, with a grim smile under his -heavy mustache, walked to the companionway and up to the deck.</p> - -<p>His impulse was to make a rush for his boat. But the Apache had too -much control of himself to yield to such an inclination. Instead, he -sauntered over to the head of the sea ladder and shouted to his two -oarsmen.</p> - -<p>“Aye, aye, sir!” responded one of them, as they brought the craft up to -the small platform at the foot of the ladder. “All right, sir!”</p> - -<p>With a slow and dignified step, John Garrison Rayne went down the -ladder. At the foot of it he stopped to wave a farewell to Captain -Lawton, who, with his first mate, Van Cross, was at the top. Then he -stepped into his boat and sat down in the stern, the valuable suit case -between his knees.</p> - -<p>No sooner had the men got the boat clear of the steamer than Rayne -leaned forward and told them to hurry with all their might.</p> - -<p>“It will be half a dollar extra for each of you if you put me ashore -inside of fifteen minutes,” he told them. “I have to meet a gentleman -who is going away on the train. Hurry!”</p> - -<p>“Aye, aye, sir!” came in chorus from both of the oarsmen.</p> - -<p>The promise of a tip has just as potent an effect in Porto Rico as it -has in any other part of the world. They rowed with savage eagerness, -and promised to get to shore in twelve minutes.</p> - -<p>As the yawl cut its way through the heaving waters, John Garrison Rayne -mused over his good luck. He hugged the suit case between his knees, -and tried to decide on his next move.</p> - -<p>“It was dead easy!” he muttered. “All I had to do was to get rid of -that gray wig, put on the mustache, and buy the clothes I wanted out of -the captain’s six hundred. Then I stepped into this boat, went up to -the <i>Cherokee</i>, clapped handcuffs on Paul Clayton, picked up the -suit case—after making sure it had the things in it—and quietly rowed -away. Why, it was like taking candy from a baby.”</p> - -<p>He chuckled so loudly that both of his oarsmen looked quickly at him in -astonishment. He recovered himself immediately, and frowning severely -at them, told them to pull harder.</p> - -<p>It was just as he administered this rebuke to his men that he glanced -over to the left, where a motor boat was chugging its way across the -harbor.</p> - -<p>There were three men in it.</p> - -<p>At first they were too far away for him to make out who they were. -Then, as the morning sun fell full upon their faces, he recognized them.</p> - -<p>They were Nick Carter, Chick, and Patsy Garvan!</p> - -<p>The motor boat swept past, causing the yawl to rock violently in its -back wash.</p> - -<p>Rayne bent over and appeared to be tying the lace of his shoe. His face -was thus entirely concealed from the occupants of the motor boat.</p> - -<p>When the danger of recognition was past, he hissed to his two -perspiring oarsmen:</p> - -<p>“Make it in eight minutes, and I’ll give you a dollar apiece!”</p> - -<p>The little yawl fairly leaped through the water, as the men put in all -the strength and activity they could muster.</p> - -<p>“They’re going to the ship,” muttered Rayne. “I’ve got to be out of -the way quickly. There may be a way of signaling shore. If there is -anything like that to be done, that infernal Nick Carter will know how -to do it.”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center small">A PUZZLE FOR THE SKIPPER.</p> - - -<p>It was not without thoroughly understanding the situation that John -Garrison Rayne told himself he would be in danger if he did not get -away before Nick Carter could communicate with the shore.</p> - -<p>Even if it should be impossible to telegraph, that motor boat was a -swift-moving craft, and it would take very little time for it to get -to the wharf from the <i>Cherokee</i>, if the famous detective should -determine to go, instead of trying to signal.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</span></p> - -<p>It happened that Rayne was just stepping on the quay as the motor boat -swirled alongside of the steamer.</p> - -<p>Nick Carter, no longer dressed as a sailor, but in a neat, light, -business suit, stepped upon the platform at the foot of the sea ladder, -while his two assistants—who also had changed their attire—followed -him closely.</p> - -<p>Nick had removed the heavy beard he had worn as Joe Sykes, the -boatswain, and there was little in his face to remind one of the sailor -except his penetrating dark eyes.</p> - -<p>Patsy and Chick, too, had changed their faces, so that no one on board -the steamer would be likely to suspect that they ever had been members -of the crew, taking the hard work, and the equally hard language of the -bullying mate, all as part of the day’s work.</p> - -<p>Captain Lawton was worried over the taking away of the suit case. He -had begun to feel misgivings, and it had disturbed his nerves. So he -scowled when he saw three strangers boarding his ship.</p> - -<p>“What do you want?” was his inhospitable greeting, as Nick gained the -top of the ladder.</p> - -<p>“I am a detective, and I’ve come to see your passenger, Paul Clayton,” -replied Nick Carter, as he looked the skipper up and down. “He took -passage with you under the name of Miles. Where is he?”</p> - -<p>“Search me,” grinned the captain.</p> - -<p>“He’s on board your vessel, isn’t he?” demanded Nick sternly. “A -passenger of yours?”</p> - -<p>“No. He ain’t nothing of the kind. You say you’re a detective. Well, -you’re a little late. Another detective, from New York, has been here -and arrested him. So he isn’t a passenger. He’s a prisoner.”</p> - -<p>“Impossible!” ejaculated Nick Carter.</p> - -<p>“Nothing impossible about it,” sneered the captain. “He’s down in the -cabin he’s had since we left New York. Only now it’s a cell, instead of -a stateroom, and I have two of my men watching to see that he doesn’t -get away. That’s all there is to it.”</p> - -<p>“How do you know this man who arrested Paul Clayton—or Miles—is a -detective?”</p> - -<p>The captain held out a card, which Nick Carter took and scanned hastily.</p> - -<p>“Detective Lieutenant Sawyer!” murmured Nick, reading from the card. “I -don’t know of any New York detective by that name.”</p> - -<p>“Well, anyhow, he was here, and he’s gone ashore with the stolen -property, in a suit case. If you look over there, you can just make him -out, landing on the wharf from a yawl.”</p> - -<p>“Gee!” whispered Patsy. “I believe that’s right. Eh, Chick?”</p> - -<p>“Looks like his walk,” returned Chick.</p> - -<p>“I wish we could make out his face. What kind of clothes do you suppose -he has on? We’re going to have a fine time running him down,” was -Patsy’s low-toned remark—in which there was plenty of confidence, -however.</p> - -<p>Nick Carter was thinking quickly. He had seen the man getting out -of the rowboat at the wharf. But it was too far to make him out for -certain, and Nick had very little faith in Captain Lawton’s integrity.</p> - -<p>“I’ll go down and see the prisoner, anyhow,” he said sharply.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know whether you can,” hesitated Captain Lawton. “I have -orders to keep the man safe, but nothing was said to me about allowing -any one to see him.”</p> - -<p>Nick Carter turned back the lapel of his waistcoat and showed a jeweled -badge. It was very seldom that he exhibited this insignia. But there -were occasionally times, like the present, when it was desirable that -he should prove his identity.</p> - -<p>Captain Lawton leaned forward to scan the badge. He saw that it bore -the arms of New York State, and that in the center was a medallion -portrait of the man who wore it.</p> - -<p>But the skipper was naturally suspicious, and he did not accept even -this proof immediately—or pretended he did not. As a matter of fact, -he had seen Nick Carter before, in his proper person, and he was -obliged to admit to himself that this calm, self-possessed man seemed -to be the same.</p> - -<p>“If that badge is straight, it is all right,” he growled. “Only I do -not know that.”</p> - -<p>“Here’s my card,” said Nick impatiently, as he took one of his cards -from its case. “You may see my name and address there.”</p> - -<p>“‘Nicholas Carter, Madison Avenue, New York City,’” read the captain. -“It looks as if you might be the man you say you are.”</p> - -<p>“You say that this other man, who pretended he was a detective, has -taken the jewels stolen from Stephen Reed, and that it was he we just -now saw climbing out of a small boat at the wharf?” demanded Nick, who -was tired of arguing about his own identity.</p> - -<p>“He took the jewelry,” replied, Lawton, more surly than ever. “I have -not had proof that he was a fake detective any more than I know you’re -a real one.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll prove who I am by the chief of police of San Juan,” interrupted -Nick sharply. “But there is no time to argue longer about that. I’ll -send my men ashore, and I dare say they will round up this man. He -seems to have fooled you completely.”</p> - -<p>“There ain’t nobody can fool me!” grunted the captain indignantly.</p> - -<p>“Chick!” called out Nick, turning his back on the wrathful Lawton. “You -and Patsy go and see the chief of police, give him my compliments, and -tell him to look out for this man. Most likely the rascal will try to -get out of town right away.”</p> - -<p>“Who are we to look for?” asked Chick.</p> - -<p>“The Apache.”</p> - -<p>“Who’s that?” asked the captain.</p> - -<p>“Gee! You don’t want to get in his way. That’s all!” grinned Patsy. -“He’d steal the ship from under you while you was giving orders to stop -him.”</p> - -<p>Patsy said this with so much earnestness, even though he grinned, that -Captain Lawton was visibly impressed, while Nick Carter frowned at his -irrepressible assistant.</p> - -<p>“You don’t want me to tell the chief of police why we want the Apache, -do you?” whispered Chick in Nick Carter’s ear.</p> - -<p>“No. Let him think it is a smuggling case. Anyhow, he won’t ask too -many questions if you tell him it is my case. He knows me.”</p> - -<p>“What’s his name? Douglas, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. He knows you as well as me.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</span></p> - -<p>By this time Captain Lawton had come to the conclusion that it was -the real Nick Carter who stood before him, and he desired to give so -eminent a crime detector all the aid he could. But it never entered his -head that this well-groomed man could be the sloppy-looking Joe Sykes, -who had sailed in the <i>Cherokee</i> as a boatswain.</p> - -<p>“This man who took the jewelry was about the same height as yourself, -<abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Carter,” he volunteered. “He wore a blue suit of clothes, that -didn’t fit any too well, and his cap had a gold band around it, as if -he might be an officer of some kind.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you,” responded Nick. “I dare say we shall get him before we are -much older. But we’ll talk more about that after I’ve got my men here -away.”</p> - -<p>“All right, <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Carter! Anything you say.”</p> - -<p>“Look here, Chick!”</p> - -<p>“Well, chief?”</p> - -<p>“When you have finished your work—seen the chief of police, and made -any inquiries you can, come to the Ionic Hotel. I’ll go there when I -get through on the ship. Now hustle, boys!”</p> - -<p>“All right!” grinned Patsy. “We’ll round up this citizen we’re after -before he knows whether he’s afloat or ashore. Eh, Chick?”</p> - -<p>“We’ll do our best,” was Chick’s earnest response.</p> - -<p>The two assistants went down the ladder, and Nick Carter leaned over -the side of the steamer, watching them make good time to the shore.</p> - -<p>Even when the motor boat had almost covered the expanse of water -between the <i>Cherokee</i> and the wharf, the detective remained in -the same position. He was reflecting. He had the faculty of being able -to do that anywhere, even with all kinds of confusion around him.</p> - -<p>The new complication of the theft of the Stephen Reed jewelry just when -it seemed as if the troubles of Paul Clayton might be over, was bad -enough. But the added fact that the Apache was posing as a detective, -and might even get the police to help him, unwittingly, to get away, -made it worse.</p> - -<p>Nick had gone ashore originally to look for Rayne, but had not been -able to hear anything about a man answering the description of the -cunning rascal. Then he had decided that he could do more effective -work in behalf of Paul Clayton by dropping his disguise of Joe Sykes -and cutting off all connection with the <i>Cherokee</i> as a member of -its crew.</p> - -<p>There would be nothing gained by continuing on board as a boatswain, -with Captain Lawton and Van Cross giving him orders. Neither was it -desirable that Chick and Patsy should be sailors, either.</p> - -<p>Having come to this decision, it had not been difficult for all three -to get rid of their make-ups, and so well did they accomplish this that -Captain Lawton had not the slightest suspicion they ever had been on -his ship before.</p> - -<p>“Do you want to see the prisoner, <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Carter?” asked the captain, in -a tone of respect that was rather amusing, considering how surly and -insolent he had been at first.</p> - -<p>“Yes. Take me to him, please,” answered Nick. “And I should be glad if -you will have a boat ready to put me ashore when I have looked over -things below.”</p> - -<p>“Sure you shall have a boat,” assented the captain promptly.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center small">NICK HAS HIS OWN WAY.</p> - - -<p>Two men were guarding the top of the companionway during the colloquy -between Nick Carter and the captain, but, at a signal from the latter, -they drew aside to allow the detective to go down to the prisoner.</p> - -<p>The man at the cabin door opened it as Nick Carter stepped forward, -for he knew the detective could not have got below without special -permission from the captain. Besides, he had heard enough of the -argument on deck to know pretty nearly all that had taken place.</p> - -<p>Paul Clayton was sitting on the edge of his berth, his chin on his -breast, and evidently in deep thought. He looked up sharply as Nick -Carter went into the cabin, a question in his glance.</p> - -<p>Instinctively, he made an effort to hide the handcuffs under a blanket -on the berth. Then he laughed bitterly and brought his hands forward to -rest on his knees, as if defying the opinion of his visitor, whatever -it might be.</p> - -<p>“I beg your pardon,” said Nick, with a smile. “I don’t suppose you want -to wear these decorations any longer than you are obliged. Let me see -if I can take them off.”</p> - -<p>Paul Clayton stared hard at the detective. He did not know him, now -that he had removed the clothing and beard of Joe Sykes, the boatswain. -But it seemed as if there were a familiar note in his voice.</p> - -<p>“May I ask——” he began.</p> - -<p>“Not just now,” interrupted Nick. “Let me look at these bracelets of -yours.”</p> - -<p>One close look at the handcuffs was enough for Nick Carter.</p> - -<p>Taking from his pocket a jackknife, he pressed a spring, and a steel -rod shot forth. With this he opened the handcuffs so quickly and easily -that the sailor at the door, who had been watching him, gave vent to an -involuntary grunt of admiration.</p> - -<p>“I’m responsible for this,” remarked Nick, looking at the sailor. -“Captain Lawton will tell you.”</p> - -<p>“Aye, aye, sir!” returned the man, as he moved away from the door.</p> - -<p>“Now we can talk more comfortably,” was the detective’s smiling -suggestion. “No sense in wearing those things that I can see.”</p> - -<p>“Who are you?” faltered Paul Clayton.</p> - -<p>“You ought to know me,” returned Nick lightly. “We sailed from New York -together.”</p> - -<p>He said this with the drawl he had used as Joe Sykes, and Clayton -started up from the bunk in astonishment.</p> - -<p>“The bos’n?”</p> - -<p>“Exactly! But, when I use my own name, I am Nicholas Carter.”</p> - -<p>“The detective?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. But you need not speak so loudly. Don’t let us talk about that.”</p> - -<p>“But,” protested Clayton, “this is amazing.”</p> - -<p>“Never mind. Tell me what this man said who came and got the jewelry -away from you.”</p> - -<p>“The New York detective?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>Paul Clayton—still wondering, as he looked at his visitor—went over -in detail all that had passed between him and John Garrison Rayne.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</span></p> - -<p>Nick Carter compressed his lips and his brows came together over his -eyes as he listened.</p> - -<p>“What a scoundrel the fellow is!” was the detective’s comment at the -end. “Well, Clayton, that means that we have to go after him.”</p> - -<p>Clayton got to his feet and seemed eager to move out of the cabin -without delay.</p> - -<p>“To think that I was so easily cheated of the jewels I stole——”</p> - -<p>“Not that you stole, <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Clayton,” interrupted Nick. “Let us say ‘the -jewels you were minding for <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Reed.’ That sounds much better, and it -is the truth, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, indeed it is,” assented the young man, with a wan smile of -gratitude. “I took the jewelry. But I did not use any of it, and when -I had got over the first madness that made me take it from my uncle’s -room, I never had a thought but to return it as soon as possible.”</p> - -<p>“But you came to Porto Rico to do it?”</p> - -<p>“Because I was afraid that, if I sent the jewels back from New York, -Stephen Reed would put the police on my heels. I did want a chance to -begin life over again and prove that I am honest at heart,” replied -Clayton pathetically. “If I were once sent to prison, I never could -hold up my head again.”</p> - -<p>“Well, we will get the jewelry, and back it will go to <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Reed. It may -be some little trouble, but I believe I can rely on you to keep at it -till we round up this blackguard who has tried to fool us all.”</p> - -<p>“You are quite sure this detective was not really a detective,” asked -Clayton. “He did not look to me at all like the man I knew as James -Boris on this ship.”</p> - -<p>“Nevertheless, he is the same. He took the name of James Boris on this -vessel. He is John Garrison Rayne, the Apache. I <em>know</em> that.”</p> - -<p>“If there were any mistake, and he really represented the police, he -would have me arrested——”</p> - -<p>“My dear Clayton!” interrupted Nick. “Why will you harp on that? You -and I both know that we had him a prisoner on this ship, after taking -the suit case away from him in the engine room. Then he managed to get -free and dive overboard.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose it was this Boris who fell or jumped off the ship in the -early morning,” murmured Paul.</p> - -<p>“Beyond all question. He swam to shore, got a new suit of clothes, -altered the look of his face, and came back, in the guise of a -detective, to steal the jewelry for the second time. There is only one -man I know of who could carry out such a trick successfully, and that -is the man I am going to find—John Garrison Rayne—the fellow you know -as James Boris.”</p> - -<p>“Can I go with you? Or shall I have to stay here?” asked Clayton. -“Remember, you found me a handcuffed prisoner, and the captain promised -that I should not get away.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll attend to that,” replied Nick briefly. “Come with me.”</p> - -<p>The sailor who had been at the door of the cabin was on the -companionway, talking to the two men at the top, one of whom was Clegg, -the boatswain. He was telling of what had happened in Paul Clayton’s -stateroom.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know anything about it,” rumbled Clegg. “But there’s Captain -Lawton. We can ask him.”</p> - -<p>It was at this moment that Nick Carter pushed Clayton ahead of him up -the stairs, and led him to the deck.</p> - -<p>Clegg stepped aside involuntarily before Nick Carter’s masterful -manner, although not without glancing at the captain, to see what he -would do in such a strange situation.</p> - -<p>“Is the boat ready?” asked Nick, stepping up to Lawton.</p> - -<p>“I’ll have it ready in a brace of shakes.”</p> - -<p>The captain turned to give an order to Clegg, who passed it forward, -and the activity of half a dozen sailors gave promise that the boat -would be at the ladder in a few moments.</p> - -<p>“I am going ashore—with <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr>—er—Miles,” announced Nick carelessly.</p> - -<p>“Well, I don’t know about that,” hesitated the captain. “I don’t feel -as if this passenger ought to go without something more being known -about him. I believe you are really Nicholas Carter, and that the other -detective is a fraud. Still, if he should turn out to be the genuine -article, where would I be?”</p> - -<p>“He is not the genuine article,” returned Nick. “So you need not -speculate on that.”</p> - -<p>“But, if he <em>should</em> be, you see, I’d be on the rocks—piled up, -with my back broke and out of the game for good.”</p> - -<p>Captain Lawton shook his head with an air of ponderous wisdom that -tried Nick Carter’s patience sorely.</p> - -<p>“You have my word that he’s a fraud,” the detective reminded him -sternly. “I thought that would be enough. If you like, I’ll sign a -paper taking all the responsibility. Only, let’s have that boat!”</p> - -<p>“Well, all right! Let it go at that!” grumbled the captain; “I guess -I’m going to get the worst of it. I always do. Boat, there!”</p> - -<p>He bellowed this last at his men, and Nick Carter went down the ladder, -with Paul Clayton following him into the boat.</p> - -<p>Four sailors rowed them to shore, and it seemed to the detective as if -they were trying to move as lazily as they possibly could.</p> - -<p>“Pity they don’t hurry!” broke out Clayton impatiently.</p> - -<p>“It wouldn’t do any good,” returned Nick. “Our man has got a good -start, and a few minutes more or less in crossing the harbor won’t make -much difference. When we get ashore we can hustle. Meanwhile, we shall -have to take it philosophically.”</p> - -<p>The boat trip was over at last, and Nick Carter, who was familiar with -the beautiful city of San Juan, walked with Paul Clayton along the -shaded avenues until he got to the Ionic Hotel.</p> - -<p>Situated on the side of a hill, and overlooking the harbor, the hotel -was a favorite stopping place for visitors, and one could be sure of -hearing most of the gossip of Porto Rico if he lounged about the lobby -for an hour or so.</p> - -<p>This was one of the reasons that Nick Carter had taken up his abode -there. Another was that he knew John Garrison Rayne’s love of luxury, -and he felt pretty sure that the Apache would be at the Ionic if he -thought it safe.</p> - -<p>“It ought to be easy to catch him, I should think,” observed Paul -Clayton, as Nick Carter said this.</p> - -<p>“Can’t tell,” answered the detective. “I have had dealings<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</span> with this -scoundrel before, and he is as cunning as a rat. However, we’ll go into -the grill room and have a good meal, anyhow. I expect my two men here -soon.”</p> - -<p>The anticipation of the detective proved to be correct. He and Paul -Clayton had not yet begun on the luncheon Nick Carter had ordered, -when his quick eye made out Chick and Patsy strolling along the big -lobby, looking in every direction, but in a careless way that disarmed -suspicion.</p> - -<p>Suddenly Chick caught sight of his chief, and whispered to Patsy to -stay behind for a moment or two.</p> - -<p>“All right, Chick!” responded Patsy. “I see what you mean. There’s the -chief over there. You go slowly to him, and I’ll join you afterward.”</p> - -<p>These precautions were rather elaborate, perhaps. But the two -assistants knew that they were dealing with a dangerous man in Rayne, -and that he was quite likely to have some spies at work in the hotel, -even if he should not be there himself.</p> - -<p>“What do you know?” asked Nick casually, as he bent over his plate, -when Chick and Patsy were both seated at the table. “Have some luncheon -and answer me cautiously.”</p> - -<p>“We haven’t found out a thing,” acknowledged Chick.</p> - -<p>“Haven’t seen or heard anything about him,” added Patsy.</p> - -<p>“Exactly! Just what I expected,” returned Nick Carter coolly. “Let me -help you to some salad, <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Clayton.”</p> - -<p>The detective did the honors of the table with as calm and smiling an -air as if there were not a thing on his mind. But his brain was working -busily.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center small">HOW NICK GOT A LIGHT.</p> - - -<p>It was two days later. Nick Carter, his two assistants, and Paul -Clayton were in the bedroom of Nick in the Ionic Hotel.</p> - -<p>All four looked perplexed and disgusted. Patsy Garvan, who was standing -at the window, gazing moodily across the harbor, indulged in various -expletives in an undertone, and wished he had somebody whose head it -would be permissible to punch.</p> - -<p>“If I don’t get a chance to lick somebody soon,” he muttered, “I’ll get -a cramp in my elbow. This case is the kind of thing that makes a man go -stale. Gee! To think that a dub like John Garrison Rayne can keep out -of our way on an island that you can almost spit across! Jumping cats! -I’d rather go out and——”</p> - -<p>“Patsy!”</p> - -<p>It was the voice of Nick Carter. Garvan swung around.</p> - -<p>“What is it, chief? Anything I can do?”</p> - -<p>“Only stop your growling over there,” answered the detective, -good-humoredly. “It’s got on your nerves, I dare say. But so it has on -those of the rest of us. Grumbling and complaining never moved even -a pebble out of the road yet. Brace up, and let’s talk about it in a -sensible way.”</p> - -<p>Nick Carter was not obliged to mollify his younger assistant in this -way. A gruff order would have quieted Patsy Garvan just as effectively. -But it was a principle with the eminent detective to make his -subordinates feel that they were his partners, rather than just his -employees, and he had found that it paid.</p> - -<p>“We’ve been pretty nearly all over Porto Rico, looking for this -fellow,” returned Patsy. “I was thinking we might as well try somewhere -else.”</p> - -<p>“We’ve only looked through San Juan,” corrected Chick. “Even in a city -of some fifty thousand people, it is not easy to get into every nook -and cranny. Besides, there isn’t any doubt that Rayne has changed his -appearance since he left the <i>Cherokee</i>.”</p> - -<p>Nick Carter nodded approvingly.</p> - -<p>“That is as certain as that he stole that suit case,” he declared. “It -is possible that we pass him several times a day without knowing him.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, chief! Come off!” exclaimed Patsy. “That couldn’t be. I never saw -the make-up that would fool you.”</p> - -<p>“That’s because you don’t know,” rejoined Nick Carter. “Don’t think you -or I know it all, Patsy. The men who do things are those who think they -may still learn. What you all need now is a little rest.”</p> - -<p>“That’s so!” yawned Chick. “We are about all in, it seems to me. Still, -if there is anything we can do, we ought not to waste time resting.”</p> - -<p>Nick Carter smiled and slapped Chick on the back, in appreciation of -his pluck, as he answered:</p> - -<p>“Go to bed, Chick. And you, Patsy. It won’t be dark for another hour. -But you are so tired that you need not wait for that.”</p> - -<p>“And what about yourself?” asked Patsy. “Are you going to sit up?”</p> - -<p>“Indeed I’m not,” was the quick reply. “I’m going to tumble into this -bed as soon as you get out.”</p> - -<p>“There doesn’t seem anything for me to do to-night, either,” remarked -Paul Clayton. “But I do not feel as if I ought to sleep until I have -got back the Stephen Reed jewelry.”</p> - -<p>“That may be a matter of days—or weeks—yet, Clayton,” the detective -warned him. “You must try to forget it sometimes.”</p> - -<p>“How can I?” was the dejected response. “If I had never touched it, -nothing of this would have happened. I am the person responsible, and -it is I who must make good.”</p> - -<p>For three hours all four of the men who were trying to hunt down John -Garrison Rayne lay quietly in their respective bedrooms in the Ionic -Hotel.</p> - -<p>Nick Carter was the only one of the three who did not undress entirely. -He contented himself with removing part of his clothing and taking off -his shoes.</p> - -<p>Lying on the outside of the bed, he slept as soundly as any of his -associates.</p> - -<p>It was about eleven o’clock when he awoke. Immediately he sat up, with -all his faculties about him.</p> - -<p>The famous detective had long before trained himself to wake at the -very instant he desired, without any outside help. When he lay down he -impressed it on his mind that he must arouse at a certain time. Never -yet had he failed to do so.</p> - -<p>So, when he woke up now in the darkness, he knew, before he turned his -pocket flash lamp on his watch, what the time would be.</p> - -<p>Pulling down the window shade in the darkness, he switched on two -electric lights at the dresser and smiled at his own reflection.</p> - -<p>“I’ll have to change this a little,” he muttered. “Just<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</span> a gray -mustache and goatee, with a few lines on my face, will make me safe. My -clothes will do, I think.”</p> - -<p>Porto Rico is one of the most healthful climates on the American side -of the world. The mean temperature in San Juan is officially a little -over eighty degrees, and it never goes above ninety-five at any time. -So the costume worn by Nick Carter was a business suit of light cloth, -such as might be suitable for New York or Chicago in the summer.</p> - -<p>The detective was careful in making up his face to represent a man in -his sixties.</p> - -<p>Crow’s-feet at the corners of his eyes, a deep line on either side -from the nose to the corner of the mouth, and gray brows, as well as -mustache and beard, made him look the part.</p> - -<p>He topped it off by adjusting a well-made gray wig, which fitted so -well that it appeared actually to grow on his head.</p> - -<p>When he put on his broad-brimmed panama hat, so that it shaded his -eyes, he was a typical Porto Rican, and nothing at all like the Nick -Carter familiar to so many people in New York.</p> - -<p>He moved about very quietly, for he did not want to disturb either of -his assistants, who occupied a double-bedded room adjoining his own.</p> - -<p>When he was ready to depart, he listened, for an instant, at the -communicating door. Then, satisfied that nobody was stirring within, -he went down the stairs to the office of the hotel, and out to the -beautiful, verdure-scented avenue.</p> - -<p>He had gone two blocks along the avenue on which the hotel stood, and -was turning a corner, when he noticed two persons walking slowly along -the other side, shadowed by the trees.</p> - -<p>“Taking an evening stroll for their health, I reckon,” he thought.</p> - -<p>He turned to see what had become of them when he had gone down the side -street some distance. As they were not in sight, he decided that they -had kept along the main avenue, to enjoy the breeze from the sea that -swept gustily across the thoroughfare at intervals.</p> - -<p>In all cities, no matter how well regulated, there are drinking resorts -that have not the entire approval of the police.</p> - -<p>It was into one of these that Nick Carter stepped at last. The place -was not far from the water front, but the patrons were not of the rough -class one so often finds in saloons near the wharves in larger cities. -It is doubtful whether they were so good at heart, however.</p> - -<p>There was a porch in front of the place. Several men were sitting -there, lazily tilted back in their chairs, with cigarettes in their -teeth and a cool drink at their elbows on the small tables.</p> - -<p>Nick seated himself on the porch, and told the waiter to bring him a -lemonade.</p> - -<p>In the absence of the serving man to get the drink, Nick looked about -him casually.</p> - -<p>The half dozen men on the porch beside himself all appeared to be -giving themselves up to the enjoyment of the hour. Tobacco and drinks -kept them mildly amused, it seemed.</p> - -<p>Every lounger looked as if he might be in fairly comfortable -circumstances. The detective put them down as storekeepers, -mechanics—cigarmakers, probably—and men connected with the shipping -of the harbor.</p> - -<p>Next to him was a dark-complexioned individual, who looked like a -Cuban, with a mixture of West Indian negro blood. Such persons are -rather frequent in Porto Rico.</p> - -<p>He was dressed in a linen suit, with a panama hat and white shoes. -There was a diamond ring on one of his brown fingers, and another -diamond sparkled in the bosom of his narrow-plaited, soft, white shirt -bosom. Prosperity oozed from him.</p> - -<p>He had just lighted a long cigar as Nick Carter sat down by his side.</p> - -<p>The Cuban did not look up. As he smoked, he seemed to have enough -affairs of his own to occupy his mind, without wasting any time on a -stranger.</p> - -<p>Nick Carter took one of his own favorite perfectos from a cigar case -and bit off the end with a snap of his even, white teeth. Then he felt -in his pockets for a match.</p> - -<p>He brought out a silver match box first, and, finding it empty, -explored his clothing with what appeared to be rapidly increasing -vexation. Not a match could he find.</p> - -<p>He looked on the tables, but no matches were there.</p> - -<p>“Deuce take it! I wish I had a match!” he muttered, in a carefully -disguised tone. “Where’s that confounded waiter?”</p> - -<p>The Cuban turned and looked Nick Carter over with a gaze that took him -in from head to foot. Then, moved by a sudden impulse, he said, in a -voice with a strong Spanish accent:</p> - -<p>“May I give you a light?”</p> - -<p>“Thanks!” answered Nick.</p> - -<p>“I am sorry I have no match,” went on the Cuban. “Will you honor me by -taking a light from my cigarro?”</p> - -<p>“If you will favor me.”</p> - -<p>The little dialogue had been carried on with the punctilious politeness -that usually distinguishes the intercourse of Latin peoples.</p> - -<p>The detective fell easily into it, while to the Cuban it appeared to be -entirely natural.</p> - -<p>Both men arose from their chairs, and the Cuban drew up his cigar with -several strong inhalations. Then he bowed, as a signal that he was -ready.</p> - -<p>Nick Carter stepped in front of him, and, while the Cuban held his -cigar between his teeth, the detective, perfecto in mouth, came close.</p> - -<p>“Now!” smiled the Cuban.</p> - -<p>“Thanks!”</p> - -<p>“I’ll draw up a little more.”</p> - -<p>“All right! I can get it,” replied Nick.</p> - -<p>With the ends of their cigars touching, as the detective drew some of -the fire from the Cuban’s to his own, the two men stared directly into -each other’s eyes.</p> - -<p>The glow of the cigars lighted up their faces, and each had an -opportunity to study the other at very close range.</p> - -<p>Somehow, it was difficult for Nick Carter to get his cigar alight. -Once, when he thought he had it, he was obliged to go back again.</p> - -<p>The Cuban did not show or express any impatience, however. He seemed to -be desirous only to oblige his casual acquaintance.</p> - -<p>For more than half a minute they stood with their faces only the -combined length of the two cigars apart—that is to say, about six -inches.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</span></p> - -<p>Then, as Nick Carter slowly drew back, his cigar burning brightly, he -suddenly shot out both hands and gripped the Cuban by the shoulders!</p> - -<p>“What does this mean?” hissed the dark-visaged stranger indignantly.</p> - -<p>“Only that I want a little conversation with you, John Garrison Rayne,” -replied Nick Carter.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center small">THE SLIPPERY APACHE.</p> - - -<p>The words were hardly out of the detective’s mouth, when the Cuban, -with a snarl of rage, tore the cigar from Nick’s teeth and pressed the -burning end upon the bare hand of his captor.</p> - -<p>There were few things that would have made Nick Carter loosen his hold. -The exquisite pain of the burning cigar was one of them, however.</p> - -<p>Anybody who ever has been hurt in this way can testify that the red-hot -ash sticks to the flesh in a cruel fashion, causing excruciating agony.</p> - -<p>As Nick took away one hand, John Garrison Rayne pulled the other loose. -Then, hissing defiance between his set teeth, he dragged a long knife -from inside his coat and aimed a blow at the detective’s heart.</p> - -<p>Nick Carter was unable to ward off the blow entirely, but it only cut -a long slit in his sleeve. The next moment he had seized the rascal -around the waist and slammed him down upon the table by his side.</p> - -<p>The table never was meant to stand such a shock. Down it went, in a -muddle of broken legs and splintered top, with the Cuban and Nick in -the ruins, for the Cuban had pulled his assailant down with him.</p> - -<p>“Thieves!” roared the Cuban. “Look out! Grab him before he can get -away!”</p> - -<p>Four big men piled on top of Nick behind, and, under their combined -weight, down he went, flat upon the floor, while the cunning rascal, -who had incited the attack, slipped away in the darkness.</p> - -<p>“Let me get up!” shouted Nick. “The thief has got away.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I guess not!” came from one of the men holding him down. “I saw -the whole thing. This man asked for a light, and when he had it, he -tried to go through the other man’s pockets for his roll. Where are the -police? This is the worst holdup I ever saw.”</p> - -<p>“You idiot!” exploded Nick.</p> - -<p>He was enraged at seeing Rayne get away when so nearly caught. So -exerting all his enormous strength, he threw the four men off, and, -picking up a chair, swung it around his head to hold them back.</p> - -<p>By this time there was a full-sized riot on the porch and in the café. -But the detective’s blood was up, and he cared nothing for that.</p> - -<p>It was seldom he allowed his anger to make him lose sight of the main -purpose in view. But he was so disgusted with the interference of these -men, at such a critical moment, that he was determined to make them pay.</p> - -<p>He dropped the chair and shot out his two fists, sending the talkative -individual, who had called for the police, one way, and another busy -person another.</p> - -<p>He was setting himself for an onslaught on three others who were -coming toward him, when suddenly two men he had not seen before -ranged themselves on his side. They disposed of four of the foes with -well-directed blows.</p> - -<p>Before Nick could look around to see who his unexpected reënforcements -were, Patsy Garvan whispered in his ear:</p> - -<p>“Break away, chief! The fellow you knocked down is hustling along the -avenue. Let’s get after him.”</p> - -<p>A hand was laid on each of his arms, and, as he was drawn away into -the shadows, where the people on the porch could not see him, he found -Chick on one side of him and Patsy on the other.</p> - -<p>“Do you know who he was?” asked Nick.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t see,” replied Patsy. “I only made out that he was dark, and -that he had on light clothes. I’ll know him again, though. Come on!”</p> - -<p>“Who was he, chief?” asked Chick.</p> - -<p>“John Garrison Rayne,” replied Nick Carter shortly.</p> - -<p>“Wha-at?”</p> - -<p>His two assistants delivered themselves of this interrogative -monosyllable together, and with enough astonishment to make it seem ten -times as strong a word as it was.</p> - -<p>“Get after him!” replied Nick, as he hustled along the dark -thoroughfare. “He can’t have got far.”</p> - -<p>But if Rayne had not got far, at least he had managed to elude his -pursuers on this occasion.</p> - -<p>He laughed silently, as, standing in the shadow of a tree, he saw Nick -Carter and his two men go past. He watched them till they were out of -sight.</p> - -<p>“That settles it,” he muttered. “I’ve got to get this coat of chocolate -off my face and hands, and tackle something else. It will be a bold -thing, but I guess I can put it over. It seems to be about my only -chance, for that cursed Carter has every part of the wharf and all the -roads guarded. He thinks I don’t know, perhaps—but I do.”</p> - -<p>He walked slowly on until he stood in front of the handsome “palace,” -which was at one time the residence of the Spanish captain general, but -is now the home of the governor.</p> - -<p>This building is one of the finest in a city of imposing edifices, and -as John Garrison Rayne gazed at it, his busy brain worked with a scheme -that, as he had confessed to himself, was decidedly bold, to say the -least.</p> - -<p>“It is the one best bet for me,” he muttered. “It is something that -Carter never would suspect, and for that reason I feel sure I can carry -it out as smoothly as anything of that kind could be done.”</p> - -<p>He grinned as he moved away, and the grin was still on his dark face -when he reached the obscure house in which he had engaged a room—a -house where the people never asked questions so long as the rent was -paid promptly.</p> - -<p>Once in his bedchamber, he locked the door and made sure the window -shade was adjusted so that no glimmer of light could show outside. Then -he took from his pockets two bags and emptied their contents upon the -bed.</p> - -<p>The bags had contained some of the jewelry <a id="slolen"></a>stolen from Stephen Reed, -including a string of magnificent pearls which he prized more than -anything else he had. The pearls had been the property of Abdul Hamid, -Sultan of Turkey, and were regarded by experts as unique in their -beauty.</p> - -<p>“If I could only sell those sultan pearls,” thought<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</span> Rayne, “I should -have enough cash to do anything. But I daren’t try to work them off in -San Juan. I’ll have to get along the best way I can on the balance of -Captain Lawton’s six hundred dollars.”</p> - -<p>He lighted a cigar—one of the long, slim rolls of tobacco that are so -common in Porto Rico—and sat down on the bed to meditate.</p> - -<p>“I may as well see that the others are all right,” he said, half aloud. -“Though, so long as I can feel the package under my clothes, there is -no likelihood of anything having happened to them.”</p> - -<p>He opened the front of his soft shirt and revealed a flat bag, hanging -to a string around his neck, and which showed no bulkiness from the -outside.</p> - -<p>He opened the top of this bag and pulled from it a flat package in -tissue paper. This he emptied out on the bed, apart from the other -jewels. The paper had contained several unset diamonds.</p> - -<p>He sifted these through his fingers for a few moments, his eyes -glittering with avaricious triumph. Then he put them back and fastened -the bag. As he buttoned the front of the shirt over it, he muttered:</p> - -<p>“Eighty thousand dollars, eh? I’m sure I can raise at least a hundred -on all these. There are stones worth a great deal more than the price -the old man put on them. All I want is to get to some place where I can -market them. And that market is New York. Even if I could not turn them -into cash there, it is so easy to slip across to Europe. Yes, I must -get to New York as quickly as I can. I must.”</p> - -<p>He restored the Abdul Hamid pearls and the other glittering gewgaws to -their two bags and placed them both under the pillow on the bed.</p> - -<p>“I’ll have a busy, hard day to-morrow,” he told himself, with a grin, -as he began to undress. “I must get a good sleep to-night. I wonder -whether Carter is still looking for me.”</p> - -<p>He repeated this last sentence as he turned out the lights and got into -bed. His thoughts were very much on the detective and his doings.</p> - -<p>Nick Carter had got the better of him on more than one occasion, and, -in spite of his boastful promise to himself that this was the time when -he would win, John Garrison Rayne did not feel any too sure.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center small">IN THE SOUNDPROOF ROOM.</p> - - -<p>It was evening of the day after Nick Carter’s encounter with the Cuban -whom he had recognized as John Garrison Rayne, and Acting Governor -Portersham, who temporarily represented the United States in San Juan, -had just finished dinner.</p> - -<p>Jabez Portersham was a young man, considering the importance of the -office he held, and, as he was a bachelor, he had taken dinner alone. -Afterward he had strolled into his library, lighted a cigar, and sat -himself down for an hour or two of reading.</p> - -<p>The palace, which was the governor’s official residence, was well -supplied with books, so that it would be easy for <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Portersham to -find something that would interest him.</p> - -<p>He could have gone into the billiard room if he had cared for a game, -and a touch of his electric bell would have brought somebody to play -with him.</p> - -<p>His official family included several bright, companionable men of -about his own age, somewhere in the thirties, and very often he had -one of the heads of departments to dine with him and spend the evening -afterward.</p> - -<p>This happened to be an evening when he was disinclined for society, and -he was quite alone when he sank into a well-cushioned rocker, with a -novel in his hand.</p> - -<p>Jabez Portersham had lived in a Middle State, and had been prominent -in the affairs of his own city. Also, he had had experience in the -government service in Washington. Natural ability, plus some influence, -had put him where he was.</p> - -<p>He had hardly got well into the first page of his book, when there was -a discreet tap at the door, followed by the entrance of a soft-footed -butler, who had a card on a salver.</p> - -<p>The acting governor took up the card, with a slight frown at being -interrupted at this hour of privacy, but with the knowledge that Briggs -would not have come unless he had felt sure that he had a sound excuse.</p> - -<p>“Senator Micah Garnford” was the name on the card.</p> - -<p>Portersham threw his book on the table at his elbow and sat up in his -chair, as he told the butler, in a sharp, businesslike tone, to “Show -the senator in.”</p> - -<p>Senator Garnford was an influential man. Portersham had met him only -once, and then but for a minute or two, in company with many other -people, at a reception at the senator’s house in Washington, but -he knew that he was largely indebted to Garnford for his present -appointment.</p> - -<p>It must be urgent business of some sort that had induced the senator to -come to the palace at this hour.</p> - -<p>The acting governor had not known that he was even in Porto Rico. The -last he had heard of Senator Garnford, he was taking an active part in -the deliberations of the distinguished body of which he was a member in -the Capitol at Washington.</p> - -<p>Briggs was not long in bringing the visitor into the library.</p> - -<p>Portersham got up and shook hands heartily with the ruddy, white-haired -man who came forward with a springy step that was much younger than his -appearance.</p> - -<p>“Your cigar smells good,” laughed the senator. “May I have one?”</p> - -<p>He took a cigar from the open humidor on the table, and, as he lighted -it by the wax candle that burned beside it, remarked:</p> - -<p>“Two things I have a weakness for—a good horse and a good cigar.”</p> - -<p>Portersham nodded and smiled. He liked the free-and-easy manner of this -important lawmaker, and he was glad he had come.</p> - -<p>“What about a motor car, senator?” he asked, as his visitor took a -chair. “It hasn’t knocked out the horse for you altogether, eh?”</p> - -<p>“Not in the least,” was the positive reply. “You can’t pat the neck of -a motor car. At least, unless you call the hood its neck. You can pat -that, if you like. And, even then, the pesky thing does not acknowledge -the caress. Now, a horse——”</p> - -<p>At that moment the door clicked behind the retiring Briggs. The noise -was slight, but a curious change came over Senator Garnford as he heard -it. The smile left<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</span> his face, his rather big body seemed to stiffen in -his white suit, and his strong, white teeth bit into his cigar.</p> - -<p>“No chance of our being overheard in this room, is there?” he asked, in -a grave, sharp tone.</p> - -<p>“Not the slightest,” replied the acting governor. “It was made -soundproof when the palace was built. Many a secret meeting was held -here in the days of the Spanish sovereignty of San Juan.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose so. Only right, too.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve looked into it since I’ve been here,” went on Portersham. “The -walls, ceiling, and floor are lined with felt. You might shoot off a -gun in here without its being heard inside.”</p> - -<p>“Fine!” smiled the senator. “How about the door?”</p> - -<p>“That is so thick that a person on the other side could not hear -anything—even a very loud noise. The keyhole is blinded, of course, -and I can slip the deadlatch with a touch of my finger. See!”</p> - -<p>He walked over to the door and touched a spring, which clicked rather -loudly in response.</p> - -<p>“That makes it safe for anything you might have to say that must not be -heard outside—state secrets, I mean?” remarked the senator.</p> - -<p>“Yes. You could commit a murder in here without any one knowing -it—until the door was broken open.”</p> - -<p>Portersham said this a little impatiently. He was curious to hear what -Senator Micah Garnford had to say to him. It was not often that so -important a personage came with a special message from Washington.</p> - -<p>“I am glad to know that the room is so well protected,” observed -the senator. “Just draw a little closer to the table, will you? I -want to show you the papers that have brought me all the way from -Washington—and at a time when I really ought not to have left the -Senate.”</p> - -<p>He got up from his own chair, as if to move it, and, as Portersham -hitched nearer the table, the senator managed to get right behind him.</p> - -<p>At the same instant he thrust his hand into an inside pocket.</p> - -<p>If the acting governor had chanced to turn, he would have observed that -the good-humored expression had entirely left his visitor’s face. His -lips had drawn down at the corners, while his eyes seemed to narrow and -come closer together.</p> - -<p>There was a strange ferocity in the whole countenance, curiously at -variance with the light and pleasant words with which he had entered -the room.</p> - -<p>When Senator Garnford’s hand came out of his pocket, it did not hold -papers. Instead, he brought forth a small bottle and a folded pad of -white cloth.</p> - -<p>Keeping a wary eye on Portersham, who was trying to get his chair into -a convenient position at the table, the senator gently drew the cork -from the bottle in his hand.</p> - -<p>He placed the pad of cloth over the neck of the bottle and let the -contents saturate it through and through.</p> - -<p>“What’s that?” exclaimed the acting governor, as he began to turn in -his chair. “I thought I smelled a strange——”</p> - -<p>He did not get any further. Senator Garnford seized him around the -throat in an iron grip and pulled his head back.</p> - -<p>“Let go!” gasped Portersham. “What the——”</p> - -<p>The pad, reeking with the sickly smelling stuff, was jammed over his -mouth and nostrils and held there.</p> - -<p>The acting governor was a sturdy fellow, and if he had not been taken -so entirely by surprise, might have given this steel-muscled senator -a hard tussle. As it was, he could only struggle feebly, while vainly -endeavoring to shout for help.</p> - -<p>Not that it would have done him any good. He had spoken truly when he -said that any sort of disturbance might take place in this felt-lined -room without its being heard outside.</p> - -<p>But it was only natural for him to endeavor to cry out. It was the -involuntary act of an animal in extreme peril or pain, when a human -being does not reason any more than a dog.</p> - -<p>The chloroform worked rapidly. Moreover, the senator had jerked his -head against the back of the chair with a force that would have half -stunned him, even without the anæsthetic.</p> - -<p>Jabez Portersham managed to emit a gurgling cry. But the arm around his -throat pressed more tightly, while the fumes of the drug crept upward -and gripped his brain.</p> - -<p>Vainly the acting governor tried to get out of the chair, with only a -vague consciousness of what was happening.</p> - -<p>In the few seconds during which he tried to fight off the effect of the -deadly, nauseating fumes, he half realized that he actually was being -drugged by one of the most prominent men in the United States—one who -might have been supposed absolutely incapable of such a crime—or of -any crime, for that matter.</p> - -<p>That was his last incoherent thought. Then everything became blank to -him.</p> - -<p>The senator stepped back when he saw that his victim was thoroughly -overcome, and an evil grin spread over his face.</p> - -<p>“It would be possible to commit a murder in this room without any one -knowing it!” he muttered. “If you had known just who Senator Garnford -was, my trusting friend, I guess you wouldn’t have said that.”</p> - -<p>He snatched from his face the gray mustache and beard he had worn, and, -if Nick Carter had been in the room, he would have known that the real -name of this Senator Micah Garnford was none other than John Garrison -Rayne, alias the Apache!</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center small">BLUFFING IT THROUGH.</p> - - -<p>Rayne stood looking steadily into the still face of the acting governor -for a few moments, as if studying the features.</p> - -<p>“Not a difficult face to make, I think,” he muttered.</p> - -<p>He stepped lightly across the room to make sure that the door was -secure. Inspecting the deadlatch sharply, he decided that it would hold -the door against any possible interruption.</p> - -<p>“When I get ready to go, I shall have to leave that unfastened,” he -muttered. “But I dare say I can make it secure enough on the outside to -suit my purpose. So long as I make my get-away, I need not care what -they do here afterward.”</p> - -<p>He took off his gray wig, and stuffed it into a pocket, in company with -the mustache and beard.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</span></p> - -<p>“If I hadn’t had so much experience in making up, I should be a little -nervous over this thing,” he murmured. “As it is, I dare say I can make -myself into a Portersham that will pass muster.”</p> - -<p>From one of his pockets he drew a small leather case, which contained -sticks of grease paint in tin foil, with other articles that he might -require in making up his face.</p> - -<p>First of all, he had to take the Garnford red out of his cheeks. Then -he carefully imitated the complexion of the acting governor, being -particular to put on two small moles that he observed on the cheek and -chin respectively of the unconscious man.</p> - -<p>In the course of ten minutes he had almost completely reproduced the -features of Jabez Portersham on his own countenance.</p> - -<p>Line by line he brought out the contour of the young man’s face, with -every light wrinkle, every depression, every rounded part, and every -turn of expression that was part of the original, no matter how elusive -and slight it might be.</p> - -<p>The first thing he did was to put on a wig of light hair, so near -the hue of Portersham’s that it might almost have been made from the -original. It had a touch of gray at the temples, which was so exactly -like that on the sides of the acting governor’s head that it might have -deceived his most intimate acquaintance.</p> - -<p>“Good!” chuckled Rayne softly. “I’m glad I managed to have a good -squint at him on the street to-day. I reckon I’m getting it about as -close as any one could hope to do it.”</p> - -<p>Actors, in making up, always put the wig on first, building up the face -afterward, and Rayne did the work in the approved professional way.</p> - -<p>When everything seemed to be done, Rayne took a small mirror from -his pocket and examined himself critically under the strong, shaded -electric light. Then he walked over to a large mirror on the mantel and -took a general view.</p> - -<p>He was entirely satisfied with himself in the large mirror, as well as -in the small one.</p> - -<p>The nature of the Apache was so strange, and he had so much vanity in -his composition, stern as he was, that just then he thought much more -of the skill he had displayed in the art of make-up than of the fortune -in gems he was fighting so hard to retain, in the very teeth of the -detective who always had overcome him heretofore, Nick Carter.</p> - -<p>“I reckon I’m going to show my friend Carter that his luck has changed, -so far as I am concerned,” he muttered. “If those men of his hadn’t -turned up at that café last night, I’d have put him in such a condition -that he would not have troubled me for a while, anyhow. I’m sorry my -knife missed him.”</p> - -<p>There was a demoniacal snarl on the scoundrel’s lips. He was truly -sorry that he had not been able to commit a foul murder when he aimed -that stroke at the detective. As for compunction, that was a sentiment -that never troubled him.</p> - -<p>“Well, my face is all right! Now for the clothes.”</p> - -<p>His tone was businesslike. He might have been engaged in an entirely -legitimate task, so far as that was concerned.</p> - -<p>“I’ll have to hurry,” he went on. “There is always the off chance of -somebody trying to get into this room. Even if I didn’t open the -door—which I certainly would not do—that very fact might stir up -suspicion. One never knows.”</p> - -<p>He bent over the supine figure of Jabez Portersham, huddled in the -chair, and, deftly as a well-trained valet, took off the acting -governor’s outer garments, leaving him in his underclothing.</p> - -<p>Deliberately, but without any waste of time, he put the suit of clothes -on himself, finishing off with the collar and necktie, and wearing the -watch and fob that was part of Portersham’s ordinary costume.</p> - -<p>“By Jove!” he chuckled, as he surveyed himself in the large mirror. -“I am Jabez Portersham to the life. I don’t think I’ve overlooked -anything. Oh, yes! Here’s something.”</p> - -<p>On the little finger of the unconscious man’s left hand was a large -diamond solitaire ring.</p> - -<p>Rayne slipped it off and put it on his own little finger. It was loose -for him, but he decided that it would stay on, and that no one would -notice its being a little large.</p> - -<p>“These details are important, sometimes,” he muttered. “Everybody who -knows this chap must have observed the ring. Besides, it is worth about -a thousand dollars, I should think. I should be a fool not to take it -with me.”</p> - -<p>Now came the next move, which he had had in mind from the first, and -for which he had come fully prepared.</p> - -<p>He took from his pockets a coil of thin wire and a small pad of cloth -like that with which he had administered the chloroform.</p> - -<p>The pad he put in Portersham’s mouth, fastening it with a twist of the -wire around his head. Then he secured the arms and legs with the wire, -making sure that the acting governor would not be able to get free, -even if he should come to his senses.</p> - -<p>“So far, good!” was his savage comment. “I shall have to put him where -he won’t be seen too quickly if any one comes in.”</p> - -<p>It was easy for the athletic Apache to lift the young man from the -chair and stow him under the large library table.</p> - -<p>“I’ll pile up these magazines and papers in front of him. Then he will -be masked in. I hope he’ll be comfortable under there, too.”</p> - -<p>He grinned at this brutal jest, and heaped a few more papers under the -table, hiding his victim completely.</p> - -<p>“With the wires on him, and the dose of dope he has in his system, he -will be safe enough for a while,” he reflected. “Now I come to the real -risk of the job. I’m glad I’m not deficient in nerve.”</p> - -<p>He looked around him, felt in all the pockets of the clothing he had -taken off to make sure he had everything out—including the bags of -jewelry—patted his chest to assure himself that the flat bag was in -its place under his shirt, and pushed his discarded garments under the -table with the senseless Portersham.</p> - -<p>“Now for it!” he breathed softly.</p> - -<p>He opened the door without any noise and stepped into the hallway. His -heart beat a little faster than usual, but he never faltered in what -he had set himself to do. Neither did he show in his demeanor what a -strain there was upon even his steely nerves.</p> - -<p>Briggs was sitting inside a small room off the hall that was his -particular domain. The door was open, so that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</span> the butler could see -everybody who might pass up and down.</p> - -<p>His orders were to make sure no one loafed about the palace unless he -had business there.</p> - -<p>As a public building, many strangers were in the palace during the -day. But in the late afternoon and evening, when official business was -suspended for the day, only those living in the house, or authorized -visitors, could be permitted to remain.</p> - -<p>Briggs jumped to his feet and stood in the hall, waiting for orders, as -he saw the supposed acting governor coming along from his room.</p> - -<p>Rayne was obliged to grip himself as he came face to face with Briggs. -This butler was more than a mere servant. He was expected to take on -himself the duties of a detective, and, naturally, he was disposed to -be suspicious.</p> - -<p>The Apache took the bull by the horns.</p> - -<p>“Is my secretary in?” he asked sharply—and his imitation of the tones -of Jabez Portersham was marvelous.</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” answered Briggs. “<abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Morlein is in his office. Shall I -send him to you?”</p> - -<p>Rayne smiled inwardly. He had not known the name of the private -secretary, but he had learned it now, and without difficulty. The game -was playing into his hands.</p> - -<p>The butler walked a little way down the hallway—it was on the second -floor of the building—and was about to knock on a door.</p> - -<p>“Never mind!” interrupted Rayne. “I’ll go in and see him. You need not -knock.”</p> - -<p>The Apache had found out where Morlein’s room was. This, also, was a -piece of information that had not been in his possession before. He did -not know the way of the palace. In fact, this was the first time he -ever had been within its walls.</p> - -<p>Again getting a firm grip on his nerves, Rayne opened the door of the -secretary’s room and walked in with the authoritative manner of a chief -visiting a subordinate.</p> - -<p>Henry Morlein was a tail, athletic young fellow, whose greeting -indicated that he was on very friendly terms with his chief.</p> - -<p>His feet were on the edge of his desk, and though he took them down -when the supposed acting governor entered, he did it languidly, as if -it were not an unusual thing for him to be caught in this careless -attitude.</p> - -<p>“Hello, chief!” he drawled, as he removed a cigar from his mouth. “I -thought you’d gone to the theater. They’re doing opera, I’m told—and -rather well, at that.”</p> - -<p>“I was going, but I changed my mind.”</p> - -<p>Rayne said this carelessly, but he trembled lest his imitation of Jabez -Portersham’s tones should fail to deceive this wide-awake young man.</p> - -<p>He reflected that Henry Morlein was accustomed to the sound of the -acting governor’s voice every day, and should be able to detect an -imitation where many others might fail.</p> - -<p>But Morlein did not appear to observe anything unusual in the accent -and inflection, and Rayne went on calmly:</p> - -<p>“It’s just as well that I didn’t go. Did you know that Senator Micah -Garnford was in to see me a little while ago?”</p> - -<p>“Senator Garnford?” ejaculated Morlein, in surprise. “Why, I thought -he was in Washington. Seems to me I was reading in the paper that he -made a great speech on the tariff the day before yesterday.”</p> - -<p>“That was last week,” declared Rayne. “He’s in San Juan now. Do you -know the senator personally, Morlein?”</p> - -<p>“Never saw him in my life,” was the prompt reply. “I never even saw his -picture. Rather a fine man, I’ve been told.”</p> - -<p>“I think so. But that isn’t the point. I’ve got to go to Washington -right away—on official business.”</p> - -<p>Henry Morlein threw the end of his cigar into a cuspidor and looked up -in astonishment.</p> - -<p>“Geewhillikins! That’s sudden, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“Government business is often sudden, Morlein,” replied Rayne gravely. -“I wish you would telephone the wharf where the steamer <i>Spangled -Star</i> lies, and tell the agent to hold a deck stateroom for <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> -Portersham, will you?”</p> - -<p>“She is to sail at ten o’clock,” remarked Morlein. “It’s half past nine -now. There won’t be much time.”</p> - -<p>“Of course not. That’s why I want you to phone without delay. Tell them -I will try to be there at ten o’clock. If I am a little late, they are -to hold the ship for me.”</p> - -<p>“All right, sir,” replied Morlein, as he turned to the telephone on his -desk.</p> - -<p>Rayne took a seat and lighted one of the cigars that he took from -Portersham’s cigar case, which he had found in his pocket.</p> - -<p>The Apache wanted a smoke. Even if he had not, most likely he would -have taken out the case. It would be one of the little proofs of his -identity which might impress Henry Morlein in case he were suspicious.</p> - -<p>The venturesome scoundrel listened to one end of the telephonic -conversation between his private secretary and the steamship agent at -the wharf.</p> - -<p>He gathered, from Morlein’s replies, that the agent was objecting to -holding the <i>Spangled Star</i> for any one, even the acting governor -of Porto Rico. But Morlein shut him off sharply on that, telling him -that those were <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Portersham’s orders, and they had to be obeyed.</p> - -<p>John Garrison Rayne grinned slightly behind his cigar. He was thinking -how different everything would be if either Morlein or the steamship -agent were to find out who this supposed Jabez Portersham really was.</p> - -<p>“All right, sir,” observed Morlein, at last, as he hung up the -receiver. “They are reserving stateroom B for you on the upper deck. -There is a suite of two rooms and bath. I hope you will have a pleasant -trip. The steamer goes right through to New York. That will be your -quickest route to Washington.”</p> - -<p>“I know that,” answered Rayne. “It will suit me, all right. I may have -to stay over in New York for an hour or two.”</p> - -<p>“What about your baggage? Do you want me to give orders about it?”</p> - -<p>“No,” was Rayne’s reply. “I’ve no time to bother about that. I can -borrow anything I need from some of the officers on the ship. Pajamas -are about all I should want till I get to New York. It is easy to buy -things there. Is my automobile ready?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll have it at the front door by the time we get there,” answered -Morlein, as he took up the telephone receiver again.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</span></p> - -<p>“Very well. You might come down to the ship with me, Morlein.”</p> - -<p>“All right!”</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>An hour later, John Garrison Rayne was sitting in his comfortable suite -on board the modern and well-equipped steamer, <i>Spangled Star</i>, as -it skimmed out of San Juan harbor on its way to the Atlantic.</p> - -<p>“Well, it is rather a relief to get away from San Juan,” he muttered, -with a grim smile. “There are people there I don’t much like.”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center small">NICK CARTER SMELLS A RAT.</p> - - -<p>It was early on the following morning when Nick Carter was awakened by -Patsy Garvan coming into his bedroom to inquire if his chief could get -up.</p> - -<p>“What time is it?” asked Nick.</p> - -<p>“Well, it is only six o’clock,” answered Patsy. “And you didn’t go to -bed till two. I don’t like to bother you.”</p> - -<p>“That’s nothing. Go on,” broke in the detective impatiently. “What’s in -the wind?”</p> - -<p>“Captain Douglas, of the San Juan police,” said Patsy shortly.</p> - -<p>“Wants to see me?”</p> - -<p>“Says so.”</p> - -<p>“Where is he?”</p> - -<p>“In the lobby, downstairs. Chick is with him.”</p> - -<p>“What does he want to see me about?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know. I’ll find out, if you like.”</p> - -<p>“Do. Hustle down, and come right back. I’ll get dressed.”</p> - -<p>Nick Carter could make his toilet about as quickly as anybody. But, by -the time he had been under the shower and rubbed himself off, and got -into his clothes, a good twenty minutes had elapsed.</p> - -<p>“Wonder why Patsy did not come back. I’ll have to go down and see what -Douglas wants.”</p> - -<p>Nick Carter had not much hope that it was a matter which would concern -him, for he had worked so hard on the case of the jewels without -success, that he did not believe anybody else could help him.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t ask where Paul Clayton was,” he said to himself, as he went -down the stairs. “Perhaps he is with Chick and Patsy. I suppose he is.”</p> - -<p>This supposition turned out to be correct. As the detective stepped -away from the stairs—there was no elevator at the Hotel Ionic—he saw -Clayton listening interestedly to a narration by Captain Douglas.</p> - -<p>The chief of police turned as soon as he perceived Nick. Obviously, he -had been merely filling in his time by talking to Clayton until the -detective should come down.</p> - -<p>Captain Douglas, head of the police force of San Juan, was a tall, lean -man, with a keen face—lighted up by a pair of steel-blue eyes—and a -short manner.</p> - -<p>He had the reputation of being a splendid policeman, and it was not -often that he would confess himself at a loss on any case.</p> - -<p>Just now, however, his haggard, worried face fairly shrieked of -disappointment. Nick Carter, accustomed to reading stories in the human -countenance, saw that something had gone wrong, and that Douglas was -metaphorically up a tree.</p> - -<p>The captain shook hands with Nick Carter. Then he suggested that they -step over to a quiet corner of the lobby, where there were several -chairs.</p> - -<p>“What’s up, captain?” asked Nick.</p> - -<p>Douglas hesitated and passed a nervous hand across his chin.</p> - -<p>“I suppose I may trust to your keeping it quiet?”</p> - -<p>“Of course.”</p> - -<p>“I know that,” returned the captain feverishly. “But this is such an -extraordinary affair, and it concerns so many big men that I don’t like -to speak of it even to myself.”</p> - -<p>“Gee! Why don’t he cough it up?” grumbled Patsy, in a low tone.</p> - -<p>Chick twitched his sleeve.</p> - -<p>“Keep quiet, Patsy!”</p> - -<p>“Go ahead, captain!” requested Nick.</p> - -<p>“Well, the acting governor has suddenly bolted on the steamer -<i>Spangled Star</i>, which left port last night——”</p> - -<p>“What of that?” asked Nick. “Nothing remarkable, is it?”</p> - -<p>“Well, yes; it is very remarkable when one considers all the -circumstances.”</p> - -<p>“What are the circumstances?”</p> - -<p>“He went from the palace to the wharf in his automobile, with his -private secretary, Henry Morlein.”</p> - -<p>“Yes?”</p> - -<p>“<abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Portersham went on board the ship by himself, and was shown to the -stateroom that Morlein had engaged for him by telephone. He got there -at the last moment, and as soon as he was aboard, the gangplank was -taken in, and off went the ship.”</p> - -<p>“I see. Well?”</p> - -<p>“His automobile was on the wharf, with the regular chauffeur, José, -at the wheel. José did not turn around to see whether the secretary -was in the back seat until fifteen or twenty minutes after the steamer -had gone. Then he thought he was being kept there longer than seemed -necessary, and he turned his head, to ask Morlein for orders.”</p> - -<p>“Go on,” urged Nick. “What is the point of all this?”</p> - -<p>“The point is,” replied Captain Douglas impressively, “that Henry -Morlein was lying in the back seat of the car, senseless from -chloroform, and everything in his pockets, including several hundred -dollars belonging to the government, had been taken. He had been robbed -of every valuable thing that had been about him.”</p> - -<p>“Chloroformed?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. That’s what the doctor says it was.”</p> - -<p>“Who is supposed to have done it?”</p> - -<p>“Men about the wharf say there was no one near the automobile except -<abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Portersham. He was seen talking to Morlein before he went to the -steamer, and José remembers hearing <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Portersham tell Morlein not to -get out of the car, but to go right back.”</p> - -<p>“José is sure of that, eh?”</p> - -<p>“Quite.”</p> - -<p>“What kind of a man is this José?”</p> - -<p>“He’s a reliable fellow. Everybody speaks well of him. He is a Cuban by -birth. If he makes a statement, it is safe to accept it, as a rule.”</p> - -<p>“Where has <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Portersham gone?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</span></p> - -<p>“The steamer is bound for New York. So he must be going there. Briggs, -a butler at the palace, says he heard <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Portersham tell Morlein that -he had been called to Washington.”</p> - -<p>“By telegraph?”</p> - -<p>“No. Senator Micah Garnford called on him a little while before he -sailed, telling him that he was required in Washington at once, on some -government business.”</p> - -<p>“Senator Garnford?” exclaimed Nick. “Why, he is in Washington.”</p> - -<p>“No. He is in San Juan. Briggs saw him, he says.”</p> - -<p>“Briggs? I shall have to see Briggs and ask him a few things,” said -Nick thoughtfully. “I’m sure the senator could not be here now.”</p> - -<p>“Briggs is sure he took in Senator Garnford’s card, and that he went -into <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Portersham’s room for a talk. Afterward the senator left the -palace by a back doorway.”</p> - -<p>“Did any one see him go?”</p> - -<p>“I believe not. But that is what <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Portersham said to Briggs.”</p> - -<p>Like a flash it came to Nick Carter that all this mystery might be -mixed up with John Garrison Rayne.</p> - -<p>The fact that somebody supposed to be the acting governor had left so -abruptly on the steamer, as well as the injury to and robbery of Henry -Morlein, smelled so strongly of the Apache’s methods that Nick could -not think of anything else.</p> - -<p>“I should like to go to the palace, captain,” he said. “Is your car -outside?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. I was hoping you would come.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll take my two assistants with me. You have no objection?”</p> - -<p>“Of course not, <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Carter. They’ll be useful, I dare say.”</p> - -<p>“I hope so,” put in Patsy. “How about <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Clayton?”</p> - -<p>“I should like to go,” announced Paul Clayton. “I have nothing to do -here.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” agreed Captain Douglas. “There’s room for all of us in the -car. Tumble in!”</p> - -<p>Douglas took the wheel himself, and in a very short time the car -stopped at the main entrance of the palace.</p> - -<p>“Do you think there is anything in this that may help us to get that -jewelry?” whispered Paul Clayton anxiously, in Nick Carter’s ear.</p> - -<p>“It wouldn’t surprise me,” was the guarded reply. “I seem to see -Rayne’s hand in this affair, somehow.”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center small">READY FOR A CLINCH.</p> - - -<p>When the party entered the big residence, Briggs met them at the door. -He was white, trembling, and generally disgruntled.</p> - -<p>He had no hesitation about admitting the chief of police, but it was -not until Captain Douglas had said that his companions were friends of -his, and important persons from New York, that he made room for Nick -Carter and the others to go in.</p> - -<p>“Take us to <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Portersham’s rooms,” ordered Douglas sharply, in his -most official tone.</p> - -<p>“There is no one in any of them,” returned Briggs. “I have not let -anybody go near them this morning. <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Morlein is in bed in his room, -and the doctor is with him.”</p> - -<p>“He is not in a serious condition, is he?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir. I don’t think so. But he hasn’t come properly out of the -sleep he was in. He must have had an awfully strong dose of dope, -according to what I hear.”</p> - -<p>“Very likely,” agreed the captain. “We’ll see him later. Where was <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> -Portersham when he saw Senator Garnford?”</p> - -<p>“In the library.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll go into the library,” announced Douglas.</p> - -<p>“The door is locked. I guess <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Portersham locked it when he went -away. The other rooms are open.”</p> - -<p>“All right!”</p> - -<p>Nick Carter did not take any part in this colloquy. He was listening -closely, however, and making a mental note of everything that was said.</p> - -<p>They went into the dining room, bedroom, sitting room, and public -office that had been used by Portersham, but not into the library. The -door of this last-named apartment was the only one that was closed and -fastened.</p> - -<p>“Haven’t got a key to this door, have you, Briggs?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir. <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Portersham carries it himself, always.”</p> - -<p>“What do you think, <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Carter?” asked the chief of police, in a rather -dubious tone.</p> - -<p>“We’ve got to see the inside of that room,” was Nick’s short response.</p> - -<p>“Break it open?”</p> - -<p>“If there is no other way.”</p> - -<p>“There doesn’t seem to be.”</p> - -<p>“I might climb up to the window, with a ladder—or without one, for -that matter,” volunteered Chick.</p> - -<p>“That wouldn’t do. Everybody outside would wonder what was going on,” -objected Nick Carter. “We don’t want to call general attention to this -trouble. Eh, captain?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly not,” was Douglas’ hurried response.</p> - -<p>“I should like to shin up to that window,” put in Patsy.</p> - -<p>“Well, you can’t,” said Chick. “I’ll do it, if it were to be done at -all. You can’t have all the fun.”</p> - -<p>“It’s mighty little fun I’ve had since I’ve been down here,” grumbled -Patsy. “It’s the dullest place I ever was in.”</p> - -<p>“It wouldn’t be hard to force the door, would it?” asked Paul Clayton. -“We can all tackle it together.”</p> - -<p>“It’s a pretty heavy door,” remarked Douglas. “I’ve seen it open, and -it is nearly three inches thick.”</p> - -<p>“What’s the idea?” asked Patsy.</p> - -<p>“To keep the sound in when they are talking.”</p> - -<p>“Gee! I don’t see what they want a three-inch door for, just for that,” -was Patsy’s scornful comment. “Why couldn’t they whisper if they were -talking secrets.”</p> - -<p>“Well, never mind about that,” interposed Nick Carter. “We’ve got to -break it down.”</p> - -<p>“Hold on!” cried Douglas. “This is a pretty dangerous thing. I don’t -know that we have the right to do it. When the governor comes back he -might raise Hail Columbia with us.”</p> - -<p>“You mean the acting governor, don’t you?” asked Chick.</p> - -<p>“Either one,” replied the chief of police. “What are we expecting to -find in there, anyhow?”</p> - -<p>“I’m convinced that we shall find something,” declared Nick Carter. “I -want to make sure that Senator Garnford really did come in here. I have -what I regard as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</span> positive proof that the senator is in Washington, and -I want to find out who has been impersonating him in San Juan.”</p> - -<p>“You think that is what has happened?” asked Douglas, elevating his -eyebrows. “That sounds rather wild, don’t you think?”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps it does,” answered Nick. “But I’ve been on the trail of a wild -man since I came to San Juan, and I fancy I can detect the fine Italian -hand of that person in this whole affair.”</p> - -<p>Captain Douglas knew the reputation of Nick Carter as a detective who -did not make mistakes, and he had the highest respect for his ability -and acumen. He did not press his objection.</p> - -<p>At the worst, he would have Carter to share the responsibility.</p> - -<p>“All right, <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Carter!” he said. “Let her go!”</p> - -<p>Nick Carter, Chick, Patsy, and Clayton put their shoulders against the -door, and, at a word from Nick, the four pushed with all their might.</p> - -<p>There was a crash, but the door did not break down. Only a splintering -of wood told that it had been weakened by the assault.</p> - -<p>“Stop!” shouted Captain Douglas. “I’m afraid to go on with this. It is -liable to put us all in jail. You can’t fool with the United States -government. This is a government building, and I don’t propose to——”</p> - -<p>Nick Carter took no heed of this protest. He had made up his mind to -find out what was in this room, at any cost. He had come so near the -actual truth in his surmise, that he would not have drawn back now, no -matter who might have objected.</p> - -<p>“Again, boys!” he shouted.</p> - -<p>The four hurled themselves again at the weakened door. This time there -was more effect than at first.</p> - -<p>Another crash resounded through the building, and, as the door toppled, -the quartet went sprawling into the room, with Patsy and Chick landing -with a bump against the heavy table in the middle.</p> - -<p>Nick Carter and Paul Clayton fell on top of the door.</p> - -<p>The detective was the first to gain his feet. He had caught a glimpse -of something under the table that made him rush over in a hurry.</p> - -<p>“Push this table away!” he shouted.</p> - -<p>His two assistants and Paul Clayton put their hands to the ponderous -piece of furniture and shoved.</p> - -<p>Heavy as it was, it had good, easy casters. Therefore the table rolled -away several feet at once.</p> - -<p>As it did so, there was revealed, lying on the floor, Jabez Portersham, -his eyes asking dumbly for assistance.</p> - -<p>The gag was in his mouth, and the cruel wires with which he had been -bound were cutting into his flesh. He was nearly exhausted.</p> - -<p>“Heaven save us!” ejaculated Captain Douglas. “It’s <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Portersham!”</p> - -<p>Deeply as Nick Carter sympathized with the unfortunate acting governor, -he could not help glancing, with a slight smile of triumph, at the -chief of police.</p> - -<p>The detective’s vague suspicion had been verified to a degree by the -discovery. He had been certain that the man who had posed as Senator -Garnford was an impostor. Here was part proof, at least.</p> - -<p>Nick Carter’s ever-useful pocketknife, with its many tools in the -handle, came into play again. A pair of wire cutters was included -in its equipment, and it did not take long to snip the wires off the -unfortunate official.</p> - -<p>They soon had Portersham on his feet. Then Patsy and Chick, in -obedience to the instructions of Nick Carter, ran him up and down the -room a few times, to take the stiffness out of his limbs.</p> - -<p>Afterward they sat him in his own easy-chair, and waited for him to -compose himself.</p> - -<p>“What does it mean?” he asked, in a dazed way, as he passed his tongue -over his dry lips. “What could have induced Senator Garnford, of all -men, to play such a trick on me?”</p> - -<p>“It was Senator Garnford, then?” asked Douglas.</p> - -<p>“Yes. I remember that much,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>“You are mistaken,” put in Nick Carter.</p> - -<p>“No,” insisted Portersham. “I saw him. We were talking, in a friendly -way. Then, all at once, he caught me around the neck and put some -stuff to my face in a cloth that made me lose my senses. I know it was -Senator Garnford. There is no mistake about that.”</p> - -<p>“You’re wrong,” said Nick. “There was a mistake. A rascal pretended to -be the senator. He wanted to get to you, and now he has got away as the -result of his game here.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t see how it could be,” said Portersham, shaking his head -feebly. “Who do you think the man was?”</p> - -<p>“His name is John Garrison Rayne.”</p> - -<p>“What?” cried Portersham. “The safe robber and bank sneak? Rayne? I’ve -heard of him.”</p> - -<p>“So have I,” added Douglas bitterly. “To my cost. If it is that -blackguard, I’ll have him before he gets out of San Juan.”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid not,” contradicted Nick Carter. “Unless I am very much -mistaken, he is on the Atlantic Ocean, well on his way to New York by -this time.”</p> - -<p>“What makes you think so?”</p> - -<p>“I can’t give you all my reasons in detail. It would take too long. But -we will inquire at the wharf, and I think we shall find that he went on -the <i>Spangled Star</i>, pretending he was Jabez Portersham.”</p> - -<p>“Pretending he was I?” put in the acting governor. “I don’t understand.”</p> - -<p>“You will later,” answered Nick. “There’s a telephone on the floor, -Patsy. It was knocked off the table when we shoved it away. See if you -can get the agent of the steamship line, will you?”</p> - -<p>“Sure!” replied Patsy, glad to have something to do.</p> - -<p>There was ten minutes at the telephone, and Patsy announced that <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> -Portersham had been a <a id="messenger"></a>passenger on the steamer <i>Spangled Star</i>, -which left at ten o’clock the night before.</p> - -<p>“The blackguard!” ejaculated Portersham, adding something under his -breath that was rather strong, but hardly to be wondered at in the -circumstances. “You’ll follow him up, won’t you?”</p> - -<p>The eyes of Nick Carter narrowed, and his firm jaw seemed to take on -additional hardness, as he replied:</p> - -<p>“I have business with that fellow, John Garrison Rayne, <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Portersham, -that has brought me all the way from New York. That is the only reason -I am here. When I do round him up—as I will before he is a month -older—I’ll make him answer for all that he has done. That means that -you will be avenged, I assure you.”</p> - -<p>“You will have to go to New York after him, I suppose?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</span></p> - -<p>“That is where we must look first,” returned Nick.</p> - -<p>Portersham clenched his fists, and, although weakened by his many hours -of torturing confinement, he showed an energy which would become more -powerful as he regained his strength.</p> - -<p>“I wish I could go with you, <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Carter,” he said. “I don’t mind a -straight fight. But this——”</p> - -<p>The telephone bell rang. Patsy whipped the receiver off the hook and -shouted “Hello!”</p> - -<p>“What’s that?” he went on, into the instrument. “You say she’s in -trouble? Got a wireless?”</p> - -<p>He turned to those in the room, putting a hand over the transmitter.</p> - -<p>“Gee!” he ejaculated. “Here’s more of it! Well, what do you think of -that?”</p> - -<p>“What?” demanded Chick.</p> - -<p>“Great Cæsar! Wouldn’t that jar you?” was all Patsy responded, as he -turned again to the telephone.</p> - -<p>He listened a few moments. Then, as he clapped the receiver on the -hook, he announced, trying to speak calmly:</p> - -<p>“The steamer <i>Spangled Star</i> is in trouble a hundred miles out. -One of her engines has broken down, and she is limping back to port as -well as she can with the other.”</p> - -<p>“What? To San Juan?” demanded Chick.</p> - -<p>“Sure!” replied Patsy.</p> - -<p>“That’s good. We’ll be there to meet her when she comes in,” said Nick -Carter, with a smile that was partly a vengeful frown.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center small">A PRESENT FOR SAN JUAN.</p> - - -<p>The steamer <i>Spangled Star</i>, very lame, with only one engine -working, and with her propeller finding it difficult to urge her along -on a straight course, came into San Juan harbor, wabbling toward her -wharf.</p> - -<p>Before she got in altogether, she stopped, for she was hardly -manageable at intervals, and a motor boat put out from the shore and -hailed her.</p> - -<p>In the boat were Nick Carter and his two assistants, with Captain -Douglas and Paul Clayton.</p> - -<p>The police uniform of Douglas was enough to make the captain of the -steamer lower a sea ladder right away. He might not have done it for -one in citizen’s clothes—which was the reason Nick Carter had insisted -on Douglas putting on his blue and brass, gold badge and all, to -impress the commander.</p> - -<p>Nick wasted no time when once he got on deck. Taking the skipper aside, -he asked if Jabez Portersham was aboard.</p> - -<p>“You bet he is. Of course, he is acting governor of Porto Rico, and I -couldn’t help taking him as a passenger, even though it made us nearly -half an hour late in getting away. I believe he’s hoodooed us, too, -for I never had my machinery break down before. We’d had our engines -inspected, and there was no need for them to throw off. Yet, here’s -our sta’boa’d engine gone so far it’ll be only good for the junk pile, -and——”</p> - -<p>“Where’s <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Portersham’s cabin?” interrupted Nick, when he saw that -the irate captain was likely to keep on airing his woes indefinitely. -“Can we see him?”</p> - -<p>The skipper glanced at Douglas inquiringly. An almost imperceptible -nod reassured him, and he pointed to a doorway which led to the deck -cabins—the most expensive on the vessel.</p> - -<p>“Look out, chief!” whispered Patsy. “He may be waiting for us. You -don’t want to run right into a gun before you know it.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think he would dare to shoot just now,” smiled Nick. “When he -is cornered, Rayne knows enough to give in. He depends on his cunning -to escape later.”</p> - -<p>“That may be all so,” admitted Patsy grudgingly. “But you’d better let -me go first. If he plugs me, it won’t matter, because I ain’t of any -importance. It’s different with you. If he got you, where would we find -another to take your place. So——”</p> - -<p>Patsy was surging ahead, to go into the narrow corridor, without -waiting for permission.</p> - -<p>Nick caught him by the shoulder and swung him aside, with playful -sternness.</p> - -<p>“You rat!” he laughed. “Get out! I’m going in myself. You and Chick -keep watch on deck. You never know what Rayne will do. Get out of the -way!”</p> - -<p>The detective had got into the corridor, and had his eye on the door of -the stateroom that had been pointed out to him as Portersham’s, when -he was startled by a loud shout from Patsy, echoed by Chick and Paul -Clayton.</p> - -<p>He understood at once that the disturbance had been caused by some act -of Rayne’s, but he did not know what it was.</p> - -<p>It would not be safe for him to go out of the corridor now, leaving a -free route for Rayne to liberty.</p> - -<p>“They may have seen him at a window,” he muttered. “Anyhow, he can’t -get away so long as we have him on the ship.”</p> - -<p>The door of the stateroom was locked. But Nick Carter had anticipated -that, and already had his jackknife in his hand.</p> - -<p>One jab and a turn of the wrist, and open came the stateroom door.</p> - -<p>There were two rooms and a bath, it will be remembered, but only one -door led to the corridor. The others communicated with each other.</p> - -<p>Nick ran into the first room. It was empty!</p> - -<p>He hurried to the next. To his surprise, that was unoccupied, too!</p> - -<p>He looked into the diminutive bathroom, which was the last of the -three. But he was not astonished to see that no one was in there.</p> - -<p>“Chief!” bellowed Patsy, outside.</p> - -<p>“By all the gods!” exclaimed Nick Carter. “He’s trying to trick us, -after all.”</p> - -<p>The window of the middle room was wide open, with the curtains flapping -idly in the opening.</p> - -<p>It was not a large window, but a man not too stout, and who was fairly -active, could get through.</p> - -<p>This was apparent to the detective at a glance. The next moment he had -gone through headfirst, falling on the deck in a heap.</p> - -<p>It was rather an uncomfortable proceeding, and he bumped his head so -that it rang again. But it was the quickest way to get out, and Nick -Carter did not mind a crack on the head when on the heels of a slippery -criminal.</p> - -<p>He was on his feet in an instant, and looking around to see what the -situation might be.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</span></p> - -<p>He heard Chick and Patsy both shouting on the other side of the vessel, -and could distinguish the sound of running feet. Then he saw Captain -Douglas holding out his arms, as if to stop somebody at the forward end -of the deck, while the commander of the steamer indulged himself in -picturesque profanity, because, as he declared, they were making a fool -of his ship.</p> - -<p>“Hey, chief!” bellowed Patsy.</p> - -<p>“What is it?” responded Nick.</p> - -<p>“Catch him when he comes around!” came from Chick.</p> - -<p>“Stop, or I’ll plug you!” roared Captain Douglas at somebody.</p> - -<p>It was just as this threat emanated from the chief of police that a man -came tearing across the deck, in the shadow of the smokestacks, and -made a leap for the gangway, where the ladder hung.</p> - -<p>The ladder was a perfectly straight one, the sort of things to be -negotiated only by a nimble person, whose head was cool and level.</p> - -<p>But John Garrison Rayne was both nimble and unterrified.</p> - -<p>He gave one glance at the ladder, saw that the motor boat was made fast -to it at the bottom, and over he went!</p> - -<p>He was not quick enough to elude Nick Carter, however.</p> - -<p>The detective surmised what he intended to do before he did it.</p> - -<p>So it came about that, when Rayne was nearly at the bottom of the -ladder, the detective had already begun to climb down, and was three or -four rungs on his way.</p> - -<p>Rayne feverishly began to untie the painter.</p> - -<p>“Ha! ha!” he shouted, with laughter that had a touch of hysteria in it. -“Fooled you again, Carter!”</p> - -<p>“Not yet, my friend!” was the detective’s rejoinder. “Look out! I’m -coming!”</p> - -<p>“If you do you’ll drop into the water!”</p> - -<p>Rayne had the boat loose by this time. Then, turning the engine over, -he got it to moving as he took the wheel to steer toward the shore.</p> - -<p>Again the rascal laughed loudly, while Chick and Patsy, on the deck -above, screamed warnings to their chief.</p> - -<p>“Look out!” begged Patsy. “Better let him go than you tumble into the -sea. Don’t take the chance!”</p> - -<p>“That’s so. Keep back!” added Chick.</p> - -<p>Paul Clayton and Douglas were both standing near the side of the ship, -looking over.</p> - -<p>The former did not speak, while the chief of police contented himself -with pointing his revolver at John Garrison Rayne, in the motor boat, -and threatening to fill him so full of lead that he would weigh a ton.</p> - -<p>It was just now that Nick Carter took the chance which his assistants -pleaded so hard with him not to attempt.</p> - -<p>He saw that there was a considerable width of open water between him -and the motor boat. On the other hand, he was far enough up the ladder -to be able to make a considerable broad jump.</p> - -<p>The thought of this scoundrel getting away, now that he was so nearly -caught, maddened him. So, judging his distance carefully, he leaped out -from the ladder with all the power he could summon.</p> - -<p>It was a risky performance. But luck reënforced judgment, and the -detective came plump down into the waist of the little craft, -immediately behind Rayne, who stood at the wheel, with his feet far -down in the well.</p> - -<p>The motor boat rocked dangerously from the concussion when Nick Carter -dropped. Before it could quite recover, it was caught in a cross sea -that tested it a little more.</p> - -<p>Only the most skillful manipulation by Rayne prevented it capsizing.</p> - -<p>Nick gave him just time to get the boat on an even keel. Then he fell -upon the rascal with both hands!</p> - -<p>A rough and tumble in a motor boat is necessarily full of risk. It is -always likely to end in a ducking for both combatants.</p> - -<p>How Nick Carter and John Garrison Rayne escaped this unpleasantness is -not to be explained. Only the fact can be stated.</p> - -<p>Perhaps it was because Nick Carter was so dexterous in putting on the -handcuffs when the Apache was not looking.</p> - -<p>At all events, in less than two minutes, after a hard fight, John -Garrison Rayne lay in the bottom of the dinky little craft, handcuffed, -and with the detective sitting on him.</p> - -<p>The boat was steered back to the ship, and the others came aboard.</p> - -<p>“See if he has got the jewelry, Chick,” ordered Nick Carter. “I’ll hold -him.”</p> - -<p>“Get back there, Chick!” commanded Patsy, grinning. “I’m the boy that -can frisk him.”</p> - -<p>“Here’s two bags,” announced Chick, as he brought them forth from the -rascal’s inside pockets.</p> - -<p>“Let <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Clayton look at them and see what’s inside.”</p> - -<p>The bags were given to Clayton, and while he went hastily through their -contents and saw that they made up a large part of the Stephen Reed -booty, including the sultan’s pearls, Patsy found the flat packing -inside Rayne’s shirt.</p> - -<p>“That about makes the tally,” said Clayton. “How can I ever thank you, -<abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Carter?” he added, with something like a sob.</p> - -<p>“Nonsense,” was Nick Carter’s reply. “It was all in the day’s work. Now -that we’ve got the jewelry, we’ll watch it closer than we did before.”</p> - -<p>“When are we going to New York?” asked Patsy.</p> - -<p>“As soon as we can get a ship to take us,” said Nick earnestly.</p> - -<p>“What are you going to do with this fellow?” asked Captain Douglas, -stirring John Garrison Rayne with his foot. “Do you want to take him to -New York to answer to this charge of stealing the jewelry, or will you -leave him in San Juan, to be put through in our criminal courts?”</p> - -<p >“You can have him,” laughed Nick Carter.<br /></p> - -<p class="center small mt3">THE END.</p> - -<p class="mt3">“The Clew of the White Collar; or, Nick Carter on a Twisted Trail,” -will be the title of the long, complete story which you will find in -the next issue, <abbr title="number">No.</abbr> 144, of the <span class="smcap">Nick Carter Stories</span>, out June -12th. In the forthcoming story you will read of the further adventures -of the famous detective with the clever John Garrison Rayne.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak notbold" id="Wheres_the_Commandant">Where’s the Commandant?</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center">By C. C. WADDELL.</p> - -<p class="small">(This interesting story was commenced in <abbr title="number">No.</abbr> 140 of <span class="smcap">Nick Carter -Stories</span>. Back numbers can always be obtained from your news dealer -or the publishers.)</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII_2">CHAPTER XII.</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center small">IN THE ATTIC.</p> - - -<p>There is little to be gained, however, from regrets over lost -opportunities, and Meredith, as befitted the daughter of an officer -rated one of the most resourceful in the service, turned very speedily -from that bootless pursuit to consider what advantage she still might -glean from the information which had come her way.</p> - -<p>One point she settled without delay; she would not hold to her -intention of leaving the roof she was under immediately after -breakfast. On the other hand—distasteful as the experience might -prove—she would remain until she had successfully ferreted out the -true cause of all the mystery which seemed to envelop the place and its -occupants. Heedless of her obligations as a guest, she would watch with -unremitting vigilance every move of her host and hostess.</p> - -<p>A higher law than that of hospitality now demanded her allegiance; for, -convinced that Mrs. Schilder was concerned in the colonel’s abduction, -or at least friendly to the abductors, she was prepared to cast off all -restraints, and stand solely on the principle. “All is fair in war.”</p> - -<p>Also she realized that she must communicate her discoveries promptly -to Grail. The intelligence might very readily dovetail in with what he -already had, and aid him materially in his task.</p> - -<p>Therefore, as soon as the morning had sufficiently advanced to make -her appearance seem natural to any servants who might be about, she -arose, and, leaving Mrs. Schilder still soundly asleep, hastened to -her own room, with the idea of dressing, and proceeding to the nearest -telephone station. There were telephones in the house, of course, but -she did not care to use any of them at the risk of being overheard.</p> - -<p>On arriving at the chamber she had left in such panic the night before, -she looked vainly about for the frock she had taken off, which, owing -to the haste of her departure from Chicago, was the only one she had -brought with her.</p> - -<p>Hurriedly she rang the bell to summon Marie, and institute inquiries.</p> - -<p>“Pardon, ma’mselle.” The maid shrugged her shoulders. “Ze skirt -had rubbed against ze w’eel of ze motor, and was in a condition -deplorable—all covered wiz grease and dust down ze side. I took ze -liberty, ma’mselle, to have eet sent to ze cleanair’s, and eet weel -not be back before twelve o’clock. Naturally, I did not anticipate zat -ma’mselle would arise so early.”</p> - -<p>Meredith gave a gasp. She herself had not noticed that the dress was -soiled on removing it, although she was fair enough to admit that in -her preoccupation at that time she might have overlooked even more -serious damage. Still, that was not the point. Was she to be held -prisoner for any such absurd cause until noon?</p> - -<p>“But I wish to go out, Marie,” she expostulated, “now, at once! You -must get me something to wear.”</p> - -<p>The girl again shrugged helplessly. “Pardon once more, ma’mselle, -but Madame Schildair’s figure is so tall and slendair zat I fear eet -would be impossible for ma’mselle to wear any of her gowns. Her waist -ees only twenty-two inch, w’ereas ma’mselle”—she cast a calculating -glance—“must be fully twenty-six.”</p> - -<p>“Then get me something of yours,” it was on Meredith’s lips to demand; -“something of somebody’s, if even only a raincoat to cover me with.” -But she checked herself in time. It would not do to attach too much -importance to her errand; already Marie was beginning to eye her -curiously.</p> - -<p>“Very well, then,” she said carelessly. “I suppose I shall simply have -to wait. Fortunately, it does not make any especial difference.”</p> - -<p>After all, the thought had struck her, there would be very little risk -in telephoning from the house, provided she used the main instrument -in the library downstairs, and saw to it that all the extensions were -switched off.</p> - -<p>But when, with this project in view, she repaired to the library, she -found, to her disgust, that Schilder was ensconced there, going over -some papers, and she had to fabricate a hasty and rather feeble excuse -to account for her intrusion.</p> - -<p>Moreover, a second visit, a half hour later, found him still there; and -when a third trip revealed him seemingly anchored to his chair, and she -ventured to inquire, in a casual way, what time he usually departed for -business, he informed her, rather shortly, that he was not going to the -office that morning. He had matters to attend to at home.</p> - -<p>A messenger call box in the hall seemed to offer her recourse, and, -grasping at the suggestion, she gave the handle a twist which almost -jerked it off; then hastened to her room to write a note to Grail.</p> - -<p>But, with the note finished, the slow minutes passed without any -response to her ring, until it seemed certain that even the most -tortoiselike messenger ought to have arrived, and she started an -investigation, only to learn that the boy had come and been sent away -again, since she had failed to apprise the man at the door of having -sent in a call.</p> - -<p>Swallowing her chagrin as best she could, she gave another twist to -the knob, and this time not only gave notice of her action, but seated -herself at the window to watch for the messenger.</p> - -<p>Presently a blue-uniformed boy hove in sight down the street, and -turned his bicycle into the drive leading up to the door. Meredith, -note in hand, lost no time in getting downstairs; but it was only to -see the servant on guard turning back from the entrance.</p> - -<p>“Boy hasn’t showed up yet, ma’am,” he assured her unfalteringly. -“Wonderful how long them little rascals does take sometimes to get -around.”</p> - -<p>Meredith realized now, with a sick feeling, what she had begun to -suspect for an hour or more past—that she was being deliberately -thwarted and baffled in her attempts to communicate with Grail, -probably under instructions from Mrs. Schilder herself.</p> - -<p>The incident of the dress, the palpable falsehood in regard to the -coming of the messenger boy; more than all, the constant if unobtrusive -surveillance exercised by Marie, all assured her that she was making no -mistake. Now that she came to think of it, she could not recall a time -that morning when the maid, with her sly, watchful eyes, had not been -hovering close at hand, apparently absorbed in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</span> her duties, yet always -in a position to note everything that Meredith might do.</p> - -<p>Did it mean, then, that she was to be cut off from all intercourse with -the outside world? If she should assert herself, and insist on using -the telephone, would the polite evasions and lies she had hitherto met -change to harsher and more restrictive measures?</p> - -<p>For a moment she was tempted to put the matter to the test; then, with -more sober second thought, she decided to wait. To provoke a scene at -this juncture, or to display any undue eagerness to get away, would be -but to disclose her hand to Mrs. Schilder. It was not by force, but by -craft, and a pretense of innocence, that she must undermine her wily -antagonist. She must match her wits against those of the other woman -and overcome.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, like a flash of inspiration, there came to her mind the -recollection of the wireless telephone apparatus which her father had -once rigged up for experimental purposes in the attic of this very -house. The colonel had become very friendly with Otto Schilder, and, -being an enthusiastic electrician, had suggested the installation -of the wireless apparatus, with which they might hold experimental -conversations, and had forthwith secured the instruments and arranged -them in the Schilders’ attic. Meredith was not especially interested in -such experiments, but she had often seen her father use the apparatus -at the fort, and believed she could manage it in such an emergency.</p> - -<p>The door leading up to the attic from the third floor was unlocked, -but how to escape the sharp espionage of Marie presented a difficulty, -and after vainly trying a number of ruses, she almost despaired of -accomplishing it, until at last, about noon, hope was revived by the -ringing of a bell summoning Marie to her mistress.</p> - -<p>The maid who took her place on guard, a stupid sort of girl, Meredith -had little difficulty in disposing of; then, the coast clear at last, -she hurried to the floor above.</p> - -<p>The place, lighted only from above by small skylights, stretched away, -dim and shadowy, into the recesses and corners under the eaves. There -were boxes and packing cases all around, behind which anything might -be lurking. The silence, too, was a little fearsome; the only sound to -break the stillness was the buzzing of a fly.</p> - -<p>Meredith did not falter long, however, but turned to the business -before her, and, lightly threading her way between the boxes, reached -the table, with its black cabinet on top, and the wires running up to -the mast on the roof.</p> - -<p>Instrument, table and all were covered with the dust of long disuse, -but when she had slipped the receiver on over her ears, and had touched -a knob or two on the box, she was delighted to find that the instrument -had lost none of its efficiency.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center small">WIRELESS TALK.</p> - - -<p>At first, a mere jumble of indistinguishable sounds greeted her, -punctuated by the sharp crack-crack from two amateur wireless -telegraphers holding conversation across her field of hearing; but soon -she had remedied all that, and had her apparatus tuned down to the wave -lengths of the instrument at the post.</p> - -<p>“Hello, there!” she broke in heedlessly on some practice work being -given a couple of recruits by a sergeant instructor. “This is -important,” she said, as the sergeant advised her, rather brusquely, -not to “butt in.” “I wish to speak to Adjutant Grail at once!”</p> - -<p>“And who are you?” the sergeant demanded, still truculent over the -interruption.</p> - -<p>“Miss Vedant!”</p> - -<p>“Oh!” The voice, borne on the wings of the air, was now smooth and soft -as oil. “Excuse me, miss, for speaking as I did. I mistook you for one -of those amateurs that’s always bothering around. I’m sorry, miss, but -Captain Grail ain’t at the post just now.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know where he is, then? Or could you get hold of him for me?”</p> - -<p>“I haven’t the slightest idea where he is, ma’am.” The sergeant’s stiff -tone seemed also to indicate that neither did he care. Evidently he was -of the party to whom Grail’s very name had become hateful.</p> - -<p>Recollecting, however, to whom he was talking, he added, less -churlishly: “The adjutant, ma’am, as I understand it, hasn’t been on -the reservation since seven o’clock last night, and he left no word -where he was going.”</p> - -<p>“Nor when to expect him back?”</p> - -<p>“Nor when to expect him back,” the sergeant echoed, a trifle cynically, -for it was a matter of general belief at the barracks that Grail, -unable to face the charges against him, had skipped out. Still, it was -not for him to voice any such rumor to the colonel’s daughter, and he -inquired diplomatically: “In case he does come in, ma’am, is there any -message you wish to leave for him?”</p> - -<p>“No; I guess not.” She hesitated. “No. I will try to call him up later -in the day.”</p> - -<p>Bitterly disappointed at the failure, and doubtful whether another -opportunity would be granted her to reach the attic, she leaned her -head in her two hands over the table, and tried to decide what to do.</p> - -<p>Might it not be better, now that she was here, to remain beside the -instrument until she could effect communication with Grail, rather -than to risk the very dubious chances of again eluding the vigilance -belowstairs? But she shook her head. Her absence, once discovered, -and with the certainty that she could not have left the house in -dishabille, they would never rest until they had ransacked the place -from cellar to roof. Her retreat could not fail to be discovered, -unless she were able to hide from the prying eyes of the searchers.</p> - -<p>The suggestion drew her glance to a closet or compartment at one side -of the attic, which, sheathed with iron, and having a combination lock -on the door, had been fitted up as a sort of strong room. She had heard -it spoken of, and remembered hearing that it was now in disuse and -unlocked.</p> - -<p>It was the very place. No one would ever dream of her being secreted -inside, and she would be almost as safe from discovery as in a -burglar-proof vault; yet there was a window at one side to give her -light and air, and she could be just as comfortable there as in the -wider spaces of the attic outside.</p> - -<p>She stepped quickly to the door, but as she paused to fumble with the -latch there reached her from within a faint sound of rustling and -scratching.</p> - -<p>Rats! The idea of opening that door, or seeking refuge in the strong -room, died abruptly. With a timorous gasp, she fled down the attic -steps as fast as her feet could carry her.</p> - -<p>Fortunately, there was no one on the third floor to witness<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</span> her -breathless exit, and, recovering somewhat from her panic, she managed -to close the attic door and regain her own room without detection.</p> - -<p>Hardly was she safe, however, before Marie made her appearance, looking -distinctly worried and upset.</p> - -<p>“Where has ma’mselle been?” she demanded, almost crossly. “I have been -looking everywhere for her to serve her ze luncheon.”</p> - -<p>“I?” Meredith found it hard work not to pant. “Oh, I have just been -strolling about the house. By the way, Marie,” deftly turning the -subject, “has not that frock of mine come back from the cleaner’s yet?”</p> - -<p>Marie was apologetic. The “pig of a cleaner” had deceived her -outrageously; she had just sent over for the frock, only to be informed -that it would not be finished until four o’clock.</p> - -<p>“Oh, well, it really makes no difference,” Meredith assured her -carelessly. “Since I have given up the idea of going out to-day. -Indeed, I think I shall try to take a long nap this afternoon. I did -not sleep at all well last night.”</p> - -<p>With this plausible excuse, she managed to throw the sentinel maid -off guard, and, as Mrs. Schilder went out in the automobile, was -able to effect two more trips to the attic undiscovered, although, -unfortunately, without result. Each time she was informed that Captain -Grail had not yet returned to the post.</p> - -<p>So the long afternoon wore away fruitlessly, and with the passing of -the hours passed also that feeling of buoyancy which Meredith had -experienced in the morning, and which, no doubt, was largely due to the -excitement of finding herself actively involved in the game.</p> - -<p>Now, with the reaction, she was growing dispirited and apprehensive -once more. Nothing seemed to have been accomplished. Her father’s -whereabouts still continued a mystery; and, in addition, she now -began to worry over Grail’s protracted absence. What if something had -happened to him, too? Indeed, was it not almost certain that something -must have happened to him?</p> - -<p>Darker and darker grew her misgivings as she gave rein to her -imagination, until, when Mrs. Schilder at last came in, she found the -poor girl a picture of disconsolate woe.</p> - -<p>“Is there no news?” Meredith raised her wan face in piteous question. -Even from this deceitful source she might gather something in the way -of a glance or expression.</p> - -<p>But Mrs. Schilder’s countenance revealed nothing.</p> - -<p>“I am sorry,” she said, “but the investigation seems to have come to a -standstill. Every clew has been carefully worked out, the officers tell -me, but to absolutely no avail. However,” she dropped her gloved hand -on Meredith’s shoulder, “you must not let that discourage you, my dear. -No news is always good news, remember; and no one concerned is lacking -in activity in any direction. <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Schilder, indeed, is so deeply -concerned that he has invited all the officers of the post to meet him -here to-night and discuss what measures shall next be undertaken, and -he says that unless they can show him a reasonable promise of success -he will report the disappearance to the civil authorities.</p> - -<p>“He told me to tell you of this conference, my dear,” she went on, “and -ask you if you did not want to be present; although I told him that I -hardly deemed it wise, since theories and conjectures are sure to be -advanced which cannot help but be harrowing to you.”</p> - -<p>“No.” Meredith’s tremors ceased with the offer of a change of action. -Major Appleby might be bombastic, and Lieutenant Hemingway a fool, but -surely there was some one among the officers—blunt old Dobbs, the -surgeon, maybe—to whom she could whisper her suspicions.</p> - -<p>“No,” she repeated, with decision, “there can be nothing said to cause -me more apprehension than the possibilities I have already pictured to -myself. Thank <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Schilder for me, please, and tell him that I shall -certainly attend the conference.”</p> - -<p>First, however, she determined to call up Grail once more; then, if -she failed to find him at the fort, she would be satisfied that some -calamity had befallen him, and that both for his sake and her father’s -she would have to resort to another ally.</p> - -<p>Accordingly, an opportunity arising for her to slip away just as Major -Appleby and his associates commenced to arrive, she stole once more to -the attic.</p> - -<p>Confronted by the darkness and the possibility of scampering rats, she -halted for a moment, strongly tempted to turn and flee; then, nerving -herself to the effort, although still quaking with trepidation, she -dashed up the steps and over toward the wireless instrument.</p> - -<p>Halfway across the space, her wild rush was abruptly stayed, and she -came to her knees, a stifled shriek of terror on her lips.</p> - -<p>She had stumbled over the body of a man, bound and gagged, lying -directly in her path.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</h2> -</div> - -<p class="center small">THE MARKED NAMES.</p> - - -<p>As Grail turned back into his quarters, after seeing Meredith off, that -night of her arrival from Chicago, his face had fallen into lines of -troubled solicitude, and he gave an ominous shake of the head, for it -was idle to deny that the startling news concerning Sasaku had filled -him with the gravest sort of misgivings. Indicating that this was no -ordinary game of hide and seek, such as the gumshoe men of the various -powers are accustomed to play with each other, but a sinister intrigue, -prepared to balk at nothing to gain its ends, it raised a serious -question as to the possible fate which had befallen the colonel.</p> - -<p>Hurriedly summoning his “striker,” he sent him out for a copy of the -extra <i>Herald</i> containing an account of the murder; then, when the -paper had arrived, he devoted himself to a careful perusal and analysis -of the details.</p> - -<p>There was really but little to be gleaned. The body of the Japanese -had been found on the stairs of a rooming house for laboring men, down -near the river front, and, as Grail noted, not more than a block or two -away from the Dolliver Foundry. Struck evidently from behind, by an -unexpected knife thrust, as he was starting to go out, he had lurched -forward, clutching at the banister, then sagged down lifeless on the -third step from the top, his straw hat rolling on down the flight, and, -by exciting the curiosity of a lodger on the floor below, leading, -later on, to a discovery of the dead man.</p> - -<p>Life had not been extinct more than half an hour when he was found, -it was stated, and thus the time of the murder was definitely fixed -at about two o’clock in the afternoon; yet, although a number of the -occupants of the place had been in their rooms at that hour, no one -could be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</span> unearthed who had heard any outcry or sound of altercation.</p> - -<p>Indeed, there seemed an utter lack of any clew to indicate the motive -or perpetrator of the crime. The door of the house was usually -left open, all kinds of people coming and going at will; so it was -assumed that the murderer must have entered deliberately, gained the -third floor, then laid in wait in the dark hallway until Sasaku, all -unsuspecting, came out. That the assassin did not belong in the house -seemed certain, from the fact that the Japanese was an utter stranger -in the place, having only engaged his room the afternoon before, and -being, so far as could be learned, unacquainted with any of the other -tenants. Besides, all those at home at the time of the affair were able -to account satisfactorily for their movements.</p> - -<p>Some significance, at first, was attached to the circumstance that the -door of the room directly across the corridor from Sasaku’s was found -ajar, whereas the man to whom the room belonged, a foundry worker by -the name of Marice Matschka, was known to be very circumspect about -keeping his door locked, and one of the fourth-floor lodgers, who -had come in at noon, asserted that when he passed by the door had -undoubtedly been closed.</p> - -<p>Matschka, however, was able to prove conclusively that he himself had -not been back to the place since leaving for work at six o’clock that -morning, and also stoutly denied having given up his key, or sent any -one else there. He was confident, he said, that he had locked the door -behind him, as usual, that morning, but, of course, might be mistaken, -and in that case it would have been an easy matter for the unlatched -portal to have swung open in the draft.</p> - -<p>There was, moreover, no reason to believe that he had known the -Japanese, or could have harbored ill will against him for any cause, so -this line of investigation was very speedily abandoned.</p> - -<p>In short, the case was a puzzle, looked at from any angle. Sasaku’s -scanty effects, consisting chiefly of his clothes, a few letters, and a -notebook containing a few names and addresses, offered nothing in the -way of a clew; nor did his history, so far as it could be traced out, -disclose the existence of any enemies. He had been an affable, friendly -sort of a little chap, generally well liked. Finally, it was plain -that robbery was not the cause, since a diamond ring, a gold watch and -chain, and some fifty dollars in his pocket, had been left untouched.</p> - -<p>The police, all at sea for an adequate motive, had to fall back on the -fantastic theory that he had been the victim of some sort of Oriental -vendetta at the hands of his own countrymen; and, with great pretense -at secret knowledge, made significant allusions to oath-bound clans and -mysterious brotherhoods.</p> - -<p>Grail had just about completed his reading of the newspaper narrative, -digesting carefully not only what appeared, but also what lay between -the lines, when Sergeant Cato entered and saluted him.</p> - -<p>The sergeant was dusty and perspiring from what had evidently been an -arduous day, but his beaming expression showed that his efforts had not -been in vain.</p> - -<p>“You’ve found out what I wanted, eh?” Grail glanced up eagerly.</p> - -<p>“I think I’ve got it all, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Good!” The adjutant nodded toward a chair, and extended a cigar. “Sit -down and make yourself comfortable, sergeant, and let’s have the story -as quickly as possible. I would tell you to go and get something to -eat first, but things have been happening since you’ve been away that -make haste imperative.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I’m not hungry, sir,” Cato assured him. “This beats a meal any -old time”—puffing luxuriously at the perfecto—“and, besides, I had a -sandwich over at Sunset Bluffs.”</p> - -<p>“Sunset Bluffs, eh? Then you <em>did</em> have time to look up the -motor-boat business for me?”</p> - -<p>“Sure, sir. It came in yesterday morning, just as you said, billed to -Otto Schilder, and was taken out on his order late yesterday afternoon -by Mike Flannery, a truckman over there on the other side of the river.”</p> - -<p>“And you talked to Flannery, of course?”</p> - -<p>“No.” Cato shook his head. “He was out with his wagon. But I did -better, sir. I had a chin with Flannery’s kid, a boy about ten years -old.”</p> - -<p>“Ah!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir. He and I took in a moving-picture show together”—the -sergeant grinned—“and before it was over I guess he had told enough to -earn him the licking of his life, if the old man should ever find it -out. His father, it seems, intended to haul the boat out to the lake -last night, but just as he was getting ready to start out a stranger -came around to engage him for an immediate moving job. A big, dark-eyed -man, the boy said he was, who gave the name of Dabney, and seemed to be -in a great hurry.”</p> - -<p>“A big, dark-eyed man, who gave the name of Dabney,” Grail echoed. “Go -on!”</p> - -<p>“Well sir, Flannery, seeing a chance to squeeze in some extra money, -took him up, and, leaving the boat there in his stable yard, went off -with his truck and horses, expecting to be back and start for the lake -about one o’clock, Dabney telling him that his job wouldn’t take more -than that long. What with one thing and another, though, he didn’t get -back until the six-o’clock whistles were blowing, and then, according -to the kid, he sure turned the air blue. Somebody had borrowed the -motor boat during his absence, for a joy ride—his yard is only a -stone’s throw from the river—and it was a sight to look at, all -covered with river mud and grease, and dripping wet inside and out. He -was in an awful sweat for fear Schilder would find out about it, and he -worked like a nailer for over two hours, cleaning it up and polishing -the brasswork, before he dared set out with it for the lake. Funny -thing, though,” Cato concluded, “he doesn’t suspect this man Dabney in -the matter at all. He blames a gang of young roughs who live in the -neighborhood.”</p> - -<p>Grail smiled. “As you infer, sergeant, it was Dabney, all right,” he -said. “He had need for a swift boat on the river last night, and he -didn’t want the hiring of one to be traced to him. Consequently, he -adopted this rather elaborate ruse to get hold of the one in Flannery’s -care. Dabney, although passing himself off as an Englishman, and -ostensibly conducting a real-estate office, is, I may as well tell you, -the man tipped off to me by Sasaku as a Russian spy, and the leader of -the operations to which Colonel Vedant has fallen victim.”</p> - -<p>“Then you think,” Cato inquired quickly, “that the colonel was carried -off in this motor boat?”</p> - -<p>“Assuredly,” Grail answered, and briefly explained his theory of -the seizure, and the employment of the electric crane to convey the -prisoner and his captors outside of the inclosure.</p> - -<p>“The next thing, of course,” he concluded, “was to get<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</span> their man away -as quickly and quietly as possible, and, naturally, the river suggested -itself as the most convenient avenue.”</p> - -<p>“That sounds plausible enough.” Cato thoughtfully scratched his head. -“But what gets me, captain, is how did they know so much about the -motor boat, and just how to get hold of it? Is this Dabney-ovitch, or -whatever his real name is, a pal of <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Schilder’s?”</p> - -<p>“No,” the adjutant admitted. “On the other hand, I think he has taken -especial pains to avoid meeting Schilder, or coming under his eye. -But”—he hesitated slightly—“the point you raise offers no difficulty. -Take my word for it, sergeant, there was a way for Dabney to find out -with absolute certainty anything he wanted.”</p> - -<p>“And now,” he broke off, rather abruptly, “tell me what you discovered -in regard to the cigarette?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that was easy.” Cato’s brows cleared. “I scored a bull’s-eye the -second place I went into. It’s a little tobacco and stationery shop -down on Third Street, and the old fellow who runs it is one of the -talkative kind. He said he’d laid in a stock of these cigarettes for -four customers of his who get their newspapers there every morning, and -who live at a rooming house just around the corner. Here, I have the -names.” He produced a card on which he had jotted a memorandum. “Miller -Vance——”</p> - -<p>“Ah!” Grail interrupted sharply. “The man who operated the crane. I had -a very strong suspicion that he was Russian, for all his alias, and the -American twist he had managed to acquire to his tongue. However, that -is not especially important. Go on, sergeant.”</p> - -<p>“I, Pepernik, Louis Minowsky,” read Cato, “and Maurice Matschka.”</p> - -<p>“Maurice Matschka!” The officer sprang to his feet. “That is a link -worth looking into,” he muttered. “Come on!” He caught up his hat, and -gave a quick nod of the head toward Cato. “I am going to the city hall.”</p> - -<p>Arriving at the municipal building, and proceeding to police -headquarters, he was directed, on inquiry, to a certain Detective -Krause, as having the case of the murdered Japanese in charge.</p> - -<p>“What makes all you people out at the fort so interested in this -affair, anyhow?” the detective asked, with a curious glance at Grail. -“Major Appleby and Lieutenant Hemingway was over here before supper, -and I told them all there was to know. The best I can do for you, -captain, is just to go over the same ground.”</p> - -<p>“Of course,” Grail assented, with a smile. “Still you know how it is, -<a id="Kruse"></a><abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Krause; every one wants to hear a story at firsthand; and, as I -was, perhaps, better acquainted with poor Sasaku than any of the other -officers at the mess, there is just a possibility that I may be able to -throw some light on the tragedy.”</p> - -<p>As a matter of fact, the detective required very little urging. He had -come to such an absolute halt in the investigation that he was only too -willing to repeat the story to any one who offered even the faintest -show of providing a solution.</p> - -<p>His recital, though, if somewhat more diffuse, was practically the same -as that which Grail had already read in the newspaper. He presented -nothing new in the way of any material details.</p> - -<p>“H’m!” The adjutant thoughtfully stroked his chin at the completion of -the narrative. “There would be no objection, I suppose, to letting me -examine the notebook which you say was found on Sasaku?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly not, sir.” He stepped away to get it, adding, as he returned -and handed it over: “You won’t find anything there to help you, -captain. We’ve been over it already with a fine-tooth comb, and it -seems nothing but a list of names and people he’d met; some of them in -the city directory, and some not.”</p> - -<p>Grail, however, evidently preferred to decide this point for himself; -for slowly and painstakingly he ran over the pages, scrutinizing each -entry carefully before he passed on to the next.</p> - -<p>The detective, fidgeting at what he manifestly regarded as wasted -time, presently excused himself, on the plea of wanting to do some -telephoning, and sauntered off, and, with his going, Grail turned -back a couple of pages to point out significantly to Cato the name of -Dabney, with a little, almost indistinguishable mark set opposite it.</p> - -<p>No further discovery was elicited until they reached the last page; -then Grail gave a sudden start, as he read, with the same cabalistic -mark against it, the name of Rezonoff.</p> - -<p>“Rezonoff!” he muttered, with a frown of grave foreboding. “That can -only be Count Boris Rezonoff, captain in the imperial engineers!”</p> - -<p>Cato, gathering from his tone that something was seriously wrong, edged -up closer.</p> - -<p>“Is it bad, sir?” he whispered.</p> - -<p>Grail vouchsafed no answer, but stood silent a moment, the look of -apprehension growing on his face; then snapped open his watch and -glanced at the time.</p> - -<p>“Too early, by far,” he commented, under his breath. “I shall have to -wait at least two hours yet.”</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, Cato, glancing over his shoulder, had been reading down the -page of the notebook, and now he gave a quick exclamation.</p> - -<p>“There’s another name with that same mark against it,” he breathed -excitedly. “Don’t you see it! Down there at the bottom, underneath your -thumb!”</p> - -<p>But Grail, as though recalled to himself, sharply closed the book.</p> - -<p>“Oh, that one is of no consequence,” he insisted; yet he knew that it -was, for he had already noted the name with the telltale check opposite.</p> - -<p>In Sasaku’s stiff, angular handwriting was set down: “Mrs. Otto -Schilder!”</p> - - -<p class="center small">TO BE CONTINUED.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 style="font-size:100%;" id="THE_NEGRO_AND_THE_HORSE">THE NEGRO AND THE HORSE.</h2> -</div> - - -<p>There is a time for everything, and the secret of success in life lies -in doing things at just the right minute.</p> - -<p>A veterinary surgeon had occasion to instruct a colored stableman how -to administer medicine to an ailing horse. He was to get a common tin -tube—a bean blower—put a dose of the medicine in it, insert one end -of the tube into the horse’s mouth, and blow vigorously into the other -end, and so force the medicine down the horse’s throat.</p> - -<p>Half an hour afterward, the colored man appeared at the surgeon’s -office, looking very much out of sorts.</p> - -<p>“What is the matter?” inquired the doctor, with some concern.</p> - -<p>“Why, boss, dat hoss, he—he blew fust!”</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</span></p> -<h2 class="notbold center vbig" id="THE_NEWS_OF_ALL_NATIONS">THE NEWS OF ALL NATIONS.</h2> -</div> - - -<h3>Story of “Scotty” Hero of Zinc Fields.</h3> - -<p>Picture a man who has been badly bent at times—aye, even broke unto -the last jitney—one who has tasted the bitter things of life along -with the sweet, one who has seen a fortune swept away in a twinkling, -only to be regained after a long, persistent struggle. Picture a good -loser, who has lost more than most men will ever earn, and who pins -his faith in the mining industry to such an extent that he laughs at -failure and hangs on like a bulldog until he succeeds, and you have a -mind’s-eye view of J. M. Short, the best known operator in the mining -district near Joplin, <abbr title="Missouri">Mo.</abbr>—the “Scotty” of the zinc fields.</p> - -<p>Thirty-two years ago Short was working for $1.25 a per day at Galena, -<abbr title="Kansas">Kan.</abbr>, and a few years later moved to Joplin, landing here with the -price of one ham sandwich. He worked for low wages until he had saved -enough to buy a prospect drill, and decided to look for ore on his own -responsibility.</p> - -<p>His first few holes were blanks; the cost of sinking them was heavy, -considering Short’s limited finances. For a time it looked as though -he was destined to go back to wages. However, he hung on until almost -his last penny was gone; then luck smiled on him, and he made his -first strike. He had been watching the drill clippings for so long -and finding only barren pieces of rock that he could hardly believe -the truth when at last the sand bucket brought up a quantity of -yellow-looking dirt, rich in zinc ore.</p> - -<p>Short sold this “prospect” for $5,000 cash, and immediately invested -the whole amount in what was known as the Bunker Hill Mine, which -netted him $65,000 in eighteen months, part of which—$3,000—he -reinvested in the Sacagawea Zinc Company, from which he profited, -inside of three months, to the tune of $17,000 more. A year later Short -again became “dead broke” on another mining venture, and again went to -work for wages.</p> - -<p>Depriving himself of all luxuries and many necessities, he continued -to work for wages until he had saved up $1,800, when he determined -to again “try his hand.” One day, during an extremely dry summer, he -was driving by a piece of land where the Sitting Bull Mine was later -developed. He noticed a man sinking a hole to get water at a point -where a spring had once been. The land was low and boggy and the digger -was taking out shale and soapstone. The formation looked good to Short, -and he at once procured a forty-acre lease from the owner. With $1,800, -his sole capital, Short drilled the ground, discovered a rich run of -ore, and put down a shaft to the 185-foot level. The owner of the land -put up the capital for building a $15,000 mill. Ninety days later Short -had paid for the mill, had $10,000 in the bank to his credit, and had -a vast body of ore blocked out which netted him more than $100,000 in -profits in the next few months.</p> - -<p>Almost immediately he secured another lease and opened up what is known -as the Pocahontas Mine, from which he cleared another $100,000. Then -followed in quick succession the Geronimo and the Waneta-Pearl. Short -is now interested in, if not the entire owner of, more than a dozen -valuable properties, so that, with the sudden jump in price of zinc -concentrates from thirty-five to seventy-five dollars per ton, this -Scotty of the zinc mines has but faint idea of what he is really worth.</p> - - -<h3>Talk is Cheap.</h3> - -<p>A retired United States army officer says the European war is “a -horrible slaughter, which should be halted by some neutral power.” The -neutral power that attempted to halt it forcibly would simply increase -the slaughter and add its own blood to the crimson tide.</p> - - -<h3>Canada Spends Millions on Ports.</h3> - -<p>Canada is making extensive improvements in her seaports. At Halifax -work is under way which will cost $10,000,000, while at St. John, -New Brunswick, $8,000,000 is being spent. Levis, opposite Quebec, is -building the largest dry dock in America. Much work is also being done -at the Pacific coast ports.</p> - - -<h3>Finds Petrified Snake in Rock.</h3> - -<p>While blasting some limestone rocks in the side of Stone Mountain, near -Big Laurel, <abbr title="Virginia">Va.</abbr>, the workmen found a petrified snake imbedded in the -rocks. The snake was coiled as if making ready to spring at something, -and is believed to have been a copperhead.</p> - - -<h3>Failures.</h3> - -<p>Commercial failures in the United States last year were 8,344.</p> - - -<h3>Cossacks Rescue Little Girl.</h3> - -<p>A little incident, told in Danish newspapers which have arrived in -Chicago, shows that the Cossacks are not as cruel as they are sometimes -depicted. Recently while advancing against a <a id="turks"></a>detachment of Turks, a -company of Cossacks found a little girl, two years old, who had been -deserted by her parents in their precipitate flight. They brought the -little <a id="ones"></a>one to the headquarters of the regiment, where she received -food and was made comfortable in every way.</p> - -<p>In the Greek Catholic Church in the village of Bardus the little -foundling was baptized according to the orthodox ritual. The commander -of the regiment and Princess Gelovana, wife of a member of the Duma, -served as godparents of the child. The little girl received the name -of Alexandre Donshaga, after the regiment known as Don Cossacks. The -officers promised to contribute monthly toward the maintenance and -education of this little “daughter of the regiment.”</p> - - -<h3>Girl in Soldier’s Uniform.</h3> - -<p>People in the vicinity of Cooke’s Church, on Queen Street, in Toronto, -at two-thirty in the afternoon were left wondering whether the Germans -had landed in the city in such large numbers that the <a id="milita"></a>military -authorities had found it necessary to mobilize a regiment of the fair -sex to aid the soldiers in driving them back.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</span></p> - -<p>The cause of the sensation was a pretty young lady named Clara Philip, -who, by the terms of a wager she had made with a lady friend, had to -walk down Mutual Street from Shuter to Queen Street dressed in full -soldier’s uniform, for a box of chocolates.</p> - -<p>The young lady with curly hair peeping out under the service cap, -looked bewitching in the uniform, although it was somewhat too large -for her, and despite the fact that the heavy army boots were dispensed -with for her own dainty pair of “threes.”</p> - -<p>“It certainly did feel funny walking down the street with some of the -people turning up their noses at me and others convulsed in laughter, -but I was determined to win the bet, and did,” said Miss Philip, after -her sensational parade.</p> - -<p>“Oh, it was funny. On the way along I had the pleasure of saluting -a ‘brother’ soldier, who with much grace returned the salute, and a -little farther along a ‘guardian of the law’ discreetly turned and -walked in the opposite direction. That is the way I became richer by a -large box of chocolates.”</p> - - -<h3>Sings as Surgeons Operate.</h3> - -<p>Zouave Besson, a French trooper, while undergoing an operation at the -Grand Palais, in Paris, a hospital for the last three months, lustily -sang the “Marseillaise” from the beginning to the end, weakening -slightly toward the close of the last stanza.</p> - -<p>This patriotic demonstration is a contradiction of the proverb that -a good man will swear while he is under the influence of chloroform. -After the operation Besson’s nurse told him of his patriotism in -singing the national anthem.</p> - -<p>He replied: “When I was just going on I realized that I was singing the -‘Marseillaise,’ and brought all my will power to bear to sing it to the -end.” He recovered nicely.</p> - - -<h3>Death of a Spy.</h3> - -<p>Death to all spies is the military rule. One of the most dramatic of -the many minor tragedies of the war was seen at Lassigny recently, -when a captive in a black gown, to all appearances a nun, was suddenly -led before a firing squad and shot down at the officer’s command. The -startled onlookers learned that the squad’s victim was a daring young -lieutenant in the German army who had got inside the French lines by -donning a nun’s attire. So good was his disguise that he had gone for a -considerable distance and probably had obtained much information that -would have proved valuable had he escaped.</p> - -<p>Had the spy been a woman, the penalty would have been the same. Such is -the law of war. Many women spies have been caught and executed.</p> - - -<h3>Oldest Veteran in Southwest Section.</h3> - -<p>Probably the oldest, and surely the most noted Confederate veteran now -living in the Southwest is Doctor Thomas E. Berry, of Oklahoma City, -<abbr title="Oklahoma">Okla.</abbr>, a typical “Kentucky colonel,” who is now eighty-three years old. -He walks as straight as a young Indian, has never used intoxicating -beverages or tobacco and has never suffered from fever or other -sickness, and during his long and eventful career he has been soldier, -globe trotter, author, duelist, physician, and surgeon.</p> - -<p>In the Civil War he served with the Confederate generals, Morgan and -Forest, was captured twelve times by the Yankees, and escaped that many -times from their prisons. He received twenty-two bullet wounds and -several saber cuts during the four years of fighting, and since the -close of the war has fought six duels in foreign lands.</p> - -<p>Doctor Berry served under Joe Shelby in Mexico and helped to organize -the French army in Algeria. He rendered valuable service to King -Menelik in Abyssinia and sojourned for a while in Constantinople, -where, like many others, he swam across the Bosporus. He received -several decorations from foreign rulers, but never wears them in this -“land of the free.”</p> - -<p>In a recent chat with a friend Doctor Berry said:</p> - -<p>“My father and grandfather admonished me to never forgive or forget -an insult; never offer the left cheek after having been slapped on my -right cheek. They also requested me to always keep the Berry escutcheon -untarnished; never be a craven nor a coward.”</p> - -<p>The doctor comes from a wealthy family that owned large areas of land -near Perryville, <abbr title="Kentucky">Ky.</abbr>, but the Civil War made them comparatively poor. -The doctor wrote a book entitled “Four Years With Generals Forest and -Morgan.” He is now writing a book about his foreign military service.</p> - -<p>He has also made several valuable discoveries in materia medica and -surgery while practicing medicine forty years. Some of them are very -original and should not be allowed to perish with the doctor’s death.</p> - -<p>Doctor Berry, though one of the best physicians and surgeons, quit -practicing four years ago. He is an inveterate reader and has read -2,000 books. He also enjoys newspapers and magazines. It is needless to -say that the doctor’s personal appearance and courteous manners denote -him to be a gentleman and scholar. He belongs to no religious sect, but -is what he terms a “practical Christian.” He will no doubt be as brave -when Death calls him as he always has been during his long life. The -doctor is optimistic, however, and says he will probably live to be a -centenarian.</p> - - -<h3><a id="Nnow"></a>Some Facts You May Not Know.</h3> - -<p>The highest speed ever attained by man on the face of the earth is one -mile in 25.2 seconds, equivalent to 142.85 miles an hour, according to -the <i>Railway Age Gazette</i>. It was in an automobile run by Teddy -Tetzlaff on the level salt beds at Salduro, Utah, 112 miles west of -Salt Lake City. The best speed ever made on rails was with an electric -car between Berlin and Zossen, Germany, 130.5 miles an hour.</p> - -<p>Birds, in the construction of their nests, almost without exception -avoid bright-colored materials, which might possibly lead to the -discovery of their place of abode by an enemy.</p> - -<p>Apple wood, used almost exclusively for saw handles, also furnishes the -material for many so-called brierwood pipes.</p> - -<p>On a peace footing the Portuguese army consists of 32,000 men. When -fully mobilized, the army should have 105,000 first-line troops and -145,000 of the second to put into the field.</p> - -<p>In Germany, one man in 213 goes to college; in Scotland, one in 520; in -the United States, one in 2,000, and in England, one in 5,000.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</span></p> - -<p>Damage to American crops by insects yearly amounts to $580,000,000.</p> - -<p>There are fewer suicides among miners than among any other class of -workmen.</p> - -<p>A booby is not merely a human dunce, but is a Bahama bird, which is -so spiritless that when attacked by other birds it fails to fight and -gives up the fish it has caught without resistance.</p> - -<p>Drawings of human beings and animals in ancient caves in France are -regarded as proof that man was right-handed as far back as in the stone -age.</p> - - -<h3>Taking Precautions.</h3> - -<p>A rosy-cheeked youngster, dressed in his best clothes, entered the -village post office and carefully laid a huge slice of iced cake on the -counter.</p> - -<p>“With my sister’s, the bride’s, compliments, and will you please eat as -much as you can,” he said.</p> - -<p>The postmistress smiled delightedly.</p> - -<p>“How very kind of the bride to remember me!” she cried. “Did she know -of my weakness for wedding cake?”</p> - -<p>“She did,” answered the youngster coldly, “and she thought she’d -send over a bite of it this afternoon just to take the edge off your -appetite before she posted any boxes off to her friends.”</p> - - -<h3>Kitchner’s Caustic Comment.</h3> - -<p>A story is going the rounds about what Lord Kitchener, the British war -secretary, said the other day after he had inspected some defense works -on the east coast of England. It is short and sweet.</p> - -<p>The war minister motored from point to point, walked over the ground, -but never said a word all afternoon until the moment he was leaving for -London. Then he opened his grim mouth.</p> - -<p>“Those trenches of yours,” he said, “wouldn’t keep out the Salvation -Army.”</p> - - -<h3>Many Wolves in Texas.</h3> - -<p>The people of Texas destroyed 98,600 wolves and wild cats—including -fifty-three panthers and twenty-two leopards—between September 1, -1912, and March, 1914, according to the State comptroller. But there -are many thousands more of these wild beasts still alive, a serious -menace to the rapidly growing industry of sheep and Angora-goat raising.</p> - - -<h3>Bandit Starr is Second Robin Hood.</h3> - -<p>Is Henry Starr, of Lawton, <abbr title="Oklahoma">Okla.</abbr>, the bandit chief, another Robin Hood? -Does he, while engaged in robbing banks, keep in mind the hardships -of the poor, as did the picturesque highwayman and poacher of early -England? If only a part of the stories told of Starr are true, he might -be called the “Robin Hood of Oklahoma,” although just now he is in -Lincoln County Jail at Chandler, suffering from a broken leg, and with -a long prison term pretty thoroughly mapped out for him. But here is -what some of his admirers say he did:</p> - -<p>“These things are of no value to me, but I’d hate it if the farmers -had them to pay,” and with that remark Henry Starr, the bandit leader -who, with his band of desperadoes, robbed two banks at Stroud and was -shot down and captured by eighteen-year-old Paul Curry, once threw a -heavy bundle of mortgages and notes, with a stone tied to them, into -California Creek in Northern Oklahoma, and they were never recovered. -Starr and his men had taken the bank’s papers when they rifled the bank -at Caney, <abbr title="Kansas">Kan.</abbr>, several years ago, and he said he took them just so the -farmers would not have them to pay.</p> - -<p>This incident in Starr’s bandit career was told by a long-time resident -of the Cherokee country. He has known Starr for a number of years, has -played poker with him frequently, and he insists that Starr is really -one of the kindliest of men. After the Kansas robbery the Starr gang -rode into northern Oklahoma and hid for some time, and it was at this -time that the mortgages and notes were destroyed. The total value of -the papers was perhaps never known, but a man who saw them declares the -bundle was a foot thick.</p> - -<p>It was following this same robbery, too, that Starr made one of his -most spectacular get-aways. He and two men rode into an isolated -community during the night and concealed themselves in a big stone -barn, which was on the edge of a small valley with hills not far -distant and almost surrounding it. Starr and his men slept until late -in the day and then played pitch and shot craps for the small change -they had obtained at the bank. They would shoot for a handful of the -small silver, dimes and quarters, without any attempt being made to -ascertain the amount.</p> - -<p>The whereabouts of Starr and his two companions became known to the -county sheriff, who, with a posse of twenty or thirty men, went to the -barn with the intention of capturing the trio. The members of the posse -were stationed on the hills surrounding the barn, and they thought it -would be impossible for the outlaws to escape. When Starr was notified -of the presence of the officers, he went into the barnyard and motioned -to the sheriff, whom he knew, to confer with him. When the sheriff rode -into the yard, Starr shook hands with him as though he was glad to meet -an old friend, and then said:</p> - -<p>“I am going to leave here at five o’clock; there are three of us. If -you do not want your men hurt, you had better get them out of the way, -for when we start we are going through your lines. Tell your men that -for me.”</p> - -<p>The sheriff returned to his men, called them together, and told them -what Starr had said; within five minutes there was not a man other than -the sheriff left within rifle distance of Henry Starr. That evening at -five, as he had announced, Starr and his men rode quietly, and without -being molested, away from the barn and toward the Osage Hills.</p> - -<p>That Starr’s wife was the original of a photograph, “The Cherokee -Milkmaid,” which was published worldwide several years ago, is the -statement of Representative Walter R. Eaton, of Muskogee and Oilton. -Eaton was engaged at that time in promoting the town site of Porum, -and was going through the country in that vicinity with a photographer -getting pictures to advertise that section.</p> - -<p>Late one evening Eaton and the photographer drove by the home of Mrs. -Starr, Henry’s mother, at a time when a very pretty young woman was -milking a cow in the barnyard. The entire scene was one that would make -a beautiful picture, and the two men finally persuaded the young woman -to pose for several pictures.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</span></p> - -<p>“We got one fine picture,” said Eaton, “which we labeled ‘The Cherokee -Milkmaid.’ It attracted instant attention because of its artistic -merits and was published widely throughout the United States in both -newspapers and magazines. It was about a year afterward that this -young woman married Henry Starr.” Eaton says the young woman was a -school-teacher at the time and was boarding at the Starr home.</p> - - -<h3>Boy Hero Saves Five Lives.</h3> - -<p>The heroism of Aaron S. Ashbrook, twelve years old, saved the lives -of his mother, his grandmother, two sisters, and his uncle, George -Ashbrook, when they were trapped in the second story of their burning -home in Cynthiana, <abbr title="Kentucky">Ky.</abbr></p> - -<p>Escape was cut off by means of the stairway, and the little fellow -leaped from the second-story window, and, running to a barn, secured -a ladder, which he placed to the window, and the inmates of the house -escaped without injury, with the exception of Mrs. Mary Gray, the -aged mother of Mrs. Ashbrook, who fell from the ladder and was badly -injured. The house was totally destroyed.</p> - - -<h3>Town of 4,000; No Post Office.</h3> - -<p>Although boasting of a population of almost 4,000, and with mail -business sufficient, it is said, to justify free delivery, Oilton, -<abbr title="Oklahoma">Okla.</abbr>, the recent metropolis of the Cushing oil field, has no post -office. Residents have chipped in and employed men to sort the mail, -while some concerns have employed their own carriers.</p> - -<p>Two months ago Oilton was an alfalfa field. To-day it is one of the -fastest-growing towns in the country. It is the southern terminus of -the recently completed Oil Belt Terminal Railroad.</p> - -<p>It is a great sight when the mail comes in. If it is not raining, the -mail is sorted out in piles on the ground. Usually the entire populace -stands around watching the assorting of the mail.</p> - -<p>The post office department has been requested to designate a post -office at Oilton.</p> - - -<h3>Builds Town Near His Farm.</h3> - -<p>Because he raised 150,000 bushels of wheat in 1914 and needed a place -to market it without a haul of ten miles, Ben Foster, a large land -owner, of Colby, <abbr title="Kansas">Kan.</abbr>, built a town of his own. He constructed an -elevator, a coal and lumber yard, and some houses to go with it. The -town was named Breton.</p> - - -<h3>Boy Flags and Saves a Train.</h3> - -<p>An attempt to wreck an east-bound Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad passenger -train, near Eastbrook, <abbr title="West Virginia">W. Va.</abbr>, was frustrated by a boy, who flagged the -train in time to prevent it from running into an obstruction placed on -the track. A pile of ties had been placed on the track at the end of a -curve. Railroad police are investigating.</p> - - -<h3>Boston Has Giant Lobster.</h3> - -<p>The great-great-grandfather of all lobsters—according to Mike -O’Donnell, who is an authority on such matters—has arrived in Boston, -Mass. It is on exhibition in a stall in the Quincy Market.</p> - -<p>The lobster, which in its natural state weighed thirty-three pounds -and one ounce, measures forty-two inches from the tip of its tail to -the end of its giant claws, the body alone measuring twenty-three and -one-half inches. Since arriving here the lobster has been boiled, the -meat removed, and the shell painted so that it now looks much the same -as it did when it left the waters of Newfoundland.</p> - -<p>This giant lobster, the biggest one ever seen here, according to some -authorities, and one of the biggest on record, was caught off Grand -Manan by a fisherman named John Moses.</p> - - -<h3>Buy-a-Pig Movement, Latest.</h3> - -<p>Isn’t it about time to buy a pig? This is no joke. One of the causes of -the high cost of living is in the fact that society is growing faster -than the farmers. There is no more profitable animal than a pig. He -improves the dressing and gives the gardener a valuable asset to begin -the season with. He stands in the doorway to keep the wolf away through -the winter. And the social part of it is no small item. The pig is the -most social of animals, especially when he is hungry, and a good pig -has a continuous appetite. It is no disgrace for any one to raise a -pig—not even a school-teacher. Buy a pig and get your name on the roll -of honor.</p> - - -<h3>Motor Saw for Felling Trees.</h3> - -<p>In attempting to develop an electrically operated device for bucking -and felling trees, a lumber company in Marshfield, <abbr title="Oregon">Ore.</abbr>, constructed -a portable motor-driven chain saw, which will cut through a two-foot -log in less than a minute, declares the <i>Electrical World</i>. The -cutting element consists of a motor-driven saw-toothed chain traveling -around the peripheries of two pulleys, one at each end of the frame. -The motor is connected direct to one of the pulleys and is supplied -with electricity through a flexible cord. The apparatus weighs only -eighty pounds complete.</p> - - -<h3>Left Home on Freight; Back in Limousine.</h3> - -<p>To celebrate the anniversary of forty years ago, when he jumped a -freight at the old Delanco, <abbr title="New Jersey">N. J.</abbr>, station and beat his way in a -side-door palace car to a near-by metropolis in search of a chance to -make good, which he thought his home had denied him, a former Delanco -boy came back a day or two ago in a limousine to call on old friends -and renew the friendships of school-days.</p> - -<p>The boy was John Cahill, who is now chief counsel of the American Bell -Telephone Company, with offices in New York, London, and Paris.</p> - - -<h3>Is Given Fullest Penalty.</h3> - -<p>Judge Maxwell sentenced Merton C. Pierce, of Canton, <abbr title="Pennsylvania">Pa.</abbr>, to three -months in jail and a fine of $500 and costs of prosecution, for -furnishing liquor to a person of known intemperate habits. Pierce -pleaded guilty to supplying liquor to a man who could not buy for -himself.</p> - -<p>“Oh, that the law was more severe in such cases,” said Judge Maxwell. -“I have the utmost contempt for a man who will buy liquor for a man who -is forbidden to buy it himself, and would like to send you to jail for -a longer period, but the law does not allow. However, I will give you -the fullest penalty, and that will<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</span> keep you behind the bars for at -least six months,” said the judge, in passing sentence.</p> - -<p>Another Canton man has been arrested on the same charge, but will fight -the case.</p> - - -<h3>This Cow is Strong for Twins.</h3> - -<p>James Billingsley, a farmer residing near Axtell, <abbr title="Kansas">Kan.</abbr>, has a Red -Polled cow that has made a record in raising calves. The animal, though -only eight years old, has given birth to eight calves, four of which -were born within a period of thirteen months. A year ago she gave birth -to twins, and recently she gave birth to a set of twins.</p> - -<p>The cow is a fine milker, and all of her calves have brought prices as -high as fifty dollars a head.</p> - - -<h3>Lone Hunter’s Tragic End.</h3> - -<p>“Have been torn up by a brown bear. No chance to get out. Good-by.”</p> - -<p>Mortally wounded, and with his right arm incapacitated, King Thurman, -a lone hunter and trapper on Chickaloon Flats, Alaska, crawled to his -cabin, printed the above note with his left hand, and then shot himself -with his rifle.</p> - -<p>This was the story that was read by the hunters who found Thurman’s -body in his cabin two weeks ago and reported the tragedy to the -authorities at Seward, Alaska.</p> - - -<h3><a id="Sisiers"></a>Twin Brothers Marry Sisters.</h3> - -<p>Ashland, <abbr title="Pennsylvania">Pa.</abbr>, had a novel wedding, when Lewis and James Baglin, twin -brothers, were married to Ruth and Ada Maurer, sisters, by Reverend M. -H. Jones.</p> - - -<h3>Refuses to Quit on Pension.</h3> - -<p>Thomas Strong, of Pine Meadow, <abbr title="Connecticut">Conn.</abbr>, who has been a trackman on the -New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad for more than forty years, and -is nearly eighty years old, has refused to be retired on a pension, -saying he wants to die in harness. He says he wouldn’t know what to do -with himself if he quit work.</p> - - -<h3>Mustn’t “Cuss” by Wireless.</h3> - -<p>Radio operators in the United States can’t cuss each other out or use -profanity or indecent language of any kind “in the air.”</p> - -<p>A few days ago an operator in the commercial station in Massachusetts -<a id="mesage"></a>ended up a message with a word that shocked the inspector in the -government station at Boston, where it was picked up. The department of -commerce has sent the offending operator a strong letter of reprimand, -warning him to be careful of his language in the air in the future or -he would lose his license.</p> - - -<h3>Cat’s Cradle Cost One Hundred Dollars.</h3> - -<p>Louis Newman, of Bayonne, <abbr title="New Jersey">N. J.</abbr>, owns a cat which is the possessor of a -litter of five kittens which Newman values at twenty dollars a piece, -despite their being decidedly common cats, of the back-fence variety.</p> - -<p>Two weeks ago Newman left his safe open and later missed a roll of -bills, containing one hundred dollars. Chief Michael S. Reilly, of the -Bayonne police, and the entire detective force examined the premises -and found them clewless.</p> - -<p>Newman solved the mystery himself. In the woodshed at the rear of his -home, at 73 West Twenty-sixth Street, he heard a cat’s voice, and spied -Spondulix, the household pet, in a box with five kittens. Newman picked -one up and at the same time caught sight of something green at the -bottom of the box. He investigated and found four ten-dollar bills, two -twenties, two fives, and some twos.</p> - -<p>The mother cat, in seeking for something with which to line her cradle, -had appropriated the money from the safe.</p> - - -<h3>Hog Without Food or Water.</h3> - -<p>That a hog can live fifty-five days without food or water has been -proven. Burch Dowell, of Cookville, Tenn., one of Putnam County’s -prosperous farmers, states that he has a Duroc hog that lived for -fifty-five days without either food or water, in a deep gully into -which it had fallen and became entangled in the dense undergrowth, -rendering its escape impossible.</p> - -<p>The hog was accidentally discovered a few days ago by Dowell, who -extricated it from its helpless predicament. It had lost 175 pounds -in weight, but was still alive, and bids fair to rapidly recover its -former vigor.</p> - - -<h3>Oldest Writing is of War on Locusts.</h3> - -<p>A number of ancient Sumerian tablets recording the deeds of the -Babylonians thousands of years ago have just been deciphered by -George A. Barton, at the University of Pennsylvania museum. One of -these tablets, which tells how a farmer rid his field of locusts and -caterpillars, is dated 4,000 B. C., and is the oldest piece of writing -extant, according to an announcement to-night by officials of the -museum. The farmer, Doctor Barton’s translation says, called in a -necromancer, who “broke a jar, cut open a sacrifice, a word of cursing -he repeated, and the locusts and caterpillars fled.” For this service -he received a tall palm tree.</p> - - -<h3>Death in Electric Wringer.</h3> - -<p>Miss Margaret McConnell, aged thirty, daughter of <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> and <abbr title="missus">Mrs.</abbr> David L. -McConnell, of Washington, <abbr title="Pennsylvania">Pa.</abbr>, a society girl and active in church and -charitable work, met a horrible death while investigating the mechanism -of an electric clothes wringer that had been installed in the home that -morning.</p> - -<p>A long scarf the girl had thrown about her head caught in the wringer -and she was strangled before her mother, who was standing close by, -could shut off the current or go to her assistance.</p> - -<p>Mrs. McConnell, too late, made frantic efforts to save the life of her -daughter. Unsuccessful, she summoned aid and then collapsed.</p> - - -<h3>Pleads for Aged “Boy” Drug Fiend.</h3> - -<p>Pleading for her sixty-year-old “boy,” who, she says, will die if he is -not permitted to obtain the drugs denied him by the Harrison antidrug -bill, an eighty-one-year-old Colorado woman has written a pitiful -letter to Doctor B. R. Reese, of the Federal internal revenue division -of the treasury department. She addressed her letter to President -Wilson, but Secretary Tumulty sent it to Doctor Reese, whose office is -the clearing house of such correspondence.</p> - -<p>Much as the appeal of the old Colorado woman moved the officials, no -exception will be made in that case.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</span> There is no intention on the part -of the internal revenue division to issue blanket permits to obtain -drugs for individual cases.</p> - - -<h3>Cheer Their Boy Soldiers.</h3> - -<p>Paris was enlivened early this week by gay crowds of conscripts of the -1916 class parading the streets to the strains of the “Marseillaise” -and other patriotic songs previous to departing to join their regiments -in the center and the south of France.</p> - -<p>These nineteen-year-old recruits compare favorably with those of -previous levies, and they showed the better effect of physical training -in preparation for their service in the army.</p> - -<p>All appeared to be full of confidence, and they departed without a sign -of reluctance or regret.</p> - - -<h3>Wet and Dry Vote for Alaska.</h3> - -<p>The Alaska Senate passed a bill submitting territorial prohibition -to the voters at the November election in 1916. The bill has already -passed the House. If the voters approve prohibition, it will become -effective January 1, 1918.</p> - - -<h3>Missouri Town Gets a Bomb.</h3> - -<p>The glass in almost every alley window in a half block in the business -section of Excelsior Springs, <abbr title="Missouri">Mo.</abbr>, was broken when what is believed to -have been a stick of dynamite was thrown into the alley. One arrest has -been made.</p> - -<p>A number of people narrowly escaped injury.</p> - -<p>The explosion is believed to be the outgrowth of ill feeling engendered -at the local-option election here, January 18.</p> - - -<h3>Kills Big She-wolf and All Her Young.</h3> - -<p>General Putnam, of early-day fame, who crawled into a hole and -dispatched a ferocious “painter” therein, has a rival at Worland, near -Gillette, <abbr title="Wyoming">Wyo.</abbr>, in the person of Henry Schumacher, who recently tracked -a monster she-wolf to her den, and, with six-shooter in hand, crawled -in after her.</p> - -<p>He had only proceeded a few feet when the wolf sprang for him, but -Henry was quick with his gun, as usual, placing several bullets in her -head before she could reach him.</p> - -<p>Eight pups, about a month old, were found at the end of the den. -Schumacher killed them all, but, small as they were, they put up a -stiff fight, repeatedly biting him before he succeeded in killing them -all. Bounty to the amount of one hundred and fifty-five dollars was -collected on the old wolf and her young.</p> - - -<h3>Girl Was Dumb and Now Talks.</h3> - -<p>Miss Helen Dodge, eighteen years old, daughter of <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> and Mrs. H. G. -Dodge, of Lestershire, <abbr title="New York">N. Y.</abbr>, born deaf and dumb, will deliver an oral -oration at her graduation from the Malone State Institution for the -Deaf and Dumb in June.</p> - -<p>Miss Dodge’s case is considered one of the most remarkable in -the history of teaching the deaf and dumb. She was placed in the -institution when only four years old, and has been a student there ever -since.</p> - -<p>Her teacher soon discovered that she was unusually intelligent and -began experimenting in an effort to teach her to speak. Her vocal -chords were found to be in normal condition, and before she was seven -years old she had been taught to make sounds which were intelligible. -She now speaks as distinctly and with as much expression as a person -with the normal faculty of hearing, and it is declared that hers is the -first case of the kind in this or any other institution.</p> - - -<h3>Educates Herself to Free Husband.</h3> - -<p>Fired with the ambition to become a lawyer, that she may some day -obtain the freedom of her husband, who is serving a life sentence for -the murder of Charles Reuter, a Tulsa, <abbr title="Oklahoma">Okla.</abbr>, lawyer, Mrs. Mamie Baker, -dividing her time between household duties and public school, has -advanced from the lowest grammar grades to the high school in less than -two years. Mrs. Baker is a Bohemian, and unfamiliarity with the English -language has been an additional drawback to her.</p> - -<p>When she completes high school, it is her aim to enter a law office. -She insists she will be a practising attorney in three years.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Baker does not seek to obtain the freedom of her husband that she -may again live with him, but to take the stain of crime from her name. -She has always insisted her husband is innocent of murder.</p> - - -<h3>Horse Stops Fast Express.</h3> - -<p>An engineer on a fast express on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad received -a signal to stop his train near Defiance, Ohio. It was an emergency -signal, so the train was stopped as quickly as possible.</p> - -<p>The conductor, amazed at the sudden stop, ran to the engine and reached -it just as the engineer was preparing to go back to the train to -ascertain the trouble. Both were dismayed when told no person had given -the signal.</p> - -<p>An investigation of the express car, however, revealed that a horse had -the signal cord in its mouth and was pulling it with all its might.</p> - - -<h3>Forgets He’s in Prison as He Hears Fifes Play.</h3> - -<p>A fife-and-drum corps visited the State Penitentiary, at Joliet, <abbr title="Illinois">Ill.</abbr>, -to give the prisoners a treat.</p> - -<p>The 1,500 convicts pushed back their plates when the corps marched down -the aisle of the big dining hall to the stirring tune of “Marching -Through Georgia.”</p> - -<p>A grizzled old man seated at one of the benches rose and followed, -keeping step with the players. He was Thomas McNally, a life convict -from Chicago, who for twenty-five years has been “<abbr title="number">No.</abbr> 3,692.”</p> - -<p>“I am an old soldier—fought in the Civil War,” he mumbled in apology -when the music stopped. “I forgot where I was.”</p> - -<p>An appeal for McNally’s pardon is pending. It is supported by the judge -before whom he was tried and twenty lawyers who believe he is innocent.</p> - -<hr class="r65" /> - -<p class="drop-cap" style="margin-left:25%; margin-right:25%; margin-bottom:0em; max-width:50%;"><span class="big">SONG POEMS WANTED</span> for publication. You may write a big song hit! Experience unnecessary. Publication -guaranteed if acceptable. Send us your verses or melodies today. Write -for free valuable booklet.</p> - - -<p class="center" style="margin-left:25%; margin-right:25%; margin-top:0em; max-width:50%;"><span class="smcap">Marks-Goldsmith Co.</span> [Dept. 70] <span class="smcap">Washington, <abbr title="District of Columbia">D.C.</abbr></span></p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak vbig notbold" id="The_Nick_Carter_Stories">The Nick Carter Stories</h2> -</div> - -<table style="max-width:50%;"> -<tr> -<td class="tdc">ISSUED EVERY SATURDAY</td> -<td class="tdr">BEAUTIFUL COLORED COVERS</td> -</tr> -</table> - - -<p>When it comes to detective stories worth while, the <b>Nick Carter -Stories</b> contain the only ones that should be considered. They are -not overdrawn tales of bloodshed. They rather show the working of one -of the finest minds ever conceived by a writer. The name of Nick Carter -is familiar all over the world, for the stories of his adventures -may be read in twenty languages. No other stories have withstood the -severe test of time so well as those contained in the <b>Nick Carter -Stories</b>. It proves conclusively that they are the best. We give -herewith a list of some of the back numbers in print. You can have your -news dealer order them, or they will be sent direct by the publishers -to any address upon receipt of the price in money or postage stamps.</p> - -<ul class="ml30"> -<li>704—Written in Red.</li> -<li>707—Rogues of the Air.</li> -<li>709—The Bolt from the Blue.</li> -<li>710—The Stockbridge Affair.</li> -<li>711—A Secret from the Past.</li> -<li>712—Playing the Last Hand.</li> -<li>713—A Slick Article.</li> -<li>714—The Taxicab Riddle.</li> -<li>717—The Master Rogue’s Alibi.</li> -<li>719—The Dead Letter.</li> -<li>720—The Allerton Millions.</li> -<li>728—The Mummy’s Head.</li> -<li>729—The Statue Clue.</li> -<li>730—The Torn Card.</li> -<li>731—Under Desperation’s Spur.</li> -<li>732—The Connecting Link.</li> -<li>733—The Abduction Syndicate.</li> -<li>736—The Toils of a Siren.</li> -<li>738—A Plot Within a Plot.</li> -<li>739—The Dead Accomplice.</li> -<li>741—The Green Scarab.</li> -<li>746—The Secret Entrance.</li> -<li>747—The Cavern Mystery.</li> -<li>748—The Disappearing Fortune.</li> -<li>749—A Voice from the Past.</li> -<li>752—The Spider’s Web.</li> -<li>753—The Man With a Crutch.</li> -<li>754—The Rajah’s Regalia.</li> -<li>755—Saved from Death.</li> -<li>756—The Man Inside.</li> -<li>757—Out for Vengeance.</li> -<li>758—The Poisons of Exili.</li> -<li>759—The Antique Vial.</li> -<li>760—The House of Slumber.</li> -<li>761—A Double Identity.</li> -<li>762—“The Mocker’s” Stratagem.</li> -<li>763—The Man that Came Back.</li> -<li>764—The Tracks in the Snow.</li> -<li>765—The Babbington Case.</li> -<li>766—The Masters of Millions.</li> -<li>767—The Blue Stain.</li> -<li>768—The Lost Clew.</li> -<li>770—The Turn of a Card.</li> -<li>771—A Message in the Dust.</li> -<li>772—A Royal Flush.</li> -<li>774—The Great Buddha Beryl.</li> -<li>775—The Vanishing Heiress.</li> -<li>776—The Unfinished Letter.</li> -<li>777—A Difficult Trail.</li> -<li>782—A Woman’s Stratagem.</li> -<li>783—The Cliff Castle Affair.</li> -<li>784—A Prisoner of the Tomb.</li> -<li>785—A Resourceful Foe.</li> -<li>789—The Great Hotel Tragedies.</li> -<li>795—Zanoni, the Transfigured.</li> -<li>796—The Lure of Gold.</li> -<li>797—The Man With a Chest.</li> -<li>798—A Shadowed Life.</li> -<li>799—The Secret Agent.</li> -<li>800—A Plot for a Crown.</li> -<li>801—The Red Button.</li> -<li>802—Up Against It.</li> -<li>803—The Gold Certificate.</li> -<li>804—Jack Wise’s Hurry Call.</li> -<li>805—Nick Carter’s Ocean Chase.</li> -<li>807—Nick Carter’s Advertisement.</li> -<li>808—The Kregoff Necklace.</li> -<li>810—The Copper Cylinder.</li> -<li>811—Nick Carter and the Nihilists.</li> -<li>812—Nick Carter and the Convict Gang.</li> -<li>813—Nick Carter and the Guilty Governor.</li> -<li>814—The Triangled Coin.</li> -<li>815—Ninety-nine—and One.</li> -<li>816—Coin Number 77.</li> -</ul> - - -<p class="center">NEW SERIES</p> - -<p class="center big">NICK CARTER STORIES</p> - -<ul class="ml30"> -<li>1—The Man from Nowhere.</li> -<li>2—The Face at the Window.</li> -<li>3—A Fight for a Million.</li> -<li>4—Nick Carter’s Land Office.</li> -<li>5—Nick Carter and the Professor.</li> -<li>6—Nick Carter as a Mill Hand.</li> -<li>7—A Single Clew.</li> -<li>8—The Emerald Snake.</li> -<li>9—The Currie Outfit.</li> -<li>10—Nick Carter and the Kidnaped Heiress.</li> -<li>11—Nick Carter Strikes Oil.</li> -<li>12—Nick Carter’s Hunt for a Treasure.</li> -<li>13—A Mystery of the Highway.</li> -<li>14—The Silent Passenger.</li> -<li>15—Jack Dreen’s Secret.</li> -<li>16—Nick Carter’s Pipe Line Case.</li> -<li>17—Nick Carter and the Gold Thieves.</li> -<li>18—Nick Carter’s Auto Chase.</li> -<li>19—The Corrigan Inheritance.</li> -<li>20—The Keen Eye of Denton.</li> -<li>21—The Spider’s Parlor.</li> -<li>22—Nick Carter’s Quick Guess.</li> -<li>23—Nick Carter and the Murderess.</li> -<li>24—Nick Carter and the Pay Car.</li> -<li>25—The Stolen Antique.</li> -<li>26—The Crook League.</li> -<li>27—An English Cracksman.</li> -<li>28—Nick Carter’s Still Hunt.</li> -<li>29—Nick Carter’s Electric Shock.</li> -<li>30—Nick Carter and the Stolen Duchess.</li> -<li>31—The Purple Spot.</li> -<li>32—The Stolen Groom.</li> -<li>33—The Inverted Cross.</li> -<li>34—Nick Carter and Keno McCall.</li> -<li>35—Nick Carter’s Death Trap.</li> -<li>36—Nick Carter’s Siamese Puzzle.</li> -<li>37—The Man Outside.</li> -<li>38—The Death Chamber.</li> -<li>39—The Wind and the Wire.</li> -<li>40—Nick Carter’s Three Cornered Chase.</li> -<li>41—Dazaar, the Arch-Fiend.</li> -<li>42—The Queen of the Seven.</li> -<li>43—Crossed Wires.</li> -<li>44—A Crimson Clew.</li> -<li>45—The Third Man.</li> -<li>46—The Sign of the Dagger.</li> -<li>47—The Devil Worshipers.</li> -<li>48—The Cross of Daggers.</li> -<li>49—At Risk of Life.</li> -<li>50—The Deeper Game.</li> -<li>51—The Code Message.</li> -<li>52—The Last of the Seven.</li> -<li>53—Ten-Ichi, the Wonderful.</li> -<li>54—The Secret Order of Associated Crooks.</li> -<li>55—The Golden Hair Clew.</li> -<li>56—Back From the Dead.</li> -<li>57—Through Dark Ways.</li> -<li>58—When Aces Were Trumps.</li> -<li>59—The Gambler’s Last Hand.</li> -<li>60—The Murder at Linden Fells.</li> -<li>61—A Game for Millions.</li> -<li>62—Under Cover.</li> -<li>63—The Last Call.</li> -<li>64—Mercedes Danton’s Double.</li> -<li>65—The Millionaire’s Nemesis.</li> -<li>66—A Princess of the Underworld.</li> -<li>67—The Crook’s Blind.</li> -<li>68—The Fatal Hour.</li> -<li>69—Blood Money.</li> -<li>70—A Queen of Her Kind.</li> -<li>71—Isabel Benton’s Trump Card.</li> -<li>72—A Princess of Hades.</li> -<li>73—A Prince of Plotters.</li> -<li>74—The Crook’s Double.</li> -<li>75—For Life and Honor.</li> -<li>76—A Compact With Dazaar.</li> -<li>77—In the Shadow of Dazaar.</li> -<li>78—The Crime of a Money King.</li> -<li>79—Birds of Prey.</li> -<li>80—The Unknown Dead.</li> -<li>81—The Severed Hand.</li> -<li>82—The Terrible Game of Millions.</li> -<li>83—A Dead Man’s Power.</li> -<li>84—The Secrets of an Old House.</li> -<li>85—The Wolf Within.</li> -<li>86—The Yellow Coupon.</li> -<li>87—In the Toils.</li> -<li>88—The Stolen Radium.</li> -<li>89—A Crime in Paradise.</li> -<li>90—Behind Prison Bars.</li> -<li>91—The Blind Man’s Daughter.</li> -<li>92—On the Brink of Ruin.</li> -<li>93—Letter of Fire.</li> -<li>94—The $100,000 Kiss.</li> -<li>95—Outlaws of the Militia.</li> -<li>96—The Opium-Runners.</li> -<li>97—In Record Time.</li> -<li>98—The Wag-Nuk Clew.</li> -<li>99—The Middle Link.</li> -<li>100—The Crystal Maze.</li> -<li>101—A New Serpent in Eden.</li> -<li>102—The Auburn Sensation.</li> -<li>103—A Dying Chance.</li> -<li>104—The Gargoni Girdle.</li> -<li>105—Twice in Jeopardy.</li> -<li>106—The Ghost Launch.</li> -<li>107—Up in the Air.</li> -<li>108—The Girl Prisoner.</li> -<li>109—The Red Plague.</li> -<li>110—The Arson Trust.</li> -<li>111—The King of the Firebugs.</li> -<li>112—“Lifter’s” of the Lofts.</li> -<li>113—French Jimmie and His Forty Thieves.</li> -<li>114—The Death Plot.</li> -<li>115—The Evil Formula.</li> -<li>116—The Blue Button.</li> -<li>117—The Deadly Parallel.</li> -<li>118—The Vivisectionists.</li> -<li>119—The Stolen Brain.</li> -<li>120—An Uncanny Revenge.</li> -<li>121—The Call of Death.</li> -<li>122—The Suicide.</li> -<li>123—Half a Million Ransom.</li> -<li>124—The Girl Kidnaper.</li> -<li>125—The Pirate Yacht.</li> -<li>126—The Crime of the White Hand.</li> -<li>127—Found in the Jungle.</li> -<li>128—Six Men in a Loop.</li> -<li>129—The Jewels of Wat Chang.</li> -<li>130—The Crime in the Tower.</li> -<li>131—The Fatal Message.</li> -<li>132—Broken Bars.</li> -<li>133—Won by Magic.</li> -<li>134—The Secret of Shangore.</li> -<li>135—Straight to the Goal.</li> -<li>136—The Man They Held Back.</li> -</ul> - - -<p class="center">Dated April 24th, 1915.</p> - -<p class="ml30 mb0">137—The Seal of Gijon.</p> - - -<p class="center">Dated May 1st, 1915.</p> - -<p class="ml30 mb0">138—The Traitors of the Tropics.</p> - - -<p class="center">Dated May 8th, 1915.</p> - -<p class="ml30 mb0">139—The Pressing Peril.</p> - - -<p class="center">Dated May 15th, 1915.</p> - -<p class="ml30 mb0">140—The Melting-Pot.</p> - -<hr class="r65" /> - -<p><b>PRICE, FIVE CENTS PER COPY.</b> If you want any back numbers of -our weeklies and cannot procure them from your news dealer, they can -be obtained direct from this office. Postage stamps taken the same as -money.</p> - - - -<p class="center big">STREET & SMITH, Publishers, 79-89 Seventh Ave., NEW YORK CITY</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter transnote"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="Transcribers_Notes">Transcriber’s Notes:</h2> - -<p>Minor errors and omissions in punctuation have been fixed, otherwise -spelling and punctuation has been left in original condition, except -for the below</p> - -<p><a href="#Page_3">Page 3</a>: “Dawton” changed to “<a href="#Dawton">Lawton</a>”</p> - -<p><a href="#Page_12">Page 12</a>: “the jewelry slolen” changed to “<a href="#slolen">the jewelry stolen</a>”</p> - -<p><a href="#Page_19">Page 19</a>: “messenger on the steamer” changed to “<a href="#messenger">passenger on the steamer</a>”</p> - -<p><a href="#Page_26">Page 26</a>: “Mr. Kruse” changed to “<a href="#Kruse">Mr. Krause</a>”</p> - -<p><a href="#Page_27">Page 27</a>: “detachments of Turks” changed to “<a href="#turks">detachment of Turks</a>”</p> - -<p><a href="#Page_27">Page 27</a>: “brought the little ones” changed to “<a href="#ones">brought the little one</a>”</p> - -<p><a href="#Page_27">Page 27</a>: “milita authorities” changed to “<a href="#milita">military authorities</a>”</p> - -<p><a href="#Page_28">Page 28</a>: “Some Facts You May Not Nnow” changed to “<a href="#Nnow">Some Facts You May -Not Know</a>”</p> - -<p><a href="#Page_31">Page 31</a>: “Twin Brothers Marry Sisiers” changed to “<a href="#Sisiers">Twin Brothers Marry -Sisters</a>”</p> - -<p><a href="#Page_31">Page 31</a>: “ended up a mesage” changed to “<a href="#mesage">ended up a message</a>”</p> - -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NICK CARTER STORIES NO. 143, THE SULTAN'S PEARLS; OR, NICK CARTER'S PORTO RICO TRAIL ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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