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CHAPTER I. PRIVATE DINING-ROOM "B."
CHAPTER I. PRIVATE DINING-ROOM "B."
There is a well-known French restaurant in the "Tenderloin" district which provides its patrons with small but elegantly appointed private dining-rooms. The restaurant occupies a corner house; and, though its reputation is not strictly first-class in some respects, its cook is an artist, and its wine cellar as good as the best. It has two entrances, and the one on the side street is not well lighted at night. At half-past seven o'clock one evening Nick Carter was standing about fifty yards from
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CHAPTER II. GASPARD SPOTS HIS MAN.
CHAPTER II. GASPARD SPOTS HIS MAN.
A revolver lay on the carpet just where it would have been if it had dropped from the woman's right hand. Its position suggested the possibility of suicide, and there was, at the first glance, nothing to contradict that theory, except the conduct of Corbut and the man who had registered as John Jones. It might be that the woman had committed suicide, and the men had fled for fear of being implicated in the affair. Nick examined this side of the case at once. The pistol had evidently been held on
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CHAPTER III. JOHN JONES.
CHAPTER III. JOHN JONES.
"I want you!" whispered Nick. How many luckless criminals have been startled by those words! How many have seen the prison or the gallows rise before them at the sound! In this case, however, the words seemed to produce less than the ordinary effect. The man to whom they were addressed turned suddenly toward the detective, but did not shrink or tremble. "I beg your pardon," said he; "I didn't quite understand what you said." The man's coolness made Nick even more in doubt about Gaspard's identif
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CHAPTER IV. ALL SORTS OF IDENTIFICATIONS.
CHAPTER IV. ALL SORTS OF IDENTIFICATIONS.
"I am sorry to tell you, Mr. Jones, that the body of the woman murdered last night has been identified as that of your wife." So spoke Nick, and this time Jones' calmness was not proof against the surprise. "It can't be possible!" he exclaimed, leaping from his chair. "I am so informed," said Nick, "and I must place you under arrest." "But there is some infernal mistake here," said the accused. "I know that my wife is all right. This must be somebody else." "A lady living in the same house with
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CHAPTER V. PATSY'S TIP.
CHAPTER V. PATSY'S TIP.
Gaspard's declaration produced a stunning effect upon Hammond. At first he seemed thunderstruck. There was a look in his face which made Nick say to himself, "It isn't true." But whether the accusation was true or false, Nick knew at once that Hammond recognized Gaspard. Yet he couldn't be a regular visitor to the place, because Gaspard had said that he had never seen either of the two men before the fatal evening. Therefore, as Hammond had recognized Gaspard, he must be the man who was in room
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CHAPTER VI. MRS. JOHN JONES.
CHAPTER VI. MRS. JOHN JONES.
Nothing of great importance occurred in the case until the next afternoon when Nick was at Police Headquarters. He was talking with Superintendent Byrnes. "The identification of that woman gets stronger all the time," said the superintendent. "I'm beginning to think that she is really the wife of our prisoner." "It looks so," said Nick. At that moment a card was brought in. The superintendent looked at it and whistled softly. Then he handed the card to Nick, who read the name. The two men exchan
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CHAPTER VII. THE WARDROBE OF GASPARD'S FRIEND.
CHAPTER VII. THE WARDROBE OF GASPARD'S FRIEND.
Nick Carter is hard to kill. A good many crooks have tried to put him out of the world, and a fair percentage of them have lost their own lives in the attempt without inflicting any injury upon Nick. He is a man of resources, and that's what saves him. When one thing fails him, he finds something else to take its place. And so, when that rope gave way, he took the next best thing. That happened to be the sill of the window of Mr. Jones' bath-room. Nick seized it with a grip of iron as he shot do
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CHAPTER VIII. TRACING THE TRUNKS.
CHAPTER VIII. TRACING THE TRUNKS.
Corbut's body had been cut in two. Only half was in the trunk which Nick had opened. The other half was not, however, far away. It was in the other trunk. Both trunks contained considerable blood, but they had been neatly lined with rubber cloth, apparently taken from a rubber blanket and a man's heavy waterproof coat. It was so fitted that the trunks, when closed, were water-tight. "The neatest job I ever saw," said Nick. "Come, Gaspard, tell the story." "I swear to you," cried Gaspard, "that I
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CHAPTER IX. HAMMOND'S STORY.
CHAPTER IX. HAMMOND'S STORY.
The effect of this statement can hardly be exaggerated. It shook the very foundation of the case against the prisoner. If Gaspard's identification could be disproved, it seemed almost sure that Jones was saved. Even though it could be shown beyond a doubt that Corbut had been murdered in a flat which was rented by Jones, that would not prove that Jones had done it. The murderer was evidently the man who had ridden in the cab with Corbut. And Harrigan, the only witness, had failed to recognize Jo
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CHAPTER X. THE TRUE STORY OF MRS. JOHN JONES.
CHAPTER X. THE TRUE STORY OF MRS. JOHN JONES.
Jones fell back into his chair. The woman bit her lip till the blood spurted out. Then suddenly the color left her face. She sat up, staring straight before her, and she did not move during the explanation which Nick gave. While he was speaking, the detective watched her narrowly. Certainly she was meditating some remarkable action. He wondered what it could be. "Yes," said Nick, turning to the superintendent, "we have at last straightened out the matter of those two rooms and their occupants. "
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CHAPTER I. THE VANISHING THIEF.
CHAPTER I. THE VANISHING THIEF.
Nick Carter's friends often ask him whether, in the course of his remarkable experience as a detective, he has ever encountered anything which could not have been the work of human hands. Few people, nowadays, will own that they believe in ghosts. Yet most of us would be less sure about it in a grave-yard at midnight than on Broadway at noon. A man who can tell a reasonable story about having seen a ghost may not find many believers, but he will get plenty of listeners, for we are all eager to h
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CHAPTER II. NICK IS BOLDLY CHALLENGED.
CHAPTER II. NICK IS BOLDLY CHALLENGED.
Nick knew the old Plummer mansion well. There is not a house to match it in this country. A hundred years and more ago it must have been the scene of strange adventures. It was built, certainly, by one who did not expect a peaceful and quiet life within it. The thick stone walls, which look so unnecessarily massive, are really double. There are secret passages and movable panels and trap-doors enough in that house to hide a man, if a regiment of soldiers was after him. Evidently such a place off
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CHAPTER III. HOW NICK FOUND THE JEWELS.
CHAPTER III. HOW NICK FOUND THE JEWELS.
It certainly looked like sheer recklessness for this thief, whoever he might be, to play his game on Nick almost at the very moment when the great detective appeared upon the scene. Shrewd as Nick was, he had not expected this. His first thought, as the reader knows, was that it was a bold challenge, the defiance of a nervy criminal who thought himself absolutely safe from detection. But a moment's reflection made this seem less probable. Was it not more natural to suppose that this event proved
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CHAPTER IV. MILLIE STEVENS.
CHAPTER IV. MILLIE STEVENS.
After questioning the two men whom he had found in the stable, Nick walked toward the house. On the way he met Horace Richmond. "Mrs. Stevens has gone home," said Horace. "She would not remain for dinner, although she has such a long ride before her. She seems terribly distressed by this strange affair." "What did your uncle say to her?" "Not much," was the reply; "and I was a good deal surprised. He begged her not to be nervous about it, and talked very pleasantly to her, but he steered clear o
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CHAPTER V. COLONEL RICHMOND'S NIGHT ADVENTURE.
CHAPTER V. COLONEL RICHMOND'S NIGHT ADVENTURE.
Of course, Nick questioned the servant. To have failed to do that would have been to throw light upon his real suspicions. She was a tall, slender, and rather pretty Irish girl, named Annie O'Neil. Her answers to all questions were plain and simple. She told what she had been doing on the previous day while Mrs. Stevens was at lunch. She had not been in the dining-room all the time, but had come in twice or thrice when summoned. During the remainder of the time she had been in the kitchen. Nobod
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CHAPTER VI. A ROUND-UP OF SPOOK-ARTISTS.
CHAPTER VI. A ROUND-UP OF SPOOK-ARTISTS.
It began to look very much as if Horace Richmond's theory was correct. Certainly the colonel had fallen again into the clutches of bogus mediums. It might be that the whole plot was directed to that end, and that the transfer of the jewels to the Stevenses was only to be an incidental result of the plot. Yet so long as Miss Stevens' unusual conduct remained unexplained, it would not do to go upon this theory. "One of the principal things that Horace Richmond employed me to do," said Nick to hims
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CHAPTER VII. A REALLY COMPETENT GHOST.
CHAPTER VII. A REALLY COMPETENT GHOST.
Patsy told his story in a few words. He had watched the Stevens house all day without discovering anything. As evening descended, however, his patience had been rewarded. "She came out," said Patsy, "and quietly scooted off across the fields." "Millie Stevens?" "Yes." "What did she do?" "She made for that big oak tree which stands in the middle of the field on the right of the road as you go from the station. "I had to trail carefully, for it was not very dark and there was no cover. So I couldn
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CHAPTER VIII. PATSY'S STORY AND THE TEST PROPOSED.
CHAPTER VIII. PATSY'S STORY AND THE TEST PROPOSED.
"Are you much hurt?" asked Patsy, anxiously. Nick took in the whole scene before he replied. Beside the bed were Colonel Richmond, Horace and a man whom Nick rightly judged to be a doctor. "No," said Nick, "I'm not much hurt, except in my feelings. What happened, Patsy?" "The ghost got away," responded the young man, in a tone of disgust. "I wouldn't talk very much," said Colonel Richmond. "The doctor says that you have been subjected to a severe nervous shock, and—" "My grandmother's ducks!" ex
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CHAPTER IX. THE DIAMOND CLASP.
CHAPTER IX. THE DIAMOND CLASP.
They then left the room. Nick dispatched Patsy secretly to the Stevens house. Shortly before noon, Colonel Richmond, Horace, and Nick took a train for the city. At two o'clock they entered the vault of the safe deposit company. It is a long room below the level of the street. The walls are lined with metal drawers, fastened by locks of the most approved pattern. The drawers near the floor are the largest. They are, perhaps, a foot square, as seen when closed. Near the top of the room they are mu
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CHAPTER X. SOME CLEVER TRICKS EXPLAINED.
CHAPTER X. SOME CLEVER TRICKS EXPLAINED.
No sooner had Nick uttered these words than a loud cry rang through the house. Instantly Millie Stevens appeared upon the threshold of the parlor. "Horace!" she cried. "Tell me it is not true. You have not done this." "Certainly not," he exclaimed. "It is an absurd slander. Carter, you'll be sorry for this." The girl looked straight into Horace's face for an instant. Then she uttered a moan. "He is guilty!" she cried; "I can read it in his eyes. And I loved him so." She sank upon the floor at he
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CHAPTER I. LAWRENCE DEEVER DEMANDS JUSTICE.
CHAPTER I. LAWRENCE DEEVER DEMANDS JUSTICE.
"I call it a perfectly plain case, Mr. Colton." "A case of what?" "Why, murder, of course." "Who has been murdered?" As "Mr. Colton"—who was no other than Nick Carter—asked this question, his face looked as innocent as a babe's. He seemed surprised to hear that there had been a murder, though his companion, Lawrence Deever, had been saying so repeatedly during the last half hour. Deever now looked at Nick with eyes and mouth wide open. "Who has been murdered?" he repeated. "My brother has been m
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CHAPTER II. THE DEAD MAN'S HEAD.
CHAPTER II. THE DEAD MAN'S HEAD.
Dr. Jarvis, chief of the staff of St. Agnes' Hospital, was well known as a peculiar man. He was rich enough to take his leisure, but he worked like a slave. He had an elegant house on St. Nicholas avenue, but he spent all his days and more than half his nights at the hospital. A rude cot in a little room adjoining his laboratory in the hospital was his bed four nights in seven on the average. His only recreation was found in the care of a little garden in the hospital grounds; and it was the com
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CHAPTER III. THE DOCTOR OFFERS A BRIBE.
CHAPTER III. THE DOCTOR OFFERS A BRIBE.
Nick was not greatly surprised by his discovery. He knew that Dr. Jarvis was a sleep-walker. The reader may remember the case of a young woman who, in her sleep, walked nearly a mile on Broadway, and was awakened by a policeman to whom she could give no account of her wanderings. At that time, the newspapers had a good deal to say about sleep-walking, and several good stories were printed about Dr. Jarvis. The doctor was sensitive on the subject, and he had threatened the most dreadful vengeance
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CHAPTER IV. WHAT WAS FOUND IN THIS GARDEN.
CHAPTER IV. WHAT WAS FOUND IN THIS GARDEN.
Nick received Deever's startling intelligence with every evidence of satisfaction. "You are doing great work, Mr. Deever," said he. "We shall soon have this affair straightened out." As Nick pronounced these words he signaled to Chick in their sign language as follows: "What do you think of this witness?" Chick promptly returned the answer: "He seems to be telling the truth." Then Deever turned toward the new witness. "Mr. Haskell, Mr. Colton," said he, in hasty introduction. "Now, Haskell, tell
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CHAPTER V. THE BODY ON THE SLAB.
CHAPTER V. THE BODY ON THE SLAB.
Nobody seemed to be much impressed by Jarvis' declaration of innocence. The finding of the body in the exact spot indicated by Haskell looked like conclusive proof. Added to this was the doctor's presence beside the grave in the dead of night. "It's a plain case," said Deever, turning toward Nick. "Will you make the arrest now?" Dr. Jarvis shuddered as these words were spoken. It was easy to see that he was on the verge of despair. "Let's not go too fast," said Nick. "What stronger proof can you
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CHAPTER VI. THE LAST LINK IN THE CHAIN.
CHAPTER VI. THE LAST LINK IN THE CHAIN.
Nick's first glance at the body of Chick took a weight like a mountain of lead off his heart. Chick was bound and gagged. This was enough to make Nick certain that no serious harm had come to him, but he was instantly made aware of it in another way. Cautiously Chick lifted an eyelid. A less acute observer than Nick would not have seen the movement. The eye opened wide, and then it winked. Chick was all right. "Shall I cut this rope?" asked Nick. Chick spoke straight through the gag with very li
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CHAPTER VII. THE MAN WITH THE SACK.
CHAPTER VII. THE MAN WITH THE SACK.
"I will have your story first," said Nick to Prescott. "I will not subject Miss Allen to the annoyance of questioning, unless it is necessary." "We are engaged to be married," said Prescott, beginning his story with evident embarrassment. "And the course of true love does not run smooth," said Nick, with a smile. "No, it does not," responded Prescott. "Her father is strongly opposed to our marriage. However, as both of us are of age, it will take place. "We have been obliged to meet secretly, an
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CHAPTER VIII. BEFORE THE SUPERINTENDENT.
CHAPTER VIII. BEFORE THE SUPERINTENDENT.
As Nick expected, he met Chick outside Superintendent Byrnes's house. "Go to Jarvis," said Nick. "He is going to tell the whole story. Personate me in this disguise." Chick nodded and vanished. Within the house Nick found Deever in the superintendent's presence. Deever's face was red, and he looked like a man who had been kicking a stone wall until he is tired. "Mr. Deever has lodged a complaint against you, Mr. Colton," said the superintendent, with a twinkle in his eye. "What's the matter?" as
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CHAPTER IX. THE OTHER SIDE OF A "PLAIN CASE."
CHAPTER IX. THE OTHER SIDE OF A "PLAIN CASE."
As may readily be supposed, the emotions excited in the various persons present differed widely. But of the two who rejoiced, it is hard to say that Chick was second to Dr. Jarvis. The smile which settled down upon Chick's face was beautiful to behold. He was the image of satisfaction. "I had it right," he said, and hugged himself. The doctor in the meanwhile sat in a sort of delightful trance. Just what had happened he could not have told anybody, but he perceived that he had sailed out of all
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CHAPTER X. NICK'S REPUTATION AT STAKE.
CHAPTER X. NICK'S REPUTATION AT STAKE.
As Nick made the bold assertion of his power to produce Patrick Deever alive, both Chick and the superintendent looked at him with something as near doubt as anybody who knew Nick Carter could feel in any of his statements. They both saw that Deever felt sure of his brother's escape, and they could not help seeing that there was many chances in favor of it. But Nick was undismayed. He put his trust in Patsy's fidelity. "I shall hold you and Flint under arrest," said Superintendent Byrnes to Deev
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