Ralph Boston

“ Owen Sheridan’s first impulse was to burst into the room. The mere voice of Jake Hines was like a challenge to him, filling him with suspicion and indignation. But in his work as a post-office inspector, discretion and caution were rapidly becoming habitual with him, and he waited quietly to learn what new rôle was being enacted by the young politician beyond the door.
“I tell you, Dallas,” Hines was saying, “it’s the only chance of savin’ your brother from goin’ to jail. If you’re the right kind of a sister, you won’t hesitate for a minute. ”

“ Patsy jumped from behind Nick’s desk as the detective and Chick entered the room, and it was obvious that the enthusiastic second assistant had been about to write a report for his chief when he was interrupted.
He had thrown his hat on a chair, taken off his coat, rolled up his shirt sleeves, and thrust the fingers of his left hand through his hair, as a preparation for literary labor. Writing was one of the occupations that he seldom took up by choice. ”

“ There was a large leather chair near the open fireplace, so heavy that it was not easily moved, and which obviously was meant for use as a lounging nest in which one could luxuriate in laziness at the fire. Behind this chair Chick squeezed himself just as the window opened, with a creak, behind the curtains.
He was not surprised when the man who came into the room proved to be Professor Tolo. The intruder carried a large pocket flash lamp, and his first action was to throw the light all about the room. ”

“ So he shut off his flash and walked thoughtfully across the road to his waiting taxi.
“I knew it was the work of the crossed-needles gang, anyhow,” he reflected. “That fellow was only a look-out. The Yellow Tong has hundreds of such men in New York—fellows who do not understand what they are doing for the organization, or why. He was told to watch Anderton’s house, of course, and to report if the murderers of my poor friend were interfered with. Poor Anderton! He was too good a man to be done to death in that ghastly fashion.” ”

“ And his man, too! I’ll have a reckoning with both of them in due time. They’ll find out that the crossed needles can reach anybody!”
Hurriedly he thrust the jade book, as he called it, back into his pocket, and opening one of the big volumes he had taken from the bookcase, seemed to be deeply absorbed in reading. In fact, he was so taken up with it that he did not heed a racket at the door, when somebody outside pushed it against the overturned chair.
It was not until Nick Carter had forced his way in, and Chick was picking up the chair, that he turned, with a far-away expression, and smiled. ”

“ Nick Carter continued his stroll toward downtown, in the hope of deceiving the watcher, whoever he might be. Then, swinging around, he ran back. So sudden was this move, that he actually got to the railings and found himself close to the eavesdropper before the latter had time to get away.
As the detective reached the spot, he turned on a strong white light from his electric flash lamp, full on the lurking figure inside the park.
He saw a man in the blue blouse, loose trousers, and felt-soled slippers of an ordinary Chinese laundryman. But he could not see the man’s face. ”

“ I know that part of the avenue pretty well, and I made for a vacant lot with boards built up around it. There’s one loose board that I’d noticed when I was past there last week, and it had struck me then that it would be handy if a fellow happened to want to hide.”
“That’s right, Patsy!” commended Nick. “A good detective is always careful to take note of everything. The most unimportant things—or things that seem unimportant—may mean a great deal at some other time.”
“Exactly the way I’d figured it,” said Patsy, his freckled face flushing with pleasure at his chief’s words. ”

“ It is quite natural for a human being to pass away when two poisoned needles are in his heart,” he added, in a thoughtful tone.
“That’s good logic, Nick,” admitted the doctor, with a slight smile. “But it wouldn’t do. In cases of sudden death, there must be an inquiry by the proper officer. But I can keep the crossed needles out of sight. I will cause the inquest to be entirely perfunctory, by certifying that poor Anderton came to his death at the hands of some person or persons unknown, without going too much into details. ”

“ It was one of Nick Carter’s precautions—which he also advised his assistants to observe—not to mention his address to strangers. It was better, he held, to get near the house, and then point it out to anybody to whom it was necessary to show it.
“All right,” grunted the chauffeur. “Can you open the door yourself? You don’t want me to get down, do you?”
“Of course not. I’m able to get into a cab without help,” replied Chick, with a smile. ”

“ Owen muttered to himself, with a mirthless laugh, as he left the post office, and proceeded to the residence of the Reverend Doctor Moore. “A man ought to believe in the girl he loves, no matter who else he has to doubt in order to do so; yet here I am giving the preference to Pop Andrews, refusing to believe that there’s any possibility of his being a liar and a thief, when I know very well that either that must be the case, or else Dallas must be guilty.” ”

“ His earlier trip with Nick Carter told him there was some adventure promised, but he said nothing about that.
It seemed to Chick hardly any time before he was out of the taxicab, within a block of the laundry of Sun Jin, which was so enshrouded in darkness that only the gleam of a distant street arc light enabled him to make it out at all.
“Stay here, Mike,” he directed, in a low tone. “When I want you, I’ll give you a signal of some kind.” ”

“ It was well for Chick that he was in deep shadow, or he must have been discovered, for the Chinaman looked all about him, even to placing his hand on the back of the big leather chair. Chick drew back, and was able only just to hide himself.
The Chinaman moved on toward the window, without seeing Chick. On the other hand, Chick had had a clear view of the fellow’s face, and as he placed his hand on the automatic pistol in his pocket, he murmured excitedly:
“That’s the man. He’s the chink with the scar on his ear, and his finger is still tied up in the white bandage. ”

“ Even that poor Brand Jamieson, who got the crossed needles, too, was slammed with a sandbag first of all.”
Chick’s head cleared in the course of a few minutes, and he was able to review the situation in some sort of orderly fashion.
“After all,” he reflected, “it isn’t so bad. The chief wanted to find that fellow with the scarred ear and burned finger. Now I know where he hails from, because Patsy gave us a tip. Patsy knew the name over that laundry was Sun Jin, and that’s what I heard the Jap call the chink I had on the floor. It all fits together like an easy jigsaw puzzle.” ”

“ He, too, glanced toward Dallas. “I’ve got five thousand dollars in bills in my pocket, Sheridan. That money’d come in mighty useful to Miss Worthington just now. It would save her brother from a long term in jail. I’ll hand it over to her if you’ll let me walk out of that door alone. Is it a bargain?”
“It is not,” said Dallas, before the post-office inspector could answer. “You’ve got to do your duty, Owen. Don’t listen to any proposal.” ”

“ He recognized Chick at once.
“W’y, Mr. Carter! Is there anything else wrong?”
“Not that I know of,” replied Chick, as he pushed his way in and closed the door. “But I want to go up to Mr. Anderton’s study again. Don’t say a word to anybody.”
“Do you mean you’re going to find out who murdered Mr. Anderton?”
“I’m trying to do so. You can go to bed again. I will stay up in that room for the rest of the night. Mr. Anderton has some valuable things there, and if a man could get in to kill him, there is nothing to prevent his coming back if he wants to. Don’t ask any more questions, please, Ruggins. ”

“ Now that my friend Anderton is dead, I suppose I shall have to take the responsibility of handling these records.”
“And the danger,” said Nick gravely.
“You mean from the Yellow Tong?”
“Yes, and particularly from Sang Tu. By the way, do you happen to know a certain Professor Tolo, a Japanese?”
“I never met him, but I have heard of him. He has not been in New York long. I hear that he is a very able man, and that his knowledge of the whole Orient is regarded as wonderful. Do you know anything about him?”
“I have seen him,” replied Nick carelessly. “Well, I won’t stay any longer, professor. ”

“ These fastenings were heavy and of modern pattern. But Nick Carter smiled sadly, as he reflected how easy it would be for a professional cracksman to negotiate them. A thin-bladed knife would be the only tool required. The fellow who had murdered Anderton may not have been a professional burglar, but assuredly he would be ingenious enough to get one of these windows open, and close it again when he had finished his work.
The detective, flash lamp in hand, stepped out on the balcony. The floor was of painted steel, and solid. ”

“ I don’t know whether I can make a good Chinaman of myself.”
“It isn’t necessary,” answered Nick Carter. “A Chinese disguise is always difficult, especially when you want to deceive Chinamen with it. They are very likely to see through it, unless you are in a rather dark place. You can put on a rather shabby suit of clothes of a sporting cut, and wear a soft hat pulled well down—the sort of hat most young men are wearing just now. The idea is that you are a gangster, and are used to going among Chinamen.”
“I get you,” interrupted Patsy. ”

“ I have those crossed needles locked up in my laboratory now.”
“You’ve examined them, haven’t you?” asked Nick Carter.
“Of course. They are poisoned. Not that that is necessary,” replied the doctor. “When an inch of steel pierces the heart in two places, it is quite likely to prove fatal, without introducing poison. Still, the poison hurries the crime. Of course, when a victim dies on the instant, as he does with these needles, it may save the murderer some inconvenience. Poor Anderton! ”

“ He is a member of several scientific associations, a wealthy New Yorker, and he has the confidence of the United States government. He has done notable work in China for Washington, and I have no doubt he has submitted a valuable report to the department of state, with papers to verify it, that no other man could have given to it. It is because he is so well informed a man that he has been cut off by the Yellow Tong. There can be no doubt about that.”
“Not the slightest,” assented Nick Carter. “By the way, can you have this room fastened up, so that there is no danger of anybody disturbing it? ”

“ Sun Jin, the man with the scars, and another chink.”
“And who is the third?” asked Nick Carter.
“Professor Tolo, of course. I tell you, chief, that Jap is one of the worst citizens I ever saw out of jail. He’s going to get us all if we don’t watch out.”
“Is he?” came grimly from the great detective. “I think not. The electric chair will get him.”
“It ought to, I believe. But he’s smart enough not to do his own job. He never has anything to do with the actual use of the crossed needles, and he is smart enough to make it hard to bring anything definite against him.” ”

“ It would be hard to express in ordinary words the wave of relief that surged through Nick Carter as he knelt by the side of Chick, and, looking closely at the sleeve of his coat, saw that the crossed needles had not gone in far.
“They haven’t reached his flesh, I’m sure,” murmured Nick. “They only just catch in the cloth. ”

“ The caretaker had a right to throw you out if he thought you were a burglar, and, naturally, if he had any friends with him, they would help. We can’t break in, unless we want [Pg 21] to bring the police. I am glad he didn’t call the police, as it was.”
“Do you think he would dare do that?” asked Chick significantly.
“No,” was Nick Carter’s slow reply. “I don’t think he wants the police to get into that house. That is where, I think, we have them.”
“You mean——”
“I mean that I am convinced the murderer of Andrew Anderton came in from that house. But we can’t do anything more now. ”

“ Miss Worthington could explain that. I feel confident that she could. Why don’t you go to Chicago on the very next train and ask her, Inspector Sheridan? I wouldn’t lose any time in clearing this thing up if I were you.”
“But suppose I ask her, and she admits——”
“Bah!” interrupted the lawyer impatiently; “shame on you for an unworthy lover! I’m willing to wager everything I’ve got that that little girl won’t admit to you that she’s a thief—because she won’t have to.”
His confident air was infectious. “Thank you!” said Owen. “You’re quite right, of course. Dallas couldn’t be a thief! ”

“ It is the picked men from his ranks who constitute the imperial guard, a body of the finest type of fighters, whom the czar can trust when he can trust no one else around him. These Cossack soldiers have been the greatest terror with which Russia has been able to threaten Europe. They have been the empire’s most efficient internal police, and they have marched eastward to the Pacific and southward to the zones of British influence, conquering for the czar a vast domain. ”

“ He had been lucky enough to conserve health and wisdom all in one operation.
“My explanation of how I know about the letter is very simple,” replied the detective. “I had that letter mailed myself. It was written only a few minutes before his death last night.”
“To think that Anderton should die of heart failure,” exclaimed Bentham. “Why, I can hardly believe it. Think of the altitudes to which he climbed in the Himalayas, Carter. No man with a weak heart could stand such a cold and rare atmosphere as you get up there. ”

“ 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. We give herewith a list of some of the back numbers in print. You can have your news dealer order them, or they will be sent direct by the publishers to any address upon receipt of the price in money or postage stamps. ”

“ This brought him almost level with Nick, standing on the balcony, and not more than ten feet away, for the window was almost at the corner of the Anderton house.
“Careful, Chick!” whispered Nick. “Better drop your ladder into the other yard and go down that way.”
“All right! Then what am I to do?”
There was a short pause, while Nick Carter considered his next move. Then he said quietly:
“If there is a ladder, or plank, push it up to the top of the fence. I want to see whether it could have been used as a bridge to get to this balcony from the yard. Do you begin to see what I’m driving at?” ”

“ This taxi driver was a man who often was employed by Nick Carter, and who never made any comment on what he might see or hear. The detective had many such assistants about New York. More than once this particular driver had helped him out of a tight place, by putting on speed, without asking questions, and without delay. Incidentally, it may be explained that he was always well paid for his services.
Once in his own comfortable library on the second floor of his Madison Avenue home, Carter told his principal assistant, Chick, to give him volume ten of the “International Records.” ”

“ Chick knew the house so well that he could have gone down the stairs in darkness and let himself out without a sound. But there was a light in the hall, which was always kept burning all night, and it enabled Chick to get out that much easier.
“Well, I did that without disturbing anybody,” he murmured. “Now for a taxi and the laundry uptown. If I can only find Mike Donovan at his usual stand in Thirty- [Pg 25] fourth Street, I shall have somebody to help me if I should need him. Mike is a good man.”
He referred to a certain taxicab chauffeur whom he and Nick Carter both employed frequently. ”

“ She has an idea he is the greatest ever, and he can make her do anything. I heard some of the other maids talking about Ruggins and Amelia going to be married next spring.”
Nick Carter smiled at this story of romance, which he regarded as a lucky thing, if it would have the effect of keeping the maid from talking. But he made no comment. He only asked Chick how he had found out about the house next door.
“Ruggins told me,” replied Chick. “Oh, yes. And he said something else. There is a tall Japanese professor, who used to visit there sometimes.” ”