Nicholas Carter

“ On wire and canvas cots, on wooden benches, and not infrequently on tiled floors, hundreds of men sleep each night on Ellis Island, in New York City. These men are not immigrants, although many, but by no means most, of them are aliens. They are homeless, hungry men, who have neither work nor the wherewithal to live, a condition that is in dire contrast to the comfortable and happy existence of those who live in the small cities and towns of our land, but one that for months has been experienced by thousands of unfortunates in our metropolitan centers. ”

“ Everybody in the courtroom, including Fred Carroll, thought that the case against the Camera Chap was a strong one, and wondered why the latter didn’t manifest more concern as to the outcome.
Hawley’s face continued to wear a cheerful smile as he listened to the evidence, and this smile expanded every time his gaze rested on the camera reposing on the magistrate’s desk, which Chief Hodgins had offered as an exhibit.
“You say that a photograph was taken,” the magistrate suddenly remarked. “Have you the picture, chief?”
“I have the negative, your honor,” Hodgins replied promptly. ”

“ Nick again interrupted. “But given the right type of man, Chick, the reverse subterfuge would be just as feasible—a man with an effeminate, mobile, and beardless face, a man with medium figure and consistent voice, together with the subtle art required for such an assumption. We have met just that type of man, Chick, both of us.” ”

“ It was like that which it had worn when, having caught Patsy Garvan as he now had cornered Nick, he left him to die in the Barker tomb.
He came and stood directly in front of Nick, gazing down at him and saying, with icy severity:
“Henley has made it perfectly plain to me. There is no occasion for you to say more.”
“Very well,” Nick returned indifferently.
“You are very clever, Carter, very clever,” Deland went on. “I have never in Europe encountered an inspector who compared at all with you. You are so dangerous, Carter, that the world is too small for both of us.” ”

“ I live off yonder in the crossroad a piece. I was gunning for birds around the pond when I struck this sort of game.”
“Did you find any other evidence of a murder?”
“That’s what,” nodded Henley. “Blood on the grass and bushes. Some are trampled down, and a lot of footprints and heel holes in the ground point to an ugly fight.”
“I see,” Nick said gravely. “That does look bad.”
“I did not wait to hunt for the girl’s body,” Henley went on, with grim glibness. “It might be in the pond. I reckoned I’d better rush these things to Bailey, the constable, and then show him where Ginger found them.” ”

“ Then he uttered the yell for which Patsy Garvan was waiting.
“Now, Patsy, get them!”
Nick Carter heard him, and then saw both. As quick as a flash, he shouldered both Deland and Henley to the middle of the hall, then leaped quickly back into the dining room, out of range of a chance bullet.
Chick saw the idea, and a shriek instantly followed his yell.
“Hands up, you fellows! We’ll drop the first man who resists!”
“Every man!” roared Patsy, with both guns leveled.
There were four weapons covering the crooks, with bullets enough in all to have riddled them. ”

“ Patsy followed close at his companion’s heels.
They had made only the first turn in the stairway, when the voice of Mortimer Deland, rising high with the last threatening words he was addressing to Nick Carter, coupled with his fierce commands to his three confederates, fell loud and clear on the two detective’s ears.
Chick Carter glanced at Patsy and pulled out a second revolver.
“Fire the house, will he?” he whispered hurriedly. “There’ll be firing of another kind done here, if necessary.”
“You bet!” nodded Patsy, with brows knitting.
“Shoot to kill, if you have to shoot.”
“Kill goes!” ”

“ When within ten yards of the rear door, toward which the hound was heading, Nick said abruptly:
“Stop a moment, Henley. If our man is here——”
“He’s here, Carter, all right,” Henley cut in gruffly.
He swung round while he spoke and dropped the leash, then threw his shotgun into the hollow of his arm, instantly covering the detective.
“He’s here, Carter,” he added, with sinister significance. “Don’t you reach for a gun. Don’t move, blast you, or I’ll pepper you so with buckshot that you’ll look like a sieve. ”

“ So get into the car with us, Henley, and go to the Gordon place. There will be something in it for you, if you help us solve this mystery. There is room for your dog, also. Tumble in with him.”
“I dunno——”
“Nonsense! You want to see justice done, don’t you?” Nick demanded. “If you don’t——”
“Yes, yes, sure,” Henley now cried, as if suddenly hit with an idea that a persistent refusal would occasion suspicion. “That’s just what I want. That’s why I was hiking to see the constable. But I’ll go with you, Mr. Carter, and later will show you where Ginger found these things, if you say so.” ”

“ Not a word about it in the office to-morrow. It staggers me when I think of it, the horrible situation in which you have involved me. Some men would wipe you out of existence, as I perhaps shall—but, no, no, I could not live with human blood on my hands. Shame, sorrow, and remorse are terrible enough.
“After Thursday—— Well, we shall see!
“Arthur Gordon.”
“Great guns! What do you make of that, chief?” questioned Patsy, after both had read the letter, both being familiar with the French language.
“We will discuss it later,” Nick quietly replied. “This woman has ears, you know, and a tongue.” ”

“ Nick now checked her with a gesture.
“I agree with you, Miss Strickland,” he said kindly. “Arthur Gordon is, in my opinion, a thoroughly honorable man. As you are so sure of it, too, and that he is the victim of a conspiracy, you best can serve him by subduing your agitation, and telling me precisely what has occurred. I can do nothing, nor form any opinion of the case, until I know all of the circumstances.”
“Mr. Carter is right, Wilhelmina,” said her elderly uncle, Mr. Rudolph Strickland. “It is very kind of him to come out here, with his assistant, this morning. ”

“ More than half the distance had been covered, when, rounding a curve in the woodland road, two figures appeared some fifty yards in advance of the speeding car.
One was a gaunt, lop-eared hound.
The other was a roughly clad man of middle age, with a shotgun under his left arm, and under his right a large bundle. He turned quickly, as he heard the approaching car, then stepped to the middle of the road and held up the gun.
“Slow down, Danny,” Nick commanded. “That fellow wants us to stop.”
“Gee!” exclaimed Patsy, a bit derisively. “He’s got a gun. Are we up against a holdup?” ”

“ Gale urged. “Go easy or you’ll spoil the whole game. In a few minutes you’ll have the satisfaction of marching him to jail. That’ll be much better than physical violence. See, he’s heading straight for the city hall; and I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts that that brown paper package in his hand is a camera. He must be a bigger idiot than I thought him if he imagines he can fool us by such a bluff.”
“Come on,” said Hodgins impatiently. “Let’s trail the loafer. I’ve got six of my best men stationed around the city hall, laying in wait for him. ”

“ Deland’s brows knit closer and fell to a settled frown over his steadily dilating eyes.
“How else could I have found the garments?” Nick demanded. “Yes, I have been there and——”
“And that’s not the only place he’s been to, nor all he——”
“One moment, Henley,” Deland coldly interrupted. “I will hear you presently. Permit Mr. Carter to have his say. What more, Carter; what more?”
“Oh, there is a good deal more, Deland, if I chose to tell you all of my discoveries and deductions,” Nick now said, more sternly. ”

“ Hawley nodded gravely. “I don’t want to take any chances,” he explained. “You see, I happen to be quite a camera fiend. Whenever I run across anything worth photographing, I simply cannot resist the temptation to take a snapshot. So, as I am a peaceful, law-abiding citizen, I think it will be a wise plan for me to leave my camera in your custody. If I haven’t it with me, I can’t very well be tempted to break the law, can I?”
“Not very well,” the garage man answered, with a broad grin. “But, say, if you’re so keen on taking pictures, why don’t you get a permit from the chief of police? ”

“ Henley cut in. “He can trail him like breaking sticks. He’s some dog. Mr. Carter, some dog. Wait a bit and I’ll show you. Gimme one of Gordon’s shoes.”
“By Jove, that’s a good idea, Henley.” Nick cried, as if he had not thought of it. “He can get the scent from this, perhaps, as you suggest. I ought to have been wise to that.”
“Here you, Ginger, come here,” Henley growled harshly. “Come here, you rascal.”
The hound bounded through the bushes and cringed at his master’s feet. ”

“ Both vanished instantly, however, when Nick turned and said:
“Now, Henley, it’s up to you.”
“I’ll make good, all right,” was the reply, with a covert significance the detective was quick to notice.
“Lead the way, then.”
“I’ll soon show you, Mr. Carter,” Henley added, with the same sinister significance. “Come on, Ginger. He’s some dog, Carter, some dog. Ginger can’t be beat.”
Nick did not reply. He followed the swarthy ruffian over the rough crossroad, stopping at intervals to study the ground, stating that he wanted to examine the footprints of the missing couple, if any could be found. ”

“ Nick declared, not in the least daunted by the significance of the miscreant’s threat.
Deland swung around to Foster and Gribham, who had stood listening with stoical indifference to the foregoing colloquy.
“Go and get him, you two,” he fiercely commanded. “Bring Gordon down here. We will wipe them out together. We will leave no evidence here to tell the story. We will bind both, lock them in the library closet, and then fire the house.”
“That’s the stuff!” Henley said, with a growl. “It will burn like tinder. That will finish them.”
“Get Gordon—get Gordon!” Deland fairly shrieked. ”

“ They are not overdrawn tales of bloodshed. They rather show the working of one of the finest minds ever conceived by a writer. The name of Nick Carter is familiar all over the world, for the stories of his adventures may be read in twenty languages. No other stories have withstood the severe test of time so well as those contained in the Nick Carter Stories. It proves conclusively that they are the best. ”

“ Chick coolly interrupted, after closing the office door. “There is nothing in going over the traces. Nick has told me most of the circumstances, as far as known. Calm yourself, and answer my questions.”
“Well, well, I will try. But there is nothing I can tell you.”
“Don’t be so sure of that.”
“Sit down, then. Come on with your questions!”
“To begin with,” said Chick, complying, “have you seen any indications that Gordon and Pauline Perrot are in love, any sign of it on the part of either?”
“No, no, never!” Beckwith quickly asserted. “Mr. Gordon is a gentleman, and soon to be married. ”

“ As it rolled out into the darkness, now and then illumined by the red glare from an opened furnace, the black man seemed to have come into his kingdom; a kingdom peopled with weird shapes and enveloped in the mysticism of a dark continent. ”

“ Nick replied. “Who is his stenographer?”
“Her name is Pauline Perrot,” said Mina.
“A French girl?”
“Of French extraction, I think.”
“You have seen her?”
“Yes. She has been out here twice in the past ten days with Mr. Gordon. She boards in Fordham, through which he passes when coming out here with his touring car. He has, for that reason, frequently taken her home from his office when on his way here.”
“Is she a very attractive girl?” Nick inquired.
“I don’t think so,” said Mina, with brows knitting. “She is tall and dark, with black hair, and eyes that frighten me. ”

“ Lord told me that Pauline Perrot had stolen a brush and comb. That suggested something to me.”
“What was that?”
“A hairbrush cannot be entirely cleaned of all the hairs it takes in among its bristles. I reasoned that Pauline Perrot decided that it was much easier to steal the brush than to clean it, and less dangerous than to leave it in her chamber. That set me to hunting for hairs on the rug and carpet. I found these. The devil always leaves a gapway open.”
“What about them?” Chick questioned, a bit perplexedly.
“Use my lens,” said Nick. ”

“ Rudolph Strickland the costly art treasures stolen from the Fifth Avenue flat, in which he then resided, resulting also in the arrest of the notorious European crook, Mortimer Deland, together with a gang of local confederates.
Nick had frequently met Arthur Gordon since then, and he knew that this wealthy young banker and broker of Wall Street was contemplating matrimony, but he was ignorant of many of the particulars which Mr. Strickland hastened to impart.
“This is Mr. Gordon’s new house,” said he, “though he already has deeded the entire estate to Wilhelmina, who soon is to be his wife.” ”

“ Leave it to Ginger.”
The hound was plunging on all the while, with his muzzle to the ground, and was shaping a course through the woods and around the south side of the pond.
“Plainly enough, whoever planted this evidence wore the shoes Gordon had been wearing,” thought Nick, tramping rapidly on behind Henley. “That’s evidence enough, too, that he now is in the hands of this rascal’s confederates. It would be like Mortimer Deland not to overlook a point as essential as that. Where will the trail end? That’s the question.” ”

“ Nick led the way out to the touring car, in which Patsy presently joined them, bringing a pair of Gordon’s shoes, and in another moment they were speeding down the long driveway toward the woodland road.
“Take us to the point where we picked Henley up, Danny,” Nick directed. “He then can take the ribbons and show us the way.”
“You can run a quarter mile farther,” said Henley. “That’ll take us to the crossroad. It’s rough going, then, too rough for a buzz car.” ”

“ Gordon came in. I have no hope of that, however, in view of the letter Mina has received.”
“It does not, indeed, seem probable,” Nick allowed.
“Added to all this,” said Mr. Strickland, “there now are rumors, probably resulting from the gossip of the Dawson women, that Gordon has eloped with Pauline Perrot. If she is not in his office at her customary hour, ten o’clock, I shall begin to fear——”
Mr. Strickland was interrupted by the ringing of a telephone on a stand in one corner, and Wilhelmina uttered a cry, and ran to the instrument.
“Wait!” Nick exclaimed. “Let me answer it.” ”

“ Nick pointed out. “Not a piece of it has been worn.”
“You’re right, chief.” Patsy peered into the drawer. “That’s plain enough.”
“But why it was left here is not so plain,” said Nick. “A girl going away on a visit usually takes her best garments in preference to those she has worn.”
“That’s right, too, chief,” Patsy agreed. “But she may be well supplied.”
“I’m not at all sure that that explains it,” Nick replied dryly. “What have you there?”
“Fragments of a letter from the waste basket, also the torn envelope in which it came,” said Patsy. “It is written in French.” ”

“ Nick added. “Besides, I am the man he would seek, and not Gordon, for it was I who cornered and convicted him. There is no occasion for those apprehensions, Miss Strickland.”
“I hope not, I’m sure,” said Mina. “You are going?”
Nick had taken his hat from a table on which he had placed it.
“Yes,” he replied. “I will return in a couple of hours, however, and Chick may arrive in the meantime. We will leave no stone unturned to ferret out the truth.”
He led the way out to his touring car, in which Danny, his chauffeur, had been waiting in front of the house. ”

“ MELBA GALE.
“Guess I’ll borrow your motor cycle, old man, if you don’t object,” said Hawley to his host.
“What! You don’t mean to say you’re going to Oldham again?” the latter protested. “How about your doctor’s orders to keep quiet and avoid all excitement?”
“I shall try to avoid excitement as much as possible while I’m in town,” the Camera Chap replied dryly. “But I’ve got to go this time. When duty calls, physician’s orders don’t count, you know. Here’s the telegram, old man. You can see for yourself that it’s really a case of must.” ”

“ Henley. He sure has put us on the right track.”
“And he can do still more to aid us,” supplemented Nick approvingly. “I suppose, Henley, you are perfectly willing to assist us. You will be well paid for your services. I guarantee that.”
“Your word’s good enough for me, Mr. Carter,” said Henley, consenting with a readiness denoting that his misgivings were entirely dispelled. “I’m right here to lend you a hand. Say what you want, sir, and I’ll do it.”
“Good enough,” Nick declared. “We’ll set about it at once. Find the butler, Patsy, and have him give you a pair of Gordon’s shoes. ”

“ Nick was right. For when the car stopped near him, the man approached and said a bit gruffly:
“Gimme a lift, gents, will you? I want to go to Jim Bailey’s house, a mile farther on. He’s a county constable. There has been a murder.”
“A murder?” Nick echoed. “How do you know? What have you there?”
“Some things Ginger sniffed out of some underbrush near the old millpond back in the woods a piece,” said the man, with a glance at the hound. “I saw a man and a girl plugging that way early yesterday evening. She had this hat on, I’ll swear to that, and she was lugging this jacket on her arm. ”

“ It is useless for us to speculate upon it.”
“Gee, it’s surely some case, chief, and likely to become a difficult one,” said Patsy. “It’s odd, too, that Miss Strickland has felt so apprehensive of deviltry by Mortimer Deland since his escape.”
“That’s like a girl of her sensitive nature.”
“For all that, chief, Deland must be a mighty slick gink, or he never could have given the hospital guards the slip in female attire, to say nothing of having contrived to secretly get the garments. That whole business is still a mystery.”
“And likely to continue one,” said Nick. ”

“ There is a bare possibility that some one will try to destroy them, in case our suspicions are known.”
“That’s right, too,” Patsy quickly agreed. “I thought you were taking a chance, chief, in leaving them there.”
“You return and look after them,” Nick repeated decidedly. “I’ll hoof it back with Henley after making an investigation. He won’t mind the tramp.”
“Mind it be hanged!” cried Henley. “Tramping round these diggings is the most that I do.”
“That settles it, then,” said Nick. “Back into the crossroad to make a turn, Danny, and wait for us at Gordon’s place.” ”