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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..18bf793 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #68474 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68474) diff --git a/old/68474-0.txt b/old/68474-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index dff6381..0000000 --- a/old/68474-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5306 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Nick Carter Stories No. 157, September -11, 1915: A human counterfeit; or, Nick Carter and the crook's double., -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. 157, September 11, 1915: A human - counterfeit; or, Nick Carter and the crook's double. - -Author: Nick Carter - -Editor: Chickering Carter - -Release Date: July 8, 2022 [eBook #68474] - -Language: English - -Produced by: David Edwards, Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (Northern - Illinois University Digital Library) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NICK CARTER STORIES NO. 157, -SEPTEMBER 11, 1915: A HUMAN COUNTERFEIT; OR, NICK CARTER AND THE CROOK'S -DOUBLE. *** - - - - - - 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 157.= NEW YORK, September 11, 1915. =Price Five Cents.= - - - - - A HUMAN COUNTERFEIT; - - Or, NICK CARTER AND THE CROOK’S DOUBLE. - - Edited by CHICKERING CARTER. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -WHY WAS IT DONE? - - -“Extraordinary--that doesn’t half express it. I know of no word that -would. To some extent, Nick, at least, men’s motives are usually -discernible in their conduct. But in this case--why, there was nothing -to it. It is utterly inexplicable. It was like a horrid dream, a hideous -nightmare, or the mental abnormalities of a dope fiend.” - -Nick Carter laughed and spread his napkin, with a significant glance at -his chief assistant, Chick Carter, who sat at one side of the table, -that of a private dining room in a new and fashionable New York hotel. - -“Well, Mr. Clayton, if the story you have to tell warrants so remarkable -a preface, it will be interesting, at least,” said the famous detective. - -“Yes, Nick, and then some,” Chick agreed, smiling. “He so has aroused my -curiosity that I really am all ears.” - -“I don’t think I shall disappoint you,” said their companion, more -gravely. - -He was a fashionably clad man of thirty-five, of medium build and with -clean-cut, attractive cast of features, smoothly shaved. There was in -other respects nothing specially distinctive about him. He was the type -of well-bred, well-informed, and thorough business man with which New -York City abounds. - -“Aside from the pleasure of having you dine with me, I am very glad of -the privilege of telling you about my extraordinary experience,” he -added, gazing across the table at Nick. “I want your opinion about it. I -was tempted to call on you for advice immediately after it occurred, but -there were many reasons why I did not do so. I have been terribly busy, -you know, since the opening of the new Westgate six months ago, when the -directors gave me entire management of the house. Busy, Mr. Carter, is -no name for it.” - -“I can imagine so,” said Nick. “You certainly have a magnificent hotel -here.” - -“There is none better in the city, nor one more generously patronized by -wealthy and fashionable people,” said Clayton, with a quiet display of -pride. “We are getting the cream not only of local society, but also -that of the traveling public. We are almost constantly crowded. It’s an -honor, indeed, to be the sole manager of such a house.” - -“I agree with you, Clayton, but you are the man for the position, I -judge,” said Nick. “I guess the board of directors made no mistake.” - -“It was partly due, perhaps, to my owning quite a block of the stock,” -Clayton replied, with a smile. “Now, to return to the main matter, I -will tell you of my extraordinary experience.” - -“When did it occur, Clayton?” Nick inquired. - -“Three months ago, Mr. Carter, during the first three days in -September.” - -“Three days, eh? It covered a considerable period.” - -“A period of apprehension and anxiety beyond description.” - -“Began at the beginning, Clayton, and tell me the whole business.” - -“I can tell you only what occurred. It will be up to you to determine -why it was done and what it signified.” - -“I will endeavor to do so.” - -“As is my custom once a week,” Clayton began, “I had been out to -Washington Heights to dine with my mother, who dislikes hotel life and -for whom I bought an attractive place out there three years ago. Miss -Langham was with me, the young lady to whom I am engaged. She is the -only daughter of Gustavus Langham, president of the Century Trust -Company.’ - -“I am acquainted with him,” Nick observed. - -“They have a suite here in the house,” Clayton added. “My only other -companion was my chauffeur, Paul Hazen, who was driving my touring car. -We started to return about ten o’clock. We had covered less than half a -mile, and had arrived at a point in the road where there are no near -dwellings, when we were held up by a touring car that stopped as we were -approaching, and at such an angle across the road that we could not pass -it.” - -“The occupants evidently had been waiting for you,” Chick remarked. - -“So I presently learned, though I did not think so at the time,” Clayton -replied. “One of the men in the car, the top of which was up and the -side curtains on, had alighted and was looking at one of the front -wheels. Two other men were getting out, and I inferred that they had met -with a mishap. The moment we stopped, however, some twenty feet from -them, all three approached my car, and one of them called me by name. I -then supposed him a friend, whom I did not immediately recognize.” - -“Was it a dark evening?” Nick inquired. - -“Not at all. It was bright starlight.” - -“What followed?” - -“The spokesman of the party did not wait for an answer,” Clayton -continued. “He drew a revolver and ordered me to get out of my car, -saying that I must go with him. At the same time another drew a gun and -held up my chauffeur.” - -“What type of men were they?” Nick asked. “Did they appear to be -ruffians?” - -“Quite the contrary. They were well dressed and appeared like gentlemen, -aside from their conduct. Each wore a full beard, however, and I at once -suspected that they were in disguise.” - -“A very natural inference, Clayton, under the circumstances.” - -“They meant business, all right, for my protest was immediately checked -with a more threatening command to get out of the car. I was told, -nevertheless, that I would not be harmed, robbed, nor subjected to any -serious inconvenience, providing I made no resistance. I was also told -that their only purpose was to detain me from this hotel for a short -time.” - -“I follow you,” Nick nodded. - -“Their spokesman, who did all of the talking, so informed Miss Langham -and Hazen,” Clayton proceeded. “He commanded them to return to the -hotel, and to state that I had left town for a few days. He warned them -against disclosing the truth and making a stir over my abduction. He -threatened, in case they did, that my life would be the forfeit. On the -other hand, he promised that I should be liberated and allowed to return -safely, if his instructions were rigidly obeyed.” - -“Did you say anything to him except to protest against the outrage?” - -“No. He wouldn’t permit it, and the interview lasted only a few moments. -I saw plainly that I had no alternative but to obey, however, and I -resolved to take the rascal on his word. I directed Hazen and Clara to -obey the scoundrel, therefore, and to take no steps for a few days, at -least.” - -“I infer that they did so, since the outrage was not published.” - -“Exactly. That was the reason.” - -“You then went with the gang?” - -“Yes. I had no alternative. Hazen was ordered to drive on with Miss -Langham, and the gang waited until my car had disappeared. I then was -commanded to get into the other, which I did, taking a seat between two -of the knaves in the tonneau.” - -“Were there only three in the gang?” - -“There was one other, the man who was driving the car.” - -“Did he also wear a beard?” - -“Yes.” - -“All undoubtedly were in disguise,” said Nick. - -“Sure thing,” Chick added. “Four bearded men in a bunch is very -suggestive.” - -“Continue. What followed, Mr. Clayton?” - -“I then was blindfolded, but not bound nor gagged, though I was -threatened with death if I made any disturbance. I decided to take my -medicine quietly, and I so informed the rascals.” - -“Otherwise you might have been roughly handled.” - -“I inferred so. Ten minutes later, after a rapid ride in directions I -could not possibly determine, I arrived at a house and I was guided to a -room on the second floor. I have not the slightest idea where the house -is located, for I was completely lost by the several turns the car had -taken.” - -“That was done in order to blind you.” - -“No doubt.” - -“What then occurred?” - -“Then began the extraordinary part of the outrage,” said Clayton, with -an expressive shrug of his shoulders. “The bandage was removed from my -eyes. I found myself in quite a large room, the four walls of which were -entirely hung with thick black cloth. Not a window or door, not a -picture, not so much as a square inch of the wall paper, were visible.” - -“By Jove, that was strange, indeed,” Chick remarked. - -“Even the chandelier, pendant from a perfectly plain, plastered ceiling, -also was covered with the same somber cloth. It was like opening one’s -eyes in a chamber of horrors, or one draped in deepest mourning.” - -Nick Carter smiled. - -“The design of your abductors is obvious, Clayton,” said he. - -“Do you think so?” - -“I certainly do,” Nick nodded. “All that was done to prevent your seeing -anything by which you subsequently could positively identify the room.” - -“Well, well, that may be true, Nick, though I then was so affected by -the mystery that that explanation did not occur to me,” said Clayton. -“Nor, in fact, have I since thought of it.” - -“What else did the room contain?” Nick inquired. - -“Only two common wooden chairs and a narrow bed, the linen and blankets -of which were perfectly plain.” - -“Was the floor bare?” - -“Yes. The appearance of it, however, indicated that a carpet had -recently been removed.” - -“Additional evidence that I am right,” said Nick, smiling again. “The -rascals took care that you should see absolutely nothing by which you -could identify the place. Was the room lighted with electricity, or -gas?” - -“Gas. One jet of the chandelier was burning.” - -“What followed?” - -“Only three of the scoundrels accompanied me to the room. I did not -again see the fourth man until the evening of the third day of my -captivity.” - -“Well, what occurred?” Nick inquired. - -“The three men then wore black masks,” Clayton continued. “I was ordered -to remove all of my clothing except my undergarments. I did so under -protest, of course, and all of my discarded garments were taken from the -room by one of the rascals, who passed out between two overlapping -draperies and through a concealed door. He presently returned with a -woolen bath robe, which I was told to put on.” - -“And then?” - -“A strong cord then was tied around my ankles, with about a foot of -slack between them, which allowed me to hobble slowly, but effectually -prevented me from flight, or attempting to do anything desperate. I then -was invited to make myself at home, and told to be patient until I was -liberated.” - -“By Jove, that was a strange experience,” said Chick. “What do you make -of it, Nick?” - -“Wait till I have heard the entire story,” Nick replied. “Were you left -alone in the room, Mr. Clayton?” - -“Not for a moment, Nick, during all the time I was there,” said Clayton. -“Two of the masked men withdrew. The third took one of the chairs and -remained to guard and watch me. He was relieved by another about six -o’clock the following morning, and the third relieved him about noon. -This was repeated for three days and nights. Not once did I see either -of them unmasked.” - -“Did they talk with you?” - -“Part of the time, but only on ordinary topics. They would not discuss -the outrage in any respect, nor permit me to question them. On the -morning following my abduction, however, I was given a pen and paper and -ordered to write to Clara Langham, stating that I was well and -comfortable, and that she and Hazen must not deviate from the -instructions given them. I was told to add that my absence would not -exceed three days. I afterward learned that the letter was mailed one -hour later in New York.” - -“It was dropped in town, Clayton, so that your whereabouts should not be -indicated by the postmark,” said Nick. - -“I inferred so, of course.” - -“Were you well fed and properly treated, aside from your confinement?” - -“Yes. I could not reasonably find fault. I was presented with the -morning and evening newspapers, also with several magazines, and was -permitted to read at will.” - -“I see.” - -“Not once, however, did I pass beyond those dismal black curtains, or -get so much as a glimpse at anything outside of that somber room,” -Clayton added, with some feeling. “Not once was I without the gloomy -companionship of a masked man in one of the chairs. I saw only three of -them, as I have said, but I was under frequent scrutiny of another, I am -sure, whose evil eyes were watching me through some part of the somber -draperies.” - -“Did you hear him, that you feel so sure of it?” Nick questioned. - -“No.” Clayton quickly shook his head. “I did not hear him, Nick, or see -him, not once, but I frequently felt that some one was stealthily -watching me.” - -“And that continued for three days?” - -“Yes. In the evening of the third day, Nick, my clothing was returned to -me and I was told to dress. I then was blindfolded and guided from the -house. Then followed another ride in the touring car, under the same -conditions as before, and I was taken to a lonely road in an outskirt of -Fordham.” - -“And then?” - -“I then was directed to follow the road for a quarter mile, when I would -reach a trolley line into town,” Clayton said, in conclusion. “The four -men then rode rapidly away, and one hour later I arrived at the -Westgate, much to the relief of Miss Langham and my chauffeur, who were -on the verge of reporting my abduction to the police. That’s the whole -story, Nick. Now, as Chick asked, what do you make of it?” - -Nick laid aside his napkin. The dinner had been progressing during -Clayton’s recital, and coffee and cigars were in order. - -“Well, I hardly know what to say,” Nick replied. “Have you notified the -police, or taken any steps to identify your abductors?” - -“I have not,” said Clayton. “They told me that any efforts along that -line would be futile. I noticed the number on their touring car, but -upon looking it up I found no such number. They had a doctored number -plate.” - -“Obviously, Clayton, they took every precaution, not only to hide their -identity, but also to prevent you from identifying the house in which -you were confined, in event of subsequent suspicions,” said Nick. “That -they apprehended subsequent suspicion, moreover, shows plainly that they -were paving the way for the execution of some later design.” - -“That does seem reasonable. I have not thought of that.” - -“Has anything since occurred that might have a bearing on the matter?” - -“I know of nothing, Nick.” - -“Everything in the hotel is all right, so far as you know?” - -“Yes, indeed. Things could not be better.” - -“I asked only because your abductors wanted to detain you from the hotel -for a short time, or so one of them said.” - -“Very true. But there is nothing wrong here. I am sure of that.” - -“You have told me, then, all that you know about the affair, and you are -without any suspicion concerning it?” - -“Exactly. I have told you all, Nick, and am completely in the dark,” -Clayton earnestly declared. - -Nick knocked the ashes from his cigar and prepared to rise from the -table. - -“I have only this to say,” he replied, more impressively: “Be on your -guard. Men never go to so much trouble, nor take such chances, Clayton, -unless they have some definite and probably felonious design in view.” - -“That’s true, Nick,” Chick put in. - -“There certainly is something in the wind,” Nick added. “It is -impossible to predict what it is, or when it will occur, but it is safe -to say it relates to something with which you are identified. Otherwise, -Clayton, you would never have met with such an experience. I can only -warn you to be vigilant and constantly on your guard. A bomb may burst -when it is least expected.” - -“That’s right, too,” Chick declared, as they arose from the table. “No -man, Nick, could say more.” - -Mr. Chester Clayton thanked the detective for his advice and promised to -be governed by it. - -Precisely one week later, at eleven o’clock in the morning, Nick -Carter’s prediction was fulfilled. - -A message from Clayton, addressed to Nick, and received in his library, -called the detective to the Hotel Westgate. - -It contained only half a dozen words: - -“Come quickly. The bomb has burst.” - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -AN AMAZING ROBBERY. - - -Nick Carter responded immediately to Clayton’s urgent message. It was -half past eleven when he entered the magnificent new Westgate, and -almost the first person he saw in the spacious and elaborately designed -rotunda and main office was one of the house detectives, Nat Webber, -with whom he was well acquainted. - -Webber saw him entering and hurried to meet him. - -“I am looking for Mr. Clayton,” said Nick. “Where will I find him?” - -“He is with Mademoiselle Falloni, in her suite on the fourth floor,” -said Webber, with his face reflecting no end of conflicting sentiments. -“She’s up in the air a mile. So is Madame Escobar, who has the adjoining -suite. Clayton has it all over both of them, however, for he’s in the -air out of sight. It’s my opinion, Carter, that he has suddenly gone -daffy, as mad as a March hare, or any old jack rabbit. There can be -nothing else to it.” - -“What do you mean?” Nick demanded. “What has occurred here?” - -“I’ll tell you what I know,” said Webber. “If you can tell me what it -means, Nick, you’ll be going some. About half past ten--stop a bit. Come -here and let me show you. Do you see that door?” - -He drew Nick toward the office inclosure while speaking and pointed to a -door leading out of it to the right. - -“Yes, certainly,” said Nick. - -“That’s the door to Clayton’s private office,” said Webber. “There is an -opposite door which opens into a corridor leading to one of the -stairways, the ladies’ elevator, and the main dining room.” - -“Well?” - -“At half past ten,” Webber resumed; “Clayton was seen to leave the -office inclosure and enter his private office. He closed the door, as he -habitually does, denoting that he does not wish to be intruded upon. The -clerks never interrupt him at such times except on very important -business. Those are his instructions.” - -“Well?” Nick repeated. - -“About five minutes later Clayton came from the corridor and spoke to -the head clerk, Robert Vernon, over the counter, directing the clerk to -hand Mademoiselle Falloni’s jewel casket from the vault, remarking that -she wanted them in her suite and that he would take the casket up to -her.” - -“Is that so?” Nick muttered, brows knitting. - -There was no need for Webber to tell him of the tremendous value of -Mademoiselle Falloni’s wonderful jewels. The world-famous prima donna, -then singing _Cleopatra_ with the International Grand Opera Company, had -created a sensation and broken all records with her dazzling display of -gems and jewels in her portrayal of Egypt’s ill-starred queen. - -The precautions to preclude robbery, moreover, would have seemed amply -adequate to protect her. Three special detectives occupied her limousine -during its run to and from the opera house. They guarded her dressing -room between the acts. They watched her constantly when on the stage. -From the moment her jewel casket was taken from the vault in the -Westgate, in fact, until it was safely returned to it after each -performance, these three trusty guardians never once lost sight of it. - -Not less careful of her own costly jewels, which were deposited in the -Westgate vault when not in use on the stage, was Madame Escobar, the -celebrated Swedish contralto, to whom Detective Webber also had -referred. - -Half a million of money, in fact, was a conservative estimate of the -value of both superb collections, though that of Mademoiselle Falloni -greatly exceeded the other. - -“Continue,” said Nick, gazing steadily at Webber. “Tell me the whole -business.” - -“That won’t take long,” returned the detective. “After five more -minutes, Nick, Clayton again appeared at the office inclosure and asked -for Madame Escobar’s jewel case. He remarked to Vernon that the two -singers wanted to compare some of their diamonds, and that both caskets -would presently be returned. Vernon did not for a moment suspect -anything wrong. Who on earth, as a matter of fact, would have suspected -Clayton of anything crooked? Vernon brought the jewel case from the -vault and Clayton departed with it.” - -“And then?” - -“He came out of his private office a few minutes later, entering the -clerks’ inclosure.” - -“You mean through the door between the two offices?” - -“Yes, certainly.” - -“But when he came after the jeweled caskets, or the first one, at least, -he came from the other door, and through the corridor.” - -“Exactly.” - -“What followed?” - -“Vernon asked, when Clayton entered the inclosure, if it would not be -wise to have me keep an eye on Mademoiselle Falloni’s suite,” said -Webber. “Clayton asked him for what reason. I was standing near enough -to hear both. Vernon replied that something might happen to the two -jewel caskets, since he, meaning Clayton, had left the women alone with -them.” - -“What did Clayton say to that?” Nick inquired. - -“Say to it?” Webber echoed. “He asked Vernon to explain, which he did, -and Clayton then staggered all hearers, myself included, by declaring -that he had not been out of his private office for nearly half an hour. -Great guns, what a crust! Could you beat it? Could you beat it, Nick? -The man has gone daffy, clean off his perch. He----” - -“One moment, Webber,” said Nick, interrupting. “Where were you when -Clayton came after the jewel cases?” - -“Right here in the office.” - -“Did you see him?” - -“See him--certainly, Nick, I saw him.” - -“Are you sure it was he, absolutely sure?” - -“Rats!” Webber blurted derisively. “Sure of it? That’s a fat question. -Do you think I’ve been hanging around here for six months and don’t know -Chester Clayton by sight? I know it was he, Nick. I would stake my life -on it. Here’s Vernon. Ask him.” - -Nick turned to the head clerk, who had been listening over the marble -counter, within a few feet of which the detectives were standing. - -“What do you say, Mr. Vernon?” he inquired. - -“I can speak as emphatically as Mr. Webber,” was the reply. “I know -positively that Mr. Clayton took both jewel cases from me.” - -“You would not admit, then, that you could be mistaken?” - -“Impossible--utterly impossible!” Vernon forcibly declared. “Why, Mr. -Carter, he stood as near to me as you are at this moment. He is not a -man who could be successfully impersonated by another.” - -“Certainly not,” put in Webber flatly. - -“His smooth-shaved face could not be duplicated,” added Vernon. “The man -was Clayton, with Clayton’s features, eyes, voice, and manner of -speaking. Furthermore, an impersonator, if that is conceivable, could -not have had on Clayton’s clothing. I would have detected any change -since morning. I noticed his suit, his navy-blue necktie, and his -carbuncle scarfpin, when I gave him Mademoiselle Falloni’s jewel casket -over the counter. Mistake--that’s utterly absurd, out of the question.” - -Nick did not argue the point. - -“How large is the casket?” he inquired. - -“About a foot long and eight inches square on the ends,” said Vernon. -“It is made of aluminum and it has two combination locks.” - -“And Madame Escobar’s?” - -“That is a leather-covered case, about half as large.” - -“Both of these thefts, then, if such they are, took place in about -twenty minutes?” said Nick inquiringly. - -“Just about that, Mr. Carter,” Vernon nodded. - -“What did Clayton say, or do, when informed of the circumstances?” - -“He said very little, except to repeatedly assert that he had not been -out of his private office,” said Vernon. “He appeared nonplused, -completely staggered for a few moments, and then he suddenly ran through -his private office and out into the adjoining corridor, where he began -searching in all directions for a man who had been with him all the -while in his private office--or so he said,” Vernon added significantly. - -“Well, well, if that man can be found, he will corroborate Clayton and -settle the----” - -“But he cannot be found, Nick,” Webber put in forcibly. “Clayton cannot -even recall his name. No man inquired for him at the desk. No man was -seen going to the door of his private office. No man was seen to leave -it. The elevator boy in that corridor is equally positive, on the -contrary, that he saw Clayton twice on the stairs. Others saw him also, -and it’s absurd to suppose all are mistaken.” - -“You speak as if thoroughly convinced, Webber, that Mr. Clayton has -stolen both jewel cases; that he has suddenly turned from an upright and -honorable man and become a criminal,” Nick said, more forcibly. - -“No, no, I don’t mean exactly that,” Webber quickly protested. “But the -circumstances, Nick, certainly speak for themselves. What I really think -is that Clayton has lost his mind; that his brain is turned by overwork, -anxiety, and the thought of having property of such extraordinary value -in the hotel vault. I think he removed the jewel cases in a state of -mental aberration, from which he has not yet recovered. I don’t think -he now realizes that he did so, or knows what he has done with them.” - -“Well, that is a more considerate view of the matter, at least,” Nick -replied incredulously. “Did you overhear any conversation in the private -office, Mr. Vernon, during the time Clayton claims to have been there?” - -“I did not, Mr. Carter.” - -“Could you ordinarily have heard it? Are voices audible to persons in -the outer office when the door of the private office is closed?” - -“Not unless they are raised considerably above an ordinary tone,” said -Vernon. “One must speak quite loud to be heard outside.” - -“Where is Clayton now?” Nick inquired. - -“With Mademoiselle Falloni,” said the clerk. “He rushed up to her suite -after his vain search for the visitor he claims to have had, and almost -immediately he sent down the message I telephoned to you. He has not -since been down here.” - -“Call up my house again, Mr. Vernon,” Nick abruptly directed. “Tell -whoever answers you that I want Chick and Patsy Garvan to come here -immediately. Tell them to wait here for me, if they arrive before I -return. Get a hall boy. I will go up to Mademoiselle Falloni’s suite at -once.” - -“Front!” shouted the clerk. - -“The bomb has burst, indeed,” thought Nick, as he hastened toward the -elevator. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE WOMAN WHO FAINTED. - - -The incidents depicted had transpired quickly. Only about half an hour -had passed since the extraordinary crime was discovered, assuming it to -have been a crime, rather than the irresponsible act of a man mentally -unbalanced, as Detective Webber suspected. - -Nick Carter did not have any faith in that theory, however, though he -deferred forming any definite theory of his own until he had looked a -little deeper into the circumstances. The startling news had spread -through the house by that time, as appeared in the numerous guests who -had gathered in the corridors, engaged in earnest discussions of the -case, and observed by the detective while the elevator sped up to the -fourth floor. - -Nick was promptly admitted to the magnificent suite occupied by -Mademoiselle Falloni and her two maids, and the scene in her apartments -was about what he was expecting. - -He found Mademoiselle Falloni completely prostrated by her loss. She was -lying faint and pale on a luxurious couch in the parlor, in the care of -her maids and a physician living in the house. - -Madame Escobar, who had been called into the suite, was nearly as deeply -distressed, but she had greater command of her feelings. She was in -tears in an armchair. - -Mr. Clayton, whom Nick had not seen since their dinner of a week before, -now appeared to have gained his composure, and evidently was remaining -there to do what he could to calm and encourage the two celebrated -vocalists, both of whom had been guests of the hotel during the previous -month of the opera season. - -The only other person present was a stately, graceful girl in the -twenties, as beautiful as the ideal of an old master. She was very -pale, however, with such manifest anxiety for Clayton that Nick -immediately identified her as Clara Langham, the young lady to whom he -was engaged. - -“Ah, here is Mr. Carter, now,” cried Clayton, hastening to greet the -detective. “We have been waiting for you, Nick. I have been trying to -calm the ladies, and have succeeded only by predicting the speedy -recovery of their jewels through your prompt work in this terrible case. -Let me introduce you and tell you about it, that no time may be lost.” - -“I already am informed of most of the known circumstances,” Nick -replied, shaking hands with him. “Detective Webber and Mr. Vernon have -told me. Time, as you say, may be of value.” - -Clayton hastened to introduce the three ladies. The two victims of the -crime brightened up perceptibly upon seeing the famous detective, though -still with irrepressible sobs Mademoiselle Falloni begged him to restore -her lost treasures, which Nick assured her that he would leave no stone -unturned to do. - -Miss Langham greeted him more calmly, saying, with girlish earnestness, -nevertheless: - -“I heard of the dreadful circumstances and that Chester was here, so I -came to comfort him. Oh, please, Mr. Carter, don’t think for a moment -that he is guilty of anything wrong. He is incapable of it. This is the -outcome, I am sure of that terrible experience of three months ago, of -which he has told you.” - -“I think so, too, Miss Langham,” Nick replied. - -“I am so glad to hear you say so. I felt sure of it the moment I heard -of the terrible crime.” - -“I will do all that is possible, Miss Langham, I assure you.” - -Clayton then introduced the physician. - -“Doctor David Guelpa,” said he. “Shake hands with Mr. Carter, doctor. He -is the Hungarian specialist, Nick, who has quarters in Fifth Avenue. -Luckily he was in his suite on this floor, however, when Mademoiselle -Falloni was informed of the robbery. For she fainted dead away, and -since has been in hysterics. I sent for Doctor Guelpa, and he came -immediately.” - -“I am pleased to know you, Mr. Carter, very pleased,” said the -physician, while they shook hands. “I long have known you by name. Very -pleased, sir, I am sure.” - -Nick bowed and responded in conventional terms, at the same time viewing -the Hungarian specialist a bit curiously. - -Doctor Guelpa was a man of medium build and apparently about forty years -old. He looked like a foreigner. His complexion was medium, also, and -his head was crowned with a bushy growth of reddish-brown hair, while -his lower features were covered with a mustache and a profuse crinkly -beard of the same obtrusive hue. - -He wore spectacles with tortoise-shell rims and bows, the lenses of -which were unusually thick, and he blinked frequently in a way denoting -near-sightedness and a slight nervous affection. He spoke with a slight -foreign accent, moreover, but was a man of pleasing address and evident -gentility. - -Nick turned almost immediately to Clayton, however, saying while he took -a chair: - -“That we may lose no time, as you say, we will get right at this matter. -I have sent for two of my assistants. While waiting for them, Clayton, -I wish to hear your side of the story.” - -“There is no side of it, Nick,” Clayton earnestly answered. “I am -outside of the whole business, barring the assertions of others that I -figure in the case, I deny that emphatically. I know nothing about the -crime, for such it is, of course.” - -“You were in your private office when it was committed?” questioned -Nick, intently regarding him. - -“Yes, certainly, as I have stated.” - -“In company with----” - -“I don’t know with whom,” Clayton interrupted. “I entered my office -about half past ten, intending to write several personal letters. I had -been there only a few moments when the door was opened, that leading -into the hall corridor, and an elderly, well-dressed man stepped in and -asked me to spare him a few minutes upon important business.” - -“A stranger?” - -“Yes. He mentioned his name, but I did not note it carefully and I -cannot now recall it.” - -“What did he want?” - -“I asked him of what his business consisted, and he said that he wanted -to confer with me about special hotel rates and accommodations for a -wealthy Persian prince, for whom he stated he was acting as an agent, -and who is coming to America incognito with his wife and a retinue of -servants.” - -“You then consented to talk with him?” - -“Yes. I suspected nothing, of course, and the proposition appealed to -me,” Clayton explained. “I invited him to be seated, and we entered into -a discussion on the matter. He appeared well informed and questioned me -along various lines bearing upon the subject, at the same time making -numerous entries in a notebook of the terms and other details that I -mentioned.” - -“I see.” - -“I anticipated that I might obtain a desirable and profitable patron,” -Clayton added. “Our interview lasted about twenty minutes, I should say, -and he then thanked me and departed, stating that he would see me -again.” - -“And then?” - -“I then returned to my desk and began my letters. Unable to recall the -precise address of the man I was about to write, however, I stepped into -the general office to get it from the bookkeeper. I then learned from -Vernon what had occurred, Nick, and that was the first I knew of it, and -all that I know of it.” - -“You attempted, I understand, to find the stranger with whom you had -been talking.” - -“Yes, naturally,” nodded Clayton. “When told so positively that I had -taken the jewel cases, it quickly occurred to me that I might find it -necessary to establish an alibi. The stranger is the only person who can -corroborate my assertions. I rushed out of the office to find him, -therefore, but he had disappeared.” - -“That is unfortunate,” said Nick. “Not that I personally doubt your -statements, Clayton, but because his corroboration of them would dispel -misgivings from the minds of others, some quite closely associated with -you.” - -“I realize that, Nick, most keenly,” Clayton said gravely. - -“It seems utterly incredible to me, nevertheless, that Mr. Clayton has -misrepresented anything, or is capable of such a crime,” Doctor Guelpa -remarked, quite forcibly. “I really will never believe it.” - -“Thank you, doctor,” Clayton said quickly, bowing. - -“Describe the man with whom you talked, Clayton,” Nick directed. - -“He is an ordinary type of man, Nick, apparently about sixty years old. -He has dark hair and a full beard, sprinkled with gray. He is quite tall -and of rather slender build. He talked and appeared like a gentleman.” - -“He wore a full beard, did he?” - -“Yes.” - -“It’s ten to one, then, that he was disguised.” - -Doctor Guelpa laughed audibly. - -“I hope you don’t imply, Mr. Carter, that one in every ten men that wear -a full beard is in disguise,” said he jestingly. “I have, as you see, -quite a profuse growth of whiskers.” - -“Not at all, doctor,” Nick replied, smiling. “Under the circumstances -involved, however, I always distrust bearded men.” - -“Yes, yes, to be sure,” nodded the physician. “I appreciate the point, -of course.” - -“Can you recall in the stranger, Clayton, as you now remember him, any -characteristic in voice, figure, or manner of speech, resembling that of -either of the masked men whom you encountered three months ago?” Nick -inquired. - -“I cannot say that I do, Nick.” - -“Well, one fact is obvious,” said the detective. “If you are not -mentally wrong, Clayton, and I see no indications of it, and if your -statements are true, of which I personally have not the slightest doubt, -this crime was committed by a man closely resembling----” - -Nick was interrupted by a quick, insistent knock on the hall door. - -Mademoiselle Falloni’s maid, who then was standing near by, hastened to -open it. - -Madame Escobar uttered a cry, with countenance lighting, and started up -from her chair. - -“Courage!” she cried, addressing Mademoiselle Falloni. “Some one brings -news--good news, perhaps! Courage, Helena!” - -Instead, however, a stately woman in black swept into the room, a -remarkably handsome woman in the fifties, but whose hair was prematurely -gray, and the gravity of whose refined, almost classical face denoted -that her life had not been one of all sunshine. She was fashionably clad -and in street attire. - -Clayton sprang up to meet her, crying impulsively: - -“My mother! I did not dream it was you.” - -The woman stopped short, gazing at him with wide eyes and an expression -of dread on her white face. - -“What is this I hear, Chester?” she cried, as if oblivious to the -presence of others. “Tell me quickly. Tell me quickly, my son! You -suspected of crime, of----” - -“No, no; nothing of the kind,” Clayton hurriedly cried, both hands -uplifted. “A crime has been committed, but I know nothing about it. The -criminal was a man so like me that----” - -Clayton caught his breath and stopped short. - -The woman had reeled as if struck a blow, and every vestige of color had -left her face. - -“Like you!” she echoed, gasping. “So like you that--that----” - -Doctor Guelpa started toward her. - -“Careful, madame!” he cried, with hands outstretched. “Be calm, or you -will----” - -His warning came too late. - -The woman’s eyes suddenly rolled upward. Her arms dropped lax at each -side. Before any observer could reach her, she fell unconscious upon the -floor, as ghastly as if the hand of death had suddenly claimed her. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -HOW NICK SIZED IT UP. - - -Nick Carter entered his Madison Avenue residence at four o’clock that -afternoon and hurried into his library, in which Chick Carter and Patsy -Garvan were awaiting him. - -Their investigations in the Hotel Westgate had ended abruptly -temporarily some time before. They had been productive of no more than -has appeared. No additional clews were discovered. No trace of the -stolen jewel cases had been found, nor any evidence or testimony -obtained pointing to the identity of the thief, aside from that -involving Chester Clayton, the one most important man in the house, and -the only one, in fact, or a perfect counterfeit of him, could so have -obtained the jewel cases from the hotel vault. - -Numerous persons had been found who had seen him in the hotel office and -corridor, nevertheless, or positively testified thereto; but none who -had seen the stranger he described, and on whom alone he could depend to -corroborate his statements and establish his innocence. - -As a result of all this, both Mademoiselle Falloni and Madame Escobar -had insisted that Clayton must be arrested, which was reluctantly done -by Detective Webber, despite the objections of Nick Carter and his -refusal to comply with the insistent demands of the famous vocalists. - -The mission from which Nick was returning at four o’clock, however, -appeared in his first remark. - -“Well, I got him out,” he said, while removing his coat and hat. - -“On bail?” Chick tersely questioned. - -“Yes. I had to put up some argument, however, and his bondsmen a cool -thirty thousand dollars,” said Nick, laughing a bit grimly. “I promised -Judge Sadler that I would find the real crooks and recover the jewels, -or, rather, I predicted it, and it now is up to us to make good.” - -“Make good, chief, is right,” declared Patsy. “I’m on nettles to get at -it, for fair, if I only knew where and how to begin.” - -“The way will open,” Nick replied confidently. - -“What’s your big idea, chief?” - -“This job was done by some one living in the hotel.” - -“Do you really think so?” - -“I’m sure of it. No outsider could have accomplished it. It was done too -quickly. The entire trick was turned in twenty minutes.” - -“That’s right, too,” nodded Patsy. - -“Nor could an outsider have got away with both jewel cases, taken -separately, without being seen by some one in the house. The crook is a -guest in the hotel, so are probably his confederates.” - -“Do you think the stranger who talked with Clayton had a hand in the -job?” Chick asked. - -“Undoubtedly. His part was to detain Clayton in his private office until -the rascal who impersonated Clayton could turn the trick.” - -“But, by Jove, it seems incredible that Clayton could have been -impersonated,” Chick said doubtfully. “It’s not easy to counterfeit a -smooth-shaved man of his type. Especially under such circumstances. He -got by at least a dozen persons who are well acquainted with Clayton. -Besides, Vernon noticed his garments, his necktie, and his carbuncle -pin. By Jove, it seems incredible.” - -Nick emphasized his reply by thumping his desk with his knuckles. - -“Clayton either is guilty, or he is not,” said he. “I feel sure he is -not. If I am right, and I’m going to bank the limit on it, he was -impersonated by some one. You must admit that.” - -“Certainly,” Chick allowed. “That goes without saying.” - -“It is confirmed, moreover, by what occurred three months ago.” - -“Clayton’s abduction?” - -“Yes.” - -“How do you now size it up?” - -“It’s as plain as twice two,” said Nick. “That job was pulled off only -to pave the way for this one. Clayton was abducted to be studied, that -his voice, manner, facial expressions, every outside detail of him, in -fact, might be perfectly imitated. You remember, Chick, that he sensed -the frequent and stealthy espionage of some person whom he did not see.” - -“Yes, indeed, I remember.” - -“That unknown spy, take it from me, was the crook who to-day -impersonated Clayton,” Nick added. - -“Well, possibly.” - -“Bear in mind, too, that Clayton was deprived of his outside clothing -during the entire three days of his mysterious captivity. His pin was -duplicated in the meantime, and a suit of clothing precisely matching -his was obtained. I learned, when I questioned him privately after his -mother was revived and the circumstances explained to her, that he -to-day had on the very suit he wore at the time of his abduction.” - -“By Jove, that is quite significant,” Chick admitted. - -“Gee whiz! it’s more than that, Chick,” cried Patsy. “It’s almost -convincing.” - -“That’s precisely what it is, Patsy,” said Nick. “Since then, no doubt, -the rascals have obtained other suits like those worn by Clayton, rather -than depend upon his wearing that particular one at the time when it was -necessary to commit the robbery. He probably wore it to-day by chance. -The coincidence, nevertheless, is no less significant on that account.” - -“Not an atom less, chief, surely.” - -“Do you think, then, that they had this jewel robbery in view when they -abducted Clayton?” Chick asked. - -“I certainly do,” Nick replied. “Mademoiselle Falloni’s jewels have a -world-wide reputation. They have been the sensation of Europe. She -invariably wears them when singing _Cleopatra_. Her engagement in New -York at this time was announced months ago, also the fact that a suite -in the Westgate had been retained for her. All of these details were -literally handed to the crooks by the newspapers, enabling them to -definitely plan this robbery.” - -“Well, all that does seem quite reasonable,” Chick nodded. - -“Let’s go a step farther, then,” Nick continued. “Having thus paved the -way for the crime, what was the most natural step for the crooks to have -taken, or at least the one who was to impersonate Clayton?” - -“You say.” - -“Obviously, Chick, it would have been to take quarters in the hotel, -seeking apartments convenient for the job and pretending to be a -reputable person. Not only could Clayton’s daily habits in the house -then be observed, but suspicion after the crime would also be averted.” - -“Why so?” - -“Because old residents in a hotel are seldom suspected under such -circumstances. Recent guests are the ones who incur distrust.” - -“That also is true, Nick.” - -“Furthermore, no doubt, the crooks have reasoned that no connection -would be suspected between this crime and the abduction episodes of more -than three months ago.” - -“Nor would it have been, Nick, if Clayton had not mentioned the strange -circumstances to us.” - -“Possibly not. Nothing definite, at all events, would have been deduced -from them,” said Nick. - -“Gee! it strikes me, chief, that we ought to derive some advantage from -all this,” said Patsy. - -“I think that we can.” - -“What’s your scheme?” - -“I want you, Patsy, to return to the Westgate in disguise,” said Nick. -“Get next to Vernon, the head clerk, and confide your identity to him.” - -“And then?” - -“Then learn from him what persons now in the house have been permanent -guests for the past three months, or since a week or two earlier, having -arrived there about the time of Clayton’s abduction.” - -“I see the point, chief,” Patsy quickly nodded. - -“There probably are not many who have been there precisely that length -of time, and the books will readily supply the information. Get a list -of them from Vernon, and then proceed to look them up on the quiet. Sift -out who cannot be reasonably suspected. Well-known persons, those of -recognized integrity, any whose apartments are badly suited for such a -job--there are many ways by which you can eliminate those not reasonably -to be distrusted.” - -“I’ve got you, chief, dead to rights.” - -“We may discover by this eliminating process some who seriously warrant -suspicion,” Nick added. “You then may go a step farther, Patsy, and see -what you can learn about them.” - -“Trust me for that, chief. I’ll get all that’s coming to me,” declared -Patsy confidently. - -“You may report in person, or by telephone.” - -“That will depend on what’s doing. May I act on my own judgment?” - -“If sure you are right.” - -“That’s good enough for me, chief. Shall I leave at once?” - -“Presently.” - -“By Jove, there’s one point, Nick, that I cannot get over,” insisted -Chick, who had been deep in thought for several moments. “It won’t run, -grapple it how I will.” - -“What point is that, Chick?” Nick inquired. - -“The extraordinary likeness of the thief and Clayton. I know of no man, -not excluding yourself, who is so clever in the art of making up as to -counterfeit a smooth-shaved, clean-cut face like that of Chester -Clayton. That one point, which is inconsistent with the theory you have -formed, is still in my crop. I can’t swallow it.” - -“I admit the difficulty,” said Nick, smiling a bit oddly. “I think -there is one person, however, who could enlighten us a little on that -point, if so inclined.” - -“Whom do you mean?” - -“Clayton’s mother--Mrs. Julia Clayton.” - -“Why do you think so?” - -“For two reasons,” said Nick. “First, because of something she said when -she entered Mademoiselle Falloni’s suite immediately after learning -about the robbery. I already have told you the circumstances.” - -“But not what she said, Nick.” - -“In reply to an assertion by Clayton that the robbery had been committed -by some man so like him as to escape detection, she cried with a gasp, -catching up only two words--‘like you! So like you that--that’--and -there she collapsed, Chick, unable to finish the response she had in -mind, and down she crashed upon the floor in a dead faint.” - -“And you deduce from that?” Chick questioned. - -“Merely that Mrs. Julia Clayton knows of some man who bears a very close -likeness to her son.” - -“By Jove, there may be something in that.” - -“It listens good to me, all right,” put in Patsy. - -“But what did she say, Nick, when she revived?” - -“That is where my second reason comes in,” said Nick. “She did not -volunteer to say anything about it, nor to explain her sudden collapse. -She listened to Clayton’s statement of the circumstances, and appeared -to feel relieved, but not a word of explanation came from her.” - -“That was a bit strange, indeed.” - -“I think Doctor Guelpa noticed it, also, for I detected a look of -surprise in his eyes.” - -“Why didn’t you question Mrs. Clayton?” - -“The time was not favorable,” said Nick. “She was not in a mood to have -answered personal questions. I saw that plainly enough, Chick, and I -decided to defer interrogating her. I preferred, moreover to see her -alone.” - -“You intend doing so, then?” - -“Surely.” - -“When?” - -“This evening. I shall call at her home on Washington Heights. I think I -may find her alone.” - -“In that case----” - -“In that case, Chick, she will tell me what she had on her mind this -morning, or I’ll know the reason why,” Nick interrupted, with ominous -emphasis, while he arose from his swivel chair. “Go ahead, Patsy, along -the lines I have directed. We’ll start this ball rolling.” - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -PATSY STRIKES A SNAG. - - -Patsy Garvan never did things by halves. Soon after six o’clock that -evening a dapper young man of remarkably inoffensive aspect, barring a -somewhat fierce upward twist of his mustache, which was also remarkable -in that it could be quickly transferred to his vest pocket--soon after -six o’clock this dapper young man entered the Hotel Westgate and -sauntered to the office inclosure. - -Though it was a busy hour of the day and the subordinate clerks actively -engaged, Patsy quickly found an opportunity to speak to Vernon, to whom -he said quietly: - -“Keep that same expression on your face, old top. A look of surprise -might be seen by some gink whom we least suspect. I’m Garvan, Nick -Carter’s assistant. Invite me into that cubbyhole back of the -bookkeeper’s desk. I want a bit of information from you.” - -Vernon instantly grasped the situation. He nodded, while smiling and -shaking hands with Patsy over the counter. - -“Step around to the end of the inclosure and I’ll let you in,” he -replied. - -Patsy did so and was admitted, taking a chair back of the bookkeeper’s -high desk, which concealed him from view of persons outside of the -inclosure. - -“By Jove, Garvan, I never would have recognized you,” Vernon then -laughed quietly. “What can I do for you?” - -Patsy told him without stating why he wanted the information, but -cautioned him to say nothing about the matter. - -“I can tell you in a very few minutes,” Vernon then said, more gravely. -“The ledger accounts will show just who has been here during the period -you mention, also just when they arrived. I will get it. We will look it -over together.” - -“Go ahead,” nodded Patsy. - -It required, as Vernon had said, only a few minutes to learn who had -been permanent guests in the hotel since the middle of August. The list -was not a long one. It contained only four names, in fact, though -thousands of transients had been coming and going during the same -interval. - -“Permanent guests did not begin to flock in, you see, until the end of -the summer season,” Vernon explained. - -“So much the better,” said Patsy. “This simplifies the matter. Two of -these guests are women. What do you know about them?” - -“Both are wealthy widows,” said Vernon. “One is seventy years old, and -she has only a maid companion. The other has two daughters, who occupy -the same suite with her. Her rooms are on the ninth floor.” - -“Any man living with either of them?” - -“No.” - -“I can safely drop them then, all right,” thought Patsy. “What about -this man Hanaford, of London?” - -“He is an American representative of several big English woolen mills,” -said Vernon. “I have known him for a long time. He is about sixty years -old and is a man of unquestionable integrity.” - -“What about the last, then?” questioned Patsy, assured as to the English -agent. “By Jove, he’s the man the chief saw in Mademoiselle Falloni’s -suite this morning--Doctor David Guelpa.” - -“Yes, the same,” nodded Vernon. “I am not so sure about him.” - -“What do you know about him?” - -“Very little. In fact, Garvan, nothing positively reliable. He came here -on the fifth of September, as you see, with a valet named John Draper.” - -“Two days after Clayton’s abduction and liberation,” thought Patsy, with -growing suspicion. - -“He stated that he was a Hungarian physician, a throat specialist, and -that he might remain indefinitely in New York,” Vernon continued. “He -took an expensive suite, which he since has occupied with his valet, and -a few days later he opened offices in Fifth Avenue, which he still -retains. I don’t know how much business he does, Garvan, but seems to -have plenty of money.” - -“Is a social man?” - -“Not at all. He is very reserved.” - -“What are his office hours? Is he usually here at eleven o’clock in the -morning?” asked Patsy, quick to suspect his presence in the hotel on -that particular morning. - -“No, not ordinarily,” said Vernon. “He may have been detained this -morning.” - -“It’s very obvious that he was here, all right,” Patsy said dryly. “Does -he have any mail?” - -“No, none. I suppose it goes to his office.” - -“Does he receive any visitors?” - -“Very few. There are two men who occasionally come here to see him.” - -“Do you know them?” - -“No.” - -“Where is his office?” - -“Less than ten minutes’ walk from here,” said Vernon. “I will look up -the number for you.” - -“Never mind it, Vernon, at present,” said Patsy, detaining him. “On what -floor is Doctor Guelpa’s suite?” - -“The fourth.” - -“Is it near the stairway, or elevator?” - -“It adjoins the side stairway.” - -“The one leading down to the corridor adjoining Clayton’s private -office?” - -“Yes.” - -“H’m, is that so?” Patsy muttered. “This looks very much as if I had hit -a promising trail.” - -“You mean----” - -“Never mind what I mean, Vernon, and be sure you don’t lisp a word of -this, nor look at Doctor Guelpa as if you had any distrust,” cautioned -Patsy. “Is his suite on the same floor as that of Mademoiselle Falloni?” - -“Yes, and in the same corridor.” - -“What’s the number?” - -Vernon glanced at a schedule on the bookkeeper’s desk and quickly -informed him, Patsy mentally retaining the number. - -“Have you seen Doctor Guelpa this evening?” he then inquired. - -“Yes. He went in to dinner just before you entered. It’s not time for -him to come out.” - -“Did Draper, the valet, come down with him?” - -“I’m not sure. I saw Draper in the office just before Doctor Guelpa -showed up, however, and he may be at dinner.” - -“I’ll mighty soon find out,” thought Patsy; then, aloud: “That’s all, -Vernon, and I’m vastly obliged. Mum’s the word, mind you.” - -“Trust me, Garvan,” nodded the clerk. - -Patsy thanked him again and departed. He had decided what course he -would shape. He knew that he could easily learn whether Doctor Guelpa, -or his valet, then was in the physician’s suite. - -“If both are absent, by Jove, I’ll have a look at his rooms,” he said to -himself. “They may contain something worth seeing. It may be more than a -coincidence, by gracious, that he was a Charley on the spot this morning -and contrived to be in mademoiselle’s suite so soon after the robbery. - -“He may, if my suspicions have feet to stand on, have been out to learn -what had been discovered, or was suspected, and what detectives were to -be employed. - -“This looks too good to me to be dropped without looking deeper, and -I’ll snatch this opportunity for a peep at that sawbones’ rooms before -I phone the chief. A throat specialist, eh? I’ll have him by the throat -sooner or later, if I find I’m on the right track.” - -Patsy was seeking the fourth floor while indulging in this hopeful train -of thought. He ignored the elevator and quickly mounted the several -stairways, and brought up at the door of Doctor Guelpa’s suite. - -It then was half past six, and many of the guests had gone down to -dinner. The long, luxuriously carpeted corridor was quiet and deserted, -lighted only with an incandescent lamp here and there. - -Patsy listened at the door for a moment. He could hear no sound from -within, nor detect any evidence of a light. - -“It’s a hundred to one the sawbones is out,” he muttered. “I can woolly -eye that valet, all right, if he is here. I’ll pretend I’ve got a bad -throat, trouble in my pipes, and that I want to consult his jags from -Hungary. He’ll be a wise gazabo, all right, if I can’t fool him.” - -Patsy was folding his handkerchief in the form of a bandage, which he -then fastened around his neck, turning up his coat collar, much as if -the advice and aid of a physician was really necessary. Putting on a -look of abject misery that would have deceived a clairvoyant, he then -knocked sharply on Doctor Guelpa’s door. - -It brought no response from within. - -Patsy listened intently, then knocked again, with the same negative -result. - -“Gee! that’s good enough for me,” he muttered. “It’s a cinch that both -are out, and it’s me for the inside. I’ll make this door look like -thirty cents.” - -Patsy had it unlocked and opened in less than thirty seconds, at all -events, and he then stepped into the entrance hall. A thick portière -across an inner door was closely drawn. The room beyond was in darkness. -Silence reigned in the gloomy suite. - -Closing the hall door, Patsy groped his way to the other and found an -electric switch key on the wall near the casing. He turned it and a -flood of light revealed a handsomely furnished parlor, also the partly -open doors of two adjoining bedrooms. - -He could see through one of them a broad bed, with other sleeping-room -furnishings, also two large trunks near one of the walls. - -A roll-top desk in the parlor caught his eye. The cover was raised, and -he turned in that direction. - -“I’ll see what that contains, for a starter,” thought Patsy. “’Twas very -good of him to leave it open. I’ll go through it like a shot through a -gun. The drawers first and then----” - -Then, on the contrary, the hurried search he had begun abruptly ended. - -The silence was broken by a threatening command from behind him, a voice -so curt and cold that no sane man would have ignored it. - -“Cut that! Sit down in the chair, or you’ll drop on the floor in a -condition you’ll not fancy.” - -Patsy, kneeling at the desk, one of the drawers of which he had pulled -open, swung round like a flash. - -A tall, smoothly shaved, black-eyed man had stepped noiselessly from one -of the bedrooms. There was murder in his eyes, also in his right hand. - -It held a revolver, aimed point-blank at the crouching detective. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -UNDER TRUE COLORS. - - -Patsy Garvan realized on the instant that he had been trapped; that he -was in wrong, as well as right; that the man who now held him up must -have suspected something threatening, and instead of responding to the -knock on the outer door, had quickly extinguished the light in the -parlor and then stepped into the bedroom to await developments. - -That, at least, was the way Patsy immediately sized it up. - -As quickly, too, recalling the bandage around his neck and his upturned -collar, he resorted to a subterfuge which he thought might serve his -purpose and prevent an exposure of his true identity and designs. - -Sharply eying the threatening intruder, therefore, whom he rightly -inferred was the absent physician’s valet, or more properly his -confederate, Patsy coolly answered: - -“Don’t get miffed, old chap, and go slow with that gun. It might go off -by chance, you know, and I don’t like the way it’s pointing. You’ve got -me all right, and I’m not fool enough to butt my head against a brick -wall.” - -Draper viewed him with a scornful curl of his thin lips. - -“Sit in that chair,” he repeated, revolver leveled. “Keep your hands on -its arms, too, or this gun will go off in the direction it’s -pointed--but not by chance.” - -“You wouldn’t kill a fellow in cold blood, would you?” asked Patsy, -obeying. - -“Yes, or hot blood. It would matter little to me.” - -“That would be foolish. You might be executed for murder.” - -“Not by a long chalk. A man may protect his property with a gun, or that -of his employer.” - -“So I’ve heard,” Patsy dryly allowed. - -“What do you want here?” - -“Anything I could get worth lifting.” - -“You mean that you came here to steal something?” - -“Don’t I look it? How else would you size it up?” - -“I asked for information.” - -“Well, I’m handing you straight goods,” said Patsy. “I’m in hard -sledding and in need of a lift, so I tried to get it without a formal -request. I’m not good at begging. Lemme go this time, will you? I’ll -never butt in here again.” - -“I’ll make sure of that,” retorted Draper, with ominous significance. - -Then he took a chair some six feet in front of Patsy, coolly sitting -down with the revolver still poised in his hand and ready for instant -use, if necessary. - -Patsy realized that he was up against a man of nerve, as well as a man -who would not shrink from bloodshed under the circumstances. That he was -confronted by one of the gang that had abducted Clayton, moreover, and -one of the gang that had stolen the jewel cases that morning, he now had -not a doubt. - -There was a brief period of silence, finally broken by Patsy. - -“Well, what are you waiting for?” he asked. “Get busy. Do something.” - -“I’m doing it.” - -“Doing what?” - -“Watching you.” - -“You’ll not let me go, then?” - -“Not so you’ll notice it.” - -“But we can’t remain sitting here like two catsup bottles on a shelf,” -growled Patsy, with affected resentment. “Let’s come to some kind of an -understanding. What are you going to do about it?” - -“I haven’t decided,” said Draper, constantly alert. “You’re a thief, are -you?” - -“That’s what,” Patsy insisted. “I admit it, but it’s only because I’m -out of a job. I’m a high-grade thief, too, as you can see by my looks.” - -“Yes, you look it, all right.” - -“I’ve got a room here in the house, and I pass for a decent fellow. Call -up the hotel clerk, Vernon, if you doubt it, and he’ll tell you.” - -“There isn’t any need of calling him,” Draper sneered. “I’m waiting for -some one else.” - -“Who is that?” asked Patsy, pretending ignorance. - -“You’ll soon see.” - -“When? How soon?” - -“When he returns from dinner. He’ll say what must be done with you. He’s -the big finger in this--ah, there he is. Don’t stir, or you’ll be a dead -one.” - -Draper’s gaze was fixed more sharply upon his helpless hearer, and his -revolver again was leveled. - -Patsy took him on his word and did not stir. - -A key had been thrust into the hall door. The door swung open while -Draper was speaking, and Doctor Guelpa strode through the narrow -entrance hall. - -He started slightly upon seeing the two motionless men, but if he felt -any great surprise, or any consternation, he did not betray it. - -“Who is this fellow, Draper?” he inquired, pausing. - -“He says he’s a thief,” replied Draper, without turning an eye from -Patsy. - -“You caught him stealing?” - -“It looks so.” - -“How did it happen?” - -“I was lying on my bed before lighting up, and I heard a knock on the -door,” Draper proceeded to explain. “I did not bother to answer it, nor -a second one, and then I heard him sneak in here. He switched on the -light and began to search your desk. Then I held him up--and here he -is.” - -Doctor Guelpa came a little nearer and glared down at Patsy. - -Patsy gave him stare for stare. - -“Keep him covered, Draper,” said the physician, with ominous quietude. -“So you’re a thief, are you?” - -“What’s the use of denying it?” asked Patsy. “I’ve told that gink with a -gun that----” - -“Never mind what you told him,” Guelpa interrupted, more sharply. “Shoot -him instantly, Draper, if he stirs. We can say we caught him committing -a robbery.” - -“That’s what I told him,” grinned Draper. - -“Very likely he’s the scamp who stole Falloni’s diamonds,” added Guelpa, -more sharply watching Patsy’s face. - -It underwent no change evincing his identity and designs. - -“I’d be a fall guy, for fair, if I came in here after getting away with -that batch of jewels,” he said derisively. - -“Keep him covered, Draper,” Guelpa repeated. “I’ll find out who he is.” - -He came nearer to Patsy, then suddenly seized one side of his mustache -and jerked it from his lip. - -Patsy uttered an involuntary cry of pain. - -Guelpa gazed at him more sharply, with countenance turning as dark as a -thundercloud, while his teeth met with a sudden, sharp snap. - -“Ah, I see!” he exclaimed, half in his throat. “You’re one of those -detectives whom I saw this morning. You’re that fellow Garvan.” - -Patsy realized that he had nothing to gain by denying it. He laughed -indifferently and replied: - -“I guess that calls the turn, doctor.” - -“I know it does, not guess it,” snapped Guelpa. “What do you want here?” - -“I wanted to see you.” - -“For what?” - -“To find out whether you have learned anything more about the robbery, -or whether you have any suspicion.” - -“Did Nick Carter send you?” - -“No. I came on my own hook.” - -“You lie, you whelp,” Guelpa now said harshly. “You act only under his -instructions. There can be only one reason for your coming here and -breaking into my apartments. Carter thinks I know something about the -robbery, or suspects me of having committed it. Isn’t that right?” - -“Right for him to suspect you?” asked Patsy, undaunted by the blaze that -had arisen in the physician’s eyes. - -“Don’t josh me, Garvan, nor try to evade me,” Guelpa fiercely -threatened. “If you do, I’ll have your infernal life. Tell me--does -Carter think I committed that robbery?” - -“How can I tell?” retorted Patsy defiantly. “I’m not a mind reader.” - -“You know what he suspects.” - -“No, I don’t,” Patsy insisted. “There is one thing I do know, however.” - -“What is that?” - -“That if he suspects you, Doctor Guelpa, he never so much as mentioned -it to me.” - -“Is that true?” - -“True as gospel,” said Patsy; and it was. - -Doctor Guelpa hesitated for a moment, while Draper put in with an -assurance evincing his relations with the other: - -“Don’t swallow that, doc, not on your life. It’s all bunk. He would not -be here, not sneaking in as I caught him, if Carter had not sent him.” - -“Do you think so?” - -“I think it’s a cinch.” - -Doctor Guelpa gazed again at Patsy. His ferocity had vanished, but there -now was a gleam in his eyes that was thrice more threatening. He paused -for a moment with brows darkly knit, then said abruptly: - -“You may be right, Draper. Watch the whelp. I’ll fix him.” - -“I’ll watch him, all right,” returned Draper, with a warning scowl. - -“Gee! I’m in wrong now, for fair,” thought Patsy, thoroughly disgusted -with the turn of the situation. “Fix me, eh? I wonder what’s coming. The -infernal rascal has something up his sleeve. Infernal rascal is right, -too, and I wish I had phoned the chief before butting in here.” - -Doctor Guelpa had approached a wall cabinet directly behind Patsy, who -could not then see what the physician was doing. - -He had opened the cabinet and taken from it a small vial and graduated -glasses, into which he was pouring a quantity of brown fluid. - -Having obtained the desired quantity, he transferred it from the glass, -into a hypodermic syringe, the needle of which he carefully inspected. - -Patsy waited a bit apprehensive all the while. - -Draper watched him as a cat watches a mouse. - -Doctor Guelpa closed the cabinet, then turned again toward Patsy. - -“I don’t feel sure you are telling the truth, Garvan,” he said, with -affected uncertainty. “If I did, I would be willing to meet you halfway -and discuss this matter----” - -“But I’m giving it to you straight,” Patsy insisted, interrupting. “Nick -doesn’t suspect you.” - -“Doesn’t he?” - -“He does not, Doctor Guelpa, on the level. He has not even thought of -you in connection with the robbery.” - -“Before he does, then, I’ll make sure to get him and put him away. That -can be done--as easily as this.” - -Standing with the syringe concealed in one hand, Guelpa suddenly bowed -and threw his arm around Patsy’s head, at the same time thrust the -needle into his neck. - -Patsy vented a growl and began to struggle, despite that Draper clapped -the muzzle of the revolver against his breast. - -The injection so quickly administered was a powerful one, however, and -acted instantly. It sent a tingling sensation through Patsy’s veins. His -strength deserted him, seeming to fly out through his toes and fingers. -He tried to shout for help, but his tongue was palsied. Only a hollow -gurgle came from his twitching lips. - -Then, for it was all over in ten seconds, the light vanished, Guelpa’s -half-smothered imprecations turned to silence, the grasp of merciless -hands no longer could be felt, and Patsy lapsed into the realm of utter -oblivion and was lowered to the floor, as limp and ghastly as if life -had left him. - -Doctor Guelpa straightened up and laid aside the syringe, while Draper -thrust the revolver into his pocket. - -“Easily done, doc, is right,” he said, grinning. “This was the only way. -The meddlesome rat must have picked up a thread of some kind that led -him here. There was nothing for us but to dispose of him before he could -hand his information to others.” - -“He meant it, nevertheless, when he said that Carter does not suspect -me,” Doctor Guelpa declared. “We must get him, then, before he does -suspect. It afterward might be too late.” - -“That’s right, too,” Draper agreed quickly. “But can it be done?” - -“It must be done,” Guelpa coolly insisted. “I know how and will turn the -trick.” - -“And then?” - -“This game that we have been playing must be continued. We must throttle -suspicion where we find it, and choke the cursed weed before it can -spread.” - -“That’s the stuff, all right.” - -“We must maintain our position and good standing here, Draper, or it -will be a case of bolt for us, with the police of the world out to get -us. That won’t do at all, Draper, not at all. We must bluff suspicion -to a standstill, or down it with a club.” - -“I’m with you all the while,” said Draper approvingly. “I reckon we can -make good. But what’s to be done with this pup?” - -“Pull out the empty trunk,” said Guelpa. “We’ll crowd him into it and -ship him to my office, then lug it into Biddle’s quarters. Ring for a -porter to lend you a hand with the trunk to the elevator. I’ll remark to -him, or to any other inquisitive observer, that it takes too much room -in my suite.” - -“That can be done in ten minutes,” nodded Draper, hastening to bring one -of the large trunks from the adjoining room. - -Doctor Guelpa smoothed his slightly ruffled coat and bestowed a kick -upon the senseless form of the detective. - -“Dead easy,” said he, replying. “Cram him into it and lock it. I’ll get -Scoville on the phone, in the meantime, and have him come round here -with a wagon.” - -Patsy Garvan heard none of this. - -He was lying with his face upturned in the bright electric light, a face -as ghastly as that of a corpse. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -A LEAF FROM THE PAST. - - -“Wait here. I may send you instructions.” - -These were Nick Carter’s brief instructions to Chick, in fact, when he -left his Madison Avenue residence at seven o’clock that evening, to seek -an interview with the woman who, he suspected, could supply him with a -clew to the identity of Chester Clayton’s double, if not with positive -information concerning him. - -Danny Maloney, the detective’s chauffeur, was waiting at the curbing -with his touring car. Nick gave him the necessary directions, resulting -in his alighting half an hour later in front of the attractive home of -Mrs. Julia Clayton, who had fainted so suddenly in Mademoiselle -Falloni’s suite that morning. - -“You may wait, Danny,” said Nick. “I don’t think I shall be very long.” - -“Long, or short, chief, you’ll find me here,” replied Danny. - -Nick strode up the gravel walk to the front door and rang the bell. -Lights in the hall and one in the side rooms denoted that Mrs. Clayton -had returned. - -“I hope I may find her alone, or that Chester Clayton is not here,” Nick -said to himself, while waiting. “She seemed averse this morning to -talking of the matter in his presence. That’s one reason why I suspected -that she----” - -Nick’s train of thought was broken by a shadow on the figured-glass -panel of the door, which was opened by a pretty servant girl in a white -apron and starched cap. - -“I wish to see Mrs. Clayton,” Nick informed her. - -“Mrs. Clayton is not at home this evening, sir,” said the girl, a bit -oddly. - -“Not at home?” - -“No, sir.” - -Nick eyed her more sharply. - -“Do you mean that she is not here, or not seeing callers?” he inquired -pleasantly. - -“Well, sir, she----” - -The girl faltered, blushing confusedly, and Nick added kindly: - -“I understand. Take my card to her, please, and say that it is very -important that I should see her. I think she will consent.” - -The girl obeyed, returning in a very few moments. - -“Walk in, sir,” she then said, smiling again. “Mrs. Clayton will see you -in the library. This way, sir.” - -Nick was ushered into the attractively furnished room, where he found -Mrs. Julia Clayton still gazing gravely at the card he had sent in. -There was something irresistibly impressive about her, a mingling of -dignity and secret sadness that the detective’s sensitive nature was -quick to appreciate, even while conscious of her remarkable beauty and -womanly grace. - -She arose immediately to greet him, extending her hand and saying: - -“If I had known it was you, Mr. Carter, my servant would have been told -not to keep you waiting. I have had a most distressing day, and I did -not feel that I could see callers. I assure you, nevertheless, that I am -very glad to see you.” - -“Thank you,” Nick replied, bowing. - -“For I am deeply indebted to you,” Mrs. Clayton added feelingly. -“Chester telephoned to me after his arrest and liberation on bail. It is -very kind of you to feel such an interest in him, and to use your -influence in his behalf.” - -“He is my client,” smiled Nick, taking a chair she placed for him. “I -couldn’t do less than I have done.” - -“But in spite of such adverse circumstances, Mr. Carter, and the fact -that so many think him guilty,” she replied. “You are one man in a -hundred. I know that he is innocent, of course, but I don’t know how I -ever can repay you for your faith in him.” - -“I will tell you how, Mrs. Clayton,” Nick said, more gravely. - -“Tell me how?” - -“Yes.” - -“What do you mean? - -“Let me begin by--pardon!” Nick broke off abruptly. “Will you permit me -to close the door?” - -“Yes, of course, if----” - -Nick arose when she faltered, quietly closing it, then resumed his seat. - -“Servants are not always trustworthy, you know, and discretion is always -advisable,” he remarked. “Now, Mrs. Clayton, I will tell you what I -mean.” - -“Well, sir?” - -“Let me begin, however, by stating that anything you say to me will be -received in strict and inviolable confidence. Not even to save your son -from conviction and a prison sentence, Mrs. Clayton, would I, without -your permission, reveal any facts that you may disclose. You must be -frank with me, therefore, and tell me what I may find it absolutely -necessary to know, in order to save him.” - -Mrs. Clayton had turned very pale and was trembling visibly. - -“This is a strange beginning, Mr. Carter,” she replied. “What do you -expect me to disclose?” - -“Only the truth, Mrs. Clayton.” - -“About what?” - -“Your son’s double,” said Nick. “The man who so resembles Chester -Clayton that he could perpetrate the crime committed this morning. Who -is this man? What do you know about him?” - -The woman’s fine face hardened perceptibly. She appeared to nerve -herself to meet a threatening situation, to oppose with tooth and nail, -if necessary, the disclosures the detective evidently was determined to -evoke. She drew up a little in her chair, replying more coldly: - -“That seems quite impossible, Mr. Carter. What put that into your head?” - -“You did,” said Nick quietly. - -“I did?” - -“Yes.” - -“Impossible! When?” - -“When you met your son this morning, Mrs. Clayton, and fainted upon -learning that the robbery was committed by a man so like him that--but -you could not say more,” Nick broke off. “You fell to the floor in a -faint.” - -“That is true, I admit, Mr. Carter----” - -“And you also must admit, Mrs. Clayton, that the circumstances and your -own words permit of no other interpretation,” Nick interrupted, more -impressively. - -“But----” - -“Oh, I am not going to argue that point with you,” Nick again insisted. -“I am going to make you see the matter just as it stands. Your son’s -reputation and liberty are at stake. So is my reputation as a detective. -Only the truth can save him. Unless you are willing to aid me by -disclosing it, I shall have no alternative but to drop the case entirely -and let others try to pull him out of the fire. If they fail----” - -“Wait! You have said enough, Mr. Carter.” - -Nick would not have done what he threatened, but he detected in the -changed face of the woman that the threat would prove effective. - -For Mrs. Clayton, though ghastly pale and with trembling lips as gray as -ashes, took on a look of sudden determination, that of a woman who felt -herself driven to the wall. - -“I will tell you the truth,” she added, more firmly. - -“You may safely do so,” Nick now said kindly. “It will go no further.” - -“I shrink from it. Mr. Carter, chiefly for the sake of one man.” - -“Your son?” - -“Yes. I implore you to keep the truth from him, if that will be -possible. I have kept it from him all his life.” - -“I will endeavor to do so,” Nick assured her. - -“I will tell you with few words, then, my unfortunate history,” Mrs. -Clayton said, more calmly. “I was an English girl and lived in an -outskirt of London. I was married when I was nineteen to a man I did not -love, but who so had involved my father in financial difficulties that I -became his wife in order to save my father from bankruptcy and -dishonor.” - -“I can appreciate the sacrifice,” Nick said gravely. - -“My father died within a year,” Mrs. Clayton continued. “He and I were -all that were left of our family. Three months later, Mr. Carter, I -became the mother of twin boys.” - -“Ah,” said Nick, “that is what I have suspected! Do not distress -yourself by telling me too many details, Mrs. Clayton,” he added -considerately. “The essential facts are all that I want.” - -“They may be briefly told, Mr. Carter,” she said, with a grateful look -at him. “My husband was a bad man, much worse than I even dreamed of -when I married him. I discovered his despicable character much too -late.” - -“Was he a criminal?” - -“Yes.” - -“May I know his name?” - -“Why not? He has been dead many years. His name was Gideon Margate.” - -Nick had heard of him, a notorious English crook, who had died in a -German prison something like ten years before. He considerately -suppressed the fact that he knew of the man, however, and said kindly: - -“You are in no degree culpable, Mrs. Clayton, for the mistakes and -misdeeds of your husband. What more can you tell me?” - -“Two years after the birth of my children, Mr. Carter, my husband -disappeared, taking with him one of my sons,” she replied. “I never saw -Gideon Margate again.” - -“Nor the child?” - -“The child was named David. I will not undertake to tell you what I -suffered from losing him, from my inability to trace him, and from my -terrible fear of the life to which he would be bred.” - -“That of a criminal?” - -“Yes.” - -“And your fears came true?” - -“Terribly so.” - -“Tell me the bare facts?” - -“I took my maiden name, Julia Clayton, about a year after my husband -disappeared,” she continued. “I suspected that he was in America, and in -the hope of recovering my other son, we came here, and since have lived -here. I have been in England only once since then, and that was twelve -years ago. I then saw in a London newspaper the picture of a criminal -who had just been sent to prison for five years for burglary.” - -“You recognized him?” - -“Yes.” - -“Your son?” - -“David Margate--yes.” - -“Did you see him personally, or do anything about it?” - -“Neither,” said Mrs. Clayton sadly. “What could I do? The die was cast. -My husband had shaped the boy’s life. That he should become a criminal -after arriving at the age of judgment and discretion showed only too -plainly that he had inherited Gideon Margate’s criminal traits.” - -“I agree with you,” said Nick. - -“Thank God!” Mrs. Clayton fervently added; “he left me the child who had -inherited my own character. Chester Clayton is above knavery and crime.” - -“I agree with you again,” said Nick. “Now, Mrs. Clayton, let’s come to -the points bearing upon his case. Does Chester know anything about his -father and twin brother?” - -“No, no, indeed,” she said quickly. “He knows only that his father is -dead. He does not so much as dream that he has a brother. I could not -cloud his life, mar his whole future, perhaps, by acknowledging David -Margate to be my son, when I learned that he was in an English prison. -It would, have been an injustice to Chester Clayton. The sacrifice would -have been too great.” - -“That is true,” Nick agreed. “Have you ever seen David Margate or heard -anything concerning him since he was convicted in London?” - -“No, I have not.” - -“You have no reason to believe that he is in New York, then, aside from -the resemblance of the criminal who committed this jewel robbery.” - -“That is my only reason. You now can appreciate why I was overcome and -fainted when told of the circumstances this morning,” said Mrs. Clayton. - -“That is perfectly plain,” Nick nodded. “I think, too, that we now have -covered all of the ground that is material at this time. I will be -governed by what you have confided to me, and will do all that I can to -prevent the facts from leaking out. You may depend upon that.” - -“I have no words with which to thank you, Mr. Carter.” - -“Don’t try,” said Nick, smiling. “Assuming that the criminal in this -case is Chester’s twin brother, and despite that he ran across him and -observed the resemblance that made the crime possible, I think it is -quite probable that he does not suspect the relationship. Your husband -very likely never told him about you and Chester.” - -“Do you really think so, Mr. Carter?” - -“I do,” said Nick. “Men do not often reveal their own baseness, not even -to a son. I doubt very much that David Margate knows anything about his -early history.” - -“I hope so, I am sure, for Chester’s sake.” - -“Do you know under what name he was convicted in London?” - -“I do not. I cannot recall it.” - -“Was it a fictitious name?” - -“Yes.” - -“I will try to learn something definite about him,” said Nick. “I -appreciate your confidence in me, too, and I will rigidly respect it. -That is all I can say to you this evening about the case, but I will -leave no stone unturned to bring it to a desirable termination, -particularly in so far as you and Chester Clayton are concerned.” - -Mrs. Clayton again thanked him feelingly, then remarked: - -“I was somewhat surprised late this afternoon by a call from another man -whom I saw in Mademoiselle Falloni’s suite this morning.” - -“There was only one other man, except Chester,” said Nick. “You refer to -Doctor Guelpa.” - -“Yes.” - -“He called here to see you?” - -“Yes, about five o’clock.” - -“Did he say for what reason?” - -“He said that he was riding out this way and thought he would call and -see if I had entirely recovered. He did all he could to revive me this -morning, you know.” - -Nick’s brows knit a little closer. - -“Yes, I remember,” he replied. “Did he say anything about the crime, or -concerning Clayton?” - -“No, nothing of any consequence, Mr. Carter. He mentioned you, however, -just before he left.” - -“Mentioned me, eh? What did he say?” - -“Only that you were very kind to stand up for Clayton under such -circumstances. He asked, too, whether you had been out here to see me.” - -“H’m, is that so?” thought Nick. “I was right, then, in thinking that he -deduced something from this woman’s impulsive words and her sudden -collapse. He suspected that I did, also, and he evidently fears that I -may learn something from her. Where there is cause for fear, there are -grounds for suspicion. He may be the very man, the very hotel guest whom -I----” - -Nick ended his shrewd deductions by glancing quickly around the room. He -discovered what he wanted--a telephone on a stand in one corner. - -“Before I go, Mrs. Clayton, may I trouble you for a glass of water,” he -requested carelessly. - -“Why, yes, certainly,” she replied, rising. “I will get it for you.” - -“Thank you.” - -Nick watched her sweep gracefully from the room. - -Then, quickly stepping to the telephone, he hooded the mouth with his -hand and called up his library. Within half a minute he had Chick on the -wire, but he spoke only these words: - -“No time for particulars. Go to the Westgate. Watch Doctor Guelpa.” - -The answer came instantly: - -“I’ve got you.” - -Nick resumed his seat just as Mrs. Clayton was returning through the -hall. - -“It will be better, much better, if she never knows,” he said to -himself. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -NICK WALKS INTO A NET. - - -It was half past eight that evening when Nick Carter, returning from his -interview with Mrs. Clayton, arrived at his Madison Avenue residence. - -A taxicab was waiting at the curbing in front of the house, and Nick was -momentarily surprised when he entered his library. Its only occupant was -the visitor who had come in the taxi. - -“Why, good evening, Clayton,” he said genially. “I was not expecting a -call from you so quickly. I am pleased to see you, all the same.” - -One thought that had instantly arisen in Nick’s mind, however, in view -of his talk with Mrs. Clayton, was not reflected in his face. The -thought was: - -“Which one is this? Chester Clayton--or his crook double?” - -Clayton, as he certainly appeared to be, replied without hesitation, -without any observably intent scrutiny of the detective’s face. - -“I have a reason for calling, Nick,” said he. “Your butler told me that -you would probably return during the evening, so I requested the -privilege of waiting here.” - -“Quite right, Clayton, I’m sure.” - -“He could not tell me, however, where you had gone,” Clayton added, in a -way covertly inviting the detective to do so. - -Nick did not do so, however, but he was quick to observe the insinuating -remark and draw a natural conclusion, one that he made doubly sure did -not appear in his face. - -“Well, that’s not strange, Clayton,” he replied, laughing. “I had no -definite destination when I went out. Besides, I seldom tell my butler -where I am going, unless my mission relates to a case in which my -assistants are employed. Then I usually leave word for them, as I would -have done this evening, had that been the case.” - -A momentary gleam, the sinister light of secret relief and satisfaction, -showed like a fleeting flash in the depths of his visitor’s eyes. - -“It does not matter in the least, Nick, now that you have returned,” he -said quickly. - -“What’s on your mind?” asked Nick, taking a chair. “You said you have a -reason for coming here.” - -“So I have,” said Clayton, more earnestly. “I think I have a clew to the -crook who got the jewels.” - -“By Jove, is that so?” - -“The chance is worth taking.” - -“What do you mean? What kind of a clew?” asked Nick, with manifest -interest. - -“It came from a woman friend of mine early this evening,” Clayton -proceeded to explain. “She talked with me by telephone. I have not seen -her.” - -“Who is she? What is her name?” - -“Grace Alcott. She’s an old flame, a girl with whom I have always been -quite friendly. I know her to be reliable.” - -“What did she tell you?” Nick inquired. - -“She said she had information for me bearing upon the robbery. She -intimated, in fact, that she could put me in a way to nail the crook and -recover the stolen jewels.” - -“Well, well, that would be going some,” declared Nick, apparently -becoming more enthusiastic. “Have you any faith in her statements, -Clayton?” - -“Enough to send me here, Nick,” was the reply. “One other reason is the -fact that she lives just around the corner from the business quarters of -a guest in the hotel.” - -“I see the point. What guest?” - -“The physician you met this morning.” - -“Doctor Guelpa.” - -“Did she mention his name, or hint at him?” - -“No, nothing of that kind.” - -“Why did you not go to see her, then, instead of coming here?” Nick -inquired. - -“For two reasons,” Clayton now explained, more hurriedly. “One, because -you are handling this case and I feared that I might interfere with you -if I butted in and did something of which you were ignorant.” - -“I see.” - -“Another, because Grace said I had better bring a detective with me, as -he would more quickly appreciate the points she wanted to lay before me, -and that he also would know what should be done.” - -“She wanted you to call on her, then?” - -“Yes, indeed, as soon as possible,” nodded Clayton. “I grabbed a taxi -and rushed down here, therefore, hoping that you would go with me. I -thought that was the best thing for me to do.” - -“I guess it was,” Nick quickly agreed. - -“Will you go?” - -“Yes, yes, Clayton, by all means,” assented the detective. “There may be -something in this. We cannot afford to leave any stone unturned. The -sooner we go, too, the better.” - -“Good enough. My taxi is outside.” - -“Come on, then, and we’ll be off. I’ll not even wait to tell my butler -where I am going,” Nick added, with a laugh, as they hurried out of his -office. - -Clayton joined with him in the laugh and followed him into the taxicab. -He evidently had given the driver his instructions, for he made no move -to do so. He remarked, as they settled back on the seat and rode away: - -“I hope this won’t prove to be a wild-goose chase, Nick, after all.” - -“It ought not, surely,” Nick replied. “You say you know the girl to be -reliable?” - -“I have always found her so.” - -“How old is she?” - -“About thirty.” - -“Old enough, then, to have sense and judgment.” - -“So I think,” nodded Clayton. “That’s why I feel hopeful.” - -“She lives back of Doctor Guelpa’s business establishment, you said?” - -“Yes, directly back of it, Nick.” - -“How long have you known the physician?” Nick questioned, and he -instantly detected the readiness with which his companion took up the -subject. - -“Oh, for months, Nick,” was the reply. - -“He appears to be all right, doesn’t he?” - -“Yes, yes, surely! Otherwise, I would not have him in my hotel.” - -“I presume so. It may be, nevertheless, that Miss Alcott has discovered -something about him of a derogatory nature, her home being so near his -business office.” - -“Possibly,” Clayton allowed; then, with a furtive glance at Nick’s -inscrutable face: “He appeared all right to you this morning, didn’t -he?” - -“Yes, indeed,” Nick declared. “He appeared like a perfect gentleman.” - -“You saw no reason to suspect him?” - -“Far from it, Clayton.” - -“I guess Miss Alcott’s clew, if she really has any, relates to some one -else, or something else,” Clayton now said, with less obvious interest. - -“Most likely,” Nick agreed. - -“We shall very soon find out.” - -“True.” - -“Have you formed any other suspicions since I last saw you?” - -“No, none whatever,” said Nick. “I still am in the dark.” - -Clayton did not add to his inquiries. - -It was nine o’clock when the taxicab drew up in front of the house to -which the chauffeur had been directed. He at once was dismissed by -Clayton, who was the first to alight, and he then led the way up the -steps and rang the bell. - -It was answered by a well-built, powerful man in evening dress, whose -dark features were only faintly discernible in the dimly lighted hall. - -“Good evening, Scoville,” said Clayton. “I think Miss Alcott is -expecting me.” - -“Oh, it is you, Mr. Clayton,” was the reply. “Yes, sir, she is. Walk in, -gentlemen, and come this way.” - -“The butler, Nick,” Clayton whispered, taking the detective’s arm. - -Nick nodded indifferently and allowed himself to be conducted through -the hall. - -Scoville turned into the nearest room, a front parlor, the others -following. - -“One moment, gentlemen,” said he. “I’ll switch on the light.” - -He did so while speaking, and Nick Carter then saw into what sort of a -net he had walked--but entirely voluntarily. - -Three men with ready revolvers were confronting him. - -Scoville instantly drew another. - -Clayton, or Clayton’s double, quickly closed the door through which -they had entered, then turned and said sharply: - -“Now, Carter, throw up your hands! If you show fight, you’ll go down and -out on the instant.” - -Nick raised his hands and backed against the wall. He appeared to be -greatly surprised and equally resentful. - -“What’s the meaning of this, Clayton?” he demanded; and the mention of -the name brought laughs from the others. - -They were Draper, Biddle, and Scoville, who had been mentioned by Doctor -Guelpa in his apartments, also a third man who had had a hand in the -robbery, one Joe Gaines. - -“Oh, I’m not Clayton, Carter,” was the derisive reply. “I’m the man who -looks like him. I’m the crook who got away with the sparks.” - -“Good heavens!” Nick exclaimed, in seemingly increased amazement. “Is it -possible?” - -“You bet it’s possible!” cried Guelpa, with a sinister nod. “It’s more -than that; it’s a fact. When I run across a man who looks so near like -me that I can see no difference, I’m the sort of a covey who makes the -most of it. You didn’t suspect Doctor Guelpa, eh? Carter, we’ve put it -all over you. I’m Guelpa.” - -“You?” questioned Nick, still as if astonished. - -“That’s what, Carter, as sure as you’re a foot high,” the rascal -declared, with an exultant leer. “Come out a little from that wall. Keep -your meat hooks up, mind you, or you’ll have no further use for them. -Either of these fellows would kill you at the first sign of violence. I -shall do so a little later, at all events, so I don’t mind putting you -wise to the whole business.” - -“That’s very good of you,” Nick now replied coldly. - -“Slip in behind him, Biddle, and get his weapons,” Guelpa commanded. -“Fish out his darbies, also, and snap them on his wrists. Egad! could -one have more satisfaction than in doing a dick with his own bracelets?” - -“Not much more, doc!” cried Draper, laughing. - -“Dukes behind him, Biddle. I told you I’d get him, Draper,” Guelpa -triumphantly added, while two of the crooks hastened to secure the -detective. - -“You made good, all right.” - -“He isn’t in my class.” - -“Few dicks are, doc, as far as that goes.” - -“Why, he told me on the way here that he didn’t suspect me,” cried -Guelpa derisively. “We’ve got him dead to rights, then. He can have -handed nothing to others about me.” - -“Surely not.” - -“And we’ll make dead sure that he never will. I suppose you wonder, -Carter, what we are doing in this house.” - -“Well, not seriously,” said Nick, with mocking indifference. - -“It’s back of my business quarters, just as I told you.” - -“You told the truth once, then, at least,” Nick said dryly. - -“Yes, sure,” cried Guelpa, laughing again. “This makes a good retreat -for us in case of danger. That throat-specialist gag is all phoney, a -colossal bluff. I had to pose in some impressive character. We can slip -from my office into this house, or the reverse, in two shakes of a -lamb’s tail. We’re the bunch who got the sparks, Carter, all right, and -now we’ve got you.” - -“Yes, that’s very obvious,” said Nick, coolly taking a chair. “Since you -are so communicative, Guelpa, if that’s your name, suppose you tell me -how you got away with the jewel cases so quickly.” - -“Why not?” leered Guelpa, while the others laughed as if they enjoyed -the detective’s blindness. “Scoville was the stranger who held Clayton -in his private office. My room is on the same floor with Clayton’s. I’ve -got garments like his. Never mind how and when I got them.” - -“No, it’s not material,” Nick allowed dryly. - -“Not at all, Carter, of course. I merely stole down the stairs, clad -like Clayton, and got the first casket. Biddle, disguised as a laundress -and provided with a big, covered basket, relieved me of it in the -corridor, and got away with it in the basket.” - -“Ah, I see,” Nick nodded. - -“I then got the other and whisked it up to my rooms,” added Guelpa. -“Then I hurried into my own clothing and my Hungarian hair and whiskers, -and I was right on the spot when wanted by lovely Mademoiselle Falloni -when she fainted. Could anything have been easier? Why, it was like -money sent from home.” - -“It does appear so, Guelpa, I admit.” - -“I wonder you have not thought of it, Carter,” grinned the rascal. - -Nick’s eyes took on a more threatening gleam. He now felt sure that this -man did not suspect his relationship with Clayton, or know anything -definite about his early life, as he already had predicted to Mrs. -Clayton. - -“Oh, I have thought of it, Guelpa,” he said, a bit curtly. “Don’t think -me quite a lunkhead. I knew the crook had garments and a pin like -Clayton’s. I know also when the scarfpin was duplicated. It was when you -rascals abducted Clayton three months ago.” - -Guelpa’s face changed like a flash. - -“How did you learn that?” he cried. - -“I have methods of my own for obtaining information.” - -“You have, eh?” - -“And that’s not all I know, Guelpa,” Nick added. - -“Is that so?” - -“Far from it.” - -“Tell me, then, as I told you.” - -Guelpa spoke with a scornful sneer, but looks of apprehension had arisen -to the faces of his four confederates. - -“Why not, then, as you said?” Nick retorted. “Don’t imagine for a -moment, Guelpa, that you lured me blindly into a net. I knew the instant -I saw you in my office this evening that you were not Chester Clayton.” - -“Rot!” cried Guelpa derisively. “If you knew that, why did you walk into -the trap?” - -“So as to get a line on your confederates, these fellows,” said Nick -curtly. - -“I don’t believe it.” - -“I will tell you, then, something that you will believe,” said Nick. - -“What is that?” - -“That your name is not Guelpa. Your true name is David Margate. You are -an English crook. You were convicted of burglary twelve years ago, and -sent up for five years. You are----” - -“Stop!” cried Margate, ghastly white. “How did you learn that? How do -you know----” - -“Oh, I know that you rascals will not get away with this job,” Nick -sternly interrupted. “I’ll soon have you landed where----” - -Guelpa, or Margate, broke in upon him with a terrible oath. - -“You will, eh?” he fiercely added. “You’ll find you are wrong. You are -depending upon that fellow, Garvan, but we’ve got him, also, as we’ve -got you. See for yourself.” - -He flung aside the portière that hung across the open door of an -adjoining room, then in darkness. - -Plainly visible in the light shed through the doorway, however, sat -Patsy Garvan, bound and gagged and tied to a wooden chair. This was two -hours after he had been transferred from the hotel, and his recovery -from the drug Guelpa had injected. - -“And that’s not all,” Guelpa fiercely added. “Spring open that panel, -Biddle. Let him see--let him see for himself!” - -Biddle touched a hidden spring in the wainscoted wall, and a panel flew -open. - -In the space beyond sat--the two jewel caskets stolen from the Hotel -Westgate that morning. - -“We’ve not had time to open them, to whack up the swag,” Guelpa went on, -as if beside himself with fierce and bitter rage. “There will be time -enough for that. We’ve got Garvan and we’ve got you. I’ll send you to -the devil on the spot. I’ll give you a dose that will--oh, perdition, -Scoville, I’ve left it in my suite. I went out in such a hurry that I -forgot it. I must have it. It’s the only thing that will cause death and -defy detection. I must have it. I’ll go and get it. Watch me--watch both -till I return. And remember the signal--the signal! I’ll send both to -the devil. Wait till I return.” - -And Doctor Guelpa, after pouring forth these commands with a ferocity -that precluded interruption, turned and rushed like a madman out of the -house. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE MAN ON THE BED. - - -It was more than an hour previous to the episodes last described, when -Chick Carter responded to Nick’s brief instructions from Mrs. Clayton’s -residence, and then set out post-haste for the Hotel Westgate. - -He did not know, of course, why Nick had been led to suspect Guelpa, nor -anything about what Patsy had discovered and what had befallen him. That -Nick suspected Guelpa, however, and very seriously, Chick had not a -doubt. - -It was not eight o’clock when he approached the huge hotel, and purely -by a stroke of good luck, nearing a side entrance to the house, he -discovered the very man he was seeking. - -Doctor Guelpa had just emerged and was hurrying away. - -“By Jove, fortune favors me,” thought Chick, with a thrill of -satisfaction. “This is better than I could have hoped. There must be -something in the wind, or he would not be in such a hurry. If he gives -me the slip, however, I’ll eat my hat. I’d give something to know what -Nick has on him.” - -Chick knew, however, that he needed only to follow the directions given -him. - -With no great difficulty, he shadowed Guelpa to his office in Fifth -Avenue, a walk of about six minutes, and saw him enter the dark rooms, -those on the first floor of a remodeled house. - -Much to Chick’s surprise, however, after waiting and watching for -several minutes, no light appeared at either of the windows. - -“By gracious, that’s mighty strange,” he said to himself, then concealed -in an opposite doorway. “Is he remaining in there in darkness? What’s -his game, in that case, and why is he--great guns! there he is, now!” - -Doctor Guelpa had come hurrying around the near corner, and was -evidently returning to the hotel. - -Chick shadowed him again, but not without a quick survey of the opposite -house and the adjoining buildings. - -“I’ll swear he did not come out of that house,” he said to himself. -“There is no way of getting to a back entrance from the avenue. There -may be an alley leading in from the side street. Either that, or he went -through the first house around the corner. Later, by Jove, I may -discover which. The game seems to have just broken cover.” - -Chick followed Guelpa back to the hotel and saw him enter his suite. - -Not content with that, wondering what he might be doing, he crept to the -door and peered through the keyhole. - -The aperture, though limited, commanded a view of the parlor and the -bedroom directly beyond it. Both were brightly lighted--and Chick saw -enough to warrant all of the suspicions he had attributed to Nick. - -He saw the man within discarding his Guelpa disguise and transforming -himself into a counterfeit of Chester Clayton. - -“Thundering guns!” he said to himself. “This does settle it. But what’s -his next move?” - -Chick concealed himself to wait and see. - -Ten minutes later Guelpa stole down the side stairs and out of the -house. He was just in time to catch a passing taxicab. - -Chick reached the side door just in time, moreover, to hear Guelpa shout -his hurried directions to the chauffeur. - -“Great Scott!” he muttered, pausing. “To Nick’s residence! Why the -dickens is he going there? By Jove, I have it! He has discovered that -Nick suspects him and he now is out to get him. He reasons that he can -fool the old war horse and get by as Clayton. - -“I may be wrong, but I’ll wager that he will get well fooled himself. -It’s now a thousand to one that he went to some house near his office, -probably the one back of it, in order to make arrangements for holding -up the chief. By gracious, that’s good enough for me to take a chance -on. I’ll hike back there and await developments. There would be nothing -in nailing that rascal alone. If I am right, which seems more than -probable, we can get the whole gang by this other course.” - -Chick knew, of course, assuming that his theory was correct, that some -little time must elapse before Guelpa could return in company with Nick. -He did not hurry his investigation, therefore. - -He returned to Fifth Avenue and had another look at Doctor Guelpa’s -business quarters. - -They were in darkness, as before, with no sign of life within. - -“I’ll see what I can discover around the corner,” Chick said to himself. -“The rat went out that way, I’ll wager.” - -His investigations in that direction took him much longer. He could -find no way of getting to the rear of the house to which Nick was later -brought. It had, as a matter of fact, been boarded up by the rascals. - -Chick then went back and picked the lock of Guelpa’s door, entering and -seeking the rear exit. - -He then found that it led to the rear door of the other house. - -Chick arrived there just in time, moreover, to hear from the back area -the arrival of Nick and Guelpa, both of whose voices he immediately -recognized. - -“This does settle it,” he congratulated himself. “I’ll get in there and -hold up the whole gang. If I can get all of them under my guns--well, -there’ll be nothing more to it.” - -It took Chick some little time, however, to noiselessly force a rear -basement window. - -The scene in the front parlor was in rapid progress all the while. - -Chick got in unheard and was stealing up to the adjoining room, just as -Guelpa rushed out of the house. - -It was impossible to stop him, but Chick had heard enough to show him -the way. - -The four men in the front parlor then were in animated discussion of -what had been said. Thy had no thought of another intruder. The portière -masking the door of the rear room had fallen back into place. - -Chick crept into the room from the hall, and he then discovered Patsy -Garvan bound to the chair. He stole nearer and liberated him, then -slipped him one of his revolvers. - -Not a word passed between them. - -Ten seconds later, however, the portière was flung aside and both -detectives stepped into the room, with revolvers leveled. - -“No monkey business, gentlemen!” Chick now said sharply. “The first man -who moves will be a dead one! We’ll shoot to kill!” - -The threat was sufficient, or the guns. - -Only one of the rascals moved, save to throw up his hands. - -Scoville edged nearer the hall door, but stood with his back against it, -a position certainly not inviting suspicion. - -“Good work, Chick,” Nick said simply, after the crooks had been -handcuffed and he had been liberated. “It is about what I was -expecting.” - -“We’ve landed with both feet,” declared Patsy. “All we now want is the -master crook, the rat who jabbed that needle in my neck.” - -“We’ll get him, all right,” said Nick. “Get those jewel cases, Patsy, -and we’ll head for the hotel. You remain here, Chick, and hold up the -rascal if he returns. I’ll have policemen here on the quiet in a very -few moments. I’ll not risk losing the rascal by not following him.” - -“I’m with you, chief,” said Patsy. - -Three minutes later four policemen entered the house and took the crooks -in charge. - -Chick continued to wait for Guelpa. - -Nick Carter and Patsy entered the Westgate a few minutes later. The -first man they saw was Clayton, in the office inclosure. - -“Good God!” he cried excitedly, seeing the jewel cases. “You’ve got -them, Carter, you’ve got them! When and how----” - -Nick checked him with a gesture and placed the cases on the counter. - -“Put them in the vault, Vernon, and lock it!” he commanded, turning to -the thunderstruck head clerk. “You come with me, Clayton, and be quick -about it.” - -Clayton leaped over the counter and Nick ran to the elevator. - -“I’ll show you your double, Clayton, unless I am much mistaken,” said -he, as the car sped up to the fourth floor. - -“My double?” gasped Clayton. - -“That’s what. A fellow who looks like you. There’s nothing more to it.” - -“This way, chief,” Patsy whispered, as they left the car. “I know his -door. Gee whiz! I ought to.” - -They arrived at it in a moment. - -A light was burning in the suite. - -Patsy quietly unlocked the door with his picklock, and the three men -rushed through the parlor and into the bedroom. - -An unconscious man was lying on the bed. - -“Guelpa himself!” cried Patsy. “By thunder, chief, he has committed -suicide.” - -“If he has,” replied Nick, “he will have saved himself a prison term. -Ring for Detective Webber. We’ll give the rascal in his charge.” - -“I can’t wait--I can’t wait for that,” cried Clayton, in a frenzy of -joy. “I must telephone to my mother. I must telephone to Mademoiselle -Falloni. The joyous news must not be delayed. I’ll return in a couple of -minutes, Carter. My God! how can I ever repay you?” - -“Let him go and spread the news,” laughed Nick, as Patsy turned from the -house telephone. “The crooks are booked to get theirs. As for this -rascal and his--ah, here is Webber now. Look after this scoundrel, -Webber, and put him where he belongs. No, no; don’t ask me to discuss -the case at present. We have made good, all right, and that enough for -now. As for us, Patsy, we’ll compare notes in my library, in company -with Chick.” - -THE END. - -You will read more of the mysterious David Margate in “The Blue Veil; -or, Nick Carter’s Torn Trail,” which is the title of the long, complete -story you will find in the next issue, No. 158, of the NICK CARTER -STORIES, out September 18th. You will also find an installment of the -corking serial now running, together with several other interesting -articles. - - -A BAD BOY. - -For precocity, irrepressibility, and too often depravity, “Young -America” in these days can hardly be surpassed. Here is a story told me -the other day: A little chap, not eight years old, whose parents live in -one of the fashionable parts of New York, went last week to pay a visit -to his grandmother. While there, in rummaging through his grandmother’s -secretaire, he came across a half dollar, and shortly afterward he was -on his way downstairs to invest his “find.” He expended the whole amount -in candy, and, upon his return, was enjoying it in the privacy of his -room, when his grandmother put in an appearance. - -“Why, Robby,” she exclaimed, taking in the situation, “where on earth -did you get all that candy?” - -“Bought it,” was the reply. - -“But where did you get the money?” - -“A gentleman I met in the street gave it to me.” - -“Robby, I don’t believe you are telling me the truth,” said the old lady -slowly, looking her grandson in the eyes. “In fact, I am sure you are -telling me a falsehood. A little bird tells me that you are.” - -The boy looked at her with a somewhat incredulous expression. - -“Now, come, Robby, tell me where you got that money?” - -“Why don’t you ask your dickey bird?” was the ready reply of the bad -boy. - - - - -SNAPSHOT ARTILLERY. - -By BERTRAM LEBHAR. - - (This interesting story was commenced in No. 153 of NICK CARTER - STORIES. Back numbers can always be obtained from your news dealer - or the publishers.) - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -A NIGHT’S WORK. - - -Patrolman John Hicks, of the Oldham police force, was a fairly vigilant -guardian of the law--in the daytime. But when his turn came to do night -duty, which happened regularly every second week, he always felt drowsy, -no matter how much sleep he took by day to prepare himself for his -nocturnal vigil. - -“Which goes to show that night work ain’t the right thing for a man,” -Mr. Hicks was in the habit of complaining to his intimate friend. “It’s -against nature. The daytime was made for man to work in, and the night -for man to sleep in. Even the dumb beasts and the birds close their eyes -at night. When you try to reverse this order of things, Nature -rebels--and you can’t blame her.” - -Being anxious to offend Nature as little as possible, Officer Hicks had -cultivated the habit of going to sleep standing up. So proficient had he -become in this difficult art that he could lean against a lamp-post and -slumber as soundly as if he were in his own comfortable bed at home. - -The night which Hawley had selected for his photographic exposé of -police conditions in Oldham happened to be one of the nights on which -Patrolman Hicks was on duty. - -He had selected the most comfortable lamp-post on his beat, and was -propped against it, enjoying a deep sleep, when a big, black touring -car, containing three men, came along. - -The automobile was moving almost noiselessly, but even if the man at the -wheel had honked his horn as it drew near, it wouldn’t have caused any -discomfort to Officer Hicks. He was too sound a sleeper to be bothered -by the ordinary sounds of street traffic. - -In his somnolent moments, Mr. Hicks did not present a very picturesque -appearance. Only a slender man can lean against a lamp-post and look -graceful; and Officer Hicks was almost as fat as Chief of Police -Hodgins. Moreover, like the latter, he had the habit of sleeping with -his mouth partly open. - -But in spite of its lack of picturesqueness, his appearance caused -great delight to the three men in the black touring car. - -That vehicle came to a stop a few feet away from the lamp-post, and one -of the men leaned over the side of the tonneau, and pointed a camera -toward the slumbering bluecoat. - -Then there came a vivid flash of light, a dull, booming sound, and a -chuckle of triumph from the man with the camera. - -Possibly the dull, booming sound and the chuckle of the man would not -have aroused Patrolman Hicks by themselves, but the vivid flash of light -hitting him squarely on the eyelids brought him to his senses in an -instant. - -Springing to an erect position, he stared in ludicrous astonishment at -the automobile in front of him. - -He was about to step into the roadway and ask the three men what had -happened, but before he could carry out his intention the automobile had -started off at great speed. - -“Oh, well,” Officer Hicks muttered to himself, “I guess it was nothing -serious. Probably a fuse blew out, or something of that sort. Them -automobiles is queer things.” - -With this reflection, he once more settled himself comfortably against -the lamp-post, and resumed his interrupted slumbers. - -“That was a cinch!” said the Camera Chap to his two companions, as the -touring car sped through the quiet street. “Didn’t I tell you, Fred, -that there wouldn’t be much danger?” - -“Well, we can’t expect that they’ll all be as easy as that one,” Carroll -replied. “Ye gods! Just imagine the lives and property of the people of -Oldham being intrusted to the care of a lazy, good-for-nothing shirker -like that! I hope you got a good picture of him, Frank. It certainly -ought to make the taxpayers of Oldham sit up and take notice.” - -“At all events, it ought to make ’em buy _Bulletins_,” the Camera Chap -chuckled. “I bet you a new hat, Fred, that your paper’s circulation will -be more than doubled as a result of this crusade. - -“But, say,” he exclaimed, as the touring car swung around a corner, -“aren’t we on another cop’s beat now? If so, hadn’t we better slow down, -and hunt for him?” - -This remark was addressed to Parsons, the _Bulletin’s_ police reporter, -who was running the car. Parsons had been “covering police” for some -years, and knew the majority of the members of the force by name, and -what beat they were supposed to patrol. This expert knowledge made him a -valuable member of the expedition. As he was aware also of the habits -and weaknesses of many of the bluecoats, he was able to lead the Camera -Chap to those who were most likely to be caught shirking their duty. - -The reporter glanced quickly up and down both sides of the street, and -reduced the speed of the touring car. - -“This is ‘Red’ Horgan’s beat,” he announced. “And I guess I can tell you -where he is right now. Horgan is the most notorious shirker in the -department, and when he’s on night duty he generally spends most of the -time in ‘Dutch Louie’s’ place on Allendale Street. I have no doubt that -you’ll find him there now playing pinochle in the back room.” - -The Camera Chap’s face lighted up at this information. “Playing -pinochle, eh?” he exclaimed eagerly. “That ought to make a bully -snapshot. Is it possible for a stranger to get into this Dutch Louie’s -place at this hour?” - -“Sure!” Parsons answered, with a laugh. “He runs his place wide open all -night. Anybody can walk in and order a drink right at the bar, no matter -what the hour. Dutch Louie is a politician, as well as a liquor dealer, -and he doesn’t have to worry about his joint being pulled for violation -of the excise laws.” - -“Good!” exclaimed Hawley joyously. “I was afraid I might have difficulty -in getting into the place. Is this Allendale Street we’re on now?” - -“No; it’s the next corner. Louie’s place is halfway down the block,” the -reporter informed him. - -“Then I think it would be a good idea to stop the car right here,” said -the Camera Chap. “I hardly think it would be a wise plan to ride right -up to the door. The sound of our motor might scare Officer Horgan into -dropping his pinochle hand.” - -“No need to be afraid of that,” declared Parsons, with a laugh. “It -would take more than an automobile to faze Red Horgan. He’s a son-in-law -of one of the biggest politicians in the county, and has such a strong -pull that I guess he wouldn’t care if Chief Hodgins himself came into -the back room of the café and caught him playing cards when he ought to -be patrolling his beat. I’ve often heard him boast that there isn’t a -superior officer in the department that isn’t afraid to call him down, -no matter what he does--that if any of them dared to get gay with him, -he’d mighty soon show them where they got off at.” - -“Must be a pleasant sort of chap,” said Hawley, with an ironical smile. -“It’ll be a genuine pleasure to publish his picture, eh, Fred?” - -“But surely you’ve no intention of going into Dutch Louie’s place to get -it?” Carroll protested anxiously. “That’s out of the question.” - -The Camera Chap looked astonished. “Why out of the question? Didn’t you -just hear Parsons say that anybody can get into the place?” - -“Oh, yes, I haven’t any doubt that you could get in, all right; but if -you were rash enough to try to take a flash-light picture inside I -rather guess you’d have some difficulty in getting out. Dutch Louie’s -few patrons are a pretty tough bunch. They’d probably kick in a few of -your ribs before Officer Horgan placed you under arrest for taking -photographs without a license. Better pass this one up, old man, and -look for something a trifle easier.” - -But Hawley had no intention of foregoing this opportunity to procure a -snapshot of Mr. Red Horgan in the rôle of a pinochle player. He realized -that there were difficulties in the way of his getting the picture, but -he was determined to make the attempt. - -“It’ll be a gem!” he declared enthusiastically. “If I can get it and it -turns out all right, Fred, just imagine what a hit it will make with the -readers of the _Bulletin_. Stop the car, please, Parsons. Here we are at -the corner. I’m going to get out.” - -Carroll clutched at his coat to restrain him, but the Camera Chap -laughingly shook off his hold, and got out of the automobile. - -“You fellows wait here for me,” he said. “Keep the power turned on, -Parsons, and have the car all ready to start as soon as I come out. -It’s possible that we may have to make a hurried get-away, in which case -it would be inconvenient to have to wait until you cranked up.” - -He was stepping to the sidewalk, when Carroll called to him: - -“Hold on, there! If you’re such a stubborn idiot that you can’t be -dissuaded from doing this crazy thing, I’m going with you. Do you think -I’m going to stay quietly in this car while you’re inside that joint, -being killed? I guess not! The chances are a hundred to one that -there’ll be a rough-house as soon as you fire the flash,” he said. “I -don’t suppose that even with me to help you we’ll stand much chance -against that crowd; but, at all events, two’ll be better than one.” - -“Three, you mean, Mr. Carroll,” exclaimed Parsons. “If there’s any -fighting to be done, I’m in on it, too, of course. I guess nobody’ll -steal the machine while we’re away.” - -The _Bulletin’s_ police reporter was such a frail-looking chap that -Hawley could scarcely repress a smile at these words, although he -greatly appreciated the spirit which prompted them. - -“Much obliged to both of you,” the Camera Chap said; “but, really, I -prefer to go alone. I think I can easily convince you that it will be a -much better plan for you fellows to wait here in the machine.” - -“I won’t hear of any such arrangement,” Carroll declared firmly. “If you -go, I’m going, too; and if Parsons wants to come along, he’s welcome. -The more the merrier. You may have your faults, Frank, old man, but I -like you too well to be willing to sit passively here while you’re being -beaten to a pulp around the corner.” - -“I’m not going to be beaten to a pulp,” the Camera Chap protested, with -a laugh. “I intend to use strategy. If I go alone, I feel confident I’ll -be able to get away with it; but if you fellows insist upon butting in, -you’ll surely queer me. I’m a stranger to that bunch at Dutch Louie’s, -but you fellows are not. Both of you would be recognized as soon as you -entered the place, and I’d have no chance to take the picture.” - -Carroll had to admit that there was a lot in this argument, and, after a -little more demurring, he grudgingly consented to let Hawley have his -way in the matter. - -“But I’m not going to stay here in the car,” he declared. “I’m going to -hang around outside that joint, and keep my ears wide open. As soon as I -hear the sound of a rough-house I’m coming in, for I’ll know then that, -in spite of all your resourcefulness and ingenuity, strategy has -failed.” - -“All right,” assented Hawley, with a laugh. “If strategy fails, I’ll be -glad to have the help of those big fists of yours. But I feel confident -there isn’t going to be any violence.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -A BIT OF STRATEGY. - - -There was no mistaking Dutch Louie’s place, for it was the only -restaurant on the block; moreover, the name of the proprietor was -emblazoned in white letters on a flaring red glass sign. - -As Parsons had predicted, the place was wide open. Although it was -nearly two a. m., and the State excise law forbids business of the kind -after one o’clock, the two waiters were very busy serving drinks. - -The Camera Chap walked through the front room, and entered the room -beyond. He pretended to be under the influence of liquor--walked like a -fellow who has all the sail he can carry. It had occurred to him that -this pretense might help his game along, although he had not as yet hit -upon any definite plan for the taking of the picture. - -In a corner of this rear room several men were seated at a round table, -playing cards. One of these players wore a blue coat with brass buttons, -and his hair was the color of carrots. By these tokens, Hawley knew that -he was in the presence of Patrolman Red Horgan. - -The card players were not the only occupants of the room. A dozen men -were scattered among the small round tables, sipping their beverages or -gulping them down, and paying but scant attention to the pinochle game -in progress in the corner. - -They were, as Carroll had said, a rough-looking crowd. One had only to -glance at their faces to realize that anybody who came into the place -looking for trouble would not have to go out unsatisfied. - -Hawley, spying an unoccupied table some yards away from the group of -pinochle players, made his way toward it, still keeping up the pretense -of being tipsy. He seated himself so that he faced the policeman and his -cronies, and, summoning a waiter, ordered something. Nobody paid much -attention to him. Patrolman Horgan’s gaze happened to wander in his -direction, but the glance was merely a cursory one. The policeman was -too busy “melding a hundred aces” to have much interest in the -harmless-looking, apparently very “tired” young man who had just come -in. - -In another corner of the room was an automatic piano which was operated -on a nickel-in-the-slot basis. Somebody dropped a coin into this -machine, and it started to thrum a lively waltz strain. - -This music--or near music--appeared to have a peculiar effect upon the -Camera Chap. Although the tune was a rousing one, it evidently served as -a lullaby in his case, for his eyelids began to droop, and his head -rolled from side to side in a ludicrous manner. When the waiter came -with what he had ordered, he was sprawled across the table, apparently -fast asleep. - -The waiter shook him roughly by the shoulder. “Here, young feller,” he -growled, “here’s your drink. Wake up! This ain’t no lodging house. If -you want to sleep, you’d better hire a room upstairs.” - -The Camera Chap roused himself as though by a great effort, and stared -stupidly at the glass which had been set before him. As soon as the -waiter had gone, he lapsed once more into slumber. - -“That fellow over there seems to be dead to the world,” remarked -Patrolman Horgan, with a chuckle. “Must be worse than he looked when he -came in. Whose deal is it now?” - -Needless to say, Hawley was by no means as “dead to the world” as his -appearance seemed to indicate. Seldom, in fact, had his brain been more -active than it was at this minute. As he sprawled across the table, with -his eyes closed, and his head resting on his outstretched arms, he was -summoning all his ingenuity in an effort to solve the perplexing problem -which confronted him. - -“Everything is dead easy except the firing of the flash-light powder,” -he mused. “I can get a dandy focus from here without moving an inch, -and, with my camera held beneath the table, Red Horgan wouldn’t even -suspect that his picture had been taken--if it weren’t for that telltale -flash. That’s the great difficulty. How the deuce am I going to fire the -flash and get away with it?” - -And then an inspiration came to him, and he began to groan. Usually he -was not in the habit of groaning when he had an inspiration, but he had -a good reason for doing so now. It was part of the plan which had just -suggested itself to his resourceful mind. So he proceeded to groan loud -enough to be heard by the group of pinochle players in the corner. - -The waiter, hearing these sounds of anguish, once more stepped up to -him, and shook him roughly by the shoulder. “Hey, young feller, brace -up!” he growled. “What’s the matter with you, anyway? Are you sick, or -is it just an ordinary jag?” - -Hawley sat up, and clapped both hands to his head, one to each temple. -The waiter and the others whose attention had been attracted by his -groans could see that his face was distorted as though with great pain. - -“Oh, my poor head!” groaned the Camera Chap. “It feels as though it -would split in two. For the love of Pete, friend, if there’s any bromo -seltzer in the house, bring me some in a hurry.” - -“Sure, we keep it,” said the man. “Just keep quiet a minute, young -feller, and I’ll fix up a dose.” - -The Camera Chap was not surprised to hear that the drug was procurable -in Dutch Louie’s place, for he had noticed a sign on the wall as he came -in, announcing that it was on sale. - -“Never mind about fixing it up,” he said to the waiter. “Just bring me -the bottle, a glass, and some water. I’ll do the mixing myself.” - -Patrolman Horgan beckoned to the waiter as the latter was going out to -fill the order. - -“What’s the matter with that guy over there, Harry?” he inquired. - -“Oh, nothin’ serious; just a headache.” - -“Is that all?” said the patrolman, in a disgusted tone. “From the way he -was groaning just now, I thought he was dyin’. Come on, fellers; it’s my -meld.” - -When the waiter returned with a tray containing a small blue bottle, an -empty glass, and a second glass filled with water, Hawley had an -unlighted cigar between his teeth, but no one seemed to think it odd for -a sick man to indulge in tobacco. - -The Camera Chap was not in the habit of smoking cigars, but he always -carried a couple in his vest pocket, and he had reasons of his own for -transferring this one from his pocket to his mouth. - -He took the bottle of bromo seltzer, and emptied some of the white -powder into the empty glass. Then he turned to the waiter. - -“On second thought, I guess I’ll mix it with vichy instead of plain -water,” he said; “I like it better that way.” - -The waiter shrugged his shoulders, and went out to get a siphon of -vichy. As soon as he had gone, the Camera Chap became very busy, but -unobtrusively so. - -His left hand stole into the side pocket of his coat, and when it came -out again the closed fist held a quantity of silvery powder. He poised -this hand over the glass containing the bromo seltzer, and the silvery -powder fell on top of the white powder. - -Then his right hand went into his coat pocket, and he stealthily drew -out a small pocket camera, which he held beneath the table. - -When he had done these things, he gazed anxiously around the room, -apprehensive that his actions might have been observed; but, to his -great relief, he found that nobody was paying any attention to him. - -Then, as he saw the waiter approaching with the siphon of vichy in his -hand, Hawley struck a match, held the flame for a moment to the cigar in -his mouth, then threw the match away. - -Apparently he was careless, for the match, still alight, instead of -falling to the floor, dropped into the glass of bromo seltzer in front -of him. - -Instantly there was a blinding flash which momentarily illuminated the -entire room, and a dull explosion. The siphon of seltzer fell from the -startled bartender’s hand; several men gave vent to shouts of alarm; -chairs and tables went crashing to the floor. - -Patrolman Horgan jumped excitedly to his feet, and advanced toward the -Camera Chap, who still sat at the table, surrounded by a haze of smoke -which was slowly lifting toward the ceiling. - -“Great guns! What was that?” the policeman demanded. - -Hawley, his face a picture of bewilderment, pointed to the bartender. - -“That’s what I’d like to know,” he said indignantly. “What was it? Maybe -this man can tell us. I asked for bromo seltzer.” - -“It was marked bromo seltzer on the bottle,” the astonished waiter -declared. “And I took it from the regular stock.” - -He turned to the Camera Chap with sudden suspicion. “But what did you -throw that lighted match into it for, anyway, young feller? That was a -queer thing to do.” - -“The match dropped in,” Hawley explained. “Didn’t you see that I was -lighting my cigar? But this is the first time I’ve ever heard of bromo -seltzer being an explosive. Mighty queer it should go off like that. -It’s a mercy somebody wasn’t killed.” - -“Oh, I guess the stuff ain’t dangerous,” remarked Patrolman Horgan, -glancing around the room. “Nobody is even hurted, so there’s nothing to -get excited about. Let this be a lesson to you, young feller, to be more -careful in future where you throw lighted matches.” - -“I certainly shall,” the Camera Chap assured him meekly. - -“I thought at first it was somebody takin’ one of them flash-light -pictures,” said Patrolman Horgan. “It looked something like the kind of -light them camera people use.” - -Hawley nodded. “Yes, it did look a little like that, didn’t it?” he -agreed. “I once saw a man take a flash-light picture, and, now that you -speak of it, there was some resemblance.” - -A few minutes later Fred Carroll, pacing nervously up and down the -sidewalk outside Dutch Louie’s place, was astonished and much relieved -to see the Camera Chap step out of the doorway, a smile on his face, and -with no signs of having sustained bodily injuries. - -“Thank goodness, you’ve come at last!” the proprietor of the _Bulletin_ -exclaimed. “I was just thinking of coming in for you. I heard the flash -go off a few minutes ago, and things were so uncannily quiet afterward -that I was beginning to be afraid they had killed you. What on earth -happened?” - -“I’ll tell you all about it when we’re in the car,” chuckled Hawley, -hurrying toward the corner where the automobile waited. “I don’t think -there’s any danger now, but just the same we might as well get away from -here as soon as possible. I don’t believe in taking any unnecessary -chances.” - -Parsons, who was seated at the wheel of the motor car, uttered an -ejaculation of joy when he caught sight of the Camera Chap. - -“You don’t mean to say that you actually got the picture?” he exclaimed -incredulously, as the latter climbed aboard. - -Hawley grinned. “I got something,” he said; “but I can’t guarantee that -the result will be good. I had to manipulate my camera with one hand, -and I had to guess the focus. Under those conditions, the chances are -against the negative turning out all right. But it was the best I could -do under the circumstances.” - -“How on earth did you do it?” Carroll inquired. “I can’t imagine how you -got off so easily. Do you mean to say that bunch didn’t jump on you when -you set off the flash?” - -“Not at all,” replied the Camera Chap, with a laugh. “They were very -nice about it. There wasn’t any rough-house at all, Fred. The last I saw -of those fellows they were making a scientific experiment.” - -“A scientific experiment?” Carroll repeated, with a puzzled frown. - -“Exactly,” Hawley chuckled. “They were all gathered around the waiter -like students in a chemistry class. And what do you suppose that waiter -was doing, Fred?” - -“I haven’t the slightest idea.” - -“He had several bottles of bromo seltzer on the table before him, and he -was uncorking each one, and dropping a lighted match into it to see if -he couldn’t make it go off like a flash-light powder.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -A GOOD BAG. - - -“Whither next?” the Camera Chap inquired, after he had confided to his -two companions in the big touring car the details of what had happened -inside Dutch Louie’s café. - -“I know a cop who goes to sleep every night in a lumber yard on his -beat,” Parson announced. - -“Lead us to him!” said Hawley eagerly. “That sounds like an easy one, -eh, Fred?” - -“I really think we’ve got enough already,” Carroll replied anxiously. -“After what you’ve just done, old man, I’m beginning to believe that you -can get away with anything; but what’s the use of running any more risk -than is necessary? You’ve got two good snapshots, and that is quite -enough to illustrate our story. Let’s call it a night’s work, Frank, and -not tempt fate any more.” - -Hawley laughed at this suggestion. “Nothing doing,” he said. “I shan’t -consider that we’ve done our duty until we have at least a round half -dozen snapshots of delinquent cops in our collection. No use being a -piker, Fred. Two pictures on the front page of the _Bulletin_ would make -a measly showing. Besides, as I said before, I am by no means confident -that Red Horgan’s picture will turn out well. If it’s too poor a -negative for reproduction, that would leave us with only one. Lead the -way to the cop in the woodpile, Parsons. We certainly can’t afford to -pass him up. Is his beat far from here?” - -“Yes; it’s at the extreme northern end of the town,” the police reporter -replied. - -“Don’t you know any others we’ll pass on the way there?” Hawley -inquired. “We might as well take them in regular order. It’s growing -late, and we haven’t any time to lose.” - -“Yes; there’s Mike Harrington, whose beat is on Cedar Street,” Parsons -replied promptly. “He generally hangs out in Windmuller’s Café when he’s -on night duty. His brother is employed there.” - -“Great stuff!” exclaimed the Camera Chap gleefully. “We’ll pay our -respects to Patrolman Harrington before we disturb the slumbers of our -friends in the woodpile. Is he a pinochle player, too, Parsons?” - -“I don’t think so,” the reporter answered, with a laugh. “You’ll most -likely catch him in the act of diminishing Windmuller’s stock of goods. -He’d have been ‘broke’ long ago for bad habits if it hadn’t been for his -pull. His father is a member of the city council and one of Mayor -Henkle’s most energetic political workers.” - -“Oldham certainly has some police department!” Hawley chuckled. “Please -stop a short distance away from Windmuller’s place, old man. It wouldn’t -do to drive right up to the door.” - -Carroll turned anxiously to the Camera Chap. “Do me a favor, Frank, and -cut this one out,” he pleaded. “There’s no sense in taking such -desperate chances. Windmuller’s place is almost as tough a joint as -Dutch Louie’s. Let Harrington alone, and pass on to some easier ones.” - -“I guess this thing is going to be easy enough,” Hawley said -confidently. “I intend to work that bromo-seltzer trick over again. I -don’t see why it shouldn’t succeed as well in Windmuller’s place as in -Dutch Louie’s. In fact, I stand a much better chance of getting away -with it this time, for I know beforehand just what I’m going to do, and -can proceed with calm deliberation. Besides, practice makes perfect, you -know.” - -Carroll shook his head deprecatingly; but he realized that argument was -useless, and made no further attempt to dissuade his rash and impetuous -friend. - -Although the Camera Chap’s adventures that night were eventful enough to -be worth recording fully, limitations of space render it inexpedient to -describe them all in detail here. - -In the main, his experience inside Windmuller’s place was similar to -what had happened at Dutch Louie’s. Once more he affected a bad -headache, and called upon the waiter to bring him a dose of bromo -seltzer; and when the white powder was placed before him, he made the -same use of it as he had done in the former instance. - -Greatly to the relief of his two companions, he emerged from the place -unscathed, and laughingly assured him that he had succeeded in -snapshotting Patrolman Harrington, and had reason to believe that the -negative would be a fairly good one. - -Compared with this exploit, the taking of a flash-light picture of the -policeman who was slumbering in a lumber yard at the northern end of the -town was not a difficult matter. Hawley succeeded in getting a -first-class snapshot of this sleeping beauty, and although the bluecoat -was awakened by the setting off of the flash-light powder, and, -bellowing with rage, chased the Camera Chap through the piles of lumber, -the latter managed to reach the automobile in time to make a safe -get-away. - -Although he now had four snapshots of delinquent policemen, and Carroll -again pleaded that these were quite sufficient for their purpose, the -Camera Chap was firm in his determination not to give up the hunt until -the _Bulletin’s_ collection consisted of at least six negatives. - -Parsons had reached his limit. He was unable to suggest where any more -members of the force whom he knew to be chronic shirkers might be found -that night; but even this fact could not discourage Hawley. He declared -confidently that if they rode around town a bit, and kept their eyes -open, they were likely to pick up a couple of random snapshots to -complete their night’s work. - -So, while the citizens of Oldham slept peacefully on, in utter ignorance -of this enterprising effort that was being made to reform conditions in -their town--and incidentally to increase the circulation of the -_Bulletin_--the big touring car traversed the highways and byways in -search of more blue-coated victims of this relentless photographic -crusade. - -This search was not unproductive. As the Camera Chap and his friends -rode through Main Street, they suddenly encountered the most sensational -and the most shameful spectacle of the night--a man in the uniform of a -captain of police so merry that he could scarcely stand. - -“That’s Captain Alf Callman--the worst grafter and the biggest bully of -the department, barring Chief Hodgins,” exclaimed Parsons excitedly, as -he brought the car to a stop. “Don’t fail to get a good picture of him, -Mr. Hawley. This is a rare piece of luck. If ever there was a rascal who -deserved to be held up to public scorn and ridicule, it’s that brute -there.” - -“Yes, Frank,” said Carroll, a scowl upon his face, “we want his picture, -by all means. A few weeks ago he beat up a crippled boy unmercifully for -selling _Bulletins_ outside police headquarters.” - -The Camera Chap’s face grew grim. “And you mean to say you let him get -away with that?” he exclaimed, in astonishment. - -“I did all that I could,” replied the proprietor of the _Bulletin_. “I -preferred charges against him in court, and I’ve been roasting him on -the front page of the paper every day since. But his pull enabled him to -have the case thrown out of court, and the _Bulletin’s_ roasts don’t -seem to have worried him much. He’s too thick-skinned to care what’s -said or printed about him. - -“But, thick-skinned as he is,” Carroll went on, “I’ll bet he’ll rave -when he sees his picture on our front page, showing him in that -condition. That’ll hurt him more than anything else I can think of. So -be sure to get a good snapshot of him, Frank; one that’ll show the -public just what a beast he is.” - -The taking of this flash-light picture was an easy matter, and there was -no risk attached, for Captain Alf Callman was too happy to realize what -was happening, and merely grinned fatuously when the flash went off. -Nevertheless, Hawley had never in all his career as a camera man derived -more satisfaction from the taking of a snapshot. - -The last picture of the night was that of a policeman whom they -discovered a few blocks farther on, fast asleep in a doorway. He was so -dazed by the flash light that the Camera Chap had no difficulty in -getting away. - -Having added this trophy to his collection, Hawley turned to Carroll -with a satisfied smile. - -“Now, I guess we can go home,” he said. “I think we’ve done a fairly -good night’s work.” - -“The best ever!” chuckled the proprietor of the _Bulletin_. “If these -pictures of yours turn out all right, I’ve got an idea that they’ll stir -this old town as it’s never been stirred before.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -THE ENEMY’S MOVE. - - -Although the _Bulletin_ was not a profusely illustrated newspaper, it -maintained a photo-engraving plant of its own. Carroll had installed -this department when he first acquired possession of the paper, and had -brought a man named Neilson from New York to take charge of it. - -It had been Carroll’s original intention to go in extensively for -half-tone illustrations, but his failure to make a financial success of -the publication had necessitated a cutting down of expenses wherever -possible, and now pictures were seldom used in the pages of the -_Bulletin_. - -When Carroll informed Neilson that he would have to dispense with his -services, candidly telling him the reason, the engraver proposed that he -be permitted to take in outside job work in lieu of salary. - -This arrangement had turned out satisfactorily for both parties -concerned. Neilson had managed to get enough outside work to make it -worth his while to stay, and Carroll was glad to have him on the job, -because, although he had practically given up illustrations, he -occasionally found it necessary to use a cut in the pages of the -_Bulletin_. These occasions were so rare, however, that great was -Neilson’s surprise when, on the day following Hawley’s night crusade -against the Oldham police, Carroll appeared in the photo-engraving -department with a half dozen negatives in his hand. - -“Here, Ole,” the proprietor of the _Bulletin_ said, with a smile, “I -want these enlarged, and a two-column cut made from each. Make just as -good a job of them as you can, and remember that they’re for to-morrow -morning’s issue.” - -“All for to-morrow morning’s issue?” exclaimed the engraver -incredulously. - -“Sure thing! And all for the front page, too.” Carroll chuckled. “It’s -going to be the bulliest front page the _Bulletin_ has ever had, Ole. -Just take a close look at those negatives, old man, and I guess you’ll -understand why.” - -Neilson stared hard at the small oblongs of film. “They ban look like -policemens,” he said. - -“They are policemen!” declared Carroll, with another chuckle. - -“What you ban going to do,” the engraver inquired, “get out a special -cop’s edition?” - -“A sort of special cop’s edition,” replied Carroll, with a grin. “But, -say, Ole,” he added anxiously, “what do you think of these negatives -from a photographic standpoint? Will they make pretty good cuts, do you -think?” - -Neilson inspected each one critically. “I can’t tell very well, of -course, Mr. Carroll, until I see the prints,” he replied, at length. -“They ban flash lights, I see; but they look like pretty clear negatives -yoost the same. Who took them?” - -“A friend of mine from New York.” - -“Did he develop them, too?” the photo-engraver inquired. “They ban a -pretty good job for an amateur.” - -“Yes, he developed them himself,” Carroll answered. “We were so anxious -to see what results we had that we came back here at three o’clock this -morning, and Hawley--my friend from New York, I mean--used your dark -room. But, say, Ole,” he exclaimed anxiously, pointing to one of the -negatives, “how about this one? It isn’t quite as clear as the others. -Do you think you’ll be able to get a fairly good cut out of it?” - -Neilson once more inspected the negative designated. It was a snapshot -of a group of men playing a game of cards. One of the men wore a police -uniform. - -“I guess I ban able make it all right,” he said. “It isn’t very strong, -but I guess I ban able to touch up the print a bit, and get a good -result yoost the same.” - -Neilson held up another of the negatives. “This ban best one of the -lot,” he announced. “I make extra-good cut of him.” - -The picture in question was the snapshot of a man in a police captain’s -uniform. A scowl came to Carroll’s face as he gazed upon it. - -“I’m glad to hear that, Ole,” he said grimly. “I want an extra-good cut -of him. And, by the way, make that one three columns wide instead of -two. I’m going to use it in the center of the page.” - -Then Carroll went into the editorial rooms, and, seating himself at his -desk, began to write rapidly. For two hours he was occupied with his -task, and what he wrote seemed to afford him much satisfaction, for at -frequent intervals the other occupants of the room heard him chuckle -immoderately. - -At length the long editorial was finished, and as he gathered the -closely written pages together, he exhaled a deep breath. - -“Hawley said that the pictures would be the main feature of the -_Bulletin’s_ exposé,” he muttered; “and, of course, he was right. No -doubt about that. But at the same time I rather think this editorial of -mine is going to make quite a hit, too.” - -Hawley heartily indorsed this opinion when, a few minutes later, he -dropped into the _Bulletin’s_ office, and Carroll showed him what he had -written. - -“It’s great stuff!” the Camera Chap exclaimed enthusiastically. “Simply -immense! I never had any idea that you could sling English as well as -that, Fred.” - -Carroll flushed with pleasure at his warm praise. “I guess it’s because -I feel so strongly on the subject,” he said simply. “A fellow can write -so much better, you know, if he really feels what he writes.” - -“People who buy the _Bulletin_ to-morrow morning are certainly going to -get their money’s worth,” Hawley chuckled. “That editorial alone will be -well worth the price of the paper. Your readers ought to paste it in -their scrapbooks as a model of satire.” - -“Cut out the joshing, old man,” protested Carroll. “If the readers of -the _Bulletin_ paste anything in their scrapbooks, it will be those -wonderful snapshots of yours. They’re going to create a big sensation, -Frank.” - -The Camera Chap grinned. “Yes, the snapshots and your editorial combined -certainly ought to stir things up. Don’t forget that I’ve bet you a new -hat that your circulation figures will be more than doubled to-morrow, -Fred.” - -“I’ll be quite satisfied to lose the hat,” Carroll chuckled. “And just -to show you that I don’t expect to win the bet, let me tell you that -I’ve already given orders to my pressroom to print twice the usual -number of papers to-morrow.” - -“I guess you’re quite safe in doing so,” said the Camera Chap earnestly. -“I don’t think you’ll have many copies left on your hands. But how are -the pictures getting along, Fred? Have they been made into cuts yet?” - -“Neilson is working on them now,” Carroll answered. “Come on up, and -we’ll see how he’s progressing.” - -Neilson was working on an outside job--a half-tone cut for the -letterhead of a local tailor--when they entered his laboratory. -Observing this, Carroll was somewhat annoyed. He had asked Neilson to -rush the cuts through, and, while he realized that it was the outside -work which paid the expenses of the plant, he felt aggrieved that the -tailor’s half tone should be given first attention. - -“How about that work I gave you?” he inquired sharply. “Started on it -yet, Ole?” - -The engraver looked at him in astonishment. “How can I start on it until -you give me back them negatives?” he exclaimed. “I ban yoost coming down -to ask you for them.” - -“Give you back the negatives!” the proprietor of the _Bulletin_ -repeated, with a puzzled frown. “What on earth are you talking about?” - -“I ban talking about those policemen’s negatives you want made into cuts -for to-morrow’s paper, of course,” replied Neilson, a trifle nettled. -“How can I make the cuts until I get the pictures?” - -“But you have the pictures,” Carroll protested. “Didn’t I give them to -you?” - -“Sure you gave them to me once. But you ban take them back again, didn’t -you?” replied the man indignantly. - -“I took them back?” - -“Sure! At least, you sent the boy for them--which is yoost the same, of -course.” - -“The boy?” Carroll was beginning to grow uneasy. “What boy?” - -“That boy Miggsy, of course,” Neilson replied, now thoroughly out of -temper. “What kind of a yoke you ban try to play with me, Mr. Carroll? I -ban serious feller, and don’t like foolin’. Didn’t you send that Miggsy -up here half an hour ago to say would I please let you have them -negatives back right away?” - -Carroll’s face suddenly turned pale. “I certainly did not!” he exclaimed -excitedly. “I sent no such message. Do you mean to say that Miggsy told -you that I sent him?” - -“He sure did. He said you needed the pictures to show to somebody, and -must have them right away. I ban yust starting to work on them when he -came up, but I gave them to him.” - -With an exclamation of alarm, Carroll hurried downstairs to the -editorial rooms to interview the office boy. The youngster was not in -sight. - -“Seen anything of Miggsy?” he inquired anxiously of one of the -reporters, whose desk was near the door. - -“Not lately. The last time I saw him, Mr. Carroll, was half an hour ago, -when he went out to do that errand for you.” - -“An errand for me?” - -“Yes, that’s what he said. He was going out just as I came in, and he -seemed to be in a great hurry. I stopped him on the stairway, and -jokingly asked him what all the rush was about. He begged me not to -delay him, as you had just sent him out on an errand of great importance -which had to be attended to immediately.” - -Carroll turned to Hawley, who had followed him downstairs. They -exchanged glances of consternation. - -“What do you make of it?” the proprietor of the _Bulletin_ said -hoarsely. - -The Camera Chap smiled grimly. “It looks very much as if our young -friend Miggsy had gone over to the enemy,” he said. - -“Yes, I’m afraid so,” growled Carroll. “I can’t imagine any other reason -for his actions. The little ingrate! I’ve been pretty good to that kid. -I never thought that he’d do me a trick of this sort.” - -He paced the floor nervously, his big fists clenched. “Great grief!” he -muttered. “Can it really be possible that all our trouble has been for -nothing--that we’re not going to publish those wonderful snapshots, -after all?” - -Hawley patted his shoulder soothingly. It was in forlorn situations of -this sort that the Camera Chap’s sunny disposition showed up to the best -advantage. - -“Cheer up, old scout!” he said to Carroll. “After all, there’s that -corking editorial of yours. Even without the pictures, it’ll make quite -a hit in to-morrow’s front page.” - -“No, it won’t,” groaned Carroll. “That editorial won’t go on to-morrow’s -front page. I might as well tear it up. Don’t you see that I wouldn’t -dare publish it without the pictures? Those fellows would sue me for -libel. They’d swear that my statements were false, and, without the -photographic evidence, I couldn’t prove that they weren’t.” - -“I guess you’re right there,” said the Camera Chap thoughtfully. “It’s -too bad that that fine piece of writing should go to waste. Well, better -luck next time, I---- Where are you going, Fred?” For Carroll, muttering -something under his breath, had stepped hastily toward the door. - -“I’m going down to the pressroom to cancel that order for extra papers,” -the proprietor of the _Bulletin_ explained gloomily. - - -TO BE CONTINUED. - - * * * * * - - -WORSE AND WORSE. - -There was a notice in the barber’s shop window reading “Boots Blacked -Inside.” A pedestrian halted and read and reread the notice, and then -opened the door and said: - -“That ought to be shoes. Not one man in fifty wears boots in the -summer.” - -The barber didn’t say anything, but, after due reflection, concluded -that the man was right, and so changed the notice to read: “Shoes -Blacked Inside.” He had scarcely put it up when the same man came along -again and opened the door to say: - -“No one wants the inside of his shoes blacked. We pay to have the shine -on the outside.” - -The barber puzzled over it for a while, and realized that the man was -right again, and next day the notice was replaced by one reading: - -“The outside of shoes blacked inside.” - -“That’s perfectly correct,” said the fault finder, as he came along in -the afternoon. “Never give yourself away on the English language.” - - * * * * * - - - - -THE NEWS OF ALL NATIONS. - - -Dies Preaching on Death. - -“Prepare to live and you will be prepared to die,” said the Reverend R. -G. Collison, addressing a large congregation in the tabernacle of the -Oregon Christian Church Convention, at Turner, Ore. As he spoke he sank -to the floor of the pulpit and died within a few seconds. Death was -caused by apoplexy. - - -Dyestuff Makers Cheerful. - -Aniline dye manufacturers in this country are making a tremendous, and, -they believe, an encouraging effort to supply the want of dyes, so -greatly needed since the cessation of German exportation of that -product. - -Some idea of the way in which the domestic industry has been called upon -to meet the demand of the textile mills was given by one of the largest -American concerns in the dye business, who said that his company has -daily to reject orders for some thirty to eighty thousand pounds of dyes -because of their inability to manufacture them fast enough. - -As an evidence of the satisfactory manner in which the American -manufacturers have rallied to meet the situation, he asserted that his -company was manufacturing four times as much dyestuffs this year as in -any year previous. - -Although it has been less than a year since the dyestuff and chemical -industries were thrown into confusion by the war, a readjustment has -been partly accomplished, which has enabled mill operators to go ahead -with the manufacture of textiles. - -From the way the American output has increased it would be safe to say -that inside of the next eighteen months manufacturers here will be able -to supply some $10,000,000 worth annually of dyestuffs to a home market -which could use $30,000,000 worth. Now that the American output is -expanding, our manufacturers feel confident that the trade lost by -Germany will not be regained. - - -This Aged Hen is a Real Coop Marvel. - -“Eusapia Palladino,” the oldest hen in the town of Killingly, Conn., and -perhaps in the entire world, is to have a birthday party on the occasion -of her twenty-seventh birthday, which will come in a few days. All the -old hens in Killingly are looking forward to the event, and it is -probable that a few young chickens will be asked, just to give the party -a metropolitan flavor. - -Eusapia, though of Spanish origin, lays her eggs in English and began -the work when but five months old. Her first egg, which her owner, Mr. -James Blanchard still has, was laid in November, 1888, and since then -she has laid an average of 144 a year. She has just laid another egg as -this story is being written, and only the greatest haste can prevent her -laying another before it is completed. She just lays around all day, as -might be expected at her great age. Unlike the Madagascar Bingle Hen, -which lays square eggs with a monogram, Eusapia lays but one egg at a -time. - -Eusapia, it will be readily reckoned, was hatched from a black Spanish -egg ten years before the Spanish-American War, when shells burst less -frequently. She has seen a very active life, and greatly deplores the -dissipation, irregular hours, and loss of sleep incident to the poultry -shows which have become popular of late years. She does not smoke, has -never on any occasion partaken of alcoholic liquors, and can now read -without glasses if she cared to. - -Mr. Blanchard has had several disputes lately with persons who, having -dined at the Killingly Commercial Inn, questioned that Eusapia was the -oldest chicken in the world. - -Of late years Eusapia has been given to fits of depression, and the -admittance of eggs as parcel-post mail left her on the verge of a -nervous breakdown for days. - -A thousand chicks have been hatched by Eusapia in her long and useful -life. She has always shown a great interest in them, has personally -supervised their early education, and has invariably responded, even in -late years, to their slightest cluck. - - -Laborers Kill Two-hundred-pound Shark. - -A shark, measuring seven and a half feet long and weighing about two -hundred pounds, was killed in Weir Creek, an inlet of Long Island Sound, -by David McGowan, a sewer inspector; A. L. Hartman and several Italian -laborers, all armed with crowbars. The fight lasted more than a half an -hour. - - -Child Plays With Rattler. - -Having a monster rattlesnake as a temporary playmate without being -struck by the deadly fangs of the reptile and killed was the unusual -experience of the little child of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Hunt, of Scenic, S. -D., Mr. Hunt being the depot agent of the Milwaukee Railway Company. - -The mother discovered the little girl playing with the rattlesnake in -the yard around the Hunt home. The snake appeared to like the -companionship of the little girl and made no effort to coil and strike. -The mother managed to drag the child from within reach of the snake -without arousing the anger of the reptile. The little girl strongly -objected to being separated from her strange playmate. After the girl -had been removed to a place of safety, the reptile was killed. - - -A Municipal Bat Roost. - -The only municipal bat roost in the world was recently erected at San -Antonio, Texas, and is expected to have an important part in the city -fight against malaria and other diseases. The bat has been discovered by -Doctor C. A. Campbell, of San Antonio, to be one of the greatest enemies -of the mosquito, which is largely responsible for the spread of malarial -and similar germs. For this reason San Antonio is not only protecting -the bat by law, but has entered into the proposition of its cultivation. - -Doctor Campbell has demonstrated that one bat will consume as many as -250 mosquitoes in one night. He has estimated that the amount of guano -that could be collected from a single bat roost, capable of -accommodating 250,000 bats, in a season of nine months, would equal -about forty tons--and guano, the highest of all fertilizers, is worth -forty dollars a ton. It is Doctor Campbell’s idea that the bat roost is -a natural hygienic measure, which should be adopted by governments, -municipalities, or corporations controlling large bodies of land, and -who are financially able to erect enough of the roosts to protect their -tenants. The roosts, however, must be constructed from a scientific -standpoint, so that they will not only attract bats, but cause them to -remain there permanently. - - -Knife Melted by Lightning. - -Francis Wagoner, a farmer of Upper Mount Bethel, near Bangor, Pa., -struck by a bolt of lightning during a terrific storm that passed over -that section lives to tell his story, but he will be marked for life. - -Wagoner was sitting in the kitchen reading a paper when the bolt of -lightning struck a section of metal spouting, entered the bathroom -window, and went into the kitchen by way of the stovepipe. - -From the stove the lightning hit Wagoner on the right leg, then crossed -diagonally to his left shoulder. On the way it came in contact with a -knife in his pocket, which was partly melted by the bolt. The lightning -left reddish streaks over his body, and he was badly stunned. - - -Girl Poses as Boy Five Years. - -After five years of roaming about this country and Europe posing as a -boy, Edna Puffer, eighteen years old, arrested in the New Haven, Conn., -railroad yards just as she was about to hop on a freight train for New -York, was thrust back into petticoats as soon as they could be procured. -She said she had traveled to Europe on board a cattle ship. - -Convinced that Franklin Shaw, the sailor who was arrested in her -company, was unaware of his companion’s sex, although he had been with -her for nearly three months, Judge Booth, in the city court, continued -both cases. - - -Government’s Movie Shows. - -The department of agriculture keeps up a special motion-picture factory -at which it makes the films it uses in promoting scientific farming. The -department heads use the films to illustrate lectures, and the field -force shows them at country schoolhouses and churches, where they have -invariably attracted large and interested audiences. Even before the -factory was set up, various bureaus of the department made use of films -in educating the public. Thus, the bureau of animal industry has a -special film to show Southern farmers how to make and use the dipping -vats that would free their herds of ticks. It also showed films that -illustrated the correct ways of handling meat, breeding cattle, and -raising poultry. - -The good-roads division and the forest service have made a similar -effective use of motion pictures. - - -Rains Alligators in Iowa. - -Is there really something to the belief that reptiles are sometimes -rained down from heaven or has somebody lost two perfectly good -alligators in the vicinity of West Liberty, Iowa? That is a question -West Liberty would like to have solved. - -Two perfectly sane, entirely responsible, utterly truthful and eminently -respectable families report the finding of alligators in their front -yards, said front yards being separated only by the width of the passing -road. - -On the farm of David Nauman an alligator was found prowling about the -garden and was destroyed by an excited member of the Nauman family. - -On the place of Charles Carter, across the road, Mr. Carter in person -made the discovery, captured the alligator, and now has it on -exhibition. - -West Liberty people say it has rained hard enough of late to account for -’most anything, but, beyond accrediting the advent of the alligators to -the sky, are at a loss to advance an acceptable theory. - - -Interesting New Inventions. - -A doorknob connected with an electric lamp that may be switched on by -pressing a button has been patented by a New York inventor. The -invention is expected to help materially in the sometimes difficult -process of finding the keyhole after dark. The doorknob is illuminated. -The same principle is applied to the doors and dials of safes. - -A cattle guard invented by an Arkansas man, a section foreman, has been -approved by railroads. It is made in three sections, so that it can be -removed for track surfacing. The guard consists of rollers, which are -made in a frame resting on top of the ties. - -A Philadelphia University professor has invented a dust-proof, -fire-resisting glass case for museum specimens. - -Wireless apparatus that weighs but eight pounds, yet will transmit -messages twenty-one miles and has received signals more than three -hundred miles, has been invented by a New Jersey man. - -A sand box for automobiles, like the familiar device on locomotives, to -distribute sand under their tires to prevent skidding, has been patented -by a Massachusetts inventor. - -What is believed to be the largest conveyer belt in the world, 893 feet -long by thirty-six inches wide, has been made for an Ohio stone quarry. - -To keep the base lines of ball grounds dry when it rains, a -Pennsylvanian has patented a canvas cover, easily rolled for removal. - - -Sue for Wages Earned Back in Slavery Days. - -After more than a half century has passed since the freeing of the -slaves, a suit was filed a few days ago in the supreme court of the -District of Columbia to gain compensation for work performed by them -during the years 1859 to 1868. - -The suit was filed by H. N. Johnson, of Louisiana; Rebecca Bowers, of -Texas; C. B. Williams, of Mississippi, and Mamie Thompson, of Tennessee, -against William M. McAdoo in his official capacity as secretary of the -treasury. - -The plaintiffs claim to be descendants of slaves who worked in cotton -fields of the Southern States, and they hold that they are entitled to -money their ancestors earned and which is now in the treasury, listed -under the title of “internal revenue tax on raw cotton.” - -This money, the complaint says, amounts to $68,072,388.99, acquired -from the seizure of cotton gathered by plaintiffs’ ancestors. The -plaintiffs contend it should be paid to the descendants of those by -whose labor the cotton-yielding revenue was produced. - -The bill asks that the court appoint an examiner to collect evidence; -that Secretary McAdoo be ordered to disclose the amount and source of -money now in the treasury under the listing of “Internal revenue tax on -raw cotton,” and that he be ordered to state any reasons he may believe -the plaintiffs are not entitled to the money. - -The petition was filed by a Washington attorney representing Cornelius -J. Jones, of Muskogee, Okla. Jones, who is said to have prepared the -bill of complaint, is a negro lawyer. - - -Dies Close to Time He Set. - -Peter White, an aged negro residing near Washington, N. C., died at -twelve-thirty p. m., just thirty minutes later than the hour he had -appointed. In April, White told friends that he would “give up the -ghost” at the stroke of twelve. - -About this time Jerry Langley, colored, was giving the police of -Washington trouble. Langley had set the hour for his demise. He -postponed it several times, each time disappointing a great crowd of -blacks gathered for the dramatic exit of Langley. Finally, when he said -the thing was final, the crowd blocked the street and the police would -not wait for Jerry to die. They hustled him off to the county home. He -is still living. - -White, the authorities say, may have been prompted by Langley’s example. -He had visions of himself being trolleyed aloft in a golden chariot. Old -age claimed him, doctors say. - - -Year’s Pickles in the United States. - -If all the pickles manufactured in the United States were equally -divided among the inhabitants, every man, woman, and child would receive -about twenty-four, according to the statement of Frank A. Brown, -secretary and treasurer of the National Pickle Packers’ Association, -which held a business meeting at the Palmer House, Chicago. - -“There are three million bushels of pickles raised in this country every -year,” he said, “and as there are about eight hundred pickles to a -bushel, every person in the United States would get about twenty-four. - -“People often ask: ‘What good are pickles?’ They are one of the most -beneficial foods in the world, because there is just enough acid in them -to properly care for the teeth, and indirectly this improves the health -of the whole body.” - - -New Electric Fly Swatter. - -Herschell Colyar, of Visalia, Cal., is the inventor of a new fly killer -that is guaranteed to get the best of them. The “killer” is a small -apparatus composed of a number of wires. It can be hung any place and -connected with the “juice,” and when Mr. Fly touches any of said wires, -he quickly falls dead. - -A barber shop is fitted up with one of them, and it seems to be doing -remarkable work. - -It is said that some of the largest companies in the country have been -working on such an apparatus for years, and finally had declared that -such an outfit could not be made. Colyar has been working on his -invention for about three years. - - -Head Clerk’s Ear Is His Own Cash Register. - -Women carry their loose change in their stockings, children put their -money in their mouths, but Norris Bethel, head clerk for Florin Brother, -of Fall River Mills, Cal., makes a cash register of his ears. - -When he is selling goods and is in a hurry for a nickel or a dime to -make change, he reaches to one ear or the other and finds the needed -coin. - -Or, if he received a small coin, and is at some distance from the cash -register, he puts it into one of his ears until he has use for it or -until he is close to the cash register and can relieve himself. - -The system is considered unique, and it is Bethel’s exclusively. - - -Apple-sizing Machine Invented in Oregon. - -Asa B. and Frank W. Cutler, brothers, who operate one of the largest -fruit ranches in Oregon, have invented and are completing the -construction of an apple-sizing machine that works by means of weighing -mechanisms. The two young men, graduates in the mechanical-engineering -department of the University of Illinois, have been experimenting for -several years with grading and sizing machines, and during the past two -years have put to practical test graders that made the choice of apples -according to the dimensions of the fruit. - -“However,” says Frank W. Cutler, “this method proved inaccurate, on -account of the different shapes of the fruit. The new method will insure -a standard pack, something that has been long sought by fruit -districts.” - -The new grader is so accurate that it will grade into different bins -apples, the weights of which differ only a tenth of an ounce. The local -inventors have improved on the receiving bins that are placed at the -side of the graders. Their new bin tips itself toward the packer as it -fills automatically, the end resting nearest the packer resting on -springs. - - -How to Fireproof Clothes. - -At the safety exposition held in New York recently, Doctor Charles -Frederick Pabst demonstrated how to make fireproof clothing. He poured -from one pound to a gallon of cold water in a solution of ammonium -phosphate. Then he took an eight-inch strip of ordinary cotton gauze and -dipped it in the ammonium-phosphate solution. He dried it with an -electric fan and held it in a flame for thirty seconds, but it did not -burn. He took another strip of gauze that had not been treated with the -solution, and, on igniting it, it burned in four seconds. He advised -that the whole family washing should be made fireproof. The expense of -an average-size family would be about fifteen cents a week. - - -His Machine Ties Bundles. - -About eight years ago a father and his son began to work upon an idea -that had occurred to the elder man during his working hours in the -mailing division of the Chicago post office. A short time ago the result -of their joint effort was put in operation. It is a package-tying -machine that does the work of many men. So convenient is the little -contrivance that it has been introduced into the New York post office, -too, and the government now is negotiating with the inventors for more -of their machines. - -The inventors are Romanzo N. Bunn and his son, Benjamin H. Bunn. For -years the men have been tying up bundles of outgoing letters for -transportation to the trains. Fast as the men worked, it always seemed -Bunn thought it should be done faster. His son worked on the mechanical -side of the problem. Together father and son toiled in a homemade shop -at their home. The little portable “tyer” was what came out of the -basement workshop. - -The machine is about three feet high and about a foot square. It begins -operation after the mail has been distributed in the racks by hand ready -for tying to go to the trains. Then the machine is rolled along the line -of pigeonholes and fed, by hand, by its retainer. Packs of letters, four -inches thick, are placed into position, the machine is set in motion, -and then--click, click, clop! That’s the way it sounds. The first two -clicks indicate the tying of the packet of letters, sidewise and then -lengthwise, and the “clop” the dropping of the bundle into a waiting -basket. - -Where the best men used to tie five or six packets in a minute, the -machine now ties thirty--and it has not tried for a record yet! - - -Flesh From Body Saves Eye. - -The sight of Doctor E. Lerendinger, a professor of Hood College, -Frederick, Md., has been restored as the result of an unusual surgical -operation. Flesh was removed from the professor’s abdomen and placed in -a cavity above one of his eyes, which had been caused by an accident. -The operation was performed several weeks ago, but was not made public -until success was assured. - - -Tallest Couple are Wedded. - -The tallest couple in Pennsylvania were united in marriage a few days -ago in Lewistown. The bridegroom, George Schaffer, who stands six feet -seven inches in his stockings, achieved quite a reputation when he was a -member of the Allentown police as the tallest cop. The bride is Mrs. -Angie Kern, six feet two inches tall. Both parties are about forty years -of age. - -Mrs. Schaffer is a prospective heiress if she can break the will of the -late Charles Losch, who left about $150,000 to be divided among -relatives. She produced a letter purporting to have been signed by -Losch, saying that if she would take care of him in his declining years -he would leave her his homestead in Allentown, valued at $12,000. -Schaffer says he often heard Losch say he would leave Mrs. Kern the -homestead. - -The newlyweds have purchased a farm, and whatever the outcome of the -will contest, it will not affect their happiness. The bride says she -fell in love with her new husband because she detested walking around -with a man shorter than herself. - - -This Modest Inventor Would Stop World War. - -“I can make the United States the strongest nation in the world. I can -end the European struggle in a short time. I can make the smallest -nation most powerful.” - -This is the assertion of John Vogelzangs, of Menominee, Mich., an -inventor, who claims to have a method of extracting electricity from the -air so that air craft might be manned with powerful guns and not be -forced to land until they want to. - -“I can sweep the seas clear of vessels. I can kill armies and level -cities,” claimed the inventor, who in the same breath asserted he -favored universal peace, but that the world was not ready for it. - -He says Secretary Daniels’ plan for an advisory board is good. - -He refused to give out much information about his new device. He said he -lacked money to carry on the work, and displayed a letter from Mr. -Daniels, written before the war broke out, saying this nation was not -ready to take up his ideas. - -Vogelzangs has a reputation for being an inventor of ability. He made a -street cleaner, which he refused to sell for $10,000. He also claims he -will revolutionize the berry business with a new picker. - - -Walks on 113th Birthday. - -Mrs. Edna G. Goldman, of Glamorgan, Va., celebrated her 113th birthday -by walking ten miles to the home of her son, Henry Goldman, at Pound, -Va. - -Mrs. Goldman was born in Appomattox County, Va., in 1802. Despite her -age, she cultivates a small patch of land in corn and beans each year. -This year she is “farming” about two acres. - - -Flivver is Not Amphibious. - -Edward Kirby, of Newton, N. J., erred in believing a flivver amphibious. -It is alleged that he stole the automobile at the Grand Hotel, Golden -Springs, and, when closely pursued by other automobiles, he ran the -flivver into the Delaware River, seeking to reach Pike County shore. - -The flivver floated several minutes and made quite a little progress in -the current, but when the body filled, she went down at the bow and soon -plunged to the bottom. - -Kirby swam out and made his way across the river. He disappeared into -the woods there, and a posse under Sheriff Applegate is seeking him. - - -Song Tells of Old Man Who Had a Wooden Leg. - -John Strain, of Greenwich, Conn., who lost his leg three years ago and -his temper recently, has announced that he intends to obtain a rubber -artificial limb. His statement was made to-day through a window of the -county jail, from which he will watch the dying sun precede each of the -next thirty twilights. - -The reason Mr. Strain intends to obtain the new artificial limb -described it that his wife, a muscular woman, who has been getting -plenty of exercise since John ceased to work eight years ago, has been -and is in the habit of bounding his artificial limb off his forehead -when a domestic storm brews. The present limb is of wood, and, for -various reasons, is unsatisfactory to Mr. Strain and his brow. - -Over the condition of the weather a quarrel started in the Strain home. -Mr. Strain declared he felt that a gale was coming from the northeast, -inasmuch as his left leg--not the wooden one--pained slightly. Mrs. -Strain, with that rare spirit of raillery which characterizes a woman -who supports four children, told John the weather could scarcely affect -a man who sat in the house smoking all the time. It was then that John, -according to the testimony of his wife in police court, threw eight -volumes of Dumas, apparently bound in zinc. His aim was true. - -Mrs. Strain then took John’s artificial limb and hung it just west of -where he parts his hair. Her judgment of distance was perfect--it -generally is. She then cried for help. - -When help arrived, John had hopped on one foot over the State border, -into New York. A sheriff with a rich baritone voice explained to him -that hopping about New York State with no hat and only an undershirt -over his shoulders would mean but little in his life. John thought -deeply, hopped over into Connecticut again, and was sentenced to thirty -days in jail by Judge James R. Meade. - - -Machine That Remembers. - -A machine which will remember the date and hour of an appointment made -several weeks previous is one of the latest efficiency devices to be -placed on the market. A roll of paper strip passes over a flat surface -where the appointment is indicated, and a punch mark made in the margin. -When that time occurs, a gong is sounded and a reference to the strip -will give the information as to what appointment is to be kept. - - -Fifty Dollars Gone, Flivver May Survive. - -Probably the maddest man in and about Montgomery County, New York State, -just at present is Reuben Hyney, who keeps a shoe store on the main -street of Fonda, and who, as a side line, rents his automobile to any -one who can fit in it. Mr. Hyney has no more temper than any other -normal man who lives in Montgomery County, but the shoe business has run -over at the heel a bit recently, and the other afternoon something -happened which increased Mr. Hyney’s height four inches. - -Hyney was adjusting a spring-heeled shoe to a broad foot at about a -moment after two o’clock, when the telephone rang sharply. He dropped -his client’s foot onto his own and limped to the booth. A man with an -educated voice, as Mr. Hyney describes it, was asking if he might hire -an automobile for the afternoon. He said he was a school inspector and -was as busy as a one-eyed mouse in a cheese factory. He would come -running if the buzz wagon was not busy. It was not. - -Hardly had the satisfied customer walked from the store when a bearded -stranger, wearing a slouch hat, stopped at the door, looked up and down -the street craftily, and entered. - -“Wait there,” said the shoe merchant, pointing to the central design on -a piece of linoleum. “I will oil the machine and call my daughter.” - -The stranger, laughing up his sleeve, through his vest and along his -hatband, reached into the cash register and took fifty dollars. Then he -sat down and waited until Miss Hyney came to watch the store. By this -time it was hardly worth it. - -An hour later the mysterious stranger told the owner of the machine to -stop in front of a building in Fort Plain. He went upstairs. - -Three hours later Hyney decided the stranger had given him the -metropolitan fare-thee-well. He entered the building and found nothing -but the janitor and a flock of rent signs. - -Two hours later he was back in Fonda, telling his daughter about the -“cuss” who tore the soul out of a dandy four-hundred-dollar touring car -and didn’t pay for it. Then his daughter asked him if he had taken fifty -dollars from the cash register. - -Mr. Hyney is in bed. But what’s the use?--he can’t sleep. - - -Capture Odd Pair of Mice. - -A most remarkable freak of nature is a white mouse and a black one -captured in a bureau drawer by John Elias, who lives in Atchison, Kan. -The white mouse hasn’t a black spot on it and has black eyes. The black -mouse has fur as black as the ace of spades, and its eyes are brown. - -Local zoölogists are unable to account for the strange markings of the -mice. They are very vicious and never miss a chance to attempt to bite -members of the Elias family while being fed. - - -Billy Goat is Boss of Town. - -A billy goat tied up traffic in Kokomo, Ind., as effectively as the -street-car strike did in Chicago. The goat broke away from a colored man -who was leading it at the transfer corner. - -The conductors of two cars standing there were on the sidewalk at the -time. They started for their cars and the goat started for them. The men -“beat it” for a candy store and won. - -The goat then turned his attention to several pedestrians and soon made -a scatterment. About this time Patrolmen Elkins and Webb came along. - -Webb lived on a farm and knew the habits of the goat. He kept in the -rear. Elkins bravely went forward to capture the goat. He managed to -seize the animal by the head and tried to go with him to the station. -Every time he pulled, the goat started to butt him. He held on for -several minutes, afraid to let go, until the owner of the goat relieved -him. - - -Aged Couple Joined at Last. - -George W. Hayden, a retired farmer of Big Laurel, Va., and Larestia -Fulton, of Lipps, were married at the home of the bride’s son, Henry -Fulton, a few days ago. The bridegroom was some few days past ninety -years of age when the knot was tied and the bride was lacking a few days -of being eighty-seven. - -About seventy years ago Hayden and Miss Helt--the bride’s maiden -name--were engaged, but quarreled, and both married other parties and -reared large families. Hayden’s wife died eighteen years ago and Mrs. -Fulton was left a widow three years ago. - - -“Well Broken to Hard Work.” - -Although many bones in his body have been broken as a result of various -accidents during his life, W. M. Morgan, who lives near Lancaster, Kan., -finds little cause for complaint for the treatment he has had at the -hands of “cruel fate.” - -At various times he has had both shoulders fractured, a number of ribs -cracked, a thumb broken, both legs broken, and his right foot has almost -every bone in it broken. Despite all these handicaps, he works every -day at hard labor and has little use for the fellow who thinks hard luck -has given him a jolt. - - -Snake Swallows China Egg. - -Blacksnakes down Gales Ferry way cannot tell china nest eggs for hen’s -eggs, according to a story related by Mr. and Mrs. R. B. de Bussy, of -Mount Vernon, N. Y. The De Bussys were recent guests of Miss Caroline -Freeman at the Bouwerie, Gales Ferry. Miss Freeman’s guests at that time -included Professor Heuser, instructor in German at Columbia University, -and his family. - -Professor Heuser’s daughter, six years old, returning from the poultry -house at Bouwerie, reported no eggs, but said a big snake was in a hen’s -nest. A manservant, using an ax, killed the five-foot snake. - -Miss Freeman then discovered that the china nest egg was missing from -the nest. The search led to the interior of the snake, where the missing -china nest egg was recovered. - - -Lightning’s Queer Freak. - -Lightning apparently photographed a perfect likeness of a tree, -branches, twigs, and leaves, in minutest detail, on the breast of Edwin -Liesman, who was instantly killed in the Magnolia clubhouse on Mount -Penn, near Reading, Pa., in a violent electrical storm. - -Liesman’s mother, Mrs. Bernard Liesman, and a friend, Harry Opperman, -were badly shocked, but will recover. - -Liesman was sitting at a window next to a telephone. The bolt followed -the telephone wire. The tree outside the window was almost exactly -reproduced on Liesman’s body. The tragedy occurred during four brilliant -flashes in swift succession, putting out all the lights in the cottage. -Medical men and photographers were puzzled by the strange features -wrought on the dead man. - - -Sounds Like a Fish Story. - -A flock of geese were swimming in White River, near Augusta, Ark., and a -splash attracted the attention of several men and boys who were near by. -A large blue channel catfish came up and grabbed a goose, taking the -fowl under with him. - -People watched for some time, but the goose never came up. This may -sound like a fish story, but nevertheless it is true. - - -Ghostly Figure That is an Awful Shrieker. - -A ghost, or some other creature with a voice like an armload of siren -whistles, has frightened the residents of Somerville, N. J., to the -point where it is no longer a joke, and they want to get to sleep. The -disorder, frightful beyond words, ghastly, ghostly, and hair elevating, -has been going on for a week, and the whole town is determined that -something is to be done about it. - -Thomas Hagen, night roundhouse watchman, was the first one to hear the -shrieks. He was going round and round the roundhouse when the most -frightful bellow imaginable rent the air. Mr. Hagen, who comes of a -warm-blooded race, was so startled that his blood ran cold. It could -barely run, even. - -Right across the railroad tracks from the roundhouse is the cemetery, -and Mr. Hagen, after recalling this, took a little jaunt up the road -that restored his circulation to normal. He notified the police force, -who were sitting up late, reading, and he became indignant when the -department took a cigar out of its mouth and laughed at him. - -Every night since then the terrible noise has been repeated, and persons -who have passed the roundhouse have seen a strange figure flitting about -among the bushes and trees which border the railroad tracks at that -point. Some of them even describe the flitter, which is going some, -considering the speed with which they invariably leave the neighborhood. - -For the last two nights every one in the village has been shuddering in -unison, and the vibration can be felt as far as Philadelphia. Every now -and then the shriek ceases and is replaced by a wail--and the wail is a -whale of a wail. It is a relief when the shriek starts again. - -Mr. Hagen, who originally heard the alleged ghost and who has become -more bored with the noise than any of the comparative beginners, -yesterday resigned his position as watchman in the roundhouse. He -declared that if everything was on the square he would work forever and -willingly walk around and around and around all night, but that under -present conditions no self-respecting roundhouse watchman could stand -around watching. - -Chief of Police Bellis will watch with seven railroad detectives. They -will stay right at the roundhouse until the ghost appears. Beyond that -they have made no arrangements. - - -Hoodoo Pursues Two Miners. - -Two mining partners, Gus Erickson and Bert Pinney, of Hailey, Idaho, are -certainly pursued by some hoodoo. While working on a stage ten feet -below the surface, the stage broke away from its fastenings, dropping -Pinney down the shaft twenty feet, where, after he had turned head down, -his buckskin shoe laces caught on a nail and held him until help -arrived. Three hundred feet of water would have received him had his -laces broke. - -The next afternoon Erickson came to town on his motor cycle to get the -mail. Returning, the motor cycle skidded in a rut, throwing its rider -over the handlebars into the road, the machine piling on top of him. -With his skull fractured in three places, he lay in the road an hour -before he was found. Both men will recover. - - -Former Water Boy’s Story. - -A prominent business man of Castleton, Ill., told the following story -the other night to three or four citizens assembled in A. A. Webber’s -real-estate office: - -“When I was a boy,” he said, “I used to carry water for the men to drink -when they were working in the field some distance from the house. One -real warm day I carried water to my father, who was running a mower and -cutting timothy for hay. As I was about to return home, I noticed a -prairie chicken fly up from the freshly mown swath. Thinking there might -be a nest of eggs--which, by the way, are fine eating--I investigated, -and what do you think I found? A prairie chicken with its head cut off, -the mowing bar being just the right height to perform the operation. I -also found the feet and legs that belonged to the one that flew away. It -probably stood up ready to fly as the mowing bar came along, while the -other remained sitting and lost its head. Needless to say, we had -prairie chicken for dinner.” - - * * * * * - - 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. - -730--The Torn Card. -731--Under Desperation’s Spur. -732--The Connecting Link. -733--The Abduction Syndicate. -738--A Plot Within a Plot. -739--The Dead Accomplice. -746--The Secret Entrance. -747--The Cavern Mystery. -748--The Disappearing Fortune. -749--A Voice from the Past. -752--The Spider’s Web. -753--The Man With a Crutch. -754--The Rajah’s Regalia. -755--Saved from Death. -756--The Man Inside. -757--Out for Vengeance. -758--The Poisons of Exili. -759--The Antique Vial. -760--The House of Slumber. -761--A Double Identity. -762--“The Mocker’s” Stratagem. -763--The Man that Came Back. -764--The Tracks in the Snow. -765--The Babbington Case. -766--The Masters of Millions. -767--The Blue Stain. -768--The Lost Clew. -770--The Turn of a Card. -771--A Message in the Dust. -772--A Royal Flush. -774--The Great Buddha Beryl. -775--The Vanishing Heiress. -776--The Unfinished Letter. -777--A Difficult Trail. -782--A Woman’s Stratagem. -783--The Cliff Castle Affair. -784--A Prisoner of the Tomb. -785--A Resourceful Foe. -789--The Great Hotel Tragedies. -795--Zanoni, the Transfigured. -796--The Lure of Gold. -797--The Man With a Chest. -798--A Shadowed Life. -799--The Secret Agent. -800--A Plot for a Crown. -801--The Red Button. -802--Up Against It. -803--The Gold Certificate. -804--Jack Wise’s Hurry Call. -805--Nick Carter’s Ocean Chase. -807--Nick Carter’s Advertisement. -808--The Kregoff Necklace. -811--Nick Carter and the Nihilists. -812--Nick Carter and the Convict Gang. -813--Nick Carter and the Guilty Governor. -814--The Triangled Coin. -815--Ninety-nine--and One. -816--Coin Number 77. - - -NEW SERIES - -NICK CARTER STORIES - -1--The Man from Nowhere. -2--The Face at the Window. -3--A Fight for a Million. -4--Nick Carter’s Land Office. -5--Nick Carter and the Professor. -6--Nick Carter as a Mill Hand. -7--A Single Clew. -8--The Emerald Snake. -9--The Currie Outfit. -10--Nick Carter and the Kidnapped Heiress. -11--Nick Carter Strikes Oil. -12--Nick Carter’s Hunt for a Treasure. -13--A Mystery of the Highway. -14--The Silent Passenger. -15--Jack Dreen’s Secret. -16--Nick Carter’s Pipe Line Case. -17--Nick Carter and the Gold Thieves. -18--Nick Carter’s Auto Chase. -19--The Corrigan Inheritance. -20--The Keen Eye of Denton. -21--The Spider’s Parlor. -22--Nick Carter’s Quick Guess. -23--Nick Carter and the Murderess. -24--Nick Carter and the Pay Car. -25--The Stolen Antique. -26--The Crook League. -27--An English Cracksman. -28--Nick Carter’s Still Hunt. -29--Nick Carter’s Electric Shock. -30--Nick Carter and the Stolen Duchess. -31--The Purple Spot. -32--The Stolen Groom. -33--The Inverted Cross. -34--Nick Carter and Keno McCall. -35--Nick Carter’s Death Trap. -36--Nick Carter’s Siamese Puzzle. -37--The Man Outside. -38--The Death Chamber. -39--The Wind and the Wire. -40--Nick Carter’s Three Cornered Chase. -41--Dazaar, the Arch-Fiend. -42--The Queen of the Seven. -43--Crossed Wires. -44--A Crimson Clew. -45--The Third Man. -46--The Sign of the Dagger. -47--The Devil Worshipers. -48--The Cross of Daggers. -49--At Risk of Life. -50--The Deeper Game. -51--The Code Message. -52--The Last of the Seven. -53--Ten-Ichi, the Wonderful. -54--The Secret Order of Associated -Crooks. -55--The Golden Hair Clew. -56--Back From the Dead. -57--Through Dark Ways. -58--When Aces Were Trumps. -59--The Gambler’s Last Hand. -60--The Murder at Linden Fells. -61--A Game for Millions. -62--Under Cover. -63--The Last Call. -64--Mercedes Danton’s Double. -65--The Millionaire’s Nemesis. -66--A Princess of the Underworld. -67--The Crook’s Blind. -68--The Fatal Hour. -69--Blood Money. -70--A Queen of Her Kind. -71--Isabel Benton’s Trump Card. -72--A Princess of Hades. -73--A Prince of Plotters. -74--The Crook’s Double. -75--For Life and Honor. -76--A Compact With Dazaar. -77--In the Shadow of Dazaar. -78--The Crime of a Money King. -79--Birds of Prey. -80--The Unknown Dead. -81--The Severed Hand. -82--The Terrible Game of Millions. -83--A Dead Man’s Power. -84--The Secrets of an Old House. -85--The Wolf Within. -86--The Yellow Coupon. -87--In the Toils. -88--The Stolen Radium. -89--A Crime in Paradise. -90--Behind Prison Bars. -91--The Blind Man’s Daughter. -92--On the Brink of Ruin. -93--Letter of Fire. -94--The $100,000 Kiss. -95--Outlaws of the Militia. -96--The Opium-Runners. -97--In Record Time. -98--The Wag-Nuk Clew. -99--The Middle Link. -100--The Crystal Maze. -101--A New Serpent in Eden. -102--The Auburn Sensation. -103--A Dying Chance. -104--The Gargoni Girdle. -105--Twice in Jeopardy. -196--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 Kidnapper. -125--The Pirate Yacht. -126--The Crime of the White Hand. -127--Found in the Jungle. -128--Six Men in a Loop. -129--The Jewels of Wat Chang. -130--The Crime in the Tower. -131--The Fatal Message. -132--Broken Bars. -133--Won by Magic. -134--The Secret of Shangore. -135--Straight to the Goal. -136--The Man They Held Back. -137--The Seal of Gijon. -138--The Traitors of the Tropics. -139--The Pressing Peril. -140--The Melting-Pot. -141--The Duplicate Night. -142--The Edge of a Crime. -143--The Sultan’s Pearls. -144--The Clew of the White Collar. -145--An Unsolved Mystery. -146--Paying the Price. -147--On Death’s Trail. -148--The Mark of Cain. - Dated July 17th, 1915. -149--A Network of Crime. - Dated July 24th, 1915. -150--The House of Fear. - Dated July 31st, 1915. -151--The Mystery of the Crossed Needles. - Dated August 7th, 1915. -152--The Forced Crime. - Dated August 14th, 1915. -153--The Doom of Sang Tu. - Dated August 21st, 1915. -154--The Mask of Death. - Dated August 28th, 1915. -155--The Gordon Elopement. - Dated Sept. 4th, 1915. -156--Blood Will Tell. - - -PRICE, FIVE CENTS PER COPY. 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Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/68474-0.zip b/old/68474-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 3cec71b..0000000 --- a/old/68474-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/68474-h.zip b/old/68474-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 772d492..0000000 --- a/old/68474-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/68474-h/68474-h.htm b/old/68474-h/68474-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index bec3120..0000000 --- a/old/68474-h/68474-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5372 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en" xml:lang="en"> - <head> <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover" /> -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" /> -<title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of A human counterfeit, by Nick Carter. -</title> -<style> - -a:link {background-color:#ffffff;color:blue;text-decoration:none;} - - link {background-color:#ffffff;color:blue;text-decoration:none;} - -a:visited {background-color:#ffffff;color:purple;text-decoration:none;} - -a:hover {background-color:#ffffff;color:#FF0000;text-decoration:underline;} - -.big {font-size: 130%;} - -.blk {page-break-before:always;page-break-after:always;} - -.cbig250 {text-align:center;text-indent:0%;font-weight:bold; -font-size:250%;} - -body{margin-left:4%;margin-right:6%;background:#ffffff;color:black;font-family:"Times New Roman", serif;font-size:medium;} - -.blockquot {margin-top:2%;margin-bottom:2%;} - -.c {text-align:center;text-indent:0%;} - -.cb {text-align:center;text-indent:0%;font-weight:bold;} - -.fint {text-align:center;text-indent:0%; -margin-top:2em;} - - h1 {margin-top:5%;text-align:center;clear:both; -font-weight:normal;} - - h2 {margin-top:4%;margin-bottom:2%;text-align:center;clear:both; - font-size:100%;font-weight:normal;} - - h3 {margin:4% auto 2% auto;text-align:center;clear:both;} - - hr {width:90%;margin:2em auto 2em auto;clear:both;color:black;} - - hr.full {width: 60%;margin:2% auto 2% auto;border-top:1px solid black; -padding:.1em;border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left:none;border-right:none;} - - img {border:none;} - -.lftspc {margin-left:.25em;} - -.nind {text-indent:0%;} - - p {margin-top:.2em;text-align:justify;margin-bottom:.2em;text-indent:4%;} - -.pagenum {display:none;} - -small {font-size: 70%;} - -.smcap {font-variant:small-caps;font-size:100%;} - -table {margin:2% auto;border:none;} - -td {padding-top:.15em;} -</style> - </head> -<body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Nick Carter Stories No. 157, September 11, 1915: A human counterfeit; or, Nick Carter and the crook's double., by Nick Carter</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Nick Carter Stories No. 157, September 11, 1915: A human counterfeit; or, Nick Carter and the crook's double.</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 8, 2022 [eBook #68474]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: David Edwards, Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (Northern Illinois University Digital Library)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NICK CARTER STORIES NO. 157, SEPTEMBER 11, 1915: A HUMAN COUNTERFEIT; OR, NICK CARTER AND THE CROOK'S DOUBLE. ***</div> -<hr class="full" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> - -<div class="c"> -<a href="images/cover.jpg"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" height="500" alt="[The -images of the book's cover is unavailable.]" /></a> -</div> - -<div class="blk"> -<p class="cbig250"> -<img src="images/nickcarter.png" -width="500" -alt="NICK CARTER STORIES" /></p> - -<p class="c"><i>Issued Weekly. Entered as Second-class Matter at the New York Post -Office, by</i> <span class="smcap">Street & Smith</span>, <i>79-89 Seventh Ave., New York</i>.</p> - -<p class="c"><i>Copyright, 1915, by</i> <span class="smcap">Street & Smith</span>. <i>O. G. Smith and G. C. Smith, -Proprietors.</i></p> - -<p class="c">Terms to NICK CARTER STORIES Mail Subscribers.</p> - -<p class="c">(<i>Postage Free.</i>)</p> - -<p class="c">Single Copies or Back Numbers, 5c. Each.</p> - -<table> -<tr><td>3 months</td><td>65c.</td></tr> -<tr><td>4 months</td><td>85c.</td></tr> -<tr><td>6 months</td><td>$1.25</td></tr> -<tr><td>One year</td><td>2.50</td></tr> -<tr><td>2 copies one year</td><td>4.00</td></tr> -<tr><td>1 copy two years</td><td>4.00</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="c"><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="c"><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> - -<p class="c"> -No. 157. <span style="margin-left: 4em; -margin-right:4em;">NEW YORK, September 11, 1915.</span> Price Five Cents.<br /> -</p> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<div class="blk"> -<h1>A HUMAN COUNTERFEIT;<br /><br /> -<small>Or, NICK CARTER AND THE CROOK’S DOUBLE.</small></h1> - -<p class="c">Edited by CHICKERING CARTER.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.<br /><br /> -<small>WHY WAS IT DONE?</small></h2> - -<p>“Extraordinary—that doesn’t half express it. I know of no word that -would. To some extent, Nick, at least, men’s motives are usually -discernible in their conduct. But in this case—why, there was nothing -to it. It is utterly inexplicable. It was like a horrid dream, a hideous -nightmare, or the mental abnormalities of a dope fiend.”</p> - -<p>Nick Carter laughed and spread his napkin, with a significant glance at -his chief assistant, Chick Carter, who sat at one side of the table, -that of a private dining room in a new and fashionable New York hotel.</p> - -<p>“Well, Mr. Clayton, if the story you have to tell warrants so remarkable -a preface, it will be interesting, at least,” said the famous detective.</p> - -<p>“Yes, Nick, and then some,” Chick agreed, smiling. “He so has aroused my -curiosity that I really am all ears.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think I shall disappoint you,” said their companion, more -gravely.</p> - -<p>He was a fashionably clad man of thirty-five, of medium build and with -clean-cut, attractive cast of features, smoothly shaved. There was in -other respects nothing specially distinctive about him. He was the type -of well-bred, well-informed, and thorough business man with which New -York City abounds.</p> - -<p>“Aside from the pleasure of having you dine with me, I am very glad of -the privilege of telling you about my extraordinary experience,” he -added, gazing across the table at Nick. “I want your opinion about it. I -was tempted to call on you for advice immediately after it occurred, but -there were many reasons why I did not do so. I have been terribly busy, -you know, since the opening of the new Westgate six months ago, when the -directors gave me entire management of the house. Busy, Mr. Carter, is -<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span>no name for it.”</p> - -<p>“I can imagine so,” said Nick. “You certainly have a magnificent hotel -here.”</p> - -<p>“There is none better in the city, nor one more generously patronized by -wealthy and fashionable people,” said Clayton, with a quiet display of -pride. “We are getting the cream not only of local society, but also -that of the traveling public. We are almost constantly crowded. It’s an -honor, indeed, to be the sole manager of such a house.”</p> - -<p>“I agree with you, Clayton, but you are the man for the position, I -judge,” said Nick. “I guess the board of directors made no mistake.”</p> - -<p>“It was partly due, perhaps, to my owning quite a block of the stock,” -Clayton replied, with a smile. “Now, to return to the main matter, I -will tell you of my extraordinary experience.”</p> - -<p>“When did it occur, Clayton?” Nick inquired.</p> - -<p>“Three months ago, Mr. Carter, during the first three days in -September.”</p> - -<p>“Three days, eh? It covered a considerable period.”</p> - -<p>“A period of apprehension and anxiety beyond description.”</p> - -<p>“Began at the beginning, Clayton, and tell me the whole business.”</p> - -<p>“I can tell you only what occurred. It will be up to you to determine -why it was done and what it signified.”</p> - -<p>“I will endeavor to do so.”</p> - -<p>“As is my custom once a week,” Clayton began, “I had been out to -Washington Heights to dine with my mother, who dislikes hotel life and -for whom I bought an attractive place out there three years ago. Miss -Langham was with me, the young lady to whom I am engaged. She is the -only daughter of Gustavus Langham, president of the Century Trust -Company.’</p> - -<p>“I am acquainted with him,” Nick observed.</p> - -<p>“They have a suite here in the house,” Clayton added. “My only other -companion was my chauffeur, Paul Hazen,<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> who was driving my touring car. -We started to return about ten o’clock. We had covered less than half a -mile, and had arrived at a point in the road where there are no near -dwellings, when we were held up by a touring car that stopped as we were -approaching, and at such an angle across the road that we could not pass -it.”</p> - -<p>“The occupants evidently had been waiting for you,” Chick remarked.</p> - -<p>“So I presently learned, though I did not think so at the time,” Clayton -replied. “One of the men in the car, the top of which was up and the -side curtains on, had alighted and was looking at one of the front -wheels. Two other men were getting out, and I inferred that they had met -with a mishap. The moment we stopped, however, some twenty feet from -them, all three approached my car, and one of them called me by name. I -then supposed him a friend, whom I did not immediately recognize.”</p> - -<p>“Was it a dark evening?” Nick inquired.</p> - -<p>“Not at all. It was bright starlight.”</p> - -<p>“What followed?”</p> - -<p>“The spokesman of the party did not wait for an answer,” Clayton -continued. “He drew a revolver and ordered me to get out of my car, -saying that I must go with him. At the same time another drew a gun and -held up my chauffeur.”</p> - -<p>“What type of men were they?” Nick asked. “Did they appear to be -ruffians?”</p> - -<p>“Quite the contrary. They were well dressed and appeared like gentlemen, -aside from their conduct. Each wore a full beard, however, and I at once -suspected that they were in disguise.”</p> - -<p>“A very natural inference, Clayton, under the circumstances.”</p> - -<p>“They meant business, all right, for my protest was immediately checked -with a more threatening command to get out of the car. I was told, -nevertheless, that I would not be harmed, robbed, nor subjected to any -serious inconvenience, providing I made no resistance. I was also told -that their only purpose was to detain me from this hotel for a short -time.”</p> - -<p>“I follow you,” Nick nodded.</p> - -<p>“Their spokesman, who did all of the talking, so informed Miss Langham -and Hazen,” Clayton proceeded. “He commanded them to return to the -hotel, and to state that I had left town for a few days. He warned them -against disclosing the truth and making a stir over my abduction. He -threatened, in case they did, that my life would be the forfeit. On the -other hand, he promised that I should be liberated and allowed to return -safely, if his instructions were rigidly obeyed.”</p> - -<p>“Did you say anything to him except to protest against the outrage?”</p> - -<p>“No. He wouldn’t permit it, and the interview lasted only a few moments. -I saw plainly that I had no alternative but to obey, however, and I -resolved to take the rascal on his word. I directed Hazen and Clara to -obey the scoundrel, therefore, and to take no steps for a few days, at -least.”</p> - -<p>“I infer that they did so, since the outrage was not published.”</p> - -<p>“Exactly. That was the reason.”</p> - -<p>“You then went with the gang?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. I had no alternative. Hazen was ordered to drive on with Miss -Langham, and the gang waited until<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> my car had disappeared. I then was -commanded to get into the other, which I did, taking a seat between two -of the knaves in the tonneau.”</p> - -<p>“Were there only three in the gang?”</p> - -<p>“There was one other, the man who was driving the car.”</p> - -<p>“Did he also wear a beard?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“All undoubtedly were in disguise,” said Nick.</p> - -<p>“Sure thing,” Chick added. “Four bearded men in a bunch is very -suggestive.”</p> - -<p>“Continue. What followed, Mr. Clayton?”</p> - -<p>“I then was blindfolded, but not bound nor gagged, though I was -threatened with death if I made any disturbance. I decided to take my -medicine quietly, and I so informed the rascals.”</p> - -<p>“Otherwise you might have been roughly handled.”</p> - -<p>“I inferred so. Ten minutes later, after a rapid ride in directions I -could not possibly determine, I arrived at a house and I was guided to a -room on the second floor. I have not the slightest idea where the house -is located, for I was completely lost by the several turns the car had -taken.”</p> - -<p>“That was done in order to blind you.”</p> - -<p>“No doubt.”</p> - -<p>“What then occurred?”</p> - -<p>“Then began the extraordinary part of the outrage,” said Clayton, with -an expressive shrug of his shoulders. “The bandage was removed from my -eyes. I found myself in quite a large room, the four walls of which were -entirely hung with thick black cloth. Not a window or door, not a -picture, not so much as a square inch of the wall paper, were visible.”</p> - -<p>“By Jove, that was strange, indeed,” Chick remarked.</p> - -<p>“Even the chandelier, pendant from a perfectly plain, plastered ceiling, -also was covered with the same somber cloth. It was like opening one’s -eyes in a chamber of horrors, or one draped in deepest mourning.”</p> - -<p>Nick Carter smiled.</p> - -<p>“The design of your abductors is obvious, Clayton,” said he.</p> - -<p>“Do you think so?”</p> - -<p>“I certainly do,” Nick nodded. “All that was done to prevent your seeing -anything by which you subsequently could positively identify the room.”</p> - -<p>“Well, well, that may be true, Nick, though I then was so affected by -the mystery that that explanation did not occur to me,” said Clayton. -“Nor, in fact, have I since thought of it.”</p> - -<p>“What else did the room contain?” Nick inquired.</p> - -<p>“Only two common wooden chairs and a narrow bed, the linen and blankets -of which were perfectly plain.”</p> - -<p>“Was the floor bare?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. The appearance of it, however, indicated that a carpet had -recently been removed.”</p> - -<p>“Additional evidence that I am right,” said Nick, smiling again. “The -rascals took care that you should see absolutely nothing by which you -could identify the place. Was the room lighted with electricity, or -gas?”</p> - -<p>“Gas. One jet of the chandelier was burning.”</p> - -<p>“What followed?”</p> - -<p>“Only three of the scoundrels accompanied me to the room. I did not -again see the fourth man until the evening of the third day of my -captivity.”</p> - -<p>“Well, what occurred?” Nick inquired.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span></p> - -<p>“The three men then wore black masks,” Clayton continued. “I was ordered -to remove all of my clothing except my undergarments. I did so under -protest, of course, and all of my discarded garments were taken from the -room by one of the rascals, who passed out between two overlapping -draperies and through a concealed door. He presently returned with a -woolen bath robe, which I was told to put on.”</p> - -<p>“And then?”</p> - -<p>“A strong cord then was tied around my ankles, with about a foot of -slack between them, which allowed me to hobble slowly, but effectually -prevented me from flight, or attempting to do anything desperate. I then -was invited to make myself at home, and told to be patient until I was -liberated.”</p> - -<p>“By Jove, that was a strange experience,” said Chick. “What do you make -of it, Nick?”</p> - -<p>“Wait till I have heard the entire story,” Nick replied. “Were you left -alone in the room, Mr. Clayton?”</p> - -<p>“Not for a moment, Nick, during all the time I was there,” said Clayton. -“Two of the masked men withdrew. The third took one of the chairs and -remained to guard and watch me. He was relieved by another about six -o’clock the following morning, and the third relieved him about noon. -This was repeated for three days and nights. Not once did I see either -of them unmasked.”</p> - -<p>“Did they talk with you?”</p> - -<p>“Part of the time, but only on ordinary topics. They would not discuss -the outrage in any respect, nor permit me to question them. On the -morning following my abduction, however, I was given a pen and paper and -ordered to write to Clara Langham, stating that I was well and -comfortable, and that she and Hazen must not deviate from the -instructions given them. I was told to add that my absence would not -exceed three days. I afterward learned that the letter was mailed one -hour later in New York.”</p> - -<p>“It was dropped in town, Clayton, so that your whereabouts should not be -indicated by the postmark,” said Nick.</p> - -<p>“I inferred so, of course.”</p> - -<p>“Were you well fed and properly treated, aside from your confinement?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. I could not reasonably find fault. I was presented with the -morning and evening newspapers, also with several magazines, and was -permitted to read at will.”</p> - -<p>“I see.”</p> - -<p>“Not once, however, did I pass beyond those dismal black curtains, or -get so much as a glimpse at anything outside of that somber room,” -Clayton added, with some feeling. “Not once was I without the gloomy -companionship of a masked man in one of the chairs. I saw only three of -them, as I have said, but I was under frequent scrutiny of another, I am -sure, whose evil eyes were watching me through some part of the somber -draperies.”</p> - -<p>“Did you hear him, that you feel so sure of it?” Nick questioned.</p> - -<p>“No.” Clayton quickly shook his head. “I did not hear him, Nick, or see -him, not once, but I frequently felt that some one was stealthily -watching me.”</p> - -<p>“And that continued for three days?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. In the evening of the third day, Nick, my clothing was returned to -me and I was told to dress. I then was blindfolded and guided from the -house. Then fol<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span>lowed another ride in the touring car, under the same -conditions as before, and I was taken to a lonely road in an outskirt of -Fordham.”</p> - -<p>“And then?”</p> - -<p>“I then was directed to follow the road for a quarter mile, when I would -reach a trolley line into town,” Clayton said, in conclusion. “The four -men then rode rapidly away, and one hour later I arrived at the -Westgate, much to the relief of Miss Langham and my chauffeur, who were -on the verge of reporting my abduction to the police. That’s the whole -story, Nick. Now, as Chick asked, what do you make of it?”</p> - -<p>Nick laid aside his napkin. The dinner had been progressing during -Clayton’s recital, and coffee and cigars were in order.</p> - -<p>“Well, I hardly know what to say,” Nick replied. “Have you notified the -police, or taken any steps to identify your abductors?”</p> - -<p>“I have not,” said Clayton. “They told me that any efforts along that -line would be futile. I noticed the number on their touring car, but -upon looking it up I found no such number. They had a doctored number -plate.”</p> - -<p>“Obviously, Clayton, they took every precaution, not only to hide their -identity, but also to prevent you from identifying the house in which -you were confined, in event of subsequent suspicions,” said Nick. “That -they apprehended subsequent suspicion, moreover, shows plainly that they -were paving the way for the execution of some later design.”</p> - -<p>“That does seem reasonable. I have not thought of that.”</p> - -<p>“Has anything since occurred that might have a bearing on the matter?”</p> - -<p>“I know of nothing, Nick.”</p> - -<p>“Everything in the hotel is all right, so far as you know?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, indeed. Things could not be better.”</p> - -<p>“I asked only because your abductors wanted to detain you from the hotel -for a short time, or so one of them said.”</p> - -<p>“Very true. But there is nothing wrong here. I am sure of that.”</p> - -<p>“You have told me, then, all that you know about the affair, and you are -without any suspicion concerning it?”</p> - -<p>“Exactly. I have told you all, Nick, and am completely in the dark,” -Clayton earnestly declared.</p> - -<p>Nick knocked the ashes from his cigar and prepared to rise from the -table.</p> - -<p>“I have only this to say,” he replied, more impressively: “Be on your -guard. Men never go to so much trouble, nor take such chances, Clayton, -unless they have some definite and probably felonious design in view.”</p> - -<p>“That’s true, Nick,” Chick put in.</p> - -<p>“There certainly is something in the wind,” Nick added. “It is -impossible to predict what it is, or when it will occur, but it is safe -to say it relates to something with which you are identified. Otherwise, -Clayton, you would never have met with such an experience. I can only -warn you to be vigilant and constantly on your guard. A bomb may burst -when it is least expected.”</p> - -<p>“That’s right, too,” Chick declared, as they arose from the table. “No -man, Nick, could say more.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Chester Clayton thanked the detective for his advice and promised to -be governed by it.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span></p> - -<p>Precisely one week later, at eleven o’clock in the morning, Nick -Carter’s prediction was fulfilled.</p> - -<p>A message from Clayton, addressed to Nick, and received in his library, -called the detective to the Hotel Westgate.</p> - -<p>It contained only half a dozen words:</p> - -<p>“Come quickly. The bomb has burst.”</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.<br /><br /> -<small>AN AMAZING ROBBERY.</small></h2> - -<p>Nick Carter responded immediately to Clayton’s urgent message. It was -half past eleven when he entered the magnificent new Westgate, and -almost the first person he saw in the spacious and elaborately designed -rotunda and main office was one of the house detectives, Nat Webber, -with whom he was well acquainted.</p> - -<p>Webber saw him entering and hurried to meet him.</p> - -<p>“I am looking for Mr. Clayton,” said Nick. “Where will I find him?”</p> - -<p>“He is with Mademoiselle Falloni, in her suite on the fourth floor,” -said Webber, with his face reflecting no end of conflicting sentiments. -“She’s up in the air a mile. So is Madame Escobar, who has the adjoining -suite. Clayton has it all over both of them, however, for he’s in the -air out of sight. It’s my opinion, Carter, that he has suddenly gone -daffy, as mad as a March hare, or any old jack rabbit. There can be -nothing else to it.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean?” Nick demanded. “What has occurred here?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell you what I know,” said Webber. “If you can tell me what it -means, Nick, you’ll be going some. About half past ten—stop a bit. Come -here and let me show you. Do you see that door?”</p> - -<p>He drew Nick toward the office inclosure while speaking and pointed to a -door leading out of it to the right.</p> - -<p>“Yes, certainly,” said Nick.</p> - -<p>“That’s the door to Clayton’s private office,” said Webber. “There is an -opposite door which opens into a corridor leading to one of the -stairways, the ladies’ elevator, and the main dining room.”</p> - -<p>“Well?”</p> - -<p>“At half past ten,” Webber resumed; “Clayton was seen to leave the -office inclosure and enter his private office. He closed the door, as he -habitually does, denoting that he does not wish to be intruded upon. The -clerks never interrupt him at such times except on very important -business. Those are his instructions.”</p> - -<p>“Well?” Nick repeated.</p> - -<p>“About five minutes later Clayton came from the corridor and spoke to -the head clerk, Robert Vernon, over the counter, directing the clerk to -hand Mademoiselle Falloni’s jewel casket from the vault, remarking that -she wanted them in her suite and that he would take the casket up to -her.”</p> - -<p>“Is that so?” Nick muttered, brows knitting.</p> - -<p>There was no need for Webber to tell him of the tremendous value of -Mademoiselle Falloni’s wonderful jewels. The world-famous prima donna, -then singing <i>Cleopatra</i> with the International Grand Opera Company, had -created a sensation and broken all records with her dazzling display of -gems and jewels in her portrayal of Egypt’s ill-starred queen.</p> - -<p>The precautions to preclude robbery, moreover, would<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> have seemed amply -adequate to protect her. Three special detectives occupied her limousine -during its run to and from the opera house. They guarded her dressing -room between the acts. They watched her constantly when on the stage. -From the moment her jewel casket was taken from the vault in the -Westgate, in fact, until it was safely returned to it after each -performance, these three trusty guardians never once lost sight of it.</p> - -<p>Not less careful of her own costly jewels, which were deposited in the -Westgate vault when not in use on the stage, was Madame Escobar, the -celebrated Swedish contralto, to whom Detective Webber also had -referred.</p> - -<p>Half a million of money, in fact, was a conservative estimate of the -value of both superb collections, though that of Mademoiselle Falloni -greatly exceeded the other.</p> - -<p>“Continue,” said Nick, gazing steadily at Webber. “Tell me the whole -business.”</p> - -<p>“That won’t take long,” returned the detective. “After five more -minutes, Nick, Clayton again appeared at the office inclosure and asked -for Madame Escobar’s jewel case. He remarked to Vernon that the two -singers wanted to compare some of their diamonds, and that both caskets -would presently be returned. Vernon did not for a moment suspect -anything wrong. Who on earth, as a matter of fact, would have suspected -Clayton of anything crooked? Vernon brought the jewel case from the -vault and Clayton departed with it.”</p> - -<p>“And then?”</p> - -<p>“He came out of his private office a few minutes later, entering the -clerks’ inclosure.”</p> - -<p>“You mean through the door between the two offices?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, certainly.”</p> - -<p>“But when he came after the jeweled caskets, or the first one, at least, -he came from the other door, and through the corridor.”</p> - -<p>“Exactly.”</p> - -<p>“What followed?”</p> - -<p>“Vernon asked, when Clayton entered the inclosure, if it would not be -wise to have me keep an eye on Mademoiselle Falloni’s suite,” said -Webber. “Clayton asked him for what reason. I was standing near enough -to hear both. Vernon replied that something might happen to the two -jewel caskets, since he, meaning Clayton, had left the women alone with -them.”</p> - -<p>“What did Clayton say to that?” Nick inquired.</p> - -<p>“Say to it?” Webber echoed. “He asked Vernon to explain, which he did, -and Clayton then staggered all hearers, myself included, by declaring -that he had not been out of his private office for nearly half an hour. -Great guns, what a crust! Could you beat it? Could you beat it, Nick? -The man has gone daffy, clean off his perch. He——”</p> - -<p>“One moment, Webber,” said Nick, interrupting. “Where were you when -Clayton came after the jewel cases?”</p> - -<p>“Right here in the office.”</p> - -<p>“Did you see him?”</p> - -<p>“See him—certainly, Nick, I saw him.”</p> - -<p>“Are you sure it was he, absolutely sure?”</p> - -<p>“Rats!” Webber blurted derisively. “Sure of it? That’s a fat question. -Do you think I’ve been hanging around here for six months and don’t know -Chester Clayton by sight? I know it was he, Nick. I would stake my life -on it. Here’s Vernon. Ask him.”</p> - -<p>Nick turned to the head clerk, who had been listening<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> over the marble -counter, within a few feet of which the detectives were standing.</p> - -<p>“What do you say, Mr. Vernon?” he inquired.</p> - -<p>“I can speak as emphatically as Mr. Webber,” was the reply. “I know -positively that Mr. Clayton took both jewel cases from me.”</p> - -<p>“You would not admit, then, that you could be mistaken?”</p> - -<p>“Impossible—utterly impossible!” Vernon forcibly declared. “Why, Mr. -Carter, he stood as near to me as you are at this moment. He is not a -man who could be successfully impersonated by another.”</p> - -<p>“Certainly not,” put in Webber flatly.</p> - -<p>“His smooth-shaved face could not be duplicated,” added Vernon. “The man -was Clayton, with Clayton’s features, eyes, voice, and manner of -speaking. Furthermore, an impersonator, if that is conceivable, could -not have had on Clayton’s clothing. I would have detected any change -since morning. I noticed his suit, his navy-blue necktie, and his -carbuncle scarfpin, when I gave him Mademoiselle Falloni’s jewel casket -over the counter. Mistake—that’s utterly absurd, out of the question.”</p> - -<p>Nick did not argue the point.</p> - -<p>“How large is the casket?” he inquired.</p> - -<p>“About a foot long and eight inches square on the ends,” said Vernon. -“It is made of aluminum and it has two combination locks.”</p> - -<p>“And Madame Escobar’s?”</p> - -<p>“That is a leather-covered case, about half as large.”</p> - -<p>“Both of these thefts, then, if such they are, took place in about -twenty minutes?” said Nick inquiringly.</p> - -<p>“Just about that, Mr. Carter,” Vernon nodded.</p> - -<p>“What did Clayton say, or do, when informed of the circumstances?”</p> - -<p>“He said very little, except to repeatedly assert that he had not been -out of his private office,” said Vernon. “He appeared nonplused, -completely staggered for a few moments, and then he suddenly ran through -his private office and out into the adjoining corridor, where he began -searching in all directions for a man who had been with him all the -while in his private office—or so he said,” Vernon added significantly.</p> - -<p>“Well, well, if that man can be found, he will corroborate Clayton and -settle the——”</p> - -<p>“But he cannot be found, Nick,” Webber put in forcibly. “Clayton cannot -even recall his name. No man inquired for him at the desk. No man was -seen going to the door of his private office. No man was seen to leave -it. The elevator boy in that corridor is equally positive, on the -contrary, that he saw Clayton twice on the stairs. Others saw him also, -and it’s absurd to suppose all are mistaken.”</p> - -<p>“You speak as if thoroughly convinced, Webber, that Mr. Clayton has -stolen both jewel cases; that he has suddenly turned from an upright and -honorable man and become a criminal,” Nick said, more forcibly.</p> - -<p>“No, no, I don’t mean exactly that,” Webber quickly protested. “But the -circumstances, Nick, certainly speak for themselves. What I really think -is that Clayton has lost his mind; that his brain is turned by overwork, -anxiety, and the thought of having property of such extraordinary value -in the hotel vault. I think he removed the jewel cases in a state of -mental aberration, from which he has not yet recovered. I don’t think -he<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> now realizes that he did so, or knows what he has done with them.”</p> - -<p>“Well, that is a more considerate view of the matter, at least,” Nick -replied incredulously. “Did you overhear any conversation in the private -office, Mr. Vernon, during the time Clayton claims to have been there?”</p> - -<p>“I did not, Mr. Carter.”</p> - -<p>“Could you ordinarily have heard it? Are voices audible to persons in -the outer office when the door of the private office is closed?”</p> - -<p>“Not unless they are raised considerably above an ordinary tone,” said -Vernon. “One must speak quite loud to be heard outside.”</p> - -<p>“Where is Clayton now?” Nick inquired.</p> - -<p>“With Mademoiselle Falloni,” said the clerk. “He rushed up to her suite -after his vain search for the visitor he claims to have had, and almost -immediately he sent down the message I telephoned to you. He has not -since been down here.”</p> - -<p>“Call up my house again, Mr. Vernon,” Nick abruptly directed. “Tell -whoever answers you that I want Chick and Patsy Garvan to come here -immediately. Tell them to wait here for me, if they arrive before I -return. Get a hall boy. I will go up to Mademoiselle Falloni’s suite at -once.”</p> - -<p>“Front!” shouted the clerk.</p> - -<p>“The bomb has burst, indeed,” thought Nick, as he hastened toward the -elevator.</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.<br /><br /> -<small>THE WOMAN WHO FAINTED.</small></h2> - -<p>The incidents depicted had transpired quickly. Only about half an hour -had passed since the extraordinary crime was discovered, assuming it to -have been a crime, rather than the irresponsible act of a man mentally -unbalanced, as Detective Webber suspected.</p> - -<p>Nick Carter did not have any faith in that theory, however, though he -deferred forming any definite theory of his own until he had looked a -little deeper into the circumstances. The startling news had spread -through the house by that time, as appeared in the numerous guests who -had gathered in the corridors, engaged in earnest discussions of the -case, and observed by the detective while the elevator sped up to the -fourth floor.</p> - -<p>Nick was promptly admitted to the magnificent suite occupied by -Mademoiselle Falloni and her two maids, and the scene in her apartments -was about what he was expecting.</p> - -<p>He found Mademoiselle Falloni completely prostrated by her loss. She was -lying faint and pale on a luxurious couch in the parlor, in the care of -her maids and a physician living in the house.</p> - -<p>Madame Escobar, who had been called into the suite, was nearly as deeply -distressed, but she had greater command of her feelings. She was in -tears in an armchair.</p> - -<p>Mr. Clayton, whom Nick had not seen since their dinner of a week before, -now appeared to have gained his composure, and evidently was remaining -there to do what he could to calm and encourage the two celebrated -vocalists, both of whom had been guests of the hotel during the previous -month of the opera season.</p> - -<p>The only other person present was a stately, graceful girl in the -twenties, as beautiful as the ideal of an old<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> master. She was very -pale, however, with such manifest anxiety for Clayton that Nick -immediately identified her as Clara Langham, the young lady to whom he -was engaged.</p> - -<p>“Ah, here is Mr. Carter, now,” cried Clayton, hastening to greet the -detective. “We have been waiting for you, Nick. I have been trying to -calm the ladies, and have succeeded only by predicting the speedy -recovery of their jewels through your prompt work in this terrible case. -Let me introduce you and tell you about it, that no time may be lost.”</p> - -<p>“I already am informed of most of the known circumstances,” Nick -replied, shaking hands with him. “Detective Webber and Mr. Vernon have -told me. Time, as you say, may be of value.”</p> - -<p>Clayton hastened to introduce the three ladies. The two victims of the -crime brightened up perceptibly upon seeing the famous detective, though -still with irrepressible sobs Mademoiselle Falloni begged him to restore -her lost treasures, which Nick assured her that he would leave no stone -unturned to do.</p> - -<p>Miss Langham greeted him more calmly, saying, with girlish earnestness, -nevertheless:</p> - -<p>“I heard of the dreadful circumstances and that Chester was here, so I -came to comfort him. Oh, please, Mr. Carter, don’t think for a moment -that he is guilty of anything wrong. He is incapable of it. This is the -outcome, I am sure of that terrible experience of three months ago, of -which he has told you.”</p> - -<p>“I think so, too, Miss Langham,” Nick replied.</p> - -<p>“I am so glad to hear you say so. I felt sure of it the moment I heard -of the terrible crime.”</p> - -<p>“I will do all that is possible, Miss Langham, I assure you.”</p> - -<p>Clayton then introduced the physician.</p> - -<p>“Doctor David Guelpa,” said he. “Shake hands with Mr. Carter, doctor. He -is the Hungarian specialist, Nick, who has quarters in Fifth Avenue. -Luckily he was in his suite on this floor, however, when Mademoiselle -Falloni was informed of the robbery. For she fainted dead away, and -since has been in hysterics. I sent for Doctor Guelpa, and he came -immediately.”</p> - -<p>“I am pleased to know you, Mr. Carter, very pleased,” said the -physician, while they shook hands. “I long have known you by name. Very -pleased, sir, I am sure.”</p> - -<p>Nick bowed and responded in conventional terms, at the same time viewing -the Hungarian specialist a bit curiously.</p> - -<p>Doctor Guelpa was a man of medium build and apparently about forty years -old. He looked like a foreigner. His complexion was medium, also, and -his head was crowned with a bushy growth of reddish-brown hair, while -his lower features were covered with a mustache and a profuse crinkly -beard of the same obtrusive hue.</p> - -<p>He wore spectacles with tortoise-shell rims and bows, the lenses of -which were unusually thick, and he blinked frequently in a way denoting -near-sightedness and a slight nervous affection. He spoke with a slight -foreign accent, moreover, but was a man of pleasing address and evident -gentility.</p> - -<p>Nick turned almost immediately to Clayton, however, saying while he took -a chair:</p> - -<p>“That we may lose no time, as you say, we will get right at this matter. -I have sent for two of my assistants.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> While waiting for them, Clayton, -I wish to hear your side of the story.”</p> - -<p>“There is no side of it, Nick,” Clayton earnestly answered. “I am -outside of the whole business, barring the assertions of others that I -figure in the case, I deny that emphatically. I know nothing about the -crime, for such it is, of course.”</p> - -<p>“You were in your private office when it was committed?” questioned -Nick, intently regarding him.</p> - -<p>“Yes, certainly, as I have stated.”</p> - -<p>“In company with——”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know with whom,” Clayton interrupted. “I entered my office -about half past ten, intending to write several personal letters. I had -been there only a few moments when the door was opened, that leading -into the hall corridor, and an elderly, well-dressed man stepped in and -asked me to spare him a few minutes upon important business.”</p> - -<p>“A stranger?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. He mentioned his name, but I did not note it carefully and I -cannot now recall it.”</p> - -<p>“What did he want?”</p> - -<p>“I asked him of what his business consisted, and he said that he wanted -to confer with me about special hotel rates and accommodations for a -wealthy Persian prince, for whom he stated he was acting as an agent, -and who is coming to America incognito with his wife and a retinue of -servants.”</p> - -<p>“You then consented to talk with him?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. I suspected nothing, of course, and the proposition appealed to -me,” Clayton explained. “I invited him to be seated, and we entered into -a discussion on the matter. He appeared well informed and questioned me -along various lines bearing upon the subject, at the same time making -numerous entries in a notebook of the terms and other details that I -mentioned.”</p> - -<p>“I see.”</p> - -<p>“I anticipated that I might obtain a desirable and profitable patron,” -Clayton added. “Our interview lasted about twenty minutes, I should say, -and he then thanked me and departed, stating that he would see me -again.”</p> - -<p>“And then?”</p> - -<p>“I then returned to my desk and began my letters. Unable to recall the -precise address of the man I was about to write, however, I stepped into -the general office to get it from the bookkeeper. I then learned from -Vernon what had occurred, Nick, and that was the first I knew of it, and -all that I know of it.”</p> - -<p>“You attempted, I understand, to find the stranger with whom you had -been talking.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, naturally,” nodded Clayton. “When told so positively that I had -taken the jewel cases, it quickly occurred to me that I might find it -necessary to establish an alibi. The stranger is the only person who can -corroborate my assertions. I rushed out of the office to find him, -therefore, but he had disappeared.”</p> - -<p>“That is unfortunate,” said Nick. “Not that I personally doubt your -statements, Clayton, but because his corroboration of them would dispel -misgivings from the minds of others, some quite closely associated with -you.”</p> - -<p>“I realize that, Nick, most keenly,” Clayton said gravely.</p> - -<p>“It seems utterly incredible to me, nevertheless, that Mr. Clayton has -misrepresented anything, or is capable of such a crime,” Doctor Guelpa -remarked, quite forcibly. “I really will never believe it.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, doctor,” Clayton said quickly, bowing.</p> - -<p>“Describe the man with whom you talked, Clayton,” Nick directed.</p> - -<p>“He is an ordinary type of man, Nick, apparently about sixty years old. -He has dark hair and a full beard, sprinkled with gray. He is quite tall -and of rather slender build. He talked and appeared like a gentleman.”</p> - -<p>“He wore a full beard, did he?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“It’s ten to one, then, that he was disguised.”</p> - -<p>Doctor Guelpa laughed audibly.</p> - -<p>“I hope you don’t imply, Mr. Carter, that one in every ten men that wear -a full beard is in disguise,” said he jestingly. “I have, as you see, -quite a profuse growth of whiskers.”</p> - -<p>“Not at all, doctor,” Nick replied, smiling. “Under the circumstances -involved, however, I always distrust bearded men.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes, to be sure,” nodded the physician. “I appreciate the point, -of course.”</p> - -<p>“Can you recall in the stranger, Clayton, as you now remember him, any -characteristic in voice, figure, or manner of speech, resembling that of -either of the masked men whom you encountered three months ago?” Nick -inquired.</p> - -<p>“I cannot say that I do, Nick.”</p> - -<p>“Well, one fact is obvious,” said the detective. “If you are not -mentally wrong, Clayton, and I see no indications of it, and if your -statements are true, of which I personally have not the slightest doubt, -this crime was committed by a man closely resembling——”</p> - -<p>Nick was interrupted by a quick, insistent knock on the hall door.</p> - -<p>Mademoiselle Falloni’s maid, who then was standing near by, hastened to -open it.</p> - -<p>Madame Escobar uttered a cry, with countenance lighting, and started up -from her chair.</p> - -<p>“Courage!” she cried, addressing Mademoiselle Falloni. “Some one brings -news—good news, perhaps! Courage, Helena!”</p> - -<p>Instead, however, a stately woman in black swept into the room, a -remarkably handsome woman in the fifties, but whose hair was prematurely -gray, and the gravity of whose refined, almost classical face denoted -that her life had not been one of all sunshine. She was fashionably clad -and in street attire.</p> - -<p>Clayton sprang up to meet her, crying impulsively:</p> - -<p>“My mother! I did not dream it was you.”</p> - -<p>The woman stopped short, gazing at him with wide eyes and an expression -of dread on her white face.</p> - -<p>“What is this I hear, Chester?” she cried, as if oblivious to the -presence of others. “Tell me quickly. Tell me quickly, my son! You -suspected of crime, of——”</p> - -<p>“No, no; nothing of the kind,” Clayton hurriedly cried, both hands -uplifted. “A crime has been committed, but I know nothing about it. The -criminal was a man so like me that——”</p> - -<p>Clayton caught his breath and stopped short.</p> - -<p>The woman had reeled as if struck a blow, and every vestige of color had -left her face.</p> - -<p>“Like you!” she echoed, gasping. “So like you that—that——”</p> - -<p>Doctor Guelpa started toward her.</p> - -<p>“Careful, madame!” he cried, with hands outstretched. “Be calm, or you -will<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>——”</p> - -<p>His warning came too late.</p> - -<p>The woman’s eyes suddenly rolled upward. Her arms dropped lax at each -side. Before any observer could reach her, she fell unconscious upon the -floor, as ghastly as if the hand of death had suddenly claimed her.</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.<br /><br /> -<small>HOW NICK SIZED IT UP.</small></h2> - -<p>Nick Carter entered his Madison Avenue residence at four o’clock that -afternoon and hurried into his library, in which Chick Carter and Patsy -Garvan were awaiting him.</p> - -<p>Their investigations in the Hotel Westgate had ended abruptly -temporarily some time before. They had been productive of no more than -has appeared. No additional clews were discovered. No trace of the -stolen jewel cases had been found, nor any evidence or testimony -obtained pointing to the identity of the thief, aside from that -involving Chester Clayton, the one most important man in the house, and -the only one, in fact, or a perfect counterfeit of him, could so have -obtained the jewel cases from the hotel vault.</p> - -<p>Numerous persons had been found who had seen him in the hotel office and -corridor, nevertheless, or positively testified thereto; but none who -had seen the stranger he described, and on whom alone he could depend to -corroborate his statements and establish his innocence.</p> - -<p>As a result of all this, both Mademoiselle Falloni and Madame Escobar -had insisted that Clayton must be arrested, which was reluctantly done -by Detective Webber, despite the objections of Nick Carter and his -refusal to comply with the insistent demands of the famous vocalists.</p> - -<p>The mission from which Nick was returning at four o’clock, however, -appeared in his first remark.</p> - -<p>“Well, I got him out,” he said, while removing his coat and hat.</p> - -<p>“On bail?” Chick tersely questioned.</p> - -<p>“Yes. I had to put up some argument, however, and his bondsmen a cool -thirty thousand dollars,” said Nick, laughing a bit grimly. “I promised -Judge Sadler that I would find the real crooks and recover the jewels, -or, rather, I predicted it, and it now is up to us to make good.”</p> - -<p>“Make good, chief, is right,” declared Patsy. “I’m on nettles to get at -it, for fair, if I only knew where and how to begin.”</p> - -<p>“The way will open,” Nick replied confidently.</p> - -<p>“What’s your big idea, chief?”</p> - -<p>“This job was done by some one living in the hotel.”</p> - -<p>“Do you really think so?”</p> - -<p>“I’m sure of it. No outsider could have accomplished it. It was done too -quickly. The entire trick was turned in twenty minutes.”</p> - -<p>“That’s right, too,” nodded Patsy.</p> - -<p>“Nor could an outsider have got away with both jewel cases, taken -separately, without being seen by some one in the house. The crook is a -guest in the hotel, so are probably his confederates.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think the stranger who talked with Clayton had a hand in the -job?” Chick asked.</p> - -<p>“Undoubtedly. His part was to detain Clayton in his private office until -the rascal who impersonated Clayton could turn the trick.”</p> - -<p>“But, by Jove, it seems incredible that Clayton could have been -impersonated,” Chick said doubtfully. “It’s not<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> easy to counterfeit a -smooth-shaved man of his type. Especially under such circumstances. He -got by at least a dozen persons who are well acquainted with Clayton. -Besides, Vernon noticed his garments, his necktie, and his carbuncle -pin. By Jove, it seems incredible.”</p> - -<p>Nick emphasized his reply by thumping his desk with his knuckles.</p> - -<p>“Clayton either is guilty, or he is not,” said he. “I feel sure he is -not. If I am right, and I’m going to bank the limit on it, he was -impersonated by some one. You must admit that.”</p> - -<p>“Certainly,” Chick allowed. “That goes without saying.”</p> - -<p>“It is confirmed, moreover, by what occurred three months ago.”</p> - -<p>“Clayton’s abduction?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“How do you now size it up?”</p> - -<p>“It’s as plain as twice two,” said Nick. “That job was pulled off only -to pave the way for this one. Clayton was abducted to be studied, that -his voice, manner, facial expressions, every outside detail of him, in -fact, might be perfectly imitated. You remember, Chick, that he sensed -the frequent and stealthy espionage of some person whom he did not see.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, indeed, I remember.”</p> - -<p>“That unknown spy, take it from me, was the crook who to-day -impersonated Clayton,” Nick added.</p> - -<p>“Well, possibly.”</p> - -<p>“Bear in mind, too, that Clayton was deprived of his outside clothing -during the entire three days of his mysterious captivity. His pin was -duplicated in the meantime, and a suit of clothing precisely matching -his was obtained. I learned, when I questioned him privately after his -mother was revived and the circumstances explained to her, that he -to-day had on the very suit he wore at the time of his abduction.”</p> - -<p>“By Jove, that is quite significant,” Chick admitted.</p> - -<p>“Gee whiz! it’s more than that, Chick,” cried Patsy. “It’s almost -convincing.”</p> - -<p>“That’s precisely what it is, Patsy,” said Nick. “Since then, no doubt, -the rascals have obtained other suits like those worn by Clayton, rather -than depend upon his wearing that particular one at the time when it was -necessary to commit the robbery. He probably wore it to-day by chance. -The coincidence, nevertheless, is no less significant on that account.”</p> - -<p>“Not an atom less, chief, surely.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think, then, that they had this jewel robbery in view when they -abducted Clayton?” Chick asked.</p> - -<p>“I certainly do,” Nick replied. “Mademoiselle Falloni’s jewels have a -world-wide reputation. They have been the sensation of Europe. She -invariably wears them when singing <i>Cleopatra</i>. Her engagement in New -York at this time was announced months ago, also the fact that a suite -in the Westgate had been retained for her. All of these details were -literally handed to the crooks by the newspapers, enabling them to -definitely plan this robbery.”</p> - -<p>“Well, all that does seem quite reasonable,” Chick nodded.</p> - -<p>“Let’s go a step farther, then,” Nick continued. “Having thus paved the -way for the crime, what was the most natural step for the crooks to have -taken, or at least the one who was to impersonate Clayton?<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“You say.”</p> - -<p>“Obviously, Chick, it would have been to take quarters in the hotel, -seeking apartments convenient for the job and pretending to be a -reputable person. Not only could Clayton’s daily habits in the house -then be observed, but suspicion after the crime would also be averted.”</p> - -<p>“Why so?”</p> - -<p>“Because old residents in a hotel are seldom suspected under such -circumstances. Recent guests are the ones who incur distrust.”</p> - -<p>“That also is true, Nick.”</p> - -<p>“Furthermore, no doubt, the crooks have reasoned that no connection -would be suspected between this crime and the abduction episodes of more -than three months ago.”</p> - -<p>“Nor would it have been, Nick, if Clayton had not mentioned the strange -circumstances to us.”</p> - -<p>“Possibly not. Nothing definite, at all events, would have been deduced -from them,” said Nick.</p> - -<p>“Gee! it strikes me, chief, that we ought to derive some advantage from -all this,” said Patsy.</p> - -<p>“I think that we can.”</p> - -<p>“What’s your scheme?”</p> - -<p>“I want you, Patsy, to return to the Westgate in disguise,” said Nick. -“Get next to Vernon, the head clerk, and confide your identity to him.”</p> - -<p>“And then?”</p> - -<p>“Then learn from him what persons now in the house have been permanent -guests for the past three months, or since a week or two earlier, having -arrived there about the time of Clayton’s abduction.”</p> - -<p>“I see the point, chief,” Patsy quickly nodded.</p> - -<p>“There probably are not many who have been there precisely that length -of time, and the books will readily supply the information. Get a list -of them from Vernon, and then proceed to look them up on the quiet. Sift -out who cannot be reasonably suspected. Well-known persons, those of -recognized integrity, any whose apartments are badly suited for such a -job—there are many ways by which you can eliminate those not reasonably -to be distrusted.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve got you, chief, dead to rights.”</p> - -<p>“We may discover by this eliminating process some who seriously warrant -suspicion,” Nick added. “You then may go a step farther, Patsy, and see -what you can learn about them.”</p> - -<p>“Trust me for that, chief. I’ll get all that’s coming to me,” declared -Patsy confidently.</p> - -<p>“You may report in person, or by telephone.”</p> - -<p>“That will depend on what’s doing. May I act on my own judgment?”</p> - -<p>“If sure you are right.”</p> - -<p>“That’s good enough for me, chief. Shall I leave at once?”</p> - -<p>“Presently.”</p> - -<p>“By Jove, there’s one point, Nick, that I cannot get over,” insisted -Chick, who had been deep in thought for several moments. “It won’t run, -grapple it how I will.”</p> - -<p>“What point is that, Chick?” Nick inquired.</p> - -<p>“The extraordinary likeness of the thief and Clayton. I know of no man, -not excluding yourself, who is so clever in the art of making up as to -counterfeit a smooth-shaved, clean-cut face like that of Chester -Clayton. That one point, which is inconsistent with the theory you have -formed, is still in my crop. I can’t swallow it.”</p> - -<p>“I admit the difficulty,” said Nick, smiling a bit oddly.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> “I think -there is one person, however, who could enlighten us a little on that -point, if so inclined.”</p> - -<p>“Whom do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“Clayton’s mother—Mrs. Julia Clayton.”</p> - -<p>“Why do you think so?”</p> - -<p>“For two reasons,” said Nick. “First, because of something she said when -she entered Mademoiselle Falloni’s suite immediately after learning -about the robbery. I already have told you the circumstances.”</p> - -<p>“But not what she said, Nick.”</p> - -<p>“In reply to an assertion by Clayton that the robbery had been committed -by some man so like him as to escape detection, she cried with a gasp, -catching up only two words—‘like you! So like you that—that’—and -there she collapsed, Chick, unable to finish the response she had in -mind, and down she crashed upon the floor in a dead faint.”</p> - -<p>“And you deduce from that?” Chick questioned.</p> - -<p>“Merely that Mrs. Julia Clayton knows of some man who bears a very close -likeness to her son.”</p> - -<p>“By Jove, there may be something in that.”</p> - -<p>“It listens good to me, all right,” put in Patsy.</p> - -<p>“But what did she say, Nick, when she revived?”</p> - -<p>“That is where my second reason comes in,” said Nick. “She did not -volunteer to say anything about it, nor to explain her sudden collapse. -She listened to Clayton’s statement of the circumstances, and appeared -to feel relieved, but not a word of explanation came from her.”</p> - -<p>“That was a bit strange, indeed.”</p> - -<p>“I think Doctor Guelpa noticed it, also, for I detected a look of -surprise in his eyes.”</p> - -<p>“Why didn’t you question Mrs. Clayton?”</p> - -<p>“The time was not favorable,” said Nick. “She was not in a mood to have -answered personal questions. I saw that plainly enough, Chick, and I -decided to defer interrogating her. I preferred, moreover to see her -alone.”</p> - -<p>“You intend doing so, then?”</p> - -<p>“Surely.”</p> - -<p>“When?”</p> - -<p>“This evening. I shall call at her home on Washington Heights. I think I -may find her alone.”</p> - -<p>“In that case——”</p> - -<p>“In that case, Chick, she will tell me what she had on her mind this -morning, or I’ll know the reason why,” Nick interrupted, with ominous -emphasis, while he arose from his swivel chair. “Go ahead, Patsy, along -the lines I have directed. We’ll start this ball rolling.”</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.<br /><br /> -<small>PATSY STRIKES A SNAG.</small></h2> - -<p>Patsy Garvan never did things by halves. Soon after six o’clock that -evening a dapper young man of remarkably inoffensive aspect, barring a -somewhat fierce upward twist of his mustache, which was also remarkable -in that it could be quickly transferred to his vest pocket—soon after -six o’clock this dapper young man entered the Hotel Westgate and -sauntered to the office inclosure.</p> - -<p>Though it was a busy hour of the day and the subordinate clerks actively -engaged, Patsy quickly found an opportunity to speak to Vernon, to whom -he said quietly:</p> - -<p>“Keep that same expression on your face, old top. A look of surprise -might be seen by some gink whom we least suspect. I’m Garvan, Nick -Carter’s assistant. In<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>vite me into that cubbyhole back of the -bookkeeper’s desk. I want a bit of information from you.”</p> - -<p>Vernon instantly grasped the situation. He nodded, while smiling and -shaking hands with Patsy over the counter.</p> - -<p>“Step around to the end of the inclosure and I’ll let you in,” he -replied.</p> - -<p>Patsy did so and was admitted, taking a chair back of the bookkeeper’s -high desk, which concealed him from view of persons outside of the -inclosure.</p> - -<p>“By Jove, Garvan, I never would have recognized you,” Vernon then -laughed quietly. “What can I do for you?”</p> - -<p>Patsy told him without stating why he wanted the information, but -cautioned him to say nothing about the matter.</p> - -<p>“I can tell you in a very few minutes,” Vernon then said, more gravely. -“The ledger accounts will show just who has been here during the period -you mention, also just when they arrived. I will get it. We will look it -over together.”</p> - -<p>“Go ahead,” nodded Patsy.</p> - -<p>It required, as Vernon had said, only a few minutes to learn who had -been permanent guests in the hotel since the middle of August. The list -was not a long one. It contained only four names, in fact, though -thousands of transients had been coming and going during the same -interval.</p> - -<p>“Permanent guests did not begin to flock in, you see, until the end of -the summer season,” Vernon explained.</p> - -<p>“So much the better,” said Patsy. “This simplifies the matter. Two of -these guests are women. What do you know about them?”</p> - -<p>“Both are wealthy widows,” said Vernon. “One is seventy years old, and -she has only a maid companion. The other has two daughters, who occupy -the same suite with her. Her rooms are on the ninth floor.”</p> - -<p>“Any man living with either of them?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“I can safely drop them then, all right,” thought Patsy. “What about -this man Hanaford, of London?”</p> - -<p>“He is an American representative of several big English woolen mills,” -said Vernon. “I have known him for a long time. He is about sixty years -old and is a man of unquestionable integrity.”</p> - -<p>“What about the last, then?” questioned Patsy, assured as to the English -agent. “By Jove, he’s the man the chief saw in Mademoiselle Falloni’s -suite this morning—Doctor David Guelpa.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, the same,” nodded Vernon. “I am not so sure about him.”</p> - -<p>“What do you know about him?”</p> - -<p>“Very little. In fact, Garvan, nothing positively reliable. He came here -on the fifth of September, as you see, with a valet named John Draper.”</p> - -<p>“Two days after Clayton’s abduction and liberation,” thought Patsy, with -growing suspicion.</p> - -<p>“He stated that he was a Hungarian physician, a throat specialist, and -that he might remain indefinitely in New York,” Vernon continued. “He -took an expensive suite, which he since has occupied with his valet, and -a few days later he opened offices in Fifth Avenue, which he still -retains. I don’t know how much business he does, Garvan, but seems to -have plenty of money.”</p> - -<p>“Is a social man?<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“Not at all. He is very reserved.”</p> - -<p>“What are his office hours? Is he usually here at eleven o’clock in the -morning?” asked Patsy, quick to suspect his presence in the hotel on -that particular morning.</p> - -<p>“No, not ordinarily,” said Vernon. “He may have been detained this -morning.”</p> - -<p>“It’s very obvious that he was here, all right,” Patsy said dryly. “Does -he have any mail?”</p> - -<p>“No, none. I suppose it goes to his office.”</p> - -<p>“Does he receive any visitors?”</p> - -<p>“Very few. There are two men who occasionally come here to see him.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know them?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“Where is his office?”</p> - -<p>“Less than ten minutes’ walk from here,” said Vernon. “I will look up -the number for you.”</p> - -<p>“Never mind it, Vernon, at present,” said Patsy, detaining him. “On what -floor is Doctor Guelpa’s suite?”</p> - -<p>“The fourth.”</p> - -<p>“Is it near the stairway, or elevator?”</p> - -<p>“It adjoins the side stairway.”</p> - -<p>“The one leading down to the corridor adjoining Clayton’s private -office?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“H’m, is that so?” Patsy muttered. “This looks very much as if I had hit -a promising trail.”</p> - -<p>“You mean——”</p> - -<p>“Never mind what I mean, Vernon, and be sure you don’t lisp a word of -this, nor look at Doctor Guelpa as if you had any distrust,” cautioned -Patsy. “Is his suite on the same floor as that of Mademoiselle Falloni?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and in the same corridor.”</p> - -<p>“What’s the number?”</p> - -<p>Vernon glanced at a schedule on the bookkeeper’s desk and quickly -informed him, Patsy mentally retaining the number.</p> - -<p>“Have you seen Doctor Guelpa this evening?” he then inquired.</p> - -<p>“Yes. He went in to dinner just before you entered. It’s not time for -him to come out.”</p> - -<p>“Did Draper, the valet, come down with him?”</p> - -<p>“I’m not sure. I saw Draper in the office just before Doctor Guelpa -showed up, however, and he may be at dinner.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll mighty soon find out,” thought Patsy; then, aloud: “That’s all, -Vernon, and I’m vastly obliged. Mum’s the word, mind you.”</p> - -<p>“Trust me, Garvan,” nodded the clerk.</p> - -<p>Patsy thanked him again and departed. He had decided what course he -would shape. He knew that he could easily learn whether Doctor Guelpa, -or his valet, then was in the physician’s suite.</p> - -<p>“If both are absent, by Jove, I’ll have a look at his rooms,” he said to -himself. “They may contain something worth seeing. It may be more than a -coincidence, by gracious, that he was a Charley on the spot this morning -and contrived to be in mademoiselle’s suite so soon after the robbery.</p> - -<p>“He may, if my suspicions have feet to stand on, have been out to learn -what had been discovered, or was suspected, and what detectives were to -be employed.</p> - -<p>“This looks too good to me to be dropped without looking deeper, and -I’ll snatch this opportunity for a peep at<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> that sawbones’ rooms before -I phone the chief. A throat specialist, eh? I’ll have him by the throat -sooner or later, if I find I’m on the right track.”</p> - -<p>Patsy was seeking the fourth floor while indulging in this hopeful train -of thought. He ignored the elevator and quickly mounted the several -stairways, and brought up at the door of Doctor Guelpa’s suite.</p> - -<p>It then was half past six, and many of the guests had gone down to -dinner. The long, luxuriously carpeted corridor was quiet and deserted, -lighted only with an incandescent lamp here and there.</p> - -<p>Patsy listened at the door for a moment. He could hear no sound from -within, nor detect any evidence of a light.</p> - -<p>“It’s a hundred to one the sawbones is out,” he muttered. “I can woolly -eye that valet, all right, if he is here. I’ll pretend I’ve got a bad -throat, trouble in my pipes, and that I want to consult his jags from -Hungary. He’ll be a wise gazabo, all right, if I can’t fool him.”</p> - -<p>Patsy was folding his handkerchief in the form of a bandage, which he -then fastened around his neck, turning up his coat collar, much as if -the advice and aid of a physician was really necessary. Putting on a -look of abject misery that would have deceived a clairvoyant, he then -knocked sharply on Doctor Guelpa’s door.</p> - -<p>It brought no response from within.</p> - -<p>Patsy listened intently, then knocked again, with the same negative -result.</p> - -<p>“Gee! that’s good enough for me,” he muttered. “It’s a cinch that both -are out, and it’s me for the inside. I’ll make this door look like -thirty cents.”</p> - -<p>Patsy had it unlocked and opened in less than thirty seconds, at all -events, and he then stepped into the entrance hall. A thick portière -across an inner door was closely drawn. The room beyond was in darkness. -Silence reigned in the gloomy suite.</p> - -<p>Closing the hall door, Patsy groped his way to the other and found an -electric switch key on the wall near the casing. He turned it and a -flood of light revealed a handsomely furnished parlor, also the partly -open doors of two adjoining bedrooms.</p> - -<p>He could see through one of them a broad bed, with other sleeping-room -furnishings, also two large trunks near one of the walls.</p> - -<p>A roll-top desk in the parlor caught his eye. The cover was raised, and -he turned in that direction.</p> - -<p>“I’ll see what that contains, for a starter,” thought Patsy. “<span class="lftspc">’</span>Twas very -good of him to leave it open. I’ll go through it like a shot through a -gun. The drawers first and then——”</p> - -<p>Then, on the contrary, the hurried search he had begun abruptly ended.</p> - -<p>The silence was broken by a threatening command from behind him, a voice -so curt and cold that no sane man would have ignored it.</p> - -<p>“Cut that! Sit down in the chair, or you’ll drop on the floor in a -condition you’ll not fancy.”</p> - -<p>Patsy, kneeling at the desk, one of the drawers of which he had pulled -open, swung round like a flash.</p> - -<p>A tall, smoothly shaved, black-eyed man had stepped noiselessly from one -of the bedrooms. There was murder in his eyes, also in his right hand.</p> - -<p>It held a revolver, aimed point-blank at the crouching detective.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.<br /><br /> -<small>UNDER TRUE COLORS.</small></h2> - -<p>Patsy Garvan realized on the instant that he had been trapped; that he -was in wrong, as well as right; that the man who now held him up must -have suspected something threatening, and instead of responding to the -knock on the outer door, had quickly extinguished the light in the -parlor and then stepped into the bedroom to await developments.</p> - -<p>That, at least, was the way Patsy immediately sized it up.</p> - -<p>As quickly, too, recalling the bandage around his neck and his upturned -collar, he resorted to a subterfuge which he thought might serve his -purpose and prevent an exposure of his true identity and designs.</p> - -<p>Sharply eying the threatening intruder, therefore, whom he rightly -inferred was the absent physician’s valet, or more properly his -confederate, Patsy coolly answered:</p> - -<p>“Don’t get miffed, old chap, and go slow with that gun. It might go off -by chance, you know, and I don’t like the way it’s pointing. You’ve got -me all right, and I’m not fool enough to butt my head against a brick -wall.”</p> - -<p>Draper viewed him with a scornful curl of his thin lips.</p> - -<p>“Sit in that chair,” he repeated, revolver leveled. “Keep your hands on -its arms, too, or this gun will go off in the direction it’s -pointed—but not by chance.”</p> - -<p>“You wouldn’t kill a fellow in cold blood, would you?” asked Patsy, -obeying.</p> - -<p>“Yes, or hot blood. It would matter little to me.”</p> - -<p>“That would be foolish. You might be executed for murder.”</p> - -<p>“Not by a long chalk. A man may protect his property with a gun, or that -of his employer.”</p> - -<p>“So I’ve heard,” Patsy dryly allowed.</p> - -<p>“What do you want here?”</p> - -<p>“Anything I could get worth lifting.”</p> - -<p>“You mean that you came here to steal something?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t I look it? How else would you size it up?”</p> - -<p>“I asked for information.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I’m handing you straight goods,” said Patsy. “I’m in hard -sledding and in need of a lift, so I tried to get it without a formal -request. I’m not good at begging. Lemme go this time, will you? I’ll -never butt in here again.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll make sure of that,” retorted Draper, with ominous significance.</p> - -<p>Then he took a chair some six feet in front of Patsy, coolly sitting -down with the revolver still poised in his hand and ready for instant -use, if necessary.</p> - -<p>Patsy realized that he was up against a man of nerve, as well as a man -who would not shrink from bloodshed under the circumstances. That he was -confronted by one of the gang that had abducted Clayton, moreover, and -one of the gang that had stolen the jewel cases that morning, he now had -not a doubt.</p> - -<p>There was a brief period of silence, finally broken by Patsy.</p> - -<p>“Well, what are you waiting for?” he asked. “Get busy. Do something.”</p> - -<p>“I’m doing it.”</p> - -<p>“Doing what?”</p> - -<p>“Watching you.”</p> - -<p>“You’ll not let me go, then?<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“Not so you’ll notice it.”</p> - -<p>“But we can’t remain sitting here like two catsup bottles on a shelf,” -growled Patsy, with affected resentment. “Let’s come to some kind of an -understanding. What are you going to do about it?”</p> - -<p>“I haven’t decided,” said Draper, constantly alert. “You’re a thief, are -you?”</p> - -<p>“That’s what,” Patsy insisted. “I admit it, but it’s only because I’m -out of a job. I’m a high-grade thief, too, as you can see by my looks.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, you look it, all right.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve got a room here in the house, and I pass for a decent fellow. Call -up the hotel clerk, Vernon, if you doubt it, and he’ll tell you.”</p> - -<p>“There isn’t any need of calling him,” Draper sneered. “I’m waiting for -some one else.”</p> - -<p>“Who is that?” asked Patsy, pretending ignorance.</p> - -<p>“You’ll soon see.”</p> - -<p>“When? How soon?”</p> - -<p>“When he returns from dinner. He’ll say what must be done with you. He’s -the big finger in this—ah, there he is. Don’t stir, or you’ll be a dead -one.”</p> - -<p>Draper’s gaze was fixed more sharply upon his helpless hearer, and his -revolver again was leveled.</p> - -<p>Patsy took him on his word and did not stir.</p> - -<p>A key had been thrust into the hall door. The door swung open while -Draper was speaking, and Doctor Guelpa strode through the narrow -entrance hall.</p> - -<p>He started slightly upon seeing the two motionless men, but if he felt -any great surprise, or any consternation, he did not betray it.</p> - -<p>“Who is this fellow, Draper?” he inquired, pausing.</p> - -<p>“He says he’s a thief,” replied Draper, without turning an eye from -Patsy.</p> - -<p>“You caught him stealing?”</p> - -<p>“It looks so.”</p> - -<p>“How did it happen?”</p> - -<p>“I was lying on my bed before lighting up, and I heard a knock on the -door,” Draper proceeded to explain. “I did not bother to answer it, nor -a second one, and then I heard him sneak in here. He switched on the -light and began to search your desk. Then I held him up—and here he -is.”</p> - -<p>Doctor Guelpa came a little nearer and glared down at Patsy.</p> - -<p>Patsy gave him stare for stare.</p> - -<p>“Keep him covered, Draper,” said the physician, with ominous quietude. -“So you’re a thief, are you?”</p> - -<p>“What’s the use of denying it?” asked Patsy. “I’ve told that gink with a -gun that——”</p> - -<p>“Never mind what you told him,” Guelpa interrupted, more sharply. “Shoot -him instantly, Draper, if he stirs. We can say we caught him committing -a robbery.”</p> - -<p>“That’s what I told him,” grinned Draper.</p> - -<p>“Very likely he’s the scamp who stole Falloni’s diamonds,” added Guelpa, -more sharply watching Patsy’s face.</p> - -<p>It underwent no change evincing his identity and designs.</p> - -<p>“I’d be a fall guy, for fair, if I came in here after getting away with -that batch of jewels,” he said derisively.</p> - -<p>“Keep him covered, Draper,” Guelpa repeated. “I’ll find out who he is.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>”</p> - -<p>He came nearer to Patsy, then suddenly seized one side of his mustache -and jerked it from his lip.</p> - -<p>Patsy uttered an involuntary cry of pain.</p> - -<p>Guelpa gazed at him more sharply, with countenance turning as dark as a -thundercloud, while his teeth met with a sudden, sharp snap.</p> - -<p>“Ah, I see!” he exclaimed, half in his throat. “You’re one of those -detectives whom I saw this morning. You’re that fellow Garvan.”</p> - -<p>Patsy realized that he had nothing to gain by denying it. He laughed -indifferently and replied:</p> - -<p>“I guess that calls the turn, doctor.”</p> - -<p>“I know it does, not guess it,” snapped Guelpa. “What do you want here?”</p> - -<p>“I wanted to see you.”</p> - -<p>“For what?”</p> - -<p>“To find out whether you have learned anything more about the robbery, -or whether you have any suspicion.”</p> - -<p>“Did Nick Carter send you?”</p> - -<p>“No. I came on my own hook.”</p> - -<p>“You lie, you whelp,” Guelpa now said harshly. “You act only under his -instructions. There can be only one reason for your coming here and -breaking into my apartments. Carter thinks I know something about the -robbery, or suspects me of having committed it. Isn’t that right?”</p> - -<p>“Right for him to suspect you?” asked Patsy, undaunted by the blaze that -had arisen in the physician’s eyes.</p> - -<p>“Don’t josh me, Garvan, nor try to evade me,” Guelpa fiercely -threatened. “If you do, I’ll have your infernal life. Tell me—does -Carter think I committed that robbery?”</p> - -<p>“How can I tell?” retorted Patsy defiantly. “I’m not a mind reader.”</p> - -<p>“You know what he suspects.”</p> - -<p>“No, I don’t,” Patsy insisted. “There is one thing I do know, however.”</p> - -<p>“What is that?”</p> - -<p>“That if he suspects you, Doctor Guelpa, he never so much as mentioned -it to me.”</p> - -<p>“Is that true?”</p> - -<p>“True as gospel,” said Patsy; and it was.</p> - -<p>Doctor Guelpa hesitated for a moment, while Draper put in with an -assurance evincing his relations with the other:</p> - -<p>“Don’t swallow that, doc, not on your life. It’s all bunk. He would not -be here, not sneaking in as I caught him, if Carter had not sent him.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think so?”</p> - -<p>“I think it’s a cinch.”</p> - -<p>Doctor Guelpa gazed again at Patsy. His ferocity had vanished, but there -now was a gleam in his eyes that was thrice more threatening. He paused -for a moment with brows darkly knit, then said abruptly:</p> - -<p>“You may be right, Draper. Watch the whelp. I’ll fix him.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll watch him, all right,” returned Draper, with a warning scowl.</p> - -<p>“Gee! I’m in wrong now, for fair,” thought Patsy, thoroughly disgusted -with the turn of the situation. “Fix me, eh? I wonder what’s coming. The -infernal rascal has something up his sleeve. Infernal rascal is right, -too, and I wish I had phoned the chief before butting in here.”</p> - -<p>Doctor Guelpa had approached a wall cabinet directly<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> behind Patsy, who -could not then see what the physician was doing.</p> - -<p>He had opened the cabinet and taken from it a small vial and graduated -glasses, into which he was pouring a quantity of brown fluid.</p> - -<p>Having obtained the desired quantity, he transferred it from the glass, -into a hypodermic syringe, the needle of which he carefully inspected.</p> - -<p>Patsy waited a bit apprehensive all the while.</p> - -<p>Draper watched him as a cat watches a mouse.</p> - -<p>Doctor Guelpa closed the cabinet, then turned again toward Patsy.</p> - -<p>“I don’t feel sure you are telling the truth, Garvan,” he said, with -affected uncertainty. “If I did, I would be willing to meet you halfway -and discuss this matter——”</p> - -<p>“But I’m giving it to you straight,” Patsy insisted, interrupting. “Nick -doesn’t suspect you.”</p> - -<p>“Doesn’t he?”</p> - -<p>“He does not, Doctor Guelpa, on the level. He has not even thought of -you in connection with the robbery.”</p> - -<p>“Before he does, then, I’ll make sure to get him and put him away. That -can be done—as easily as this.”</p> - -<p>Standing with the syringe concealed in one hand, Guelpa suddenly bowed -and threw his arm around Patsy’s head, at the same time thrust the -needle into his neck.</p> - -<p>Patsy vented a growl and began to struggle, despite that Draper clapped -the muzzle of the revolver against his breast.</p> - -<p>The injection so quickly administered was a powerful one, however, and -acted instantly. It sent a tingling sensation through Patsy’s veins. His -strength deserted him, seeming to fly out through his toes and fingers. -He tried to shout for help, but his tongue was palsied. Only a hollow -gurgle came from his twitching lips.</p> - -<p>Then, for it was all over in ten seconds, the light vanished, Guelpa’s -half-smothered imprecations turned to silence, the grasp of merciless -hands no longer could be felt, and Patsy lapsed into the realm of utter -oblivion and was lowered to the floor, as limp and ghastly as if life -had left him.</p> - -<p>Doctor Guelpa straightened up and laid aside the syringe, while Draper -thrust the revolver into his pocket.</p> - -<p>“Easily done, doc, is right,” he said, grinning. “This was the only way. -The meddlesome rat must have picked up a thread of some kind that led -him here. There was nothing for us but to dispose of him before he could -hand his information to others.”</p> - -<p>“He meant it, nevertheless, when he said that Carter does not suspect -me,” Doctor Guelpa declared. “We must get him, then, before he does -suspect. It afterward might be too late.”</p> - -<p>“That’s right, too,” Draper agreed quickly. “But can it be done?”</p> - -<p>“It must be done,” Guelpa coolly insisted. “I know how and will turn the -trick.”</p> - -<p>“And then?”</p> - -<p>“This game that we have been playing must be continued. We must throttle -suspicion where we find it, and choke the cursed weed before it can -spread.”</p> - -<p>“That’s the stuff, all right.”</p> - -<p>“We must maintain our position and good standing here, Draper, or it -will be a case of bolt for us, with the police of the world out to get -us. That won’t do at all,<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> Draper, not at all. We must bluff suspicion -to a standstill, or down it with a club.”</p> - -<p>“I’m with you all the while,” said Draper approvingly. “I reckon we can -make good. But what’s to be done with this pup?”</p> - -<p>“Pull out the empty trunk,” said Guelpa. “We’ll crowd him into it and -ship him to my office, then lug it into Biddle’s quarters. Ring for a -porter to lend you a hand with the trunk to the elevator. I’ll remark to -him, or to any other inquisitive observer, that it takes too much room -in my suite.”</p> - -<p>“That can be done in ten minutes,” nodded Draper, hastening to bring one -of the large trunks from the adjoining room.</p> - -<p>Doctor Guelpa smoothed his slightly ruffled coat and bestowed a kick -upon the senseless form of the detective.</p> - -<p>“Dead easy,” said he, replying. “Cram him into it and lock it. I’ll get -Scoville on the phone, in the meantime, and have him come round here -with a wagon.”</p> - -<p>Patsy Garvan heard none of this.</p> - -<p>He was lying with his face upturned in the bright electric light, a face -as ghastly as that of a corpse.</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.<br /><br /> -<small>A LEAF FROM THE PAST.</small></h2> - -<p>“Wait here. I may send you instructions.”</p> - -<p>These were Nick Carter’s brief instructions to Chick, in fact, when he -left his Madison Avenue residence at seven o’clock that evening, to seek -an interview with the woman who, he suspected, could supply him with a -clew to the identity of Chester Clayton’s double, if not with positive -information concerning him.</p> - -<p>Danny Maloney, the detective’s chauffeur, was waiting at the curbing -with his touring car. Nick gave him the necessary directions, resulting -in his alighting half an hour later in front of the attractive home of -Mrs. Julia Clayton, who had fainted so suddenly in Mademoiselle -Falloni’s suite that morning.</p> - -<p>“You may wait, Danny,” said Nick. “I don’t think I shall be very long.”</p> - -<p>“Long, or short, chief, you’ll find me here,” replied Danny.</p> - -<p>Nick strode up the gravel walk to the front door and rang the bell. -Lights in the hall and one in the side rooms denoted that Mrs. Clayton -had returned.</p> - -<p>“I hope I may find her alone, or that Chester Clayton is not here,” Nick -said to himself, while waiting. “She seemed averse this morning to -talking of the matter in his presence. That’s one reason why I suspected -that she——”</p> - -<p>Nick’s train of thought was broken by a shadow on the figured-glass -panel of the door, which was opened by a pretty servant girl in a white -apron and starched cap.</p> - -<p>“I wish to see Mrs. Clayton,” Nick informed her.</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Clayton is not at home this evening, sir,” said the girl, a bit -oddly.</p> - -<p>“Not at home?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir.”</p> - -<p>Nick eyed her more sharply.</p> - -<p>“Do you mean that she is not here, or not seeing callers?” he inquired -pleasantly.</p> - -<p>“Well, sir, she<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>——”</p> - -<p>The girl faltered, blushing confusedly, and Nick added kindly:</p> - -<p>“I understand. Take my card to her, please, and say that it is very -important that I should see her. I think she will consent.”</p> - -<p>The girl obeyed, returning in a very few moments.</p> - -<p>“Walk in, sir,” she then said, smiling again. “Mrs. Clayton will see you -in the library. This way, sir.”</p> - -<p>Nick was ushered into the attractively furnished room, where he found -Mrs. Julia Clayton still gazing gravely at the card he had sent in. -There was something irresistibly impressive about her, a mingling of -dignity and secret sadness that the detective’s sensitive nature was -quick to appreciate, even while conscious of her remarkable beauty and -womanly grace.</p> - -<p>She arose immediately to greet him, extending her hand and saying:</p> - -<p>“If I had known it was you, Mr. Carter, my servant would have been told -not to keep you waiting. I have had a most distressing day, and I did -not feel that I could see callers. I assure you, nevertheless, that I am -very glad to see you.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you,” Nick replied, bowing.</p> - -<p>“For I am deeply indebted to you,” Mrs. Clayton added feelingly. -“Chester telephoned to me after his arrest and liberation on bail. It is -very kind of you to feel such an interest in him, and to use your -influence in his behalf.”</p> - -<p>“He is my client,” smiled Nick, taking a chair she placed for him. “I -couldn’t do less than I have done.”</p> - -<p>“But in spite of such adverse circumstances, Mr. Carter, and the fact -that so many think him guilty,” she replied. “You are one man in a -hundred. I know that he is innocent, of course, but I don’t know how I -ever can repay you for your faith in him.”</p> - -<p>“I will tell you how, Mrs. Clayton,” Nick said, more gravely.</p> - -<p>“Tell me how?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean?</p> - -<p>“Let me begin by—pardon!” Nick broke off abruptly. “Will you permit me -to close the door?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, of course, if——”</p> - -<p>Nick arose when she faltered, quietly closing it, then resumed his seat.</p> - -<p>“Servants are not always trustworthy, you know, and discretion is always -advisable,” he remarked. “Now, Mrs. Clayton, I will tell you what I -mean.”</p> - -<p>“Well, sir?”</p> - -<p>“Let me begin, however, by stating that anything you say to me will be -received in strict and inviolable confidence. Not even to save your son -from conviction and a prison sentence, Mrs. Clayton, would I, without -your permission, reveal any facts that you may disclose. You must be -frank with me, therefore, and tell me what I may find it absolutely -necessary to know, in order to save him.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Clayton had turned very pale and was trembling visibly.</p> - -<p>“This is a strange beginning, Mr. Carter,” she replied. “What do you -expect me to disclose?”</p> - -<p>“Only the truth, Mrs. Clayton.”</p> - -<p>“About what?”</p> - -<p>“Your son’s double,” said Nick. “The man who so resembles Chester -Clayton that he could perpetrate the crime<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> committed this morning. Who -is this man? What do you know about him?”</p> - -<p>The woman’s fine face hardened perceptibly. She appeared to nerve -herself to meet a threatening situation, to oppose with tooth and nail, -if necessary, the disclosures the detective evidently was determined to -evoke. She drew up a little in her chair, replying more coldly:</p> - -<p>“That seems quite impossible, Mr. Carter. What put that into your head?”</p> - -<p>“You did,” said Nick quietly.</p> - -<p>“I did?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Impossible! When?”</p> - -<p>“When you met your son this morning, Mrs. Clayton, and fainted upon -learning that the robbery was committed by a man so like him that—but -you could not say more,” Nick broke off. “You fell to the floor in a -faint.”</p> - -<p>“That is true, I admit, Mr. Carter——”</p> - -<p>“And you also must admit, Mrs. Clayton, that the circumstances and your -own words permit of no other interpretation,” Nick interrupted, more -impressively.</p> - -<p>“But——”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I am not going to argue that point with you,” Nick again insisted. -“I am going to make you see the matter just as it stands. Your son’s -reputation and liberty are at stake. So is my reputation as a detective. -Only the truth can save him. Unless you are willing to aid me by -disclosing it, I shall have no alternative but to drop the case entirely -and let others try to pull him out of the fire. If they fail——”</p> - -<p>“Wait! You have said enough, Mr. Carter.”</p> - -<p>Nick would not have done what he threatened, but he detected in the -changed face of the woman that the threat would prove effective.</p> - -<p>For Mrs. Clayton, though ghastly pale and with trembling lips as gray as -ashes, took on a look of sudden determination, that of a woman who felt -herself driven to the wall.</p> - -<p>“I will tell you the truth,” she added, more firmly.</p> - -<p>“You may safely do so,” Nick now said kindly. “It will go no further.”</p> - -<p>“I shrink from it. Mr. Carter, chiefly for the sake of one man.”</p> - -<p>“Your son?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. I implore you to keep the truth from him, if that will be -possible. I have kept it from him all his life.”</p> - -<p>“I will endeavor to do so,” Nick assured her.</p> - -<p>“I will tell you with few words, then, my unfortunate history,” Mrs. -Clayton said, more calmly. “I was an English girl and lived in an -outskirt of London. I was married when I was nineteen to a man I did not -love, but who so had involved my father in financial difficulties that I -became his wife in order to save my father from bankruptcy and -dishonor.”</p> - -<p>“I can appreciate the sacrifice,” Nick said gravely.</p> - -<p>“My father died within a year,” Mrs. Clayton continued. “He and I were -all that were left of our family. Three months later, Mr. Carter, I -became the mother of twin boys.”</p> - -<p>“Ah,” said Nick, “that is what I have suspected! Do not distress -yourself by telling me too many details, Mrs. Clayton,” he added -considerately. “The essential facts are all that I want.”</p> - -<p>“They may be briefly told, Mr. Carter,” she said, with a grateful look -at him. “My husband was a bad man,<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> much worse than I even dreamed of -when I married him. I discovered his despicable character much too -late.”</p> - -<p>“Was he a criminal?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“May I know his name?”</p> - -<p>“Why not? He has been dead many years. His name was Gideon Margate.”</p> - -<p>Nick had heard of him, a notorious English crook, who had died in a -German prison something like ten years before. He considerately -suppressed the fact that he knew of the man, however, and said kindly:</p> - -<p>“You are in no degree culpable, Mrs. Clayton, for the mistakes and -misdeeds of your husband. What more can you tell me?”</p> - -<p>“Two years after the birth of my children, Mr. Carter, my husband -disappeared, taking with him one of my sons,” she replied. “I never saw -Gideon Margate again.”</p> - -<p>“Nor the child?”</p> - -<p>“The child was named David. I will not undertake to tell you what I -suffered from losing him, from my inability to trace him, and from my -terrible fear of the life to which he would be bred.”</p> - -<p>“That of a criminal?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“And your fears came true?”</p> - -<p>“Terribly so.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me the bare facts?”</p> - -<p>“I took my maiden name, Julia Clayton, about a year after my husband -disappeared,” she continued. “I suspected that he was in America, and in -the hope of recovering my other son, we came here, and since have lived -here. I have been in England only once since then, and that was twelve -years ago. I then saw in a London newspaper the picture of a criminal -who had just been sent to prison for five years for burglary.”</p> - -<p>“You recognized him?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Your son?”</p> - -<p>“David Margate—yes.”</p> - -<p>“Did you see him personally, or do anything about it?”</p> - -<p>“Neither,” said Mrs. Clayton sadly. “What could I do? The die was cast. -My husband had shaped the boy’s life. That he should become a criminal -after arriving at the age of judgment and discretion showed only too -plainly that he had inherited Gideon Margate’s criminal traits.”</p> - -<p>“I agree with you,” said Nick.</p> - -<p>“Thank God!” Mrs. Clayton fervently added; “he left me the child who had -inherited my own character. Chester Clayton is above knavery and crime.”</p> - -<p>“I agree with you again,” said Nick. “Now, Mrs. Clayton, let’s come to -the points bearing upon his case. Does Chester know anything about his -father and twin brother?”</p> - -<p>“No, no, indeed,” she said quickly. “He knows only that his father is -dead. He does not so much as dream that he has a brother. I could not -cloud his life, mar his whole future, perhaps, by acknowledging David -Margate to be my son, when I learned that he was in an English prison. -It would, have been an injustice to Chester Clayton. The sacrifice would -have been too great.”</p> - -<p>“That is true,” Nick agreed. “Have you ever seen David Margate or heard -anything concerning him since he was convicted in London?”</p> - -<p>“No, I have not.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“You have no reason to believe that he is in New York, then, aside from -the resemblance of the criminal who committed this jewel robbery.”</p> - -<p>“That is my only reason. You now can appreciate why I was overcome and -fainted when told of the circumstances this morning,” said Mrs. Clayton.</p> - -<p>“That is perfectly plain,” Nick nodded. “I think, too, that we now have -covered all of the ground that is material at this time. I will be -governed by what you have confided to me, and will do all that I can to -prevent the facts from leaking out. You may depend upon that.”</p> - -<p>“I have no words with which to thank you, Mr. Carter.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t try,” said Nick, smiling. “Assuming that the criminal in this -case is Chester’s twin brother, and despite that he ran across him and -observed the resemblance that made the crime possible, I think it is -quite probable that he does not suspect the relationship. Your husband -very likely never told him about you and Chester.”</p> - -<p>“Do you really think so, Mr. Carter?”</p> - -<p>“I do,” said Nick. “Men do not often reveal their own baseness, not even -to a son. I doubt very much that David Margate knows anything about his -early history.”</p> - -<p>“I hope so, I am sure, for Chester’s sake.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know under what name he was convicted in London?”</p> - -<p>“I do not. I cannot recall it.”</p> - -<p>“Was it a fictitious name?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“I will try to learn something definite about him,” said Nick. “I -appreciate your confidence in me, too, and I will rigidly respect it. -That is all I can say to you this evening about the case, but I will -leave no stone unturned to bring it to a desirable termination, -particularly in so far as you and Chester Clayton are concerned.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Clayton again thanked him feelingly, then remarked:</p> - -<p>“I was somewhat surprised late this afternoon by a call from another man -whom I saw in Mademoiselle Falloni’s suite this morning.”</p> - -<p>“There was only one other man, except Chester,” said Nick. “You refer to -Doctor Guelpa.”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“He called here to see you?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, about five o’clock.”</p> - -<p>“Did he say for what reason?”</p> - -<p>“He said that he was riding out this way and thought he would call and -see if I had entirely recovered. He did all he could to revive me this -morning, you know.”</p> - -<p>Nick’s brows knit a little closer.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I remember,” he replied. “Did he say anything about the crime, or -concerning Clayton?”</p> - -<p>“No, nothing of any consequence, Mr. Carter. He mentioned you, however, -just before he left.”</p> - -<p>“Mentioned me, eh? What did he say?”</p> - -<p>“Only that you were very kind to stand up for Clayton under such -circumstances. He asked, too, whether you had been out here to see me.”</p> - -<p>“H’m, is that so?” thought Nick. “I was right, then, in thinking that he -deduced something from this woman’s impulsive words and her sudden -collapse. He suspected that I did, also, and he evidently fears that I -may learn something from her. Where there is cause for fear, there are -grounds for suspicion. He may be the very man, the very hotel guest whom -I<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>——”</p> - -<p>Nick ended his shrewd deductions by glancing quickly around the room. He -discovered what he wanted—a telephone on a stand in one corner.</p> - -<p>“Before I go, Mrs. Clayton, may I trouble you for a glass of water,” he -requested carelessly.</p> - -<p>“Why, yes, certainly,” she replied, rising. “I will get it for you.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you.”</p> - -<p>Nick watched her sweep gracefully from the room.</p> - -<p>Then, quickly stepping to the telephone, he hooded the mouth with his -hand and called up his library. Within half a minute he had Chick on the -wire, but he spoke only these words:</p> - -<p>“No time for particulars. Go to the Westgate. Watch Doctor Guelpa.”</p> - -<p>The answer came instantly:</p> - -<p>“I’ve got you.”</p> - -<p>Nick resumed his seat just as Mrs. Clayton was returning through the -hall.</p> - -<p>“It will be better, much better, if she never knows,” he said to -himself.</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.<br /><br /> -<small>NICK WALKS INTO A NET.</small></h2> - -<p>It was half past eight that evening when Nick Carter, returning from his -interview with Mrs. Clayton, arrived at his Madison Avenue residence.</p> - -<p>A taxicab was waiting at the curbing in front of the house, and Nick was -momentarily surprised when he entered his library. Its only occupant was -the visitor who had come in the taxi.</p> - -<p>“Why, good evening, Clayton,” he said genially. “I was not expecting a -call from you so quickly. I am pleased to see you, all the same.”</p> - -<p>One thought that had instantly arisen in Nick’s mind, however, in view -of his talk with Mrs. Clayton, was not reflected in his face. The -thought was:</p> - -<p>“Which one is this? Chester Clayton—or his crook double?”</p> - -<p>Clayton, as he certainly appeared to be, replied without hesitation, -without any observably intent scrutiny of the detective’s face.</p> - -<p>“I have a reason for calling, Nick,” said he. “Your butler told me that -you would probably return during the evening, so I requested the -privilege of waiting here.”</p> - -<p>“Quite right, Clayton, I’m sure.”</p> - -<p>“He could not tell me, however, where you had gone,” Clayton added, in a -way covertly inviting the detective to do so.</p> - -<p>Nick did not do so, however, but he was quick to observe the insinuating -remark and draw a natural conclusion, one that he made doubly sure did -not appear in his face.</p> - -<p>“Well, that’s not strange, Clayton,” he replied, laughing. “I had no -definite destination when I went out. Besides, I seldom tell my butler -where I am going, unless my mission relates to a case in which my -assistants are employed. Then I usually leave word for them, as I would -have done this evening, had that been the case.”</p> - -<p>A momentary gleam, the sinister light of secret relief and satisfaction, -showed like a fleeting flash in the depths of his visitor’s eyes.</p> - -<p>“It does not matter in the least, Nick, now that you have returned,” he -said quickly.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span></p> - -<p>“What’s on your mind?” asked Nick, taking a chair. “You said you have a -reason for coming here.”</p> - -<p>“So I have,” said Clayton, more earnestly. “I think I have a clew to the -crook who got the jewels.”</p> - -<p>“By Jove, is that so?”</p> - -<p>“The chance is worth taking.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean? What kind of a clew?” asked Nick, with manifest -interest.</p> - -<p>“It came from a woman friend of mine early this evening,” Clayton -proceeded to explain. “She talked with me by telephone. I have not seen -her.”</p> - -<p>“Who is she? What is her name?”</p> - -<p>“Grace Alcott. She’s an old flame, a girl with whom I have always been -quite friendly. I know her to be reliable.”</p> - -<p>“What did she tell you?” Nick inquired.</p> - -<p>“She said she had information for me bearing upon the robbery. She -intimated, in fact, that she could put me in a way to nail the crook and -recover the stolen jewels.”</p> - -<p>“Well, well, that would be going some,” declared Nick, apparently -becoming more enthusiastic. “Have you any faith in her statements, -Clayton?”</p> - -<p>“Enough to send me here, Nick,” was the reply. “One other reason is the -fact that she lives just around the corner from the business quarters of -a guest in the hotel.”</p> - -<p>“I see the point. What guest?”</p> - -<p>“The physician you met this morning.”</p> - -<p>“Doctor Guelpa.”</p> - -<p>“Did she mention his name, or hint at him?”</p> - -<p>“No, nothing of that kind.”</p> - -<p>“Why did you not go to see her, then, instead of coming here?” Nick -inquired.</p> - -<p>“For two reasons,” Clayton now explained, more hurriedly. “One, because -you are handling this case and I feared that I might interfere with you -if I butted in and did something of which you were ignorant.”</p> - -<p>“I see.”</p> - -<p>“Another, because Grace said I had better bring a detective with me, as -he would more quickly appreciate the points she wanted to lay before me, -and that he also would know what should be done.”</p> - -<p>“She wanted you to call on her, then?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, indeed, as soon as possible,” nodded Clayton. “I grabbed a taxi -and rushed down here, therefore, hoping that you would go with me. I -thought that was the best thing for me to do.”</p> - -<p>“I guess it was,” Nick quickly agreed.</p> - -<p>“Will you go?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes, Clayton, by all means,” assented the detective. “There may be -something in this. We cannot afford to leave any stone unturned. The -sooner we go, too, the better.”</p> - -<p>“Good enough. My taxi is outside.”</p> - -<p>“Come on, then, and we’ll be off. I’ll not even wait to tell my butler -where I am going,” Nick added, with a laugh, as they hurried out of his -office.</p> - -<p>Clayton joined with him in the laugh and followed him into the taxicab. -He evidently had given the driver his instructions, for he made no move -to do so. He remarked, as they settled back on the seat and rode away:</p> - -<p>“I hope this won’t prove to be a wild-goose chase, Nick, after all.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“It ought not, surely,” Nick replied. “You say you know the girl to be -reliable?”</p> - -<p>“I have always found her so.”</p> - -<p>“How old is she?”</p> - -<p>“About thirty.”</p> - -<p>“Old enough, then, to have sense and judgment.”</p> - -<p>“So I think,” nodded Clayton. “That’s why I feel hopeful.”</p> - -<p>“She lives back of Doctor Guelpa’s business establishment, you said?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, directly back of it, Nick.”</p> - -<p>“How long have you known the physician?” Nick questioned, and he -instantly detected the readiness with which his companion took up the -subject.</p> - -<p>“Oh, for months, Nick,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>“He appears to be all right, doesn’t he?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes, surely! Otherwise, I would not have him in my hotel.”</p> - -<p>“I presume so. It may be, nevertheless, that Miss Alcott has discovered -something about him of a derogatory nature, her home being so near his -business office.”</p> - -<p>“Possibly,” Clayton allowed; then, with a furtive glance at Nick’s -inscrutable face: “He appeared all right to you this morning, didn’t -he?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, indeed,” Nick declared. “He appeared like a perfect gentleman.”</p> - -<p>“You saw no reason to suspect him?”</p> - -<p>“Far from it, Clayton.”</p> - -<p>“I guess Miss Alcott’s clew, if she really has any, relates to some one -else, or something else,” Clayton now said, with less obvious interest.</p> - -<p>“Most likely,” Nick agreed.</p> - -<p>“We shall very soon find out.”</p> - -<p>“True.”</p> - -<p>“Have you formed any other suspicions since I last saw you?”</p> - -<p>“No, none whatever,” said Nick. “I still am in the dark.”</p> - -<p>Clayton did not add to his inquiries.</p> - -<p>It was nine o’clock when the taxicab drew up in front of the house to -which the chauffeur had been directed. He at once was dismissed by -Clayton, who was the first to alight, and he then led the way up the -steps and rang the bell.</p> - -<p>It was answered by a well-built, powerful man in evening dress, whose -dark features were only faintly discernible in the dimly lighted hall.</p> - -<p>“Good evening, Scoville,” said Clayton. “I think Miss Alcott is -expecting me.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, it is you, Mr. Clayton,” was the reply. “Yes, sir, she is. Walk in, -gentlemen, and come this way.”</p> - -<p>“The butler, Nick,” Clayton whispered, taking the detective’s arm.</p> - -<p>Nick nodded indifferently and allowed himself to be conducted through -the hall.</p> - -<p>Scoville turned into the nearest room, a front parlor, the others -following.</p> - -<p>“One moment, gentlemen,” said he. “I’ll switch on the light.”</p> - -<p>He did so while speaking, and Nick Carter then saw into what sort of a -net he had walked—but entirely voluntarily.</p> - -<p>Three men with ready revolvers were confronting him.</p> - -<p>Scoville instantly drew another.</p> - -<p>Clayton, or Clayton’s double, quickly closed the door<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> through which -they had entered, then turned and said sharply:</p> - -<p>“Now, Carter, throw up your hands! If you show fight, you’ll go down and -out on the instant.”</p> - -<p>Nick raised his hands and backed against the wall. He appeared to be -greatly surprised and equally resentful.</p> - -<p>“What’s the meaning of this, Clayton?” he demanded; and the mention of -the name brought laughs from the others.</p> - -<p>They were Draper, Biddle, and Scoville, who had been mentioned by Doctor -Guelpa in his apartments, also a third man who had had a hand in the -robbery, one Joe Gaines.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I’m not Clayton, Carter,” was the derisive reply. “I’m the man who -looks like him. I’m the crook who got away with the sparks.”</p> - -<p>“Good heavens!” Nick exclaimed, in seemingly increased amazement. “Is it -possible?”</p> - -<p>“You bet it’s possible!” cried Guelpa, with a sinister nod. “It’s more -than that; it’s a fact. When I run across a man who looks so near like -me that I can see no difference, I’m the sort of a covey who makes the -most of it. You didn’t suspect Doctor Guelpa, eh? Carter, we’ve put it -all over you. I’m Guelpa.”</p> - -<p>“You?” questioned Nick, still as if astonished.</p> - -<p>“That’s what, Carter, as sure as you’re a foot high,” the rascal -declared, with an exultant leer. “Come out a little from that wall. Keep -your meat hooks up, mind you, or you’ll have no further use for them. -Either of these fellows would kill you at the first sign of violence. I -shall do so a little later, at all events, so I don’t mind putting you -wise to the whole business.”</p> - -<p>“That’s very good of you,” Nick now replied coldly.</p> - -<p>“Slip in behind him, Biddle, and get his weapons,” Guelpa commanded. -“Fish out his darbies, also, and snap them on his wrists. Egad! could -one have more satisfaction than in doing a dick with his own bracelets?”</p> - -<p>“Not much more, doc!” cried Draper, laughing.</p> - -<p>“Dukes behind him, Biddle. I told you I’d get him, Draper,” Guelpa -triumphantly added, while two of the crooks hastened to secure the -detective.</p> - -<p>“You made good, all right.”</p> - -<p>“He isn’t in my class.”</p> - -<p>“Few dicks are, doc, as far as that goes.”</p> - -<p>“Why, he told me on the way here that he didn’t suspect me,” cried -Guelpa derisively. “We’ve got him dead to rights, then. He can have -handed nothing to others about me.”</p> - -<p>“Surely not.”</p> - -<p>“And we’ll make dead sure that he never will. I suppose you wonder, -Carter, what we are doing in this house.”</p> - -<p>“Well, not seriously,” said Nick, with mocking indifference.</p> - -<p>“It’s back of my business quarters, just as I told you.”</p> - -<p>“You told the truth once, then, at least,” Nick said dryly.</p> - -<p>“Yes, sure,” cried Guelpa, laughing again. “This makes a good retreat -for us in case of danger. That throat-specialist gag is all phoney, a -colossal bluff. I had to pose in some impressive character. We can slip -from my office into this house, or the reverse, in two shakes of a -lamb’s tail. We’re the bunch who got the sparks, Carter, all right, and -now we’ve got you.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“Yes, that’s very obvious,” said Nick, coolly taking a chair. “Since you -are so communicative, Guelpa, if that’s your name, suppose you tell me -how you got away with the jewel cases so quickly.”</p> - -<p>“Why not?” leered Guelpa, while the others laughed as if they enjoyed -the detective’s blindness. “Scoville was the stranger who held Clayton -in his private office. My room is on the same floor with Clayton’s. I’ve -got garments like his. Never mind how and when I got them.”</p> - -<p>“No, it’s not material,” Nick allowed dryly.</p> - -<p>“Not at all, Carter, of course. I merely stole down the stairs, clad -like Clayton, and got the first casket. Biddle, disguised as a laundress -and provided with a big, covered basket, relieved me of it in the -corridor, and got away with it in the basket.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, I see,” Nick nodded.</p> - -<p>“I then got the other and whisked it up to my rooms,” added Guelpa. -“Then I hurried into my own clothing and my Hungarian hair and whiskers, -and I was right on the spot when wanted by lovely Mademoiselle Falloni -when she fainted. Could anything have been easier? Why, it was like -money sent from home.”</p> - -<p>“It does appear so, Guelpa, I admit.”</p> - -<p>“I wonder you have not thought of it, Carter,” grinned the rascal.</p> - -<p>Nick’s eyes took on a more threatening gleam. He now felt sure that this -man did not suspect his relationship with Clayton, or know anything -definite about his early life, as he already had predicted to Mrs. -Clayton.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I have thought of it, Guelpa,” he said, a bit curtly. “Don’t think -me quite a lunkhead. I knew the crook had garments and a pin like -Clayton’s. I know also when the scarfpin was duplicated. It was when you -rascals abducted Clayton three months ago.”</p> - -<p>Guelpa’s face changed like a flash.</p> - -<p>“How did you learn that?” he cried.</p> - -<p>“I have methods of my own for obtaining information.”</p> - -<p>“You have, eh?”</p> - -<p>“And that’s not all I know, Guelpa,” Nick added.</p> - -<p>“Is that so?”</p> - -<p>“Far from it.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me, then, as I told you.”</p> - -<p>Guelpa spoke with a scornful sneer, but looks of apprehension had arisen -to the faces of his four confederates.</p> - -<p>“Why not, then, as you said?” Nick retorted. “Don’t imagine for a -moment, Guelpa, that you lured me blindly into a net. I knew the instant -I saw you in my office this evening that you were not Chester Clayton.”</p> - -<p>“Rot!” cried Guelpa derisively. “If you knew that, why did you walk into -the trap?”</p> - -<p>“So as to get a line on your confederates, these fellows,” said Nick -curtly.</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe it.”</p> - -<p>“I will tell you, then, something that you will believe,” said Nick.</p> - -<p>“What is that?”</p> - -<p>“That your name is not Guelpa. Your true name is David Margate. You are -an English crook. You were convicted of burglary twelve years ago, and -sent up for five years. You are——”</p> - -<p>“Stop!” cried Margate, ghastly white. “How did you learn that? How do -you know——”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I know that you rascals will not get away with<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> this job,” Nick -sternly interrupted. “I’ll soon have you landed where——”</p> - -<p>Guelpa, or Margate, broke in upon him with a terrible oath.</p> - -<p>“You will, eh?” he fiercely added. “You’ll find you are wrong. You are -depending upon that fellow, Garvan, but we’ve got him, also, as we’ve -got you. See for yourself.”</p> - -<p>He flung aside the portière that hung across the open door of an -adjoining room, then in darkness.</p> - -<p>Plainly visible in the light shed through the doorway, however, sat -Patsy Garvan, bound and gagged and tied to a wooden chair. This was two -hours after he had been transferred from the hotel, and his recovery -from the drug Guelpa had injected.</p> - -<p>“And that’s not all,” Guelpa fiercely added. “Spring open that panel, -Biddle. Let him see—let him see for himself!”</p> - -<p>Biddle touched a hidden spring in the wainscoted wall, and a panel flew -open.</p> - -<p>In the space beyond sat—the two jewel caskets stolen from the Hotel -Westgate that morning.</p> - -<p>“We’ve not had time to open them, to whack up the swag,” Guelpa went on, -as if beside himself with fierce and bitter rage. “There will be time -enough for that. We’ve got Garvan and we’ve got you. I’ll send you to -the devil on the spot. I’ll give you a dose that will—oh, perdition, -Scoville, I’ve left it in my suite. I went out in such a hurry that I -forgot it. I must have it. It’s the only thing that will cause death and -defy detection. I must have it. I’ll go and get it. Watch me—watch both -till I return. And remember the signal—the signal! I’ll send both to -the devil. Wait till I return.”</p> - -<p>And Doctor Guelpa, after pouring forth these commands with a ferocity -that precluded interruption, turned and rushed like a madman out of the -house.</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.<br /><br /> -<small>THE MAN ON THE BED.</small></h2> - -<p>It was more than an hour previous to the episodes last described, when -Chick Carter responded to Nick’s brief instructions from Mrs. Clayton’s -residence, and then set out post-haste for the Hotel Westgate.</p> - -<p>He did not know, of course, why Nick had been led to suspect Guelpa, nor -anything about what Patsy had discovered and what had befallen him. That -Nick suspected Guelpa, however, and very seriously, Chick had not a -doubt.</p> - -<p>It was not eight o’clock when he approached the huge hotel, and purely -by a stroke of good luck, nearing a side entrance to the house, he -discovered the very man he was seeking.</p> - -<p>Doctor Guelpa had just emerged and was hurrying away.</p> - -<p>“By Jove, fortune favors me,” thought Chick, with a thrill of -satisfaction. “This is better than I could have hoped. There must be -something in the wind, or he would not be in such a hurry. If he gives -me the slip, however, I’ll eat my hat. I’d give something to know what -Nick has on him.”</p> - -<p>Chick knew, however, that he needed only to follow the directions given -him.</p> - -<p>With no great difficulty, he shadowed Guelpa to his office in Fifth -Avenue, a walk of about six minutes, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> saw him enter the dark rooms, -those on the first floor of a remodeled house.</p> - -<p>Much to Chick’s surprise, however, after waiting and watching for -several minutes, no light appeared at either of the windows.</p> - -<p>“By gracious, that’s mighty strange,” he said to himself, then concealed -in an opposite doorway. “Is he remaining in there in darkness? What’s -his game, in that case, and why is he—great guns! there he is, now!”</p> - -<p>Doctor Guelpa had come hurrying around the near corner, and was -evidently returning to the hotel.</p> - -<p>Chick shadowed him again, but not without a quick survey of the opposite -house and the adjoining buildings.</p> - -<p>“I’ll swear he did not come out of that house,” he said to himself. -“There is no way of getting to a back entrance from the avenue. There -may be an alley leading in from the side street. Either that, or he went -through the first house around the corner. Later, by Jove, I may -discover which. The game seems to have just broken cover.”</p> - -<p>Chick followed Guelpa back to the hotel and saw him enter his suite.</p> - -<p>Not content with that, wondering what he might be doing, he crept to the -door and peered through the keyhole.</p> - -<p>The aperture, though limited, commanded a view of the parlor and the -bedroom directly beyond it. Both were brightly lighted—and Chick saw -enough to warrant all of the suspicions he had attributed to Nick.</p> - -<p>He saw the man within discarding his Guelpa disguise and transforming -himself into a counterfeit of Chester Clayton.</p> - -<p>“Thundering guns!” he said to himself. “This does settle it. But what’s -his next move?”</p> - -<p>Chick concealed himself to wait and see.</p> - -<p>Ten minutes later Guelpa stole down the side stairs and out of the -house. He was just in time to catch a passing taxicab.</p> - -<p>Chick reached the side door just in time, moreover, to hear Guelpa shout -his hurried directions to the chauffeur.</p> - -<p>“Great Scott!” he muttered, pausing. “To Nick’s residence! Why the -dickens is he going there? By Jove, I have it! He has discovered that -Nick suspects him and he now is out to get him. He reasons that he can -fool the old war horse and get by as Clayton.</p> - -<p>“I may be wrong, but I’ll wager that he will get well fooled himself. -It’s now a thousand to one that he went to some house near his office, -probably the one back of it, in order to make arrangements for holding -up the chief. By gracious, that’s good enough for me to take a chance -on. I’ll hike back there and await developments. There would be nothing -in nailing that rascal alone. If I am right, which seems more than -probable, we can get the whole gang by this other course.”</p> - -<p>Chick knew, of course, assuming that his theory was correct, that some -little time must elapse before Guelpa could return in company with Nick. -He did not hurry his investigation, therefore.</p> - -<p>He returned to Fifth Avenue and had another look at Doctor Guelpa’s -business quarters.</p> - -<p>They were in darkness, as before, with no sign of life within.</p> - -<p>“I’ll see what I can discover around the corner,” Chick said to himself. -“The rat went out that way, I’ll wager.”</p> - -<p>His investigations in that direction took him much<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> longer. He could -find no way of getting to the rear of the house to which Nick was later -brought. It had, as a matter of fact, been boarded up by the rascals.</p> - -<p>Chick then went back and picked the lock of Guelpa’s door, entering and -seeking the rear exit.</p> - -<p>He then found that it led to the rear door of the other house.</p> - -<p>Chick arrived there just in time, moreover, to hear from the back area -the arrival of Nick and Guelpa, both of whose voices he immediately -recognized.</p> - -<p>“This does settle it,” he congratulated himself. “I’ll get in there and -hold up the whole gang. If I can get all of them under my guns—well, -there’ll be nothing more to it.”</p> - -<p>It took Chick some little time, however, to noiselessly force a rear -basement window.</p> - -<p>The scene in the front parlor was in rapid progress all the while.</p> - -<p>Chick got in unheard and was stealing up to the adjoining room, just as -Guelpa rushed out of the house.</p> - -<p>It was impossible to stop him, but Chick had heard enough to show him -the way.</p> - -<p>The four men in the front parlor then were in animated discussion of -what had been said. Thy had no thought of another intruder. The portière -masking the door of the rear room had fallen back into place.</p> - -<p>Chick crept into the room from the hall, and he then discovered Patsy -Garvan bound to the chair. He stole nearer and liberated him, then -slipped him one of his revolvers.</p> - -<p>Not a word passed between them.</p> - -<p>Ten seconds later, however, the portière was flung aside and both -detectives stepped into the room, with revolvers leveled.</p> - -<p>“No monkey business, gentlemen!” Chick now said sharply. “The first man -who moves will be a dead one! We’ll shoot to kill!”</p> - -<p>The threat was sufficient, or the guns.</p> - -<p>Only one of the rascals moved, save to throw up his hands.</p> - -<p>Scoville edged nearer the hall door, but stood with his back against it, -a position certainly not inviting suspicion.</p> - -<p>“Good work, Chick,” Nick said simply, after the crooks had been -handcuffed and he had been liberated. “It is about what I was -expecting.”</p> - -<p>“We’ve landed with both feet,” declared Patsy. “All we now want is the -master crook, the rat who jabbed that needle in my neck.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll get him, all right,” said Nick. “Get those jewel cases, Patsy, -and we’ll head for the hotel. You remain here, Chick, and hold up the -rascal if he returns. I’ll have policemen here on the quiet in a very -few moments. I’ll not risk losing the rascal by not following him.”</p> - -<p>“I’m with you, chief,” said Patsy.</p> - -<p>Three minutes later four policemen entered the house and took the crooks -in charge.</p> - -<p>Chick continued to wait for Guelpa.</p> - -<p>Nick Carter and Patsy entered the Westgate a few minutes later. The -first man they saw was Clayton, in the office inclosure.</p> - -<p>“Good God!” he cried excitedly, seeing the jewel cases. “You’ve got -them, Carter, you’ve got them! When and how<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>——”</p> - -<p>Nick checked him with a gesture and placed the cases on the counter.</p> - -<p>“Put them in the vault, Vernon, and lock it!” he commanded, turning to -the thunderstruck head clerk. “You come with me, Clayton, and be quick -about it.”</p> - -<p>Clayton leaped over the counter and Nick ran to the elevator.</p> - -<p>“I’ll show you your double, Clayton, unless I am much mistaken,” said -he, as the car sped up to the fourth floor.</p> - -<p>“My double?” gasped Clayton.</p> - -<p>“That’s what. A fellow who looks like you. There’s nothing more to it.”</p> - -<p>“This way, chief,” Patsy whispered, as they left the car. “I know his -door. Gee whiz! I ought to.”</p> - -<p>They arrived at it in a moment.</p> - -<p>A light was burning in the suite.</p> - -<p>Patsy quietly unlocked the door with his picklock, and the three men -rushed through the parlor and into the bedroom.</p> - -<p>An unconscious man was lying on the bed.</p> - -<p>“Guelpa himself!” cried Patsy. “By thunder, chief, he has committed -suicide.”</p> - -<p>“If he has,” replied Nick, “he will have saved himself a prison term. -Ring for Detective Webber. We’ll give the rascal in his charge.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t wait—I can’t wait for that,” cried Clayton, in a frenzy of -joy. “I must telephone to my mother. I must telephone to Mademoiselle -Falloni. The joyous news must not be delayed. I’ll return in a couple of -minutes, Carter. My God! how can I ever repay you?”</p> - -<p>“Let him go and spread the news,” laughed Nick, as Patsy turned from the -house telephone. “The crooks are booked to get theirs. As for this -rascal and his—ah, here is Webber now. Look after this scoundrel, -Webber, and put him where he belongs. No, no; don’t ask me to discuss -the case at present. We have made good, all right, and that enough for -now. As for us, Patsy, we’ll compare notes in my library, in company -with Chick.”</p> - -<p class="fint">THE END.</p> - -<p>You will read more of the mysterious David Margate in “The Blue Veil; -or, Nick Carter’s Torn Trail,” which is the title of the long, complete -story you will find in the next issue, No. 158, of the <span class="smcap">Nick Carter -Stories</span>, out September 18th. You will also find an installment of the -corking serial now running, together with several other interesting -articles.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p>A BAD BOY.</p> - -<p>For precocity, irrepressibility, and too often depravity, “Young -America” in these days can hardly be surpassed. Here is a story told me -the other day: A little chap, not eight years old, whose parents live in -one of the fashionable parts of New York, went last week to pay a visit -to his grandmother. While there, in rummaging through his grandmother’s -secretaire, he came across a half dollar, and shortly afterward he was -on his way downstairs to invest his “find.” He expended the whole amount -in candy, and, upon his return, was enjoying it in the privacy of his -room, when his grandmother put in an appearance.</p> - -<p>“Why, Robby,” she exclaimed, taking in the situation, “where on earth -did you get all that candy?<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“Bought it,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>“But where did you get the money?”</p> - -<p>“A gentleman I met in the street gave it to me.”</p> - -<p>“Robby, I don’t believe you are telling me the truth,” said the old lady -slowly, looking her grandson in the eyes. “In fact, I am sure you are -telling me a falsehood. A little bird tells me that you are.”</p> - -<p>The boy looked at her with a somewhat incredulous expression.</p> - -<p>“Now, come, Robby, tell me where you got that money?”</p> - -<p>“Why don’t you ask your dickey bird?” was the ready reply of the bad -boy.</p> - -<hr /> - -<h2><a id="SNAPSHOT_ARTILLERY"></a>SNAPSHOT ARTILLERY.</h2> - -<p class="c">By BERTRAM LEBHAR.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p><small>(This interesting story was commenced in No. 153 of <span class="smcap">Nick Carter -Stories</span>. Back numbers can always be obtained from your news dealer -or the publishers.)</small></p></div> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI.<br /><br /> -<small>A NIGHT’S WORK.</small></h2> - -<p>Patrolman John Hicks, of the Oldham police force, was a fairly vigilant -guardian of the law—in the daytime. But when his turn came to do night -duty, which happened regularly every second week, he always felt drowsy, -no matter how much sleep he took by day to prepare himself for his -nocturnal vigil.</p> - -<p>“Which goes to show that night work ain’t the right thing for a man,” -Mr. Hicks was in the habit of complaining to his intimate friend. “It’s -against nature. The daytime was made for man to work in, and the night -for man to sleep in. Even the dumb beasts and the birds close their eyes -at night. When you try to reverse this order of things, Nature -rebels—and you can’t blame her.”</p> - -<p>Being anxious to offend Nature as little as possible, Officer Hicks had -cultivated the habit of going to sleep standing up. So proficient had he -become in this difficult art that he could lean against a lamp-post and -slumber as soundly as if he were in his own comfortable bed at home.</p> - -<p>The night which Hawley had selected for his photographic exposé of -police conditions in Oldham happened to be one of the nights on which -Patrolman Hicks was on duty.</p> - -<p>He had selected the most comfortable lamp-post on his beat, and was -propped against it, enjoying a deep sleep, when a big, black touring -car, containing three men, came along.</p> - -<p>The automobile was moving almost noiselessly, but even if the man at the -wheel had honked his horn as it drew near, it wouldn’t have caused any -discomfort to Officer Hicks. He was too sound a sleeper to be bothered -by the ordinary sounds of street traffic.</p> - -<p>In his somnolent moments, Mr. Hicks did not present a very picturesque -appearance. Only a slender man can lean against a lamp-post and look -graceful; and Officer Hicks was almost as fat as Chief of Police -Hodgins. Moreover, like the latter, he had the habit of sleeping with -his mouth partly open.</p> - -<p>But in spite of its lack of picturesqueness, his appear<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span>ance caused -great delight to the three men in the black touring car.</p> - -<p>That vehicle came to a stop a few feet away from the lamp-post, and one -of the men leaned over the side of the tonneau, and pointed a camera -toward the slumbering bluecoat.</p> - -<p>Then there came a vivid flash of light, a dull, booming sound, and a -chuckle of triumph from the man with the camera.</p> - -<p>Possibly the dull, booming sound and the chuckle of the man would not -have aroused Patrolman Hicks by themselves, but the vivid flash of light -hitting him squarely on the eyelids brought him to his senses in an -instant.</p> - -<p>Springing to an erect position, he stared in ludicrous astonishment at -the automobile in front of him.</p> - -<p>He was about to step into the roadway and ask the three men what had -happened, but before he could carry out his intention the automobile had -started off at great speed.</p> - -<p>“Oh, well,” Officer Hicks muttered to himself, “I guess it was nothing -serious. Probably a fuse blew out, or something of that sort. Them -automobiles is queer things.”</p> - -<p>With this reflection, he once more settled himself comfortably against -the lamp-post, and resumed his interrupted slumbers.</p> - -<p>“That was a cinch!” said the Camera Chap to his two companions, as the -touring car sped through the quiet street. “Didn’t I tell you, Fred, -that there wouldn’t be much danger?”</p> - -<p>“Well, we can’t expect that they’ll all be as easy as that one,” Carroll -replied. “Ye gods! Just imagine the lives and property of the people of -Oldham being intrusted to the care of a lazy, good-for-nothing shirker -like that! I hope you got a good picture of him, Frank. It certainly -ought to make the taxpayers of Oldham sit up and take notice.”</p> - -<p>“At all events, it ought to make ’em buy <i>Bulletins</i>,” the Camera Chap -chuckled. “I bet you a new hat, Fred, that your paper’s circulation will -be more than doubled as a result of this crusade.</p> - -<p>“But, say,” he exclaimed, as the touring car swung around a corner, -“aren’t we on another cop’s beat now? If so, hadn’t we better slow down, -and hunt for him?”</p> - -<p>This remark was addressed to Parsons, the <i>Bulletin’s</i> police reporter, -who was running the car. Parsons had been “covering police” for some -years, and knew the majority of the members of the force by name, and -what beat they were supposed to patrol. This expert knowledge made him a -valuable member of the expedition. As he was aware also of the habits -and weaknesses of many of the bluecoats, he was able to lead the Camera -Chap to those who were most likely to be caught shirking their duty.</p> - -<p>The reporter glanced quickly up and down both sides of the street, and -reduced the speed of the touring car.</p> - -<p>“This is ‘Red’ Horgan’s beat,” he announced. “And I guess I can tell you -where he is right now. Horgan is the most notorious shirker in the -department, and when he’s on night duty he generally spends most of the -time in ‘Dutch Louie’s’ place on Allendale Street. I have no doubt that -you’ll find him there now playing pinochle in the back room.”</p> - -<p>The Camera Chap’s face lighted up at this informa<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span>tion. “Playing -pinochle, eh?” he exclaimed eagerly. “That ought to make a bully -snapshot. Is it possible for a stranger to get into this Dutch Louie’s -place at this hour?”</p> - -<p>“Sure!” Parsons answered, with a laugh. “He runs his place wide open all -night. Anybody can walk in and order a drink right at the bar, no matter -what the hour. Dutch Louie is a politician, as well as a liquor dealer, -and he doesn’t have to worry about his joint being pulled for violation -of the excise laws.”</p> - -<p>“Good!” exclaimed Hawley joyously. “I was afraid I might have difficulty -in getting into the place. Is this Allendale Street we’re on now?”</p> - -<p>“No; it’s the next corner. Louie’s place is halfway down the block,” the -reporter informed him.</p> - -<p>“Then I think it would be a good idea to stop the car right here,” said -the Camera Chap. “I hardly think it would be a wise plan to ride right -up to the door. The sound of our motor might scare Officer Horgan into -dropping his pinochle hand.”</p> - -<p>“No need to be afraid of that,” declared Parsons, with a laugh. “It -would take more than an automobile to faze Red Horgan. He’s a son-in-law -of one of the biggest politicians in the county, and has such a strong -pull that I guess he wouldn’t care if Chief Hodgins himself came into -the back room of the café and caught him playing cards when he ought to -be patrolling his beat. I’ve often heard him boast that there isn’t a -superior officer in the department that isn’t afraid to call him down, -no matter what he does—that if any of them dared to get gay with him, -he’d mighty soon show them where they got off at.”</p> - -<p>“Must be a pleasant sort of chap,” said Hawley, with an ironical smile. -“It’ll be a genuine pleasure to publish his picture, eh, Fred?”</p> - -<p>“But surely you’ve no intention of going into Dutch Louie’s place to get -it?” Carroll protested anxiously. “That’s out of the question.”</p> - -<p>The Camera Chap looked astonished. “Why out of the question? Didn’t you -just hear Parsons say that anybody can get into the place?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, I haven’t any doubt that you could get in, all right; but if -you were rash enough to try to take a flash-light picture inside I -rather guess you’d have some difficulty in getting out. Dutch Louie’s -few patrons are a pretty tough bunch. They’d probably kick in a few of -your ribs before Officer Horgan placed you under arrest for taking -photographs without a license. Better pass this one up, old man, and -look for something a trifle easier.”</p> - -<p>But Hawley had no intention of foregoing this opportunity to procure a -snapshot of Mr. Red Horgan in the rôle of a pinochle player. He realized -that there were difficulties in the way of his getting the picture, but -he was determined to make the attempt.</p> - -<p>“It’ll be a gem!” he declared enthusiastically. “If I can get it and it -turns out all right, Fred, just imagine what a hit it will make with the -readers of the <i>Bulletin</i>. Stop the car, please, Parsons. Here we are at -the corner. I’m going to get out.”</p> - -<p>Carroll clutched at his coat to restrain him, but the Camera Chap -laughingly shook off his hold, and got out of the automobile.</p> - -<p>“You fellows wait here for me,” he said. “Keep the power turned on, -Parsons, and have the car all ready to<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> start as soon as I come out. -It’s possible that we may have to make a hurried get-away, in which case -it would be inconvenient to have to wait until you cranked up.”</p> - -<p>He was stepping to the sidewalk, when Carroll called to him:</p> - -<p>“Hold on, there! If you’re such a stubborn idiot that you can’t be -dissuaded from doing this crazy thing, I’m going with you. Do you think -I’m going to stay quietly in this car while you’re inside that joint, -being killed? I guess not! The chances are a hundred to one that -there’ll be a rough-house as soon as you fire the flash,” he said. “I -don’t suppose that even with me to help you we’ll stand much chance -against that crowd; but, at all events, two’ll be better than one.”</p> - -<p>“Three, you mean, Mr. Carroll,” exclaimed Parsons. “If there’s any -fighting to be done, I’m in on it, too, of course. I guess nobody’ll -steal the machine while we’re away.”</p> - -<p>The <i>Bulletin’s</i> police reporter was such a frail-looking chap that -Hawley could scarcely repress a smile at these words, although he -greatly appreciated the spirit which prompted them.</p> - -<p>“Much obliged to both of you,” the Camera Chap said; “but, really, I -prefer to go alone. I think I can easily convince you that it will be a -much better plan for you fellows to wait here in the machine.”</p> - -<p>“I won’t hear of any such arrangement,” Carroll declared firmly. “If you -go, I’m going, too; and if Parsons wants to come along, he’s welcome. -The more the merrier. You may have your faults, Frank, old man, but I -like you too well to be willing to sit passively here while you’re being -beaten to a pulp around the corner.”</p> - -<p>“I’m not going to be beaten to a pulp,” the Camera Chap protested, with -a laugh. “I intend to use strategy. If I go alone, I feel confident I’ll -be able to get away with it; but if you fellows insist upon butting in, -you’ll surely queer me. I’m a stranger to that bunch at Dutch Louie’s, -but you fellows are not. Both of you would be recognized as soon as you -entered the place, and I’d have no chance to take the picture.”</p> - -<p>Carroll had to admit that there was a lot in this argument, and, after a -little more demurring, he grudgingly consented to let Hawley have his -way in the matter.</p> - -<p>“But I’m not going to stay here in the car,” he declared. “I’m going to -hang around outside that joint, and keep my ears wide open. As soon as I -hear the sound of a rough-house I’m coming in, for I’ll know then that, -in spite of all your resourcefulness and ingenuity, strategy has -failed.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” assented Hawley, with a laugh. “If strategy fails, I’ll be -glad to have the help of those big fists of yours. But I feel confident -there isn’t going to be any violence.”</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII.<br /><br /> -<small>A BIT OF STRATEGY.</small></h2> - -<p>There was no mistaking Dutch Louie’s place, for it was the only -restaurant on the block; moreover, the name of the proprietor was -emblazoned in white letters on a flaring red glass sign.</p> - -<p>As Parsons had predicted, the place was wide open. Although it was -nearly two a. m., and the State excise law forbids business of the kind -after one o’clock, the two waiters were very busy serving drinks.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span></p> - -<p>The Camera Chap walked through the front room, and entered the room -beyond. He pretended to be under the influence of liquor—walked like a -fellow who has all the sail he can carry. It had occurred to him that -this pretense might help his game along, although he had not as yet hit -upon any definite plan for the taking of the picture.</p> - -<p>In a corner of this rear room several men were seated at a round table, -playing cards. One of these players wore a blue coat with brass buttons, -and his hair was the color of carrots. By these tokens, Hawley knew that -he was in the presence of Patrolman Red Horgan.</p> - -<p>The card players were not the only occupants of the room. A dozen men -were scattered among the small round tables, sipping their beverages or -gulping them down, and paying but scant attention to the pinochle game -in progress in the corner.</p> - -<p>They were, as Carroll had said, a rough-looking crowd. One had only to -glance at their faces to realize that anybody who came into the place -looking for trouble would not have to go out unsatisfied.</p> - -<p>Hawley, spying an unoccupied table some yards away from the group of -pinochle players, made his way toward it, still keeping up the pretense -of being tipsy. He seated himself so that he faced the policeman and his -cronies, and, summoning a waiter, ordered something. Nobody paid much -attention to him. Patrolman Horgan’s gaze happened to wander in his -direction, but the glance was merely a cursory one. The policeman was -too busy “melding a hundred aces” to have much interest in the -harmless-looking, apparently very “tired” young man who had just come -in.</p> - -<p>In another corner of the room was an automatic piano which was operated -on a nickel-in-the-slot basis. Somebody dropped a coin into this -machine, and it started to thrum a lively waltz strain.</p> - -<p>This music—or near music—appeared to have a peculiar effect upon the -Camera Chap. Although the tune was a rousing one, it evidently served as -a lullaby in his case, for his eyelids began to droop, and his head -rolled from side to side in a ludicrous manner. When the waiter came -with what he had ordered, he was sprawled across the table, apparently -fast asleep.</p> - -<p>The waiter shook him roughly by the shoulder. “Here, young feller,” he -growled, “here’s your drink. Wake up! This ain’t no lodging house. If -you want to sleep, you’d better hire a room upstairs.”</p> - -<p>The Camera Chap roused himself as though by a great effort, and stared -stupidly at the glass which had been set before him. As soon as the -waiter had gone, he lapsed once more into slumber.</p> - -<p>“That fellow over there seems to be dead to the world,” remarked -Patrolman Horgan, with a chuckle. “Must be worse than he looked when he -came in. Whose deal is it now?”</p> - -<p>Needless to say, Hawley was by no means as “dead to the world” as his -appearance seemed to indicate. Seldom, in fact, had his brain been more -active than it was at this minute. As he sprawled across the table, with -his eyes closed, and his head resting on his outstretched arms, he was -summoning all his ingenuity in an effort to solve the perplexing problem -which confronted him.</p> - -<p>“Everything is dead easy except the firing of the flash-light powder,” -he mused. “I can get a dandy focus from here without moving an inch, -and, with my camera held<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> beneath the table, Red Horgan wouldn’t even -suspect that his picture had been taken—if it weren’t for that telltale -flash. That’s the great difficulty. How the deuce am I going to fire the -flash and get away with it?”</p> - -<p>And then an inspiration came to him, and he began to groan. Usually he -was not in the habit of groaning when he had an inspiration, but he had -a good reason for doing so now. It was part of the plan which had just -suggested itself to his resourceful mind. So he proceeded to groan loud -enough to be heard by the group of pinochle players in the corner.</p> - -<p>The waiter, hearing these sounds of anguish, once more stepped up to -him, and shook him roughly by the shoulder. “Hey, young feller, brace -up!” he growled. “What’s the matter with you, anyway? Are you sick, or -is it just an ordinary jag?”</p> - -<p>Hawley sat up, and clapped both hands to his head, one to each temple. -The waiter and the others whose attention had been attracted by his -groans could see that his face was distorted as though with great pain.</p> - -<p>“Oh, my poor head!” groaned the Camera Chap. “It feels as though it -would split in two. For the love of Pete, friend, if there’s any bromo -seltzer in the house, bring me some in a hurry.”</p> - -<p>“Sure, we keep it,” said the man. “Just keep quiet a minute, young -feller, and I’ll fix up a dose.”</p> - -<p>The Camera Chap was not surprised to hear that the drug was procurable -in Dutch Louie’s place, for he had noticed a sign on the wall as he came -in, announcing that it was on sale.</p> - -<p>“Never mind about fixing it up,” he said to the waiter. “Just bring me -the bottle, a glass, and some water. I’ll do the mixing myself.”</p> - -<p>Patrolman Horgan beckoned to the waiter as the latter was going out to -fill the order.</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter with that guy over there, Harry?” he inquired.</p> - -<p>“Oh, nothin’ serious; just a headache.”</p> - -<p>“Is that all?” said the patrolman, in a disgusted tone. “From the way he -was groaning just now, I thought he was dyin’. Come on, fellers; it’s my -meld.”</p> - -<p>When the waiter returned with a tray containing a small blue bottle, an -empty glass, and a second glass filled with water, Hawley had an -unlighted cigar between his teeth, but no one seemed to think it odd for -a sick man to indulge in tobacco.</p> - -<p>The Camera Chap was not in the habit of smoking cigars, but he always -carried a couple in his vest pocket, and he had reasons of his own for -transferring this one from his pocket to his mouth.</p> - -<p>He took the bottle of bromo seltzer, and emptied some of the white -powder into the empty glass. Then he turned to the waiter.</p> - -<p>“On second thought, I guess I’ll mix it with vichy instead of plain -water,” he said; “I like it better that way.”</p> - -<p>The waiter shrugged his shoulders, and went out to get a siphon of -vichy. As soon as he had gone, the Camera Chap became very busy, but -unobtrusively so.</p> - -<p>His left hand stole into the side pocket of his coat, and when it came -out again the closed fist held a quantity of silvery powder. He poised -this hand over the glass containing the bromo seltzer, and the silvery -powder fell on top of the white powder.</p> - -<p>Then his right hand went into his coat pocket, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> he stealthily drew -out a small pocket camera, which he held beneath the table.</p> - -<p>When he had done these things, he gazed anxiously around the room, -apprehensive that his actions might have been observed; but, to his -great relief, he found that nobody was paying any attention to him.</p> - -<p>Then, as he saw the waiter approaching with the siphon of vichy in his -hand, Hawley struck a match, held the flame for a moment to the cigar in -his mouth, then threw the match away.</p> - -<p>Apparently he was careless, for the match, still alight, instead of -falling to the floor, dropped into the glass of bromo seltzer in front -of him.</p> - -<p>Instantly there was a blinding flash which momentarily illuminated the -entire room, and a dull explosion. The siphon of seltzer fell from the -startled bartender’s hand; several men gave vent to shouts of alarm; -chairs and tables went crashing to the floor.</p> - -<p>Patrolman Horgan jumped excitedly to his feet, and advanced toward the -Camera Chap, who still sat at the table, surrounded by a haze of smoke -which was slowly lifting toward the ceiling.</p> - -<p>“Great guns! What was that?” the policeman demanded.</p> - -<p>Hawley, his face a picture of bewilderment, pointed to the bartender.</p> - -<p>“That’s what I’d like to know,” he said indignantly. “What was it? Maybe -this man can tell us. I asked for bromo seltzer.”</p> - -<p>“It was marked bromo seltzer on the bottle,” the astonished waiter -declared. “And I took it from the regular stock.”</p> - -<p>He turned to the Camera Chap with sudden suspicion. “But what did you -throw that lighted match into it for, anyway, young feller? That was a -queer thing to do.”</p> - -<p>“The match dropped in,” Hawley explained. “Didn’t you see that I was -lighting my cigar? But this is the first time I’ve ever heard of bromo -seltzer being an explosive. Mighty queer it should go off like that. -It’s a mercy somebody wasn’t killed.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I guess the stuff ain’t dangerous,” remarked Patrolman Horgan, -glancing around the room. “Nobody is even hurted, so there’s nothing to -get excited about. Let this be a lesson to you, young feller, to be more -careful in future where you throw lighted matches.”</p> - -<p>“I certainly shall,” the Camera Chap assured him meekly.</p> - -<p>“I thought at first it was somebody takin’ one of them flash-light -pictures,” said Patrolman Horgan. “It looked something like the kind of -light them camera people use.”</p> - -<p>Hawley nodded. “Yes, it did look a little like that, didn’t it?” he -agreed. “I once saw a man take a flash-light picture, and, now that you -speak of it, there was some resemblance.”</p> - -<p>A few minutes later Fred Carroll, pacing nervously up and down the -sidewalk outside Dutch Louie’s place, was astonished and much relieved -to see the Camera Chap step out of the doorway, a smile on his face, and -with no signs of having sustained bodily injuries.</p> - -<p>“Thank goodness, you’ve come at last!” the proprietor of the <i>Bulletin</i> -exclaimed. “I was just thinking of coming in for you. I heard the flash -go off a few minutes ago, and things were so uncannily quiet afterward -that I was beginning to be afraid they had killed you. What on earth -happened?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell you all about it when we’re in the car,” chuckled<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> Hawley, -hurrying toward the corner where the automobile waited. “I don’t think -there’s any danger now, but just the same we might as well get away from -here as soon as possible. I don’t believe in taking any unnecessary -chances.”</p> - -<p>Parsons, who was seated at the wheel of the motor car, uttered an -ejaculation of joy when he caught sight of the Camera Chap.</p> - -<p>“You don’t mean to say that you actually got the picture?” he exclaimed -incredulously, as the latter climbed aboard.</p> - -<p>Hawley grinned. “I got something,” he said; “but I can’t guarantee that -the result will be good. I had to manipulate my camera with one hand, -and I had to guess the focus. Under those conditions, the chances are -against the negative turning out all right. But it was the best I could -do under the circumstances.”</p> - -<p>“How on earth did you do it?” Carroll inquired. “I can’t imagine how you -got off so easily. Do you mean to say that bunch didn’t jump on you when -you set off the flash?”</p> - -<p>“Not at all,” replied the Camera Chap, with a laugh. “They were very -nice about it. There wasn’t any rough-house at all, Fred. The last I saw -of those fellows they were making a scientific experiment.”</p> - -<p>“A scientific experiment?” Carroll repeated, with a puzzled frown.</p> - -<p>“Exactly,” Hawley chuckled. “They were all gathered around the waiter -like students in a chemistry class. And what do you suppose that waiter -was doing, Fred?”</p> - -<p>“I haven’t the slightest idea.”</p> - -<p>“He had several bottles of bromo seltzer on the table before him, and he -was uncorking each one, and dropping a lighted match into it to see if -he couldn’t make it go off like a flash-light powder.”</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.<br /><br /> -<small>A GOOD BAG.</small></h2> - -<p>“Whither next?” the Camera Chap inquired, after he had confided to his -two companions in the big touring car the details of what had happened -inside Dutch Louie’s café.</p> - -<p>“I know a cop who goes to sleep every night in a lumber yard on his -beat,” Parson announced.</p> - -<p>“Lead us to him!” said Hawley eagerly. “That sounds like an easy one, -eh, Fred?”</p> - -<p>“I really think we’ve got enough already,” Carroll replied anxiously. -“After what you’ve just done, old man, I’m beginning to believe that you -can get away with anything; but what’s the use of running any more risk -than is necessary? You’ve got two good snapshots, and that is quite -enough to illustrate our story. Let’s call it a night’s work, Frank, and -not tempt fate any more.”</p> - -<p>Hawley laughed at this suggestion. “Nothing doing,” he said. “I shan’t -consider that we’ve done our duty until we have at least a round half -dozen snapshots of delinquent cops in our collection. No use being a -piker, Fred. Two pictures on the front page of the <i>Bulletin</i> would make -a measly showing. Besides, as I said before, I am by no means confident -that Red Horgan’s picture will turn out well. If it’s too poor a -negative for reproduction, that would leave us with only one. Lead the -way to the cop in the woodpile, Parsons. We cer<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>tainly can’t afford to -pass him up. Is his beat far from here?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; it’s at the extreme northern end of the town,” the police reporter -replied.</p> - -<p>“Don’t you know any others we’ll pass on the way there?” Hawley -inquired. “We might as well take them in regular order. It’s growing -late, and we haven’t any time to lose.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; there’s Mike Harrington, whose beat is on Cedar Street,” Parsons -replied promptly. “He generally hangs out in Windmuller’s Café when he’s -on night duty. His brother is employed there.”</p> - -<p>“Great stuff!” exclaimed the Camera Chap gleefully. “We’ll pay our -respects to Patrolman Harrington before we disturb the slumbers of our -friends in the woodpile. Is he a pinochle player, too, Parsons?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think so,” the reporter answered, with a laugh. “You’ll most -likely catch him in the act of diminishing Windmuller’s stock of goods. -He’d have been ‘broke’ long ago for bad habits if it hadn’t been for his -pull. His father is a member of the city council and one of Mayor -Henkle’s most energetic political workers.”</p> - -<p>“Oldham certainly has some police department!” Hawley chuckled. “Please -stop a short distance away from Windmuller’s place, old man. It wouldn’t -do to drive right up to the door.”</p> - -<p>Carroll turned anxiously to the Camera Chap. “Do me a favor, Frank, and -cut this one out,” he pleaded. “There’s no sense in taking such -desperate chances. Windmuller’s place is almost as tough a joint as -Dutch Louie’s. Let Harrington alone, and pass on to some easier ones.”</p> - -<p>“I guess this thing is going to be easy enough,” Hawley said -confidently. “I intend to work that bromo-seltzer trick over again. I -don’t see why it shouldn’t succeed as well in Windmuller’s place as in -Dutch Louie’s. In fact, I stand a much better chance of getting away -with it this time, for I know beforehand just what I’m going to do, and -can proceed with calm deliberation. Besides, practice makes perfect, you -know.”</p> - -<p>Carroll shook his head deprecatingly; but he realized that argument was -useless, and made no further attempt to dissuade his rash and impetuous -friend.</p> - -<p>Although the Camera Chap’s adventures that night were eventful enough to -be worth recording fully, limitations of space render it inexpedient to -describe them all in detail here.</p> - -<p>In the main, his experience inside Windmuller’s place was similar to -what had happened at Dutch Louie’s. Once more he affected a bad -headache, and called upon the waiter to bring him a dose of bromo -seltzer; and when the white powder was placed before him, he made the -same use of it as he had done in the former instance.</p> - -<p>Greatly to the relief of his two companions, he emerged from the place -unscathed, and laughingly assured him that he had succeeded in -snapshotting Patrolman Harrington, and had reason to believe that the -negative would be a fairly good one.</p> - -<p>Compared with this exploit, the taking of a flash-light picture of the -policeman who was slumbering in a lumber yard at the northern end of the -town was not a difficult matter. Hawley succeeded in getting a -first-class snapshot of this sleeping beauty, and although the bluecoat -was awakened by the setting off of the flash-light powder, and, -bellowing with rage, chased the Camera Chap through the piles of lumber, -the latter managed<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> to reach the automobile in time to make a safe -get-away.</p> - -<p>Although he now had four snapshots of delinquent policemen, and Carroll -again pleaded that these were quite sufficient for their purpose, the -Camera Chap was firm in his determination not to give up the hunt until -the <i>Bulletin’s</i> collection consisted of at least six negatives.</p> - -<p>Parsons had reached his limit. He was unable to suggest where any more -members of the force whom he knew to be chronic shirkers might be found -that night; but even this fact could not discourage Hawley. He declared -confidently that if they rode around town a bit, and kept their eyes -open, they were likely to pick up a couple of random snapshots to -complete their night’s work.</p> - -<p>So, while the citizens of Oldham slept peacefully on, in utter ignorance -of this enterprising effort that was being made to reform conditions in -their town—and incidentally to increase the circulation of the -<i>Bulletin</i>—the big touring car traversed the highways and byways in -search of more blue-coated victims of this relentless photographic -crusade.</p> - -<p>This search was not unproductive. As the Camera Chap and his friends -rode through Main Street, they suddenly encountered the most sensational -and the most shameful spectacle of the night—a man in the uniform of a -captain of police so merry that he could scarcely stand.</p> - -<p>“That’s Captain Alf Callman—the worst grafter and the biggest bully of -the department, barring Chief Hodgins,” exclaimed Parsons excitedly, as -he brought the car to a stop. “Don’t fail to get a good picture of him, -Mr. Hawley. This is a rare piece of luck. If ever there was a rascal who -deserved to be held up to public scorn and ridicule, it’s that brute -there.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Frank,” said Carroll, a scowl upon his face, “we want his picture, -by all means. A few weeks ago he beat up a crippled boy unmercifully for -selling <i>Bulletins</i> outside police headquarters.”</p> - -<p>The Camera Chap’s face grew grim. “And you mean to say you let him get -away with that?” he exclaimed, in astonishment.</p> - -<p>“I did all that I could,” replied the proprietor of the <i>Bulletin</i>. “I -preferred charges against him in court, and I’ve been roasting him on -the front page of the paper every day since. But his pull enabled him to -have the case thrown out of court, and the <i>Bulletin’s</i> roasts don’t -seem to have worried him much. He’s too thick-skinned to care what’s -said or printed about him.</p> - -<p>“But, thick-skinned as he is,” Carroll went on, “I’ll bet he’ll rave -when he sees his picture on our front page, showing him in that -condition. That’ll hurt him more than anything else I can think of. So -be sure to get a good snapshot of him, Frank; one that’ll show the -public just what a beast he is.”</p> - -<p>The taking of this flash-light picture was an easy matter, and there was -no risk attached, for Captain Alf Callman was too happy to realize what -was happening, and merely grinned fatuously when the flash went off. -Nevertheless, Hawley had never in all his career as a camera man derived -more satisfaction from the taking of a snapshot.</p> - -<p>The last picture of the night was that of a policeman whom they -discovered a few blocks farther on, fast asleep in a doorway. He was so -dazed by the flash light that the Camera Chap had no difficulty in -getting away.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span></p> - -<p>Having added this trophy to his collection, Hawley turned to Carroll -with a satisfied smile.</p> - -<p>“Now, I guess we can go home,” he said. “I think we’ve done a fairly -good night’s work.”</p> - -<p>“The best ever!” chuckled the proprietor of the <i>Bulletin</i>. “If these -pictures of yours turn out all right, I’ve got an idea that they’ll stir -this old town as it’s never been stirred before.”</p> - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX.<br /><br /> -<small>THE ENEMY’S MOVE.</small></h2> - -<p>Although the <i>Bulletin</i> was not a profusely illustrated newspaper, it -maintained a photo-engraving plant of its own. Carroll had installed -this department when he first acquired possession of the paper, and had -brought a man named Neilson from New York to take charge of it.</p> - -<p>It had been Carroll’s original intention to go in extensively for -half-tone illustrations, but his failure to make a financial success of -the publication had necessitated a cutting down of expenses wherever -possible, and now pictures were seldom used in the pages of the -<i>Bulletin</i>.</p> - -<p>When Carroll informed Neilson that he would have to dispense with his -services, candidly telling him the reason, the engraver proposed that he -be permitted to take in outside job work in lieu of salary.</p> - -<p>This arrangement had turned out satisfactorily for both parties -concerned. Neilson had managed to get enough outside work to make it -worth his while to stay, and Carroll was glad to have him on the job, -because, although he had practically given up illustrations, he -occasionally found it necessary to use a cut in the pages of the -<i>Bulletin</i>. These occasions were so rare, however, that great was -Neilson’s surprise when, on the day following Hawley’s night crusade -against the Oldham police, Carroll appeared in the photo-engraving -department with a half dozen negatives in his hand.</p> - -<p>“Here, Ole,” the proprietor of the <i>Bulletin</i> said, with a smile, “I -want these enlarged, and a two-column cut made from each. Make just as -good a job of them as you can, and remember that they’re for to-morrow -morning’s issue.”</p> - -<p>“All for to-morrow morning’s issue?” exclaimed the engraver -incredulously.</p> - -<p>“Sure thing! And all for the front page, too.” Carroll chuckled. “It’s -going to be the bulliest front page the <i>Bulletin</i> has ever had, Ole. -Just take a close look at those negatives, old man, and I guess you’ll -understand why.”</p> - -<p>Neilson stared hard at the small oblongs of film. “They ban look like -policemens,” he said.</p> - -<p>“They are policemen!” declared Carroll, with another chuckle.</p> - -<p>“What you ban going to do,” the engraver inquired, “get out a special -cop’s edition?”</p> - -<p>“A sort of special cop’s edition,” replied Carroll, with a grin. “But, -say, Ole,” he added anxiously, “what do you think of these negatives -from a photographic standpoint? Will they make pretty good cuts, do you -think?”</p> - -<p>Neilson inspected each one critically. “I can’t tell very well, of -course, Mr. Carroll, until I see the prints,” he replied, at length. -“They ban flash lights, I see; but they look like pretty clear negatives -yoost the same. Who took them?<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“A friend of mine from New York.”</p> - -<p>“Did he develop them, too?” the photo-engraver inquired. “They ban a -pretty good job for an amateur.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, he developed them himself,” Carroll answered. “We were so anxious -to see what results we had that we came back here at three o’clock this -morning, and Hawley—my friend from New York, I mean—used your dark -room. But, say, Ole,” he exclaimed anxiously, pointing to one of the -negatives, “how about this one? It isn’t quite as clear as the others. -Do you think you’ll be able to get a fairly good cut out of it?”</p> - -<p>Neilson once more inspected the negative designated. It was a snapshot -of a group of men playing a game of cards. One of the men wore a police -uniform.</p> - -<p>“I guess I ban able make it all right,” he said. “It isn’t very strong, -but I guess I ban able to touch up the print a bit, and get a good -result yoost the same.”</p> - -<p>Neilson held up another of the negatives. “This ban best one of the -lot,” he announced. “I make extra-good cut of him.”</p> - -<p>The picture in question was the snapshot of a man in a police captain’s -uniform. A scowl came to Carroll’s face as he gazed upon it.</p> - -<p>“I’m glad to hear that, Ole,” he said grimly. “I want an extra-good cut -of him. And, by the way, make that one three columns wide instead of -two. I’m going to use it in the center of the page.”</p> - -<p>Then Carroll went into the editorial rooms, and, seating himself at his -desk, began to write rapidly. For two hours he was occupied with his -task, and what he wrote seemed to afford him much satisfaction, for at -frequent intervals the other occupants of the room heard him chuckle -immoderately.</p> - -<p>At length the long editorial was finished, and as he gathered the -closely written pages together, he exhaled a deep breath.</p> - -<p>“Hawley said that the pictures would be the main feature of the -<i>Bulletin’s</i> exposé,” he muttered; “and, of course, he was right. No -doubt about that. But at the same time I rather think this editorial of -mine is going to make quite a hit, too.”</p> - -<p>Hawley heartily indorsed this opinion when, a few minutes later, he -dropped into the <i>Bulletin’s</i> office, and Carroll showed him what he had -written.</p> - -<p>“It’s great stuff!” the Camera Chap exclaimed enthusiastically. “Simply -immense! I never had any idea that you could sling English as well as -that, Fred.”</p> - -<p>Carroll flushed with pleasure at his warm praise. “I guess it’s because -I feel so strongly on the subject,” he said simply. “A fellow can write -so much better, you know, if he really feels what he writes.”</p> - -<p>“People who buy the <i>Bulletin</i> to-morrow morning are certainly going to -get their money’s worth,” Hawley chuckled. “That editorial alone will be -well worth the price of the paper. Your readers ought to paste it in -their scrapbooks as a model of satire.”</p> - -<p>“Cut out the joshing, old man,” protested Carroll. “If the readers of -the <i>Bulletin</i> paste anything in their scrapbooks, it will be those -wonderful snapshots of yours. They’re going to create a big sensation, -Frank.”</p> - -<p>The Camera Chap grinned. “Yes, the snapshots and your editorial combined -certainly ought to stir things up. Don’t forget that I’ve bet you a new -hat that your circulation figures will be more than doubled to-morrow, -Fred.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“I’ll be quite satisfied to lose the hat,” Carroll chuckled. “And just -to show you that I don’t expect to win the bet, let me tell you that -I’ve already given orders to my pressroom to print twice the usual -number of papers to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>“I guess you’re quite safe in doing so,” said the Camera Chap earnestly. -“I don’t think you’ll have many copies left on your hands. But how are -the pictures getting along, Fred? Have they been made into cuts yet?”</p> - -<p>“Neilson is working on them now,” Carroll answered. “Come on up, and -we’ll see how he’s progressing.”</p> - -<p>Neilson was working on an outside job—a half-tone cut for the -letterhead of a local tailor—when they entered his laboratory. -Observing this, Carroll was somewhat annoyed. He had asked Neilson to -rush the cuts through, and, while he realized that it was the outside -work which paid the expenses of the plant, he felt aggrieved that the -tailor’s half tone should be given first attention.</p> - -<p>“How about that work I gave you?” he inquired sharply. “Started on it -yet, Ole?”</p> - -<p>The engraver looked at him in astonishment. “How can I start on it until -you give me back them negatives?” he exclaimed. “I ban yoost coming down -to ask you for them.”</p> - -<p>“Give you back the negatives!” the proprietor of the <i>Bulletin</i> -repeated, with a puzzled frown. “What on earth are you talking about?”</p> - -<p>“I ban talking about those policemen’s negatives you want made into cuts -for to-morrow’s paper, of course,” replied Neilson, a trifle nettled. -“How can I make the cuts until I get the pictures?”</p> - -<p>“But you have the pictures,” Carroll protested. “Didn’t I give them to -you?”</p> - -<p>“Sure you gave them to me once. But you ban take them back again, didn’t -you?” replied the man indignantly.</p> - -<p>“I took them back?”</p> - -<p>“Sure! At least, you sent the boy for them—which is yoost the same, of -course.”</p> - -<p>“The boy?” Carroll was beginning to grow uneasy. “What boy?”</p> - -<p>“That boy Miggsy, of course,” Neilson replied, now thoroughly out of -temper. “What kind of a yoke you ban try to play with me, Mr. Carroll? I -ban serious feller, and don’t like foolin’. Didn’t you send that Miggsy -up here half an hour ago to say would I please let you have them -negatives back right away?”</p> - -<p>Carroll’s face suddenly turned pale. “I certainly did not!” he exclaimed -excitedly. “I sent no such message. Do you mean to say that Miggsy told -you that I sent him?”</p> - -<p>“He sure did. He said you needed the pictures to show to somebody, and -must have them right away. I ban yust starting to work on them when he -came up, but I gave them to him.”</p> - -<p>With an exclamation of alarm, Carroll hurried downstairs to the -editorial rooms to interview the office boy. The youngster was not in -sight.</p> - -<p>“Seen anything of Miggsy?” he inquired anxiously of one of the -reporters, whose desk was near the door.</p> - -<p>“Not lately. The last time I saw him, Mr. Carroll, was half an hour ago, -when he went out to do that errand for you.”</p> - -<p>“An errand for me?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, that’s what he said. He was going out just as I<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> came in, and he -seemed to be in a great hurry. I stopped him on the stairway, and -jokingly asked him what all the rush was about. He begged me not to -delay him, as you had just sent him out on an errand of great importance -which had to be attended to immediately.”</p> - -<p>Carroll turned to Hawley, who had followed him downstairs. They -exchanged glances of consternation.</p> - -<p>“What do you make of it?” the proprietor of the <i>Bulletin</i> said -hoarsely.</p> - -<p>The Camera Chap smiled grimly. “It looks very much as if our young -friend Miggsy had gone over to the enemy,” he said.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I’m afraid so,” growled Carroll. “I can’t imagine any other reason -for his actions. The little ingrate! I’ve been pretty good to that kid. -I never thought that he’d do me a trick of this sort.”</p> - -<p>He paced the floor nervously, his big fists clenched. “Great grief!” he -muttered. “Can it really be possible that all our trouble has been for -nothing—that we’re not going to publish those wonderful snapshots, -after all?”</p> - -<p>Hawley patted his shoulder soothingly. It was in forlorn situations of -this sort that the Camera Chap’s sunny disposition showed up to the best -advantage.</p> - -<p>“Cheer up, old scout!” he said to Carroll. “After all, there’s that -corking editorial of yours. Even without the pictures, it’ll make quite -a hit in to-morrow’s front page.”</p> - -<p>“No, it won’t,” groaned Carroll. “That editorial won’t go on to-morrow’s -front page. I might as well tear it up. Don’t you see that I wouldn’t -dare publish it without the pictures? Those fellows would sue me for -libel. They’d swear that my statements were false, and, without the -photographic evidence, I couldn’t prove that they weren’t.”</p> - -<p>“I guess you’re right there,” said the Camera Chap thoughtfully. “It’s -too bad that that fine piece of writing should go to waste. Well, better -luck next time, I—— Where are you going, Fred?” For Carroll, muttering -something under his breath, had stepped hastily toward the door.</p> - -<p>“I’m going down to the pressroom to cancel that order for extra papers,” -the proprietor of the <i>Bulletin</i> explained gloomily.</p> - -<p class="fint">TO BE CONTINUED.</p> - -<hr /> - -<h3>WORSE AND WORSE.</h3> - -<p>There was a notice in the barber’s shop window reading “Boots Blacked -Inside.” A pedestrian halted and read and reread the notice, and then -opened the door and said:</p> - -<p>“That ought to be shoes. Not one man in fifty wears boots in the -summer.”</p> - -<p>The barber didn’t say anything, but, after due reflection, concluded -that the man was right, and so changed the notice to read: “Shoes -Blacked Inside.” He had scarcely put it up when the same man came along -again and opened the door to say:</p> - -<p>“No one wants the inside of his shoes blacked. We pay to have the shine -on the outside.”</p> - -<p>The barber puzzled over it for a while, and realized that the man was -right again, and next day the notice was replaced by one reading:</p> - -<p>“The outside of shoes blacked inside.”</p> - -<p>“That’s perfectly correct,” said the fault finder, as he came along in -the afternoon. “Never give yourself away on the English language.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>”</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span class="big">THE NEWS OF ALL NATIONS.</span></h2> - -<h3>Dies Preaching on Death.</h3> - -<p>“Prepare to live and you will be prepared to die,” said the Reverend R. -G. Collison, addressing a large congregation in the tabernacle of the -Oregon Christian Church Convention, at Turner, Ore. As he spoke he sank -to the floor of the pulpit and died within a few seconds. Death was -caused by apoplexy.</p> - -<h3>Dyestuff Makers Cheerful.</h3> - -<p>Aniline dye manufacturers in this country are making a tremendous, and, -they believe, an encouraging effort to supply the want of dyes, so -greatly needed since the cessation of German exportation of that -product.</p> - -<p>Some idea of the way in which the domestic industry has been called upon -to meet the demand of the textile mills was given by one of the largest -American concerns in the dye business, who said that his company has -daily to reject orders for some thirty to eighty thousand pounds of dyes -because of their inability to manufacture them fast enough.</p> - -<p>As an evidence of the satisfactory manner in which the American -manufacturers have rallied to meet the situation, he asserted that his -company was manufacturing four times as much dyestuffs this year as in -any year previous.</p> - -<p>Although it has been less than a year since the dyestuff and chemical -industries were thrown into confusion by the war, a readjustment has -been partly accomplished, which has enabled mill operators to go ahead -with the manufacture of textiles.</p> - -<p>From the way the American output has increased it would be safe to say -that inside of the next eighteen months manufacturers here will be able -to supply some $10,000,000 worth annually of dyestuffs to a home market -which could use $30,000,000 worth. Now that the American output is -expanding, our manufacturers feel confident that the trade lost by -Germany will not be regained.</p> - -<h3>This Aged Hen is a Real Coop Marvel.</h3> - -<p>“Eusapia Palladino,” the oldest hen in the town of Killingly, Conn., and -perhaps in the entire world, is to have a birthday party on the occasion -of her twenty-seventh birthday, which will come in a few days. All the -old hens in Killingly are looking forward to the event, and it is -probable that a few young chickens will be asked, just to give the party -a metropolitan flavor.</p> - -<p>Eusapia, though of Spanish origin, lays her eggs in English and began -the work when but five months old. Her first egg, which her owner, Mr. -James Blanchard still has, was laid in November, 1888, and since then -she has laid an average of 144 a year. She has just laid another egg as -this story is being written, and only the greatest haste can prevent her -laying another before it is completed. She just lays around all day, as -might be expected at her great age. Unlike the Madagascar Bingle Hen, -which lays square eggs with a monogram, Eusapia lays but one egg at a -time.</p> - -<p>Eusapia, it will be readily reckoned, was hatched from<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> a black Spanish -egg ten years before the Spanish-American War, when shells burst less -frequently. She has seen a very active life, and greatly deplores the -dissipation, irregular hours, and loss of sleep incident to the poultry -shows which have become popular of late years. She does not smoke, has -never on any occasion partaken of alcoholic liquors, and can now read -without glasses if she cared to.</p> - -<p>Mr. Blanchard has had several disputes lately with persons who, having -dined at the Killingly Commercial Inn, questioned that Eusapia was the -oldest chicken in the world.</p> - -<p>Of late years Eusapia has been given to fits of depression, and the -admittance of eggs as parcel-post mail left her on the verge of a -nervous breakdown for days.</p> - -<p>A thousand chicks have been hatched by Eusapia in her long and useful -life. She has always shown a great interest in them, has personally -supervised their early education, and has invariably responded, even in -late years, to their slightest cluck.</p> - -<h3>Laborers Kill Two-hundred-pound Shark.</h3> - -<p>A shark, measuring seven and a half feet long and weighing about two -hundred pounds, was killed in Weir Creek, an inlet of Long Island Sound, -by David McGowan, a sewer inspector; A. L. Hartman and several Italian -laborers, all armed with crowbars. The fight lasted more than a half an -hour.</p> - -<h3>Child Plays With Rattler.</h3> - -<p>Having a monster rattlesnake as a temporary playmate without being -struck by the deadly fangs of the reptile and killed was the unusual -experience of the little child of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Hunt, of Scenic, S. -D., Mr. Hunt being the depot agent of the Milwaukee Railway Company.</p> - -<p>The mother discovered the little girl playing with the rattlesnake in -the yard around the Hunt home. The snake appeared to like the -companionship of the little girl and made no effort to coil and strike. -The mother managed to drag the child from within reach of the snake -without arousing the anger of the reptile. The little girl strongly -objected to being separated from her strange playmate. After the girl -had been removed to a place of safety, the reptile was killed.</p> - -<h3>A Municipal Bat Roost.</h3> - -<p>The only municipal bat roost in the world was recently erected at San -Antonio, Texas, and is expected to have an important part in the city -fight against malaria and other diseases. The bat has been discovered by -Doctor C. A. Campbell, of San Antonio, to be one of the greatest enemies -of the mosquito, which is largely responsible for the spread of malarial -and similar germs. For this reason San Antonio is not only protecting -the bat by law, but has entered into the proposition of its cultivation.</p> - -<p>Doctor Campbell has demonstrated that one bat will consume as many as -250 mosquitoes in one night. He<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> has estimated that the amount of guano -that could be collected from a single bat roost, capable of -accommodating 250,000 bats, in a season of nine months, would equal -about forty tons—and guano, the highest of all fertilizers, is worth -forty dollars a ton. It is Doctor Campbell’s idea that the bat roost is -a natural hygienic measure, which should be adopted by governments, -municipalities, or corporations controlling large bodies of land, and -who are financially able to erect enough of the roosts to protect their -tenants. The roosts, however, must be constructed from a scientific -standpoint, so that they will not only attract bats, but cause them to -remain there permanently.</p> - -<h3>Knife Melted by Lightning.</h3> - -<p>Francis Wagoner, a farmer of Upper Mount Bethel, near Bangor, Pa., -struck by a bolt of lightning during a terrific storm that passed over -that section lives to tell his story, but he will be marked for life.</p> - -<p>Wagoner was sitting in the kitchen reading a paper when the bolt of -lightning struck a section of metal spouting, entered the bathroom -window, and went into the kitchen by way of the stovepipe.</p> - -<p>From the stove the lightning hit Wagoner on the right leg, then crossed -diagonally to his left shoulder. On the way it came in contact with a -knife in his pocket, which was partly melted by the bolt. The lightning -left reddish streaks over his body, and he was badly stunned.</p> - -<h3>Girl Poses as Boy Five Years.</h3> - -<p>After five years of roaming about this country and Europe posing as a -boy, Edna Puffer, eighteen years old, arrested in the New Haven, Conn., -railroad yards just as she was about to hop on a freight train for New -York, was thrust back into petticoats as soon as they could be procured. -She said she had traveled to Europe on board a cattle ship.</p> - -<p>Convinced that Franklin Shaw, the sailor who was arrested in her -company, was unaware of his companion’s sex, although he had been with -her for nearly three months, Judge Booth, in the city court, continued -both cases.</p> - -<h3>Government’s Movie Shows.</h3> - -<p>The department of agriculture keeps up a special motion-picture factory -at which it makes the films it uses in promoting scientific farming. The -department heads use the films to illustrate lectures, and the field -force shows them at country schoolhouses and churches, where they have -invariably attracted large and interested audiences. Even before the -factory was set up, various bureaus of the department made use of films -in educating the public. Thus, the bureau of animal industry has a -special film to show Southern farmers how to make and use the dipping -vats that would free their herds of ticks. It also showed films that -illustrated the correct ways of handling meat, breeding cattle, and -raising poultry.</p> - -<p>The good-roads division and the forest service have made a similar -effective use of motion pictures.</p> - -<h3>Rains Alligators in Iowa.</h3> - -<p>Is there really something to the belief that reptiles are sometimes -rained down from heaven or has somebody lost two perfectly good -alligators in the vicinity<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> of West Liberty, Iowa? That is a question -West Liberty would like to have solved.</p> - -<p>Two perfectly sane, entirely responsible, utterly truthful and eminently -respectable families report the finding of alligators in their front -yards, said front yards being separated only by the width of the passing -road.</p> - -<p>On the farm of David Nauman an alligator was found prowling about the -garden and was destroyed by an excited member of the Nauman family.</p> - -<p>On the place of Charles Carter, across the road, Mr. Carter in person -made the discovery, captured the alligator, and now has it on -exhibition.</p> - -<p>West Liberty people say it has rained hard enough of late to account for -’most anything, but, beyond accrediting the advent of the alligators to -the sky, are at a loss to advance an acceptable theory.</p> - -<h3>Interesting New Inventions.</h3> - -<p>A doorknob connected with an electric lamp that may be switched on by -pressing a button has been patented by a New York inventor. The -invention is expected to help materially in the sometimes difficult -process of finding the keyhole after dark. The doorknob is illuminated. -The same principle is applied to the doors and dials of safes.</p> - -<p>A cattle guard invented by an Arkansas man, a section foreman, has been -approved by railroads. It is made in three sections, so that it can be -removed for track surfacing. The guard consists of rollers, which are -made in a frame resting on top of the ties.</p> - -<p>A Philadelphia University professor has invented a dust-proof, -fire-resisting glass case for museum specimens.</p> - -<p>Wireless apparatus that weighs but eight pounds, yet will transmit -messages twenty-one miles and has received signals more than three -hundred miles, has been invented by a New Jersey man.</p> - -<p>A sand box for automobiles, like the familiar device on locomotives, to -distribute sand under their tires to prevent skidding, has been patented -by a Massachusetts inventor.</p> - -<p>What is believed to be the largest conveyer belt in the world, 893 feet -long by thirty-six inches wide, has been made for an Ohio stone quarry.</p> - -<p>To keep the base lines of ball grounds dry when it rains, a -Pennsylvanian has patented a canvas cover, easily rolled for removal.</p> - -<h3>Sue for Wages Earned Back in Slavery Days.</h3> - -<p>After more than a half century has passed since the freeing of the -slaves, a suit was filed a few days ago in the supreme court of the -District of Columbia to gain compensation for work performed by them -during the years 1859 to 1868.</p> - -<p>The suit was filed by H. N. Johnson, of Louisiana; Rebecca Bowers, of -Texas; C. B. Williams, of Mississippi, and Mamie Thompson, of Tennessee, -against William M. McAdoo in his official capacity as secretary of the -treasury.</p> - -<p>The plaintiffs claim to be descendants of slaves who worked in cotton -fields of the Southern States, and they hold that they are entitled to -money their ancestors earned and which is now in the treasury, listed -under the title of “internal revenue tax on raw cotton.”</p> - -<p>This money, the complaint says, amounts to $68,072,<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span>388.99, acquired -from the seizure of cotton gathered by plaintiffs’ ancestors. The -plaintiffs contend it should be paid to the descendants of those by -whose labor the cotton-yielding revenue was produced.</p> - -<p>The bill asks that the court appoint an examiner to collect evidence; -that Secretary McAdoo be ordered to disclose the amount and source of -money now in the treasury under the listing of “Internal revenue tax on -raw cotton,” and that he be ordered to state any reasons he may believe -the plaintiffs are not entitled to the money.</p> - -<p>The petition was filed by a Washington attorney representing Cornelius -J. Jones, of Muskogee, Okla. Jones, who is said to have prepared the -bill of complaint, is a negro lawyer.</p> - -<h3>Dies Close to Time He Set.</h3> - -<p>Peter White, an aged negro residing near Washington, N. C., died at -twelve-thirty p. m., just thirty minutes later than the hour he had -appointed. In April, White told friends that he would “give up the -ghost” at the stroke of twelve.</p> - -<p>About this time Jerry Langley, colored, was giving the police of -Washington trouble. Langley had set the hour for his demise. He -postponed it several times, each time disappointing a great crowd of -blacks gathered for the dramatic exit of Langley. Finally, when he said -the thing was final, the crowd blocked the street and the police would -not wait for Jerry to die. They hustled him off to the county home. He -is still living.</p> - -<p>White, the authorities say, may have been prompted by Langley’s example. -He had visions of himself being trolleyed aloft in a golden chariot. Old -age claimed him, doctors say.</p> - -<h3>Year’s Pickles in the United States.</h3> - -<p>If all the pickles manufactured in the United States were equally -divided among the inhabitants, every man, woman, and child would receive -about twenty-four, according to the statement of Frank A. Brown, -secretary and treasurer of the National Pickle Packers’ Association, -which held a business meeting at the Palmer House, Chicago.</p> - -<p>“There are three million bushels of pickles raised in this country every -year,” he said, “and as there are about eight hundred pickles to a -bushel, every person in the United States would get about twenty-four.</p> - -<p>“People often ask: ‘What good are pickles?’ They are one of the most -beneficial foods in the world, because there is just enough acid in them -to properly care for the teeth, and indirectly this improves the health -of the whole body.”</p> - -<h3>New Electric Fly Swatter.</h3> - -<p>Herschell Colyar, of Visalia, Cal., is the inventor of a new fly killer -that is guaranteed to get the best of them. The “killer” is a small -apparatus composed of a number of wires. It can be hung any place and -connected with the “juice,” and when Mr. Fly touches any of said wires, -he quickly falls dead.</p> - -<p>A barber shop is fitted up with one of them, and it seems to be doing -remarkable work.</p> - -<p>It is said that some of the largest companies in the country have been -working on such an apparatus for<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> years, and finally had declared that -such an outfit could not be made. Colyar has been working on his -invention for about three years.</p> - -<h3>Head Clerk’s Ear Is His Own Cash Register.</h3> - -<p>Women carry their loose change in their stockings, children put their -money in their mouths, but Norris Bethel, head clerk for Florin Brother, -of Fall River Mills, Cal., makes a cash register of his ears.</p> - -<p>When he is selling goods and is in a hurry for a nickel or a dime to -make change, he reaches to one ear or the other and finds the needed -coin.</p> - -<p>Or, if he received a small coin, and is at some distance from the cash -register, he puts it into one of his ears until he has use for it or -until he is close to the cash register and can relieve himself.</p> - -<p>The system is considered unique, and it is Bethel’s exclusively.</p> - -<h3>Apple-sizing Machine Invented in Oregon.</h3> - -<p>Asa B. and Frank W. Cutler, brothers, who operate one of the largest -fruit ranches in Oregon, have invented and are completing the -construction of an apple-sizing machine that works by means of weighing -mechanisms. The two young men, graduates in the mechanical-engineering -department of the University of Illinois, have been experimenting for -several years with grading and sizing machines, and during the past two -years have put to practical test graders that made the choice of apples -according to the dimensions of the fruit.</p> - -<p>“However,” says Frank W. Cutler, “this method proved inaccurate, on -account of the different shapes of the fruit. The new method will insure -a standard pack, something that has been long sought by fruit -districts.”</p> - -<p>The new grader is so accurate that it will grade into different bins -apples, the weights of which differ only a tenth of an ounce. The local -inventors have improved on the receiving bins that are placed at the -side of the graders. Their new bin tips itself toward the packer as it -fills automatically, the end resting nearest the packer resting on -springs.</p> - -<h3>How to Fireproof Clothes.</h3> - -<p>At the safety exposition held in New York recently, Doctor Charles -Frederick Pabst demonstrated how to make fireproof clothing. He poured -from one pound to a gallon of cold water in a solution of ammonium -phosphate. Then he took an eight-inch strip of ordinary cotton gauze and -dipped it in the ammonium-phosphate solution. He dried it with an -electric fan and held it in a flame for thirty seconds, but it did not -burn. He took another strip of gauze that had not been treated with the -solution, and, on igniting it, it burned in four seconds. He advised -that the whole family washing should be made fireproof. The expense of -an average-size family would be about fifteen cents a week.</p> - -<h3>His Machine Ties Bundles.</h3> - -<p>About eight years ago a father and his son began to work upon an idea -that had occurred to the elder man during his working hours in the -mailing division of the Chicago post office. A short time ago the result -of their joint effort was put in operation. It is a package-tying -machine that does the work of many men. So<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> convenient is the little -contrivance that it has been introduced into the New York post office, -too, and the government now is negotiating with the inventors for more -of their machines.</p> - -<p>The inventors are Romanzo N. Bunn and his son, Benjamin H. Bunn. For -years the men have been tying up bundles of outgoing letters for -transportation to the trains. Fast as the men worked, it always seemed -Bunn thought it should be done faster. His son worked on the mechanical -side of the problem. Together father and son toiled in a homemade shop -at their home. The little portable “tyer” was what came out of the -basement workshop.</p> - -<p>The machine is about three feet high and about a foot square. It begins -operation after the mail has been distributed in the racks by hand ready -for tying to go to the trains. Then the machine is rolled along the line -of pigeonholes and fed, by hand, by its retainer. Packs of letters, four -inches thick, are placed into position, the machine is set in motion, -and then—click, click, clop! That’s the way it sounds. The first two -clicks indicate the tying of the packet of letters, sidewise and then -lengthwise, and the “clop” the dropping of the bundle into a waiting -basket.</p> - -<p>Where the best men used to tie five or six packets in a minute, the -machine now ties thirty—and it has not tried for a record yet!</p> - -<h3>Flesh From Body Saves Eye.</h3> - -<p>The sight of Doctor E. Lerendinger, a professor of Hood College, -Frederick, Md., has been restored as the result of an unusual surgical -operation. Flesh was removed from the professor’s abdomen and placed in -a cavity above one of his eyes, which had been caused by an accident. -The operation was performed several weeks ago, but was not made public -until success was assured.</p> - -<h3>Tallest Couple are Wedded.</h3> - -<p>The tallest couple in Pennsylvania were united in marriage a few days -ago in Lewistown. The bridegroom, George Schaffer, who stands six feet -seven inches in his stockings, achieved quite a reputation when he was a -member of the Allentown police as the tallest cop. The bride is Mrs. -Angie Kern, six feet two inches tall. Both parties are about forty years -of age.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Schaffer is a prospective heiress if she can break the will of the -late Charles Losch, who left about $150,000 to be divided among -relatives. She produced a letter purporting to have been signed by -Losch, saying that if she would take care of him in his declining years -he would leave her his homestead in Allentown, valued at $12,000. -Schaffer says he often heard Losch say he would leave Mrs. Kern the -homestead.</p> - -<p>The newlyweds have purchased a farm, and whatever the outcome of the -will contest, it will not affect their happiness. The bride says she -fell in love with her new husband because she detested walking around -with a man shorter than herself.</p> - -<h3>This Modest Inventor Would Stop World War.</h3> - -<p>“I can make the United States the strongest nation in the world. I can -end the European struggle in a short time. I can make the smallest -nation most powerful.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>”</p> - -<p>This is the assertion of John Vogelzangs, of Menominee, Mich., an -inventor, who claims to have a method of extracting electricity from the -air so that air craft might be manned with powerful guns and not be -forced to land until they want to.</p> - -<p>“I can sweep the seas clear of vessels. I can kill armies and level -cities,” claimed the inventor, who in the same breath asserted he -favored universal peace, but that the world was not ready for it.</p> - -<p>He says Secretary Daniels’ plan for an advisory board is good.</p> - -<p>He refused to give out much information about his new device. He said he -lacked money to carry on the work, and displayed a letter from Mr. -Daniels, written before the war broke out, saying this nation was not -ready to take up his ideas.</p> - -<p>Vogelzangs has a reputation for being an inventor of ability. He made a -street cleaner, which he refused to sell for $10,000. He also claims he -will revolutionize the berry business with a new picker.</p> - -<h3>Walks on 113th Birthday.</h3> - -<p>Mrs. Edna G. Goldman, of Glamorgan, Va., celebrated her 113th birthday -by walking ten miles to the home of her son, Henry Goldman, at Pound, -Va.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Goldman was born in Appomattox County, Va., in 1802. Despite her -age, she cultivates a small patch of land in corn and beans each year. -This year she is “farming” about two acres.</p> - -<h3>Flivver is Not Amphibious.</h3> - -<p>Edward Kirby, of Newton, N. J., erred in believing a flivver amphibious. -It is alleged that he stole the automobile at the Grand Hotel, Golden -Springs, and, when closely pursued by other automobiles, he ran the -flivver into the Delaware River, seeking to reach Pike County shore.</p> - -<p>The flivver floated several minutes and made quite a little progress in -the current, but when the body filled, she went down at the bow and soon -plunged to the bottom.</p> - -<p>Kirby swam out and made his way across the river. He disappeared into -the woods there, and a posse under Sheriff Applegate is seeking him.</p> - -<h3>Song Tells of Old Man Who Had a Wooden Leg.</h3> - -<p>John Strain, of Greenwich, Conn., who lost his leg three years ago and -his temper recently, has announced that he intends to obtain a rubber -artificial limb. His statement was made to-day through a window of the -county jail, from which he will watch the dying sun precede each of the -next thirty twilights.</p> - -<p>The reason Mr. Strain intends to obtain the new artificial limb -described it that his wife, a muscular woman, who has been getting -plenty of exercise since John ceased to work eight years ago, has been -and is in the habit of bounding his artificial limb off his forehead -when a domestic storm brews. The present limb is of wood, and, for -various reasons, is unsatisfactory to Mr. Strain and his brow.</p> - -<p>Over the condition of the weather a quarrel started in the Strain home. -Mr. Strain declared he felt that a gale was coming from the northeast, -inasmuch as his left leg—not the wooden one—pained slightly. Mrs. -Strain, with that rare spirit of raillery which characterizes<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> a woman -who supports four children, told John the weather could scarcely affect -a man who sat in the house smoking all the time. It was then that John, -according to the testimony of his wife in police court, threw eight -volumes of Dumas, apparently bound in zinc. His aim was true.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Strain then took John’s artificial limb and hung it just west of -where he parts his hair. Her judgment of distance was perfect—it -generally is. She then cried for help.</p> - -<p>When help arrived, John had hopped on one foot over the State border, -into New York. A sheriff with a rich baritone voice explained to him -that hopping about New York State with no hat and only an undershirt -over his shoulders would mean but little in his life. John thought -deeply, hopped over into Connecticut again, and was sentenced to thirty -days in jail by Judge James R. Meade.</p> - -<h3>Machine That Remembers.</h3> - -<p>A machine which will remember the date and hour of an appointment made -several weeks previous is one of the latest efficiency devices to be -placed on the market. A roll of paper strip passes over a flat surface -where the appointment is indicated, and a punch mark made in the margin. -When that time occurs, a gong is sounded and a reference to the strip -will give the information as to what appointment is to be kept.</p> - -<h3>Fifty Dollars Gone, Flivver May Survive.</h3> - -<p>Probably the maddest man in and about Montgomery County, New York State, -just at present is Reuben Hyney, who keeps a shoe store on the main -street of Fonda, and who, as a side line, rents his automobile to any -one who can fit in it. Mr. Hyney has no more temper than any other -normal man who lives in Montgomery County, but the shoe business has run -over at the heel a bit recently, and the other afternoon something -happened which increased Mr. Hyney’s height four inches.</p> - -<p>Hyney was adjusting a spring-heeled shoe to a broad foot at about a -moment after two o’clock, when the telephone rang sharply. He dropped -his client’s foot onto his own and limped to the booth. A man with an -educated voice, as Mr. Hyney describes it, was asking if he might hire -an automobile for the afternoon. He said he was a school inspector and -was as busy as a one-eyed mouse in a cheese factory. He would come -running if the buzz wagon was not busy. It was not.</p> - -<p>Hardly had the satisfied customer walked from the store when a bearded -stranger, wearing a slouch hat, stopped at the door, looked up and down -the street craftily, and entered.</p> - -<p>“Wait there,” said the shoe merchant, pointing to the central design on -a piece of linoleum. “I will oil the machine and call my daughter.”</p> - -<p>The stranger, laughing up his sleeve, through his vest and along his -hatband, reached into the cash register and took fifty dollars. Then he -sat down and waited until Miss Hyney came to watch the store. By this -time it was hardly worth it.</p> - -<p>An hour later the mysterious stranger told the owner of the machine to -stop in front of a building in Fort Plain. He went upstairs.</p> - -<p>Three hours later Hyney decided the stranger had given him the -metropolitan fare-thee-well. He entered the build<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>ing and found nothing -but the janitor and a flock of rent signs.</p> - -<p>Two hours later he was back in Fonda, telling his daughter about the -“cuss” who tore the soul out of a dandy four-hundred-dollar touring car -and didn’t pay for it. Then his daughter asked him if he had taken fifty -dollars from the cash register.</p> - -<p>Mr. Hyney is in bed. But what’s the use?—he can’t sleep.</p> - -<h3>Capture Odd Pair of Mice.</h3> - -<p>A most remarkable freak of nature is a white mouse and a black one -captured in a bureau drawer by John Elias, who lives in Atchison, Kan. -The white mouse hasn’t a black spot on it and has black eyes. The black -mouse has fur as black as the ace of spades, and its eyes are brown.</p> - -<p>Local zoölogists are unable to account for the strange markings of the -mice. They are very vicious and never miss a chance to attempt to bite -members of the Elias family while being fed.</p> - -<h3>Billy Goat is Boss of Town.</h3> - -<p>A billy goat tied up traffic in Kokomo, Ind., as effectively as the -street-car strike did in Chicago. The goat broke away from a colored man -who was leading it at the transfer corner.</p> - -<p>The conductors of two cars standing there were on the sidewalk at the -time. They started for their cars and the goat started for them. The men -“beat it” for a candy store and won.</p> - -<p>The goat then turned his attention to several pedestrians and soon made -a scatterment. About this time Patrolmen Elkins and Webb came along.</p> - -<p>Webb lived on a farm and knew the habits of the goat. He kept in the -rear. Elkins bravely went forward to capture the goat. He managed to -seize the animal by the head and tried to go with him to the station. -Every time he pulled, the goat started to butt him. He held on for -several minutes, afraid to let go, until the owner of the goat relieved -him.</p> - -<h3>Aged Couple Joined at Last.</h3> - -<p>George W. Hayden, a retired farmer of Big Laurel, Va., and Larestia -Fulton, of Lipps, were married at the home of the bride’s son, Henry -Fulton, a few days ago. The bridegroom was some few days past ninety -years of age when the knot was tied and the bride was lacking a few days -of being eighty-seven.</p> - -<p>About seventy years ago Hayden and Miss Helt—the bride’s maiden -name—were engaged, but quarreled, and both married other parties and -reared large families. Hayden’s wife died eighteen years ago and Mrs. -Fulton was left a widow three years ago.</p> - -<h3>“Well Broken to Hard Work.”</h3> - -<p>Although many bones in his body have been broken as a result of various -accidents during his life, W. M. Morgan, who lives near Lancaster, Kan., -finds little cause for complaint for the treatment he has had at the -hands of “cruel fate.”</p> - -<p>At various times he has had both shoulders fractured, a number of ribs -cracked, a thumb broken, both legs broken, and his right foot has almost -every bone in it<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> broken. Despite all these handicaps, he works every -day at hard labor and has little use for the fellow who thinks hard luck -has given him a jolt.</p> - -<h3>Snake Swallows China Egg.</h3> - -<p>Blacksnakes down Gales Ferry way cannot tell china nest eggs for hen’s -eggs, according to a story related by Mr. and Mrs. R. B. de Bussy, of -Mount Vernon, N. Y. The De Bussys were recent guests of Miss Caroline -Freeman at the Bouwerie, Gales Ferry. Miss Freeman’s guests at that time -included Professor Heuser, instructor in German at Columbia University, -and his family.</p> - -<p>Professor Heuser’s daughter, six years old, returning from the poultry -house at Bouwerie, reported no eggs, but said a big snake was in a hen’s -nest. A manservant, using an ax, killed the five-foot snake.</p> - -<p>Miss Freeman then discovered that the china nest egg was missing from -the nest. The search led to the interior of the snake, where the missing -china nest egg was recovered.</p> - -<h3>Lightning’s Queer Freak.</h3> - -<p>Lightning apparently photographed a perfect likeness of a tree, -branches, twigs, and leaves, in minutest detail, on the breast of Edwin -Liesman, who was instantly killed in the Magnolia clubhouse on Mount -Penn, near Reading, Pa., in a violent electrical storm.</p> - -<p>Liesman’s mother, Mrs. Bernard Liesman, and a friend, Harry Opperman, -were badly shocked, but will recover.</p> - -<p>Liesman was sitting at a window next to a telephone. The bolt followed -the telephone wire. The tree outside the window was almost exactly -reproduced on Liesman’s body. The tragedy occurred during four brilliant -flashes in swift succession, putting out all the lights in the cottage. -Medical men and photographers were puzzled by the strange features -wrought on the dead man.</p> - -<h3>Sounds Like a Fish Story.</h3> - -<p>A flock of geese were swimming in White River, near Augusta, Ark., and a -splash attracted the attention of several men and boys who were near by. -A large blue channel catfish came up and grabbed a goose, taking the -fowl under with him.</p> - -<p>People watched for some time, but the goose never came up. This may -sound like a fish story, but nevertheless it is true.</p> - -<h3>Ghostly Figure That is an Awful Shrieker.</h3> - -<p>A ghost, or some other creature with a voice like an armload of siren -whistles, has frightened the residents of Somerville, N. J., to the -point where it is no longer a joke, and they want to get to sleep. The -disorder, frightful beyond words, ghastly, ghostly, and hair elevating, -has been going on for a week, and the whole town is determined that -something is to be done about it.</p> - -<p>Thomas Hagen, night roundhouse watchman, was the first one to hear the -shrieks. He was going round and round the roundhouse when the most -frightful bellow imaginable rent the air. Mr. Hagen, who comes of a -warm-blooded race, was so startled that his blood ran cold. It could -barely run, even.</p> - -<p>Right across the railroad tracks from the roundhouse is the cemetery, -and Mr. Hagen, after recalling this, took a little jaunt up the road -that restored his circulation<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> to normal. He notified the police force, -who were sitting up late, reading, and he became indignant when the -department took a cigar out of its mouth and laughed at him.</p> - -<p>Every night since then the terrible noise has been repeated, and persons -who have passed the roundhouse have seen a strange figure flitting about -among the bushes and trees which border the railroad tracks at that -point. Some of them even describe the flitter, which is going some, -considering the speed with which they invariably leave the neighborhood.</p> - -<p>For the last two nights every one in the village has been shuddering in -unison, and the vibration can be felt as far as Philadelphia. Every now -and then the shriek ceases and is replaced by a wail—and the wail is a -whale of a wail. It is a relief when the shriek starts again.</p> - -<p>Mr. Hagen, who originally heard the alleged ghost and who has become -more bored with the noise than any of the comparative beginners, -yesterday resigned his position as watchman in the roundhouse. He -declared that if everything was on the square he would work forever and -willingly walk around and around and around all night, but that under -present conditions no self-respecting roundhouse watchman could stand -around watching.</p> - -<p>Chief of Police Bellis will watch with seven railroad detectives. They -will stay right at the roundhouse until the ghost appears. Beyond that -they have made no arrangements.</p> - -<h3>Hoodoo Pursues Two Miners.</h3> - -<p>Two mining partners, Gus Erickson and Bert Pinney, of Hailey, Idaho, are -certainly pursued by some hoodoo. While working on a stage ten feet -below the surface, the stage broke away from its fastenings, dropping -Pinney down the shaft twenty feet, where, after he had turned head down, -his buckskin shoe laces caught on a nail and held him until help -arrived. Three hundred feet of water would have received him had his -laces broke.</p> - -<p>The next afternoon Erickson came to town on his motor cycle to get the -mail. Returning, the motor cycle skidded in a rut, throwing its rider -over the handlebars into the road, the machine piling on top of him. -With his skull fractured in three places, he lay in the road an hour -before he was found. Both men will recover.</p> - -<h3>Former Water Boy’s Story.</h3> - -<p>A prominent business man of Castleton, Ill., told the following story -the other night to three or four citizens assembled in A. A. Webber’s -real-estate office:</p> - -<p>“When I was a boy,” he said, “I used to carry water for the men to drink -when they were working in the field some distance from the house. One -real warm day I carried water to my father, who was running a mower and -cutting timothy for hay. As I was about to return home, I noticed a -prairie chicken fly up from the freshly mown swath. Thinking there might -be a nest of eggs—which, by the way, are fine eating—I investigated, -and what do you think I found? A prairie chicken with its head cut off, -the mowing bar being just the right height to perform the operation. I -also found the feet and legs that belonged to the one that flew away. It -probably stood up ready to fly as the mowing bar came along, while the -other remained sitting and lost its head. Needless to say, we had -prairie chicken for dinner.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span><span class="pagenum"><a id="page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span>”</p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="cbig250">The Nick Carter Stories</p> - -<p class="c"> -ISSUED EVERY SATURDAY <span style="margin-left: 2em;">BEAUTIFUL COLORED COVERS</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>When it comes to detective stories worth while, the <b>Nick Carter Stories</b> -contain the only ones that should be considered. They are not overdrawn -tales of bloodshed. They rather show the working of one of the finest -minds ever conceived by a writer. The name of Nick Carter is familiar -all over the world, for the stories of his adventures may be read in -twenty languages. No other stories have withstood the severe test of -time so well as those contained in the <b>Nick Carter Stories</b>. It proves -conclusively that they are the best. We give herewith a list of some of -the back numbers in print. You can have your news dealer order them, or -they will be sent direct by the publishers to any address upon receipt -of the price in money or postage stamps.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind"> -730—The Torn Card.<br /> -731—Under Desperation’s Spur.<br /> -732—The Connecting Link.<br /> -733—The Abduction Syndicate.<br /> -738—A Plot Within a Plot.<br /> -739—The Dead Accomplice.<br /> -746—The Secret Entrance.<br /> -747—The Cavern Mystery.<br /> -748—The Disappearing Fortune.<br /> -749—A Voice from the Past.<br /> -752—The Spider’s Web.<br /> -753—The Man With a Crutch.<br /> -754—The Rajah’s Regalia.<br /> -755—Saved from Death.<br /> -756—The Man Inside.<br /> -757—Out for Vengeance.<br /> -758—The Poisons of Exili.<br /> -759—The Antique Vial.<br /> -760—The House of Slumber.<br /> -761—A Double Identity.<br /> -762—“The Mocker’s” Stratagem.<br /> -763—The Man that Came Back.<br /> -764—The Tracks in the Snow.<br /> -765—The Babbington Case.<br /> -766—The Masters of Millions.<br /> -767—The Blue Stain.<br /> -768—The Lost Clew.<br /> -770—The Turn of a Card.<br /> -771—A Message in the Dust.<br /> -772—A Royal Flush.<br /> -774—The Great Buddha Beryl.<br /> -775—The Vanishing Heiress.<br /> -776—The Unfinished Letter.<br /> -777—A Difficult Trail.<br /> -782—A Woman’s Stratagem.<br /> -783—The Cliff Castle Affair.<br /> -784—A Prisoner of the Tomb.<br /> -785—A Resourceful Foe.<br /> -789—The Great Hotel Tragedies.<br /> -795—Zanoni, the Transfigured.<br /> -796—The Lure of Gold.<br /> -797—The Man With a Chest.<br /> -798—A Shadowed Life.<br /> -799—The Secret Agent.<br /> -800—A Plot for a Crown.<br /> -801—The Red Button.<br /> -802—Up Against It.<br /> -803—The Gold Certificate.<br /> -804—Jack Wise’s Hurry Call.<br /> -805—Nick Carter’s Ocean Chase.<br /> -807—Nick Carter’s Advertisement.<br /> -808—The Kregoff Necklace.<br /> -811—Nick Carter and the Nihilists.<br /> -812—Nick Carter and the Convict Gang.<br /> -813—Nick Carter and the Guilty Governor.<br /> -814—The Triangled Coin.<br /> -815—Ninety-nine—and One.<br /> -816—Coin Number 77.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="c">NEW SERIES</p> - -<p class="cb">NICK CARTER STORIES</p> - -<p class="nind"> -1—The Man from Nowhere.<br /> -2—The Face at the Window.<br /> -3—A Fight for a Million.<br /> -4—Nick Carter’s Land Office.<br /> -5—Nick Carter and the Professor.<br /> -6—Nick Carter as a Mill Hand.<br /> -7—A Single Clew.<br /> -8—The Emerald Snake.<br /> -9—The Currie Outfit.<br /> -10—Nick Carter and the Kidnapped Heiress.<br /> -11—Nick Carter Strikes Oil.<br /> -12—Nick Carter’s Hunt for a Treasure.<br /> -13—A Mystery of the Highway.<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>14—The Silent Passenger.<br /> -15—Jack Dreen’s Secret.<br /> -16—Nick Carter’s Pipe Line Case.<br /> -17—Nick Carter and the Gold Thieves.<br /> -18—Nick Carter’s Auto Chase.<br /> -19—The Corrigan Inheritance.<br /> -20—The Keen Eye of Denton.<br /> -21—The Spider’s Parlor.<br /> -22—Nick Carter’s Quick Guess.<br /> -23—Nick Carter and the Murderess.<br /> -24—Nick Carter and the Pay Car.<br /> -25—The Stolen Antique.<br /> -26—The Crook League.<br /> -27—An English Cracksman.<br /> -28—Nick Carter’s Still Hunt.<br /> -29—Nick Carter’s Electric Shock.<br /> -30—Nick Carter and the Stolen Duchess.<br /> -31—The Purple Spot.<br /> -32—The Stolen Groom.<br /> -33—The Inverted Cross.<br /> -34—Nick Carter and Keno McCall.<br /> -35—Nick Carter’s Death Trap.<br /> -36—Nick Carter’s Siamese Puzzle.<br /> -37—The Man Outside.<br /> -38—The Death Chamber.<br /> -39—The Wind and the Wire.<br /> -40—Nick Carter’s Three Cornered Chase.<br /> -41—Dazaar, the Arch-Fiend.<br /> -42—The Queen of the Seven.<br /> -43—Crossed Wires.<br /> -44—A Crimson Clew.<br /> -45—The Third Man.<br /> -46—The Sign of the Dagger.<br /> -47—The Devil Worshipers.<br /> -48—The Cross of Daggers.<br /> -49—At Risk of Life.<br /> -50—The Deeper Game.<br /> -51—The Code Message.<br /> -52—The Last of the Seven.<br /> -53—Ten-Ichi, the Wonderful.<br /> -54—The Secret Order of Associated Crooks.<br /> -55—The Golden Hair Clew.<br /> -56—Back From the Dead.<br /> -57—Through Dark Ways.<br /> -58—When Aces Were Trumps.<br /> -59—The Gambler’s Last Hand.<br /> -60—The Murder at Linden Fells.<br /> -61—A Game for Millions.<br /> -62—Under Cover.<br /> -63—The Last Call.<br /> -64—Mercedes Danton’s Double.<br /> -65—The Millionaire’s Nemesis.<br /> -66—A Princess of the Underworld.<br /> -67—The Crook’s Blind.<br /> -68—The Fatal Hour.<br /> -69—Blood Money.<br /> -70—A Queen of Her Kind.<br /> -71—Isabel Benton’s Trump Card.<br /> -72—A Princess of Hades.<br /> -73—A Prince of Plotters.<br /> -74—The Crook’s Double.<br /> -75—For Life and Honor.<br /> -76—A Compact With Dazaar.<br /> -77—In the Shadow of Dazaar.<br /> -78—The Crime of a Money King.<br /> -79—Birds of Prey.<br /> -80—The Unknown Dead.<br /> -81—The Severed Hand.<br /> -82—The Terrible Game of Millions.<br /> -83—A Dead Man’s Power.<br /> -84—The Secrets of an Old House.<br /> -85—The Wolf Within.<br /> -86—The Yellow Coupon.<br /> -87—In the Toils.<br /> -88—The Stolen Radium.<br /> -89—A Crime in Paradise.<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span>90—Behind Prison Bars.<br /> -91—The Blind Man’s Daughter.<br /> -92—On the Brink of Ruin.<br /> -93—Letter of Fire.<br /> -94—The $100,000 Kiss.<br /> -95—Outlaws of the Militia.<br /> -96—The Opium-Runners.<br /> -97—In Record Time.<br /> -98—The Wag-Nuk Clew.<br /> -99—The Middle Link.<br /> -100—The Crystal Maze.<br /> -101—A New Serpent in Eden.<br /> -102—The Auburn Sensation.<br /> -103—A Dying Chance.<br /> -104—The Gargoni Girdle.<br /> -105—Twice in Jeopardy.<br /> -196—The Ghost Launch.<br /> -107—Up in the Air.<br /> -108—The Girl Prisoner.<br /> -109—The Red Plague.<br /> -110—The Arson Trust.<br /> -111—The King of the Firebugs.<br /> -112—“Lifter’s” of the Lofts.<br /> -113—French Jimmie and His Forty<br /> -Thieves.<br /> -114—The Death Plot.<br /> -115—The Evil Formula.<br /> -116—The Blue Button.<br /> -117—The Deadly Parallel.<br /> -118—The Vivisectionists.<br /> -119—The Stolen Brain.<br /> -120—An Uncanny Revenge.<br /> -121—The Call of Death.<br /> -122—The Suicide.<br /> -123—Half a Million Ransom.<br /> -124—The Girl Kidnapper.<br /> -125—The Pirate Yacht.<br /> -126—The Crime of the White Hand.<br /> -127—Found in the Jungle.<br /> -128—Six Men in a Loop.<br /> -129—The Jewels of Wat Chang.<br /> -130—The Crime in the Tower.<br /> -131—The Fatal Message.<br /> -132—Broken Bars.<br /> -133—Won by Magic.<br /> -134—The Secret of Shangore.<br /> -135—Straight to the Goal.<br /> -136—The Man They Held Back.<br /> -137—The Seal of Gijon.<br /> -138—The Traitors of the Tropics.<br /> -139—The Pressing Peril.<br /> -140—The Melting-Pot.<br /> -141—The Duplicate Night.<br /> -142—The Edge of a Crime.<br /> -143—The Sultan’s Pearls.<br /> -144—The Clew of the White Collar.<br /> -145—An Unsolved Mystery.<br /> -146—Paying the Price.<br /> -147—On Death’s Trail.<br /> -148—The Mark of Cain.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Dated July 17th, 1915.</span><br /> -149—A Network of Crime.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Dated July 24th, 1915.</span><br /> -150—The House of Fear.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Dated July 31st, 1915.</span><br /> -151—The Mystery of the Crossed Needles.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Dated August 7th, 1915.</span><br /> -152—The Forced Crime.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Dated August 14th, 1915.</span><br /> -153—The Doom of Sang Tu.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Dated August 21st, 1915.</span><br /> -154—The Mask of Death.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Dated August 28th, 1915.</span><br /> -155—The Gordon Elopement.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Dated Sept. 4th, 1915.</span><br /> -156—Blood Will Tell.<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span></p> - -<p class="fint">PRICE, FIVE CENTS PER COPY. 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