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25 chapters
A CRAFTY ROBBERY.
A CRAFTY ROBBERY.
"Mr. Venner, sir?" "Mr. Venner—yes, certainly. You will find him in his private office—that way, sir. The door to the right. Venner is in his private office, Joseph, is he not?" "I don't think so, Mr. Garside, unless he has just returned. I saw him go out some time ago." "Is that so? Wait a moment, young man." The young man halted, and then turned back to face Mr. Garside, with an inquiring look in his frank, brown eyes. "Not here, sir, do I understand?" he asked, politely. Mr. Garside shook his
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CONCERNING SEÑORA CERVERA.
CONCERNING SEÑORA CERVERA.
Joseph Maynard arrived at Nick Carter's residence just as the famous New York detective was about preparing for lunch, and quickly stated his mission, disclosing the superficial features of the crime. Nick Carter habitually looked below the surface of things, however, and in trifles he invariably discovered more than the ordinary man. Before Maynard had fairly outlined the case Nick keenly discerned that the robbery could not have been committed by any common criminals, and he at once decided no
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THE KILGORE DIAMOND GANG.
THE KILGORE DIAMOND GANG.
"Now, gentlemen, only a few more questions, and I then shall be ready to go at this case in a more energetic fashion," said Nick Carter, immediately after Chick's departure. "Were any of your clerks absent from the store, Mr. Venner, at the time of this robbery?" "As I was absent myself, I cannot say," replied Venner, rather dryly. "How about it, Garside?—you were here." "Only one clerk, a young man named Spaulding, was out of the store." "Was he out on business?" "Yes, under my instructions," V
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GETTING DOWN TO WORK.
GETTING DOWN TO WORK.
"Well, Nick, old man, what have you made of it?" The question came from Chick Carter, in his familiar and cheerful fashion, several hours after the interview held by the two detectives with Rufus Venner and his partner in their Fifth Avenue store. It was now about six o'clock in the evening, and Chick had just returned from having a confidential talk with one of the stage hands of the theater in which the then famous attraction, the mammoth European and American vaudeville troupe, of which Señor
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BEHIND THE SCENES.
BEHIND THE SCENES.
Nick Carter had a double object in the work laid out for that night. If Señora Cervera was indeed in league with the Kilgore gang, and in any way responsible for the diamond robbery, Nick was resolved to secure positive evidence of it. While her letter to Venner appeared to implicate her, since it had taken him from his store just at the time of the robbery, it seemed hardly probable that this brilliant Spanish girl, whose extraordinary grace and whirlwind dances had made her the talk of the tow
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A SHOT IN THE DARK.
A SHOT IN THE DARK.
It was nearly eleven o'clock when Rufus Venner and Cervera, the latter enveloped in a voluminous black cloak, emerged from the stage door of the theater. As they made their way through the paved area leading out to the side street, where a carriage was awaiting them, a sturdy, roughly clad fellow in a red wig and croppy beard suddenly slouched out of a gloomy corner near the stage stairway and followed them, with movements as stealthy and silent as those of a cat. As the carriage containing Venn
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A STRATEGIC MOVE.
A STRATEGIC MOVE.
Nick Carter had a head that was used to hard knocks, and it required more than one to put him down and out for any considerable period. The great detective recovered consciousness within half an hour after the blow received from Rufus Venner, and he fell to taking the measure of his situation the moment the cobwebs began to clear from his brain. He found himself bound hand and foot with ropes, and lying upon the floor of a dark room. That he was in the dwelling occupied by the Spanish dancer, Ni
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FOUND DEAD.
FOUND DEAD.
"What's the trouble yonder, Nick?" "Where?" "In the park." "Humph! Something wrong, evidently. Come on, Chick, and we'll see." It was nearly sunset one Monday afternoon, and almost two weeks subsequent to the incidents last depicted. That at least one of Dave Kilgore's suggestions had been adopted, and he and his gang had become rigorously guarded, appears in that the Carters had utterly failed to accomplish anything against them in the interval mentioned. Despite constant vigilance and incessan
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NICK STRIKES A STARTLING CLEW.
NICK STRIKES A STARTLING CLEW.
The mind of Nick Carter was, as he had remarked to Chick, stirred with a flood of questions not easily or quickly answered. Who was this girl found dead in Central Park? Had she, indeed, been foully murdered? If so, by what mysterious means? What had been the object? Who the perpetrator of the crime? Or, on the other hand, was the evidence itself misleading, and had the unfortunate girl selected that sequestered seat in the park, and there deliberately committed suicide? Even then, by what means
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ON THE TRAIL.
ON THE TRAIL.
Nick Carter was a little perplexed. Miss Violet Page had recovered from her sudden swoon, and although still very pale she sat gazing calmly at the silver jewel casket, which Nick was again displaying. Somewhat to Nick's surprise, considering the girl's abrupt collapse upon first beholding the casket, Miss Page had just declared that she had never seen it before that evening. "You never saw it before?" exclaimed Nick, almost incredulously. "Never until you produced it from your desk a few minute
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THE CRIME AND THE MEANS.
THE CRIME AND THE MEANS.
"Yes, Chick, it's as simple as two plus two, and we'll presently try to bag a part of our quarry. But first of all, I want a bit of corroborative evidence which I expect to get from that Hindoo snake charmer, Pandu Singe." "Going there first, Nick?" "Yes; it will not take long. Then I think we shall have the strands for a rope strong enough to hold that she-devil who murdered Mary Barton," grimly added Nick. These remarks were made while the carriage containing the two detectives was speeding th
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CLOSING IN.
CLOSING IN.
There was, indeed, as Nick Carter shrewdly suspected, a mysterious bond between the several crimes thus far engaging his attention, and the secret operations for which David Kilgore and his gang had ventured into the city of New York. Nick had remarked, however, that the game would become as hazardous and stirring as one could desire, as soon as it was fairly driven from cover. And Nick began to drive it from cover that very night. Shortly before nine o'clock, and just as the two detectives were
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CRAFTY CERVERA.
CRAFTY CERVERA.
"Good-evening, Mr. Venner. Oh, it's not you!" "Oh, yes, 'tis!" said Nick, dryly. "It's I all right, and I'm it. You appear surprised at seeing me, Señora Cervera." Cervera had begun, then stopped, then uttered the startled exclamation; and all with the utmost coolness, with the air of one stirred only by genuine surprise, and as if without the slightest fear or dismay upon beholding Nick Carter in the vestibule. So perfectly natural was her artful assumption, that it rather deceived Nick for a s
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IN A WARM CORNER.
IN A WARM CORNER.
The crash with which Nick Carter vaguely expected his career might be abruptly ended, as the floor upon which he had fallen prostrate rapidly descended, did not come. The terrific downward speed suddenly decreased, then became more gradual, all in the bare fraction of a second; and then the rushing sound of compressed air escaping through narrow crevices fell upon the detective's ears. Nick immediately guessed the truth. The falling closet floor was that of an elevator, no longer in use as such,
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THE DIAMOND PLANT.
THE DIAMOND PLANT.
"This does settle it!" "What do you mean, Dave?" "It must be done?" "We must get these Carters—that's what! If we don't get them, Spotty—you take my word for it—they'll get us!" "Do you really think so, Dave?" "Not think, but know so!" declared Kilgore, with emphasis. "I know these Carters, root and branch. They have now struck our trail, and they'll stick to it like bloodhounds till they run us down—unless we get them! It must be done, I say, and done promptly." "Put them down and out?" "Exactl
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THE CUNNING OF JEAN PYLOTTE.
THE CUNNING OF JEAN PYLOTTE.
Kilgore had reasoned shrewdly, in so quickly suspecting that Nick Carter would lose no time in getting a line on the Venner residence. Even while the diamond gang were discussing the plan by which to capture the Carters, the two detectives were at times within a hundred yards of the secret plant. It was dark out of doors that night, with only a few stars in the clouded sky, and the wooded locality and neighboring streets were but poorly lighted. It was in a northern suburb of New York, a section
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THE GAME UNCOVERED.
THE GAME UNCOVERED.
The following morning. The clock in Nick Carter's library was striking nine. Nick and Chick were seated at one side of the table, and Jean Pylotte occupied a chair at the opposite side. Upon the dark cloth top of the table between them lay two large diamonds, declared by Pylotte to have been artificially made, the two with which he claimed to have been swindled. Yet to the eyes of a layman they had all the qualities of natural gems, gleaming and glistening with magnificent fire in the cheerful s
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AT CROSS-PURPOSES.
AT CROSS-PURPOSES.
It was not quite noon when Nick Carter and Chick arrived at the house of the Hindoo snake charmer. They found Pandu Singe at home with his interpreter, and the two detectives were very cordially received. Nick quickly disclosed his business. "We wish to borrow your personalities for a short time, also some of your curious garments," he explained to Pandu Singe, through his interpreter, who also was a Hindoo of superior education. The snake charmer appeared greatly surprised at such a request, bu
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HANDS SHOWED DOWN.
HANDS SHOWED DOWN.
Spotty Dalton stood at the door of the open carriage when Nick and Chick emerged from the house, still clad in the character of Hindoos. "Are you sent here by Mr. Venner?" inquired Nick. Dalton touched the cloth cap drawn low over his brow, and stroked his dark, false beard as he replied: "Yes, sir," said he, half in his throat. "You're the interpreter, I take it." "At your service." "I'm a bit late, but it couldn't be helped. We'll not be long in getting there." "Time does not matter to the gre
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THE BOOT ON THE OTHER LEG.
THE BOOT ON THE OTHER LEG.
In the heat of action and excitement ten minutes are as nothing. The time seems longer, however, when one sits waiting in a motionless carriage, enveloped in the gloom of night, with grim distrust and uncertainty acting like spurs in the sides of one's impatience. Before five minutes had fairly passed, after Nick's departure, Spotty Dalton had suffered his misgivings to the very limit of his endurance. Chick sat mentally counting the passing seconds, then scoring each departed minute with his fi
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AN ONLY RESOURCE.
AN ONLY RESOURCE.
Despite the corner in which he had placed himself, a situation far more desperate than he at first imagined, Nick Carter was congratulating himself upon the success of his ruse by which he had so quickly located the secret plant of the diamond swindlers, even at the sacrifice of his personal freedom. The fact that he now sat bound in a chair in the hidden stronghold of the gang, watched only by Cervera, did not seriously disturb the fearless detective. Nick had been in many a worse corner than t
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THE LAST TRICK.
THE LAST TRICK.
"Carter!" "Kilgore!" Each man uttered the name of the other, as if with the same breath. The meeting came so suddenly that, for the bare fraction of a second, both men were nonplused. Then both whipped out a weapon. Crack! Bang! They fired together, and both missed, Nick's usually accurate aim being spoiled by the gloom of the cellar. Kilgore instantly sprang further away in the darkness, and aimed again. The hammer of his weapon fell as usual, but there was no report. In his recent fight at the
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PRICE, FIFTEEN CENTS
PRICE, FIFTEEN CENTS
Nick Carter stands for an interesting detective story. The fact that the books in this line are so uniformly good is entirely due to the work of a specialist. The man who wrote these stories produced no other type of fiction. His mind was concentrated upon the creation of new plots and situations in which his hero emerged triumphantly from all sorts of trouble, and landed the criminal just where he should be—behind the bars. The author of these stories knew more about writing detective stories t
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PRICE, FIFTEEN CENTS
PRICE, FIFTEEN CENTS
A half million enthusiastic followers of the Merriwell brothers will attest the unfailing interest and wholesomeness of these adventures of two lads of high ideals, who play fair with themselves, as well as with the rest of the world. These stories are rich in fun and thrills in all branches of sports and athletics. They are extremely high in moral tone, and cannot fail to be of immense benefit to every boy who reads them. They have the splendid quality of firing a boy's ambition to become a goo
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STREET & SMITH CORPORATION
STREET & SMITH CORPORATION
At a rough estimate there are 400 million civilized human beings who have heard of Bill Cody, not under his real name, but by the name everybody called him, "Buffalo Bill." His character made him an outstanding figure during a period of the development of America when a strong character was a matter of vital necessity. We doubt, however, whether the man's work is fully appreciated, or ever has been. In the rush and bustle that followed the introduction of the railroad to the West, the results of
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