Nicholas Carter

“ Ida laughed, scornfully.
“Dare?” she repeated. “We spend our lives in daring.”
“The men of my family would kill you, if you did such a thing.”
Ida laughed again.
“Half the thieves and half the fast people, whether rich or poor, are always threatening that. We are used to it.”
The young woman began to walk rapidly up and down the room, and then stopped suddenly in front of Ida. She said:
“It was by an accident.”
“You mean,” said Ida, “that you obtained the knowledge of the intended robbery by accident?”
“Yes,” replied Miss Rainforth.
“Under what circumstances?” asked Ida. ”

“ Miss Rainforth made a motion as if she would run to the door, but Ida sternly commanded her to stop.
Apparently unused to such a tone, Miss Rainforth stopped, turning more in surprise and astonishment than in submission.
“Miss Rainforth,” said Ida, “you will please to return to your seat.”
The young lady continued to stare at her visitor, and Ida went on:
“It is useless for you to call any one, for that will only result in your ruin and disgrace. As I told you, you have met with a person even more determined than yourself. You must submit.” ”

“ As for Lannigan, the swell cracksman of Philadelphia, Nick had conceived an idea that there was real worth in the man, despite his bad record.
He had a long talk with him, in which he pointed out that a trial could not but result in imprisonment.
“I am absolutely sure,” Nick declared, “that if I brought you into court, you would spend the next half a dozen years in jail. There is no reason why I should let you go free, except that I believe you could be a wonderfully brilliant man and a good citizen if you liked. ”

“ Seeing that he was in conversation with some one on the corner, he called Chick and Patsy to him.
“Elwell?” asked Chick, as he came up.
“Yes,” said Nick. “Do you know who he is talking with?”
“Yes,” said Chick. “It is my man Seaman.”
“Seaman?” repeated Nick. “That is strange. They have met here by arrangement.”
“To meet some one else,” said Chick.
“And why are you here, Patsy?” asked Nick.
“I followed my two assistants here,” said Patsy, “from the foot of Thirty-fourth Street.”
“It is very strange that following men from different parts of the city we should all meet here,” said Nick. ”

“ Exposure? I am a woman of position, sir.”
Nick stopped her sternly. He said:
“Mrs. Ladew, I know your whole life for the past three days. You went to New York to attend the wedding of Mr. Ellison to Miss Sanborn, but you took occasion to travel about with Jimmy Lannigan, gambler, thief, burglar.”
Mrs. Ladew leaped to her feet, horror-stricken.
“Thief! Burglar!” she exclaimed. “You tell what is not true.”
“Sit down, Mrs. Ladew,” said Nick. “Lannigan is just what I say he is. A thief and a burglar, known to the police as the swell cracksman of Philadelphia. ”

“ Ida laughed and said:
“Our sex is a queer thing. This Miss Rainforth seems to be a very bold, energetic and courageous young woman. If you are right, and she has been scorned by Ellison, there is no knowledge to what lengths she will go.”
“Well,” said Nick, “it is for you to get into relations with her, and find out what you can. It is a difficult thing. How will you go about it?”
“That does not seem to me to be as important,” replied Ida, “as to know how to deal with her when I do get to her.”
“Getting to her is no small matter, Ida,” said Nick. “Miss Rainforth is a fashionable young lady. ”

“ You may think yourself a bad man, Lannigan; but you had better keep out of the way of Nick Carter. If he has tracked that case here and got possession of the things within it, the next thing will be that he’ll have the handcuffs on you. He fears no mortal man and he has captured single-handed half a dozen men, each one worse than you. ”

“ I have no commission except to find Mr. Ellison and discover the mystery of his disappearance. I have no duty to perform in punishing anybody. But I will protect you and safeguard you from any trouble that may come out of your relations with Lannigan or with Mr. Ellison.”
Mrs. Ladew turned on him, astonished.
“And do you know of that, too?”
Nick bowed his head and said:
“I do know of that. Now, please answer the question I asked you before we left the ladies’ parlor of that store. What message did that man bring to Mr. Ellison that made him respond so promptly?” ”

“ Straining his ears he found that Lannigan was swearing over the door at the foot of the stairs.
He was attributing the broken door to the thieves who had robbed him, assuming that that was the way in which they had gotten in.
To have heard him swear and talk one would have supposed that he was an honest man and there had never been such an outrage before, or so dishonest a thing, as that of robbing him of what he had robbed Mr. Herron.
Nick, laughing at this, nevertheless by a long whistle gave Chick the signal to be on the alert, as their birds were coming. ”

“ Now, Chick, you and Patsy start right out and see if you can’t find Lannigan, and put him and his fellows under watch. Don’t lose them until you know all they’re doing.”
Without waiting for anything else, Chick and Patsy went out.
“I fancy, Ida,” said Nick, “that there will be a good deal of work for you to do in this case. You had better go home and spend the night in getting a good rest. What you have to do will depend upon what the boys will find out to-night.” ”

“ There was silence some four or five minutes, when Seaman was heard again:
“Lannigan,” he said, “we’ll make you a new offer. We haven’t got the money you demand. It’s a big sum. But I stand ready to make this deal with you now, if you’ll take it. If you will deliver those drawings and the model to me this afternoon, I’ll give you five thousand dollars in cash and my promise in writing, well indorsed, to give you fifty thousand dollars when this thing is sold to the company that stands ready to buy and manufacture.” ”

“ And so Ellison settled down in New York for that year to pass.”
“There doesn’t seem to be much in your tale to give me a hint,” said Nick. “Now let me ask you a leading question. I beg you will not evade it through any friendship for Ellison, whom you evidently like, or feeling of loyalty to your cousin. Here is a mysterious thing in which a man does the very thing you would expect him not to do, and at the very time it would be supposed that the object of his life was accomplished, defeating that object. ”

“ I don’t quite know how to size up young Sanborn. For a man who is well acquainted with Ellison as he pretends to be, he is singularly ignorant of the man, or else he refuses to tell all that he knows. In his talk yesterday he dropped the name of a man as one of those with whom Ellison spent much of his time, and that man I am very well acquainted with. ”

“ In the meantime, Miss Rainforth, settling back in her chair, was regarding her visitor with apprehensive intentness.
“Mr. Carter,” said Ida, “has neither wish nor disposition to do anything to your injury. You are of no consequence to him, as important as you doubtless regard yourself, except as you bear a relation to the mysterious disappearance of Mr. Ellison, and have knowledge of events leading up to that disappearance.” ”

“ It soon became apparent to Chick that the valet of Mr. Ellison had disappeared with his master.
As for Patsy, on entering the room, the first thing that attracted his attention was an open window.
Going to the window and looking out, he saw that it would not have been very much of a drop for a man to let himself out of it.
Leaning out he saw that there was a gate in the fence that led to the cross street, for Mr. Sanborn’s house was on the corner. ”

“ Chick read:
“‘A famous judge, having a man brought before him and listening to the charge made against him, asked: “Who is the woman?” If you are wise, you will take this as a pointer for the beginning of your new case.’”
The four detectives looked at each other, and then Nick took from his pocket the letter of warning of the morning, and together they compared the handwriting of the two letters.
“It is the same,” said Nick, positively.
“It was written by the same man,” said Chick.
“It is not the writing of a man, but of a woman,” said Ida. ”

“ But if you can help them, you’ll be helping me.”
“And the price will be the same from me,” said Chick, “as it is from Merton when you are working for him.”
“The price isn’t much,” said Bess, with a laugh. “It’s only a tenner for an evening’s work. I think I can help you, but I don’t know. I’ll try.”
“Then I’ll pay you now and take the chances,” said Chick, thrusting a ten-dollar bill into the hands of the girl.
“Whether I can help you depends whether the girl with Lannigan is known in Philadelphia, where Lannigan originally came from. ”

“ Bess pointed out the couple the party had under observation.
“Jimmy Lannigan,” said the girl called Alice. “He’s been rolling about the Tenderloin for three nights. But he’s spending no money except on the woman that is with him.”
“Do you know who she is?”
“Yes, I do,” replied the girl Alice, with a laugh. “She comes from our old city, Bessie, and if she keeps this racket up much longer, if there won’t be a swell divorce case with fine trimmings, I’m no guesser.”
“Why do you say that?” asked Chick.
“The thing with me is,” said Alice, “why the burst hasn’t come long ago. ”

“ Herron’s house, but it was not in his plans yet to make an arrest—not, at all events, until after the papers and drawings Nick had been retained to recover were in their hands. Nor was it in his plans to let Lannigan know that he had been interfered with by Nick Carter, if he did not then know it. So he said:
“You must be a fool, to try and shoot a man in daylight like this. You want to thank your stars that there was somebody here to stop you. Now, get away quick, before a policeman comes, or you’ll be nipped as it is.” ”

“ She is dressed in the highest style. She looks to me like a lady who is trying to see the wrong side of New York without being in it.”
Chick and Patsy instantly exchanged glances.
“Are you looking after such a woman?” said Merton.
“The chief wants to know all about such a woman,” said Chick. “He fancied that she was with Lannigan, and I guess they want evidence for a divorce suit.”
“I thought Nick Carter never touched such cases,” said Merton.
“Oh,” replied Chick, carelessly, “it’s only my guess, but the work of Patsy and myself is to get on to this couple, and put them under watch.” ”

“ The young fellow made a queer sort of a call, which was immediately responded to from several rooms on that floor and, in a moment, two men and three women were in the hall, immediately roused by the young fellow’s declaration that they must smash one of Nick Carter’s kids.
One man, without waiting further, made a rush at Patsy who, in self-defense, was compelled to strike out, which he did with such accuracy that the fellow was knocked backward against one of the women and together they fell to the floor. ”

“ He could see the man’s eyes flash with intelligence and, whipping out a knife, Nick cut the bands that confined him and, thrusting a revolver in his hand, said:
“Help to defend yourself.”
Ellison sprang from the bed as soon as his feet were released, while Nick turned to help Chick and Patsy, on whom the men, now recovered from their confusion, were attempting to make a combined attack. ”

“ Believing that he could accomplish no more, and certain that Patsy was not far away, Chick descended from the carriage, lifted his hat, and walked away.
The hansom cab, containing the young woman, immediately went over to Broadway and, turning up that street, was driven quite rapidly.
But it had not gone the space of a block when another cab drove after it, and Chick saw a hand wave from the window.
Jumping across the street, Chick found a cab on the corner, and, hastily calling the driver, said:
“Follow that cab, and don’t lose sight of it. If you kill your horse, I’ll pay for it.” ”

“ If you throw me down it’ll be the worst day’s work you ever did for yourself.”
He turned from the table at which the two crooks were sitting, and walked out of the saloon without another word or turning to see the effects of his words.
Patsy was intent on filling up the gap in the story of the day, which was complete and connected except as to the taking of the drawings and the models from Lannigan’s rooms.
That this had been done by Spike Thomas and Bally Morris there was no doubt in the minds of any one having knowledge of the affair. But, after all, it was, at best, suspicion. ”

“ They not only commanded a good view of the table occupied by Lannigan and his companion, but of the whole room.
“Chick,” said Patsy, “Lannigan isn’t broke, by any means. He’s doing the swell caper. Nothing but champagne and Burgundy does him. See him mix the fizz and the red.”
“Nothing less than seven and a half for that tipple,” said Merton.
“And nothing less than birds, as well,” said the girl Merton had called Bess.{156}
“His layout will knock spots out of a ten-dollar note,” said Patsy.
“You know who it is?” asked Bess.
“Know the man,” replied Chick; “his name is Lannigan.” ”

“ The two young detectives went away to prepare for their trip to Philadelphia.
As soon as they were gone, Nick summoned Ida.
She was not long in coming, and, when she did arrive, Nick said to her:
“Ida, I have got something for you to do which, I think, is about as difficult as anything you have undertaken.”
He told her the experiences of Chick and Patsy with the young Rainforth woman, and the discovery that she was the writer of the two anonymous letters.
“That young woman puzzles me,” said Nick. “I know something about her. Her father is an old army officer, very rich, who long since retired. ”

“ Now, Spike, it was you who put it into my head from the first that a swell cracksman from Philadelphia, Lannigan, cracked the crib and took that case.”
“Dat’s right,” repeated Spike.
“Then you give it me that when you ran against Lannigan he wouldn’t cough up and let you in.”
“Dat’s right,” repeated Spike.{82}
“Now I’m goin’ to speak a little piece,” said Patsy. “Spike, you have seen Lannigan since I saw you last, and you’ve got into the job.”
“You’re away off, Patsy,” said Spike.
“I don’t think I am,” said Patsy. ”