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24 chapters
CHAPTER I. CAPTAIN SPARKLE, THE PIRATE CHIEF.
CHAPTER I. CAPTAIN SPARKLE, THE PIRATE CHIEF.
“Mr. Maxwell Kane!” The announcement was made by Nick Carter’s valet, Joseph, who threw open the door of his master’s study with a gesture as nearly approaching a flourish as any in which he ever permitted himself to indulge. Joseph had a wholesome respect for millionaires, and many a one of them came at one time and another to the detective for consultation; but it was rarely that Joseph admitted such a one as Maxwell Kane. It was a name which was an open sesame at all doors, however exclusive;
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CHAPTER II. THE MYSTERY OF THE PIRATE CRAFT.
CHAPTER II. THE MYSTERY OF THE PIRATE CRAFT.
“Let me talk, now!” exclaimed Bessie. “I was the first one to reach the deck after you called us, Max.” “All right. I’ve no objections. I feel like seven different kinds of a jay, anyhow, when I tell this story; and, by the great boot in Chatham Street, Nick, I’d willingly give up a million rather than go through with it again! All the same, I want those race cups back again, if I can get them.” “So the pirate took them, did he? I thought he said it might be arranged so that you could keep them?
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CHAPTER III. “THAT FELLOW WHO LOOKS LIKE ME.”
CHAPTER III. “THAT FELLOW WHO LOOKS LIKE ME.”
“Do you think you can catch him?” asked Bessie Harlan, leaning forward in her chair, with rapt interest depicted in her expression. Nick Carter laughed aloud. “It would seem, Miss Harlan,” he replied, “that at the present moment, in order to do that, I would be obliged to swim. Pirates do not leave clues behind them, like burglars, outlaws, footpads, and common thieves. You cannot pick up old buttons and locks of hair on the crest of the waves, and there are no saloons and other places of resort
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CHAPTER IV. NICK’S DEDUCTIONS.
CHAPTER IV. NICK’S DEDUCTIONS.
The detective was not sorry when, a little later, he found that the ladies had prevailed upon the count to accompany them on their trip ashore; and that, therefore, he would be left alone on the yacht with Maxwell Kane. And, as soon as the yacht was deserted, save for themselves and the crew, the two friends lost no time in getting into the bathing-suits. Before either of them dived into the depths of the water, however, Nick dropped into one of the chairs under the awning and motioned to Kane t
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CHAPTER V. THE MARK OF THE ROVER’S KEEL.
CHAPTER V. THE MARK OF THE ROVER’S KEEL.
Kane remained like a statue in his chair, staring at the detective. The suggestions thrown out by Nick Carter concerning Count Cadillac paralyzed him, so to speak. He was appalled by it, and—he could not bring himself to the belief that there was anything in it more than that strange circumstance which he had described in the beginning as circumstance. And yet, all the while, he was forced to admit to himself that there were suspicious circumstances. Suddenly, without a word of his intention, bu
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CHAPTER VI. CAPTAIN SPARKLE’S SECOND VICTIM.
CHAPTER VI. CAPTAIN SPARKLE’S SECOND VICTIM.
“Max,” said Nick, after a pause, during which he had been watching the maneuvers of the Harkaway as she came to her buoy on the anchorage, “I have not asked the question before, because I thought there was no need; but have you ever heard the suggestion that there was a pirate in this part of the world, before you met with your own experience?” “Never.” “It is a pretty sure thing, isn’t it, that if somebody else had run afoul of him as you did, you would have heard of it?” “I think it is; unless
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CHAPTER VII. WAITING FOR THE PIRATE’S ATTACK.
CHAPTER VII. WAITING FOR THE PIRATE’S ATTACK.
“Now, Mr. Burton,” said the detective, when the story was finished, “I wish you would do me a favor.” “Certainly. What will it be, Mr. Carter?” “I wish you would keep your men aboard the yacht for the remainder of the day and evening, for one thing.” “I’ll do that, certainly.” “And, in addition to that, instruct them to say nothing of what has happened to anybody, on pain of dismissal.” “All right; and that, also.” “Next, I wish you would keep silent yourself—until to-morrow morning.” “Humph! We
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CHAPTER VIII. BOARDING THE PIRATE CRUISER.
CHAPTER VIII. BOARDING THE PIRATE CRUISER.
At midnight the three watchers put on the bathing-suits which were supplied by Maxwell Kane, and then seated themselves again on the after-deck, to await developments. “What I want to know is, how are we going to carry any guns with us, with this rig?” asked Kane, as they seated themselves, and Nick asked Chick if he had supplied himself with weapons. “I think that two apiece will be sufficient,” replied Nick, “and you can easily carry them.” “But how?” “In a belt around your body. See? Here is
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CHAPTER IX. THE PIRATE CHIEFTAIN UNMASKED.
CHAPTER IX. THE PIRATE CHIEFTAIN UNMASKED.
The interior of the turret was as dark as a pocket, but the detective quickly discovered the door which communicated with the interior of the vessel proper, and he opened it. Contrary to his expectations, he found himself then inside a brilliantly lighted section of the vessel, which he recognized at a glance to be the general assembling-room—the apartment used by the pirates for their general uses. It was, in fact, in the form of a miniature social hall of a great steamship, and even the detect
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CHAPTER X. TWO COUNTS OF CADILLAC.
CHAPTER X. TWO COUNTS OF CADILLAC.
“If I did not know positively that Count Cadillac is at this moment ashore at the club-house, I would be willing to swear that he stands before me yonder,” was the detective’s mental comment, as he gazed upon the transformation wrought by the mere removal of the hat and wig worn by the pirate chief. “As it is, there can be no doubt now that my first idea was the correct one, and that the two men are brothers—aye, twin brothers, at that.” “Well?” asked the woman of the pirate, permitting the book
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CHAPTER XI. THE CAPTURE OF THE PIRATE CHIEF.
CHAPTER XI. THE CAPTURE OF THE PIRATE CHIEF.
“This is not precisely the costume in which I should have preferred to present myself to you, madame,” continued the detective, with a smile. “Bathing-suits were necessary, under the circumstances, inasmuch as we were obliged to swim out to the Shadow in order to get aboard of her at all. And, in order to relieve your mind, I will tell you how we did it: We came aboard at the moment when your husband—or his brother, for, like yourself, I have no idea which one of the Counts of Cadillac the gentl
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CHAPTER XII. THE FIGHT IN THE PIRATE’S CABIN.
CHAPTER XII. THE FIGHT IN THE PIRATE’S CABIN.
Although the words of warning uttered by the pirate were deliberate and emphatic, there was not a sound while he was speaking them to denote that they were true. Nevertheless, he had spoken the truth; and he had gaged the moment of interruption so exactly that even as he ceased speaking the door which communicated with the outer cabin was burst open, and three men, followed by several others, leaped in upon them. But short as was the warning, short as was the time of preparation on the part of t
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CHAPTER XIII. THE ROVER OF THE SEAS.
CHAPTER XIII. THE ROVER OF THE SEAS.
It was a month later. The Goalong was six hours out of Hamilton, Bermuda, bound for Newport News. The time was something after six o’clock in the evening, and the sun had just sunk below the horizon, thirteen miles away. The season was the first week in September—a month during which few if any tourists ever think of visiting the Bermudas. But Maxwell Kane had for many years been in the habit of spending a week or two of the summer season in Hamilton, because having, on one occasion, visited the
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CHAPTER XIV. THE ABDUCTION OF BESSIE HARLAN.
CHAPTER XIV. THE ABDUCTION OF BESSIE HARLAN.
From the deck of the Goalong , Bessie Harlan watched the maneuvering of the pirate craft with an intensity which amounted almost to fascination. It had not occurred to her thus far to feel personal fear. She remembered another occasion when she had met the pirate, and she recalled that she had been treated with the utmost consideration at that time, and now it did not occur to her that the rover of the sea would visit personal harm upon any of them. She supposed that he intended merely to rob, a
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CHAPTER XV. NICK CARTER IS THE MAN.
CHAPTER XV. NICK CARTER IS THE MAN.
“If you scream or call the others to your assistance,” she heard the pirate say into her ear, as he leaped from one vessel to the other with her in his arms, “you will only succeed in having them shot, so be silent.” So she did not scream. Even in that instant of horror, when she felt that the pirate was stealing her away for some terrible fate, she knew not what, she possessed the courage to remain silent, and so, as she believed, to save her sister and the others who were with her from instant
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CHAPTER XVI. THE PIRATE’S BEAUTIFUL CAPTIVE.
CHAPTER XVI. THE PIRATE’S BEAUTIFUL CAPTIVE.
And now we must return for a space to the pirate cruiser, the Shadow . Although Bessie Harlan did not faint when the pirate chief seized her and bore her aboard of his own craft, from the deck of the yacht, she was in reality so near to doing so that she was rendered as helpless as a babe in the arms of the man who carried her. She was conscious only that she was borne from the deck of one vessel to the other, and that then her abductor carried her down a short flight of steps into the interior
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CHAPTER XVII. THE TIME AND THE HOUR!
CHAPTER XVII. THE TIME AND THE HOUR!
The pirate chieftain—or, as we will call him for the present, Count Cadillac—had not the slightest idea of Bessie’s intention until she had succeeded in turning the weapon upon herself, and the muzzle of it was already against her temple. If the revolver had been an ordinary one, or if the muscles of Bessie Harlan’s fingers had been firmer and stronger, she must have taken her own life then and there, before her companion could have done aught to prevent it. But the weapon was of the double-acti
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CHAPTER XVIII. THE DETECTIVE SIZES UP THE CASE.
CHAPTER XVIII. THE DETECTIVE SIZES UP THE CASE.
When the Goalong passed the Narrows and was making her way rapidly through the upper harbor, it was approaching the evening of the second day after her encounter with the pirate cruiser, Shadow . Maxwell Kane was standing near the wheel-house as they passed inside the bay, and, after glancing at his watch, he turned and walked aft, where his wife and her mother were seated, silent, under the awning. Both were sad and care-worn, for the terrible uncertainty as to the fate of the beloved sister an
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CHAPTER XIX. PLANNING THE PIRATE’S CAPTURE.
CHAPTER XIX. PLANNING THE PIRATE’S CAPTURE.
“But all this,” said Kane, “does not track the fellow across the briny.” “I am coming to that.” “You figure that he has taken her—or is taking her—to Anjou?” “Why?” “In the first place, Kane, he must have decided, in his own mind, that this trip of his across the ocean, with Bessie as a passenger on the Shadow , is his last and only chance.” “I should say so.” “And at the end of that voyage lies his fate.” “Humph! Well?” “Before he decided to take the terrible risk of capturing Bessie and carryi
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CHAPTER XX. A WEIRD VOICE OF THE NIGHT.
CHAPTER XX. A WEIRD VOICE OF THE NIGHT.
It is not necessary to give in detail here the record of Nick Carter’s trip, accompanied as he was by Maxwell Kane, to Washington; and of his interview with the President very little need be said, save that the detective’s prophecy was fully fulfilled. The Dolphin was placed at their disposal at once, and there was no time lost in sailing. Moreover, the state and navy departments were set in motion, and information concerning the pirate was despatched all over the world, so there could be little
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CHAPTER XXI. THE MEN INSIDE THE CASTLE.
CHAPTER XXI. THE MEN INSIDE THE CASTLE.
There was something so weird and so unreal in the sound of his own name, coming to the detective as it did, seemingly from the infinity above him, that for a moment he quite refused to believe that his ears had not deceived him. Remember, there was the thundering of the waves against the rocks all around him; the boom of the surf as it broke beneath its own weight and violence farther out toward the sea; the sobbing and moaning of the wind over the bleak cliff and through the ruins of the older
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CHAPTER XXII. A COMBAT WITH THE RAPIERS.
CHAPTER XXII. A COMBAT WITH THE RAPIERS.
But it was fated that Nick Carter was not to proceed at once to the tower of the castle. The distance from where he turned again toward the front of the building, to that part of it which might properly be called the tower, was some hundreds of feet, and he had gone not more than half the distance when, just as he was passing a door, it was opened suddenly and a man stepped out upon the corridor, confronting him. It would be difficult to determine which of the two was the more greatly surprised
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CHAPTER XXIII. THE SUMMONS AT THE DOOR.
CHAPTER XXIII. THE SUMMONS AT THE DOOR.
The Frenchman meant what he said, too. There could be no doubt of that. Sincerity, as well as rapture and admiration, were depicted on his face as he knelt there before the detective, kissing his hands. For a moment Nick regarded him intently, and then he said: “Rise, Monsieur Lafetre, for, be assured, you are the best fencer with whom I have ever contended.” “Ah! Is it so? Is it true, what you say to me, monsieur?” “Yes; it is quite true.” “Then I am content; yes, I am content. It is an honor b
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CHAPTER XXIV. THE DUEL IN THE TOWER.
CHAPTER XXIV. THE DUEL IN THE TOWER.
The detective stood closely against the door when he rapped upon it, and the moment it started to swing open in response to the summons he applied his strength against it so that it was flung inward with a force which nearly upset Count Jean de Cadillac, who appeared on the other side. And with the same gesture Nick forced himself across the threshold, followed instantly, of course, by Antoine Lafetre, who sought to close it again as quickly as possible. But quick as he was, he was not soon enou
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