Carter

“ Colonel Carter—I beg pardon—General Carter is not only an officer but a gentleman; not one of those plebeian humbugs whom our ridiculous Democracy delights to call nature's gentlemen; but a gentleman born and bred—un échantillon de bonne race—a jet of pure old sangre azul. I, who am an old Knickerbocker—as I believe I had the honor to inform you—I delight to see such men put forward. Don't you, sir?"
The Doctor admitted with a polite smile that the promotion of General Carter gave him pleasure. ”

“ Carter always was at her best in a parlor and now her beauty shone resplendent, framed in black lace and pearls. Her gracious manner and bearing marked her as one whose natural place was in society. Her gift was social and it did seem a great waste that such a talent should have to be buried under the bushel of an overseer’s cottage in an out-of-the-way spot in the [47] country, with a once prosperous husband to do the chores and a maid-of-all-work, chosen because of her cheapness and not her worth. ”

“ Nick Carter threw up his spear in salute and strode to the middle of the arena.
A faint cheer arose from the packed seats of the common people. It was not very loud, because there was general awe of Calaman and his associates, but it had burst forth involuntarily.
Here was a man, for the first time in some fifty years, brave enough to accept the challenge of the Golden Scarab.
He was entitled to a cheer, and he got it. But there were few in that vast assemblage who expected to see the valiant American leave the place alive. ”

“ They were like machines, those switchboard girls, human, living, palpitating machines, each a connecting link for others in every phase of life, every calling and vocation, from the gilded mansions of exclusive society to the smoke-begrimed dives of the underworld. They are the servants of all, and, in a measure, the confidantes of all.
The girl who had caught Nick Carter’s eye was striking not alone because of her facial expression at that moment, but because of her remarkable grace and beauty. ”

“ Carter, I come to you in despair, a girl without friends or advisers, and who knows not whither to turn. I have been told that you have a kind heart, and that you are the one man able to solve the dreadful mystery which—"
Nick checked her pathetic flood of words with a kindly gesture.
"Calm yourself, Miss Page," said he, in a sort of paternal way. "Resume your chair, please. Though I am somewhat pressed for time just now I will give you at least a few moments."
"Oh, thank you, sir!"
"Be calm, however, in order that we may accomplish all the more."
"I will, sir." ”

“ At least, Honor isn't."
"Nor Jimsy. I sometimes think, Carter, that fellows of our type, yours and mine," he was not looking at him now, he was running his long fingers lazily through the hot and shining sand, "are apt to be a little contemptuous in our minds of his sort. Being rather long on brain, we fancy, we allow ourselves a scorn of the more or less unadorned brawn. And yet,—they're the salt of the earth, Carter; they're the cities set on hills. They do the world's red-blooded vital jobs while we—think. And Honor's not clever either; you know that, Carter. ”

“ Amidst this chaos of hollowness and unrest Carter tried to live as befitted a man of keen thought and good heritage. With his dreams fading under the ridicule of the age he could not believe in anything, but the love of harmony kept him close to the ways of his race and station. ”

“ Mr. Carter looked at his little daughter with a smile of extreme tenderness. He had taken flights on Pegasus himself in days gone by. He seldom mounted him now—the burden of making a living had almost made him forget that Pegasus was not a plough horse—not quite, however, [183] and now as his little girl stood in front of him, her hair all ruffled by her flight, her cheeks flushed and in her great brown eyes the shadow of her dream, he understood.
“It is still early in the morning, honey, for you—no doubt the aeroplane is Pegasus. ”

“ Carter felt his way along the rail, till his hand found a line that seemed, in the calm, to stream out of its own accord into the darkness. He hailed his boat, and directly heard the wash of water against her bows as she was hauled quickly under the counter. Then he loomed up shapeless on the rail, and the next moment disappeared as if he had fallen out of the universe. ”

“ He settled himself in the mid thwart of the surf-boat with the water on the floor flowing merrily in and out of his pipe-clayed shoes. Whatever a white man may feel, he always assumes coolness and indifference before the black, and Carter picked up the instinct of his race. ”

“ The pair of them charged up the veranda steps, Carter in the lead, with the twelve-bore held ready for an instant discharge. The Krooboy with matchet uplifted and teeth at the snarl looked the very picture of savage desperation and ferocity. They stepped into the empty mess-room and lit matches and a lamp. The land breeze sang through the bamboo walls, and Carter's home-made punkah swished overhead to the unseen impulse of the water wheel; but of quick human life, there was not a trace. ”

“ He pushed aside two or three of the soldiers, and the next minute had his paws on Nick Carter’s shoulders and was licking his face.
It was Captain!
“All right, old man!” exclaimed Nick. “I know you mean well, but keep away from my cheek, will you? Down, Captain!”
The great bloodhound dropped to the sand at once, while the detective patted his head with an affection that Captain understood even better than words.
“Look, chief!” cried Patsy Garvan. “They are setting all the prisoners free!” ”

“ Carter, and we purpose making its appearance an occasion for some observations upon that extraordinary person, whose various and astonishing learning and genius, exhibited in speculation, and affairs, and wit—the small arms of his controversy, as terrible as the artillery of his logic—and really gentle and altogether noble nature, present a spectacle which, redeemed from sectarian prejudice and perverse historical misrepresentation, challenges in the most eminent degree the admiration of mankind. ”

“ Gee! When it comes to the fresh-laundried diplomatic game, with the honeyed words and eagle eye, you can count me in as standing on the pedestal, with both feet pressed down into the granite. Say, ‘Tact’ is my maiden name!”
“I’m glad to hear it,” smiled Nick Carter. “Because that is the quality I expect you to use. Still, there might be a fight, too. I hope you are not opposed to a scrap, if one should turn up.”
This was too much for Patsy. He could not reply. ”

“ But Nick Carter quickly reassured her, and his cheery tones acted like a stimulant, as he called out:
“Don’t be afraid, and be ready! Leave your father to me! We must get out by the roof. There is no other way. The firemen are up there. They’ll soon break through with their axes. Don’t you hear them hammering on the trapdoor?”
“No,” she cried. “It isn’t the firemen. It’s Howard—Mr. Milmarsh! He can’t open that trap! Oh, can’t we help? Can’t we do something?” ”

“ Carter. But now you must not dream. I say again I love you! It is so easy to say that to you now. Say you love me!
Fair (quietly and with an effort at calmness) . Of course, I love you, Carter. You are my cousin, my kinsman, my own dear friend. Why, ever since I can remember I have loved you. But—but—such love as this you ask for now—Oh, Carter, can't you see—I cannot love you in that way.
Carter. But you can learn. Oh, surely, you can learn to love me! I've loved you for so long! It won't be hard to show you how that love can grow. ”

“ As for disliking you, Mr. Carter, that is absurd. I bear you no ill will for the part you played in that Maybrick affair. I was not seriously involved in it. I always make it a point not to lay myself liable.”
“To the law, you mean?”
“To the law—certainly,” she bluntly admitted. “What else would I mean? I’ll keep out of the grabnet of the law, Mr. Carter, you can safely bet on that.”
Nick wondered whether it was true, or only a bluff designed to dispel his suspicions. He had followed her into an attractively furnished parlor, where he instantly detected the odor of cigarette smoke. ”

“ Carter,” said the girl. “But my mother does not want to leave New York just yet. She does not go out much, but she likes to be near the bustle of this big city. It is just a notion, but it is insistent, too. I do not care to leave her, although she would not mind, for both she and I are used to traveling alone.”
“You will be safer here, with your mother,” returned the detective. “So long as I have Phillips to give me a hint now and then, I shall be able to act the part of your cousin satisfactorily, I am sure. ”

“ Thirty-six hours later Carter, alone with Lingard in the cabin of the brig, could almost feel during a pause in his talk the oppressive, the breathless peace of the Shallows awaiting another sunset.
"I never expected to see any of you alive," Carter began in his easy tone, but with much less carelessness in his bearing as though his days of responsibility amongst the Shoals of the Shore of Refuge had matured his view of the external world and of his own place therein. ”

“ Carter, and detectives,” said Nick Carter’s visitor. “By that I mean that only half of them are worthy of the name. Half of the remainder are mediocre, and only one in a hundred of the rest is really keen and clever. You, Mr. Carter, are the recognized man of last resort. When all others have failed, it is to you that the harrowed victim of crookdom turns for aid, as the only man in Christendom who can ferret out the truth and round up the guilty. That, sir, is why I am here.” ”

“ Carter goes to door and bends down, listening. Gordon pushes aside the mattress and begins to claw the bricks with his fingers.
Carter. All's quiet. He does not always come. Here, your hands are bleeding. ”

“ Clarice’s right hand passed over her eyes, and she stared at the idol curiously. Then she looked around, and Nick Carter saw that her gaze was normal. She seemed to be quite her usual self. He stepped forward and spoke to her.
“Taking a close view of that statue, Miss Bentham?”
“Yes, Doctor Hodgson! It is a wonderful piece of work, isn’t it? And no one can tell how old it is. That sapphire in its forehead attracted me, and I felt as if I must look at it from the ladder. You have to allow for feminine curiosity, you know,” she laughed. ”

“ Nick Carter put a friendly hand on his assistant’s shoulder.
“Of course you believe in me, Chick,” he smiled. “And I believe in myself. Still, shooting is not an exact science, after all. But I’ll do the best I can, and I hope I shall make a good, clean shot.”
“If you should miss, I’ll plug that priest before he can say ‘Git up!’ to his mule,” announced Patsy Garvan. ”

“ Sitting at table with her white blouse tucked in at the neck for coolness, she had never looked prettier. But granting these attributes of her changed condition, a keen observer would have missed that gentle brooding, ripe fruit of content which exhales from the perfectly mated woman. As, time and again, her glance touched Carter, sitting opposite, she would sigh, ever so gently, yet sigh; the direction of her glance told also that her discontent was associated in some way with his shirt-sleeves, rolled to the elbow, and his original methods in the use of his knife and fork. ”

“ A second sign followed, and from his well-learned lore Carter knew that he was at last very close to the Ultimate Gate. The light now changed to another inexplicable color, and the shapes on the quasi-hexagonal pedestals became more clearly defined. As they sat more erect, their outlines became more like those of men, though Carter knew that they could not be men. ”

“ Calaman glanced at the millionaire with a scowl that promised no good to that impetuous gentleman. Then he turned again to Nick Carter, with a cunning smile, as he fingered his long gray beard.
“I know I made some such promise,” he purred, smiling. “And, behold, I am keeping my word to the letter. I promised you free entrance to the city—and you are here. I promised to entertain you as my guests, and I sent you food and wine and the choicest tobacco to smoke.”
“That’s true enough,” muttered Jefferson. “He’s as cunning as a rat. ”

“ He came forward, with a smile, to meet Nick Carter, explaining heartily:
“Glad to see you, Carter. It is all of two months since I have set eyes on you.”
“So am I glad to see you! Yet I would not be here if it were not that business made it necessary.”
“Business, eh?”
“Yes.”
“You are the greatest fellow to have your hands full of business I ever saw. Well, what is it this time?”
“I’ve got something here that I want you to look at.”
“Let’s see it.”
Nick took out the paper that was spotted with blood.
This he quietly handed to the professor, saying:
“Take a look at that through the microscope.” ”

“ Rohan’s hands fell at the same moment. As quick as a flash, in the hundredth part of a second, he snapped handcuffs on the wrists of the recreant army officer. Then he arose, sweeping off his disguise and saying sternly:
“Let the plans lie there, Captain Dillon.”
“Oh, my God!” Dillon fell back with a terrible cry. “Nick Carter!”
“Yes. Let them lie. I had Mr. Garland get them for me from his department this morning. They are not the plans you stole and lost, but they have served my purpose. You are under arrest, Captain Dillon, as a traitor to your country and a conspirator with foreign spies.” ”

“ Carter,” bowed the chauffeur, taking the chair to which the detective waved him. “I will overlook nothing, sir.”
“To begin with, then, have you told any person about the intentions of your employer, or why you were going to Boston?”
“Not one word, sir,” said Gilbert. “I was for two years in the chorus with Miss Royal, now Lady Waldmere, and I have always felt a very sincere regard for her. I would cut out my tongue, or lose a hand, rather than harm her in any way.”
“I believe you,” said Nick. “Tell me, now, just what you did after arriving in Boston. Omit nothing of importance.” ”