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Following a Chance Clew
Following a Chance Clew
OR, NICK CARTER’S LUCKY FIND BY NICHOLAS CARTER Author of the celebrated stories of Nick Carter’s adventures, which are published exclusively in the New Magnet Library , conceded to be among the best detective tales ever written. STREET & SMITH CORPORATION PUBLISHERS 79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York (Printed in the United States of America) All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign languages, including the Scandinavian....
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CHAPTER I. ON A SEPTEMBER NIGHT.
CHAPTER I. ON A SEPTEMBER NIGHT.
“Nathan Lusker.” Nick Carter read the sign over the jeweler’s store on Eighth Avenue and stopped to glance critically at the place. He noticed that the “regulator” indicated midnight. His thoughts flew back to another midnight earlier in the week, when Lusker’s store had been cleaned out by burglars. The robbery had been charged to a mysterious crook known as Doc Helstone, who was supposed to be the leader of a clever gang of lawbreakers. Nick had been asked to break up this gang, which had baff
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CHAPTER II. A NOVEL TIMEKEEPER.
CHAPTER II. A NOVEL TIMEKEEPER.
It was about four o’clock in the morning when Nick and the New York chief of police sat down together in the latter’s house to discuss the events of the night. What had happened in the meantime the reader will hear in Nick’s own words. He had rapidly described the events with which the reader is familiar and had come to the scene in the hall. “I went directly to No. 349,” Nick proceeded, “and there I found evidence which convinced me that Helstone’s gang had made the house its headquarters. “I g
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CHAPTER III. THE ONLY WITNESS.
CHAPTER III. THE ONLY WITNESS.
Mr. Parks seemed to be greatly agitated by this intelligence, and it was some time before he regained his self-command. Then Nick asked him how it happened he had had no suspicions on reading the description of the wounded woman in the morning papers. “Read that,” he said, thrusting a paper into Nick’s hands. “Does that describe her?” “It is all wrong,” said Nick. “And that picture?” “It is a pure fake. There has been no opportunity of getting a picture of her.” “The description and the picture
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CHAPTER IV. THE DISPLACED BANDAGE.
CHAPTER IV. THE DISPLACED BANDAGE.
Nick and Chick left the hospital together, but they soon separated. Chick resumed his search for clews in the neighborhood of the Helstone gang’s last haunt, and Nick, presumably, went to prepare his mouse trap. Not long after they left the hospital Dr. Reginald Morris, the well-known expert in the surgery of wounds, called to offer his services in the Parks case. He had been engaged by Mr. Parks. About three o’clock in the afternoon a pale, dark-haired woman of middle age arrived and announced
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CHAPTER V. BENTON, THE ENGLISHMAN.
CHAPTER V. BENTON, THE ENGLISHMAN.
After Nick’s cross-examination of the nurse he had an interview with Inspector McLaughlin. He was still conversing with the inspector when Chick appeared. “Benton is your man,” said Chick. “Not Ellis Benton?” asked the inspector, quickly. “That’s he.” “Has that crook set up in business again?” “No doubt of it. I have been in his place this afternoon,” said Chick. Perhaps the reader does not know Ellis Benton so well as the three persons who were present on the occasion described. Therefore, it m
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CHAPTER VI. A POINT GAINED.
CHAPTER VI. A POINT GAINED.
The man who first came to Nick’s assistance was Chick. It may as well be said at once that Nick was not badly hurt. His hat was not exactly what it seemed to be. One would have taken it to be soft felt. In reality, it was a better helmet than those which the knights of the Middle Ages wore. He had fallen under the blow because he believed that course to be the best policy. Somebody had planned to kill or at least disable him, and he thought it wise to let that person suppose that he had succeede
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CHAPTER VII. IN THE GLOOM.
CHAPTER VII. IN THE GLOOM.
All this darkness and mystery did not surprise Nick. He knew that Benton was a great man for hocus-pocus. He had signs and passwords, and surrounded himself with precautions which looked childish. There was a purpose in all this, however. By keeping a good many silly mysteries in motion he managed very often to cover up the real mystery and direct attention elsewhere. Nick knew Benton for a desperate man at heart. Was he playing a deep game here? It was just like him to collect the whole Helston
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CHAPTER VIII. A SEMICIRCLE OF CRIME.
CHAPTER VIII. A SEMICIRCLE OF CRIME.
Nick returned to the house. In the dark hall he paused. Voices could be heard. Men were talking in subdued tones in a room on his left. The room where he had met with the adventures already narrated was on his right. A moment’s thought convinced Nick that the voices were those of the men who had been in the room with him, and had been led out by Benton. He resolved to join them. Therefore he threw open the door on his left and entered a room. It was not perfectly dark, as the other had been. A s
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CHAPTER IX. PARKS IN DISGUISE.
CHAPTER IX. PARKS IN DISGUISE.
The two men left the house immediately. A carriage was in waiting, and it conveyed them rapidly to the “fence” on Sixth Avenue. Nick guided Parks through the dark halls, but he did not take him to the room where the crooks sat chafing in their fetters. Instead, the two went into the room on the other side of the hall. Nick struck a light, and they took chairs. “I am simply following you,” said Parks. “I do not understand what we have come here for.” “To meet the assassin,” said Nick; “but before
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CHAPTER X. “SPEAKING OF SELLS.”
CHAPTER X. “SPEAKING OF SELLS.”
“You have taken him on all sides at once,” exclaimed the inspector. “The trap has been sprung and Helstone is in it. Come, my man, what have you to say?” These last words were addressed to Parks. “I have this to say,” said he, boldly, “that this identification is meaningless. The detective has painted my face to represent a well-known criminal, and I am mistaken for him, that’s all.” “Don’t be foolish, Doc,” said Miller. “We all know you. Now tell us why you sold us.” “He didn’t sell you,” said
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CHAPTER XI. THE FUGITIVE.
CHAPTER XI. THE FUGITIVE.
“Now where am I to go?” Morton Parks asked himself this question as he sat down on a fallen tree to rest. He had rubbed the dust of the road on his face and had considerably altered his whole appearance by tearing rents in his clothing and pulling the crown out of his hat. He looked like a tramp, and it was in this character he hoped to escape the vigilance of the police who were now scouring the country for him. “I would like to get back to New York,” he mused, “and yet I daren’t show up as Doc
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CHAPTER XII. “ONE OF THE BOYS.”
CHAPTER XII. “ONE OF THE BOYS.”
“Hello! What’s up, now?” Nick Carter, sitting in his room, at the Windsor Hotel, on Dearborn Street, looked up with a smile, as Chick rushed into the room and hastened to the window. “Nothing special.” Chick peered carefully through the blinds as he spoke. “I’m glad you came in early to-night,” said Nick, “for I am feeling a trifle annoyed.” “About what?” “It’s taking altogether too much time to get this man Parks back to Sing Sing.” Chick turned out the gas, threw the window blinds wide open, a
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CHAPTER XIII. THREE MILLIONS AT STAKE.
CHAPTER XIII. THREE MILLIONS AT STAKE.
“And I tell you they were both detectives.” “You are crazy on the subject of detectives.” Gilmore sprang to his feet with an oath and pointed around the room. “You’ll soon be telling me that no damage has been done here,” he said, “and that the hot fight those fellows put up was all by way of amusement. ” “And you’ll be telling me,” said Geary, “that the advance agent brought in was Nick Carter, and that the mechanic was Chick.” “That’s about the size of it.” Geary laughed long and heartily. The
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CHAPTER XIV. THE FLAT BURGLARY.
CHAPTER XIV. THE FLAT BURGLARY.
It was long past midnight, and a slow, winter rain was falling. Shivering with the cold, and muttering imprecations against the weather, Parks and Nixon left the shelter of the chophouse and walked rapidly toward Wabash Avenue. “We ought to have been out an hour ago,” muttered the former, “then we shouldn’t have missed the cable.” “The owl car’s all right for a job like this,” was the sullen reply. “You’ll be wanting a hack next.” “Why not take a hack down as far as Thirty-ninth Street?” demande
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CHAPTER XV. THE POISON BALL.
CHAPTER XV. THE POISON BALL.
“If you get a hot foot after you, don’t come here.” “No; the coppers have had pointers enough already.” “We may come back if we get the boodle and come out all right, though?” Parks asked the question in a sneering tone. “As you choose.” Then Chick heard Parks and Nixon leaving the place, and heard Gilmore and Geary go up the cellar stairs. He was practically alone in the cellar. The man he had overpowered on entering lay unconscious by the bank vault. “I got him through that partition just in t
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CHAPTER XVI. THE MAN IN THE WARDROBE.
CHAPTER XVI. THE MAN IN THE WARDROBE.
“There’s a dead man down there.” “Down where?” “In the doctor’s flat.” The man living in the flat above the one where Nick Carter had been assaulted looked up from the morning paper. “How do you know?” he asked. The wife gave a little shiver as she answered: “I saw it.” The head of the family laid down the paper. “When?” he asked. “When I got up,” began the woman, “I stepped to the window looking into the airshaft. I did not sleep well last night, on account of the noise down there, and I though
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CHAPTER XVII. “THE DOCTOR.”
CHAPTER XVII. “THE DOCTOR.”
“There! You may set the electric drill in motion to-night, or as soon as you please.” Nixon stood by a basin of water in the cellar, washing his hands. Gilmore and Geary, with smiling faces, stood near the break in the cellar wall. “Three million dollars are almost within reach,” said the latter, “and then here’s one man for Europe. ” “What’s that for?” asked Gilmore. “It’s safer over there.” Gilmore lit a cigar and handed one to his companion. “It’s safe enough anywhere now,” he said. “What mak
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CHAPTER XVIII. A LONG JUMP.
CHAPTER XVIII. A LONG JUMP.
“The electric drill ought to be working by this time.” Chester Smith, the wealthy banker, Nick Carter, Chick and two detectives from the city force sat in a room not far from the chophouse. It was nearly midnight, and they had been waiting there two hours. “It beats anything I ever heard of,” said the banker. “When burglars took money from under my pillow, stole my revolver, cooked a breakfast in my kitchen, tapped my wine, and left an explanatory tag tied to my dog’s tail, I thought the limit o
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CHAPTER XIX. AWAITING NICK CARTER.
CHAPTER XIX. AWAITING NICK CARTER.
While these events were transpiring in Chicago the New York chief of police was being interviewed by a woman who had a most remarkable story to tell. So remarkable, indeed, that the chief persuaded his caller to defer any action till Nick Carter returned home. The result was that when Nick reached his office he found this note awaiting him: “Please call and see Miss Louise Templin at the St. James Hotel. Don’t wait to see me first. See her. Very urgent.” Nick did not need to glance at the signat
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CHAPTER XX. AN HEIRESS IN TROUBLE.
CHAPTER XX. AN HEIRESS IN TROUBLE.
“And yet you have some doubts, Miss Templin, whether it really is your father’s body which lies in that vault back there?” commented Nick Carter, as the young lady indicated that her story was told. “Yes.” “And that Mr. Lonsdale, your guardian and affianced husband, has in some way deceived you?” “Mr. Lonsdale was my guardian. I am now of age.” “But you have not answered my question.” “Well, I had rather believe that if I have been deceived about my father’s death, he has been deceived also.” “W
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CHAPTER XXI. A MAN AND HIS DOUBLE.
CHAPTER XXI. A MAN AND HIS DOUBLE.
“This is astonishing!” exclaimed the president, dismissing the cashier with a wave of his hand. “It certainly is a remarkable coincidence,” said Nick Carter. “If your cashier is correct in what he has just told us, then the man who was mistaken by Miss Templin for her father was Mackenzie, late of Elmwood, Pennsylvania.” “There doesn’t seem to be a doubt about that,” agreed the president. “Then while I prosecute my inquiries for Miss Templin, I can at the same time probably serve your company,”
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CHAPTER XXII. MACKENZIE’S SECRET.
CHAPTER XXII. MACKENZIE’S SECRET.
Nick Carter reached Elmwood a few minutes after eight o’clock that night, and went straight to the only hotel in the town—a very comfortable and well-kept, though small, hostelry. He made his appearance in Elmwood in the guise of a lawyer, and registered as “Wylie Ketchum, New York City.” As soon as he had been assigned to a room, he inquired of the landlord: “Can you tell me where Mr. Mackenzie lives?” “I can tell you where he did live,” was the reply, made in a mysterious tone of voice. “Where
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CHAPTER XXIII. A DOG’S INSTINCT.
CHAPTER XXIII. A DOG’S INSTINCT.
As Nick Carter and Dr. Abbott walked through the main street of the town of Elmwood, on their way toward the residence of the late Miles Mackenzie, the detective had an opportunity to note the great popularity and widespread esteem in which his companion was held in that community. Everyone they met had a word of greeting, and received from the whole-souled man some response in return. Very often inquiries were made about the funeral, and it was evident that a very general feeling of regret exis
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CHAPTER XXIV. THE SON RETURNS.
CHAPTER XXIV. THE SON RETURNS.
It was ten o’clock next morning before Nick Carter reached Dr. Abbott’s office, and then he found the doctor absent on his daily round among his patients. At noon he went back, with better success. “I have promised to accompany Mrs. Mackenzie to New York with her husband’s remains this evening, Ketchum. Can you remain here till we return?” “When will that be?” “To-morrow morning. The remains will be incinerated to-night. We must stay in the city over night and come back early to-morrow forenoon.
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CHAPTER XXV. THE CREMATION.
CHAPTER XXV. THE CREMATION.
It was seven o’clock when the remains of the dead man from Elmwood reached New York City. On the train, Nick yielded to Abbott’s request to accompany them to the crematory. So reluctantly did the pretended Mr. Ketchum agree to become one of the small funeral party, that Abbott was far from suspecting the fact that his new acquaintance left Elmwood with the determination of seeing the remains in the coffin placed in the furnace, and not lose sight of them until they were reduced to ashes. It took
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CHAPTER XXVI. AT MADAME RECLAIRE’S.
CHAPTER XXVI. AT MADAME RECLAIRE’S.
Madame Reclaire’s face grew ghastly. Her attempted bravado faded away in an instant. She caught at a chair for support. “Murder!” she gasped. “Yes, murder! You must make proper explanation or go to jail.” “What do you want me to explain?” “A label from one of your bottles has been found in a case where life was taken unlawfully. It may be you are innocent of wrong in the affair, but your bleaching devices were used in a plot which has, as I said, resulted in murder.” “As Heaven hears me, I am no
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CHAPTER XXVII. THE PADDED SECRET PRISON.
CHAPTER XXVII. THE PADDED SECRET PRISON.
Abbott and Nick Carter remained locked up together in earnest conversation nearly all that night. A train left Elmwood for New York at a few minutes after five o’clock in the morning, and it carried away the famous detective on his return to the city. He went at once to his own house, where he was fortunate in finding his two assistants, Chick and Patsy. His first move, after having dispatched a hearty breakfast, was to take Chick up to his “den” and remove his disguise as Wylie Ketchum, the law
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CHAPTER XXVIII. THE WAY IT ALL ENDED.
CHAPTER XXVIII. THE WAY IT ALL ENDED.
“I have been in many tighter places than this, doctor,” said Nick, cheerfully. “I’ll show you how badly the people below us have miscalculated.” “What makes it so dark?” queried Abbott. “It is not yet sundown.” “No. I suspect a storm is coming up—ah! I thought so.” In confirmation of his suspicions, a loud peal of thunder broke the outside silence. “It is coming fast, too,” said Nick. “Now, see how easy it will be for us to escape.” He took the table and stood it directly beneath the cupola. The
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