Nicholas Carter

“ And this Red Mike had been one of the bad characters of that former experience in the Klondike.
He had been a bad man and a dangerous one, until he was cornered; but at such times, like others of his ilk, he had inevitably proved himself an unconscionable coward.
Mike had been at one time the proprietor of a saloon, a gambler, and everything that was bad; he had been a sluice robber, a road agent, a thief, a bully, and he had been suspected of at least one murder done in cold blood, where the victim had been shot in the back, and without an opportunity to defend himself. ”

“ Never in the experience of Nick Carter had he known of a clear case of murder like this one, where the murderer had left absolutely nothing undone to demonstrate a suicide; but Nick Carter, because of those tracks in the snow, because he had arrived upon the scene at precisely the psychological moment to understand them, and because he had read the other signs that we have described, knew it to be a deliberately planned and executed crime. ”

“ An old man, white and uncertain on his feet with age, pushed himself forward. He thrust out his right arm and pointed an accusing finger at the trembling man who faced him.
“You are not my master, Mr. J. Cephas Lynne; you are Thomas Lynne, his servant!” he half shouted in a voice that choked with rage. “And you murdered that girl—my beautiful little Edythe, whom I carried in my arms from the time that she was born. ”

“ She left her place at the door then, and took one step nearer to the detective.
“How old a man is he?” she asked softly; and the detective, perceiving what was behind the question, shrugged his shoulders and replied, not without a trace of satirical amusement in his manner:
“The man I saw, and who claims to be the heir of J. Cephas Lynne is young—perhaps about your own age. He is also handsome, judged from the feminine standpoint. Whether he is impressionable or not, I leave to you to determine, if you ever have the opportunity.” ”

“ Thomas was plainly dismayed, but he was none the less insistent for all that.
“Unless she flew in through the open window, or came down the chimney and through the fireplace, there is absolutely no way that I know about by which she could have gained admission to this room without being seen by me, or by the footman,” he said calmly.
“Or by the gardener,” suggested Patsy.
“Unless you are purposely deceiving us,” said the detective.
“I am not deceiving you, Mr. Carter,” Thomas replied, not without an assumption of dignity at being thus accused. ”

“ From the great gate, which strangely enough is the only entrance to the grounds, or park, the roadway winds in two directions, to the right and to the left, among splendid trees, and in the summertime there is no more beautiful and spacious home to be found anywhere near the metropolis.
The owner, J. Cephas Lynne, was justly proud of it—almost as proud of this possession, as of one greater one that was his, his daughter. ”

“ Again Nick Carter’s prophecy had come true.
Lynne took one of her hands between his own and stroked it gently. She recovered herself.
“I am silly to give way so at the first kind word,” she murmured.
“No, you are only natural. You have found yourself. You have found the true, the real woman; you have lost the pretense that has been dominating you. ”

“ Not as Nick Carter believed he understood the character of J. Cephas Lynne.
Suddenly and without warning the detective reopened the subject of Mrs. Babbington. He began it by saying, as if merely for the purpose of bringing an end to the silence between them:
“So you met Mrs. Babbington abroad and discovered only then that you loved her? That is interesting. I am always interested in romances. You have known her, of course, for some years, haven’t you?” ”

“ Nick stood back and a little to one side while the two approached the dead girl upon the couch, and for a moment the chief stood looking down upon her with all that adoration which a strong man of middle age feels for a pure young soul such as Edythe Lynne’s had been. ”

“ The lawyer shrugged his shoulders.
“Oh, well,” he said, “what of it? Thomas Lynne has been convicted, and will die for the two crimes he has committed. While there is no doubt that the woman was an accessory, before and after the fact, I’m rather glad—that is to say, I am not sorry—er—that she—— Oh, confound it! One doesn’t like to see a beautiful woman condemned to death, or even sent to prison for the rest of her life.”
The detective smiled enigmatically.
“I perceive that you have fallen under the spell of her witchery, as well as others, Oaks,” he said. ”

“ From having been a beautiful ornament to the society which she adorned she has become a man-eating tigress to prey upon it; a parasite to cling to it, to grow and fatten upon it, and ultimately to smother and destroy the creatures who will afford her sustenance. The woman has gone out of her, Nick; the tigress has got inside. ”

“ You have a fashion of seeing with other eyes than your own, and of hearing with other ears than your own. The fact that you have neither seen nor heard me does not mean that you do not know of every move I have made, and have not been told of every word I have uttered during those ten days.”
“I perceive, madam, that you understand something about the detective business,” he replied, and attempted to pass on; but again she barred the way.
“I suppose you saw me in the Lynne box, from some other part of the house—no?” she said, tentatively. ”

“ Nick shrugged his shoulders, determined not to pay any attention to this man of so many attitudes.
“You have a daughter, Mr. Lynne. Do you happen to know where she is at this moment?” he asked.
The man sat up straight in his chair, grasping both arms of it tightly so that his knuckles stood out white and distinct. His brows drew together in a straight frown, and in a voice that was entirely unlike any that he had used before, so harsh was it, he exclaimed:
“Really, sir, you go too far. You exceed——”
“Do you know if your daughter went to Pleasantglades last night?” Nick interrupted him. ”

“ Well, what more?”
“The chief wanted me to tell you, sir, that, while everything there gives the appearance of suicide, there is still a large chance that it may be a case of murder.”
“Murder? Murder? No, no, not that. Not murder.” ”

“ Chick glanced around at him with sudden understanding, but it was Patsy who replied.
“I think I can guess what that is,” he said.
“Well, what is it?”
“It isn’t snowing so very hard just now,” said Patsy. “Those tracks that we have made in going to the house and coming away from it, while they will be covered, will not be entirely obliterated—not if six inches of snow should fall over them. There would still be the indications of footprints in the snow; of the ones we left there, eh?”
“Sure,” said the detective. “You’re on, Patsy.” ”

“ A sudden acquaintance between him and the woman lately acquitted of murder would attract my attention, so she comes here and deliberately tells me, with an assumption of bravado, that she intends to make his acquaintance at the first possible moment.”
“She’s got her gall with her, all right—to come here at all,” said Patsy.
“She has got her brains with her, too; don’t forget that, either of you,” said Nick.
“Well, what do you suspect the game to be, Nick?” asked Chick. ”

“ Madge Babbington, as she was addressed by her intimates, was the type of woman who could never be classed with criminals, but Nick Carter, as he watched her during the trial, came to believe that she had developed traits during that interval in Scotland when the Lynne millions were the lure, and during the interval of her arrest and the weeks consumed in her trial, which, though dormant till now, would shape her whole future life. ”

“ If Madge Babbington had entered the room by one of the doors, had opened the bottle and dropped the stopper at once upon entering, it would have been in the vicinity of one of the doors, according to the argument already advanced, all of which shot through his mind the instant when Patsy indicated the spot where it had been found.
Architecture, ancient and modern, had ever been a favorite study with the detective, as a pastime. ”

“ She stepped directly in front of him, and so barred the way, and, with a flash of her strange eyes into his and a smile upon her lips that might have had its effect upon any man but Nick Carter, she said:
“We meet again, Mr. Carter. Quite by accident, I suppose?”
“Quite, madam.” And it was true so far as he was concerned, at least, in reference to the present encounter behind the tier of boxes.
“Are you sure that you are not here to watch me, Mr. Carter?” she asked, but without a suggestion of offense in her tone, even though she might have believed such to be the real condition. ”

“ The Lynne mansion was one of those modern palaces which during the last ten years have been erected in many localities in the city of New York. It occupied the half of a block fronting on the avenue, and was inclosed on the street and avenue sides—the south and west—by a high, wrought-iron fence of artistic design. The entrance to the grounds surrounding the mansion was through a wide gate on the avenue, one-half of which was usually kept open during the day. ”

“ What is that interesting thing that you do know about me?”
“I know you to be a man of your word. If you should give me your solemn promise that you would put two millions in cash in my hand to-morrow or next day, and give me fourteen days’ start without attempting to follow, or to find out where I had gone, you’d keep your word to the letter. I know that.”
“You pay me quite a compliment, Red Mike.”
“Will you do that, Lynne?”
“I am considering it. Don’t hurry me. Will you tell me the name of the woman?” ”

“ I know now, for I have seen the same sort of eyes through the bars of cages at the Bronx Zoo; great, sleepy, tawny eyes, that peer out at one so mildly{111} and half drowsily, and almost unseeingly, but into which a veritable living flame may leap at any instant, burning, consuming, destroying. She doesn’t like you, Nick. ”

“ There had been no difficulty in establishing the identity of the real Carleton Lynne, and in proving his right to inherit the millions of J. Cephas Lynne, and so now, at this moment, he was the master of millions—and be it said, as little affected by that mastery as if they had been counted by units instead of by hundreds of thousands.{222}
Nevertheless, Lynne knew thoroughly well the character of the man who threatened him.
A coward to the backbone, he was none the less dangerous with the power in his possession, as it now was, to murder a defenseless man ”

“ The local police of course know that Pleasantglades is at the present time unoccupied, and, doubtless, it is up to them to keep it free from molestation. Your report will hurry them around there to see what the tracks in the snow mean. They will find that the chain on the gate has been filed; they will follow the tracks to the door where we entered; they will find the body of the young mistress of the house, as we saw it; they will find no indications of violence anywhere, and yet the undisputed proof that men have been there. ”

“ A sweeter, purer, gentler, more lovable soul never dwelt in a human body. If I could get my hands on the fiend that did that act—I expect I’d have to go to prison myself.”
“You are convinced, then, that it was murder, chief?”
“Just as sure as can be. There isn’t the slightest doubt of it in my mind.”
“So am I convinced of it, chief. And we will get at that, presently. By the way, doctor, have you, too, noticed any especial change in Mr. Lynne?” ”

“ He certainly wouldn’t give up to a woman like that, when he knows——”
“In the first place, Patsy, I have not advanced any argument. I have merely said that it is the only way—her only way, now.”
“Well, he doesn’t have to marry her, does he?”
“I don’t know. She is a fascinating woman. There is a witchery about her that is almost beyond belief. Lynne is a sick man; he has been a sick man for a long time.” ”

“ Nick got into his own car in silence, and said nothing at all until, with Chick and Patsy, he was in his own house, where he led the way at once to his study. Then——
“Lynne has asked me to take the case—or, rather, he has asked me to drive out there with him, and I have consented. I will tell you both, frankly, that I do not know what to make of Mr. J. Cephas Lynne. He puzzles me. He is, all at once, almost as interesting as the crime. ”

“ She hitched her chair forward, nearer to him.
“Put down your cigar,” she said to him. “It is nearly consumed, and you may begin another one presently.”
He obeyed her. She reached out and drew the taboret aside, and then brought her chair up close beside his, so that she could reach out and take one of his hands—which she did; and he made no effort to resist.
“You like the touch of my hands,” she said. It was not a question; it was an assertion.
“Certainly, madam. A man is less than a man who does not appreciate contact with a beautiful woman; and you are that, without question.” ”

“ Of that I am certain.”
“And no one saw him go out?”
“No, sir. I am the only person in the house who has seen Mr. Lynne at all to-day. I am his personal attendant, as you know. I wait upon him and look after his wants, and he has been so long accustomed to waiting upon himself that only his weakness from his recent illness permits that. He does not like to have any one else around him.”
“Yes, I have heard him say as much. Whose duty is it to attend to the door? How many servants are there in the house?”
“There are only four of us, sir: The housekeeper, the cook, the footman, and myself. ”

“ Ordinarily we stay with the detective or his assistants from the beginning to the end of the Nick Carter histories, detailing the events just as he discovered them and experienced them; but occasionally, for the best interests of a story, and in order that the one who reads may comprehend it the more clearly, we are compelled to look ahead into things which came to the detective’s knowledge later on. ”

“ I do not know what you mean.”
“The body of Miss Lynne is in the parlor of her own private suite of rooms; it is upon the divan couch, among the pillows, as if she had thrown herself there to rest. Her left arm extends along the top of the pillows; her right one hangs over the edge of the couch, and on the rug beneath the right hand there is an empty vial that has contained prussic acid. That is as much as I can tell you.”
“Suicide? Do you mean that she killed herself?”
“Appearances would point to such an answer, Mr. Lynne. Do you know of any reason why your daughter should have killed herself? ”