A WOMAN AT BAY

OR

A Fiend in Skirts

BY NICHOLAS CARTER

Author of "Out of Crime's Depths, " "Reaping the Whirlwind, " "An ArtfulSchemer, " etc. 

[Illustration]

STREET & SMITH CORPORATIONPUBLISHERS79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York

Copyright, 1907By STREET & SMITH

A Woman at Bay

All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreignlanguages, including the Scandinavian. 

Printed in the U. S. A. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I THE KING OF THE YEGGMEN. 5II THE YEGGMEN'S CAMP FIRE. 22III THE "KING'S" LIEUTENANT. 31IV THE OUTLAW'S HOME. 40V NICK'S WONDERFUL STRENGTH. 49VI NICK CARTER ROBS A BANK. 67VII THE DETECTIVE'S PREDICAMENT. 76VIII THE DETECTIVES FACE A CRISIS. 94IX THE ESCAPE FROM THE SWAMP. 104X ESCAPE OF THE HOBO QUEEN. 114XI PATSY'S DANGEROUS MISSION. 121XII BILL TURNER, THE WOODSMAN. 128XIII BLACK MADGE'S LIEUTENANT. 146XIV BLACK MADGE GIVES JUDGMENT. 165XV NICK'S CLEVEREST CAPTURE. 182XVI NICK MAKES BAD MEDICINE. 201XVII A WHOLESALE ROUND-UP. 210XVIII BLACK MADGE'S THREAT. 218XIX THE BAND OF HATRED. 226XX A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS. 241XXI CURLY JOHN, THE BANK THIEF. 249XXII AT MIKE GRINNEL'S DIVE. 257XXIII BLACK MADGE'S DEFIANCE. 266XXIV THE FLIGHT THROUGH THE CELLAR. 275XXV THE MAN IN THE BED. 284XXVI THE CRIMINAL'S COMPACT. 294XXVII THE GLARE OF A MATCH. 303XXVIII BLACK MADGE CAUGHT IN A TRAP. 311

A WOMAN AT BAY. 

CHAPTER I. 

THE KING OF THE YEGGMEN. 

Four men were seated around a camp fire made of old railroad ties, overwhich a kettle was boiling merrily, where it hung from an improvisedcrane above the blaze. 

Around, on the ground, were scattered a various assortment of tin cans, some of which had been hammered more or less straight to serve forplates, and it was evident from the general appearance of things aroundthe camp that a meal had just been disposed of, and that the four menwho had consumed it were now determined to make themselves ascomfortable as possible. The kettle that boiled over the fire containednothing but water--water with which one of the four men had jocularlysaid he intended to bathe. 

These four men were about as rough-looking specimens of humanity as canbe imagined. Not one of them had been shaved in so long a time thattheir faces were covered with a hairy growth which suggested fullbeards; indeed, their faces looked as if the only shaving they had everreceived, or rather the nearest approach to a shave, had been done by apair of scissors, cropping the hair as closely as possible. 

The camp they had made was located just inside the edge of a woodthrough which a railway had been built, and it was down in a hollowbeside a brook, so that the light of their fire was effectually screenedfrom view, save that the glow of it shone fitfully upon the droopingleaves over their heads. 

The four men were tramps--hoboes, or yeggmen, of the most pronouncedtypes, if their appearance went for anything at all. 

Their conversation was couched entirely in the slang of their order; atalk that is almost unintelligible to outsiders. 

But, strangely enough, the four men were not hoboes at all; neither werethey yeggmen; and the lingo they talked so glibly among themselves, although perfect in its enunciation, and in the words that were used, was entirely assumed. 

For those four men were Nick Carter, the New York detective, and histhree assistants, Chick, Patsy, and Ten-Ichi, a Japanese. 

The president of the E. & S.  W. R.  R. Co. Had sent for Nick Carter aweek before this particular evening, and as soon as he and the detectivewere alone together in the president's private room, he had opened theconversation abruptly with this question:

"Carter, have you ever happened to hear of a character known as HoboHarry, the Hobo King?"

"I have, " replied the detective. "I have heard about him in a vague sortof way. I have no particular information about him, if that is what youmean. "

"No; I merely wished to know if you were aware that there is such acharacter. "

"Yes. I have heard of the fellow. "

"Do you know what he is?"

"A yeggman, isn't he?"

"He is the king of all the yeggmen. He is the master mind, thecontrolling spirit of all the outlawry and lawlessness that goes on fromone end of our big railroad system to the other. Hobo Harry costs us, inround numbers, anywhere from three to ten thousand dollars a month. "

"Really?" asked the detective, smiling. 

"Yes--really. This is no joke. There isn't a bit of thievery, howeverpetty it may be, or a scheme of robbery, however grand and great, whichthey do not turn their hands to under the guidance of Hobo Harry--and wehave about got to the end of our patience. "

"I suppose, " said Nick, "that all this means that you want me to findHobo Harry for you. Is that the idea?"

"That is precisely the idea. Do you suppose you can do it?"

"I can, at least, make the effort. "

"I should tell you one thing before you become too sanguine. "

"Well, what is it?"

"Hobo Harry is largely a mystery. There are those--detectives, Imean--who insist that he does not exist at all, save in imagination. "

Nick nodded. 

"They say that he is only a figurehead; that he is only a name; that heis in reality an imperceptible, intangible idol, whom hoboes worship, and to whom they refer as their common leader, while, in reality, thereis no real leader at all. "

"It is possible that they are correct in that idea, " said the detectiveslowly. 

"It is possible, but it is not likely. There is too much system abouttheir operations. I am at the head of a great system, and I know howsuch things are done. I am confident that the operations of thesethieves--these yeggmen--could not have been carried on so successfully, and so systematically, without a head--a chief; and so I, for one, believe thoroughly in the existence of Hobo Harry. "

"Well?" asked the detective. "What does all this lead to?"

"I am coming to that. I have had every railroad detective in my employsearching for Hobo Harry for months--I might say for almost a year, andwithout success. I have employed two of the largest and best--socalled--detective agencies in the country to assist me. The result hasin every case been the same. "

"What were the results?"

"There have been any number of hoboes and yeggmen arrested; many of themhave been sent to prison; some of them have gone up for long terms; wehave proved the cases of robberies against them often enough--but thepoint is, that the robberies have gone merrily on afterward, just thesame. "

"Go on, " said the detective, nodding his head. 

"Eight separate times we have had, as we supposed, Hobo Harry himself inour clutches. Each of those eight separate times the prisoner who wassupposed to be Hobo Harry has confessed that he was that individual, and----"

"And so you have arrested eight Hobo Harrys, eh?"

"That is about the size of it. But the point is----"

"The point is that not one of the eight was really Hobo Harry. "

"Exactly. "

"Very good. Go ahead with your story. "

"In each case, after the arrest, as we supposed, of Hobo Harry himself, the robberies and thefts along the line have received an impetus; theyhave increased in number, and in volume--and also in seriousness. Theseyeggmen do not confine themselves to breaking into freight cars andstations along the line of the road. They burglarize post offices, andeven country banks. They pillage houses. They turn their hands andtheir talents to anything and everything where there is hope of rewardfor them. The thing has got beyond endurance. "

"Well?"

"We want you, Carter, to find Hobo Harry himself--if you can. "

"Well?"

"The matter was discussed thoroughly at a meeting of our board ofdirectors yesterday, and it was determined at that meeting that if youcould find Hobo Harry and arrest him, and, having arrested him, couldconvict him and send him to prison, and, having done that, could proveto our entire satisfaction that the man is Hobo Harry, your reward willbe fifty thousand dollars, spot cash. Only, you must understand, we mustbe certain that your man is the real article. "

"Hobo Harry, the King of the Beggars, eh?"

"Yes. Beggars, you know, is supposed to be the name of theirorganization. "

The detective nodded. 

"Will you take the case, Carter?"

"I suppose so--if there isn't a time limit set upon it. "

"You may take your own time; that is, of course, if it is not too long. "

"It will require some time to do the thing thoroughly. "

"I suppose so. Well, have it your own way; only succeed. That is all therailroad people desire--success. "

"I will get your man; only I won't promise to do it in a day, or a week, or a month. I won't set a time. "

"All right. You shall be your own master in the case. "

"I will have to be that--absolutely. After I leave this office, when myinterview with you is finished, you will not see me again until I havegot Hobo Harry in my clutches. You will not communicate with me, orattempt to do so, and I will not communicate with you. "

"That is a little hard, isn't it, Carter? We would like to know, fromtime to time, how you are getting on, and what you are doing. "

"That is precisely what you will not do. "

"All right. Have it your own way. But what about the other men that arenow on the case, Carter?"

"Leave them on it. Add more of them. Appear to increase your vigilancein other quarters. If there are fifty detectives on the case now, addfifty more if you wish. I would prefer that you should do so rather thannot. The more the better. "

"But suppose that one of them should nab the real Hobo Harry while youare seeking him. You would lose the reward. "

"I will take my chances about that. The point is that I must workabsolutely independent of all others who are on the case, and thatnobody outside of yourself and the board of directors of your companymust know that my services have been called into the matter. Will youagree to that?"

"Certainly. "

"Increase your vigilance on every side, if you can. If you do so, youwill assist me. "

"I suppose, " said the president slowly, "that it is your plan to becomea yeggman yourself, in pursuing this case. "

"It does not matter how I may accomplish it, does it?"

"No; I was merely going to say that that very thing has been tried fourseparate times; once with more or less success. But I ought to warn youthat two of the four who attempted it lost their lives; a third is acripple for life, minus a leg; and only the fourth, who ended byarresting the wrong man, after all, had any degree of success. And nowhe is frightened almost into imbecility, for his life has been swornaway by the yeggmen, and he expects to be murdered every time he goesout alone. "

"All the same, " said the detective, "that will not deter me. "

"You will want money for your expenses, Carter. If you will tell me howmuch----"

"I will present my bill of expenses along with my demand for the fiftythousand dollars reward, " the detective interrupted quietly. 

By more closely questioning the president of the railroad, Nick learnedthat the depredations and robberies committed by Hobo Harry's gang hadbeen remarkable in their extent and thoroughness; and that every effortto break up the gang had been in vain. 

Whenever one of the yeggmen was arrested and sent to prison, two newones, even more proficient in their thievery, seemed ready to spring upin his place; and so the thing had gone on and on until the people whohad been robbed so often became desperate. 

And then it was determined to call Nick Carter into the case. 

Of Hobo Harry himself, nothing whatever was known beyond the fact thatthere was such a character, and that he was the head and front of thehobo gang--their chief, to whom absolute and implicit obedience wasaccorded. His power over them seemed absolute. 

Whether it was because of fear of him, or for love of him, it was, nevertheless, true that not one of the fraternity of hoboes who had beenarrested could be prevailed upon to betray the master. Neither threatsnor offers of bribery had any effect upon them. 

Hobo Harry remained as entirely in the dark as ever; and even in thecases of the eight men to whom the president of the railroad hadreferred as having confessed that each of them was Hobo Harryhimself--they had each seemed to get a queer sort of enjoyment inposing, even for a time, as their dreaded chief. 

As the president explained to Nick, there were many among the detectiveswho had been detailed upon the case who insisted that there was no suchperson as Hobo Harry. It was their belief that the name was merely afictitious one, to which the hoboes, one and all, had agreed to giveobedience. 

But the president of the railroad did not believe this; neither did thedetective. The completeness of the organization of the gang was asufficient negative to such a statement. To have a perfect organizationthere must be a chief; a head; a ruling power. 

By investigating the case a little further before actually starting outupon it, Nick discovered that the yeggmen had carried their depredationseven into whole villages. In one town--Calamont--the place had beenliterally gutted in a single night. 

The yeggmen had descended upon it in such numbers that the inhabitantswere terrified, and could only protect themselves by barricading theirdoors, and remaining with their guns and other weapons in their hands, while they watched the looting of their bank and post office. And therehad been other occasions as bad as that one. 

Sometimes the yeggmen traveled in small groups; sometimes they workedin twos or threes, but often they went about in large bands which hadbeen known to include as many as fifty or even more. 

Had the outrages been confined to one community the inhabitants wouldhave risen in their might and, by organizing vigilance committees, couldhave driven them out--possibly. But they were not confined tocommunities at all; they extended all along the line of the railroad, and the descent of the robbers seemed always to have been arranged farahead--and perfectly planned by a master mind at that. 

These descents always happened when it was known that there were largesums of money, either in the banks that were robbed, or when the postoffices that were broken open were better provided than usual with cash. 

At every place where there was a siding along the line of the railroad, freight cars had been broken open, and denuded of their contents; andthis often happened when there was one or more night watchmen on handfor the purpose of preventing that very thing. 

But in each case the watchman had been overpowered, and either beateninto insensibility or maimed--and in at least one instance--killed. 

And hence it was that the railroad company was willing to pay well forthe apprehension of the chief of these marauders. 

All of this information Nick Carter gleaned before he formed anydefinite plans for his campaign. 

Roughly speaking, there was a stretch of main line of the railroad overwhich, or rather along which, the yeggmen seemed to be most active. Thisprincipal thoroughfare for their nefarious trade was approximately fivehundred miles long; and it was here where the greatest and the mostpersistent outrages were committed. 

There were branches of the line, too, along which they worked; but offthe main line the organization seemed to lose some of its power forconcentration of force. 

After Nick had pieced together all the information that could be gleanedwithout being actually at the scene of the trouble, he called his threeassistants together in consultation with him. For he had determined tomake use of all of them in this case. Indeed, that was the only methodby which he believed that he could entirely succeed at it. 

To them he related the circumstance of his connection with the case, after which he told them all he had been able to learn about it; and inconclusion he said:

"Now, lads, there is only one way by which we can hope to succeed inthis undertaking, and that is, we must become hoboes ourselves. "

The three nodded almost in unison. 

"If we decide to do that, " continued the detective, "we must do itthoroughly. We must do as General Grant did when he decided, against thewishes of his generals, to invest Vicksburg--be cut off from his base ofsupplies; and that is what we must do. "

"I don't think I understand exactly what you mean, " said Patsy, who waspaying close attention; for Patsy liked the plan inconceivably. 

"I mean, " replied Nick, "that when we start out to become hoboes, wemust become so in fact, and not in appearance merely. It is easy enoughfor any one of us to make ourself up as a tramp, or a hobo, or even ayeggman, and to play the part; but in this case we must do more thanthat: We must be the part. "

"But that 'base of supplies' business--what do you mean by that?"insisted Patsy. 

"I mean that when we start out on this case, there will be no returninghere until we have lodged Hobo Harry behind the bars. We are going tolive as hoboes, and do as hoboes do, carrying out a real robbery or so, on our own hooks, taking care, of course, that one or more of the realarticle shall know about it. "

"And taking care also, " interjected Chick, "that we keep track of whatwe steal, so that it, or its value, may be returned to the owners lateron. "

"Of course, Chick; that goes without saying. Now, there is anotherthing. "

"What is that?"

"At the present time there are no less than fifty detectives, some fromPinkerton's, and some from other places, engaged upon this case. If weplay our parts as we should play them, we are bound to run into some ofthose chaps sooner or later. If we do that----"

"Well?" asked Patsy. 

"We must continue to play our cards to the end, no matter whathappens--even to the extent of being arrested, and possibly tried forthe offenses that have been committed. If one of us should get caught, he must play his part even then, for the protection of the others whoare still on their jobs; for if that one should confess himself adetective, the usefulness of the others would be past. "

"That is clear enough, " said Ten-Ichi. 

"It sure is, " said Patsy. "It isn't very pleasant, either. Although itwill be some fun to work on the opposite side of the fence for once. "

"How do you mean?" asked Ten-Ichi. 

"Why, we are always chasing down criminals, aren't we? Now we will havesome fun in letting others chase us while we play the criminal. Say, chief?"

"Well?"

"We will have a chance to learn a little about that other side of thefence. We will discover how it feels to be chased, instead of doing thechasing. "

"Yes, " said the detective; and Patsy turned then to Ten-Ichi. 

"I'll make you a bet, " he said. "I'll bet you anything you like, on thebasis of two to one, that I don't get nabbed while we are on this lay. "

"That's a go, " smiled Ten-Ichi, "for I think you will be the very firstone to go under. "

"How much do you want to bet?"

"Never mind the betting part of it, lads, " Nick interrupted them. "Thepoint is, that each of you is to do his utmost to carry out his part tothe end, no matter what happens. Now, if you please, all step this way. I have a map here that I wish to show you. "

He spread the map upon the table, and upon it he showed them the fivehundred miles of railway along which they were to work; and presently heput his finger upon the name of a town along the line, and he said:

"Here is a place called Calamont. It is, roughly speaking, two hundredand fifty miles from New York. Some time ago Calamont suffered greatlyby the descent of the hoboes upon it. It has not quite recovered fromthe effects of that time yet, although several months have elapsed sincethe occurrence. Do you see it, all of you?"

They admitted that they did. 

"Right here, " he continued, drawing his pencil with which he waspointing a little to the eastward, "is a patch of woods through whichthe railway runs. There are about twenty acres of woodland there, andthe road passes through the centre of it. "

They nodded, and he went on:

"To the south of the railroad, through the woods, is a swamp. It isalmost an impassable swamp, I am told. I will have more to say aboutthat part of it presently. Understand, do you?"

They did understand. 

"To the north of the tracks, through the woodland and beyond it, thecountry is hilly and almost mountainous. There is a limestone formationthere. There are deep ravines and gulches, high cliffs and precipices, and, although I stated in the first place that there is only abouttwenty acres in the woodland, I meant to say in that particular patch ofwoods to which I first drew your attention. "

"Yes, " said Chick. 

"As a matter of fact, the country all around this region is wild andunsettled. It is much too rough to settle, and there are woods andforests everywhere. Just beyond these woods, to the northward, theforest is almost unbroken for several miles, save that there is a narrowclearing to separate this particular bit of woods from those beyond it. "

"Well?" asked Chick, who was paying close attention. 

"To the south of the tracks it is almost the same, save that thecountry is flat and low. As a matter of fact, the railroad passes acrossthe spur which lies between the rough country to the north and the flat, swampy country to the south. 

"I have not been able to gain any very exact information about thoseswamps, but from the best opinions I can get, I should assume that it isa sort of another Dismal Swamp down there. Men and cattle, horses andsheep have been known to wander in there, and never return. Presumablythey were lost in the swamps or----"

"Or else eaten up by the yeggmen, " suggested Patsy. 

"Precisely. But it is a wild country. Now"--he rested one finger uponthe map--"right here at the point where my finger rests, two weeks fromto-morrow, at or near the hour of darkness, I will meet each of you. Youwill find me just north of the track; or, if any of you get there beforeI do, you will wait there for me, and for the others. Whoever arrivesfirst must build a fire. We part to-night, here, now. You must eachleave the house separately, and become lost to the world--you must eachbecome a hobo in the meantime, in your own particular way. Fixyourselves up as you please, and go where you please--only goseparately. And keep your appointment for two weeks from to-morrow. That's all. "

CHAPTER II. 

THE YEGGMEN'S CAMP FIRE. 

Each of the detective's three assistants understood thoroughly that NickCarter's reason for directing them to do as he did was that they mighteach have learned the parts they had to play thoroughly by the time theactual work of it should begin. 

And not only that, they would have had two weeks during which to wearoff the newness of habit and apparel; and by the time they arrived atthe place of meeting, each would have become sufficiently schooled inhis part to play it quite naturally. 

And there was still another reason which Nick hoped they would takeadvantage of, although he said nothing about it: That was that theywould make acquaintances among such of the ilk as they happened to meet. Such acquaintances might be of value later in the game. 

When Chick left the house, about two hours after the interview withNick, he had his traveling bag in his hand, and he went direct to therailway station, where he took a train for the West--for a city farbeyond the line of the road upon which Nick Carter's campaign was to beworked out. It was his intention to start from there. 

Ten-Ichi took his departure a little sooner than Chick, and he wasdressed as usual, also. Outside the house, on the curb, he stopped for afew moments, and appeared to be thinking; and then he started down thestreet on foot, and disappeared. 

Patsy was the last to go, except the chief himself, who was smilinglywatching these departures from an upper window of the house. He had saidno more than he did to them purposely, for he was curious to see howeach would go about it. He knew that each one of his assistants wasentirely proficient in his way, but he also knew that each had a way ofhis own for doing things. 

When Patsy left the house he also hesitated in front of it for a moment;and then he walked rapidly away up the street, and disappeared. 

And that was all that Nick cared to see; he wished to feel assured thateach had departed on his own hook, and that it was their intention towork singly. He had left the map for them to study in the library afterhe left them alone together, and he had no doubt that each would befully competent to find the place of appointment when the time shouldcome. 

He was the last to leave the house, of course. There were manydirections to give before he finally took his departure. Joseph had toknow how to account for his absence from home to those who might inquiretoo particularly about him; and the absence of the three assistants hadto be accounted for also. 

Having arranged that, and provided himself with everything which heregarded as needful, he selected one of his own disguises--one that hewas fond of, and which will appear more particularly later on, and withthat in a small satchel which he expected ultimately to rid himself of, he went out, and away also. 

And from that moment we will skip to the time of the opening paragraphsof this story, which was two weeks and one day later--to the time whenwe behold the camp fire made of railway ties, with the four hoboesgrouped around it, having enjoyed their evening meal and now ready tosmoke and rest; for if there is anything in the world which a hoboreally enjoys, it is rest. 

It was only a little bit after dark--and the night was not a dark one atthat. Already the moon was shining down upon the world. 

But around the immediate vicinity of the camp fire it seemed quite darkby contrast, and the light thrown back by the trunks of the treesrendered the scene a picturesque one. 

Nick Carter had purposely been the last one to arrive at the trystingplace, if such it may be termed; but he had been a close observer of thearrival of the others, nevertheless; and he accomplished that byarriving in the vicinity early in the day, and by later climbing amongthe boughs of one of the trees, from which perch he was enabled towatch the coming of his assistants. 

Patsy came first. His eagerness led him to do that, and Nick hadexpected it; and as the detective watched his youngest assistant he waspleased to see the manner in which he made his approach. 

Had Nick Carter, concealed in the boughs of the tree, been an enemy, instead of a friend, he could not have had one suspicion aroused byPatsy's manner. 

The young fellow was most disreputable in appearance. His hair, and itwas his own, too, he had managed to dye to brick-red hue. His face andhis hands were grimy, and there was a considerable growth of beard uponthe former. He wore good shoes--just out of a store, they appeared tobe, and he carried a string of three other pairs, equally new, in onehand. His coat was much too large for him, and he had turned the sleevesback at the wrists for convenience. His hat had once been a Stetson; ithad also quite evidently been a target for a shotgun. 

When Nick first spied him he was walking along the track, whistling; butdirectly opposite the place of meeting he stopped, and, after a moment, he dived quickly over the fence into the woods, and approached with carethe place which he finally selected for the fire. 

And there he scraped some dried boughs together, made his fire, broughtan old tie from the track to aid it, arranged his crane of green sticks, and, from a bundle that he carried slung upon one shoulder, he producedthe kettle, a package of meat, some bread, and other articles, withwhich he began the preparation of his supper. 

A little later a second figure appeared so suddenly out of the gatheringgloom that neither Patsy, at the fire, nor Nick, in the tree, had anyidea of its near approach. 

"Hello, pal!" he said gruffly; and Patsy wheeled like lightning, with agun already half drawn, to face him. 

"Hello yourself!" he growled, not too cordially, and eying the newcomersuspiciously. "Who are you lookin' for?"

The other came slowly forward without deigning to reply to this directquestion, and without so much as glancing again at Patsy; but he slunghis own bundle on the ground, and, after a moment, stalked away in thegathering darkness again. 

Presently he returned with another tie, which he dropped near the fire;and then he looked sullenly toward Patsy. 

"Share up, or chuck it alone?" he demanded, thrusting his hands deepinto his pockets. 

"What you got?"

"As much as you have, and as good as you have. "

"All right. I'm agreeable. Chuck it down. "

Half an hour later, when it was almost dark, a third one appeared. 

He was shorter and slimmer than the others, and the best dressed one ofthe three, although he was disreputable enough in all conscience. 

He came noisily over the fence from the track, and the two at the firecould hear him long before he reached them. But they made no move. Anybody who approached them with as much noise as that was not to bedreaded, it appeared. 

When he arrived within the circle of the firelight, he stopped andstrangely enough began to laugh; and he laughed on, boisterously, amazingly, in fact; he laughed until there were tears in his eyes, anduntil he had to hold to a sapling near him for support. 

"Aw, what's eatin' you?" called out one of the men from the fire. "Whatyou see that's so funny; must be in your own globes. Come along insideif you wants to, and don't stand there awakin' up the dead. "

"I ain't got any chuck of my own, " he called back to them. "I waslaughing to think how near I came to getting it--and didn't. "

"Well, there's enough here for three--'r four, for that matter. Come inand set down, pal. "

And it was not until the meal was cooked, and spread out upon all sortsof improvised arrangements, that the fourth member of the partyappeared--and he made his arrival in a most surprising manner. 

He dropped literally among them, seemingly from the clouds--or thetree--just as they were beginning to eat; and he squatted beside them, and, reaching out without a word, helped himself to a hunk of thetoasted meat, which he began to tear viciously with his teeth. 

"Nice guy, ain't he?" said Patsy, leering at the one with whom he hadagreed to share. 

"Looks as if he might have come over in the steerage of a cattle ship, inside a rawhide, don't he?" assented the other, who was Chick. Butneither Chick nor Patsy was at all assured that this new arrival wastheir chief, and they determined to play their parts to the end, or, atleast, until they were absolutely certain. 

In reality Nick Carter looked like a Sicilian bandit in hard luck. Hecertainly looked the Italian part of it, all right; but even among hisrags there was some display of color, which an Italian is never happywithout. 

When the other referred to him in this slighting way, he raised his eyessullenly toward them, and he also released his hold upon the food he waseating long enough to finger the hilt of his knife suggestively; forNick was aware of the fact that not one of the three was sure of hisidentity, and he preferred not to make himself known just yet. 

"Me understands da Inglis you spik, " he muttered, in a sort of growl. "Better hava da care wota you say dees times. I hava da bunch uh bananin da tree ifa you want more chuck. Go getta it--you!"

He drew his knife quickly and leveled the point of it at the one whomthe others had already christened 'Laughing Willie'; but Ten-Ichi, nothing daunted by the implied threat, only shrugged his shoulders, andwent on eating. 

"Go getta da banan, or I slice you up fora de chuck, " repeated thesupposed Italian, rising slowly from his seat by the fire and advancingtoward Ten-Ichi; but he had not taken a step before he found himselflooking into the muzzle of a pistol, and Patsy, in his capacity as hostover the meal, said sourly:

"Sit ye down, dago, or I'll make a window of your liver. We're threefriends enjoying a feast, and you're welcome to part of it if you wantit, but if you make any more breaks, out you go--feet first, if youprefer it that way. "

The Italian subsided with a grunt, and the meal continued undisturbeduntil all but Ten-Ichi, who appeared to have been really very hungry, had drawn back from the fire; and then it was that Chick made the remarkabout his hurrying that was mentioned in the beginning of this story. 

But Nick had in the meantime managed to make it known to the others whohe was, although he had said no word in reference to it. They each oneof them knew that there might still be others concealed in the trees orsomewhere near at hand watching them. There was no telling how manypairs of eyes had observed them when they entered the wood. Yeggmen areas cautious and as careful about what they do in the lonely places amongtheir brethren as the cave man used to be in primitive times. 

For they prey upon one another, those men, as readily as they prey uponsociety. Among them it is always merely a question of the survival ofthe fittest--and the fittest is always the quickest, and the strongest, or the most alert. 

It was not likely that they would have this firelight to themselves fora very long time, and they knew it; and, in fact, it was not ten minutesafter their meal was finished, and their pipes were alight, before, likeshadows, three other men suddenly loomed beside the fire, as if they hadsprung out of the ground. 

And they stalked forward from three sides at once--came forward as ifthey owned the woods. 

But not one of our four friends, already seated there, made a motion oruttered a word. They smoked stolidly on, but with their eyes alert foranything that might happen. 

And then, out of the darkness around them, appeared three more figures, and then two more; and the eight, who had seemed to come together, grouped themselves with their backs to the fire, and gazed sullenly andsilently down upon the four they found there. 

CHAPTER III. 

THE "KING'S" LIEUTENANT. 

The moment was an ominous one, and no one was better aware of the factthan Nick Carter. Everything depended now upon the perfection which histhree assistants had attained in the parts they were to play. 

The sudden coming of the eight yeggmen, arriving as they had, so closelytogether, could not be the result of mere chance, and Nick had no doubtthat they were in reality members of the very gang he was seeking. Forthe detective had determined in the beginning that the headquarters ofthe gang was somewhere in this vicinity. Everything in his firstinvestigations pointed to that. And if their headquarters were locatednear that wood, or below the track in the swamp, it was certain thatthey kept outposts stationed where the arrival of newcomers could bereported at once. 

Thus the appearance of Nick Carter on the scene, and the coming of theothers soon after his arrival, had doubtless been reported, and theiractions carefully watched from the very beginning. 

The detective was intensely glad now that his own actions, and those ofhis friends, had been so perfect--that is, perfect in the sense ofcreating the impression in the mind of a possible observer that theywere strangers to one another. He knew perfectly well that if a watchhad been kept upon them there could be no doubt in the minds of thewatchers that the four men grouped around the fire were unknown to oneanother. 

But here were eight burly men grouped around them, each standing in aposition so that he could make himself extremely dangerous on theinstant should he choose to do so. And there was no telling how manymore might be concealed out there in the darkness of the woods aroundthem. 

It is not the fashion among yeggmen to welcome an addition to theirparty, no matter whether that addition is composed of one or of many. Sullen silence is the rule at first, during which each man studies theothers. Suspicion is always the first impulse at such meetings. Theirattitudes are exactly that of strange dogs which encounter each otherfor the first time, and walk round and round, with the hair on theirbacks raised, and with their tails straight out, every nerve on atension, and every impulse prepared for mortal combat. 

And people who have watched dogs while they go through with thesemannerisms know that it requires only a few moments for them todetermine whether they will be friends or foes, or if they will onlypolitely tolerate the presence of each other on the scene. 

So Nick Carter sat silent, making no movement, save to puff vigorouslyat the short pipe he was smoking; and so the others of his party didlikewise; for the forces of the newcomers were much stronger. 

This tableau--if tableau it could be called, continued for five minutes, and then one of the late arrivals cast aside the stub of a cigar he wassmoking, and broke the silence. 

"Where might you hoboes be from?" he demanded, in an even tone, andwithout a gesture of any kind. 

Nobody made any reply whatever to this question, and after a moment hespoke again. 

"Which one of you is the leader of this outfit?" he asked. 

Again nobody replied to him; the assistants kept silent because theywell knew that their chief would answer if he considered it wise to doso; and Nick remained silent merely because he did not consider that itwas yet time to speak. 

And now the spokesman of the other party addressed himself directly toNick Carter, as being, doubtless, the fiercest and mostvillainous-looking one of the bunch. 

"You heard me, didn't you?" he demanded. 

"Yes; I heard you, " was the calm reply. 

"Hello! You can talk United States, can't you?"

"Quite as well as you, if necessary, " was the cool response. 

"You look like a dago. "

"What I look like, and what I am, is none of your business--unless youshow some authority for questioning me. "

"Ho, ho, ho, ho! Hear him, my coveys! What do you think of that?" Andthen to Nick again: "What sort of authority do you expect me to show?"

Nick shrugged his shoulders, knocked out the ashes of his pipe, roseslowly to his feet, and stood facing the other calmly, as he responded:

"There is only one kind of authority, signor, in a party like this. Youknow what that is. I don't know you any more than I know these otherguns around here. It may all be a put-up job, for all I know. I don'tmuch care if it is. I am quite willing to fight you all, one at a time, if necessary--and with guns, or knives, or fists, as you please. I comehere, and I get into a tree and wait. Why? Because I have been told ofthis place, and that always there is somebody around here. I thought Iwould see who the somebody was before somebody saw me. So I get myselfinto a tree. Pish! And then not only one, but two, and three arrive onthe scene; and then eight more come. If you want to know who I am, andare brave enough to fight me, and man enough to lick me--then you'llknow. If not--mind your own affairs, and leave me to attend to mine. "

It was a long speech, and the others listened in absolute silence tothe end of it. But the instant Nick ceased speaking, the man to whom hehad addressed his remarks drew back his arm with a sudden motion, anddrove his huge fist forward with the quickness of a cat. 

Any other person than Nick Carter might have felt the force of thattreacherous blow. Even he might have done so had he not been expectingit, and, therefore, been entirely ready for it. 

But the bony fist of the man struck only the empty air, for Nicksidestepped in a manner that would have made Jim Corbett, in hispalmiest days, green with envy; and the battering-ram flew past his earharmlessly. 

And then the man who had delivered it, before he could recover from theeffect of his own effort, found himself seized in a viselike grip, raised from his feet, and hurled backward straight over the fire, andbeyond it, so that he sprawled at full length among the bushes. 

He leaped to his feet with a curse, and his hand flew to his hip pocketin search of a weapon; but he did not draw it forth again, for he foundhimself looking into the muzzle of an ugly-looking forty-four. 

"Drop it!" Nick ordered sharply. "I didn't hurt you, when I might havedone so easily. Are you satisfied?"

The anger of the man seemed to pass as quickly as it had arisen, and hegrinned as he slowly resumed his former position beside the fire. 

It was quite true that he was not hurt; it was equally true that he knewthat this stranger might have hurt him severely had he chosen to do so, and have been entirely excusable for doing it too. 

"All right, pard, you pass, " he said. "What's your handle?"

"I'm called Dago John by them as know me. What's yours?"

"Hand---- The guns call me Handsome, by way of shortening it. Shake?"

"Yes, " said Nick; and they clasped hands for an instant. Then Handsomeadded:

"Who might these gazaboes be?"

"Search me, Handsome, " growled Nick, resuming his seat, and beginning torefill his pipe. "If they ain't a part of your outfit, they sure ain't apart of mine. "

Handsome wheeled upon Chick then. 

"Who are you?" he demanded, "and where are you from?"

"I'm the 'Chicken'; they know me around Chicago, if they don't here. Maybe you've heard of me; but it don't make any difference whether youhave or not. I'm the Chicken, all right; and it's Chick for short. "Chick did not so much as move an eyelash while he made this retort; buthis questioner was plainly affected. 

"The Chicken!" he exclaimed. "The Chicken is dead. We got it straight. Shot by----"

"Shot by a cop, eh? That's the story, and it goes, all right. Only ithappens that it wasn't the Chicken as was shot; cause why? The Chickenis here. "

"Who was it, then?"

"It was a pal of mine. A likely gun he was, too. I jest changed hatswith him when he slid under. The rest of the clothes didn't make nodifference. They thought he was the Chicken--and it didn't hurt him anyto have 'em think so, while it helped me a lot. "

"All right, Chicken, " said Handsome, extending his hand a second time. "I know about you. You're all right. Who are these other two?"

"Search me, Handsome. I reckon we're all strangers. "

Handsome turned to Ten-Ichi. 

"What's your handle, covey?" he growled. 

Ten-Ichi's answer was a peal of demoniac laughter; and he laughed on andon interminably, slapping his thighs and flinging his arms around himafter the manner of a man who is warming himself, until the faces of theothers around him developed broad grins--and until the man who calledhimself Handsome brought him to with a sudden thrust of his arm whichnearly took the breath out of the lad. 

"What's eatin' you, you loon?" he demanded. 

"I was laughing, " replied Ten-Ichi, now as solemn as an owl. 

"You don't say so! Were you? What at?"

"You. It is so funny that you should be called Handsome. "

Handsome grinned with the others. 

"Well, " he said. "What's your name? Out with it!"

"I'm Tenstrike--Ten, for short. That's what. "

"All right, Ten; you pass. You're harmless, I guess--unless you let outthat laugh of yours at the wrong time. I would advise you not to dothat. And _you_?" He turned now to Patsy, with a sudden whirl of hisbody. "You were the first of this bunch to get here. Who are you?"

"Sure, " said Patsy, with a slow drawl, "I'm an Irishman, and me namedoesn't matter to you. It's enough that they call me Pat. If ye don'thappen to like it, sure you can call me Tim, or Mike, or Shamus, or anyold thing that suits ye. And what am I here for, is it? Sure, I'm on astill hunt for a man I want to find. Mebby ye're after knowin' him. "

"Maybe I am. Who is he?"

"Faith, I wish I knowed that. He calls himself Hobo Harry--that same!"

A dead silence followed upon this unlooked-for announcement. Theboldness of it surprised Nick, startled Chick, and frightened Ten-Ichi, lest unpleasant results should come of it. But it was evident thatPatsy knew his ground, and had prepared for this very moment, for he wascool and smiling, and he appeared to enjoy hugely the effect that hiswords had had upon the others. 

It was Handsome who finally broke the silence that ensued; and hereplied:

"That's a name, Pat--if that's your own handle--which isn't spokenlightly around these parts. What do you want with him?"

"By your l'ave, mister, I'll tell that to him when I find him. In themeantime, if youse be afther mindin' yere own business, it wouldn'thurrt ye any. Ye seem to be making of yerself a sort of highcockalorumelegantarium bosski. If ye tell me that ye know Hobo Harry, an' willtake me to him, so's I can tell me story to him, mebby I'll answer ye;but not unless. "

Again there was silence; and this time it was Nick who brought it to anend. 

"Handsome, " he said sharply, "who's this other bunch? What I want toknow is, are they wid you?"

"They are, " was the quick reply. Then he wheeled quickly to Patsy again, and added:

"Come with me--you--if you want to see the chief. I'll take you to him. The rest of you can wait where you are. "

CHAPTER IV. 

THE OUTLAW'S HOME. 

A dead silence reigned around that camp fire for several moments afterthe two departed; but then the seven strangers who were left seatedthemselves in various attitudes, filled their pipes--or lit the stubs ofhalf-smoked cigars, produced from their pockets; and after that, littleby little, conversation was indulged in. 

The night was warm and balmy. There was no reason why any of them shouldseek other shelter than the boughs of the trees which already coveredthem; but Nick knew from the manner in which Handsome had left them thathe expected to return, and that there was some other place near by towhich he intended to take them--if the chief should say the word. And hesaw now that Patsy, by rare forethought, had prepared for that veryemergency. 

More than an hour had passed before Handsome made his appearance again;and then he loomed suddenly beside the camp fire, as silently and asstealthily as an Indian. Even Nick Carter, who was on the alert for hisapproach, did not hear him coming. 

"I'll take you now!" he said briefly to Nick. "The others can wait. "

Without a word more he turned away again, and Nick, leaping to his feet, followed him in silence through the darkness. 

The night was almost black in there among the trees, although the moonwas shining above them; but nevertheless Nick had no difficulty infollowing his guide. 

They made directly for the railway tracks, and crossed the fence thatintervened; but when they reached the top of the grade, Nick's guidehalted and faced him. 

"You said you are Dago John, " he said slowly. "Who might Dago John be, pard?"

"They call me Dago John because I look like an Italian, I suppose, although I am not one, " replied the detective. "But I try to carry outthe idea. If you have worked your way through the South at all, maybeyou've heard of Sheeny John. It will do as well as Dago John. A namedoesn't make much difference. "

"It makes a sight of difference here, my friend. What's your lay?"

"Anything that I can turn my hand to--or my brains. "

"You have an education?"

"Yes. "

"Can you write a good hand?"

"It's my one fault that I can--too good a one. "

"Have you looked through the screens?" (Been in prison. )

"Never yet--to stay there. What do you want to know all this for?"

"I've been telling the main guy about you. "

"What about me?"

"I told him of your strength, for one thing. There isn't another man inour outfit who could lift me off my feet the way you did it. "

Nick shrugged his shoulders. 

"I could have done it as easily if you had been twice the man you are, "he said contemptuously. 

"There is no doubt of that. I don't bear you any ill will for it, either. Neither does the boss. "

"And who may he be, Handsome?"

"Don't you know, Dago John?"

"Maybe I do, and again maybe I don't. "

"Didn't you come here looking for him?"

"Maybe so. "

"Well, who were you looking for?"

"Maybe the same one that the other fellow was looking for--maybe not. "

"That's all right. You can come along, I guess. But I warn you to have acare what you say to him. "

"Say to who?"

"To Hobo Harry. He isn't one to be trifled with. "

"Say, Handsome, on the level now, _is_ there such a person?"

"Sure there is. You'll find that out all right, too, before you are mucholder. Didn't you come up here to get into the gang? Isn't that what youare here for?"

"Sure thing; but, on the level, I didn't think that I could do it soeasy. "

Handsome laughed as if he were intensely amused. 

"If you think that you are in it now, you are very much mistaken, " hesaid, with a shrug. "We don't take men into the bosom of our familyquite as easy as that. But with us there is always room for a good man, and he always has a chance to prove whether he is good or not. That isthe sort of chance you are going to get. "

"Will you tell me about it?"

"I will if you will agree to teach me that hold by which you threw meover the fire into the bushes a little while ago. "

"Sure thing, Handsome. I'll teach you that, and a lot of others as well, if you wish. That is one of the ju-jutsu tricks. "

"I've heard about that. It's all right, all right. "

"Sure thing. Now, where are we going? Are we to stay here all night, Handsome?"

"Not quite. "

"Tell me what is expected of me, then; where we are going?"

"I am to take you to the chief; to Hobo Harry himself, for he happensto be here to-night. It is only once in a while that he is here, too;but it happens that he is to-night. He is to interview you. Otherwise--that is, if he were not here, you would have to hang aroundon the outside until he showed up to pass upon you in person. "

"I see. "

"He is the only man in the whole bunch who has a right to do that. I'vegot to blindfold you after we get across the fence on the swamp side ofthe tracks. "

"All right. "

"I suppose you would like to know what you are up against before I takeyou into the old swamp, wouldn't you?"

"Sure thing, Handsome. "

"Well, it's just this: If you don't pass muster with the boss, you'llnever come out again. There are deep holes in that swamp, Dago. "

"Oh, I don't doubt that; but what do you mean by passing muster?"

"I mean just this, and nothing more: If you are not what you appear tobe, and what you say you are, it's a slit across the windpipe for yours;see?"

Nick did see, and he nodded understandingly. 

"I reckon I'll pass, all right, " he said negligently. "If you are ready, I am. "

They descended the embankment, and climbed the fence on the swamp sideof the tracks; and then, as soon as they had penetrated a shortdistance into the wood, Handsome stopped again, and, drawing a hugebandanna from his pocket, proceeded to bind it around the detective'seyes securely. 

"Now, " he said, "can you do the lockstep?"

"Never tried it, " said Nick. 

"Sure about that?"

"Never learned--never had to. "

"Well, you'll have to learn it now--unless you wish to fall into theswamp. Get up close to me, and take hold of my sides under my arms. Thenfollow in my footsteps as nearly as you can. "

"I say, Handsome, you've got some education yourself. "

"Never mind that now. We're not going into pasts just at present. "

"All right. Lead the way. I'm ready. "

Nick's eyes were so securely bandaged that he had not the least ideawhere they were going, or where his footsteps tended; but even had hebeen without the bandage he could hardly have told that, for the deeperthey penetrated into the swamp, the darker it became, and only those whowere perfectly familiar with the pathway could pass that way in safetyin the night. 

There were times when Nick's feet slipped from the precarious footing, and he slid into the water up to his knees; and once he went in to hiswaist; but Handsome was always ready to seize upon him and support himto dry land again at such times. 

And their way wound round in a serpentine course. They climbed overfallen and moss-grown logs; they slushed through shallow water; theycrawled on their hands and knees under embankments and rocks, and atlast, at Handsome's order, they stepped into a boat of some kind whichthe latter pushed away from the bank with a pole. 

After that a long time passed while the boat was propelled steadilyonward with the pole, sometimes gliding under trees that hung so closeto the water that they were obliged to get flat down inside the scow toavoid them; and they wound around many curves and twists, until at lastthey stopped, and Handsome removed the bandage from Nick's eyes. 

They were beside a high bank, and directly ahead of them, through thetrees, the detective could see the lights of many gleaming fires; and hecould also discern the shadowy forms of men grouped around them, engagedin different occupations. 

"Now, keep your mouth shut, and your eyes and your ears open, " wasHandsome's warning, as he led the way from the scow, and signed for Nickto follow him. "If anybody speaks to you, don't answer; and when you getin the presence of the chief, answer questions, and don't ask any. "

"Right you are, pardy, " was Nick's reply; and then he followed hisconductor through the trees toward the fire. 

They came out presently upon an open glade in which a dozen camp fireswere burning. At some of these men were engaged in eating; others werepreparing to eat; and still others had finished their meal, and werelying around in various attitudes, smoking. Some were playing cards bythe light of the fires. Nick judged, in the rapid estimate he made, thatthere were in all at least twoscore of men gathered there. 

He saw, too, that around this circular glade there were sheds built, andsome of these had lights behind the brush or canvas fronts. Two of themhad board fronts, and he judged that they were used when the weather wastoo inclement, or too cold, to remain in the open. 

As they passed through the circle of light cast by the fires, many ofthe men looked up lazily toward them; but beyond one stare, no attentionwas paid to them; and they passed on into the gloom beyond. 

Here they traversed a narrow but well-beaten pathway through the thickgrowth of alders, and presently came out upon a second glade that waslarger than the first; and higher and dryer, too. 

But that was not what attracted the detective. 

In the very centre of this patch of clearing was a house; or a cottage, it would more properly be called; but it was large, and apparentlycomfortable. The roof extended down in front of it and over a widepiazza, where Nick could see that two men and a woman were seated. 

But directly in front of the piazza, a man--one of the hoboes, withoutdoubt, to judge from his appearance--was pacing regularly up and down, with the precision of a sentinel; and he carried a rifle in the hollowof his arm, which, as soon as Handsome and Nick appeared, he raised andpointed at them, while Nick could hear the click of the lock as heraised the hammer. 

Handsome threw up both hands, holding them high over his head, and Nickdid the same; and thereupon the gun was lowered, and, still with theirhands held high, the two men advanced. 

There was not a word spoken; the sentinel resumed his pacing up anddown, as if there had been no interruption; and Nick's guide approachedthe edge of the piazza, still with his hands raised. 

One of the men who were seated there rose and stepped forward; then hepeered long and earnestly at the two men, and then he said:

"You may advance. Go inside. "

And as they crossed the piazza, and stepped inside the house, the womanof the group rose and followed them, closing the door behind her; andNick Carter wondered if Hobo Harry, the Beggar King, was a woman. 

CHAPTER V. 

NICK'S WONDERFUL STRENGTH. 

When Nick Carter gazed upon the woman who stood before them, with herhands clasped behind her, he thought that he had never seen another likeher. She could not by any stretch of the imagination have been calledbeautiful; she was too masculine in her appearance for that--that is, the expression of her face, her manner, and the position she assumedwere masculine; but the suggestion of it ended there. 

She was as tall or taller than the detective, and her complexion was asdark as the hue to which he had stained his own. Her eyes were large, and round, and full, and fierce, and she held her head, with its crownof dead-black hair, as if she were monarch of all she surveyed. And thestrangest part of it all was that she did not appear to be more thantwenty years old. 

With a steady stare she took in every detail of Nick's appearance, fromthe top of his head to the shoes he wore on his feet; and then sheturned slowly to Handsome. 

"Whom have we here?" she demanded. 

"Dago John, he calls himself, " was the reply. 

"The man you spoke of?"

"Yes. "

"Who is so strong that he could throw you over the fire into the bushes, and who did not harm you when he might have done so, after you hadstruck at him with your fist?"

"The same. "

She turned her attention to Nick then. 

"Who are you?" she demanded. 

"Just what you see, missus; no more and no less, " replied Nick, speakingboldly, for he deemed that to be the surest way to her favor. 

"I see very little; nothing whatever that betokens the strength you aresaid to possess. "

"You can't always tell what's inside of a crib before you crack it, " wasthe reply; and the woman smiled. 

"Where do you come from?" she asked. 

"I ain't giving out my past history, lady, if it's all the same to you, "said Nick coolly; and she frowned. Evidently she did not like thisanswer. 

"What errand brought you to this part of the country, and finallyinduced you to make your camp in the woods out there?" she asked, smiling again. 

"I suppose you want the plain truth, lady?"

"Yes, " she replied, in an easy tone; "that is, if you put any value onyour life. "

"Well, the truth is this: I have heard, here and there, a good dealabout a certain person who is known as Hobo Harry, the Beggar King. Ihave heard that he has gathered around him a lot of my kind, and Ireckoned that maybe he'd give me a show to be one of them. That's what Icame here for, and that's why I camped out there in the woods. "

"And who are the three men who came with you?"

"Nobody came with me. I came alone. "

"There were three other men there when Handsome found you? No?"

"Yes. "

"Who are they?"

"Handsome can tell you that as well, or better, than I. He did thequestioning. "

"Why do you want to join the forces of Hobo Harry?"

"Because I'm tired of going it alone, and because I have heard that hetakes good care of his followers. "

"What can you do?"

"I can do anything that I am told to, once I have acknowledged a chief. "

"That is a good answer. It covers a good deal of ground. Now, who toldyou about Hobo Harry?"

"I have heard about him in a good many places. "

"Who told you where to find him?"

"A gun friend of mine, who croaked down in Indianapolis, a month ago ormore. Jimmy the Sly he was called. " (It was true that there had been aJimmy the Sly, who was one of the many of the band who had been arrestedand imprisoned; and after his release he had gone to Indianapolis, anddied there, in a hospital. Nick knew this from his interview with therailroad president, and therefore he was not afraid to make use of thename. )

"So you knew Jimmy the Sly, did you?"

"Yes. "

"Describe him to me. "

"He was tall and slender, with a pock-marked face, and the longestfingers I ever saw; and he had a wart on the side of his nose, anda----"

"That will do. That is sufficient. How comes it that Jimmy nevermentioned you to me?"

"You'll have to ask Jimmy that, I reckon--and you might burn yourself ifyou undertook to do it. I reckon it's hot where Jimmy is, madam. "

She smiled at this. Nick could see that he was making a good impressionupon her. He was still wondering if she were indeed the chief, or if shewere only his representative. It was certain that he had had noexpectation of finding a woman in this place. 

"And what do you wish me to do with you, now that you are here?"

"I reckon that I'll have to leave that to you. I didn't come with myeyes shut. I guessed pretty well what I was up against. But I came hereto be made one of you, and I hope you will give me a chance. "

"What do you know of Hobo Harry?"

"Nothing. "

"What do you think he is?"

"The head gazabo of this bunch. "

"What do you suppose he is like?"

"Just at present writing, madam, he looks to me very much like abeautiful woman who has the grace of a siren and the courage of a lion. "

"You should be a Frenchman instead of an Italian. "

"I am neither one nor the other. I'm just a--a yeggman. "

"You were about to say something else. "

"I was going to say--a crook. "

"You have not been a yeggman always, have you?"

"I never knew anybody who had been, madam. "

"You are not really a yeggman, or a hobo. Confess the truth now; aren'tyou under cover, and playing the rôle for the purpose of being out ofsight for a time?"

"I'm willing to say yes, if it pleases you. "

"What has been your line of work, Dago?"

"Well, I'm a fair penman; I'm a good mechanic; I could be a passabledruggist if I tried, and I wouldn't shy at taking a hand at running abank, if it was big enough for the risk. "

"I begin to think that you are all right, Dago. "

"You can betcher life that I'm all right, madam, if it comes to that. But I don't reckon that you'll take me on my say-so. You'll be wantingsome sort of proof of me before you consent to take me into the fold. "

"You are correct about that. "

"I'm ready for anything. "

"You have told me that you are a penman, which means that you could be aforger; you have said that you are a mechanic, which means that youcould crack a crib if necessary; you called yourself a druggist, whichmeans that you know how to use the chemicals, and the poisons, too, ifnecessary; and you would not refuse to tackle a bank job if one shouldcome your way. Do you happen to have the mark of blood against you, too?"

"I don't suppose there is any mark that I haven't got. "

"That doesn't answer my question. "

"Well, I wouldn't stay in a house if I wanted to get out when a live manstood in my way, if that is what you mean. "

The woman turned to Handsome quite suddenly. 

"What time do you start?" she asked of him; and he replied, as if thequestion were a continuance of their conversation:

"I ought to start now--inside of ten minutes. "

"Very good, " she said. "Take Dago with you. Break him in. Let him havethe worst of it. If he makes good, all right. If he doesn't--shoot him. "

"All right, " said Handsome cheerfully. "What about the others? There aretwo more out there near the tracks. "

"I will attend to them. Go, now. Take this man with you. Give him allthe rope he needs--but watch him. I'd sooner trust him with you thananybody else, anyhow--and I believe he is all right. "

"Come!" said Handsome, seizing Nick by the arm; and he pulled himthrough the door after him. But all the way to the door, Nick kept hiseyes upon the woman, who was looking at him strangely, and with acurious smile on her face. 

Outside, when they had passed the sentinel, and were again in the partwhich led to the other glade, he stopped. 

"Wait a minute, Handsome, " he said. "I want to ask you a question. "

"There isn't time now, Dago. Save it until later. We must get away fromhere at once. Do you remember where we left the boat?"

"Yes. "

"Go there alone, and wait there for me. I won't be three minutes. "

He did not await a reply, but darted off to one side as soon as theyreached the glade, and Nick saw him disappear inside one of the cabinsbefore referred to. 

"I am in for it now, to the whole length of the tether, " he toldhimself, as he stepped briskly forward toward the place where he knewthe boat to be; and he was halfway across the glade when suddenly fromone of the groups of men near a fire, one of them leaped up andconfronted him, with his hands upon his hips, a cigar pointed at anangle in the corner of his mouth, and a leering grin upon his face. 

"Where to now, my pal?" he demanded, standing in front of Nick, and thusstopping him. 

Nick looked at the man, and smiled. He did not answer. He guessedinstantly why Handsome had left him to find his way to the boat alone. This was doubtless one of their tricks--to see what a new recruit woulddo under these circumstances. Possibly, too, he thought, the womanwished to see an exhibition of his strength, and they had for thatpurpose pitted one of their best bullies against him. 

He surveyed the fellow with a quick and comprehensive glance; and inthat glance he saw that the man was a burly one, who evidently possessedgreat strength. But Nick did not care for that. He was only turning overin his mind in that instant what course it would be best for him topursue. And the answer came to him when the bully repeated the question. 

"Where to, pard?" he demanded again, still with the sarcastic leer onhis dirty face. 

"When you get back, I'll tell you!" exclaimed Nick; and at the sameinstant he darted a step forward and seized the man by thethroat-and-hip hold of ju-jutsu, and the next instant had sent himwhirling through the air as if he were a cartwheel. 

He struck the ground ten feet away, and went rolling over and over amongthe bushes, where there happened to be a mass of cat brier, or creepingthorn; and the series of howls and curses he sent up was a wonder. 

A roar of laughter from every side proved to Nick that all had beenwatching for the outcome of that episode; but he looked neither to theright nor the left, but strode onward toward the boat. 

And then he heard a cry of warning from behind him, and he leaped asidejust as the fellow he had thrown fired a bullet pointblank at him fromclose behind. 

As it was, the missile pierced his coat sleeve inside his arm. 

As Nick leaped aside he also turned. 

The hobo who had fired the shot was already running toward him, and nowhe was endeavoring with every effort in his power to discharge theweapon again; but for some reason the mechanism of the lock refused towork, and in an instant more Nick had leaped upon him and grasped him asecond time. 

He was determined now that the fellow should have a lesson indeed; sowhile he held him at arm's length with one hand, he pummeled him withthe other until his face was a mass of bruises; and then, when theyeggman was in a condition bordering upon insensibility, Nick raised himbodily from his feet, and holding him in his arms, ran with him downalong the path toward the water. 

And reaching the edge of the swamp, he threw him out into the muddywater, headfirst. 

It was not deep, but it was filled with soft ooze, which filled theears, and eyes, and nose, and mouth of the fellow, so that, when he roseto his feet, he was sputtering and spitting, and coughing and swearingwhen he could. 

The detective left the man to make his way out of the water to dry landas best he could, and turned coolly away to rejoin Handsome, whoapproached at that moment, grinning. 

"Well done, Dago, " he said. "You served him just right. Come along. "

They entered the scow without more words, and Handsome poled it awayfrom the shore, and along the waterway through the almost impenetrabledarkness--but there was never a word said about the use of theblindfold. 

"How is this?" Nick asked, after a little. "Aren't you going to tie thathandkerchief over my face again?"

"No. I ought to do it, I suppose, but it's too much trouble. Besides, you're all right. I can tell a man when I see one. "

"All right, " said Nick. "It's your funeral; not mine. Only if the ladyshould raise a kick--what then?"

"She would raise a kick, too, if she knew about it, " replied Handsomedubiously. "But how is she going to know it? You are not likely to tellher, and I won't. "

"No, " said Nick, "I won't tell her. "

"Well, then we'll dispense with the handkerchief. "

They poled on in silence for a time after that; but presently Nickasked:

"What's the lay to-night, Handsome?"

"I can't tell you that, Dago. You'll have to wait, and find out; andyou'll have to do your own part, too; for if you flunk by so much as ahair, it's my duty to kill you. "

"Which I suppose you would do, eh?"

"Sure I'd do it--why not? If you ain't what you seem to be, I'd as soonput a hole in you as dip this pole into the water. You hear me!"

"Sure thing. "

"And that notwithstanding I like you. I reckon you're all right, and I'mgoing a great way toward proving what I think about it by not bindingthat handkerchief over your eyes now. "

"Are there any others in this thing with us, Handsome?"

"You'll find out soon enough. The best way for you is not to ask toomany questions, but to be satisfied to do as you're told. "

They lapsed into silence after that, and there was no more said untilafter they had arrived at the bank where the scow was to be left. 

"I suppose I can ask about those other guns that we left in the woodsto-night, without giving offense, can't I?" asked Nick then. 

"That depends on what you want to ask about 'em, " was the reply; theywere now hurrying in the direction of the tracks. 

"I want to know if Hobo Harry is going to send for them?"

"Didn't you hear her say so?" was the rejoinder; and then, when Nicklaughed softly, Handsome turned on him with fury, and would have seizedhim had he not suddenly recalled the fact that his own strength was nomatch for that of the man beside him. 

But his anger disappeared as quickly as it came, and he joined in thelaugh. 

"I gave it away that time, didn't I?" he said. "You were too cute forme, Dago. But it is dangerous knowledge, Dago. I'll tell you that. "

"You didn't give it away, " replied Nick. "Any fool would have known thatthe woman was Hobo Harry. "

"Then there are a lot of fools in the outfit. You're wrong, Dago. Lotsof 'em don't suspect it. They think only that she is Hobo Harry's wife, or sister, or sweetheart, or something like that. There isn't half adozen of us who really know for certain that Black Madge is Hobo Harry. And there! I've let the cat out of the bag again. But you're all right. It won't do no harm to tell you. "

"Not a mite, " replied Nick; but he chuckled noiselessly all the same. That last admission made by Handsome was worth hearing. 

"Black Madge, eh?" he was thinking to himself. "Now I know why it wasthat there was something so strikingly familiar about the woman. BlackMadge, eh? Well, well, who would have supposed that?"

For Black Madge was a character well known in the criminal world, and tothe police, although very little was known about her really. There was apicture in the Rogues' Gallery in New York that purported to be of her;but Nick knew now that it was not. 

Nevertheless, he remembered that once upon a time he had seen BlackMadge, who was the daughter of a Frenchwoman by an Italian father; BlackMadge, who had already made an unenviable record for herself on bothsides of the ocean. 

It was a long time before that when Nick Carter saw her. She was only agrown-up child at that time, but she was already a hardened criminal, nevertheless; and he recalled now the circumstance of his meeting withher. 

It was in Paris. He had gone to the prefecture of police to see thechief of the secret service, who was awaiting him, and had found thegirl in the room with the chief, who was engaged in questioning herclosely in reference to a crime that had been committed, and because itwas thought that she knew the parties concerned. But she had given noinformation, and had been allowed to go; and after her departure thechief had said to Nick:

"Monsieur Carter, some day that young woman will appear on your side ofthe water. I hope you thought to take a good look at her face. "

"I did, " replied the detective. 

"Remember it, for some day you will have cause to do so, I do not doubt. She is a terror, and she has brains. The worst kind of a criminal. Sheshould have been a man, for she has a man's daring, a man'srecklessness, and a man's way of doing things. Black Madge, we call herhere. "

Nick recalled all that conversation now, plunged into a reverie about itby Handsome's use of the name. All the time he had been in the room withher in that house in the swamp, he had felt that he ought to rememberwhere he had seen those eyes before. Now, he counted the years that hadpassed since he saw her, and, to his astonishment, they were five. 

"She was seventeen then, the chief told me, " he thought, "that wouldmake her twenty-two by now. "

And then it came back to him how strangely she had looked at him whilehe was leaving her presence, and he wondered if her recollection forfaces was as good or even better than his own. 

"But, " he argued, "it could not be possible that she would remember mefrom that one short glance she must have had of me at that time. And, besides, I was not disguised at all, and now I look no more like myselfthan--well, than she does. "

"What the devil are you so silent about?" demanded Handsome. They hadreached the fence at the railroad track, and Handsome was leaningagainst it. 

"I was trying to figure out in my mind what sort of a lay we are onto-night, " replied Nick. "I'm not used to starting out without knowingwhere I am going. I feel like a horse--with you for a driver. "

"Well"--Handsome laughed--"I won't use the whip unless you getskittish. "

"What are we waiting here for?"

"We are waiting for our chauffeur with the automobile, " grinnedHandsome. "Nice road for an auto, isn't it?--bumping over those ties. "

"Hark!" said Nick. 

"I'm harking, my gun. "

"It does sound like an automobile, sure enough, " said Nick. 

"Didn't I tell you that we are waiting for one. Come on. "

He leaped the fence, and Nick followed him over; then they climbed thegrade, and paused beside the track. 

And then, while they stood there, and the droning sound peculiar toautomobiles came momentarily nearer and nearer, the detective beganthoroughly to realize for the fist time that something really seriouswas afoot for the night. 

But he was not long left in doubt as to the character of the approachingvehicle, for in a moment more it swept around a curve in the railroad, and came to a stop immediately in front of them. 

And, strangely enough, it was an automobile arrangement, only that itwas equipped with car wheels instead of with rubber tires; wheels thathad flanges to fit the tracks. But it was provided with a gasolineengine, and Nick knew from the appearance of the apparatus that it wascapable of great speed. 

When it came to a stop Nick saw that it already contained two men, oneof whom was driving; but he got down from the seat under the steeringwheel, and climbed into the rear of the machine, while Handsome took hisplace. 

"New man; Dago for a handle, " said Handsome briefly, by way ofintroducing Nick to the others. What their names might be he evidentlydid not deem it important to mention. 

"Try-out?" asked one of the men, while Nick was climbing into the box ofthe machine. 

Handsome nodded curtly--and that was all that was said at the moment. 

It was significant, however, to Nick, for it meant a lot. It meant thatthese other men entirely comprehended the situation, and that all threeof them were prepared to shoot him in the back at any moment when hisconduct of the business in hand did not entirely satisfy them. 

But Nick was resolved not to be shot in the back that night. Whateverthe business might prove to be upon which they were engaged, he wasresolved to see it through to a finish, even to the extent of helpingthem burglarize a bank, if that was the lay. 

"To do a great right, do a little wrong, " he muttered to himself. Whatever might be stolen or whatever damage might be done that night, hewould charge up in his expenses, and see to it that the railroad peoplemade it good later on, when his work should be done. 

In the meantime the railroad automobile had been gathering speed, andnow it seemed to Nick to be little less than wonderful that it remainedon the tracks at all, for if he was any judge of speed, he knew thatthey must be flying along at much more than a mile a minute--and hewondered what would happen if the headlight of a locomotive should loomsuddenly before them--and then, just as the thought occurred to him, they rounded a short curve, and came to a sudden stop. 

CHAPTER VI. 

NICK CARTER ROBS A BANK. 

The instant the strange machine was brought to a stop--and it was donewonderfully soon, considering the speed at which they had beentraveling--the three men leaped to the ground beside the track, and Nickwas ordered to follow them. 

He did so, and then he was told to bear a hand; and, followingdirections that were given him, he seized hold of the boxlike tonneau. 

Almost in a twinkling of time after that the machine was lifted from thetrack in sections, and finally, still in sections, was carried to ahighway near at hand, where it was put together again, minus the ironwheels. But there were other wheels concealed in that commodious body, and these were quickly taken out and adjusted. 

Within twenty minutes of the time when they came to a stop on the track, after rounding the curve, the machine was fitted with regular automobilewheels, and was ready to proceed along the highway. 

Nick saw in this arrangement much that had puzzled other men who hadbeen on the job. He had no doubt from what he knew of automobiles thatthis machine was capable of sixty miles an hour, or even more thanthat, on the highway; and, if that was true, it, of course, could make ahalf greater speed than that on rails. 

But he made no comment. That was not expected of him, and would havebeen resented had he attempted to do so; but he climbed to his placewhen he was told, and again they sped away toward some destination, thenature of which he did not know. 

Once he ventured to ask the man nearest him what time it was, andreceived a curt "Shut up!" by way of reply; so he remained silent afterthat. 

And after a while--less than half an hour--they drove into a village, and presently ran the machine around behind a church, where it wasplaced in one of the stalls of a shed. 

And still his three companions worked in utter silence. Beyond now andthen a curt word uttered by Handsome, who seemed to be in command of theexpedition, nothing at all was said. 

Nevertheless, each man there seemed to know exactly what to do; as ifevery move they made had been nicely planned out for them--and such Nickbelieved to be the case. 

When the machine was stored away, the men fell into line, Nick beingshoved into position directly behind Handsome, and then, in Indian file, they moved silently forward toward a high fence that was near at hand. 

They went over this one by one, Handsome waiting with patience until thelast one was over, and then the march was taken up again. 

They passed now through the rear of a large yard, and before them loomeda brick building, which Nick figured must be a courthouse; and after amoment they made a half circuit around, and came to a stop between twobuildings of brick, one of them being that one already mentioned. 

The night was dark now, for the moon had gone down, and there were nostreet lamps in that village evidently; or, if there were, they were notburned on nights when there was supposed to be a moon. 

But there was light enough for Nick to discover that they were close tothe main street of the village; he could see the store windows on theopposite side; and it suddenly came to him that the building that wasnext to them--the second one--was a bank, and that they were about torob it. 

He knew now what was expected of him; and again he determined to see thething through to the end. 

It was not to prevent one robbery that he was engaged; but to preventmany. It was not to apprehend the participants in a minor job like thisone promised to be, but to capture the head that directed many suchrobberies, and so stop them altogether. 

And still no word--not even a whisper--was spoken between the men. Theyworked on in utter silence, as if their plans had been thoroughlyconned until they were learned absolutely by heart. 

Nor did they pause in the yard next to the bank. There was scarcely ahalt there; but they passed to the rear of the building, and followedone another over the high fence that was there, to the rear of the bankbuilding. 

Keeping themselves well in the shadows, they crept forward silently to arear door of the building, and here Handsome paused for a moment, andput down a canvas bag that he had been carrying all the way; and now hewhispered in Nick's ear:

"There are the tools, Dago. Let's see what kind of a cracksman you are. "

Nick did not need a second bidding. Having determined upon his course, he did not hesitate, but he seized the bag, pulled open the mouth of it, and, having selected such tools as he wanted, he applied himself to thetask that had been set for him. 

A professional burglar of long experience could not have gotten thathuge oak door open more quickly and silently than Nick Carter did, andHandsome gave him an approving pat on the shoulder. 

He was the first to enter the bank, Nick following, and the otherscoming behind them; and presently, after forcing another door, theystood crouching inside the bank itself. 

A dim light burned in a gas jet in the centre of the large room, whichwas divided only by the wire screen which separated the customers' sideof the rail from the clerks; and almost beneath the light, exactly whereit could shine full upon the steel doors, was the huge safe of theinstitution. 

A person might not stand in front of that safe for a moment withoutbeing in full view from the street should any one happen to pass there. Nick saw that at a glance; but nevertheless Handsome silently placed adrill and a bottle of liquid in his hand, and motioned that he was tobegin the dangerous part of the work. 

"Didn't you bring a screen with you, you chump?" demanded Nick, in awhisper. "If you had told me what the lay was, I'd have made one. "

Handsome nodded, evidently well pleased; and at the same time heproduced a roll from under his coat, and gave it to the detective. Nickunrolled it, and found that it was merely a piece of burlap, rather morethan a yard long, and about two feet in width, and with a roll of cordattached to each corner of it. 

He knew what that was intended for readily enough, and, taking it in hishands, he crept forward without another word, and quickly attached thefour strings to objects which he selected as being situated about rightfor his purposes. 

In two minutes the screen was in place, and it afforded a perfectshelter from view from the street, and just the sort of one that wouldnever be noticed from the outside at all, unless a person stopped atthe window and deliberately peered inside--and that nobody was likely todo, unless something else first attracted attention. 

In fixing the screen in place so quickly and perfectly, Nick evidentlywon over not only Handsome, but the others; and now there was no morequestion of his doing the drilling alone. Each man took his own part ofthe work in silence, as if Nick had always been one of them; and, besides, now there was no time to be lost. 

Drilling through the steel doors of a safe is not an easy task, and itis not done quickly, although expert burglars carry tools these dayswhich will cut anything. 

They took their turns at the drill, as they took them also with theacids and oil; and the work went on merrily until the holes were readyfor the charges. 

And here again it seemed that Handsome was determined to try Nick out tothe last, for he bent forward and whispered in his ear:

"Prove one thing more, Dago, and you're made. "

"Want me to do the blowing?" asked Nick. 

Handsome nodded. 

"All right, " said Nick. "Light out, then. "

"But----"

"Get out, I say. If I do the blowing I'm boss for the time being. Git!"

They did; and again, with the implements and the explosives at hand, Nick went to work; and, as before he worked rapidly and well--as if hewere an experienced hand at that sort of employment. 

And then, when the charge was ready, Nick pulled up the heavy ropematting from the floor, and after doubling it again and again untilthere was a huge wad of it, he braced it with desks and chairs againstthe front of the safe; and when all that was done to his satisfaction, he lighted the fuse, and ran back to the rear hallway, where the otherswere watching and waiting. 

They had not long to wait after that. There was a lapse of perhaps aminute and a half, and then a dull, booming roar shook the building, andthe burglars rushed forward. 

Now was the time when they were compelled to work rapidly, if ever. 

It was true that Nick had so muffled the sound of the explosion that itwas hardly possible that the noise of it had roused anybody at all; butthere was always a chance of somebody near at hand being wakeful orwatchful. 

At any moment they might be interrupted--and no burglar likes to beinterrupted. It always means a fight, in which somebody is likely to getkilled, and burglars rarely do any killing unless they have to in orderto escape. 

They rushed forward together; but now Nick purposely kept in thebackground. He had no idea of being taken himself if they should beinterrupted; nor did he wish to give his companions an opportunity tokill any person who might interrupt them. It was all right from hisstandpoint to participate in the burglary, in order that he mightultimately catch all the thieves; but he did not wish to be a party toany fight that might come of it. 

But he was made to hold one of the bags while Handsome filled it fromthe inside of the safe. 

They pried open the inner compartments, and threw them indiscriminatelyupon the floor as soon as they were emptied; they jimmied open the steelboxes as readily as if they had been made of softest pine--and in twentyminutes after the explosion they were stealthily climbing the fenceagain, into the courthouse yard. 

And, so far as they could see, not a soul in the village had beenawakened or alarmed. 

They returned to the shed, where they had left the automobile, by thesame route they had covered in approaching the bank; the machine wasbacked out; they entered it, turned on the power, and sped away throughthe silent streets as they had come, with nobody the wiser for what theyhad done, the havoc they had wrought, and the wealth they had stolen. 

Down beside the road where they had made the change before, from thetrack of the railway to the highway, they paused long enough to securethe iron wheels, and here the change was made back to a railway machine. The car was lifted in sections to the tracks, and with everythingadjusted they were soon flying down the shining rails at a frightfulrate of speed, and in silence--for it seemed to be a rule among thesemen that there should be no talking. 

Mile after mile they covered in this way, and then the machine wasslowed down, and came to a stop at the point where it had picked upHandsome and Nick at first, and here they got down, and, having takenout the plunder, stood beside the track until the machine haddisappeared from view. 

"Now, Dago, help me with the swag, " said Handsome; and together theypicked it up, and once more started for the outlaws' retreat in themiddle of the impassable swamp. 

When they were in the boat, and almost ready to land where Nick hadthrown the man into the water, Handsome turned to him, and whispered:

"You're all right, Dago. I'll tell Madge so, too!"

CHAPTER VII. 

THE DETECTIVE'S PREDICAMENT. 

When Nick Carter was shown a place to sleep that night--or, rather, thatmorning, for it was well toward daylight by the time Handsome and hereturned to the outlaws' camp--he tumbled upon the bunk that was shownhim, and he lost no time in doing so; nor did he open his eyes againuntil he felt a hand shaking him lustily, and a voice crying out to him:

"Wake up, Dago! You're wanted!"

He sprang up instantly; and, because he had laid himself down withnearly all his clothing still upon his person, he was not long in makinghimself ready. To have insulted the profession he had adopted by washinghis face was not to be thought of. 

"Gee! But I'm hungry!" he said to Handsome, who was standing near, waiting for him. 

"Madge will give you something to eat. She is at her breakfast now, " wasthe whispered reply. "She wants you. "

"Then, " said Nick, "if I am going into the presence of a lady, and amexpected to eat with her, I'll have to wash my face and hands. Show mewhere. "

Handsome laughed. 

"I do it myself once in a while, " he said. "Come with me. "

And he led Nick to a place along a path through the swamp where hesucceeded in giving himself a good wash--for Nick had the satisfactionof knowing that the stain he had used was of such a quality that itwould defy water. Alcohol alone would remove it. 

They found Madge on the doorstep, awaiting them; but Handsome paused atthe edge of the clearing, and muttered:

"I leave you here, Dago. I'm not in this. You're to have this interviewalone. "

"All right, " replied the detective, and was about to move on, whenHandsome detained him by a gesture. 

"Put in a good word for me, Dago, if you get the chance, " he whispered. "I have already said many a good one for you--and I made it as easy foryou as I could all around. "

"All right, " said Nick again. 

"And one more word, Dago. I forgot to tell you----"

"What?"

"Cremation Mike has got it in----"

"Who?"

"Cremation Mike--he worked in a crematory once--has got it in for you. He's the chap you chucked into the soup, you know. He sneaked away afteryou left last night, so I'm told, and he swore black and blue that hewould have your life for that act. He will, too. He's sure bad medicine, that fellow. He's a bad member, too. I just thought I'd give you thepointer. "

Handsome turned away then, and Nick went on alone to the piazza, whereBlack Madge was awaiting him. 

He stopped just before he put his foot upon the veranda, and waited forher to make some sign; and she approached quite near to him, looking himstraight in the eyes. 

"Good morning, Dago, " she said, smiling. 

"Good morning, madam, " he replied gravely. 

"You look quite like a gentleman this morning, " she continued, laughinglightly. "Or, no, rather like a mountain bandit of Italy. "

"I could be either if I chose, " he replied again, as gravely as he hadspoken before. 

"I do not doubt it. I have been giving you considerable thought since Italked with you here last night. Come inside. You haven't had yourbreakfast, I suppose?"

"No, madam. "

"Then you shall breakfast with me. I was about to eat mine when Iremembered you, and sent for you. "

"Madam is most kind. "

She led the way into the house, where a table was spread with goodthings, well cooked, too, they appeared to be; and she pointed toward achair at the opposite side of the table. 

"Sit there, " she said. "I declare, we are quite domestic. "

"So it would appear, madam. I am afraid that you are doing me too muchhonor, for one who has been so short a time among you. "

"Bah! I am glad to have somebody who can talk decently near me. I tireof all these ragamuffins who are my men. Sometimes I kill one of themjust for the mere fun of ridding myself of the vermin. "

"Madam is incautious, perhaps. "

"Why so?"

"Some day one of them might take it into his head to kill madam. "

"Then somebody will have to be mighty quick about it. I'm not so easilykilled as all that. Tell me--have you guessed who I am?"

"I am not a good guesser, madam. "

"On the contrary, I should suppose you to be a good one--anexceptionally good one. Answer me: Have you guessed who I am?"

"I might make a guess now, madam. "

"Oh, drop that madam. I don't want you to madam me all the time. Who doyou suppose I am?"

"If I am to make a guess, I should suppose that you are thatdistinguished and elusive person whom the outside world refers to asHobo Harry. "

She laughed long and heartily, stirring her coffee vigorously the while. 

"Upon my word, you are a good one, " she said, still with laughter in hervoice. "Yes, I am that distinguished and elusive person. There is nodoubt about that. I have spent a long time in bringing this organizationto perfection, Dago. What do you think of it?"

"I think it is a wonder. "

"Right you are, my man! It is a wonder. For example, what did you thinkof the operation that was performed last night?"

"I thought it was carried out very perfectly. The men must have been along time in laying their plans. "

She laughed again. 

"Not one of those men--not even Handsome--had ever seen that placebefore. They only obeyed my orders; nothing more. I made the plansmyself. I told them exactly what to do, and when, and how to do it. Itis all a question of mathematics, and of obeying orders. "

"It was perfectly done, madam. "

"There you go again. By the way, Handsome gives me an excellent reportof you. "

"I had supposed as much, else I would not be here breakfasting withyou. "

"That is not why I sent for you; that has nothing to do with lastnight. "

"No?"

"I want you to tell me where I have seen you before--and where you havemet me before, " she said swiftly, and with a sudden and dangerousnarrowing of her eyes. 

If Nick had not had himself perfectly in hand he must have given a startthen that would have betrayed him; as it was, he answered instantly, andas if the subject had also occurred to him:

"For the life of me, madam, I cannot remember. I have tried to recallthe time and place ever since I saw you last night; but it eludes me. Icannot tell. "

"It is well that you have answered as you have, " she said, with athreatening cadence in her voice. 

"Why so, madam?"

"Because I saw plainly in your eyes last night that you remembered tohave seen me somewhere before that time. Had you denied it, you wouldhave lied to me; and it is not healthy for people to tell me lies. "

"I can imagine that, madam. But since I have no reason to do so----"

"Tell me what there is about me that is familiar to you, Dago. "

"It must be your great beauty that I remem----"

"That will be about enough of that, thank you, " she interrupted himcoldly. "I know all about my beauty, and don't in the least need to betold about it. "

"One could not very well remember you at all without remembering yourbeauty, " insisted Nick boldly. "It is the first thing about you thatstrikes one; and the second is----"

"Well--what? Possibly I will be more interested in that. "

"The fear you inspire, I think. You have what the French call a 'way'about you. "

She started perceptibly. 

"What do you know about the French?" she demanded; and Nick sawinstantly that he had made a mistake in reminding her of her career inParis. Now it was possible that she might recall where she had seen him. 

But he dismissed the idea as soon as it came to him, for he rememberedagain how perfectly he was disguised, and how impossible it should befor her to remember him after all these years, through the disguise. 

But now she was looking steadily at him, and for the moment she hadforgotten to eat. 

"Who are you, Dago?" she demanded suddenly. "You are not what you seem. "

"Few of us are, " returned the detective evasively. 

"Who are you?"

"I have told you, madam, as much as it is possible to tell. You do notdemand the past records of your followers. All that you insist upon isthat they shall be faithful in the future. "

"Who are you?" she repeated again. 

"I am Dago John, madam, at your service. "

"But you have another name than Dago John. "

"I had another--once. "

"What was it?"

"Madam does not suppose, when she asks the question, that it will beanswered, does she?" Nick inquired boldly. 

"By Heaven, sir, do you dare to defy me?"

"Not at all. I merely feel sure that madam asked the question as a joke, knowing that it could not be answered. "

For a moment it seemed as if she did not know whether to be angry at himfor his cool effrontery, or to laugh the matter off entirely, inadmiration of his bravery. She decided upon the latter course evidently, for she did laugh--in a way that was not quite pleasant to hear, however; and she said:

"Try to think where you have seen me before. Help me to remember. I wantto recall it. "

"It is impossible, madam. I have already tried. "

"Is the memory that is associated with me pleasant or otherwise?"

"It could not be but pleasant, since it was--you, " he ventured; and shefrowned. It was plain that she did not relish such compliments. 

And now she sat with her eyes fixed upon him, idly stirring her secondcup of coffee, and seeming to look him through and through, while shecast her memory back over the storms of her life, not yet more thantwenty-three years, all told, and attempted with all her strength ofwill to call up for recognition the ghost which his appearance hadconjured. 

After a little she leaned forward, nearer to him, and her eyes, coalblack, and blazing, fairly burned into his own; but he held his gazesteadily upon her, never once flinching from the scrutiny. 

And then, so suddenly that it startled him, she leaped to her feet, knocking her coffee to the floor, and she stood over him--but whether inanger or only in astonishment that she had remembered, he could not havetold. 

"By all the gods!" she cried out. "I remember you now. It is your eyesthat have haunted me, and now I remember where I have seen them. Iremember. It was in Paris. It was at the prefecture of police. I wasthere. I was only a girl. I had just finished with the chief when youentered the room. I did not notice your name when it was announced, butnow I remember you--at the prefecture of police in Paris! Tell me--tellme, I say, what you were doing there!"

The detective knew that it would be folly to deny the charge that shemade. He knew that she remembered now, perfectly well, and that nothingcould disabuse her mind of the determination it had reached. 

Acting upon the impulse of the instant, therefore, and determined now toplay out his rôle as it should appear, Nick pretended instantly to be asgreatly astonished as she was at the recollection, and the strangenessof it. 

He, too, leaped to his feet, imitating an astonishment as great as herown. He did not tip over his coffee, but he did manage to upset hischair, so that it fell backward on the floor; and then for the space ofa moment they stood staring into each other's eyes, both--from allappearances--speechless with astonishment. 

And then, very slowly, she subsided into her chair again, still keepingher eyes upon him, and still evidently taxing her memory to the utmostto recall all the incidents of that meeting at the prefecture in Paris. 

"I remember now, " she murmured at last, more to herself than to him. "Itall comes back to me, bit by bit. Monsieur Goron was chief at thetime--no? Yes. I remember. There had been a sudden death in the housewhere I lived--it was on the floor just beneath me--and Goron sent forme to question me about it. It was thought at first that Lucie had beenmurdered, and Goron thought that perhaps I would know about it. He hadjust finished questioning me when you entered the room--ah!"

Her eyes blazed with a sudden fire of anger, and her lips tightened overher teeth. 

"When you entered the room Goron rose and shook hands with you. Why didhe do that? Goron did not shake hands with criminals!"

"Nor with his police spies, did he?" asked Nick, smiling and shrugginghis shoulders. 

"But why did he shake hands with you?"

"Because we were old acquaintances, madam. "

"And he called you by name. What was that name?"

"Madam, for some time past I have deemed it best to forget it. "

"Nevertheless you shall remember it now. "

Nick shrugged his shoulders, and did not reply. 

"What was that name?" she demanded again. 

"I have told madam that I----"

She started from her chair, and ran across the room so suddenly thatNick was interrupted in what he was about to say; and she seized a ropethat hung from the ceiling and stood with her hand upon it, grasping it. 

"If I pull this rope, " she said coldly, "as many of my followers as hearit will rush to this place. You know what is likely to happen then if Iloose them upon you. They are all like wild beasts, or like dogs, readyto tear each other at the slightest provocation. If I should point myfinger at you--so--and say to them, 'Take him; he is yours, ' your lifewould not be worth as much as the dregs in your coffee cup. Tell me, what that name was, or I will summon the men. "

The detective shrugged his shoulders, and leaned back in his chair, smiling. 

"It would be a foolish and a useless proceeding, " he said calmly. "Ishould not tell them that name any more than I tell it to you. I willnot tell it. It is of no moment here. It could do you no good to hearit, and to mention it might do me harm; therefore, I shall not mentionit, no matter how often you order me to do so. It pains me to disobeyyou, madam, but you force me into the alternative, and I have no choice. Pull the rope if you will. "

Instead of pulling it, she released it, still staring at him, and shereturned slowly to her chair. 

"You are a strange man, " she murmured, "and a brave one. There is notanother who would dare to defy me as you have done. "

"Perhaps there is not another who has so much at stake, " he repliedquietly, but with perfect truth, as the reader knows. 

Again she knit her brows in perplexity; again the detective knew thatshe was concentrating her mind upon that incident at the prefecture, trying with all her power to recall the merest detail of it. 

Nick remembered that his name had been mentioned aloud at that time; herecalled the fact that Goron, in rising to shake hands with him, hadcalled him by name plainly enough. It was evident that she alsoremembered that much of the facts, and was now straining every energyshe possessed to recall what that name was. 

And while she thought so deeply, her face gradually assumed anexpressionless cast. She closed her lips firmly together. Her eyesbecame sombre. She seemed oblivious of his presence, and of hersurroundings. For the moment she was back again in Paris, at theprefecture, in the presence of Goron, five years ago. 

After a little, without another change of expression, she shrugged hershoulders, and rose from her chair, and then, with an assumption ofcarelessness, she passed from the room upon the piazza, saying as shewent:

"Come. We will not bother any more about this for the present. We willtake up the subject again another time, after we have both hadopportunity to think it over. If you care for a cigar, Dago, there aresome in that cupboard yonder. Help yourself. "

Now, it happened that Nick did care for a cigar. He had not had one inmany a day, but had forced himself to be content with an old pipe. Theprospect of a cigar was enticing, and so he took her at her word, andhelped himself--turning his back to her as he did so, and so he did notsee the strange smile which crossed her face as she passed through thedoor upon the piazza. 

He was a bit puzzled by this sudden change in her attitude and manner. He could not exactly account for it. Had she remembered? He could nottell. 

He realized, however, that he was in a predicament--that his positionwas precarious; for if she should remember--if she should recall thename of Nick Carter as connected with that incident, he knew that hisown life would not be worth the snap of a finger, no matter how bravelyhe might fight, or how many of the foe he should overcome in the contestthat would inevitably follow. 

For, scattered about in that stronghold in the swamp, there were no lessthan a hundred of her followers, and there was not one among them whowould not kill at her bidding. 

She was standing upon the piazza, looking away through the woods, whenhe came out, and, without turning her head, she said to him:

"Take that chair, and remain there until you have smoked your cigar. Themen might take it into their heads to be jealous if you should go amongthem with it, and they should know that you, a new arrival, hadbreakfasted with me. I will return in a moment. "

She left him then, entering the house; and with no thought of immediatedanger in his mind, Nick followed her suggestion, and leaned back in thechair, tilting it against the house, determined to enjoy that smoke tothe utmost. 

After that it was difficult to tell exactly what did happen. 

He remembered afterward that he smoked on in enjoyment of the cigar forsome minutes, and that he thought it somewhat rank, notwithstanding thefact that it had the appearance of being of excellent quality. 

And then suddenly the cigar flashed, exactly as if there had been threeor four grains of gunpowder wrapped in it--and he was instantlyconscious of an intensely bitter taste in his mouth. 

And then it seemed to him almost as if somebody had struck him, sostrange were his sensations--and from that instant memory left himentirely. 

The woman had been watching him narrowly from the doorway; she waswaiting for that flash from the end of his cigar, and when it came shepassed out through the door swiftly, and caught him as he was about tofall from his chair to the floor of the piazza; caught him, and heldhim, and then deftly raised him to his feet, and half carried him insidethe house before anybody--had a person been observant of thescene--could have realized that anything was wrong. 

She possessed great strength, this remarkable woman; for the instant shewas inside the door, heavy as he was, she raised him in her arms, andcarried him into an adjoining room, where she closed the door behindher, and deposited him upon a couch. 

And then, still working with great rapidity, she pulled aside a rug thatwas on the floor, and, having lifted a trapdoor, she again took him inher arms, and descended through the opening in the floor to the depthsbeneath it. 

After a little she reappeared, and this time there was a grim smile uponher face, while she replaced the rug over the trapdoor, and otherwiserendered the room the same as it had been before the incident happened. 

She passed coolly out upon the piazza, and for a time strode up and downit in deep thought; but at last she raised her head quickly, and calledsharply to the sentinel who was pacing up and down in front of thecottage. 

"Send Handsome to me!" she ordered; and then she continued her pacinguntil Handsome appeared. 

Handsome belied his name terribly in the light of day, for anuglier-looking chap could not be imagined; and yet, withal, there was agleam of humor in his eyes and at the corners of his mouth. She turnedto him abruptly. 

"Where are the others of that bunch who were found with Dago?" she askedsharply. 

"Yonder, " replied Handsome, jerking his thumb over his shoulder towardthe glade beyond them. 

"What do you think about them, Handsome?" she asked again. 

"I haven't thought much about them, " he replied. "They are about theusual sort, I believe; no better and perhaps no worse. "

"I am not so sure of that. "

"No?" he asked, vaguely surprised. 

"Handsome, I want you to take them, one by one, to the pool in thewoods, strip them, and scrub them with soap, and water, and sand, ifnecessary. I want you to make sure that there is no suggestion ofdisguise about any of the three. Do it at once--and when it is done, nomatter whether there is a question of disguise about any of them or not, bring them to me. "

Handsome departed without a word. It was plain that Black Madge wasaccustomed to obedience. It was plain also that her suspicions werethoroughly aroused; for now she paced up and down again restlessly, andcontinued so to pace until almost an hour later Handsome stood beforeher again. 

"Well?" she demanded. 

"Two of them were plainly disguised, " he replied. 

"And the other?" she demanded, frowning. 

"The other, as plainly was not disguised. "

"And the two who were disguised--what of them?"

"I cannot tell if they are known to each other. I cannot tell whetherthey are spies or not, only it is quite likely that they are. "

"And the third one? The one who wore no disguise?"

"I think he is all right. He is the one called Pat. When he realizedthat the others who had been with him were in disguise, he flew at oneof them, thinking that he had been followed himself, and I think wouldhave killed the fellow if I had not been there to prevent it. "

Madge listened, with a shrug of her shoulders; then she said briefly:

"Bring them here, Handsome. Bring the two who were disguised, first. Leave the other one alone until I send for him. What are the supposednames of these two?"

"One is called Tenstrike, and the other calls himself the ChicagoChicken. "

"The Chicago Chicken, " she said slowly. "Chick, for short, is it not? Ithink we are on the right track, Handsome. Bring that one herealone--first. "

CHAPTER VIII. 

THE DETECTIVES FACE A CRISIS. 

Chick had committed the folly of not being entirely thorough in thecreation of his disguise; so also had Ten-Ichi; and the soap andscrubbing brushes, as employed by Handsome, had done the work ofremoving it. 

But Patsy? Well, it had not been necessary for Patsy to be quite sothorough, for his own particular person and features were sufficientdisguise, with a few minor alterations and additions. 

For instance, at the risk of not having it wear off soon enough to suithis purposes, he had gone to a professional hair dyer, and had orderedhis shock of hair indelibly dyed to a dirty brick-red; and he had putspots on his face, and the back of his hands, with nitrate of silver, sothat the spots burned into the skin. No soap and water could removethese. They would only disappear with time; but Patsy had never traveledon a reputation for beauty, and he did not give the matter a thoughtbeyond the immediate necessities. 

He had taken another precaution, also, just before he entered the woodsto go to the place of meeting. He had stripped himself in a secludedplace near the railway tracks, and he had rolled himself in the coaldust around the track, griming the dirt into his body, so that when itcame to the time that Handsome stripped him--well, it can be imaginedhow he looked. 

A little snuff rubbed thoroughly against his teeth had rendered themsufficiently discolored, and altogether he so thoroughly looked his partthat Handsome, when he stripped him, had not the slightest doubt of hisreality. 

But the frauds connected with Chick and Ten-Ichi were easily detected. 

Black Madge, while still seated at the table with the detective, hadsuddenly recalled the name that had long ago been mentioned in herpresence by the chief of the Paris police. It had come to her in a flashthat the name was Nick Carter--and that this man who was so calmlyseated in her presence was Nick Carter. 

Madge knew a great deal more about Nick Carter than Nick supposed shedid; she knew all about his household, and about his assistants. Sheknew their names as well as if they were followers of her own--and whenHandsome, in mentioning the names of the other men, had talked aboutTenstrike and the Chicken, she had connected the names at once. 

As for the other one--Pat--that had a significance also; but Pat is avery common name, and she did not do herself the honor to suppose thatNick Carter would bring all three of his assistants into the woods withhim in search of her. One, she thought, would have to be left behind tolook after the business, and, therefore, she was all the more ready tobelieve that Patsy, since he was not in disguise, was one of her ownkind, who had inadvertently fallen into the company of the detectives. 

Handsome and four other men accompanied Chick to the cottage, and whenhe stood before Madge she looked him over from head to foot with coldscorn. 

"So, " she said venomously, "you thought to deceive me, did you--you andyour master?"

Chick made no reply, and, after a moment, she went on:

"We have a way of ridding ourselves of such men as you are, when theycome among us. It is not pleasant for them, but it serves as a lesson toothers. Step inside the house. Take him inside, Handsome. Let the otherswait out here, and if there is the slightest sound of a row inside thehouse let them enter it at once. "

When the three were in the room together, she said to Chick:

"You observe that I know who you are?"

Chick nodded--and he also smiled. 

She stamped her foot upon the floor under her, and continued:

"Down there, beneath us, unconscious and chained to the wall, is NickCarter. Even Handsome did not know that till now. He did not know thatDago John, who went with him last night to rob the bank, was no otherthan Nick Carter. But it is true, Handsome. "

"Gee!" breathed Handsome, his fingers twitching. 

"He is all right now, Handsome. He cannot hurt you. I have put him outof business--and I don't think we had better let the men know that NickCarter has been among them. Let them wreak their vengeance upon thisfellow, and upon the other--that little Jap. As for Nick Carter himself, I will take care of him. He will never come out of that cellar alive. And now, Chick, I want you to answer me a question. "

"You will save your breath if you do not ask it, " replied Chick. "I amnot answering questions just at present. "

"Not to save yourself, or your master?"

"I know very well that nothing that I can say will have the least effectupon my fate, or upon Nick Carter's, " he replied. 

"Very good, " she replied slowly; and then to Handsome: "Take him away, Handsome. Take him out there to the men. Tell them who he is, and thatthey may do as they please with him. I think the quicksand bog would beas good a place as any for him; or the fire tree; but they may do asthey please--so long as they kill him. Take him away. "

Chick, realizing that it was all up with him, and that he might as wellmake a fight for it, leaped forward quickly, full at the woman, intending to seize upon her, and hold her as a shield; but even as heattempted to do so, the floor beneath him sank under him for the depthof two feet, and before he could recover his balance, Madge had thrown atable cover over his head, and in another moment Handsome had thrown himto the floor, and called the others to his assistance. 

And so Chick was tightly bound and borne away a captive--to what fate hecould only imagine. 

"You need not bring the Jap here at all, " Madge called after them. "Letmy hoboes take him with them, along with this one; but do you bring theman Pat to me at once. "

And five minutes later Handsome reappeared with Patsy in tow, only thatPatsy was not a prisoner--as yet. 

"Now, my man, " said Madge coldly, "you will have to give a prettystraight account of yourself. You were found in bad company. "

"Sure, ma'am, don't I know the same? I've been apologizing to meselfever since I discovered it, an' if Handsome here had only left me alone, faith, I'd have settled wan part of me misgivings then and there, so Iwould. I had me doubts about the bunch from the beginning, ma'am, whenthey came a-sneakin' up to me fire, and eatin' of me grub; and whenthat other gazabo dropped from the trees, sure, I was certain of it. Iwas after kapin' me eyes peeled all the time since then, your worship, but I thought it wasn't f'r the likes of me to be after makin'suggestions to y'r majesty, at all, at all. "

"Who are you, and what are you, Pat?" she asked, smiling upon him. 

"Sure, ma'am, it's nobody I am. I've never done anything worse than picka pocket untel a short time ago, when I had the misfortune to get mixedup in a bit av a scrap--and the other feller didn't have the commondacency to get on his feet ag'in when it was over. He jest stayed there, so he did, and thinkin' that somebody would be axin' questions of me, Ilit out. Ye wouldn't know a thing more about me if I should talk for aweek--but, sure, if there's a question ye'd like to ax me, I'll beafther answerin' it to the best of me ability, so I will. "

"What brought you to me?"

"Me legs--no less; begging y'r pardon for mentionin' it. They weren'tpurty to look at when Handsome stripped me--but we needn't mention that, aither. "

"But you came here in search of Hobo Harry. "

"I did. That same. "

"Who sent you here to find him?"

"Nobody. I had to go somewhere. I had been readin' the papers, and Ihad seen a lot about Hobo Harry in 'em. All of the papers said that hewas to be found around here somewhere, and that the divil himselfcouldn't catch him; and I says to mesilf, says I, sure that's the brothav a boy ye want to find, Pat--and here I am, ma'am. "

"Did you ever hear of Nick Carter?"

"I have that. "

"Ever see him?"

"I did that. "

"Would you know him, do you think, if you should see him again?"

"I would that. It isn't three weeks since I saw him wid these two eyesas plain as I see y'r own beautiful face this minit. Sure, I'd knowhim. "

"Come this way, then. "

She went into the adjoining room, and they followed. There she pulledaside the rug again, and, having raised the trapdoor, descended, Patsyand Handsome following close behind her. 

The narrow steps took them into a spacious cellar, and, having passedthrough a partition by opening a heavy oaken door, they entered whatappeared to be a prison room. 

Nick Carter was there. He had recovered consciousness, and was seated ona low stool against the wall. His arms were stretched wide apart, andeach was held in position by an iron chain on either side of him. Aring of these chains had been passed around each wrist, and lockedthere, and the chains were fastened to the stone walls by staples. 

Madge stopped directly in front of the detective, and glared at him, while he returned her fierce look with a half smile--for he had entirelyrecovered from the effects of the dose she had administered. 

She raised her arm and pointed toward the detective, but before shecould utter a word, Patsy cried out:

"That's him! That's him! Sure, ma'am, I'd know him among a thousand!He's got stain on his skin; I can see that; and he is disguised in otherways, ma'am, I can see that, too; but it's him. I'd take me oath to it, so I would. "

Madge smiled, and softly rubbed her hands together. 

"Carter, " she said coldly, "do you know this man who recognizes you?"

Nick shrugged his shoulders in disdain, for he understood perfectly wellthat Patsy had some well-defined plan in his head for doing as he did;and he replied:

"I suppose he is somebody whom I have arrested at some time. It is onlythe worst criminals, like yourself, Madge, that I take the trouble toremember. "

She turned away with a toss of her head. 

"Come!" she ordered; and they followed her from the cellar room, and upthe narrow stairs again, where she reclosed the trap. 

"Go back, Pat, and take your place among the others, " she ordered himthen. "You will be watched for a long time, and at the first break youmake you will be knifed, or shot. It is up to you whether you make goodin this community or not. Go now. "

When he had gone, she turned to Handsome. 

"Handsome, " she said slowly, "you can go now, too. Keep an eye on thatPat. At midnight to-night, come here to the cottage, for I want you tohelp me to carry the body into the woods to the quicksand pit. We willthrow him there--Nick Carter, I mean. "

"Of course. Shall you chuck him in alive?"

"No; for he would find some way to crawl out and escape. I will put himout of the way first. It will be only a dead body that we will have tocarry, but I don't want the men to know that Nick Carter has been amongus until after he is dead. Then it will not matter. "

"Right you are, " said Handsome; and he took his departure. 

But down in the cellar beneath them something had happened, for as soonas the party of three left him, Nick calmly and easily pulled the ironstaples from the wall and stood upon his feet. The fact was that he hadalready succeeded in loosening them when he heard the approach of Madgeand the others, and he had been afforded barely time to resume hisposition of helpless captivity when the door was opened and theyentered. 

But now he was free, save for the short chains that were still fastenedto his wrists, and the plank walls that rose between him and liberty. 

But the chains on each wrist were short, and the walls were only plank;and in Madge's eagerness and haste in fastening him there she hadneglected--or she had not thought it necessary--to search him for hisweapons. 

He knew now that there was very little time to spare, and that he andhis three assistants were in a bad predicament. 

CHAPTER IX. 

THE ESCAPE FROM THE SWAMP. 

In the meantime, Patsy had been in half a dozen different kinds of abrown study. He realized that now the entire situation depended solelyupon him, and that the lives of his chief, and of Chick and Ten-Ichi, rested wholly in his hands. 

He stood, be it said, all alone, in the midst of a huge swamp, fromwhich escape could only be had by means of a boat, and into which he hadbeen conducted blindfolded. Around him were men, all ready at anyinstant to take his life for the merest excuse; and already the lives ofhis three friends were sacrificed unless he could do something--and thatvery speedily--to save them. 

In the cellar at the cottage he had not dared to look squarely at hischief, for fear that the inclination on his own part to make some sortof signal would be too strong for him to resist; and he had known thatMadge was watching every act and motion, as a cat watches a mouse. 

When he left the cottage, and had gone as far as the edge of the glade, he halted, and waited there for Handsome, for he guessed that the manwould be sent away directly; and when Handsome did come, Patsy said tohim:

"Sure, Handsome, will ye tell me what is to be done wid the others?"

"I haven't made up my mind about that yet, " replied Handsome. 

"And is it left to you that it is?"

"Certainly. "

"Faith, but that's fine. I wish it was left to me, so I do. "

"What would you do to them, Pat?"

"I'd skin 'em, begorra!"

Handsome laughed. 

"Perhaps I will give you a chance, " he said. "However, it is likely thatthey will go into the quicksand. "

"Where is that same, then?"

"Out in the swamp a bit. There is no getting out of it, and it tells notales. Once a man is thrown into that, he sinks out of sight in a fewminutes, and that is the last of him. It is our graveyard. There areabout fifty in there now. The place is bottomless. "

"Cheerful, isn't it? Sure, man, it's unhealthy, it is; but I'll go andhave a look at it. Where is it?"

Handsome directed him how to find it, and he hastened away; but hepaused before he started long enough to select a long, strong rope thathe had seen near one of the cabins. This he carried with him, anddisappeared among the trees. 

Patsy was gone less than half an hour, but when he returned he waswhistling; and then, after a little, he found an opportunity to lingeraround the place where Chick and Ten-Ichi were confined in one of thecabins. 

And presently he began to sing; at first in a low tone, and inunintelligible words; but his voice was good, and it attractedattention, even among that motley crew, and after a little, perceivingthat they were listening, he sang the louder. 

If they had but known it, he was singing in Japanese, which Ten-Ichi hadtaught him to speak perfectly; and the words he uttered as he sang, translated, were:

"There is a quicksand pit not far from here. They are going to throw youboth into it. I have carried a rope to the quicksand pit. I have tied itto a tree near there. When you are thrown into the pit, spread out yourarms. And also spread out your legs. Keep as still as possible so as notto sink too fast. I will be there as soon as I can do it. I will throwyou the end of the rope. And with your own combined strength and mine, we can pull you out. I am not suspected, so I can do the act, all right. Keep up your pluck, and manage not to go into the pit head down. "

He sang this over and over several times until he was sure that Ten-Ichihad heard and understood, and would convey the message to Chick, andthen he sauntered away. 

Twice after that he tried to get near to the cottage to sing to NickCarter; but each time he was stopped and turned back again; and at lasthe muttered to himself:

"I'll have to wait till to-night for that part of it. After I haverescued Chick and Ten-Ichi I will have them to help me, and then it willbe funny if we don't get the chief out of the pickle he is in. "

It was well toward evening, almost the hour of sundown, before Chick andTen-Ichi were carried to the quicksand pit; and then a processionfollowed them. The hands and feet of the prisoners were not bound, forit was desired that they should flounder in the quicksand in order tohasten its work; and without ceremony they were hurled into the midst ofit, one, and then the other. 

Patsy's only fear was that the horde of hoboes would throw sticks andstones at the helpless men in the sand pit; but he found that this wasagainst orders, since the presence of such impedimenta would give thevictims something to seize hold of; and the operation of sinking was soslow, and the hoboes had seen it so many times, that they had lostinterest in it; so that almost at once after Chick and Ten-Ichi werethrown in they began to withdraw to their several occupations; andfinally when only a group of four remained, Patsy, who was one of them, called out: "It's tired of this I am. Come on!" and, nothing loath, theothers followed him away. 

But he was not long gone. Almost at once he found an opportunity toleave them, and, by making a detour, to hurry back again. 

Already when he had reached the pit a second time the two detectives hadsunk almost to their armpits; but in an instant Patsy found the rope hehad concealed, one end of which was fastened to a tree. 

The task which followed can better be imagined than described, and onlyfor the great strength of the trio it must have been unsuccessful. Butwith Chick and Ten-Ichi straining for their lives at one end, and Patsypulling on the other as best he could, they came forth inch by inch, until at last they stood, covered with mud, to be sure, but on solidearth. 

"Now, go around that way, " said Patsy, speaking rapidly. "The cottage isover there, as you know. You'll have to cross a neck of the swamp ingetting to it, but the chief is there, a prisoner. I have seen him. Heis chained to the wall in the cellar. If you get a chance before I do, overcome that beast of a sentinel, who is walking up and down near thehouse. I'll go back through the glade, and I'll manage somehow to joinyou there, if I have to kill somebody in order to do it; and take these. They are extra ones. I swiped them. " He handed them each a pistol as hespoke. 

Chance played into Patsy's hands when he returned to the glade. Two ofthe men had been quarreling, and they had taken the centre of the gladeto settle their differences; and there a ring had formed around them--aring which comprised almost every man of the outfit. 

The point was that the attention of everybody was diverted from Patsy, and, merely bestowing a single glance upon what was taking place, hehurried silently past them--it was almost dark now--and in a moment morehad passed through the pathway to the clearing around the cottage. 

As he entered the clearing silently, he came directly upon the sentinel, who, after listening to the row in the glade for a moment, had justturned to retrace his steps; this made him assume a position with hisback toward Patsy, and in an instant the young athlete had leaped uponhis back and shoulders, and had seized him by the throat, so that hebore him to the ground in absolute silence. 

And even as he did that, Chick and Ten-Ichi dashed out of the woods andhelped him; and Ten-Ichi, none too gentle, now that his anger wasaroused, rapped the sentinel on the head with the butt of his pistol, sothat he stiffened out and offered no more resistance. 

They had been thoughtful enough to bring the rope with them, too, andit did not take long to tie the man; and then the three assistants ofNick Carter leaped forward toward the door of the cottage, realizingthat at any instant they might be interrupted in their work, and knowingthat the odds would be terribly against them if they were. 

They leaped upon the piazza--and as they did so the door opened directlyin front of them, and Nick Carter appeared before them with thesenseless form of Black Madge in his arms. 

For just one instant he started backward; and then he recognized histhree assistants. 

"Quick!" he exclaimed. "Hold her, Chick!" and he put Madge into Chick'sarms. "I have drugged her with some of her own stuff. There's plenty ofit in the house. Get into the woods, all of you, over there"--and hepointed to the spot he wished them to go--"and wait for me. I'll bethere in a moment. "

While they obeyed him, he turned back into the house; and from the edgeof the clearing, where the others had concealed themselves, theypresently saw a blaze flare up inside the house; then another, and thenanother, until there were many of them; and then Nick Carter dashed outof it again and ran toward them with all speed. 

"Look, now!" he said. "Watch that upper window, in the gable!"

And looking as he commanded them to do, they presently saw, when thelight had gained in brightness, the form of a woman standing there, outlined against the blazing fire; and if they had not knowndifferently, there was not one of them who would not have sworn that itwas Black Madge who stood there, surrounded by flames. 

"It is a dummy that I fixed up, " whispered the detective. "It was doneto keep the attention of the crowd away from us. Look! The men havediscovered the fire!"

The hoboes were rushing toward the scene in crowds now; and they saw thefigure of the woman at the window in the gable instantly. 

A cry, then a shout, then a wail went up, for they thought it was theirchief--Black Madge, otherwise Hobo Harry, the Beggar King, as shepreferred to be known outside her own fraternity; and in that instantthe crowd went mad. 

There was not a soul among them who did not rush to the rescue of theirchief, believing that Nick's dummy at the window was she; and thendanced and shouted, and yelled and screamed around that burning cottage, like so many madmen. 

"Come, now, " said the detective. "This is our opportunity!"

Like shadows they sped away through the trees. They skirted the glade, now without a sign of life within it; they hurried down the path amongthe alders toward the place where the boat was kept, and where therewere now no less than four boats. 

But they took them all in order that none might be left for thepursuers, when it should occur to them to take up the chase; and then, with the strength of desperation, and guided by Nick, who had been twiceover the route without being blindfolded, they made their way silentlyand swiftly through the maze of the swamp, to dry land at the other sideof it. 

"We have not made good our escape yet, " said Nick, as they climbed thegrade of the railway. "If only a train would come along now, so we couldflag it--hark!"

Even as he spoke, a freight came around the curve toward them, and Nick, giving the unconscious form of Madge into the care of Chick, leaped outupon the track between the rails, and, at the risk of his life, stoodwithin the glare of the advancing headlight and waved his coat for theengineer to stop. 

Fortunately it was a freight, and it was going rather slowly. Theengineer saw the frantic appeal, and closed his throttle and applied thebrakes. 

The party was taken aboard, and Black Madge was locked up in the jail atCalamont. She jeered at her captors, assuring them that she would befree again, and that when she was they had better remember who and whatshe was. 

Nick and his assistants then returned to New York, pretty thoroughlytired out by their experiences with Black Madge and her followers. 

The following day Nick Carter called upon the president of the E. &S.  W. R.  R. Co. , and told him the story of the capture of "Hobo Harry. "

"Also, I want to tell you, " said the detective, "that I was one of theburglars that robbed the bank at Calamont. I see there is quite a stirabout it. But I know where the loot is concealed, and if you will raisea hundred men for me I will go back and clean out that swamp, and notonly return the property to the bank, but I will find almost all thathas been stolen from different places for a long time. "

Arrangements were at once made to carry out Nick's plans, but thedetective was not quick enough. 

The news of the arrest of Black Madge had spread through the surroundingcountry like wildfire, and, by the time Nick and his force of railroademployees reached the place, the gang had fled, and the people of thenear-by towns, having formed vigilance committees, had swooped down onthe stronghold in the swamp. 

Nick and his men, however, destroyed everything that remained, with axesand matches, and what they could not destroy in that way they blew upwith dynamite, so that the place no longer offered a refuge for thehoboes. 

CHAPTER X. 

ESCAPE OF THE HOBO QUEEN. 

It was about a week later that Nick Carter received a note from thepresident of the railroad which caused him great astonishment. It wasbrief and to the point. It read:

 "Can you call on me at once? Black Madge has escaped. "

That was all, but it was enough to stir the detective to action, and, taking Patsy, who happened to be in when the message arrived, along withhim, Nick at once visited the office of the railroad. 

"Well, Carter, it didn't take long for Black Madge to make good herthreat, did it?" said the president as he rose and shook hands with thedetectives. 

"I think, " replied the detective, smiling, "that, considering thetrouble we were put to in capturing her, it was a very short time for usto hold her. Now, what can I do for you, Mr. Cobalt?"

"Do? Why, you can catch Black Madge again for vs. "

"Oh, " said the detective, smiling. "Can I? Well, possibly. "

"You see, " the president continued, "we have called a hasty meeting ofthe board since the information of the escape of Black Madge came to us, and we have decided that no effort shall be spared to get that womaninto custody again. At liberty, she is a constant menace to the welfareof the road, and of every town along the line, as well as of everybodywho lives in those towns. "

"I'll admit that she's a bad one, " said Nick. 

"We don't want her at liberty. With the following she has, she is adangerous woman--much more dangerous than a man would be in herposition. "

"I don't know about that. But she is dangerous enough without argumentabout it. "

"Exactly. We want her caught. And we want you to catch her. "

"I imagine that this time, Mr. Cobalt, it will be rather a harder taskthan it was before. "

"Why so?"

"She will be very much more on her guard now than then. And, besides, she knows enough about me to know that now I will most certainly hunther down. "

The railway president was thoughtful a moment, and then he said:

"You see, Carter, the very manner of her escape is a menace to us. "

"How is that?" asked the detective. "The first and, therefore, the onlyinformation I have had on the subject was that contained in yourmessage, which told me merely that she had escaped. What is there thatis particularly interesting about the manner of her escape?"

"Then you have not heard about it, eh?"

"I have just informed you that I have heard nothing. "

"Well, to say the least, her escape was characteristic. Her hoboes didit for her. "

Nick raised his brows. 

"You don't say so!" he exclaimed. "Well, we might have expectedsomething like that, I suppose. I regarded it as a little bitunfortunate that the arrest was made in the county where it was, forthat compelled us to put her temporarily in the Calamont jail--and Ithought at the time that the Calamont jail was a trifle close to herstamping ground. Now, suppose you tell me exactly what happened. "

"You know Calamont, of course?" asked the railway president, and thedetective smiled broadly. 

"I know very little about it, " he said, "with the exception that Iassisted in the robbing of a bank that is located there. "

It was the president's turn to smile. 

"That was a queer experience for you, Carter, wasn't it? But thepresident of that bank is quite willing that you should rob it again onthe same terms. You know we fixed him all up again, and my companypromises to keep a large deposit there now. Altogether, they regard yourdescent upon the bank as a very fortunate experience for them. "

"No doubt. Now about that escape. "

"Calamont is a village of about three thousand inhabitants. That bank, for instance, is the only one there. "

"What has that----"

"Wait a moment. Calamont has suffered a great deal from the depredationsof the hoboes, and now has a force of special constables, whose dutiesconsist in arresting and taking to jail every tramp who crosses theborders of the village. The other night, when Madge made her escape, thejail was filled with them. "

"Oh, " said the detective. "I begin to understand. "

"Exactly. "

"It was a put-up job on their part to get as many of their kind aspossible in the jail for that night, and then to take their queen out ofit; eh?"

"Precisely; and that is just what they did do. You see, the tramps begancoming in early in the day. They made intervals between the times oftheir arrivals, and they appeared at different parts of the town, sothat before anybody realized it, the jail was about filled with them. But they seemed not to know one another, and so the residents of thetown went peacefully to sleep that night, as usual. "

"Well?"

"Well, in the morning when they woke up, the jail had beengutted--literally gutted. "

"In what sense do you mean?"

"In every sense. "

"Tell me what you mean, please. "

"I mean that all the tramps who had been locked up there overnight haddisappeared; that they had managed to break into the main part of thejail, and that when they went away they took Black Madge with them; andthat before they went away they passed through the jail with axes andsmashed everything in sight. They tore down partitions, they smasheddoors, and where the doors could not be smashed, they destroyed thelocks. They tied up the jailer, and threatened to kill him--I regard itas a wonder that they did not kill him. "

"So do I. Go on. "

"That is all there is to it. They went there, of course, with thedeliberate intention of rescuing Black Madge--and they did it. "

"I suppose they must have taken to the woods north of the railway line;eh?"

"You've guessed it, Carter. "

"That is a wild country up through there, Mr. Cobalt. "

"You bet it is. I used to go through there every fall on a huntingexpedition, when I was younger. The country hasn't changed much sincethat time. It is as wild as if it were in an uncivilized country, instead of being surrounded by----"

"I understand. Then you do know something about that country up throughthere, eh?"

"Yes; I used to boast that I knew every inch of it; but, of course, thatwasn't quite so, you know. "

"Yet you remember it fairly well?"

"I think so. "

"Tell me something about it, for that is, I think, where I have got tosearch for the woman we are after. "

"There isn't much to tell about it, save that it is wild and uneven;that the formation is limestone, and the timber is largely red oak. Themountains--or hills, rather--are not high, but they are precipitous, rocky, impassable, full of ravines, and gulches, and unexpecteddepressions, and scattered around through that region there areinnumerable caves, too. "

"That is bad, " said the detective. "It will make it so much the harderto dislodge the hoboes. "

"So you have got your work cut out for you this time, and no mistake. "

"Could you suggest a competent guide for that region, Mr. Cobalt?"

"Old Bill Turner--if he would go. "

"Who is he?"

"An old hunter, who used to take me out with him, and who afterwardserved as guide for me. But he is an old man now. "

"Where does he live?"

"In Calamont. You will have no difficulty in finding him. Ask the firstman you meet in the street to direct you to old Bill Turner, and he willdo it. "

"That part of it is all right--if he is not too old to go. "

"Oh, I think he can be induced to do it. Old Bill likes the looks of adollar as well as any man you ever knew. You have only to offer himenough, and his rheumatism will disappear like magic. "

"Then that part of it is all right, too. I am to understand that I havethe same free hand in the matter that I did before?"

"Of course. Your directions are: Catch Black Madge and break up hergang. "

"And that, I suppose, is about all that you have to say to me atpresent. "

"Yes; unless you have some questions to ask. "

"Not one, thank you. I will ask them of Black Madge--when I catch her. "

"Good! I hope it won't be long before you can ask them. "

"I don't think it will be very long; only, she is a little bit thesmartest woman I ever tried to handle. "

CHAPTER XI. 

PATSY'S DANGEROUS MISSION. 

When Nick Carter and Patsy left the office of the railway president, they strolled in silence down the street until they came to arestaurant, and, entering, they found a secluded table in one corner, where they seated themselves and gave the order for luncheon. 

When it was brought to them, and the waiter had departed, Nick said tohis assistant:

"Well, Patsy, we start about where we began on the other case, with thesingle exception that we have broken up the stronghold in the swamp. Itis safe to say that Madge has no less than fifty men around her, andprobably as many more. I should not be surprised if there were fully onehundred in the gang, all told. "

"Nor I. "

"Well, I shall start for Calamont as soon as I have finished with themeal I am now eating. "

"And what do you wish me to do?"

"I want you to do a serious thing, and a dangerous one, Patsy. "

"Good! That is what I would like to do. "

"I think that Black Madge rather liked you in your character of a youngIrish crook; but I think also that she had some suspicion of you. "

"There isn't any doubt of that. "

"And, therefore, it will be an extremely dangerous thing to do to returnthere, and still represent yourself as the same character. "

"Gee! Is _that_ what you want me to do?"

"Yes. Do you suppose it can be done?"

"It can be tried. "

"You must not forget that they will look upon you with suspicion. "

"Oh, I don't forget that. "

"They will connect you with their misfortunes at once. Handsome, particularly, after being so nicely fooled by me, will be even moresuspicious of you. "

"I think I can get around Handsome, all right. It is Madge I am shy of. "

"There will be one thing in your favor, Patsy, if you _do_ undertakeit. "

"If I _do_ undertake it? Of course, I shall undertake it. "

"Then there will be one thing in your favor. "

"What is that, please?"

"The very fact that you _do_ go back among them in the same character inwhich you appeared before. I am inclined to think that now they wouldnot take in a new man, no matter how well he might be recommended; butone that they have known before will stand a lot better chance withthem. "

"I think so. "

"The very fact of your returning will go far to allay any suspicionsthey might have had about you formerly. It would never occur to themthat if you were really a detective that time, you would dare to returnto them in the same character. "

"You are right about that. "

"And, consequently, if you succeed in passing the investigation of thefirst few hours, you will be all right. "

"I am going to try it, anyhow. "

"Good, Patsy! But don't for a moment forget or neglect the danger youwill be in every minute you are there. "

"I will not. "

"You will have to cook up a good story----"

"I have that all ready now. "

"Then you can start whenever you please. I shall not interfere with youin the slightest manner. "

"But I want a little further instruction, chief. "

"The only instruction I have to give you is this: Go there; get amongthem; become one of them, and one with them; pick up all the informationabout them that you can, with names and identifications, so that youwill be a good witness against them when the time comes. "

"I can do that. "

"I want you to work independently of me entirely. Your only part of thegame, so far as it is directly connected with my part of the work, willbe to hold yourself in readiness to lend me a helping hand from theinside at any moment I may happen to want you. "

"Of course. That goes without saying. Are Chick and Ten-Ichi going to bein this?"

"Yes. But I have not determined in what way as yet. You will have to beon the lookout for them. I may take one of them with me, and send theother in to follow you. Or I may send both after you, and go it alonemyself. Or I may take them both with me. All that will depend upon whatinformation I pick up when I get to Calamont. "

"I see. "

"Now, Patsy, it is up to you. All that red you used on your hair beforehas not disappeared yet; but you had better go to a hair dyer's and getit fixed up over again. Then make yourself over once more into PatSlick. I leave the rest to you. But as a last warning, I repeat--lookout for that man Handsome. "

"Oh, I am not afraid of Handsome. He's a----"

"He is a much smarter man than either of us gave him credit for. He isan educated man, who can represent the hobo so perfectly that you wouldnever suspect that he has a college education. And he is devoted toMadge. Look out for him. He is her right-hand man, and he is dangerous. If he saw through you before, or had any idea that he did see throughyou, your life won't be worth a snap of your finger the next time youmeet--unless you can manage to shoot first. "

"I know that, too. But he did not suspect. "

"I am not so sure of that. Madge had a little time to think things overwhile she was in the jail, and as soon as she got out, she and Handsomehad a chance to talk things over. With their two heads together, theymake about as dangerous a pair to play against as could be imagined. "

"All right. I'll stand pat--and bluff. "

"Be careful that they don't call you. That's all. "

"Is there any particular game afoot with the hoboes just now?"

"Not that I know of. "

"What specific charge are we after Madge for?"

"No specific charge, save that she is accused of all the old ones. Thereis enough against her to send her to prison for the rest of her life, once she is caught. "

"I guess that's no pipe dream. "

"The railway people object to her being at liberty. That is about all. "

"And it is up to us to catch her?"

"That's the idea. "

"What about the rest of the gang?"

"If we can round up the entire outfit, that is what they want us to do. We are to get as many of them as we can, and make the charges afterthat. That is what you are going inside the ring for: to pick up allthe information about the individual members of the gang that you can. "

"I see. "

"The battle cry is: Break up the gang! Root it out, so that it cannotgrow again. "

"It is a pretty big proposition, chief; don't you think so?"

"It is a big proposition, and no mistake. But I shall make myarrangements about that part of it, so that if we ever succeed ingetting them rounded up, there will be no difficulty in carrying out therest of it. "

"All right. Now, I suppose I have my instructions. "

"Yes. "

"And that's all?"

"Yes. "

"And you don't expect to see me or to communicate with me againuntil--when?"

"Until I see you inside the stronghold of the hobo gang. "

"That is all right. We'll meet there. I'll get there, and I'll find away to make them believe in me. "

"I hesitate to send you on this business, Patsy. You have never in yourlife gone out to face quite as much peril as you will find in thisexpedition of yours now. "

"Well, I'll face it; and I'll overcome it, chief. "

"You're a good lad, Patsy. God bless you!"

"Don't worry about me, chief; not at all. I will be all right. The hobohasn't been born yet who can get away with me. "

"Don't forget that there are perhaps one hundred of them. "

"I'm not forgetting it. "

"And that the worst and most dangerous of the lot is the man calledHandsome. "

"I'll not forget that, either. "

Nick rose from the table and stretched out his hand. 

"Good-by, my lad, " he said. "I don't know when we will meet again. A lotdepends upon yourself. Even now I feel almost as if I ought not----"

"Don't say another word, please. I'm going to do what you have laid outfor me to do. I wouldn't obey you now if you should change the order. "

"Oh, yes, you would. But I won't change it. "

And so they parted there in the restaurant. 

And a little later Nick Carter took the train for Calamont. 

CHAPTER XII. 

BILL TURNER, THE WOODSMAN. 

When Nick Carter arrived at Calamont, he was disguised as a lumberman. It was not exactly the season of the year for lumbermen to enter thewoods, unless they were measurers, who were engaged in preparing inadvance work for the winter; so that was the character which Nick Carteradopted. 

Measurers go into the woods, measure trees on the stump, as it iscalled, blaze them with cabalistic marks, and otherwise prepare the wayfor the workers with the axes and saws who are to come later. 

It is well known that some of the most expert lumbermen in the world areFrench Canadians, and so Nick adopted this character, and he knew thatas such he could wander at will around the woods and mountains of thatregion without danger of being suspected for what he really was. 

If any of the hoboes who made their headquarters in that region shouldsee him, they would not be inclined to suspect what he really was, andthe only actual danger he would stand in would be that they might beinclined to knock him on the head or shoot him from ambush in order topossess themselves of the few articles he had in his possession. 

And for that very reason he adopted the disguise of a French Canadianlumberman, for it was rarely that they were supposed to have anythingmore than what they carried in sight on their backs. 

The month was September, and therefore warm. The leaves in some placeswere getting yellow and red, although there had been no frost; but oakleaves turn earlier than others. 

When he descended at Calamont Station, he stood there on the platformuntil the train had pulled out, and the other passengers who had arrivedby it had departed their several ways. Then he approached thebaggageman. 

"Me want find ze man named Beel Turner, " he said slowly. 

"What's that?" asked the baggageman. 

"Me want find Beel Turner. "

"Oh! Bill Turner, is it? Well, go up that street there until you come tothe post office. You'll like enough see an old, white-whiskered chapstanding there, chewing tobacco. That'll be Bill Turner. "

"Beel Turner? He ees known here? No?"

"Known here? Gee! He has lived here since the oldest inhabitant was ababy. He has always lived here. He is about a thousand years old, myman; but as strong and as lively as a kid yet. You'll find him somewherearound the post office. "

Nick thanked him in his broken English and strode up the street. 

Sure enough, when he arrived in the vicinity of the post office, he sawa white-whiskered man standing there, and he approached him at once. 

"You ees Beel Turner?" he asked modestly, sidling up to the man. 

"I be, " was the response, while Bill Turner fixed his clear gray eyesupon the detective. "What might you be wantin' of me, stranger?"

"I have--hush!--I have some money for you, Beel Turner. Can you take mewhere we can talk so that nobody will overhear us?"

Turner eyed him suspiciously for a moment; then he turned abruptly awaywith the remark:

"Come along with me, stranger. "

Nick walked beside him through the town to the very end of the mainstreet. Then they turned into a roadway, which led up a steep hill forsome distance, and which presently brought them to a modest cottage thatwas almost hidden under the brow of the hill. 

"Here is where I live, " said Turner. "I live here all alone, 'cept a catand two dogs. But the dogs hev got old like me, now, and they can't goout among the hills as they used to; although, bless you, I reckon I kinwalk jest as fur as ever I could, if I try. Come in. "

Nick followed him inside, and Turner offered him a rocker near the openwindow. The whole house was as neat and clean as if it had the care of awoman. 

"Now, mister, " said Turner, "what hev ye got on yer mind?"

"In the first place, " replied Nick, in his natural voice, "I am not whatI seem to be. I am not a lumberman, or a Frenchman--or a Canadian. I ama detective. "

"Sho! You don't say so. Well, that beats me. Sure, ye do it fine, mister. I would never hev suspected at all that you are not what youseem. But go on. "

"I have come here after that gang of hoboes who infest the neighborhoodfor fifty or sixty miles around this place. I am principally after thewoman who is their chief. Do you know who I mean?"

"I reckon ye must be referrin' to that there Black Madge and her gang. "

"That's right. "

"Well, yer up agin' a proposition. That's all I kin say about it. "

"I know that; and what I want of you is to get you to help me with thatproposition, Bill Turner. "

"Ain't I too old?"

"Not a bit of it. "

"Is there good pay in it?"

"The very best; and there is fifty dollars down for you right now--ifyou are inclined to do as I want you to do. "

Nick took a roll of bills from his pocket as he spoke, and laid it onthe table before the avaricious glances of the old man. 

"Well, sir, " said Turner slowly, "all I've got to say is this: If I cando what you want done, I'll do it. I want that money as bad as anybodycould want it and not grab it right now where it is lying; but I havenever had a penny in my life that I didn't get honestly, and I am afraidthat I'm too old to do what you want done. "

"I tell you that you are not. "

"Then, in that case, I'll take the money and put it in my pocket--so. There! Now, go ahead. If the work is honest, and such as an honest mancan do, I'll do it--if I ain't too old, and you say I ain't. But if thework ain't honest, I'll return your money. Now, what is it, mister?"

"I want you first to promise that you will not reveal my identity. Imust be Jules Verbeau to you to the end, and you must forget that I amnot he in fact. "

"You kin consider that done, sir. "

"Second, I want you to answer some questions for me. "

"Fire away. "

"How well do you know the hills and mountains, the ravines and gulches, the rocks and the caves around this region?"

"As well as I know that dooryard in front of you, " replied the old man, pointing through the window. "I know every inch of the country--everyinch of it. "

"Now, another question which you will not understand at once: Do youknow how to use a pencil, and is your hand steady enough to draw plansfor me?"

"Yes, sir. I began life as a draughtsman; but that was when I was aboy. "

"That will suffice. Now--could you draw a plan of different parts of themountains, so it would be plain enough for me to follow without yourbeing present with me?"

"That would depend upon you, sir. If you are a man who has somewoodcraft in your make-up, I say yes. It would depend upon you. "

"We will consider that question answered, then. Now, have you any ideato what part of the mountainous region around here--say, within fiftymiles of where we are seated--the hobo gang would select in which tohide themselves?"

"I think I could guess it to a dot. "

"Why?"

"Because there is one region up among those hills which is exactlyfitted for them; and from which you couldn't drive them out with athousand men. That's why!"

"Good. That sounds as if it might be the place they would select. Howfar is it from here, as you would travel afoot. "

"A matter of thirty miles. "

"Now, can you draw me a plan of that region?"

"I kin. "

"And how to get there?"

"I kin. "

"And are there caverns there? Do you suppose those people are hiding andmaking their headquarters in caves?"

"Yes, to both questions. The hills round that 'ere region arehoneycombed with caves. Some of 'em is big, and some of 'em is little;but there's a lot of 'em there. "

"Good; and you know them well enough to give me a working plan of them?What a sailor would call a chart?"

"You bet I do. "

"Now, another subject: Have you ever traveled away from here? Have youever been to New York, for instance?"

"Never in my life. I've always lived right around here. I don't supposeI have been ten miles away from here, except in the woods, in fortyyears. But in the woods I sometimes used to go a good ways. "

"I've no doubt of that. How would you like to make a visit to NewYork?"

"I should like it very much--only it would cost such a lot, you know. "

"Suppose your expenses were paid?"

"Well, that would be different. "

"How much, in cash, will you take for your whiskers, Mr. Turner?"

"Now what the devil do you mean by that? Are you making fun of me?"

"Not at all. I was wondering if fifty dollars more, down, would induceyou to shave off your whiskers. "

"Humph! Jest tell me what you are getting at and I'll answer you. "

"This: I want to disguise myself so that I look like you. I want to goout in the mountains as you would go out. While I am making believe thatI am Bill Turner, I want you to take a trip to New York, and to livethere, at my house, and take it easy, see all the sights, go to thetheatres and the museums, and all that, until I return, and I want youto shave off your whiskers, and let me blacken your brows and otherwisemake some changes in your appearance, so that if any of the people fromCalamont should happen to meet you in the street down there theywouldn't say, 'Why, there is Bill Turner!' Would you consent to dothat?"

"For another fifty dollars down?"

"Yes. "

"I would. When do you want me to shave?"

"I will tell you in good time. First, I want you to fix up those plans. "

"Hadn't I better git about it right now?"

"Yes. I think you had. And I will remain here with you while you do itin order that you may explain things to me as you work upon them. "

"That's a good idee, too. I can make you know them mountings as well asI do, in a short time. I knows 'em so well----"

"That reminds me. Do you happen to know by sight, or have anacquaintance with, any of the members of that gang?"

The old man shifted uneasily in his chair, and at last he replied:

"I know one of them--purty well. He calls himself Handsome. "

"Good! What does Handsome know about you, Bill?"

"He don't know nothin' about me, 'cept that I'm a woodsman, and that I'mtoo old to do him any harm. I helped him once, and once he helped me aleetle, and we're sort of friends. But I ain't never seen him but twicein my life, and then both times I met him in the woods, so I ain't nevermentioned nothin' about him to other folks. "

"That's splendid! It is just what I hoped. It couldn't be better! I wantyou now to tell me what you talked about when you and Handsome met eachother those two times in the woods. "

"That's easy. The first time, I was walking through the woods, up aboutwhere you are going--that is, it was in that region--when I heardsomebody hollerin' fur help. At first I couldn't tell for the life of mewhere the hollerin' come from; but after a leetle I located it up on theside of one of them steep hills, and so I crawled up there. Well, when Igot there, I found that a man had slid into a hole in the rocks, andthat he couldn't git out nohow. If I hadn't happened along the chancesare that he'd starved before he'd ha' been helped out. "

"And as it was--what?"

"I helped him out. I didn't have no hatchet, but I had a good huntin'knife along with me, and I managed to whittle down a good-sized spruce, which I trimmed so's to make a sort of ladder of it. When that was doneI lowered the butt end of it into the hole, and Handsome--that was whoit was in the bottom of the hole--he climbed up so's I could get hold ofhim, and then I pulled him out. There wasn't much to that, was there?"

"It saved his life. "

"Probably. "

"Wasn't he grateful?"

"Suttingly. "

"What did you talk about after that?"

"We sot down there a spell and chinned, that's all. He axed me who Iwas, and I told him. He axed me if I was long in these parts, and I toldhim allers. He axed me where I lived, and I told him about this cottage. That's all--only he said he was a hobo, and that he was called Handsome. I allowed that the people who called him that lied mightily; but Ididn't say so jest then. "

"What more was talked about?"

"Nothin'. "

"When was the next time you saw him?"

"That was in the middle of the summer, and it was farther south--not farfrom the railroad tracks. "

"Well, what happened then?"

"That was the time he helped me. "

"How was that?"

"I can't never tell you exactly how it was, but somehow I had got myfoot wedged in the root of a tree, and I had been tryin' an hour to gitit out, without success. The tree was hard, and I was just tacklin' thatroot with my knife--I'd have cut through it in about an hour, Ireckon--when 'long comes that feller Handsome that I had saved from thehole in the rocks. He had an axe on his shoulder, and when he spied mehe stopped, and laughed, and laughed until I got mad. 

"'Caught in yer own trap, ain't ye?' he axed me. 

"'I be, ' says I. 'You've got a axe, and mebby you kin help me out o'it. '

"Well, he did. He chopped the root in a jiffy, and I was free; but, bless you, I could 'a' done it myself with my knife in a hour, anyhow. All the same, I was grateful to him, and we sot down on a log andchinned for a while. "

"What about?"

"He asked me what I was doing around there, and I told him that I wasthinking of looking over the swamp below the tracks a leetle, with someidea of settin' traps there late this fall and winter, and he said ashow he wouldn't advise me to do it. He said as how I wouldn't be likelyto ketch the sort of animals I was after, and that some of the animalsmight ketch me; and, as I ain't exactly a fule, I ketched onto what hemeant, and I ain't been nigh that place since. And then it turned outafterward as I thought it would, them hoboes had a hidin' place in thatvery swamp. "

"Right you are, Bill!" said Nick, laughing. "Is that all theconversation you had with Handsome?"

"Every bit of it. "

"And you have never seen him since?"

"Never. Hold on; he axed me that time if I had ever mentioned the factof our fust meetin', and I told him I had not. He seemed pleased atthat, and he told me never to mention it. I allowed that I didn't see noreason why I should, and he laughed at that and seemed entirelysatisfied. "

"That is excellent, Bill. Now, we will get at those plans. I don't wantto lose any time. "

"Would you mind telling me why you axed me all about them two meetings?"

"Not at all. When I go out into the woods in the character of BillTurner, I am likely at some time to run across Handsome himself. I wantto be posted, so that he won't know but what I am you. I don't want himto catch me; see?"

"Yes. But do you suppose you kin fix yourself to look enough like meso's he won't know the difference when he sees you?"

"Certainly. "

The old man shook his head. 

"I don't believe it, " he said, "but maybe you can. How about the voice?Your voice ain't no more like mine than a----"

"I can do that, too, " replied Nick, exactly simulating the voice inwhich the old man was speaking; and he looked around him in wonder, andthen at the detective. 

"It does beat all!" he said at last. "I guess you're some too many forme, sir. "

"Shall we get at those plans now?"

"Right away. "

Turner brought out paper and pencil, and, having cleared the top of histable, he began to work. 

First he drew a large circle on the paper, and at one edge of it he madea cross. 

"That there cross is Calamont, " he said. "Where we be now; and allthat's inside of the ring I've made lies to the east of here, fromnor'-nor'east to sou'-sou'east--and east. You understand?"

"Perfectly. "

"Well, jest about in the middle o' that ring is the place where I thinkthem fellers would hide. It's the best place for them. "

"Tell me about it before you draw anything; or, rather, talk while youare drawing. "

"That's jest what I'm going to do. Now, you follow my pencil and payattention. "

"Go ahead, " said Nick. 

"When you leave here--if you start from Calamont, which I suppose youwill--you start right about here. You take a general direction nor'eastfrom here at first. You'll find a path through the woods after you gitabout two miles from here, and that path will lead you several miles. But about here it'll disappear, and you won't have nothin' to guide you'cept what I show you and tell you now. "

"Exactly, " replied the detective. 

"Up here, at about the time you lose all trace o' the path, you'll cometo a deep ravine. You want to follow up the middle of that, to the top. And when you git to the top of it you will think that you have run upag'inst a cliff, and there ain't no gettin' out of it without goin'back. 

"But that ain't so. There's a waterfall at the end of the ravine. Itcomes around a sort of a twist in the rocks, and if you ain't afraid ofgettin' damp, you follow around there, and you will find as nice a pieceof steps cut in them stones as you ever saw in your life. Indians cut'em more'n a hundred years ago, so I'm told. 

"Well, they take you to the top of that cliff. When you're up there, youfind you're in another ravine, not so deep as t'other. Right here thatwould be, " he added, making a mark with the pencil. 

"All right, " said Nick. 

"About a mile farther up that second ravine you want to leave it. You'llfind a big dead oak that hangs out over it, and beside the dead oakthere is a path up the side of the ravine. It is one of my own paths. You get up it by hangin' onto two things you find there for the purpose. I put 'em there more'n twenty years ago, mister. "

"Go ahead. "

"When you git to the top, you want to branch off this way--so. You'llfind a clearin' about there, and off to the east you'll see some highhills. You want to make for them. "

"And those hills, I suppose, is my destination. "

"That's where the caves are. That's where you will find the gang ifthey are hiding anywhere in that 'ere region. "

"Now, tell me about the caverns. Tell me how to find them. "

"They're easy enough to find--some of 'em is; others ain't. Wait aminute. "

He pushed that paper aside, and took a fresh one. 

"Now, when you come to the hills, you will approach 'em at what we callthe Dog's Nose. So named because that's what it looks like. It's a rockthat sticks out right about here, and you can't miss it. It looksexactly like a dog's nose, stickin' out and smelling things. 

"You want to go right up under that there dog's nose; and when you gitthere you'll see a hole in the rock that ain't no bigger than the lowerhalf of that window. It's a leetle bit of a hole, and it's as dark as apocket inside it, too. Nobody, even if they found the hole, would everthink of going in there. It ain't invitin' to look at. "

"How did you happen to go into it?"

"I didn't. I came out of it. I got lost in that cave for three daysonce, when I was a boy, and when I found my way out I came out of thathole. Nobody knows about that entrance but me, though I suppose lots offolks knows it's there. "

"And it communicates with the cave?"

"It does. It'll take you to any part of the cave; and there is only onerule to follow in going through it. You'll want a light, though. "

"I've got the light. What is the rule?"

"Always--no matter where you are in any of them caves, take the way tothe right. Never take a gallery to the left, goin' in either or anydirection. It's a rule that holds good in them caves. It's a sort of waythat nature provided so's you could find your way through there; and Ihappened to discover what it was. "

"It all sounds very simple and easy. "

"And it is, if you've got the pluck and the sand. But it's a ticklishplace. There is a good many places in there that I ain't never explored, and don't want to; and it's safe to bet that the hoboes ain't done it, neither. I reckon, mister, that that's about all I kin show you--holdon, though!"

"What now?"

"Well, there's one place up there which it might be handy for you toknow about, and I don't think anybody but me knows about it, either. "

"What is that?"

"Well, you might find occasion to want to hide yourself away while youare in there. "

"That is more than likely, Bill. "

"Well, just arter you pass through the hole that is under the Dog'sNose, and about twenty rods from there, you'll find a place where thereis a bowlder sort of set into the rocks. You won't notice it unless youlook for it, but it is there. Under it you'll find a small stone wedgedfast. If you pull out that small stone, and then push on the big rock, it'll swing around like it was on a pivot, and you kin step inside thehole it leaves, and close up the door after you. You'll find aninterestin' place in there, too, if you ever have occasion to use it, mister; and nobody will find you there, either. "

CHAPTER XIII. 

BLACK MADGE'S LIEUTENANT. 

The detective passed the remainder of that day, and much of the night, in old Bill Turner's company, and during that time they talkedincessantly about the mountains to which Nick was going, about thecaverns in those mountains, and the trails through them; and when theconversation was finished Nick felt that he could find his way withoutdifficulty wherever he cared to go among them. 

When he saw that the old man was tired out, he sent him to bed, andhimself dropped upon a couch in Turner's living room, where he sleptlike a top till morning. 

Soon after dawn they were both astir; and after they had eaten somebreakfast, and Turner had made his usual pilgrimage to the post office, they began again upon the plans and went over them for the last time. 

And then came the task of making the changes in their personalappearance. This, to the layman, sounds like no easy task; but to NickCarter it was merely the practicing of an art of which he was thoroughlya master. 

He had brought with him the things necessary to accomplish the changes;and when the old man returned from the village he set to work--firstupon himself--for he knew that he must make his own disguise letterperfect if he hoped to deceive such a man as Handsome. 

He first made up his face, not with paints, but with stains that wouldnot wash off, to represent the leathery, weather-beaten countenance ofthe old man; and here he was, perhaps, fortunate in the fact that theprofusion of white whiskers worn by the old man rendered his face theeasier to copy, and in reality concealed much of it from view. 

Then he adjusted the beard. 

But not as false beards are supposed to be adjusted. This was donealmost hair by hair. That is, the beard was divided into tufts of hair, and each tuft was stuck on with a glue of Nick's own creation, so thatthere was no danger that it would drop off under any circumstances--andso that it could not be pulled off without drawing patches of skin withit. 

And this was as it should be, since if any one should suppose that thewhiskers might be false, and should seize them and pull sharply uponthem, they would resist the effort exactly as if the beard was natural. 

In height the two men were about the same. In figure, the old man waspossibly somewhat stouter than Nick; but there was not enoughdifference to be noticeable. 

The detective occupied about three hours in making up that disguise, soparticular was he about it; but when it was finished at last it wasperfect. So perfect, indeed, that Turner regarded him in amazement; thencame closer to look into his eyes, and at last he said:

"I'm glad, Mr. Carter, that I didn't meet you on the street in that rig. It would have frightened me to death. I'd have been sure that I was deadand had met my own ghost, out for a walk. "

That night, when the train bound for the city passed through Calamont athalf-past eleven, a man climbed aboard of it who--if anybody had noticedhim particularly--it would have been supposed was the same FrenchCanadian lumberman who had appeared there the day before. 

But there was no one there save the ticket agent, and he did not noticeparticularly. It is certain that he had no idea that in the black-hairedman who went away was old Bill Turner. 

But so it was. Nick had made the old man up in a representation of theFrenchman; or at least near enough to it so that in the darkness thedifference would not be noticed; and the old man, being made to appearyoung, really felt young, and he went away joyously. 

In his pockets he carried letters; one was to Chick, and the other wasto Joseph, his confidential servant, in case Chick should happen not tobe at home when Turner arrived there. 

And those letters gave instructions that Turner was to be treated toeverything he wanted, and that Chick and Ten-Ichi should take turns inshowing him about the city. Nick assured them that they could help himquite as much in that way as if they were among the mountains with him, assisting him in the actual work. 

And the next morning--the morning after the departure of Turner--Nicktook the old man's place in the customary stroll, or hobble would be abetter word, to the post office. 

He stopped and talked with people as he met them, having posted himself, with the old man's aid, in what he was to say. And he stood around thepost office steps for two hours, as Turner was in the habit of doing. 

He was trying out the part; trying it on the dog, so to speak. And hewas thoroughly satisfied with the result. 

In his talks there in front of the post office he gave it out that hewas going to take another trip into the woods; and as it was the seasonof the year when Turner had been in the habit of being absent, nosurprise was felt. And that afternoon he literally pulled up stakes andstarted. 

Once he was in the woods, Nick quickened his pace. He realized now that, figuratively, he had burned his bridges behind him, and that he must seethe thing through to the end. 

He did not fear the consequences at all; he felt that there was only onechance of his failure, and that was in the shrewd eyes and keenintelligence of Handsome. 

Handsome had met Turner twice and talked with him each time. Nick knewHandsome well enough to know that the outlaw would have studied Turnervery closely at those interviews; the question now was, would Handsomedetect the fraud?

Nick did not think it likely; and, anyhow, the risk had to be taken. 

That night the detective made himself a fire and camped in the woods; inthe early morning he started on again. 

In due course of time he came to the ravine, and went up it to the topas the old man had directed him to do. And he went around the "rockswith a sort of a twist in them" until he found the steps that were cutin the stones, and so mounted to the top. 

Far up the second ravine he found the dead tree that hung over it, andthe pathway up the side of the hill beside it; and that night he campedagain in the woods. 

He had not far to go that second morning, after he had eaten somebreakfast, before he arrived at the Dog's Nose. It was ten o'clock inthe morning when he got there. 

All that morning Nick had noticed signs that he was approaching theregion where he would find the hobo gang. He had seen where trees hadbeen chopped down and corded up for firewood; and there were many othersigns that many men were in the vicinity. 

When he came to the shelter of the Dog's Nose, he stopped there, and, having fixed himself a temporary camp, resolved that he would remainthere until night, for he had some hope that some of the hoboes wouldhappen along, and that he could talk with them. 

That was his game; not to sneak upon them unawares, but to let it beknown that he was in the neighborhood, so that Handsome would come tohim. He wanted that ordeal over with Handsome as soon as possible. 

He was destined not to be disappointed. The afternoon was well advancedwhen Handsome suddenly stepped out of a cluster of balsams, and stoodbefore him. 

He had approached as silently as an Indian; as if he had passed his lifein woodcraft, and, indeed, Nick had no doubt that he had. 

For a moment he stood there near the balsams, silently regarding thedetective; and Nick, perfectly acting the part of Turner, looked up andnodded, but said nothing. 

After a little Handsome strode forward, no longer taking care to remainquiet; and he seated himself on a log near Nick, and facing him, whileat the same time he toyed with apparent carelessness with a revolver heheld in his hand. 

"What brings you here, Turner?" he asked at last. 

"The season of the year brings me, " was the reply. "I have come hereevery autumn at this time for more'n fifty years. "

"Indeed!" Handsome looked at him with new interest. "Is that true?" heasked. 

"I wouldn't have any reason to lie to ye, would I?" asked Nick. "OldBill Turner hasn't missed a year in fifty years in coming here, Mr. Handsome. "

"Then you must know these hills mighty well, eh?"

"I know every inch of 'em; every leaf that falls on 'em, almost. That'sthe way I know 'em. "

"And do you know about the places under the hills as well?"

"Do you mean the caves?"

"I do. "

"I know 'em purty well--yes. There is some parts of 'em that nobodyknows, I reckon; and while I--well, maybe I don't know all about 'em, and maybe I'd get lost in 'em now; only I don't think so. "

"What do you know about that hole up there, under that rock that isshaped like the nose of a dog?"

"I know it's a hole. I reckon that's about all that anybody knows aboutit. It's a dark sort of a place. I ain't got no fancy for goin' intoit. "

"Does it connect with the main part of the cavern?"

"Maybe it does, and maybe it doesn't; but most likely it does; only Idon't think that anybody would be after trying to find out. "

"You have never been through that hole, then?"

"I ain't never been inside of it, " replied Nick, with perfect truth. 

Handsome thought a moment, and then he asked suddenly:

"Turner, who sent you up here?"

"Nobody sent me; why?"

"Didn't the people of Calamont send you to find me and my followers?"

"Nary a bit of it. "

"Well, now that you have seen me, and know that I am here, and thereforeguess that others are here with me, what would you do about it if youshould go back to Calamont now, and somebody there should ask you if youhad seen me?"

"Look here, Handsome, I don't meddle with other people's affairs. I want'em to leave mine alone, and consequently I leave theirn alone. You hearme speak!"

"But what answer would you make if that question was asked of you?"

"I probably shouldn't answer at all. "

"Suppose an answer was insisted upon?"

"I ain't never found nobody yet who could make old Bill Turner answer aquestion if he didn't want to. "

"Do you mean that you would not wish to answer that question?"

"Look here, Handsome, if you want me to promise that I won't tell on ye, why don't you say so? What you and your fellers do ain't none of myfuneral, so long as you leave me alone. Do you think I came up here tospy on you?"

"That is what I thought when I first discovered you. "

"Well, forget it. I ain't carryin' no tales. I'd 'a' been dead long agoif I had done that. Life's too short. I ain't never mentioned to nobodyabout the two times I have met you, and I ain't likely to, either. Iain't got time. You ain't robbed my house, and I don't care what you doas long as you leave me alone. "

Again Handsome was silent a while, and then he said suddenly:

"Turner, would you like to go to our camp?"

"No; that is, I ain't particular about it. You might think I was tryingto spy on ye--or some of the men might, and that would make me mad. "

"They won't think anything of the kind if I take you there. "

"All right. If you want me to go--I'll go. "

"Come along, then. You have got this far, and we've either got to trustyou, or kill you. It will depend upon you which that will be. "

Keeping in his mind's eye the plans that Turner had made for him, Nickknew perfectly the route over which Handsome led him on the way to thecamp, to which he had referred. 

It was a picturesque place. Turner had described it in detail to thedetective, and had mentioned it as the most likely place for the outlawsto make their headquarters. He had said:

"Ye see, mister, it's a sort of sasser in the mountings. There ain'tonly one way to git to it from the outside, and that is a purty hardone; so hard that half a dozen men could hold it agin' a thousand; andthe other way to git to it is through the caves; and ye've got to knowthem galleries mighty well in order to find yer way through. I thinkyou'll do it, because you act as if you had been in caves afore. "

The place was a "sasser" in the mountains, sure enough. On every side ofit there were frowning cliffs, which rose hundreds of feet in the air;and these cliffs were as inaccessible from the outside as they were fromthe saucer itself. There was only one pathway, and that was through anarrow fissure, barely wide enough for one big man to walk through it. 

And this latter could have been stopped up with rocks in half an hour, so that nobody could get through it. 

Handsome made the supposed Turner walk in front of him when they enteredthe fissure; and thus it was that they appeared on the opposite side ofit; then Handsome took the lead. 

Already the hoboes had erected cabins of slabs and of logs; and many ofthem were still at work building others; but as with one accord theyceased to work when they saw Handsome approaching with the old man; andthey stared at him. 

"Have you got another one, Handsome?" somebody called out to him; butHandsome deigned no reply, passing on in silence, and leading the way toa cabin that was larger and better than the others, and which stoodexactly in the centre of the miniature valley. 

Nick guessed that this was the temporary home of Black Madge, and hewas, therefore, not at all surprised when she stepped out upon the porchin front of it. 

She showed her white and even teeth, and smiled, in her own bold way, asHandsome approached her, with Nick in tow; and she asked, as soon asthey were near enough:

"Whom have we here?"

"It is the old chap I have told you about, Madge, " replied Handsome. 

"Sent here to spy upon us, I suppose, " she smiled scornfully. "Whydidn't you shoot him at once instead of bringing him here?"

Before Handsome could reply, Nick wheeled upon him. 

"Didn't I tell ye so?" he demanded, with a show of anger. "Didn't I tellye so? Didn't I say that they be thinking that I was a spy; but youwouldn't have it so? Tell me that. "

"I don't think he is a spy, Madge, " said Handsome. "Remember that I haveknown him for a considerable time. And I have found him on the level. "

Madge shrugged her shoulders. 

"All right, " she said. "That is, all right this time. Only now that heis here, he stays. Don't forget that. "

"Oh, I haven't forgotten that. "

"Nobody leaves this valley without my permission; not a single one. "

"They are all pretty well satisfied that you mean that, Madge. "

"Now, tell me what you brought the old man here for. "

"Because he knows every inch of the galleries inside those caves. I wantto know about them myself, and I want the old man to teach me aboutthem. The time will come, Madge, when we will be mighty glad to knowabout those galleries. "

"Possibly so, " she replied. "Do as you like with him; onlyremember--nobody leaves this valley without my permission. When I getthe men thoroughly organized and so they will do what I want them to do, then I will turn loose upon the world one of the best--and theworst--criminal organizations that has ever been heard of. Do what youplease with the old man. He looks old enough to have been dead longago. "

"And as old as I am, madam, I've never before heard a woman speak so tome, " said Nick, as if he were hurt by it. 

Madge turned to him quickly. 

"You mustn't mind what I say--always Turner, " she said. "I have a habitof speaking harshly at times; but I am not unkind to those who are trueto me. Do you happen to know a man who is named Nick Carter?"

She asked the question suddenly, as if she expected the utterance of thename would make the supposed Turner start with surprise; but Nick lookedat her quite calmly, and replied:

"I know the name. He's a detective chap, ain't he? I heerd about him;something about that bank robbery. "

"Is he in Calamont now, Turner?"

"No, ma'am; he ain't. "

"You speak positively. "

"Well, I know he wasn't there when I came out of town; and I didn't hearthat he was expected there, nuther. And if he had been expected thereI'd 'a' heerd it. There ain't nothin' goin' on in that town that I don'thear about. "

"Do you know if he has been sent for?"

"I ain't heerd nothin' about his bein' sent for, ma'am. "

"If, some day, I should decide to send you into the village to do someerrands for me, do you suppose you could make some inquiries about NickCarter for me, and at the same time forget all that you know about us, who are here?"

"I reckon I could, ma'am. "

"I'll think about it. I may want to use you, " she said; and turned away. But she stopped and turned toward them again, calling to Handsome, whowent to her side; but Nick could hear the conversation that passedbetween them. 

"What about that fellow Pat?" she heard Madge inquire; and he couldbarely refrain from giving a start that might have betrayed him, forthat question told him plainly that Patsy had already managed to arriveamong the hoboes, and--that his fate still hung in the balance. Helistened eagerly for Handsome's reply. 

"I haven't had a chance to examine him yet, " he said. "You wished me totalk with him before I brought him to you. "

"Go and bring him here now. Leave Turner here with me until you return. "

"Get up there on the porch and sit down, Turner, " he said. "Smoke yourpipe if you wish to. The queen won't object. I'll be back in a moment. "

But when Handsome had hurried away to bring Patsy, and Nick had seatedhimself upon a rustic chair, Madge came and stood in front of him. 

"Turner, " she said severely. "Tell me the truth now. What brought youinto this neighborhood?"

"The season of the year brought me, " Nick replied to her as he had doneto Handsome. 

"Who sent you?"

"Nobody sent me, ma'am. "

"Swear to that. "

"'Tain't necessary. I have said it. "

"Do you know what would happen to you if I should find that you wereacting as a spy?"

"I suppose I could guess. "

"I'd have you burned at the stake, just as Indians used to burn theircaptives. "

"Well, ma'am, I reckon I've lived too long a time now to be much afraidof death. When a man has passed eighty, he ain't much afraid of things. "

"Are you as old as that?"

"Old Bill Turner is eighty-four, ma'am; but he don't look it, does he?"

"No. I wish I could feel sure of you. I wish I could feel sure that youare not a spy. "

"Well, ma'am, it's my experience that we can't somehow help our feelingsmuch. If you are in doubt about it, treat it as you would anearache--with silent contempt. Doubts, ma'am, are suthin' like boils;they're the devil and all while you've got 'em; but they do get wellarter a while. You ain't got no call to doubt old Bill Turner, as Iknows on. "

"I'll talk with you again, Turner. In the meantime, see that you walk ina straight line. "

"I can't do that no more. My old feet ain't so steady as they used tobe. But I'll do the best I can. "

"We can't ask anybody to do more than that. Now keep silent. Here comesHandsome with another man who I fear may be a spy. "

Patsy, with his hair a brick-red, and with spots and freckles on hisface that were a sight to see, came forward at that moment, led byHandsome. 

His hands were tied together behind his back, and he looked as if he hadbeen treated rather badly. However, there was a grin upon his face as heapproached, and ducked his head in what was intended to be a polite bowto the queen of the outlaws. 

"So you have come back again?" she demanded of him abruptly. 

"Yes, I'm back, your honor--I mean, ma'am, " he replied, grinning themore. 

"Where have you been while you were away, then? Tell me that?"

"Well, sure, your majesty, I was a-runnin' most of the time. When thefire broke out down there, and the divil to pay generally, they allthinkin' as how it was y'rsilf that was bein' burrnt to death inside thecottage, I helped all I could until it was found out that it wasn't you, at all, at all, but a dummy that had been fixed up to look like you. Andthen when the hull bunch of the spalpeens went crazy and tried to findout what had become of you, it wasn't long until I found out that I wasall alone in that place, the rest having gone in search of you. Andafter that I thought it wasn't healthy for me around there. "

"I think you're a spy, Pat, " she said coldly. 

"Divil a bit of it. Who says so? Don't you belave it!"

"Why did you not stay with the rest of the men, then?"

"Divil a wan of me can tell that same, now. I clean forget. I think Iwas scared out of me two wits. If I had been a long time wid yez, instidof bein' there only wan day, sure I'd have remained, so I would. But I'dbeen there so little that I thought it wasn't healthy for me. That'sall. "

"What made you come back now?"

"Sure I heard that ye'd escaped from your jailers, and I knowed thatyou'd be after protecting me. Didn't you tell me that I was all right?And, thinks I, if I can find 'em now, sure the quane will be aftertakin' care of me; and here I am. "

"When I heard that you had returned, I made up my mind to have youshot!"

"Oh, glory be to gracious! Don't be after doin' that same, your honor!Faith, why should ye be after shootin' the likes of me? I ain't donenothin' at all. "

Patsy, with a perfect assumption of fright, fell upon his knees beforethe woman and raised his hands beseechingly to her. 

And for a moment she looked down upon him with cold contempt in hereyes. It was evident to Nick, who was watching the scene narrowly, thatshe was coldly calculating the chances of letting him live, and that abreath upon the scales either way would decide her. 

For a long time she remained in the same attitude, and then she raisedher head and spoke to Handsome. 

"When one in my position is in any doubt, " she said coldly, "there isonly one thing to do, and that is to give myself, not the other person, the benefit of the doubt. That is what I have decided to do, Handsome. Take him away. "

"What shall I do with him?"

"Take him back to the cabin where he was tied up, and tie him up again. To-night, when the fires are lit, we will convene a court and try him. Iwill be the judge at that trial, and after it is over we will probablyhang him. I see no other way. Take him away. Go. "

CHAPTER XIV. 

BLACK MADGE GIVES JUDGMENT. 

It was a strange scene upon which the light of a huge camp fire shonethat night, in the mountain retreat of the outlaws. 

A stake had been set in the ground, and to this Patsy was tied, so thatall could see him plainly. Somewhat to one side, on a huge rustic chair, made by one of the men, the queen was seated in state, ready to act asjudge at the trial that was to begin, and Cremation Mike was selected asprosecuting attorney. 

A jury of twelve of the men had been drawn, only it was a foregoneconclusion that they would bring in their verdict according as the queenshould direct. 

Handsome acted as master of ceremonies, and around them was gathered theentire membership of Black Madge's hobo gang--as villainous a lookingcrew as might be imagined. 

As yet, no one had been appointed to defend Pat, and now Madge raisedone hand, when she was ready to begin the trial, and she announced:

"There is no one who has offered to act as attorney for the prisoner. This trial will afford you some amusement, my men. We will have a goodtime out of it, anyhow, before we hang him. I will appoint counsel forhim. "

They were all silent, waiting, and presently she spoke again. 

"I will name the old man there, Bill Turner, as counsel for the defense. Will you defend the man, Turner?"

"I'll try to, madam, though I don't know anything about the case. He maybe guilty for all I know. What is he charged with?"

"With being a spy. "

"If you want me to defend him, I'll do my best. "

"Go ahead, then. Let the trial begin, " she ordered. 

The prosecution took up the case; that is, Cremation Mike got upon hisfeet and began to make a speech to the jury. He said:

"We've got proof enough that the man is a spy, ain't we, mates? We allknow what happened down there in the swamp, the time that Nick Cartergot among us, and carried away Black Madge almost before our eyes, andwe none the wiser for it. We know how Nick Carter set the cottage afireafter drugging Madge, and how then he fixed up a dummy in one of thewindows, so that we would think that she was burning up. We know that, don't we, mates?

"And don't we know that there were four men who came to our camp in theswamp at the same time, and who came together? Wasn't one of that fourNick Carter himself? And were not two others of that same four NickCarter's assistants? And who was the fourth one of that four? Why, itwas that cove there, tied to the stake, and waiting for you to hang him. 

"Would he have been in that sort of company if he hadn't been made outof the same kind of cloth? Didn't he come there with that other outfit?Didn't we prove--that is, didn't Madge prove that one of the four wasNick Carter; that another of the four was his assistant, who is calledChick? And that still another of the four was another assistant, who iscalled Ten-Ichi?

"And don't you know that Nick Carter has got still another assistant, and that his other assistant is named Patsy? Haven't you heard of that?It is true. And so is this fellow's name Pat--or Patsy. It is all thesame. 

"Now, again, didn't they come here together? Didn't Handsome find themcamping in the woods, waiting for a chance to get to our camp, anddidn't this fellow tell him the first one of the bunch that he waslooking for Hobo Harry, the Beggar King--and ain't Hobo Harry and BlackMadge one and the same? I tell you, there ain't any doubt that the manis a spy, and that he ought to be hanged. 

"Now, do you guns remember what happened the night of the fire, the timewhen Nick Carter got away with Madge, and took her to jail? I'll remindyou of it. Don't you remember that when we found the other two out, theywere sent to the quicksand pit? I was one of those who helped to throwthem into the quicksand pit. Did you ever hear of anybody's getting outof that pit alive? I never did until that incident; but I have found outsince that both those assistants, Chick and Ten-Ichi, are alive andkicking, down in New York, this very day. 

"Well, who got 'em out of that quicksand pit, then? Why, this fellow!That is where he was, and what he was doing while we were fighting thefire, and don't you forget it! We was all too busy to remember about themen we had chucked into the sand; but he didn't forget. For why? Becausehe was one of them himself, and because he had determined all along togo to that pit as soon as ever he could, and get them out of it. 

"How'd he get 'em out, you ask? I don't know. I only know that he didget 'em out somehow, for they are out. I know that for certain. "

Nick, in the character of Turner, leaped to his feet. 

"I object!" he cried out. "This man ain't tryin' this case fair. I don'tknow who he is, and I don't keer a cuss; I only know that you app'intedme to defend him, and I'm a-goin' to do it till you tell me to stop. Iobject, ma'am, to the course he is adoptin'. It ain't fair. He's makinga lot of statements the which he ain't got a shadow of proof about. Idon't know anything about that air fire he speaks about, 'ceptin' whatI've heerd down at Calamont. But we ain't got the fire here as awitness; and we ain't got the quicksand here as a witness; and we ain'tgot the two men as he says was saved from it here as witnesses. Andunless he can produce witnesses to testify to what he says about themair escapes, I move that the hull speech he made be strucken out, yourhonor. Let him call his witnesses to the stand, and swear 'em, or swearat 'em. Let him do suthin, 'cept standing up there and shootin' off hismouth. "

Madge smiled grimly. She was getting more enjoyment out of this affairthan she had anticipated. 

"Call your witnesses, Mike, " she said. 

"I ain't got none, Madge, to swear to what I have said, but every onehere knows it is the solemn truth. I don't need no witnesses. However, I'll put Handsome on the stand fur a minute, about the way the buncharrived at our camp, if you say so. "

"I think it would be a good idea. It would be more regular. "

"All right, Madge. Handsome, take the stand. Hold up your right hand, and swear that you'll tell the truth. That's all right. Now, did youhear what I said about your findin' that outfit in the woods north ofthe track?"

"I did. "

"Wasn't it the dead-level truth?"

"It was. "

"The hull four was there, warn't they?"

"They were. "

"And they was all strangers?"

"They were. "

"You never seen any one of them afore that time, had you?"

"Never. "

"And, later, wasn't it found out that three of 'em were spies?"

"It was. "

"And wasn't one of the spies Nick Carter himself?"

"Yes. "

"And weren't the other two his assistants?"

"They were. "

"Didn't they confess it?"

"They did. "

"And weren't they afterward thrown into the quicksand pit to die?"

"They were. "

"Did they die there?"

"I don't think they did. "

"Don't you know that they escaped?"

"I'm reasonably certain of it. "

"How did they escape?"

"I don't know that. "

"Isn't it your opinion that this galoot here----"

"I object!" shouted Nick. 

"Oh, well, " exclaimed Mike, in disgust, "ask him some questionsyourself, then. "

"I will. Handsome, when did you first see them four in the woods northo' the track?"

"Oh, I don't know. Before dark that night. "

"Was they together?"

"Part of the time. "

"Only part o' the time? What do you mean by that?"

"They didn't come there together. "

"Oh, didn't they? Where was you?"

"I was hiding, and watching them. "

"So you saw 'em all when they arrived there, did you?"

"Yes. "

"Who got there first?"

"This man--Pat. "

"Did the others appear to know him?"

"No; but they didn't appear to know each other, either. "

"But if they were spies, and you afterward proved that they were, and ifthey got there, and found Pat already there, it would be natural thatthey should act as if they didn't know each other, wouldn't it, in orderto deceive him?"

"I suppose so. "

"Have you ever seen anything suspicious about the prisoner?"

"No; only his disappearance after the fire and the arrest of Madge. "

"P'r'aps he kin explain that. "

"He can't. He has tried already. You heard him. I don't call that anexplanation, but it is probably the best he can give. "

"Would you be afraid to trust him now?"

"Personally? I don't think I would. "

"Then, personally, you don't think that he is a spy?"

"No; but I don't _know_ that he isn't. "

"That'll do. I don't want to ask you any more questions. " He turned toCremation Mike. "Have you got any more witnesses?" he asked. 

"No, " with a grin. "I don't need no more. "

"Maybe not. But I've got one witness. "

"Oh! Have you. Who is it?"

"I'm going to put the prisoner on the stand. "

But Madge was plainly tired of the amusement already. She rose in herplace, and her eyes were flashing darkly. 

"We will stop this farce here and now, " she said. "It won't do any good, anyhow. I can see plainly enough that there are some here who believe heis a spy. I am a good deal of that opinion myself; and as there is adoubt in my mind, I'll just settle the thing right now. Jury, you canfind the man guilty. That's what he is, probably. "

"Guilty, " said the jury, with one voice, and grinning. 

"Prisoner, " continued Madge, "you have got until to-morrow morning, atnine o'clock, to live. At that time the boys will take you to someconvenient tree, and hang you by the neck until you're dead--and thatsettles it. "

Things looked dark for Patsy. It was quite evident that Black Madge wasin deadly earnest in what she had said. One life more or less wasabsolutely nothing to her, and if there was the breath of a suspicionagainst one, it was, from her standpoint, better to put that one out ofthe way at once than to run any sort of risk by permitting him to live. 

Nor did the hoboes who had gathered there to hear and to witness thetrial hesitate to voice their sentiments about it by loud cheering whenMadge uttered the sentence of death. It would be a hanging, indeed, andit did not make much difference to them who was hung. It has been saidbefore that they were much like wild beasts, or dogs, who are withoutany quality of compassion. 

When Nick walked away from the scene of the trial near the fire, hefound that Handsome was beside him, and then, before either uttered aword, Madge joined them. 

She was smiling as if she were well pleased with her evening's work, andshe said to the detective:

"You did well, Turner. One would suppose that you had at some time beena lawyer. "

"I'd 'a' got the man free if I'd had a fair judge and jury, " repliedNick boldly, stroking the white whiskers he wore. 

Madge frowned. Then she laughed aloud. 

"I like you for your boldness, " she said. "But have a care that you donot find yourself suddenly in the same predicament, Turner. "

"I'd be inclined to shoot myself afore I came to trial, if I should, "Nick retorted. 

They had reached Madge's cabin by this time, and now they mounted to theporch, and Nick pulled out an old pipe that Turner had given him, filledit, and lighted it. 

The detective was determined in his own mind that before the dawn ofanother day he would find some way to save Patsy; but how it was to bedone he had no idea. 

He did not know yet what disposition they intended to make of him. Forall he knew they might send him into one of the cabins and lock him upfor the night. But he did know that unless he acted, Patsy would bemurdered at sunrise the following morning, and he did not intend topermit that to happen. 

"Miss Madge, " he said, after a pause, during which he had smoked insilence, "if it is all the same to you, I'd like to know what you intendto do with me to-night. I'm an old man, and I'm sorter 'customed togoing to bed rayther early, so, if you don't mind, and you'll tell mewhere I'm to sleep, I think I'll turn in. "

Instead of replying directly to him, Madge turned to Handsome. 

"What shall we do with him?" she asked. "You are responsible for hisbeing here. I think I will turn him over to you. "

"All right, " said Handsome, rising. "I'll take him to my own cabin. He'll be safe enough there. I'll be back in a minute, Madge. "

Nick followed him across the floor of the little valley to a hut thatwas at the opposite side of it, and close to the cliff--and Nick knew atonce, from his recollection of the plan he had studied, that he wasquite near to the entrance to the cavern. 

The cabin consisted of only one room, in which two bunks had beenroughly built, and, after lighting a candle, Handsome indicated one ofthese, and said:

"You can sleep there, Turner. Turn in when you like. To-morrow we willexplore the caves together. "

"Right you are, " said Nick, yawning widely. "I shan't need any rockingthis night. My old legs are tired out for sure. "

Two minutes after the departure of Handsome, Nick blew out the candle, and for a time he stretched himself in the bunk, lest Handsome shouldreturn to see that all was right. But it was speedily evident to thedetective that Handsome had no suspicion whatever of him, and had, therefore, left him to his own devices. 

But Nick knew that it could not be very long before the outlaw wouldreturn to seek his own rest and repose, and that he must, therefore, determine upon what he was to do before he should return. 

Ten minutes he lay there, and then he rose slowly and cautiously fromthe bunk and crept to the door which had been left open, and peered out. 

The fires were still blazing merrily, and many of the men were gatheredaround them. Some of the men were playing cards, and the others wereengaged in various ways. At all events, they one and all seemed to haveforgotten his existence, and that was what he chiefly desired. 

Nick knew in which cabin Patsy was a prisoner. He could see it from thedoorway where he was standing, almost opposite him at the other side ofthe valley. The distance in feet from his own position was about thedistance of a city block--two hundred feet. 

The old silver watch, the size of a turnip, which Turner had carriedforty years or more, was in his pocket, and by the light of the starsNick managed to see the time--ten o'clock. 

"There is no time like the present, " he mused to himself, while hehesitated in the doorway. "If I wait until all is quiet, I will standall the more chance of being discovered; and, besides, it won't be longuntil Handsome returns here, and after he has come and crawled into hisbunk it will be next to impossible for me to get out of here withoutrousing him--unless I should drug him, and that will not do at all. Handsome is altogether too fly for that. He would know that he had beendrugged. 

"Now, if it wasn't for these white whiskers, I could creep around theedge of the bottom of the cliff to the cabin where Patsy is, withoutbeing noticed; and I dare not take them off----"

He stopped there. There was absolutely no use in conjecturing upon the"ifs" of the question, and so, after another moment, during which hestudied the lay of the land intently, he slipped noiselessly out at thedoor and around behind the cabin, and from there crept on his hands andknees to the bottom of the cliffs. And there he discovered what he hadbeen unable to see in the imperfect light. The grass there was quitetall, where it had not been trampled by the feet of the motley crew thatinfested the place, and he found that by lying at full length andpulling himself slowly along on his stomach he would be able to concealhimself almost entirely from view. 

Nick made that half circle of the small valley, crawling in that way, and entirely without being discovered; and in that manner he arriveddirectly in the rear of the cabin where Patsy was a prisoner. 

But here a new difficulty confronted him. There was a guard in front ofthe door, and that guard, strangely enough, was Cremation Mike. 

The cabin in which Patsy was a prisoner was built of roughly hewn logs, the crevices and chinks being stopped with mud and clay. The groundbeneath it was hard--rocky, in fact; so there was no possibility ofdigging under the logs without tools to do it, and even then it wouldhave taken too much time to accomplish it. 

Nick turned his attention to Cremation Mike. He was seated upon aconvenient stump, smoking a short pipe. His back was toward the door ofthe cabin, and he was about ten feet from it. The door itself had beenfastened by passing a freshly cut sapling across its front, and slippingeither end of it into rustic slots that had been hastily fashioned forthe purpose. 

It was plain that there was only one way to get Patsy outside of thatcabin, and that was to overcome Cremation Mike; and, having determinedupon this, Nick crept forward as silently as a shadow, and so roundedthe corner of the cabin, and presently came up half standing, directlybehind the unsuspecting outlaw. 

Nick did not wish to kill the man, but he did want to knock him out soeffectually that he could not interfere in what was to follow, andtherefore he had picked up a piece of round, smooth stone, which he hadwrapped in his handkerchief. 

And now, with this improvised weapon, he struck Cremation Mike sharplyon the back of his head, with the result that Mike pitched forward, andwould have fallen to the ground had not Nick managed to catch him. Thenhe laid him down gently upon the ground, and turning swiftly, opened thedoor of the cabin. 

"Quick, Patsy!" he called in a sharp whisper. "It is I. Nick. Come. "

Patsy, who had not been bound, it seemed, leaped to the door with a lowexclamation of surprise and pleasure. 

"Bully, Nick, " he whispered. "I thought it was all up with me that time. And do you know, it never once occurred to me that the old man might beyou. The disguise is perfect. "

"Come, " said Nick. "There is no time for words now. Follow me, and doexactly as I do. I want to get back to my own sleeping place before myabsence is discovered, if it is possible to do so. But, first, is thereany sort of a chair or stool inside that cabin?"

"Yes. A stool. "

"Bring it out, if you know where to put your hand upon it. "

Patsy brought it in a twinkling, and, placing it against the stump, Nickpropped the senseless form of Mike upon it, so that from the front itappeared as if he were seated there quite naturally. 

"He will come around presently, " said Patsy, "and miss me. "

"Let him. That is what I want him to do, " replied Nick. "Come on, now. "

He dropped upon his knees again, and, with Patsy following, they creptaround through the grass again along the edge of the cliff, and at lastreached the cabin from which the detective had started. 

But he did not stop here. He made at once for the entrance to thecavern, which was near at hand, and passed inside, with Patsy followingclosely behind him; and then with his electric flash light, he led theway along the corridor of the cave--for it was his object to find thathiding place to which Turner had directed him in case he found itnecessary to hide. 

"Keep to the right always in that cave, no matter which way you aregoing, " Turner had told him with emphasis, and remembering that now, while he wondered if, after all, there were two corridors to the cavern, he followed the rule, and almost on a run--for the passage was quitesmooth before them--he led the way through. 

They came at last to the bowlder to which Turner had referred, and Nickremoved the small stone from beneath it. And then he pushed upon it asTurner had directed, with the result that the rock swung open beforethem, leaving an aperture through which they could easily pass. 

But Nick did not enter. Instead he thrust a candle and a box of matchesinto Patsy's grasp, and said to him:

"Remain here until I come for you, even if you get hungry. I don't knowany more about what is ahead of you than you do. I only know that youwill be safe there. We have no time to talk now. I will shut this rockbehind you. "

Then he turned and sped away. 

CHAPTER XV. 

NICK'S CLEVEREST CAPTURE. 

Nick Carter made his way as rapidly back through the cavern as he hadgone through it with Patsy; but when he arrived at the entrance he cameto a stop, and then went ahead again very slowly. 

He had no idea how long a time he had been gone, nor what might havehappened during his absence. But when he peered out upon the valley, everything was apparently in the condition in which he had left it. Ifthere had been any change at all, it was only that fewer of the men weregathered around the fires. Otherwise everything was the same. 

And so, with all the swiftness he could muster, he crawled to the cabinwhich Handsome had given him to occupy, entered it cautiously, and, finding it empty, crawled into the bunk that had been allotted tohim--tired, but rejoiced to think that he had succeeded so well wherethere had been such small chance of success. 

And it so happened that he had barely laid himself down and composedhimself to wait for developments, when a great cry went up, which wasimmediately followed by other shouts and loud curses--and Nick knew thatthe escape of Patsy had been discovered, and that he had returned justin time to avoid the consequences. 

Almost immediately following upon the utterance of the shouts, the doorof the cabin flew open, and Handsome leaped inside, his eyes ablaze, andhis whole form quivering with rage--and he carried a flash light, whichhe threw at once into the detective's face; into the face of the man hesupposed to be Bill Turner. 

Nick could see that the instant the light fell upon him Handsome seemedgreatly relieved; and then, before the outlaw could utter a word, Nickcried out in the voice of old Turner:

"What--what's all that row about, Handsome?" and he blinked his eyes asif he had just been awakened. 

"It's lucky for you that you don't know what it's about!" was Handsome'srejoinder. "Get out of that, Turner, and come along with me. "

"But, what's the matter?" demanded Nick, sliding out of the bunk. "Whathas happened?"

"That fellow Pat has escaped--that's what!" was the reply. 

"Sho! You don't say so! Well, well, well! When did he do it?"

"I haven't found out yet. Come along. I thought at first that maybe youhad had a hand in it--but I see you did not. "

"What! Me?"

Every hobo that belonged to the gang had gathered in the centre of theplace near where the mock trial had been held, and they were talkingearnestly together. Cremation Mike, with one hand held at the back ofhis head, was the centre of the group--or rather of the throng. 

But Handsome burst unceremoniously through the crowd and confrontedMike, Nick following at his heels. 

Black Madge forced her way through it at the same time from the oppositeside. 

"Now, Mike, " said Handsome savagely. "Tell me how this happened. "

"I don't know. All that I know is, I got a crack on the head frombehind. When I woke up, the bar had been ripped off the door and thebird had flown. That's all I know. "

"How long ago did it happen?"

"How do I know that? Unless some one can tell how long I've beenunconscious. But I'll bet my hat that it ain't ten minutes. I don'tthink it's three minutes. He can't be far away, and"--grinning--"hecan't get away. He can't go through the pass, because the guards arethere; I posted them myself; and the only way in which he could hope toget out is through the cave, and I don't believe he could find his waythrough there. I know that I wouldn't try it myself. I'd rather stayhere and be hung. "

Madge interrupted the conversation here. 

"Do you think that he got out of the cabin without aid?" she asked ofMike. "Do you believe that it was he who struck you, Mike?"

"I do, Madge. I'm sure of it. "

"Then, you weren't keeping good guard, that's all. "

"Well, I never thought it was possible for him to get out of that cabin. It may be that I dozed. I didn't suppose I did, but----"

"But, " said Madge icily, "the point is this: The boys shall not bedisappointed in the hanging bee they were to hold in the morning. It isup to you, Mike, to find the prisoner. If you don't find him in time, you shall hang in his place--that's all. I mean it. "

Cremation Mike's face turned to the color of chalk, for he realized thatshe did, indeed, mean what she said. For a moment he stood theretrembling, and then he seized a lantern which one of the men washolding, and cried out:

"Come along, whoever will help me. I know that he can't have gone far. He ain't had time. I know it. Come along. "

"Wait, " said Handsome coolly; and he turned to Nick. 

"Turner, " he said, "I begin to think that it is fortunate that you camehere when you did. "

"I am sure of it, " said Nick in reply. 

"You know that cave from end to end, don't you?"

"I think I do. "

"Then, you shall act as guide. "

"All right. I'm ready. "

But this short conversation had called the attention of Madge to thesupposed old man, whom she had for the moment forgotten, and now sheturned savagely upon him. 

"I believe that you are at the bottom of this, " she said, her eyesblazing. 

Before Nick could make any reply, Handsome broke in. 

"That is nonsense, Madge, " he said. "I know it. As soon as there was analarm--as soon as Mike yelled out that the prisoner had escaped, Ilegged it for the cabin, and I found Turner just waking up from hissleep. He had no hand in it. He couldn't. "

"It's lucky for you, " said Madge, still eying Nick sharply. 

"Will you guide us through the cave, Turner?" demanded Handsome. 

"Sure. "

"Then, come on. "

"Hold on a minute, " said Nick. "Don't you think it would be a good ideato send some of the men to guard the other entrances? If the prisonerhasn't had time to get through the cave yet, and if he should happen tofind one of the ways out on the other side, he'd run right into thearms of whoever was on the watch. "

"Good!" said Handsome. "We know of two outside entrances. How many doyou know about?"

"Four, " replied Nick. "Four, not counting the hole under the Dog's Nose. That may be an entrance; but one man can guard that. "

"Where are those entrances?"

Glibly Nick described how they might be found, using the exact languagethat had been used by the old man in his description of them; and aftera short delay four men were sent away to each of the entrances, on arun, with instructions to remain on guard before them until they shouldbe relieved. 

"Now, " said Nick, when they had gone, "we know that the prisoner can'tescape. We know it's only a matter of time when he'll becaught--therefore, we needn't hurry. Don't you agree with me, Handsome?He can't get out of the cave at any of the entrances, without beingcaptured or shot down, an', o' course, he can't come back this waywithout meetin' with the same fate. Ain't that right?"

"I guess it is, " agreed Handsome. 

"Ain't that right, Miss Madge?" asked Nick again, turning to her. 

"It sounds entirely reasonable, " she replied. "There has been only onemistake made from the start of this affair, and that is that Pat was notshot down when he first showed himself here. As it stands now, he hastemporarily made his escape. I am satisfied, now, that he is a spy, andI commission each one of you to shoot him down without mercy, on sight. I shall go with you into the cave to search. "

"Do you wish me to direct the search?" asked Nick, still standingquietly before her. 

"Yes. What have you to suggest?"

"This: There be four entrances outside o' the one here in this littlevalley. I should divide the men into four parts. I kin direct each partyso that it won't have no difficulty in followin' the cavern andsearching it thoroughly to the entrance. I'll take one o' the parties. How many men are there here now?"

"Let me see, " replied Madge. "Sixteen have gone away to guard theentrances, and four will have to remain here on guard. That takes awaytwenty. We still have eighty left. "

"Good. That'll give us twenty in each party. Now, madam, it's for you tosay who'll lead them. Tell me who the leaders will be, and I'll instruct'em at once. "

She picked out four of the men, and ordered them to step forward; and, one by one, Nick directed each of them how to proceed after he hadpassed the entrance of the cavern with the men who were to follow him;and he made the directions so explicit that there was not one who hadany doubt about being able to follow them. 

It was as Nick had suspected it would be; that Madge did not yet trusthim far enough to give him the sole leadership of one of the parties, but she directed that Handsome should go with him--and at the lastmoment, when they were ready to start, and after the other three partieshad entered the cavern, she decided to accompany Nick's party herself. 

"I may as well go along, " she said. "I would like to learn somethingabout the interior of that cavern myself, and I don't know a better wayto learn it than to go with you. "

And so it was that presently the detective found himself in the cavern, leading twenty-two persons, for the extra two were Madge and Handsome. 

And the course that Nick had selected for himself was the one that wouldtake him past the hiding place where he had left Patsy; for it was nopart of his plan that he should give the others even a chance of anaccident of finding that hiding place. 

It had been shortly after eleven o'clock when Nick returned to the cabinafter assisting Patsy in his escape; it was now after midnight. 

There were torches and lanterns in abundance scattered among the fourparties that were searching; and, in the directions that Nick had giveneach party, he had taken good care that they should become thoroughlylost if possible. He had an object in this, as will be seen. 

The way through the cave along the route which the detective hadselected to follow was smooth and even, as we already know; but Nickmade it as long and as rough as possible by taking the party off intosome of the side galleries as they proceeded. 

He was looking for a place where he might lose some of them, and atleast where he might, before the expedition was finished, succeed inseparating them. 

What he chiefly desired was to finally get either Madge or Handsomealone with him. 

It was two hours later before they finally passed the bowlder behindwhich was the entrance to the hiding place where Patsy was concealed;but not one of the party so much as glanced toward it; and Nick led theway on past it to the exit--and that exit was not the hole under theDog's Nose, but a larger one at some distance from it. 

There they found the four men who had been sent hither, and theyreported that they had seen nothing; and cautioning them to remain onguard, Nick led his party back into the cave again. 

And then, after a few moments, he pretended suddenly to find that fifthentrance--the hole under the Dog's Nose--and there four other men werewaiting--and they had seen not a thing to suggest the proximity of theprisoner who had escaped. 

"Now, " said Nick, "I think we'd better s'arch them side galleries morethoroughly. If you'll return with me to the entrance from the valley, we'll start over again, and go into and through every one o' 'em. We'lldivide our party into smaller groups o' three and four, and in that waywe kin cover all of them at the same time. What do you say?"

"All right, " said Madge, still looking upon him with suspicion. "ButHandsome and I will remain with you, Turner. "

"That is what I hoped you'd do, " replied Nick; but he spoke with ameaning which she did not understand. 

They followed the plan suggested by the detective. That is, theyreturned to the entrance from the valley, and there Nick divided hisfollowers into six parties, thus arranging that four of the partiesshould contain four searchers each, one of them should contain three, and his own immediate party should consist of himself, with Handsome andMadge. 

To the leaders of each of these subparties he gave the necessarydirections, with the result that he sent them off as they arrived attheir respective galleries, and after a little he found himself alonewith the two chiefs of the outlaws. 

"There ain't much for us to do now, " he said. "There ain't much moresearching as we kin do. There's only two galleries left for us toexplore 'less we find some hiding place that's remained unknown untilnow. "

"And that isn't likely, is it?" asked Madge. Her voice was still filledwith suspicion against him. 

"You know as much about that ere as I do, " he replied. 

But they searched each of the galleries without any result, and Nickfinally directed the route so that at last they paused to rest directlyin front of the movable rock behind which was the entrance to the placewhere Patsy was concealed. 

And Nick seated himself so that his own back was against that rock, forhe did not care to run the chance that Handsome might lean against ithard enough to move it--at least, not until he was in every way preparedfor that part of the drama. 

Madge was tired by this time, and she showed it. She leaned against therocky wall and sighed deeply; and Handsome furnished the cue for thenext scene--so perfectly that Nick could not have ordered it otherwiseif he had tried. 

"I'm dry, " said Handsome, yawning. "This is dry work, Madge. Don't youthink we had better give the thing up for a time and wait. Pat will bestarved out after a little. He'll have to come out and get caught. "

"If he ain't lost in the galleries, " suggested Nick; and Madge replied:

"No; we won't give it up. If you are dry, Handsome, suppose you go tothe camp and get something for us all. I wouldn't mind having somethingmyself. "

"I'll do it, " said Handsome, rising. "Wait here. "

He was off like a shot, for now he felt that he knew the routesufficiently well through the caverns to find his way withoutdifficulty; as, indeed, he did. And he had a lantern to light his path. 

Nick sat quietly until Handsome was well out of hearing, and then, purposely, he leaned very hard against the rock behind him--so hard thatit moved, and he nearly fell upon his back inside the opening. 

With a well-simulated cry of surprise, he leaped to his feet, and stoodstaring, and Madge did the same. 

"A secret hidin' place!" cried out the supposed old man--and he pushedthe rock farther in, thus making the opening even larger. 

Then he stooped forward toward it. 

"Hello in there!" he called lustily, for he wished to warn Patsy of whatwas taking place, and at the same time to instruct him what to do. "Comeout of that, you--Pat! There are two of us here, and one is Madgeherself. Come out of that!"

"You fool!" exclaimed Madge. 

"Come out of that!" repeated the detective, pretending not to hear her. "Come out of that, or we'll come in after you!"

There was no reply, and Nick turned to her. 

"Come along, " he said. "We'll go inside and find him. "

She had a revolver in her hand, and now she stepped quickly forward, forthere was nothing of the coward about Black Madge. There was not a thingon earth that she feared. 

She stepped forward so quickly that she had passed inside the barrier ofrock before Nick--as he intended she should--and then, as he steppedafter her, he seized her quickly from behind--seized both her arms, andpulled them behind her with a suddenness that made her drop her weaponto the rocky floor. 

As he pulled her backward, she tried to cry out, but he had anticipatedthat, and already he had grasped her so that he could press one of hishands for an instant over her mouth, and at the same moment he calledout:

"Quick, Patsy! On your life! There isn't an instant to spare!"

And Patsy was ready and fully prepared. 

He had approached them through the darkness at the first note of warningfrom Nick, and was in reality only a few feet distant when they enteredthe rocky passage; so that when the detective seized upon Madge andpulled her backward, Patsy was ready to leap forward and to give hisaid. 

When Nick's hand was pressed over her mouth to stop the cry that rose toher lips, Patsy was there to seize her, also; and he did it; and, although she struggled fiercely, she was quickly overpowered, and a gagwas thrust into her mouth. 

Then they tied her, hand and foot, with cords with which Nick hadprovided himself, and together they carried her far back into the recessbehind the rock. 

"There is a big room here, " said Patsy. "And it is stocked withprovisions, and a stream of pure water trickles through it. One couldlive here a month without going out. "

"Good!" said the detective. "Carry her in there. Then when we have madeher safe, we will wait for Handsome, and serve him in the same manner. And after that, I have got a plan which will work the whole thing out toa finish. "

Madge was glaring at him venomously all this time, for she could notspeak. But her eyes were terrible to see in their utter ferocity. 

She knew now what the game was that had been played against her. Sheknew now that the man she had supposed to be old Bill Turner was all thetime no other than Nick Carter himself. 

She could have bitten her tongue out with rage and chagrin. She fairlywrithed in the ecstasy of her impotent anger. 

But they laid her gently upon the rocky floor, where there were someblankets over leaves--it was evident that Bill Turner had used thisplace as a retreat of his own, and had provided it for that purpose, like a schoolboy who finds a cave and makes a cache--and then Nick spoketo her. 

"You see, Madge, " he said, "it is all up with you and your gang; or verynearly so. We are going out now to capture Handsome, and bring him hereto keep you company. After that I will show you a trick that will makeyou green with envy, and that will finish up this hobo business of yoursonce and forever. Come on, Patsy. "

They left her there and returned to the entrance. 

"Now, " said the detective, "there is only one way to make Handsome fallinto the trap. We must leave this entrance open for him to discover whenhe returns. He will first miss us. Then he will see the hole behind therock. Then he will step forward to look inside. Then no doubt he willcall out. I will stand here and remain silent; and then Handsome will doone of two things--he will either come inside to search for Madge andme, or he will set up a yell for the others to come to him. "

"Suppose he brings some of the men back with him?" asked Patsy. 

"We have got to chance that. "

"Well, what are we to do when he steps inside this hole--for he will dothat?"

"You stand over there in that niche, " replied Nick. "When he stepsinside the very nature of the place will bring his back toward me. Iwill tap him on the back of the head with my fist and knock him intoyour arms. You are to grab him with your arms around him, and hold himso that he cannot get at a weapon, and until I can get my fingers onhim. That is all. Now, ready and wait. "

They had some time to wait; longer than Nick expected, and he began tofear that Handsome would bring some of the men back with him; but atlast they saw the glimmer of his light as he approached, and Nick knewby the sounds he heard that Handsome was returning alone. 

Presently he appeared. He was calling out softly, for he could notunderstand why he had not been answered--and the light he carriedprevented him from seeing the hole behind the rock until it was directlyin front of him. 

And then he came to a sudden stop, and gazed at it in astonishment. 

"Gee!" Nick heard him exclaim. "Dogged if they haven't found a holehere. And they have gone into it, too. I wonder if that old cuss knewabout it all the time?"

He remained in doubt for a moment what to do; and then, as Nick hadpredicted, he stepped softly forward, and, holding his light aloft, peered through the opening. 

But Nick had chosen his place of concealment well, and Handsome couldnot see him. 

Then Handsome called out:

"Madge! Bill! Where the devil are you?"

There was no reply, and he waited a moment before he called again. Thenhe repeated:

"Madge! Madge!"

When no reply came to this second call, he stood for some time in doubt, as if he thought of calling assistance to him before he entered thatdark and unknown place; and once Nick thought he half turned, as if hehad decided to summon some of the others. 

But he evidently thought better of this, for he turned about resolutelyagain, and boldly stepped into the opening. Two such steps brought himexactly into the position where the detective wanted him, and as soon ashe had achieved it, Nick struck him with his fist. 

With a half-articulated cry, Handsome pitched forward and fell into thegrasp of Patsy, who was ready for him; and then, when he would havestruggled, other arms--Nick's--seized him from behind, and another blowfell upon him, striking him behind the ear, and rendering him half dazedfor the moment. 

And then Nick, knowing that Patsy could hold him, turned about andclosed the rock door of the retreat; and before Handsome had recoveredhis senses sufficiently to offer any resistance, the two detectives hadbound him so securely that he could not move. 

"Take his feet, " ordered Nick, then. "We will carry him back into thatchamber, to keep Madge company. "

While they were doing that, Handsome managed to recover his powers ofspeech--for, now that the rock door was closed, Nick did not think itnecessary to gag the man--and his powers of speech in this particularinstance were something frightful to listen to. 

He was still swearing when they dropped him, none too gently, upon thefloor of the cavern not far from Madge; and then Patsy lighted twobracket lamps with which the place was provided, while Nick smilinglyremoved the gag from Madge's mouth. 

And where Handsome had worn out his vocabulary of curses, Madge took itup, and completed it in masterly style, and there was really nothing foreither of the detectives to say for a long time. But her breath was goneafter a while, and she lapsed into sullen silence, closing her remarkswith the request:

"At least give me something to drink out of that bottle that Handsomewent after. "

Nick could really do nothing less, and he complied; and the liquorseemed to restore some of her accustomed coolness, for she looked atNick with an ugly gleam in her black eyes, and said:

"You are Nick Carter again, aren't you?"

"Again?" replied Nick, laughing. "I was always Nick Carter. I was sointerested in that last interview I had with you, Madge, that I couldn'tstay away; and now, when you condemned my assistant to death, youhastened the reckoning. That is all. "

"I'll condemn you to death yet--and watch you die, too!" was herretort. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

NICK MAKES BAD MEDICINE. 

Handsome had also recovered from his paroxysm of rage by this time, forhe was one who had the gift of knowing when he was beaten, and the logicto accept a situation when he knew that it could not be avoided. 

"I reckon you've got the drop on us, Carter, " he said. "You've playedthe game mighty well, too. There is one thing about it that I would liketo know, though, if you will tell me. Will you?"

"What is it?" asked the detective. 

"I want to know if you have been old Bill Turner from the beginning. Iwant to know if it was you whose acquaintance I made in the first place, the time I was pulled out of the hole in the rocks, or if it was oldBill himself. "

"That was the old man himself, " replied Nick, smiling. 

"And the second time I met him; was that him--or you?"

"That was the old man, also. "

"Well, all that I can say is that you have played the part so devilishwell that I find it hard to believe even now that you are not what youappear to be. "

"You're a fool!" said Madge spitefully. 

"Oh, I admit the impeachment, Madge. There isn't any doubt of it. I'm afool, all right. "

"And you are up against it rather hard just now, Handsome; you andMadge, " said Nick. 

"I know that, too. I'm no fool as far as that is concerned. What are yougoing to do about the rest of the gang?"

"I'm going to capture the whole bunch, " was Nick's rather astonishingreply. 

"I don't see how you are going to do it, " retorted Handsome. "There is acold hundred of them, all told--and every entrance to the cave isguarded. You attended to that yourself. "

"Certainly, I did; because I foresaw this very moment. "

"Well, all that I can say is that you can see a cussed sight fartherinto a stone fence than I can. "

"I'll show you how it is done, if you are interested, " replied thedetective. "But, first, I am afraid that I will have to ask you to stepout here a moment, into the other part of the cave, always rememberingthat if you make any kind of a break, down you go with a cracked skull;"and Nick leaned forward and loosened the cords around his ankles. 

"Oh, I know when my hands are in the air, Carter. If I make any breaksit will be because I think I see a chance of winning. What do youwant?"

He rose stiffly to his feet as he asked the question; and Nick lookedhim in the eye as he replied:

"I want you to remember, in the first place, that I am more than twiceor three times as strong as you are, and that if you offer to give meany trouble I shall hurt you; and hurt you so badly, too, that you won'tget over it right away. I am going to take you into the other part ofthis cavern, toward the door where we entered. I am going to free yourhands, and then I shall ask you to put on these old togs that Turner hasleft here for a change of clothing in case he got wet--for I want thesethat I am wearing for Patsy. After you have made the change I shall tieyou up again, and then you will see--what you will see. But, remember, if you refuse to obey me on the instant that I give an order, down yougo, and I will take the clothing off your senseless body, instead ofletting you do it, and keep well. Now, are you ready?"

"Yes. "

Nick took him into the adjoining part of the cave, and held the light onhim while he made the necessary change; for Nick had found some extraclothing of Turner's in the cave; and when that was done he tiedHandsome up again, more securely than ever, and placed him on the flooragain. 

"Now, Patsy, " he said, "you and I will make a change. You will play thepart of old Turner, and I will play the part of Handsome. It isnecessary for what we have to do. "

Nick first dressed himself in the outer clothes that Handsome hadremoved; and then he sent Patsy into the other part of the cave to puton the clothing he had taken off--the suit that he had worn as oldTurner; and, while Patsy was making the change, he was himself busilyengaged in removing the white beard and hair that he had been wearing. 

It will not be necessary to describe in detail this operation; it issufficient to say that the two detectives worked steadily for a longtime; and that when at last they were through with what they were doing, Nick had assumed the personality of Handsome, and Patsy was transformedinto what Nick had been--old Bill Turner. 

When everything was in readiness, he saw to it once more that the bondswhich held his two prisoners were sufficiently secure, and that therewas no possibility of their escaping; and he went so far as to fastenthem to the opposite walls, so that they could not crawl within reach ofeach other, and make use of their teeth; and then he turned to Patsy, who was now, to all outward appearance, old Bill Turner. 

"Come along, Bill, " he said, exactly imitating the voice of Handsome--sothat Handsome grinned in spite of himself. "We have got a lot to do yet, and it will be daylight before we know it. "

They passed outside then, into the corridor of the cavern, and when Nickhad shut the big rock in place over the entrance, he wedged the smallstone under it, so that it could not be moved from the inside. 

"There, " he said. "Even if they should get loose, which is not at alllikely, they could not get out. And if they yell themselves hoarse, nobody could hear them. Come on. We've got a lot of work cut out forus. "

"What is there to do first?" asked Patsy. 

"The first thing is to return to the cabins in the valley, and find outwhat time it is. Oh, there is a watch in those clothes. Look at it. Whattime is it?"

"Half-past two, " replied Patsy, imitating the broken voice of the oldman to perfection. 

"That's good, Patsy. I refer to your imitation. You will not have to useit much--possibly not at all; but it is as well to be perfect in yourpart all the same. I think we will have time enough for what we have todo if we hurry. "

He led the way rapidly then, back to the valley, where some of thesearchers had already returned, and he found them grouped around theexit, when they issued from the cave. 

But when they attempted to address him, believing him to be Handsome, hereturned no reply, for he had seen Handsome ignore them utterly manytimes; but it was Cremation Mike who stepped forward in front of themas they approached the cabin in which Madge was supposed to live. 

"Any luck?" he demanded surlily. 

"No, " replied Nick, stopping for a moment. 

"Look here, Handsome, if that fellow is gone for good, do you supposethat Madge will do what she said she would?"

"What was that, Mike?"

"Hang me in his place?"

"I shouldn't wonder if she did. "

"Say, Handsome, can't you say a word for me with her? Where is she? CanI see her?"

"You had better keep away from her, " suggested Nick. 

"No; I want to see her. Take me to her, will you?"

"All right. Come along, " replied the detective, and so Cremation Mikefell in behind them, and followed them into the cabin where Madge wassupposed to be. 

But they were no sooner inside the house with the door closed than Nickwheeled in his tracks, and grasped Mike by the throat, and then struckhim with his fist over the temple. The result was that Cremation Mikesank to the floor without a sound, and was speedily bound and gagged. 

"That's one, " said the detective grimly. "There are a good many more, Patsy. "

"Do you expect to get them all, one by one, in that way?" asked Patsy. "It will take a week to do that. "

"No; I have a better plan than that. Wait. "

Nick knew of Madge's fondness for trapdoors, and also that she alwayskept a large supply of liquors on hand with which sometimes she treatedher men, or some of them. He had no doubt that somewhere in that cabinhe would not only find the liquors he wanted, but also drugs. 

There was a trapdoor in the floor of the largest room in the cabin, andunder it was a shallow cellar wherein were several cases of liquors. Therobbery of freight cars had always kept the hoboes well supplied withsuch articles. 

"Now, I'm going to make the hoboes a punch, " he said to Patsy. He wassearching through a cupboard while he spoke, and from there he produceda large bottle of laudanum. "I will have to use this, " he continued. "Itis the only thing here which will do at all, and as it has anexcessively bitter taste, I will have to make a punch in order toconceal it. But it will do the work I want done better and more safelythan anything else. "

"You'll have to use a washtub for the punch, to make enough for all ofthem, " said Patsy. "And is there enough laudanum?"

"Plenty; and there is a couple of pails. They will do as well as a tub. Now help me. We have lemons, and sugar, and everything that we require, here in this cupboard. But first, let's drop Cremation Mike into thecellar with the cases. "

They did that, and replaced the trapdoor; then they sliced lemons--allthat they could find; they found a pot of cold tea, and this they dumpedinto the mess with the laudanum; and upon all this, bottle after bottleof the whisky was poured into the pails until they were filled to thebrim. 

"Now, Patsy, " said the detective, "remember that you are old BillTurner. I want you to go out among the men right now, and tell them thatMadge and Handsome have fixed them all up a punch, and if they will formin line and pass in front of the door of this cabin, each one of themcan have two drinks of it. And it would be a good idea if you should actas if you had already taken your own two--or several. It will give themconfidence. "

"I can do it, " replied Patsy, and he went out. 

After a little Nick heard the murmur of voices before the cabin, and hestepped to the door and opened it; and then he found that the men, without an exception, save those who were on guard at differentplaces--he found that eighty men had formed in line, and were ready forthe treat that had been promised them. 

He carried out the two pails and stood them on the porch; and then witha dipper in one hand and a goblet in the other, he called out:

"Come up slow, now; one by one. Don't be in haste. Remember there aretwo drinks each, for you, and no more. These two pails will just aboutdo it. I'm doing the trick for Black Madge, who happens to be busy justnow. "

And so they began the procession past him; and so he doled out theconcoction he had arranged for them, and watched them gulp it down withevident relish; and he called out when he served the first drink:

"The orders are that each one of you, as soon as you have had your twodrinks, shall go to your quarters and turn in. You are wanted to restup, so that we can begin this search again, and find that fellow we areafter. Come on, now. When you have taken your medicine, go to your bunksand turn in--all of you!"

And they came. Then they took their medicine, and so nicely had Nickcalculated the quantity that would be required that there was scarcely apint of the concoction left when they were through. 

Many of them stopped long enough to beg for a third drink of it, andonly once did Nick grant that request--to a big fellow for whom twomight not be sufficient. 

And within thirty minutes after that last one had passed the porch, thatcamp was as quiet as a church. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

A WHOLESALE ROUND-UP. 

"Patsy, " said the detective, when they reëntered the cabin, afterwatching their punch consumed almost to the dregs, "this is about thebiggest capture I was ever in. "

"But we are not through yet, chief, " replied the assistant, stroking thewhite beard he wore so naturally that Nick laughed aloud. "There aresixteen more men at liberty yet, and we have got the whole bunch to tieup. Don't forget that there are four men stationed at each of theoutside entrances to----"

"Oh, I haven't forgotten it. We will serve them in the same way. All wehave to do is to manufacture one more pail of punch. So here goes. Andas for tying them up, that will hardly be necessary. "

"Why?"

"They are good for twelve hours of solid sleep at the very least. Manyof them will not waken in twenty-four hours. "

"And maybe some of them will never wake up. How is that?"

"It is a chance that we had to take; but by restricting them to twodrinks each, I figured that there would be no danger. No; I think we areall right. Now, help me make this extra pail of punch. After that wewill carry it through the cavern to the different parties of four each. "

"Suppose they get suspicious, and won't drink it?"

"No danger of that, my lad. "

When the punch was made, they divided it into two lots, each carryinghalf, and, thus equipped, they again entered the cavern, this time justas daylight was beginning to appear. 

The first party they selected to serve was the one farthest away, andthe detective discovered that they were grumbling because they had notbeen relieved. 

But when he appeared with the pail of punch, and told them what hadhappened--that every one had been served with the same thing--theyforgot their sorrows and had their share as the others had taken theirs. 

And here, in order to make doubly sure, Nick had given each of thedrinks a larger dose of the sleeping draught than he had served in thevalley. As soon as the men had drunk what was given them, and had beenrefused more, he left them, followed by Patsy, and returned through thecave to another entrance. 

And here again the operation was repeated in the same manner, an idea ofsuspicion never once entering the head of any of the men; they were fartoo eager for the drink which the thoughtfulness of their mistress hadprovided for them. 

"They'll be suspicious when they begin to feel drowsy all at once, "suggested Patsy, as they moved away. 

"Let them, " replied Nick. "We won't be there, and not one of them willbe able to go very far before he drops in a stupor. I have fixed it, allright. "

They found the second party as eager as the first, and one of themalready the worse for too many drinks from a bottle he had had in hispocket; but they took the medicine that Nick portioned out to them asthe others had done, and they in turn were left alone to drop off tosleep as they would; for they had been awake all night, and now it wasbroad daylight. They figured that they deserved some sleep. 

At the third entrance the four men were already asleep--all but one ofthem, and he was drowsing; and Nick, in his character of Handsome, pretended to be angry at first. He pretended to refuse to give them thepunch that had been sent to them until they begged so hard that hefinally relented. 

"Why, " said Patsy, when they left them, and took their way toward thefourth, and last, place--the hole under the Dog's Nose, near the placewhere Handsome and Madge were prisoners, "it's all as easy as living ona farm. "

"And not half so interesting, " laughed the detective. 

They walked past the movable rock behind which the two prisoners wereconfined without so much as devoting a glance to it, for they were bothintent upon accomplishing this last installment of capture through themedium of the laudanum; and here they found the four men who were onduty, just about ready to mutiny because they had not been relieved. 

But the presence of Handsome--or the man they believed to beHandsome--quieted them at once, for they stood in wholesome dread of himand his anger; and when they understood what had been brought to them, they were ready for anything. 

And so it was that in their turns they took their medicine as the othershad done. When they had swallowed it, Nick said to them:

"Stretch out, now, you fellows, where you are. I'll let you sleep for awhile, at least. I'm going to sit here and smoke. I am tired myself. Turner, sit down. We'll keep watch here for a spell. "

The men did not require a second invitation, but speedily took advantageof the permission--and it was surprising how soon the laudanum tookeffect upon them. 

Ten minutes had not elapsed before the four were sleeping soundly, andsnoring as if they never expected to awake again. 

"I think we can go now, " said Nick, at last, rising. 

"What is the next trick to be done?" asked Patsy. 

"Let me see, " replied Nick. "It's thirty miles from here to Calamont. How far is it to the railway track in a direct line? That is the way youcame, isn't it?"

"Yes. "

"How far is it?"

"About four miles, possibly. I can make it in an hour. "

"Then skip. This is the nearest point to start from. Get to the track assoon as you can. Flag the first train that comes along, no matter whatit is. Get aboard it, and go to the first station. Get off there, anduse the telegraph operator. Have him wire to Mr. Cobalt, the presidentof the road, exactly what has happened. Ask Cobalt to send a specialtrain to us from the nearest point. We will want about twenty officersto take charge of all these prisoners, and he had better send along somechains with padlocks on them. You can figure that out yourself. We willwant to make chain gangs of these men, so that they can walk to therailway, but so that they are chained together and cannot escape. You'vegot the idea?"

"Yes. "

"Go, then, and see how quickly you can get the officers here, and we canget this crew away from here. "

"And you?"

"I'll stay here. Skip, now. Don't talk any more. "

"Have I got to carry these whiskers with me?" grinned Patsy. 

"You'd better not stop to remove them now. I put them on to stay. Go!"

And Patsy went. 

Nick remained where he was for a while, thinking deeply, and altogethersatisfied with what he had accomplished; but after a little he rose, andtook his way back into the cave, intending to see what Handsome andMadge were doing, and if they were making any effort to free themselves. 

But after he had reëntered the cave, and had covered the twenty rodsthat intervened between it and the movable rock, he stopped inastonishment and stared. 

The rock was pushed wide open. 

With a bound he darted forward and entered the place, but only to findthat Madge and Handsome had both disappeared. Their bonds were lyingupon the floor of the cavern, but they were no longer there themselves. 

Nick did not wait to see more than that then. 

He turned away on a run, and darted through the galleries with all thespeed he could summon under the circumstances--and he came out into thevalley, where the sun was shining, directly behind his two escapedprisoners, for they had not preceded him by more than a minute, evidently. 

With one wild spring he was upon them, and as Handsome turned to defendhimself, Nick hit him with his fist, so that he sent him reeling acrossthe grass, where he fell senseless to the earth. 

But in the meantime Madge had turned with a scream of rage, and when shesaw the real Handsome fall helpless, she broke into a run toward her owncottage, for she had no weapon to use now, Nick having deprived themboth of their guns. 

But the detective ran after her, and, just as she was about to leap uponthe porch, he succeeded in seizing her, and in pulling her back againtoward him. 

She turned upon him then like a fury; but with a laugh he sprang underher extended arms, and seized her around the waist; and then he liftedher from her feet, and, still laughing, he ran across the grass to thecabin in which Patsy had once been a prisoner, and in another moment hehad tossed her inside, closed the door and fastened it. 

For a long time he could hear her storming in there, but he had to hurryback to Handsome, who was still down and out when he got to him, but whopresently revived. 

But he had all the fight taken out of him, and he allowed himself to bebound again securely, after which Nick led him to Madge's cabin, andtied him to one of the rustic chairs on the porch. 

Including Black Madge and her first lieutenant, Handsome, there were onehundred and two prisoners turned over to be dealt with by the law whenPatsy returned to the place in the hills, having piloted the officerswho were sent by special train to complete the capture. 

Black Madge did not see the detective again to speak to him; but shesent him a note, in which she said:

"I haven't done with you yet, Nick Carter. I willnever forgive you for fooling me as you did. I shallmanage to get my liberty again, somehow, some time, and when I do, it will be for the purpose ofwreaking vengeance on you. And I will get even someday, never fear. "

CHAPTER XVIII. 

BLACK MADGE'S THREAT. 

Nick Carter had entirely forgotten Black Madge's threat when he wasforcibly reminded of it one morning by the following letter which hefound on his breakfast table:

"NICK CARTER: One month ago--how time flies--I wroteto you that I hadn't done with you yet; that I wouldnever forgive you, and that I would get even someday. 

"That was a month ago. I thought when I wrote thatit might take a year--but they are easy marks inthis State. 

"It was my hope after you captured me and all myfollowers, that I would have a chance to see youagain, and to talk to you before I was taken away toprison. You would say probably that I wanted toboast; for a threat, after all, is only another kindof boasting. But it wasn't so, Nick Carter; I wantedto tell you what you had succeeded in doing; andthis is it:

"You have succeeded in creating in me a passionwhich supersedes all others in my nature--thepassion of hatred. Twice now you have foiled me;twice you have been successful in arresting me, andthe latter of these two times you not only destroyedthe organization which I had created, and renderedit utterly impotent for my future uses, but youdestroyed almost at one blow every ambition that Ihad through that organization and by reason of it. 

"You didn't know that, and you couldn't appreciateit; and it wouldn't matter at all to you if you had;neither has it anything to do with the purport ofthis letter. 

"I know you will say that I am a fool to take thetrouble to warn you, but I would be less than awoman, and much less than the bad woman I am, if Idid not take this opportunity of exulting over thechance that is now promised to me to get square withyou. 

"Heretofore my every effort has been centred uponplaying on my fellow men; heretofore I have had onlytwo thoughts in pursuing my career; one was tocreate an organization of which I was the supremehead, and the other was to secure by the operationof that organization all the money that it waspossible to obtain. 

"I have always been a thief with a system. Myrobberies have all been committed after carefulplanning; you know that because of the one youhelped to commit yourself. But now I have only oneambition left--to get square with you. I haven'tdecided yet how I shall do it, or when, or where itshall be done. If I had so decided I would not tellyou, so it makes no difference. 

"But I have been a hard student, Nick Carter, ofmany things. I have had good instructors in thescience of mixing and using poisons; there is noperson living to-day, man or woman--yourselfincluded--who is a better marksman than I am withfirearms; there is no person, man or woman, who ismore adept to-day in the use of all weapons than Iam. This is not boasting; it is fact. 

"Moreover, I have the power to appear in manyguises--disguises you might call them. In one ormore of them--perhaps in many of them--I shallappear to you, and when you are least expecting it Ishall strike. 

"Don't think by that that I mean to strike you dead. That would not be making you suffer enough; but Ishall find other and better ways in which tostrike--ways that will make you suffer and realizewhat you did when you made me your enemy, and mademe hate you as I do. 

"And another thing; I have already set to work tobring together, as rapidly as I can find them, people who have criminal records and who have reasonto hate you as I do; people whom you have pursued asyou have pursued me; those whom you have sent toprison; those whose careers you have interrupted;those you have threatened; and those who have causefor holding a grudge against you. 

"I have sought many of those, and I have found many. I am still seeking others, and I shall find more;and when I have got together enough of them, andhave selected from that number those whom I deemmost available for my purpose and competent to carryout my directions as I shall give them, I shallorganize them into a Band of Hatred, the sole objectof which shall be your undoing and, ultimately, yourdeath. 

"You have preyed too long already upon that classof humanity to which I belong, and from ourstandpoint your position is much the same as is ourposition from yours. 

"You know me well enough, Nick Carter, to know thatfrom this moment forward you will never be safe fromdanger for one moment of your life; whether you aresleeping or waking; whether you are afloat orashore; whether you are quartered in the seclusionof your own study at home, or are abroad upon thestreets of the city. 

"You know that I do not threaten idly. You know thatI am a woman with a purpose. You know that I amintelligent, educated, and determined. You know thatI am a woman to be feared. 

"I have thought this matter all over, and decidedupon it during those hours when I was locked in thecabin up there in the hills, after you had druggedthe men of my company, and succeeded in capturing usall. 

"When I was taken to prison I knew that it would beonly a short time before I would be able to makegood my escape. How I have succeeded inaccomplishing it does not matter. I have found onekey in my experience that never fails to open prisonlocks, if it is properly applied; the fact that itis made of gold is sufficient explanation, and goldI had in plenty, for I have always been successful, and even now I have hoards concealed in differentplaces which will supply me with funds more thansufficient to carry out to the bitter end thiscampaign of vengeance upon which I have determined. 

"I think that is all. 

"I shall leave here for New York City an hour afterthis letter is put in the mail. When you will see mefirst I do not know. BLACK MADGE. "

The detective read this remarkable letter twice from beginning to end, and then he passed it in silence across the table to Chick, who wasseated opposite to him. 

And Chick also read it twice in silence, and as silently returned it. Nick, realizing that Ten-Ichi and Patsy would also fall under thesweeping hatred of Black Madge, tossed it over to them with thedirection that they read it also. 

There was not one among them who felt like making any comment upon theletter, or its contents, at least until their chief had spoken; butpresently, with a gesture to Chick, which meant that he was to followhim as soon as he had finished his breakfast, the detective left thetable and went to his study. 

It was only a few moments after that when Chick entered the room, smiling. 

"I hope, Nick, " he said, dropping into a chair near the window andlighting a cigar, "that you enjoyed the reading of that letter fromMadge?"

The detective was silent a moment before he replied, and then quiteslowly he said:

"So far as I am personally concerned, Chick, the letter or its contentshas no more effect upon me than the snapping of your fingers, but I willconfess that I am in some dread concerning what she might do to you, and to Ten-Ichi and Patsy. "

Chick leaned back in his chair and laughed aloud. 

"If you will excuse me for saying so, " he remarked, "that is utternonsense. Of course, the boys downstairs and I are quite capable oftaking care of ourselves. "

"I don't doubt that, " said Nick, "but that is not exactly the point. "

"What is, then?"

"You have forgotten one part of her letter, " said Nick. 

"What part?"

"That part wherein she speaks about making me suffer, rather thanattempting to do me physical harm. "

"Oh! I haven't forgotten it. "

"Do you understand what she means by that, Chick?"

"Certainly. "

"Let me hear if you do. "

"Well, she probably means that it would be her first effort to make yousuffer by injuring those whom you love--in other words, by doingsomething or other to one of us. But forewarned is forearmed, and, anyhow, I don't think it behooves any of us to be afraid of a woman. "

"This is a case, " said Nick, "where a woman is much more dangerous thana man. A man would fight out in the open; a woman will fight in theshadow; or, at least, such a woman as that will. She is a pretty badone, Chick, and a grave foe. "

Chick nodded. 

"It is always best, " continued the detective, "to give your enemy oryour adversaries credit for every advantage they possess. Black Madge isa wonderfully smart woman, and is unprincipled and implacable as she issmart. She will halt at nothing to carry out her design of vengeance, and just as sure as you are sitting there, Chick, we will presently feelthe surety of that threat. "

Chick flicked the ashes from his cigar, and then strode across the roomto the window, where he stood for a moment looking out. 

"I don't see exactly what we are going to do to head her off before shebegins, " he said presently. 

"There is nothing to do, " replied Nick gloomily. 

"Upon my word, " said Chick, laughing, "one would think that you weremore than usually affected by that letter from Madge. Do you really takeit so seriously as all that?"

"I take it seriously, " replied the detective, "because I so wellunderstand what the woman means, and she means just what she says. Instead of going on evenly and living the life we have been living, wemust not be for an instant off our guard from this day on, until she isagain behind the bars, and I hope the next time I arrest her it will bewithin the limits of the State of New York, where I can place a watchover her so that she will not escape. "

"And I hope so, too, " said Chick. 

"And now, in the meantime, " continued Nick, smiling, "since we have thisletter and know what she is about to do, I think we will meet herhalfway, and not wait for her to open the ball. Since she is at liberty, we will set about capturing her at once. "

CHAPTER XIX. 

THE BAND OF HATRED. 

Down on the East Side of New York, in Rivington Street, and somedistance east of the Bowery, on the second floor of one of the oldestbuildings in the city, a remarkable meeting was being held during thenight that followed the receipt of Madge's letter by Nick Carter. 

In a room on this floor, which was brilliantly lighted by four gas jetsblazing from the chandelier, nine people were seated. They were gatheredalong two sides of the room, in which was a centre table, and behindthis table was Black Madge. 

Before her on the table were various sheets of letter paper, which shehad turned from a pad one after another as she made notes upon them, andin her hand she held a pencil which ever and anon flew rapidly over thepaper while she recorded such information concerning those who werepresent with her as she cared to remember. 

They had been present in that room for upward of an hour, and duringthat time Madge had questioned each one of the eight who faced herconcerning the statements they had made, and which she had noted. 

Now she leaned back in her chair, and, holding one of the sheets ofpaper in her hand, she said:

"Stand up, Scar-faced Johnny, and answer the questions I shall ask you. "

One of them, a short, stocky, red-headed, brutalized being, who wasalmost as broad as he was long, leaped to his feet, thrust his handsdeeply into his pockets, and with his chin stuck forward aggressively, waited. 

"You hate Nick Carter, do you, Johnny?" Madge asked. 

"I hate him like poison. "

"And you would kill him if you could?"

"I'd cut his throat in half a minute if I was sure of not being caught. "

"Tell me again why you hate him so. "

"Ain't he sent me twice to prison? Once for four years and once forthree. And the last time he done it didn't he hand me a welt alongsideof the jaw that I'll never forget? A man can't hit me like that and haveme love him afterward. You just show me the way to do it, Black Madge, and I'll lay him out cold--so cold that he'll never get over it again. All I want is a chance. "

"All right, " said Madge, "take your seat. 

"Now, Slippery Al, you stand up. What's your line of graft, Slippery?"

Slippery, who was tall, and sallow, and lean, and unkempt, and wholooked consumptive and otherwise unwholesome, grinned sheepishly, as hereplied:

"I reckon my name ought to answer that question. I slips in and I slipsout where I can and when I can, and picks up anything that's lyingaround. "

Madge laughed scornfully. 

"You don't look as if you had sense enough to hate anybody or anything, "she said. 

"Oh, I hate Nick Carter, right enough, " was the unhesitating reply. 

"Why do you hate him?"

"Because he sent my father and my mother and my two brothers to prison, and they're all there now, and they weren't doing a thing thatinterfered with him in any way. "

"What were they doing?" asked Madge. 

"Well, if you want to know it straight, Black Madge, they was running alittle counterfeit plant of their own--making dimes and quarters and afew half dollars for some of us to blow in when we couldn't find thereal rhino. "

"Running a counterfeit plant, eh?"

"That's it, marm. "

"And Nick Carter sent them all to prison, did he?"

"He did that. "

"How does it happen that he didn't send you along with them?"

"Well, I managed to slip out just in time, " said Slippery, with one ofhis sheepish grins; "but he sent a bullet after me when I was runningaway that singed the hair over my right ear, and taking it all in all Ihate him about as much as anybody. "

"Not enough to kill him if I should ask you to do it, do you?"

"Well, Madge, when it comes to killing, that ain't in my line; but ifyou want me to lead him on somehow where somebody else could do the job, I think I'd be about the covey that could do it. "

"That'll do for you. Sit down, Slippery. "

"What's your name?" she added to the man who was next him. 

A dark, beetle-browed, heavy-jawed, coarse-featured man, who looked asif he was as powerful as a giant, rose slowly to his feet, and repliedin a surly tone, and with an ugly glitter in his eyes:

"I have got about forty names; leastwise, the police say I have; butthey as knows me best calls me Bob for short; sometimes they fixes it upa little by calling it Surly Bob. But I think that Bob will do for you. "

"What have you got against Nick Carter, Surly Bob?" asked Madge, smiling. She liked the looks of this hard-featured individual. He wasjust brutal enough in his appearance to satisfy her ideas of what a manshould be. 

Bob deliberately took a huge chew of tobacco into his mouth before hereplied, and then, with a slow and almost bovine indifference, heresponded:

"I don't know as it makes much difference to you, Black Madge, what Ihate him for as long as I do hate him, and I'm bound to get square withhim some day, whether I do it in connection with this organization thatyou're getting together or on my own hook without the help of any ofyou, " and he glanced defiantly around. "It's enough that I do hate him. He's done enough to me to make me hate him. It's enough that if I hadhim alone in this room to-night one of us would never leave it aliveunless he got the best of me without killing me, for I would certainlydo him if I got half a chance. 

"But I'll tell you one thing about him that maybe it will do some of yougood to hear, for I give you fair warning that you want to give NickCarter a wide berth unless you can manage somehow to catch him foul. He's about as strong as three horses, and if he ever succeeds in gettinghis grip on you you're gone. I'm about as tough as they make them, butI'm a wee baby in Nick Carter's hands, and don't any of you forget it. "

"Tell us the story, " said Madge. 

"Oh, it ain't no story; it's just a short account. We ran into eachother once near the front door of a bank I had gone into after hours andwithout the permission of the president and board of directors. When Ipicked myself up from the middle of the street after he grabbed me therewas a crack in the top of my skull which didn't get well for threemonths. That's all I've got to say about it, but I want to add this: Ifthat fellow Slippery Al, who says killing ain't in his line, but leadingastray is, wants to bring Nick Carter my way, and will fetch him alongso as I can get him foul, I'll fix him for keeps, and no questionsasked. "

And Surly Bob sat down. 

He had no sooner taken his seat than the individual next to him sprangup without waiting to be asked to do so. If you had encountered thisindividual along Broadway or on Fifth Avenue in New York City, you mightnot have devoted a second glance to him; but if you had, and still hadnot studied him closely, you would not have thought him other than agentleman. 

His features were handsome or would have been handsome were it not forthe crafty and shifty expression of his eyes and the otherwiseinsincerity that was manifest in his face. Among his companions of theunderworld he was known far and near as Gentleman Jim. 

By profession he was what is known as a confidence man, although it wassaid of him that he had the courage to take any part that might berequired of him in preying upon the world at large. 

He had been known to assist, and to do it well, at a bank robbery. Hehad once lived for some time in Chicago as a highwayman. It was said ofhim that in his youth he had begun his career of crime by rustlingcattle in the far West, and that he was as quick and as sure with a gunas any "bad man" of that region. 

His attire was immaculate and in the height of fashion. He was cleanshaven, and he wore eyeglasses which gave to him somewhat of aprofessional look, and which he had been heard to say were excellentthings to hide the expression in a man's eyes. 

In stature he was tall, rather broad, and extremely well built. Inshort, Madge looked upon him when he rose with undoubted admiration inher eyes, as if she believed that here was a man who could be anythinghe chose to be in the criminal world. 

When he spoke it was in an evenly modulated tone of voice which mighthave done excellent service in a drawing-room; and, moreover, his voicewas pleasant to listen to. 

"I suppose you would like to hear from me, as well as from the others, Madge, " he said slowly. "I haven't got very much to say, except that Idon't take much stock in boasted hatreds. Where I was raised, and whereI began my career--and I am not particularly proud of that career--whenwe hated anybody we rarely said much about it, but I will say this toyou, and to the others who are here: I am very glad that thisorganization is being perfected. I am very glad that some concertedaction is to be taken against this man, Nick Carter, who has come prettynear putting us all out of business. You all know who I am, and some ofyou have got a pretty good idea what I am. Nick Carter knows about asmuch about me as any of you, which, after all is said, is next tonothing at all. But I have been on a still hunt for Mr. Nick Carter forsome time, and when I get him in a position which Surly Bob calls foul, I shan't wait to send to any of you for assistance. I'll do the restmyself. "

"And now you, " said Madge, fixing her eyes upon the individual who wasseated next to Gentleman Jim "Rise in your place and tell us your name, and make us a little speech, as the others have done. "

"My name is Cummings--Fly Cummings, I'm called. Some of the bunch hereknows me and some don't. Those that do know me don't need to be toldanything about me, and those that don't know me are just as well off. I'm in business for myself, and always have been. The world owes me aliving, and it's been paying it pretty regular ever since I was sixteenyears old, and I'm now coming sixty-two. I'm like the others here in onerespect: I've got a grudge against the man we've been talking about. I've never been able to make him feel it, because I've always foughtmighty shy of him rather than get within his reach; but when I heardthat this here movement had been started going by you, Madge, and theword was passed around among the guns downtown that you wanted a few ofus that hated Nick Carter to come to the captain's office and form alittle organization, it struck me that it was just about the right thingto do. I've heard what Surly Bob had to say, and I know that Surly isn'tthe sort of chap that's in the habit of talking through his hat. IfSurly Bob had it in for me I'd patronize the New York Central Railroad, and take a train out of town right away. 

"I've heard what Gentleman Jim had to say, and if Jim was looking for mygore to-night, I'd take a steamer across the ocean or commit suicide, because I'd know I couldn't get away from him in any other way. 

"I've heard what Slippery Al had to say, and while Slippery ain't ofmuch account, he's about the nastiest toad that ever picked a pocket, and I wouldn't care to have him down on me. 

"And as for Scar-faced Johnny, well, Johnny is a bad one, too. I ain'tmaking any threats particularly, Madge, but I'm willing to join thisorganization, or I wouldn't be here, and I want to say now that whenyou're fixing up the business, and arrange for the signals so that wecan summons each other when we want them, I'll do my part to the tune ofcompound interest; and I guess that'll be about all from me. "

The sixth man of the party, who was the next to get upon his feet, hadthe stamp of prison life all over him. His face bespoke the pallor whichis acquired in no other place in the world, and the vicious, shifty, sneaking gleam in his eyes spoke well of the craftiness which is theresult of long confinement under the domination of brutal guards andturnkeys. 

So recently had he escaped from prison, apparently, that his hair wasstill cropped short to his skull, and one almost expected when lookingat him to see the stripes of prison garb upon him. 

"I am Joe Cuthbert, " he said slowly, in a tone so low that it couldscarcely be heard. "I wouldn't have come here to-night at all if Ihadn't been assured on the level that it would be perfectly safe to doso. I don't think there is any one of you in this room except Madgeherself who knows me, but you will all hear from me later on as sure asI'm alive and can escape arrest. 

"You may have been told since you came here that I have just escapedfrom prison, or if you haven't been told it, and know how to read, youhave probably seen the rewards for my recapture. You will know, too, that I was sent up for croaking another chap, or, as they call it in thecourts, for murder. I want you all to know that I served eight years. Eight years of hell, and that I've come out of there with thedetermination of getting square with the man that sent me up. That manwas Nick Carter; and that's all I've got to say. "

There was a moment of utter silence after this announcement, which hadin it many of the elements of the dramatic. 

There was not a person in that room who had not seen the inside of aprison, and many of them had served as many as four years, while othershad been in prison many times for short terms. 

But to have just escaped from prison after having been confined foreight long years seemed to them the climax of the possibilities ofhatred. 

But the moment passed, and Madge fixed her eyes upon the seventh of thegroup, who slowly rose to his feet and said:

"After what we've just heard, Madge, it doesn't seem that anything thatI can say can add to the intensity of feeling that pervades thisdistinguished assembly. I regard it as quite an honor to be among thosewho know so well how to hate. As for me, I have also been inside aprison, to which this man Nick Carter sent me. I had been mixed up in alittle diamond robbery from one of the big firms in this town. I don'tknow but maybe some of you heard about it; it was called the taking ofthe pear-shaped diamonds, and at the time that happened I was in lovewith a very beautiful girl, and was outwardly leading a very respectablelife. It's enough for me to say now that when the exposure thatfollowed Nick Carter's investigation of that case, and through it theexposure of all my previous criminal record, which before that time Ihad been able to conceal, the girl went back on me, and would havenothing more to do with me. Now she is married to another man, and whileI don't blame her any, I do blame the man that exposed me, and if any ofyou people that are gathered here can help me in getting square with himI'll be eternally grateful. My name is Eugene Maxwell. "

There was only one other individual left in this collection who had notas yet spoken, and now, although Madge fixed her eyes instantly uponhim, he remained in his chair as he was, with immovable, sphinxlikecountenance and gloomy eyes. He was a tall, spare, rather well-dressedfigure, when he rose at last in reply to her spoken request, and hestood, half leaning upon a cane which he held in his two hands, and benta little toward her as he spoke. 

"I haven't any name, so far as anybody knows, " he said slowly, and withdistinct and deliberate enunciation. "It has pleased my friends alwaysto bestow a title upon me. Until to-night I have always worked alone, and have rarely made myself known to any of the inhabitants of theunderworld, and if any of you here have ever happened to be told aboutThe Parson, you will know who I am. "

There was a distinct stir in the room when he uttered this name ortitle, for The Parson had always been more or less a mystery, and onethat was much envied by thieves generally. He was a confidence man ofthe higher type; the sort of man who would go into strange cities orvillages or communities, and represent himself to be a professional man;sometimes a minister; sometimes a priest; again a rabbi; and it was hisgraft to solicit and collect contributions for charitable purposes uponforged recommendations and letters which he had prepared in advance. 

His success in this line had been enormous, and his work had always beendone in the dark and alone, until six years before this particularoccasion, having done it once too often, Nick Carter had trailed himdown and captured him. 

He continued:

"I was always very successful in my line of graft until Nick Carter gotafter me, and while I didn't get quite so long a term as our friendCuthbert, I was sent up for five years, and served four years and threemonths of it. I want to say to you now that every night and everymorning of my life during those four years and three months I cursedNick Carter and everybody and everything that belonged to him. That'swhy I'm here. I take part in this little scheme that Madge has concoctedto down that fellow with the greatest pleasure I have ever known. If youshould happen to be in want of funds any time----"

"I'll supply the funds, " interrupted Madge. 

"All the same, if you should happen to be in want of funds at any time, all you've got to do is to whisper it to The Parson and I'll put my handdown in my pocket and supply the dollars, for I've got a few left, and Iknow where there are a lot more to be obtained. "

He resumed his seat slowly, rested his chin upon the head of his canebetween his hands, and the gloomy look came over his face again like amask. 

And now Madge stood up behind the table, resting her hands upon it, andleaning a little bit forward as she spoke. 

"I'm a proud woman, my friends, " she said. "I'm a young woman, too, being not yet twenty-four, and a good hater. I am part Spanish and partFrench. I was raised in Paris, and learned all that I know about mybusiness over there. The first time that I ever saw Nick Carter in mylife was in the office of the Prefecture of Police in the room of theChief of the Secret Service. I was seventeen years old at the time whenthe chief had sent for me to question me about the death of a womanwhich had occurred in the house where I lived on the floor above me, andabout which, fortunately, I knew absolutely nothing. 

"But Nick Carter came into the chief's office while I was there. I hadonly a fleeting glance of him at the time. I left the room almost assoon as he entered it. I did not see him again for five years, at whichtime he came in disguise to the thieves' headquarters where I wasstaying. I recognized him that time by his eyes, but nevertheless hecaptured me and sent me to jail. 

"I escaped from that jail before I came to trial, and did it through thehelp of my friends. Somewhat later than that he hunted me down a secondtime, but I escaped, and I have sworn now to be even with him, and thatis why I have brought you here together. You will please to stand upnow, raise your right hands, and repeat after me in taking the oath ofThe Band of Hatred. "

CHAPTER XX. 

A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS. 

A strange series of accidents began the night of the day following thereceipt of the letter, and Nick Carter had no doubt whatever that it wasthe first act to be played in the drama of vengeance which Black Madgehad inaugurated against them. 

It was rather a simple thing of itself, and did no damage to amount toanything. The fact was that during the night some malicious person hadplaced under the front steps in the areaway of his house a barrel thathad been filled with cotton waste saturated with oil. It was onlynecessary after that to apply a match to the inflammable material tostart an incipient conflagration. Had the house itself not been built ofgranite, and--save the doors and windows and other trimmings--beenpractically fireproof, the result would have been disastrous; as it was, however, beyond badly scorching the door, and cracking a few of thestones by reason of the intense heat that was generating, no damage wasdone. 

But the fact had been sufficient to remind Nick Carter and his threeassistants that Madge had not threatened idly, and that already she hadundertaken to carry out the substance of some of her warning. 

At midnight the day following the fire in the areaway a blazing bomb washurled through the window of the second story of Nick Carter's house, and rolled to the middle of the floor, where it blazed furiously, andwould undoubtedly have done a great deal of damage had it not sohappened that the housekeeper was present at the time, for Nick had aguest that night, and she had been called late to prepare the room forhim. 

The day following this one, about four o'clock in the afternoon, Josephdiscovered a dynamite cartridge containing a pound and a half of theexplosive in the vestibule at the front door. The fuse of this cartridgewas already alight and would have reached and exploded the percussion, or detonating cap, if Joseph, for some reason unknown, had not gone tothe front door at that moment. He was not called there, and had notheard anybody in the vestibule, or on the steps, and Joseph foreverinsisted after this incident that it was an intervention of Providence. 

This last incident was extremely serious, for had the cartridge beenexploded it must have torn away the entire front of the house, and havedone enormous damage, even if it had taken no lives. 

Friday night of that week at about half-past eight o'clock in theevening Chick and Patsy were walking up Madison Avenue together, andwhen they arrived at the corner of Thirtieth Street, and were about toturn toward Fifth Avenue, a shot was fired at them from across thestreet. 

Fortunately the bullet did not strike either of them; and, although theyboth immediately pursued the would-be assassin, he was evidentlyprepared to avoid them, for he leaped upon a bicycle and sped away soswiftly that there was no hope of overtaking him. They only saw that hewas tall and slender, and that was all. 

The Saturday morning following an express wagon stopped at Nick Carter'shouse and delivered a package addressed to the detective, which wasmarked: "Fragile. This side up, with care. "

Joseph carried it to the detective's study, placed it upon the table, and was about to leave the room when Nick stopped him. 

"What is that, Joseph?" he asked. 

"An express package, sir, which just came for you. "

"Who brought it, Joseph?"

"The express wagon, sir. "

"Bring it over here. Let me see it. "

Joseph took the package in his hand, carried it over to place it on thedesk in front of the detective, who regarded it with a smile, whilestrangely enough his mind went back to the number of attempts to injurehim that had been made during the week that was now nearly past. 

"Did you sign for it, Joseph?" he asked. 

"Yes, sir. "

"I am expecting no package. " said the detective. 

"No, sir, " said Joseph, not knowing what else to reply. 

"I think, Joseph, " said the detective, "that if you will take it to thebasement, or, rather, to the laundry, and draw one of the tubs therefull of water, it would be a good idea to put the package to soak forfive or six hours before we open it. "

"Really, sir, " said Joseph. "Why?"

"Joseph, if that package had come here as it has a week or ten days ago, I should have opened it without a second thought, but, under thecircumstances and considering all that has happened of late, I deem itwise to use every precaution. Take the package down and soak it as Ihave directed. "

Some hours later, when the detective recalled the incident to mind, heand Chick went to the basement together, found the package, and with agreat deal of care opened it--from the bottom. 

It was found to contain an infernal machine of the most approvedpattern, loaded with broken glass, slugs of lead and old iron, and anassortment of nails, old keys, and bullets. 

"A very pretty little present to send a fellow, " said Nick, smilinggrimly. "I rather think it is a lucky thing, Chick, that it occurred tome to give it a good soaking. I wonder what the woman will do next?"

Sunday evening when the detective entered his room he found Josephwrithing on the floor in evident agony, brought about by the contents ofwhat had been a box of candy, and Nick instantly guessed that anotherattempt had been made upon his life, this time to poison him. 

But Joseph fortunately had only nibbled at one of the pieces, and, beyond an hour's suffering for his foolishness, was not injured. 

It appeared, when Nick questioned him, that a boy had handed the box ofcandy in at the door, saying, when Joseph appeared to receive it, thatit had been ordered by the detective himself, and was to be placed inhis study for him; and the boy had had the temerity to raise the lid ofthe box when he delivered it, wink slyly at Joseph, and exclaim:

"See! aren't they dandy? I tasted one; they're fine. "

And then he had run away, laughing. 

Joseph had seen the candy, and, being fond of it, could not resist thetemptation also to take a taste of it when he placed the box upon hismaster's table. 

That same night, at half-past eleven o'clock, Nick was seated at thedesk in his study, which is located on the third floor in the rear ofhis house. He was engaged in looking over some notes relative to an oldcase which he wished to recall to mind. 

The shade at the window was lowered, but the light was in such aposition that it threw his shadow against the curtain and outlined hishead upon it almost perfectly. 

Suddenly he was startled by the report of a gun, and the next instant abullet crashed through the glass of his window and buried itself in theopposite wall of the room. 

Later on, when he investigated the incident, he found that the bullethad passed directly through the shadow of his head as it was cast uponthe window shade, the person who fired it evidently supposing that hishead was directly behind that shadow; but the fact that the light was atone side of the room, and had therefore thrown the shadow somewhat backof where he was actually seated, saved his life. 

Further investigation disclosed the fact that the bullet had been firedfrom the rear of one of the houses in the block directly behind wherethe detective lived. It was not discovered how the would-be assassin hadsecured his position on the roof. 

But this accumulation of accidents--so called for want of a betterterm--was altogether too much for the serenity and the composure of thedetective and his assistants. 

It was evident that Madge had determined to make his life miserable ifit could be done, and when Nick recalled the substance of the letter shehad sent him he decided in his own mind that the bullet had not reallybeen intended to take his life, but only to warn him of the dangers thatwere hovering over him every minute that he lived. 

In the meantime--or, rather, during the time that has already beenmentioned--the detective and his assistants had not been idle. There hadnot been a day or a night when he and Chick and Patsy and Ten-Ichi hadnot been engaged in searching some part of the city for Black Madge, orfor some trace of her. 

They had visited the dens in the lower part of the city; they hadquestioned the policemen and the stool pigeons of the detective bureau, and they had even gone so far as to communicate directly with crooks whowere known to them for information concerning the woman. 

But none had been forthcoming. Black Madge was keeping herself asthoroughly under cover as if she were still in the prison in that otherState from which she had escaped. 

But after this occurrence of Sunday night, when the bullet was shotthrough the window at the detective, he determined to make no morehalf-hearted efforts to find Madge, but to set out at once that verynight in search of her; and accordingly he put away his papers andcalled Chick into the room with him. 

"Chick, " he said, "do you happen to know anything about Mike Grinnel'splace?"

"I only know, " said Chick, "that he is said to keep one of the worstdives in the city, and that it is located somewhere in Rivington Street. I am not sure about it, because I have never had occasion to go there. The only thing I do know about it is that it is said to be a greatSunday night resort for thieves and crooks of all classes. "

"Right, " said Nick. "That coincides with what I have heard. I have neverbeen there, either, Chick but I am going there to-night--now. Thequestion is, do you want to go with me?"

"I sure do, " replied Chick. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

CURLY JOHN, THE BANK THIEF. 

Mike Grinnel's place in Rivington Street was at that time one of thosemonstrosities which were permitted to exist within the limits of NewYork City nobody knows how. During the day and the early part of theevening it was to all appearances merely an ordinary saloon, and if astranger were passing it he would regard it as a likely place to enterif he required refreshment. 

But when the hours deepened into the night, the place gradually assumedmore and more the aspect which might be labeled dangerous. Men and womendrifted in together and talked in low tones at tables arranged along theside of the room, and as the time continued toward midnight, and passedit, the air of respectability gradually disappeared until it wasentirely gone. 

By eleven o'clock the place was usually thronged by people who seemed toknow each other in a furtive sort of way, and who sometimes would callothers by name across the room. 

At one o'clock the front doors were closed and locked; the curtains weretightly drawn so that not a ray of light was permitted to escape intothe street, blinds were pulled up to make this fact doubly secure, andthis was when the place really began to live and thrive in its truecharacter. Then also was when Mike Grinnel himself came out of hisshell, and assumed personal charge of the affairs of the place; for MikeGrinnel had a reputation among the crooks and thieves who were hiscustomers, and if an incipient row started at any time among his guestshe had only to look with his frowning brow in their direction to quellit. 

The way into this dive of Grinnel's after the legal hours, and when itwas supposed to be closed, was, strangely enough, through a house fromthe other side, and of course it followed that only the initiated--thosewho were known to the man at the door--could pass. 

When Nick Carter and his first assistant left the house that particularSunday night to go to Mike Grinnel's, the principal question was howthey were to get inside the place at all. 

Nick had no doubt in his mind whatever that if Black Madge were in townthat she would be one who would most certainly visit Mike Grinnel's diveSunday night, for that was the red-letter night of the week at thatplace among the inhabitants of the underworld. 

He knew that she would feel perfectly secure against intervention there. He knew that she would have perfect confidence in the espionage whichMike Grinnel exercised in his place for the safety of his customers, for it was his boast that no thief or criminal of any sort had ever beenarrested in his place and taken from it by the officers. 

And, therefore, Nick felt sure that if he could but gain admission andBlack Madge were in the city, which he did not doubt, he would find herthere. 

To enter a place of this kind one must be actually introduced; that is, vouched for by some frequenter of it. It will not suffice for one toapply at such a place, and state merely that he knows so-and-so and isall right; he will be turned down hard. But Nick Carter was neverwithout resource in a matter of this kind, and, therefore, when he leftthe house with Chick, instead of going directly to Mike Grinnel's theytook their way to police headquarters, where, as he knew would be thecase, he found the inspector. 

"Inspector, " he said, "I noticed in the paper yesterday morning thatCurly John had been arrested by one of your men and brought toheadquarters on suspicion of being connected with that Liverpool bankrobbery three months ago. "

"That's correct, " said the inspector. "Do you know anything about thecase?"

"Not a thing in the world, " said Nick, laughing; "but I want to useCurly John. I want to use him very badly. I want you to lend him to mefor to-night, if you will. "

The inspector could only stare his amazement. He had known Nick Carter agood many years, but never before had he received a request of this kindfrom him. 

"I guess you will have to say that again, and say it slow, Nick; I don'tthink I understand you. "

The detective laughed heartily. Then he began at the beginning and toldfirst about the letter he had received from Black Madge containing thethreats, and then one by one related the incidents that had happened tohim and to his household during the week that was past. In conclusion, he said:

"Now, inspector, I am convinced that if Black Madge is in the city ofNew York, she is now at this very moment seated at one of the tables atMike Grinnel's place. I want to go there to find out. If she is there Iwant to know it. If she is there and I can manage to find out where shegoes when she leaves there, that is all I care to know to-night. "

"But how can Curly help you?" asked the inspector. 

"Curly can help me in this way: I know something about his reputationand his career. I came across him once several years ago in reference toan old case of mine with which he had nothing to do, but concerningwhich he gave me some valuable information. I found that Curly John wasall right at that time, and, as people of his profession regard it, pretty much on the square. I want you, if you will, to ring the belland order him brought up here and let me talk to him. "

"That's easy, " said the inspector, and he did as requested. 

Five minutes later when Curly John entered the room he paused when hewas just inside of the door, and fixed his eyes intently upon NickCarter, and then, with scarcely a glance at the inspector, who hadsummoned him, he addressed himself directly to the detective. 

"I know you, " he said. "I remember you perfectly well, Mr. Carter, and Iwouldn't be afraid to bet that it was you that sent for me right now. Ihope you've come to get me out, for I give you my word that I know nomore about that Liverpool crib-cracking business than you do, and that'swhat they're holding me for just now. "

"Curly, " said Nick, "you gave me some assistance once in a case I hadafter I assured you that you would not betray a pal in doing it, andthat I would do a certain favor for you afterward. Did I keep my wordwith you?"

"You kept it for fair, Mr. Carter. I ain't forgot it, neither. "

"Well, Curly, I have come here to-night to get you to do another favorfor me, but first answer me one question. "

"All right, sir. What's that?"

"Do they let you in at Mike Grinnel's Sunday night prayer meetings?"

"They sure do, Mr. Carter. "

"If you were at liberty at this minute, isn't that the first place youwould point for?"

"That's about the size of it. "

"And you would have no trouble in getting inside?"

"Not the least in the world. "

"If the inspector will consent to let you go will you take me there--meand this young man beside me, who is my assistant--on condition that Imake you a solemn promise that I will make no arrest while there; that Iwill in no way interfere with Grinnel's business, or with any of hiscustomers who are there, and that unless you reveal the fact yourself itwill never be known that I was inside the place?"

Curly John scratched his head in perplexity. 

"That's a pretty big contract you ask of me, Mr. Carter, " he said. "What's the game?"

"The game is, Curly, that I am very anxious to find out if a certainperson is in the city. If that person is in the city that person will beat Grinnel's to-night, I know. "

Curly scratched his head some more. 

"And suppose, Mr. Carter, that person is at Grinnel's to-night, what doyou expect to do to that person?"

"To use your own words, " replied Nick, "not the least thing in theworld. "

"Then what do you want to go there for?"

"I have already told you that. I want to find out if that person is inthe city. "

"Are you giving me this on the square?" asked Curly John. 

"Absolutely on the square. "

"And you won't make any trouble?"

"Not a particle of trouble of any kind. "

"You nor that chap over there who is with you?"

"Neither of us. You have my word for that. "

"Well, what about what's to come after it? Do you intend to follow thatperson down and do the arresting afterward?"

"I will promise you, Curly, that there shall be no arrest of any kind orof any person arising out of the visit to Grinnel's place to-nightwithin twenty-four hours from this moment. "

Curly scratched his head a third time very intently and seriously, andat last asked:

"Don't any of them coves over there know you, Mr. Carter?"

"I suppose, " said Nick, smiling, "that every one of them knows me, andthat many of them know Chick as well. "

"And so that's Chick, is it? I have heard about him. Well, now, Mr. Carter, let me ask you this: You just now said that unless I told it, not a soul would know that you were there at that place to-night if Itook you there. Now, how do you reconcile that with the fact that theyall know you?"

"In this way, Curly: That I shall ask you to wait here a few momentsafter you give your consent, while Chick and I step into the next roomand make some alteration in our appearances with things that theinspector will loan me from his cabinet. "

Curly sneered. 

"Oh! this is a disguise business, is it? Well, Mr. Carter, do you thinkthat the guns down there at Grinnel's are such blamed fools as not tosee through a racket of that kind?"

"Oh! I can fool them, all right, " said Nick, "if you consent. Now, Curly, I have given you a promise once before in my life, and lived upto it literally. I have made you one now, and I will live up to itliterally. The inspector will let you go and will send for you in casehe should want you again. You get your liberty, and I get what I want. And now, Curly, it's up to you. Will you do it?"

"Yes, by thunder, I'll do it! Go into the next room and get ready. Whenyou're ready, I am. And I will introduce you and Chick there as a pairof old pals of mine from the other side of the water. "

CHAPTER XXII. 

AT MIKE GRINNEL'S DIVE. 

When Curly John knocked at the door of the Sunday-night entrance to MikeGrinnel's dive in a peculiar manner, that was evidently full ofsignificance to the one behind it, it opened instantly, and the burlyform of the bouncer of the establishment was discovered. 

His face, which might have been a stone mask for all the expression itmanifested when he first appeared, beamed with joy, however, when hediscovered Curly John, and thrust out his big hamlike fist withundoubted enthusiasm. 

"Hello, Curly, " he said. "I thought you were in limbo. "

"And so I was, " replied Curly, "until they discovered that they didn'twant me. "

"Make up their minds that you wasn't in that little affair, eh?"

"That's the size of it, Red. Here's my two friends that I brought withme. Some one you don't know, and they ain't either of them known inside, either. Do you let them pass?"

"Sure, Curly. I lets them pass, if you say so. "

"Come, lads, " said Curly, without vouchsafing any further statement tothe guard at the door; and so it was that the way was open for the twodetectives to enter upon the mysteries of that infamous retreat where itwas the proprietor's boast that no police officer had ever appearedwithout his own expressed permission. 

The big room where the patrons congregated on Sunday night wascomfortably filled when Nick Carter entered it with his two companions. 

In all that place there were only two tables unoccupied, and one ofthose was almost directly in the centre of the room. Curly led the wayto it at once, and the three seated themselves around it while the bankburglar sent out his order for the refreshments that were required. 

Nick and Chick had made the necessary changes in their appearance; andeach assumed the outward character and general aspect of a person whowould be likely to frequent such a place as Grinnel's. 

Nick Carter was always a thorough believer in the maxim that too muchdisguise was worse than none at all, and therefore, when the occasionrequired that he should assume one, it was his habit to do as littlereal disguising as possible, and therefore, with the exception of givinghimself a black eye, and blocking out a couple of his teeth, fixing hisface so that it appeared as though there was a couple days' growth ofbeard upon it, and donning a rough-looking costume, he was unchanged. 

In a place like Mike Grinnel's no man thought of taking off his hatunless his head was too warm, and therefore Nick kept his on with thebrim pulled down well over his eyes. 

The mere fact that the two detectives were in the company of Curly Johnwas sufficient voucher for their personalities, and it did not occur toanybody, not even to Mike Grinnel himself, to question them. 

They were there; they were with Curly John; he had brought them, andthat was enough. And, although there were many expressions of welcomespoken and called out to Curly John when he passed into the room andtook his seat at the table, nobody in all that throng offered toapproach him, for it was an unwritten law of the underworld that a manwho reappears for the first time among his associates after imprisonmentis left alone to make his own advances when he is pleased to do so. 

As for the two strangers who accompanied him, their presence did notconcern the others, so long as Curly John vouched for them. 

If they thought anything about it at all, they assumed that the burglarwas preparing for another professional trip, and that the two strangerswere interested in his plans. They all regarded it as none of theiraffair, and in the underworld it is the rule of life to mind your ownbusiness, and let other people do the same. 

As soon as the detective had taken his seat--which he was careful to doin such a position that he could command a view of the greater part ofthe room without perceptibly turning his head--he began, little bylittle, and one by one, to study the people who were there. 

At first he paid no attention whatever to the men; but, since it was afact that more than half of the guests, or patrons, or whatever youplease to call them, were women, and as there were at least sixtypersons present, it was some time before his eyes rested upon the facethat he sought. 

But Madge was there without question. She had not thought it necessaryto attempt any disguise of any sort, and her bold, black eyes wereroving restlessly about the room when Nick Carter encountered them. 

But his own were so thoroughly shaded by the wide brim of the slouch hathe wore that he did not believe that she knew he was looking at her. 

In this manner he studied her for some time, and discovered that she wasfurtively watching Curly John and the two who had come there with him. 

It was apparent to the detective that Black Madge had not overcome herold habit of suspecting everybody; and the mere fact that there were twostrangers present in the room, even though they were accompanied by oneof the old habitués of the place, was to her a warning that they mightnot be all right. 

It had been Nick's intention to make no demonstration of any kind whilehe was inside Grinnel's dive; it was his purpose to go there and observeall that he could, and then to go away again without having exchanged aword with any one except Curly, unless it should become absolutelynecessary. 

He intended--if he should succeed in finding Madge there--to trust toluck and his own ingenuity to follow her when she would leave the place, and so discover where she was living, and by that means he could keephis eye upon her for several days thereafter, and ultimately could roundup the gang of crooks which he had no doubt she had organized. 

But Madge, although she had no idea that either of the strangers mightbe Nick Carter, did not intend that these two men should leave that roomwithout passing through some sort of inspection which would serve toidentify them for what they might be. 

While every one else in that place was thoroughly satisfied about them, because of their presence with Curly, this fact cut no ice with BlackMadge, and always suspicious, she was instantly suspicious of them whenthey entered. 

Therefore, a very short time had elapsed after the detectives took theirseats at the table, before she left her own place, and crossed thesawdust-covered floor swiftly to Curly's table. 

There she slapped him on the shoulder, as a man might have done, andwith a laugh, which called the attention of every other person in theroom to what she was doing, as she intended it to do, she exclaimed:

"Hello, Curly. It does me good to see you back among us again. How didyou put out the lamps of those chaps up in Mulberry Street, so that theylet you out?"

Curly, who was wise in his day and generation, jumped to his feet andshook hands heartily with Black Madge; for he guessed instantly that itwas not to greet him that she had crossed the floor, but rather to gaina closer view of his companions, and by standing erect he could keep hera little distance without appearing to do so. 

"Oh! they just found out they didn't want me, " he replied. And then, realizing that something was expected of him by the others in the room, at least, if not Madge herself, he jerked a chair around toward her, andadded: "Sit down, Madge, won't you, and have something?"

"Sure, " she replied, laughing again, and dropping negligently into thechair. 

"What kind of a game are you playing now, Madge?" asked Curly, after hehad motioned to the waiter to approach; and then, pausing long enoughto give the order, he added: "Last I heard of you you were behind themosquito bars resting up a bit. "

Madge laughed again. She seemed to be full of laughter to-night, but itwas an uneasy, imperfect, and significant sort of laughter that NickCarter had heard from her lips before, and which he, therefore, understood. He realized, now, that it was important that he shouldproceed with great caution. 

"Oh, yes, " she said. "Nick Carter did that for me. But I'm out again, just the same, and now my lay is to get square with Nick Carter. "

"You don't say so, " said Curly, shifting uneasily in his chair, andforgetting himself so far as to cast one furtive glance in the directionof the detective. "What are you going to do to him?"

"Ask me that after I've got him where I want him, " replied Madge, fixingher bold eyes full upon Nick Carter's face; and then, slowly removingthem, and swinging her body half around until she again faced Curly, sheadded insinuatingly:

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends, Curly?"

Curly shook his shoulders. He was on safe ground, now, ground where hefelt perfectly at home; for it was never necessary to indulge inintroductions in that walk of life, not even when they were asked for, but he replied:

"Sure, Madge. These are my two friends, and I guess that'll be aboutenough. You can call them by any name you want to, and they'll bothanswer you. "

"Under cover?" she asked. 

"A little, " admitted Curly. 

"Are they dumb, or tongue-tied, or have they temporarily lost theirvoices; or, are they only bashful? I should think that two full-grownmen such as they are might be able to speak for themselves. "

"It ain't always good taste to speak for yourself, " said Curly, with anuneasy laugh. "They might do it once too often. "

Madge's suspicions were plainly aroused. She remained silent for amoment after that, and then, leaning forward, she rested her arms uponthe table, and with her face thrust well forward over them, again staredinto the detective's face. 

"Do you know who you are like?" she asked coolly. 

"Yes, " replied Nick, just as coolly as she had spoken, "I have heard itsaid often, but if you will take my advice you won't mention the namealoud. It might excite some of the people here. "

She laughed. 

"That's just what I mean to do, " she said, with a tightening of herlips. "They need excitement; that's what they live on. It's what we alllive on. It's what we come here to get. Excitement is the backbone andmuscle and sinew of our beings. And do you know that I think I couldstartle them all mightily right now if I should call something out tothem which is on my mind to say?"

She reached out her left hand, and seized Curly by the shoulder, pullinghim over to her, and then, in a tone which only the three who werepresent with her could hear, she went on, her voice deadly calm:

"Did you think, Nick Carter, that you could fool Black Madge? Did youthink that you could come here into this same room where I am without myknowing instantly who you were? Don't you know that your very presencein the same room with me would make itself known to my sensibilities byreason of the very hate I bear you?"

She paused a moment and laughed uneasily. And then she continued:

"Don't you know, Nick Carter, that you have walked directly into a trap, from which you cannot escape? And were you not aware before you camehere that if your identity became known your life wouldn't be worth amoment's purchase? If you so much as quiver an eyelid, Nick Carter, Iwill call out your name, and point you out as a spy, and you know whatthat will mean in Mike Grinnel's dive. "

CHAPTER XXIII. 

BLACK MADGE'S DEFIANCE. 

It was a crucial moment for each of the three men who were seated atthat table, and it affected each of the three quite differently. 

Chick was concerned only for the safety of his chief, for even then itdid not occur to him that Black Madge had taken sufficient interest inhimself to identify him, and that doubtless she still regarded him asreally a friend of Curly's. 

Curly was plainly frightened, as well as utterly astounded. It had neveroccurred to him that the disguise of Nick Carter, which had seemed tohim to be perfect, would be, or could be, so readily penetrated; and herealized, for the moment, at least, that he was in as much danger asNick Carter himself, for if it should be known to the others--or shouldsuddenly be made known to them--that Nick Carter was in that room, theywould not only kill the detective, but they would also murder the manwho had dared to bring him there. 

Black Madge was as thoroughly aware of this fact as was Curly himself, and she did the latter justice to believe that somehow he had beenimposed upon by the detective, just as Nick had sought to impose uponall of them; in a word, she did not blame Curly for the existingsituation. 

As for the situation itself, she was delighted with it, for it hadthrust Nick Carter into her power much more quickly and certainly thanshe had ever supposed it could be done. 

She had not been seated at the table with them a full minute before shewas perfectly assured in her own mind that the man opposite her was NickCarter, and it did not occur to her to doubt that the other man was oneof his assistants--it made no difference to her which one. 

And now, while she threatened the detective with death if he should makeany overt omission, she was eagerly casting about in her mind how to gethim entirely into her power to do with as she would without alarming theothers that were present there. 

She knew that Nick Carter understood and realized the danger asthoroughly as she did; but she also knew that he was extremelyresourceful whenever danger threatened, and that she might only countupon him as captured and overcome entirely when he was bound and gagged, or dead, before her. 

As for Nick, when Madge uttered the threat to him, he returned her gazesteadfastly, at the same time reaching out a little farther with thehand that was resting upon the table, and then he replied, quietly andin the same low tone that she had employed:

"I took every one of those things into consideration, Madge, when I camehere. Now, I want to know if you intend to shout out that name, and givethe alarm, as you have threatened to do, or if you will sit therequietly where you are, pretending to be interested in the drink in frontof you, and talk it over calmly. "

She shrugged her shoulders, and again leaned back in her chair, but atthe same time drawing it a little nearer to the table. 

"As you please, " she said. "I don't care to precipitate matters andbreak up the party here unless you force me to do so--at least, not justyet. "

"Madge, " said Nick, "you think that you have me in your power. Youbelieve that by shouting out my name I would be killed. That isdoubtless quite true, but before that killing was accomplished I shouldhave done a little execution on my own account, and Chick, who is herebeside me, is quite ready to do his part. As for Curly, he is aninnocent party in this affair, so we won't consider him at all, althoughyou must admit that he would have to take the consequences of bringingme here, which would be far from pleasant. "

She nodded, and smiled at him fiercely, and then she replied:

"Go on. You were about to tell me that in the sleeve of that arm, whichis extended toward me over the table, you hold a weapon with which youcould kill me before I could give the alarm a second time. Very well Iknow it, but all the same I am not afraid of it, Nick Carter, any morethan I am afraid of you, and you know that I have never been that. "

"I know, " said Nick. 

"Go on, then, " she repeated. "What do you want to talk about? Since youwish to talk things over calmly, what did, you come here for, anyhow?"

"I came, " said Nick, "believing that you were in the city, and knowingthat I would find you here if you were, I came because I was determinedto find out where you were, and to put a stop to your career. "

She started savagely, but Nick held up his hand and hushed her. 

"I am not going to make any arrests in this place, Madge. I am not goingto interfere with Mike Grinnel's business, or with his reputation foraffording security to his patrons. If every person in this room was myfriend instead of my enemy, you, Madge, would be as free to depart inpeace when you get ready to do so as you would have been had I not comehere. "

"That all sounds very fine, " she said, "if only I cared to believe it. "

"Believe it or not, as you please, it is the truth. "

"And what did you come here for?"

"I have told you that already. I came to find you. "

"And, having found me, to let me go away in peace?"

"I have said that also, I believe. "

"Nick Carter, " she exclaimed, laughing scornfully, "you are not a goodliar. "

"I never lie, " replied Nick. 

"Well, " she said, "I will speak my little piece, now that you arethrough. You are here, and there are two locked doors between you andthe street, and there are between twenty and thirty men in this room nowwho would rather be killed than let you escape if they knew you werehere. I might as well confess to you that eight of those men belong tome. That is, they obey my orders. Now, what are you going to do aboutit?"

"I think, " replied Nick quietly, and smiling back at her, "that, withyour permission, I will order another round of drinks. "

She pushed back her chair petulantly from the table, and half started torise from it, but Nick Carter's voice, low, but sharp, halted her. 

"Stop, Madge, " he said; "keep your seat. This thing has gone too far foreither of us to attempt to fool the other. You might as well understandthat if there is to be any row precipitated, I will do theprecipitating. "

She blazed her eyes at him for an instant, and then parted her lips withthe evident intention of shouting out his identity. And, while he didnot move to prevent her from doing so, the steady gaze of his eyessomehow overcame her, and she closed them again without making a sound. 

"That is better, Madge, " he said. "This is a case of diamond cutdiamond, only for the moment my diamond is a little harder and sharperthan your own. Take my advice, and sit where you are. "

Curly and Chick had both been absorbed spectators and listeners to thislittle scene between the detective and Black Madge. 

Chick had, of course, made himself ready at any instant to act, nomatter what sort of action might be required. 

But Curly was distinctly in a quandary. He knew that it was no fault ofNick's that the discovery had been made, and he also knew that if shewas forced to keep silent the identity of Nick Carter would not bediscovered by the others present. 

If the thing should come to a row, every instinct of Curly's life andprofession would force him to take the side of the underworld as againstNick Carter, and his impulse would be that way, too. But his strongestdesire at that moment was to prevent an exposure at any cost. It was forthis reason that he now intervened. 

"Madge, " he said, "listen to me for a minute. "

"Hello, Curly, " she said, turning her head lazily toward him, "it isn'tnecessary for you to butt in on this affair. "

"I am going to butt in, Madge, just the same. Now, listen to me. "

"Go on, then. "

"You know where I stand, Madge, and there ain't no reason why I shouldexplain how all this came about; or, if you think there is, there ain'tgoing to be any explanation offered anyhow, but the point about it isthis: It wouldn't be healthy for you, nor for any of us, if you shouldyell out a certain name in this present community, and I want to tellyou right now that I won't stand for your doing it. It's up to you tokeep still, Madge, and mind your own business, for while I should bewith the boys as against Nick Carter to the bitter end, if it actuallycame to a fight, at the same time I'd blame you for the fight, andalthough you're a woman you would be the first one I'd look for out ofthis bunch. Now, I've spoken my piece, and you can go on with yours. "

This was a development which Madge had not anticipated, but Curly hadspoken so plainly to the point, and his premises were so well taken andso logical from his standpoint, that she could offer no objection. 

If she could have left the table for a moment; if she could have hadtime to think, or if she could have secured an opportunity to exchangehalf a dozen sentences with any one of the members of her Band ofHatred, it would have been different, and she might have planned for theoverthrow of the detective. 

As it was, the circumstances had arrived at such a condition thatleaving her chair would be equivalent--so far as her companions wereconcerned--to the calling out of Nick Carter's name. 

Madge knew Curly John, and she knew him for a man who never made idlethreats. His reputation among his fellows was that he spoke very rarely, and said very little when he did speak, but that what he said was alwaysto the point, and that he always meant what he uttered. 

And so she saw the tables rather turned upon herself. Instead of NickCarter being in her power, she was temporarily in his. 

The situation had its ludicrous side. Each was in a sense the prisonerof the other, for, while Nick Carter could not hope to escape from thatroom unless she gave him permission to leave it, she could not rise fromthe chair upon which she was seated without risking death unless hepermitted it. 

If only she could have conveyed the shortest kind of a message to MikeGrinnel, or have signaled some word to Slippery, or to Surly Bob, orGentleman Jim, or Fly Cummings, or Cuthbert, or Maxwell, or The Parson, all of whom were in that room at the time, everything would have been soeasy for her. 

But she could not leave her chair; neither could she signal to any ofthese. 

Nick Carter's eye was upon her; his arm was extended across the table, and she knew the potency of that arm, as well as something about thestrength and fund of resource of the detective. 

But the situation was unbearable. She felt that she could not endure it, and that in some manner it would have to be brought to a close, and atonce. 

And so she leaned still further back in her chair, gradually tilting ituntil it rested poised upon the two rear legs. 

And then, with a sudden motion, and at the same instant uttering ascream, which rang shrilly through the room, she threw herself directlybackward, at the same time kicking up her feet and so striking themfiercely against the under side of the table. 

The weight of her body and the force with which she struck the tableinstantly overturned it, bottles, glasses, and all, so that it crashedto the floor in utter confusion. 

And at the same instant every one in that room leaped to their feet andreached for their weapons. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE FLIGHT THROUGH THE CELLAR. 

The action of Black Madge was so sudden and so unlooked for that it cameas an entire surprise, even to Nick Carter, and the act which overturnedthe table, coming as it did from a position directly opposite his own, sent the table full upon him, and spilled the contents that had restedupon it into his lap. 

More than that, in spite of his effort to resist the force of theattack, his chair was overturned backward, and he found himself the nextinstant sprawling upon the floor. 

But even if he was for an instant put out of business by the incident, there were other things connected with it which worked to hisassistance. 

Always in a resort of this kind, where there is ever the leastlikelihood of police interference, there are many arrangements preparedfor instantly turning off the lights, and it is the first impulse ofevery person who finds himself in such a place to "dowse the glim"instantly upon the raising of a disturbance, if it is possible to do so. 

Again, when there is the sudden noise of crashing glass and theappearance of confusion in such a place at such a time, it never can bedetermined at once what the cause of it is, and, as discretion isalways the better part of valor, and certainly is counted so among thedenizens of the underworld, there were at least a dozen men in that roomat the time who leaped for the switch to turn off the lights the instantthat Madge upset the table. 

Mike Grinnel himself happened to be standing where one of the switcheswas within reach of his hand, and so it happened that before NickCarter's chair could reach the floor the place was in total darkness. 

Nick was not unaccustomed to experiences of this kind. It was by nomeans the first time that he had been present in a resort like this onewhen the lights had been turned off, and it is safe to say that he neverin his life entered a room where such a thing was likely to occurwithout studying his surroundings carefully the moment he was inside, and determining then and there what course he would pursue if such anevent should occur. 

Consequently, although Madge's action came as an utter surprise to him, he was nevertheless prepared for it. And so was Chick. 

When the detective found himself falling, and knew that his chair musttopple over, the thought instantly came to him that Chick would escapethe greater part of the confusion resulting from it--and he knew thathe could rely upon Chick's activity and resource as thoroughly as uponhis own. 

Nick managed to seize the edge of the table with his hands whilefalling, and exerting the great strength of his arms to the utmost, heliterally picked it from the floor and hurled it over his head, while hewas practically lying on his back. 

Then, kicking the chair from under him, and half rolling over--realizingin that instant that Madge could not possibly get upon her own feet asquickly as he could on his--he leaped to his knees, and threw himselfforward across the now empty space which the table had occupied, and somanaged to seize the skirt of Black Madge's dress. 

One jerk of his strong arms pulled her toward him, and the next instanthe had seized her, and by passing one arm around her neck clapped hishand over her mouth, thus preventing her from calling out. 

Although she struggled fiercely, clawing with her hands, and kickingwith her heels, and attempting vainly to scream, the confusion in theroom was so great that no one was conscious of what she was doing, saveNick Carter himself, who held her. 

And Nick knew that behind the bar, almost midway in its length, therewas a small door, which connected with some sort of an apartment back ofit. What that apartment was, he did not know, other than that he hadseen Grinnel pass out and return through that small door twice since heentered the place; and he concluded that it must be sort of a retiringroom, possibly a private office of the proprietor. 

The door was not tall enough for a man to pass through standing in anupright position, and it was considerably narrower than an ordinarydoor; but all the same, to Nick's idea, it offered a safe and secureretreat for the moment, if he could but succeed in reaching it. 

What was beyond it, he did not know. But it was enough for him, that, ifhe could get past it before the lights were turned on again, he at leastwould be out of that crowded room, and have time to catch his breath, and determine what it was best to do. 

He regarded Chick as entirely competent to take care of himself. 

Therefore, the instant that he seized upon Madge, and stopped herscreaming by clapping his hand over her mouth, he pulled himself to hisfeet, and, holding her struggling form firmly, he carried her safelyacross the space which intervened between him and the end of the bar--aspace which he knew would be practically clear of impedimenta at themoment. 

Nick figured that Grinnel, having turned off the lights, would standsilently with his hand upon the switch ready to turn them on again in aninstant. 

If he could only succeed in carrying Madge behind that bar and throughthe door already described before the lights were turned on, much wouldbe accomplished. 

The detective reached the end of the bar in safety, and, feeling theback of it with his body, glided around behind it to the spot where heknew the small door to be located, and then, releasing his left handfrom the woman he carried long enough to reach for the latch of thedoor, he pulled it open, passed through, and closed it behind him. 

With the hand that was still free he pulled a pair of handcuffs from hispocket, and, before Madge could escape him, he snapped them upon herwrists behind her back and dropped her to the floor, at the same timepulling a handkerchief from his pocket and tying it firmly--much toofirmly for her comfort--around her jaws. 

His next act was to produce his flash light and turn it upon the door, where, to his delight, he discovered that it was only necessary to dropa heavy iron bar into place to secure it; and this bar passed entirelyacross the door, and rested in iron slots at either side of it. 

He also noticed in that instant that the door was an extremely heavyone, and that the partition through which it opened was a substantialone. Without doubt, the room had been prepared by Mike Grinnel himselfwith great care as the means of a safe and sure retreat for him in theevent of a raid upon his place. 

The detective discovered, also, that there was a gas jet in the room, and he turned this on, and lit the gas at once. 

Madge was in the meantime using every effort in her power to pull thehandkerchief from her face, so that she could cry for help, but now withlight sufficient to see what he was about, the detective lost no time insecuring her so firmly that she was entirely helpless. 

To her baleful glances of utter hatred, he paid not the slightestattention, but he began at once to examine the room with great care, knowing well that there should be another means of entrance to andegress from it than the one he made use of. For Mike Grinnel, skilled ashe was in the habits of the people he dealt with, would never have builtfor himself a den from which there was no escape after once he hadentered it. Although there was no sign of a second door to be seenanywhere, Nick did not despair of finding one, and he began his searchby first pulling out a sideboard which stood against the wall, andlooking behind it. 

He next had recourse to a couch, under which he searched for a trapdoor, but found none; and then his attention was attracted to an iron safe, not quite so high as his head, which stood in one corner of the room. 

An iron safe is not a thing which is easily moved from its position, butNick seized upon it, nevertheless; nor was he surprised when he foundthat it was so perfectly balanced on the wheels that supported it thatit moved readily enough in response to his efforts. 

And behind it was the door he sought. It was not over three feet high, and thirty inches in width, but there was a latch upon it, mortised intothe wood, and there was a hole in the door, through which was passed asmall steel chain that was attached to a rung fastened to the iron safe. This, of course, was intended to use for pulling the safe back intoposition after the door had been made use of, and the fugitive, whoeverhe might be, had made his escape. 

Nick pulled open the door, thus making it ready for his use, and thenquickly returned to Black Madge's side. He raised her in his arms, carried her to the little door, and, having unceremoniously thrust herheadfirst through it, crawled after her, closed the door, and pulled thesafe into place again with the aid of the chain. 

He found himself now in a narrow corridor, faced by rough bricks oneither side of him, evidently constructed between the party walls of thetwo buildings, and ten feet in front of him he perceived a flight ofsteps leading downward. 

Again picking Madge up in his arms, he hurried down the narrow stairs tothe bottom, and there came upon an iron door, fastened with a springlock on the inside, which he therefore easily opened. 

Passing through this, and closing it behind him, so that the locksnapped again, he found himself in the cellar beneath the building thatadjoined the one in which Mike Grinnel's dive was located. Across thecellar, and at the far end of it, was a flight of wooden stairs. 

Nick regretted at that moment that he did not remember what sort of aplace was located next to Grinnel's, but he realized the imperativenecessity of getting out of the building into the street as quickly aspossible, no matter how he accomplished it, and therefore, when hecarried his captive up those stairs to the top of them, and found thereonly an ordinary wooden door locked against him, he lost no time inkicking it open, and passing through. 

When he did so, and when he came out in the room above, it happened thatthe battery of his own light gave out, and before he could determine hissurroundings he was in utter darkness. 

This lasted, however, only a moment, and he was in the act of hasteningforward toward the front of the house, when, with startling suddenness, the whole place flashed into brilliant illumination, and he foundhimself standing at one end of what looked like a Chinese laundry, whiledirectly in front of him, and not many feet distant, was Mike Grinneland three of the men from his place, confronting him, with drawnrevolvers in their hands. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

THE MAN IN THE BED. 

The detective knew in that instant that he could no longer hope to savehis prisoner; that is, to escape with her, and that the chances wereabout a thousand to one against his own escape. 

That Mike Grinnel was thoroughly incensed, and that he was determinedthat the detective should never get out of that place alive, wasapparent in the cold glitter of his eyes, as he looked at Nick acrossthe barrel of his revolver. 

And Nick knew how Grinnel had succeeded in heading him off. He could seein his mind just what the surprise was in the saloon when the lightswere again turned on and it was discovered that one of the strangers whohad come there with Curly had disappeared, and had taken Black Madgewith him. 

Grinnel, knew, of course, that there was only one way out of that place, which was through the private door back of the bar into the little roomwhich he used as an office, and thence through that other door behindthe safe, through the narrow corridor, down the stairs into the cellar, and then up again into the back end of the Chinese laundry. 

And Grinnel had lost no time in summoning to his aid three of his mosttrusted adherents, and hastening with them to the laundry, where he wasready to head off the detective's retreat. 

It had not been difficult for them to get there and be ready for himbefore he could reach the place with his burden; for he had used up agreat deal of time in searching out the secret door behind the safe, andin finding his way through the cellar. 

And, moreover, Mike Grinnel was a man of expedient. Having arranged thismethod of escape for himself, if the necessity of it should arise, hehad also prepared the laundry with lights to turn on or to extinguish ashe might desire; and, therefore, having reached the laundry and preparedhimself and his followers for the coming of the detective, they had onlyto wait silently in the darkness until they heard him approaching, whenMike switched on the lights. 

It was a moment fraught with peril, and with unnumbered possibilities. At such times there is always an instant of inaction; an instant whenneither party concerned knows quite what to do. 

But the detective, as it happened--with the possible exception of MikeGrinnel himself--was the first to recover. 

The detective was carrying Madge in his arms; and now, at the risk ofinjuring her, realizing that it was the only way by which anypossibility of escape could be offered to himself, he raised her overhis head at the very instant that the turning on of the lights revealedhis enemies, and threw her with all his strength at Mike Grinnel's burlyfigure. 

Of course, not one of the crooks dared to use his weapon, lest BlackMadge herself be shot, and it was upon this idea that the detectiveacted as much as any other. 

Nor did it occur to Mike Grinnel that this other, whom he had seemed tohave now guessed must be Nick Carter, would resort to any such measureas he had, and, therefore, he was not prepared. 

The body of Madge, flying the short distance across the room, struckGrinnel squarely on the chest, and thus forced him backward against twoof the men who were with him; and so in that instant four people alltogether were huddled in a heap upon the floor, and only one of Nick'svisible enemies remained standing. 

And the instant that Nick threw Madge at them, he leaped forward andseized the switch, which was almost at Grinnel's shoulder, where he hadbeen standing; and, with a twist of his wrist, he turned off the lightsas suddenly as they had been turned on. 

At the same instant he had taken into consideration the position of theone man of the enemy who was left erect, and no sooner had he turned theswitch than he leaped forward toward the spot where he knew that man tobe standing. 

Nicely calculating the distance, he struck out a savage blow with hisright hand, and he heard this last one of his enemies go down in a heapupon the floor. 

And then the detective leaped over him toward the door which he had seenduring that brief interval of illumination, passed through it, andpushed it shut behind him. 

He knew now that he was in the front room of the laundry. He knew thatthere should be tables and benches there, and it was only the work of aninstant for him to reach out and feel around until he seized upon one, and then, exerting his great strength, he pulled it over in front of andagainst the door he had closed. 

A faint light shone into that room from the street, and Nick instantlyleaped for the front door of the shop, reaching it only to find that ithad been locked when the others entered. 

But the door was of glass, and, hesitating not an instant, he seized achair and hurled it into the street, thus making a hole through which hehad no difficulty in passing. 

The next instant he was outside, and for the moment, at least, safe. Butthe detective knew that he was by no means free from pursuit as yet, although he had no intention of fleeing very far; and, as he was aboutto turn away, he remembered that he had left Chick inside the saloonsurrounded by rascals of every kind. 

It was not in the nature of Nick Carter to desert any one under suchcircumstances, much less his favorite, Chick. 

While he hesitated, he heard a noise behind him in the laundry that wasmade by Grinnel and his three followers, attempting to escape from thepredicament into which he had thrown them. 

He remembered then that Grinnel and his men must have come out of thedive by the front door or by the hall-door entrance, in order to havereached the laundry when they did, and he figured in that instant thatit was more than likely that in doing so they had not thought to fastenthe door behind them, or had purposely, perhaps, left it unlocked inorder that they might be able to return with all the more speed to thesafety and seclusion of the dive. 

He heard them pounding against the door against which he had pulled theheavy bench, and he knew that at least three or four minutes must elapsebefore they could make their escape; and in that moment he decided toreturn to the saloon at whatever cost, if it were possible for him toget there. 

A few quick bounds brought him to the front door of the dive--that doorwhich swung so ceaselessly to and fro during the legal hours of itsbusiness. He knew, although he tried it softly, that it was securelylocked against him, and he passed on to the hall door of the house, which was just beyond it. This, as he had guessed might be the case, wasnot fastened, and he pushed it open and passed beyond it. 

He found himself in a hallway in black darkness, and while he paused fora moment to listen, not a sound of any kind came to his ears, a factwhich led him to determine that either Chick had already been done forby the frequenters of the dive, or else that he had been made aprisoner, and was lying somewhere, bound and gagged, awaiting the returnof Grinnel. 

Nick now crept along the hall until his hand came in contact with abalustrade; and here he paused, uncertain whether to proceed through thehall to the rear of the building, which he knew should give an entranceto the saloon, or to ascend the stairs and temporarily hide himself inthe neighborhood of the house. Everything considered, this latter coursewas distinctly the best one, since, doubtless, it would never occur toMike Grinnel or to any of those who were concerned with him in thisincident, that Nick Carter would have the temerity to return to the samehouse from which he had just escaped. 

Therefore, if safety were the only incentive for Nick Carter, to actupon this was the very best course he could have adopted. But Nick wasever one who considered his own safety last. His whole impulse now wasto do the best that could be done to get Chick out of the predicamentinto which he had been thrust; and he considered that to be the verymethod he had adopted. 

Nick knew the characteristics of the people against whom he was pittedwell enough to understand that the moment they realized that he hadescaped them they would simply return to the saloon of the dive todiscuss it--and doubtless, also, to call to severe account those whowere responsible for the affair. 

Such a discussion would not take place until two things hadhappened--until they were satisfied utterly that Nick Carter had escapedthem, and also that they had Chick so thoroughly in their power that hecould not hope to escape. 

And so the detective ascended the stairs softly, and as silently as ashadow. He had no means of knowing, of course, the character of therooms on those floors, or their location; but, nevertheless, thecircumstances were such that he had to take desperate chances, andtherefore when he reached the landing he felt with his hands silentlyalong the wall until he came to a door, which he felt slowly down untilhe touched the knob. This he turned, trying to open the door whichresisted him, showing that it was locked. 

There is a way to force a door--that is, an ordinary door--and at thesame time make very little noise. It is done--if the door opensinward--by seizing the knob firmly with both hands, having turned it, and then by bracing the body with one knee pressed firmly against thedoor directly under the knob. In this position, if it is assumed by astrong man, every effort may be centred upon one sudden impulse forward, which, while there is no visible or perceptible impact, will place allof the muscular force and weight of the man directly upon the pointwhere the latch or lock of the door is located; and it is a verysubstantial lock which will not give way under this sort of pressurewhen it is correctly applied. Nor is there any perceptible noise, morethan that of the tearing out of the slot which holds the bolt of thelock. 

When this door gave way before the detective it admitted him to a squareroom at the rear of the house--a room in which a lamp, turned low, wasburning; and as he closed the door behind him and pulled a chair infront of it to hold it shut, he saw a figure of a man, who had beensleeping fully clothed on a bed in one corner of the room, start to anupright posture, staring and apparently alarmed. 

"Who----" the man started to exclaim, but the detective interrupted himwith a sharp command. 

"Shut up, " he ordered, "if you let out a peep you will be the worse forit. "

Without a word, the man sank back upon the pillow, apparently not in theleast alarmed now, and evidently believing that the person who hadentered his room was only another like himself, who, having gotten intosome sort of trouble, was fleeing from his pursuers; and by allprecedents, if the man was pursued to that room, it would be infinitelybetter for its permanent occupant to appear to be still sleepingsoundly, than to have any of the aspect of a confederate, and so heclosed his eyes again as if he were still alone. 

Nick waited a moment at the door, listening for sounds outside, andwhile he stood there he heard the hall door from the street open, andpresently close again, and he could distinguish the tramping of feetalong the hall as several persons passed to the rear of the house, evidently on their way to the saloon again. 

As soon as these noises had ceased, he knew that he was for the momentat least safe from pursuit. He piled other things against the door, andthen deliberately crossed the room to the lamp and turned it up, afterwhich he strode over to the bedside. 

"Now, my friend, " he said to its occupant, "I'll have to ask you to wakeup for about three minutes. "

"All right, " was the simple response. "What do you want? Who are you, anyway? And what in blazes do you mean by bursting into my room in thisway?"

"First, " said Nick, "I want to know who you are, and whether you belonghere or not?"

"Oh, you make me tired, " grunted the man on the bed. "I'm Phil, the headday bartender downstairs. "

"All right, Phil, " said Nick, smiling. "Get up on your feet, where I canlook at you, and where you can answer a few questions for me. "

"Oh, what's eating you?" growled the bartender. "I ain't been to bedmore than an hour. Let me sleep. "

Instead of replying, the detective reached out his hand, and, seizingPhil by the shoulder, jerked him from the bed to the floor, stood him onhis feet, and then seated him forcibly upon one of the wooden chairsnear at hand--so forcibly that his jaws snapped together like thecracking of a nut. 

"Now, will you be good?" asked Nick, smiling grimly. 

"Yes, curse you, " was the surly reply. "What do you want?"

"I want to talk to you. "

"Well, talk on, can't you? I'm listening. Who are you, anyhow?"

"I'll tell you who I am, " answered the detective, "and after I have doneso, perhaps you will consent to listen to me. I am Nick Carter, thedetective, and I want to make a little bit of use of you right now, Philip. "

CHAPTER XXVI. 

THE CRIMINAL'S COMPACT. 

"How long have you been here in this room?" asked the detective sharply. 

"I told you about a minute ago, " was the surly reply. "About an hour. "

"Where were you before you came here?"

"That's none of your infernal business. "

"I want to know if you were downstairs in the saloon?"

"No, I wasn't, if that will satisfy you. "

"Have you been there at all to-night?"

"Yes, I was there about three hours ago. "

"Was Black Madge there when you were there?"

A cunning leer came into the fellow's face before he answered, and thenhe replied by asking another question. 

"Who's Black Madge?" he demanded. 

"You know well enough who Black Madge is, " insisted the detective; "and, Phil, if you keep a civil tongue in your head and answer my questions asI ask them, it will be all the better for you. If you do not----"

"Well, what then?"

"If you do not, there are several little things connected with yourcareer which will make it unpleasant to have the inspector up atheadquarters question you about. "

"Well, I ain't a-goin' to give away anybody downstairs, no matter whathappens, " said the bartender. 

"I'm not asking you to give anybody away. I merely asked you to answermy questions. "

"Well, go ahead and ask them. I will answer them if I can. "

"Was Black Madge in the saloon downstairs when you were there?"

"Yes. She was. "

"Has she been in the habit of coming here frequently of late?"

"I can't tell you for certain about that. You know, I'm on duty in thedaytime, and people of her kind come only at night. "

"Answer my question, " said the detective sternly. "You know the answerto it, and you understand that I know you do. "

"Well, I guess she's been in most every night for the last week. "

"Do you know where she lives?"

"No. "

"Do you know any of the gang that is traveling with her?"

"Yes; I guess I know most of that bunch. "

"Well, Phil, I want you to tell me their names; every one of them. Thatis, every one that you are certain forms one of her gang. "

"There ain't anything certain about it, Carter. I'll tell you that onthe level. All I know about her and her gang is guesswork. But if I wasasked to mention them I should say that, judging from appearance, thereis about eight of them. Besides, Madge has got something up her sleeve, but what it is I haven't an idea. It looks to me, though, as if theywere getting ready to crack some pretty big crib, and make the haul oftheir lives. Now, if you're on to that lay, and your only purpose is toprevent them doing it, so that I ain't telling you anything that will gofor putting them behind the bars, I will be on the level and tell youall I know. "

"You will have to tell me, anyhow, Phil, " returned Nick quietly. "If youdon't do it willingly, I know of more than one way to compel you to doit. However, you may rest easy upon the point you have made. I am not atthe present moment seeking to put any of them behind the bars; onlyBlack Madge herself. She has got to go there, whether you talk to me ornot. "

"Well, " said the bartender, "she don't cut any ice with me, anyhow. She's too stuck up for my kind. "

"All right, " said Nick; "tell me the names of those eight men. "

"There's Slippery Al, Surly Bob, Gentleman Jim, Fly Cummings, JoeCuthbert, Eugene Maxwell, and The Parson. Oh, and there's Scar-facedJohnny; I forgot him. Now, I'll leave it to you, Carter, if that ain't alikely bunch. "

"And they were all in the room downstairs to-night, " murmured thedetective meditatively. 

"What!" exclaimed the bartender in astonishment, "do you mean to saythat you have been inside that saloon to-night?"

"Certainly. "

"Would you mind telling me how you got there?"

"Never mind all that, Phil. That is not what I am here for--to explainthings to you. Do you know where Black Madge lives, or where she can befound besides in this saloon?"

"I don't know anything about her more than I've told you. "

The detective looked around the room for a moment, and discovered thatone of its articles of furniture was a tall, old-fashioned pier glass, which reflected the full length of a person who stood before it. Then heturned around and commanded the bartender to stand on his feet, studiedhis appearance carefully, and then he shook his head. 

"It won't do, " he muttered. 

"What won't do?" asked Phil. 

"I was considering the possibility of making myself up in your likeness, and of venturing in that disguise to go to the saloon, " replied thedetective. 

"What! right now?" asked Phil. 

"Yes. "

"And you don't think you could do it, eh?"

"No, Phil. You're too tall and too big. I never could make myself up tolook like you in the world. I will have to think of some other way. "

Phil was thoughtful for a moment, while the detective was absorbed inhis own study of the situation, and then he looked up suddenly andexclaimed:

"Why don't you send me downstairs for you?"

"Because, " replied Nick, "the moment you got there you would call up thewhole gang, and have them up here after me inside of a minute. "

"I wouldn't, either, Carter. Not if I agreed not to. "

"I can't trust you, Phil. "

Again that cunning leer came into the dissipated face of the bartender, and he said quickly:

"You can trust me, if you pay me enough for it. "

"A bribed man is usually the first to betray, " said Nick. 

"Not if the bribe is big enough, Carter. "

"Do you mean to say that I can trust you to go down into the saloon andto come back here presently and tell me exactly what the situation is?"

"You can, if you pay me enough. I told you that before. "

"It isn't the question of pay, Phil; that is, the amount of pay. I wouldbe willing to give you almost anything if I thought you would performexactly what I want done, and return to me with the information Idesire, without saying or doing anything to betray my presence here. "

"Well, I'm your huckleberry, if you want me to do it. All you've got todo on your part is to cough up the dough. "

The detective, who always went well supplied with funds, took a roll ofbills from his pocket, and slowly counted out one hundred dollars, which, without a word, he handed to the bartender. 

"I am going to take you at your word, Phil, " he said slowly, "and thatis the first installment only of what I shall give you if you performthe service well and thoroughly, and do exactly as I instruct you to do, no more, and no less. "

"And if I do it all as you tell me to do, how much more do I get?"

"Listen, and I will tell you. "

"I'm listening, you bet your life. "

"I came here to-night, Phil, with my first assistant, Chick; he isdownstairs somewhere now, probably bound and gagged and thrown under atable, or behind the bar, or locked up in a closet. I want you to godown there, and find out exactly what has become of Chick, and what hashappened to him. I want you to pick up all the information you can aboutwhat has happened there to-night--that is, what they are saying aboutit. You will have to remain there perhaps half an hour to accomplishthis, and all of that time you must be extremely careful not to let itappear that you know anything about me at all. "

"Well, and after that, what am I to do?"

"When you know what has become of Chick, and where he is now, figure outthe best way in which we can set him at liberty at once, or, if you canmanage to do it before you return to me, do it. If you succeed insetting him at liberty yourself within the next half hour, I will, before the sun goes down to-morrow, give you nine hundred dollars more, and that will be a pretty good nest egg for you, Phil. "

"I'll do the job, you needn't fret. "

"Wait, there is another thing. "

"Well, sir?"

"If you find that you cannot liberate him yourself without assistance, you are to return to me at once, and we will plan together how it canbest be accomplished. When we have done that, if through your aid Isucceed in getting Chick safely away from here, you shall have the ninehundred plunks extra just the same. "

"On the level, Carter?"

"Yes, on the level, Phil. I mean every word I say. "

"Well, I'm the huckleberry that can do it. "

"Wait, Phil, before you start, there is one more thing still. "

"What! another?"

"Yes. This. After we have gotten safely out of this pickle, and theplace has quieted down, it will be up to you to find out for me whereBlack Madge hangs up her clothes. It is important, Phil, that I shouldget that woman back into the prison where she belongs. "

"I ain't no stool pigeon, " grumbled the bartender. 

"Neither am I asking you to be a stool pigeon, " said the detective. "What I want you to do is simple enough. I am not laying any plansagainst any of the regular frequenters of this place. It's only BlackMadge I want, and you have confessed already that you don't like her. Now, it's up to you if you want to go through this whole job, and do itright. And, Phil, if you will stick to me and see the whole game throughthe way I have outlined it to you, another thousand goes with the firstone. "

"Geewhiz! do you mean that?"

"I certainly do. "

"Well, then, I'm game for the whole layout, and I will see it through tothe end, but I don't want you to forget, Carter, that, if anything evercomes of it so that my part in this business is found out by any one ofthat crowd down there now, male or female, I wouldn't give a snap formy chances of being alive twenty-four hours afterward. "

"They won't find it out through me, " said the detective. "If they findit out at all it will be through you. And there's one thing more youmust remember, Phil, and that is if you betray me you will be in a wholelot worse fix than you would be if your friends downstairs discover yourtreachery. For if you do betray me, I will never let up on you, Phil, until I see you behind the bars for a term of years that will make youan old man before you come out again. "

CHAPTER XXVII. 

THE GLARE OF A MATCH. 

When the bartender had taken his departure, Nick found a cigar in one ofhis pockets, and seated himself to smoke quietly until Phil shouldreturn. But when more than half an hour later the cigar was consumed, and he had thrown it aside, he began to feel a sense of uneasiness thatthe man should be gone so long a time. 

However, he realized that it was no easy task that Phil had undertaken, and that he might well occupy an hour or more in accomplishing it. 

He had no more cigars to smoke, but he seated himself resolutely in achair, determined to wait with patience until his messenger shouldreturn. 

There was a small clock, ticking away merrily on the mantel, at the farend of the room, and the detective watched it while the minute handworked its way slowly around the dial, until an hour, then an hour and aquarter, and, finally, an hour and twenty minutes had elapsed since thedeparture of the bartender. 

His impatience was now so great, and his natural distrust of theconfederate he had employed was so prominent in his mind that he lefthis chair, having first extinguished the light, and, going to the door, opened it softly and peered outside. 

The hallway was in utter darkness, the same as when he was there last, and, although he listened intently, he could not hear the suggestion ofa sound from the lower regions of the house. After waiting a few momentslonger, he tiptoed forward cautiously to the stairs, and descended them, being careful to step as closely as possible to the spindles of thebalustrade, in order that they might not creak beneath his weight, andthus alarm others in the house. In this way he gained the lower floor. 

Nick was somewhat handicapped without his flash light, but he rememberedquite distinctly the location of the sound he had heard two hoursearlier, when the party from the laundry had followed him in, and passedthrough the hallway to a rear door. Now he sought that door by followingcarefully along the wall until he came to it. 

But, although he searched diligently for many minutes, he could not findso much as a suggestion of a door anywhere. 

He remembered then that in all probability there was no perceptible doorat all; that the door which was there somewhere was concealed in thewainscoting in some way, or otherwise hidden from casual observation. Tohave maintained a door of entrance to the saloon from that hallway wouldhave rendered it entirely unnecessary for Grinnel to keep up hisprivate entrance to the saloon from the other street. Nick's only methodof finding it now was to light a match, and this he hesitated to do, notknowing what warning its glare might convey to others. 

But there was no alternative, and presently he began his search bylighting matches one after another, permitting them to flare upsufficiently for a moment's vision, and then throwing them quickly tothe floor, after the manner adopted by burglars when they were engagedin robbing a house before the pocket flash light was invented. 

He was not long in discovering the entrance he sought. The walls alongthe hallway were not plastered; they were merely built up with matchedboards, which had stood there unpainted for so long a time that they hadachieved a veneer of filth and dirt which made them look, in the flareof the match, like mahogany. 

But he could easily see where there was a keyhole cut into one of theseboards, and, although around it there was no other evidence of a door, he knew that if he could turn the tumblers in that lock it would berevealed to him. 

He went to work with his picklock, and, as he supposed, the instant thebolt of the lock was shot back the door opened easily and noiselessly inhis grasp, and from beyond it he could at once hear the murmur ofdistant voices; also very far ahead of him, and beneath what wasevidently another door, he could perceive a gleam of light. 

He stepped through, and closed it after him, but, realizing that it wasmore than likely that he might wish to leave in a hurry, he left itunlocked. 

And now he tiptoed forward to the door beneath which the light shone, and, getting upon his hands and knees, held his ear down where he couldhear with more distinctness. 

The effect was almost the same as if he were inside the saloon. Strangely enough, also, it was Madge's voice that came to him first, forit appeared that she was seated near that very door, and by the answersthat were returned to her, Nick knew that no less a person than MikeGrinnel himself was her companion. And they were speaking in low tones, but, nevertheless, every word they uttered could be heard distinctly bythe detective. 

It was in the midst of their conversation, evidently, that Nick began tolisten, and Madge was saying:

"I swore then, Mike, that I would be even with him, and that if I eversucceeded in getting out of that prison where he put me I would neverrest another minute until Nick Carter was placed beyond the power ofinjuring anybody. "

"You bit off a little more than you could chew, didn't you, Madge?"asked Mike Grinnel, in his slow, even voice, in which he never permitteda sign of emotion. 

"No, I didn't, " she retorted. "I made some mistakes, maybe. I shouldn't, for instance, have written him the letter I did. "

"What was the letter, Madge?"

"Like a fool I wrote him a threatening letter, in which I told him tolook out for me. That was my vanity, I suppose. I wanted him to knowthat I was on his track. I wanted to worry him; to give him something tothink of, and a lot of things to look out for. "

"Well, what then, Madge?"

"It was then, Mike, that I began to get the guns together, Slippery Al, and Gentleman Jim, and the others, and, of course, I made this place ourheadquarters. "

"That, Madge, is just what you shouldn't have done. That's what I'mfinding fault with you about now. 

"Well, " she said, "it's done, and it can't be helped; and Nick Carterhas been here, and he's gotten away again; but, all the same, we've gotChick in our power, and if I do to him as I feel like doing now, he willregret the day that he ever took my trail. "

"If you leave him where he is now, Madge, he'll do that, " said Grinnel, laughing softly. 

"Why, what would happen to him there?" she demanded quickly. 

"For one thing the rats would probably eat him up before very long, andit wouldn't be the first meal of that kind they've had down there, either. "

"You didn't tell me where you put him, " said Madge. 

"I don't tell anybody exactly where that place is, Madge. It's a littlehole that I've dug out underneath the cellar of this house; if it wasanywhere in the old country it would be called a dungeon; as it is, Icall it the grave--people who go there have a habit of never coming outagain. "

The detective was anxious to know what had become of Phil, thebartender. It was evident that the man had done nothing to betray thedetective, since these two were talking so quietly just inside the doorwhere Nick was listening. 

The next words, while they did not exactly reassure him, made him thinkthat, after all, the bartender might be carrying out his contract byattempting to set Chick at liberty himself. 

"Is that where you sent Phil a few moments ago?" she asked. "Down thereto the dungeon where you put Chick?"

The detective could hear Grinnel chuckle and then reply:

"Yes, Madge, I sent him down there to fasten the young fellow up, sothat there would be no chance of his getting loose. You see, he wassenseless when we chucked him in there, and I forgot to make him fast, as a sailor would say, but there are staples in the wall down there, andthere are chains fastened to those staples, and there are nice littlesteel bracelets at the end of those chains, that fit beautifully arounda man's ankles. I sent Phil down to lock them fast. "

"I thought nobody knew where that place was except yourself, " said Madgequickly. 

"Oh, Phil's all right. I have to have some confidence in my men here, orI couldn't run the place. "

"All the same, " the detective heard her murmur, "I'd rather you had leftChick to me. They're a slippery lot, those detectives, and I shall beuneasy----"

The detective heard no more of what was said, for at that instant he wasgreatly startled by hearing a sound behind him, and evidently beneathhim, the consequence being that he paid no further attention to theconversation beyond the door. 

Indeed, he drew back away from it, and softly rose to his feet, in orderthat he might be thoroughly prepared for anything that should happen;and while he stood there he was conscious of a cold, damp draught of airblown into his face--air that smelled as if it might come from thecellar--and he was somehow conscious that a trapdoor had been lifted, while the next moment he was aware that somebody was climbing throughit into that narrow hallway--somebody who was not more than ten ortwelve feet away from him. How he had wished for his little flash lightthen. 

Once he imagined that he could hear a faint whisper, and a sharp, warning hiss for silence immediately following it. 

Then it came back to him suddenly, all that he had heard Mike Grinnelsay to Madge about the dungeon in the house, and the bartender's errandto it. 

He thought then that the people who had raised themselves through thetrap--and he was sure that there were two of them--must be Phil andChick, the latter having been liberated by the former; and, acting uponthe impulse of the moment, he struck a match and held it into the facesof the two men. The glare of the match shone directly into the face ofChick. 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

BLACK MADGE CAUGHT IN A TRAP. 

But the flaring up of the match also developed another rather startlingfact, and that was the presence of Curly, who, with the bartender, Phil, was standing directly behind Chick. 

The light also discovered Nick Carter to the others, as it discoveredthem to him, and, although it burned but a moment, it was a revelationto all the parties concerned. It was Phil, the bartender, who acted morequickly than the others in this somewhat confusing moment of theencounter, for, with admirable presence of mind, he stepped quicklyforward, and, reaching out his hands, managed to pull the others towardhim until their heads were so close together that the faintest whispercould be heard, and then he said:

"Follow me along the corridor into the front hall. We can talk there. "

They did so, and presently they stood together in the front hallwaybeside the stairs beyond the hidden doorway which Nick had discovered. And, during the time they occupied in getting to this point, Nick, whorealized that the disguise he wore was no longer of any importance, busily engaged himself in removing it, or, at least, the facial part ofit, so that, although in the dark they could not see him, he hadrestored himself, nevertheless, to his proper person. 

"Now, Curly, " said the detective, "tell me what this all means. I don'tunderstand it at all. "

"Let me talk, " interrupted Phil. "It's this way, Carter: When youescaped from the barroom through the little door into the boss' sanctum, you had no sooner gone than Grinnel switched on the lights again, andyour absence was discovered. Then it was that the whole bunch lit on toCurly and Chick here, with both feet, downed them, trussed them up, andwhen Chick was taken to the cellar below, to feed the rats, if he hadbeen left there long enough, Curly was fired along with him. I tell you, right now, Carter, it's all up with Curly in this place. He never canmake himself good with this bunch again as long as he lives, and it's upto him to light out now, for good and all, unless he wants to turn uphis toes and go to the morgue. "

The detective turned to Curly again, and once more struck a match sothat they could all see the faces of one another. 

"Is that straight, Curly?" he asked. 

"That's about the size of it, Mr. Carter. "

"Then, " said Nick, "am I to understand that the occurrences of thisevening have released me from my promise to you to make no arrests inthis place, or any arrest of any one who is now in this place withintwenty-four hours?"

"Yes, sir, the promise is all off. You can do as you've a mind to. Itwould suit me to a T if you would gather in the whole push. "

"Thank you, Curly, " said Nick. "That statement of yours lets me out of apeck of trouble, for having given the promise, of course I would notbreak it, and I could not quite see how we could carry this thingthrough to a finish without. "

He was silent for a moment after that, and then he asked:

"Can I rely upon you, Curly, to stand by me through what is to come?"

"To the last ditch, Mr. Carter, " was the emphatic response. 

"And you, Phil--what about you?"

"Well, " was the slow reply, for the man was evidently considering hiswords with very great care, "I guess my usefulness in this place is justabout over. When the boss finds out that Curly and Chick have bothgotten out of the dungeon below, he will know mighty well who it wasthat let them out, and that will mean yours truly for the dead wagon inabout fifteen minutes; so I think, Carter, that I'd better tie up to youwhile I've got the chance. I am not a crook myself, and never have beenone, although I have consorted with them, and been companions with themfor a good many years. "

"And will you see the thing through to the finish, Phil?" asked Nickagain. 

"I will do just as Curly said he would do. I'll stand by you to the lastditch. "

"Are you all ready to obey my orders, exactly as I shall give them?"asked Nick again, slowly. 

"We are, " came the unanimous response. 

"In this case, " said the detective, "I am going to make a desperateeffort to find out what a bold stroke will do, and here is my plan: Wewill go back together to that door before which I was standing a momentago, which, I conclude, from its character, is rather a flimsy----"

"It is that, " said Phil. 

"And after we get there we will stand silently for a moment, each one ofyou preparing for the signal which I shall give. When I say, 'Now, ' Iwill throw myself against the door, and burst it open, and as I do so, and leap into the room, you three are to follow me, one after the other, as quickly as possible. 

"You, Phil, will make directly for the electric switch, and you will seeto it, no matter what happens, that the room is not plunged in darkness. 

"You, Curly--by the way, have you any weapons about you?"

"I have got two guns in my pocket, all right. "

"Very well; you, Curly, the moment you get into the room, will draw yourtwo guns, and level them at the crowd. 

"After that all you have to do is to follow the lead of Chick andmyself, and protect yourselves until the fight is over--if there is afight. "

"I reckon I can do that, too, Mr. Carter, " said Curly. 

"I haven't a doubt of it, Curly. I want you to remember not to shoot tooquick, and under no circumstances to shoot to kill, unless it isabsolutely necessary; as a matter of fact, I don't expect that we willhave much trouble, for when they see us in the room, fully armed, andhear the first words that I shall utter, I think we will have nodifficulty in carrying our point. "

There was nothing more said then, and Nick turned away, and led themquickly back again to the door, near which he had heard the conversationbetween Black Madge and Mike Grinnel. 

For a moment they stood there, waiting to get their breath, and toprepare their muscles and sinews and nerves for the ordeal to which theywere about to be put; and then from the detective came a low andemphatic--"Now!"

The instant that the detective shouted out this word, he plungedforward, throwing his shoulder heavily against the flimsy door, alreadymentioned, so that it was burst from its lock and from its hinges atthe same time, and was sent flying halfway across the room. 

But even before the clatter which followed the crash had subsided, NickCarter, with a pistol in either hand, had leaped across the threshold, and with one more bound arrived at the spot directly beside MikeGrinnel. 

Turning the weapon about while he approached, he brought the butt of itdown, with a resounding whack, upon Grinnel's skull, sending himtumbling to the floor, and then he straightened up, with both armsextended, and the muzzles of his pistols wavering from form to form ofthe astonished throng in the room, and he cried out:

"Hands up, every one of you. I am here after just one person. The restof you I don't want, unless somebody interferes with me, and if you dointerfere there are enough outside of this house, without doubt, to takeyou all in. "

When he leaped across the threshold, the others followed him, as he haddirected, and, having already cautioned Chick in a whisper to look outfor Madge, and feeling sure that the others would do their respectiveduties, as he had directed, Nick had no fear whatever of the result. 

A collection of criminals assembled as these were are always glad tohear that there is only one among them who is "wanted, " for each oneseems instinctively to know that he is not "it. " And Nick Carter knewthe criminal class so well that he was certain that this announcementwould prevent any immediate attack upon him by the twenty or thirty menwho were gathered there. 

Having heard this statement, and having, also, taken due notice of hissuggestion that there were plenty of reënforcements outside thebuilding, although it will be remembered that the detective had notexplained how far outside they were, and remembering that a considerabletime had elapsed since Nick Carter left that room before, they were oneand all willing to wait a moment before beginning what might be anunnecessary attack, which would be sure to send many of them to prisonbefore it was over. And so they waited, casting furtive glances at oneanother, many of them with their hands upon their weapons, and all ofthem ready to fight, if need be, but quite as ready to avoid a fight, ifit were policy to do so. 

"Now, listen to me, " said Nick Carter. "I came here to-night to getBlack Madge, and I know by the sounds I have heard behind me since Ientered the room just now that she has got a pair of bracelets on herthat she doesn't like to wear. I am going to take her away with me, andshe is going to be sent back to the prison from which she escaped, andif there is anybody in this crowd that interferes with me, or offers todo so, it will be very much the worse for that person. 

"On the other hand, if I am not interfered with, we shall go awayquietly with Madge, and what the rest of you may do after that does notconcern me. You have my word for it, and you all know that when NickCarter gives his word, he keeps it. Now, answer me, somebody, and lethim speak for all. Does what I say go?"

A voice from the far end of the room replied instantly:

"I say it goes, for one. "

"Then answer, all of you, " said the detective. 

"It goes. You bet it goes. "

In their eagerness to answer his request, they came near to all shoutingat once. 

"Thank you, " said Nick, smiling. "Now, I have one more word to say, andthen we will take our departure. There are eight men here whose names Iwill call, and I want them each to take this as a warning from me. Theyare Scar-faced Johnny; a man called Slippery Al; Surly Bob, whose careerI know; Gentleman Jim, who, for the good of his health, ought to take avacation on the other side of the ocean; Joe Cuthbert; Eugene Maxwell;Fly Cummings; and, last, but not least, is the man who is known as TheParson, and that same Parson had better get himself out of New York asquickly as possible. 

"I am speaking now to those eight whose names I have mentioned. I knowthat you have all joined in with an organization created by Black Madge. I know, or think I know, the purpose of that organization. I will giveall of you twenty-four hours to get out of the city of New York, and ifany one of you is found inside of the limits of the city after thattime, look out for squalls. "

There was a low murmur around the room following upon this speech by thedetective, but whether in protest or approbation, the detective did notconcern himself to discover. 

With calm deliberation, he turned his back upon them all, and motionedto Chick, who had Madge securely handcuffed to his own wrist, to precedehim through the door. 

Then he motioned to Curly and to Phil to pass through it also. 

And, then, stepping himself to the door, he turned about upon thethreshold, and faced the crowd once more. 

"One last word to you all, " he said. "He among you who hurts Curly John, or Phil, the bartender, for this night's work, or attempts to do so, hurts me. I bid you good night. "

It is only necessary to add that, within forty-eight hours of that time, Black Madge found herself again in the prison of that State for whichshe had expressed such abounding contempt, and that, at her trial, whichfollowed soon after, she was sentenced to serve ten years in the Stateprison, where she is at this day. 

THE END

"The Temple of Vice" is the title of New MagnetSeries No. 1223, by Nicholas Carter. It is a storythat will thrill you throughout its reading. 

NICK CARTER STORIES

New Magnet Library

Not a Dull Book in This List

ALL BY NICHOLAS CARTER

Nick Carter stands for an interesting detective story. The fact that thebooks in this line are so uniformly good is entirely due to the work ofa specialist. The man who wrote these stories produced no other type offiction. His mind was concentrated upon the creation of new plots andsituations in which his hero emerged triumphantly from all sorts oftroubles and landed the criminal just where he should be--behind thebars. 

The author of these stories knew more about writing detective storiesthan any other single person. 

Following is a list of the best Nick Carter stories. They have beenselected with extreme care, and we unhesitatingly recommend each of themas being fully as interesting as any detective story between clothcovers which sells at ten times the price. 

If you do not know Nick Carter, buy a copy of any of the New MagnetLibrary books, and get acquainted. He will surprise and delight you. 

_ALL TITLES ALWAYS IN PRINT_

901--A Weird Treasure902--The Middle Link903--To the Ends of the Earth904--When Honors Pall905--The Yellow Brand906--A New Serpent in Eden907--When Brave Men Tremble908--A Test of Courage909--Where Peril Beckons910--The Gargoni Girdle911--Rascals & Co. 912--Too Late to Talk913--Satan's Apt Pupil914--The Girl Prisoner915--The Danger of Folly916--One Shipwreck Too Many917--Scourged by Fear918--The Red Plague919--Scoundrels Rampant920--From Clew to Clew921--When Rogues Conspire922--Twelve in a Grave923--The Great Opium Case924--A Conspiracy of Rumors925--A Klondike Claim926--The Evil Formula927--The Man of Many Faces928--The Great Enigma929--The Burden of Proof930--The Stolen Brain931--A Titled Counterfeiter932--The Magic Necklace933--'Round the World for a Quarter934--Over the Edge of the World935--In the Grip of Fate936--The Case of Many Clews937--The Sealed Door938--Nick Carter and the Green Goods Men939--The Man Without a Will940--Tracked Across the Atlantic941--A Clew from the Unknown942--The Crime of a Countess943--A Mixed-up Mess944--The Great Money-order Swindle945--The Adder's Brood946--A Wall Street Haul947--For a Pawned Crown948--Sealed Orders949--The Hate that Kills950--The American Marquis951--The Needy Nine952--Fighting Against Millions953--Outlaws of the Blue954--The Old Detective's Pupil955--Found in the Jungle956--The Mysterious Mail Robbery957--Broken Bars958--A Fair Criminal959--Won by Magic960--The Piano Box Mystery961--The Man They Held Back962--A Millionaire Partner963--A Pressing Peril964--An Australian Klondike965--The Sultan's Pearls966--The Double Shuffle Club967--Paying the Price968--A Woman's Hand969--A Network of Crime970--At Thompson's Ranch971--The Crossed Needles972--The Diamond Mine Case973--Blood Will Tell974--An Accidental Password975--The Crook's Double976--Two Plus Two977--The Yellow Label978--The Clever Celestial979--The Amphitheater Plot980--Gideon Drexel's Millions981--Death in Life982--A Stolen Identity983--Evidence by Telephone984--The Twelve Tin Boxes985--Clew Against Clew986--Lady Velvet987--Playing a Bold Game988--A Dead Man's Grip989--Snarled Identities990--A Deposit Vault Puzzle991--The Crescent Brotherhood992--The Stolen Pay Train993--The Sea Fox994--Wanted by Two Clients995--The Van Alstine Case996--Check No. 777997--Partners in Peril998--Nick Carter's Clever Protégé999--The Sign of the Crossed Knives1000--The Man Who Vanished1001--A Battle for the Right1002--A Game of Craft1003--Nick Carter's Retainer1004--Caught in the Toils1005--A Broken Bond1006--The Crime of the French Café1007--The Man Who Stole Millions1008--The Twelve Wise Men1009--Hidden Foes1010--A Gamblers' Syndicate1011--A Chance Discovery1012--Among the Counterfeiters1013--A Threefold Disappearance1014--At Odds with Scotland Yard1015--A Princess of Crime1016--Found on the Beach1017--A Spinner of Death1018--The Detective's Pretty Neighbor1019--A Bogus Clew1020--The Puzzle of Five Pistols1021--The Secret of the Marble Mantel1022--A Bite of an Apple1023--A Triple Crime1024--The Stolen Race Horse1025--Wildfire1026--A Herald Personal1027--The Finger of Suspicion1028--The Crimson Clew1029--Nick Carter Down East1030--The Chain of Clews1031--A Victim of Circumstances1032--Brought to Bay1033--The Dynamite Trap1034--A Scrap of Black Lace1035--The Woman of Evil1036--A Legacy of Hate1037--A Trusted Rogue1038--Man Against Man1039--The Demons of the Night1040--The Brotherhood of Death1041--At the Knife's Point1042--A Cry for Help1043--A Stroke of Policy1044--Hounded to Death1045--A Bargain in Crime1046--The Fatal Prescription1047--The Man of Iron1048--An Amazing Scoundrel1049--The Chain of Evidence1050--Paid with Death1051--A Fight for a Throne1052--The Woman of Steel1053--The Seal of Death1054--The Human Fiend1055--A Desperate Chance1056--A Chase in the Dark1057--The Snare and the Game1058--The Murray Hill Mystery1059--Nick Carter's Close Call1060--The Missing Cotton King1061--A Game of Plots1062--The Prince of Liars1063--The Man at the Window1064--The Red League1065--The Price of a Secret1066--The Worst Case on Record1067--From Peril to Peril1068--The Seal of Silence1069--Nick Carter's Chinese Puzzle1070--A Blackmailer's Bluff1071--Heard in the Dark1072--A Checkmated Scoundrel1073--The Cashier's Secret1074--Behind a Mask

READ

When you want real recreation in your leisure hours, read! Read theSTREET & SMITH NOVELS!

They are the cheapest and most interesting reading matter published inAmerica to-day. No jazz--no sex--just big, clean, interesting books. There are hundreds of different titles, among which you will find a lotof exactly the sort of reading you want. 

So, when you get tired of rolling around in your Lady Lizzie orlistening to the blah-blah of your radio, hie yourself to the nearestnews dealer, grab off a copy of a good detective, adventure or lovestory, and then READ!

Read the STREET & SMITH NOVELS. Catalogue sent upon request. 

Street & Smith Corporation79 Seventh Avenue New York City

Printed in the U.  S.  A. 

[Transcriber's Note: The original edition of this work did not contain atable of contents. A table of contents has been created for thiselectronic edition. 

The advertisement containing a list of other Nick Carter stories hasbeen moved from the front of the book to the back. 

The following typographical errors present in the original edition havebeen corrected. 

In Chapter II, a period was changed to a comma after "who he was". 

In Chapter V, a missing period was added after "take me into the fold"and after "near the tracks". 

In Chapter VII, "dregs in you coffee cup" was changed to "dregs in yourcoffee cup". 

In Chapter XIII, "she heard Madge inquire" was changed to "he heardMadge inquire". 

In Chapter XIV, "lying at full lngth" was changed to "lying at fulllength". 

In Chapter XVI, "He rose stifly" was changed to "He rose stiffly". 

In Chapter XIX, a missing quotation mark was added before "but he sent abullet after me". 

In Chapter XXII, "that wake of life" was changed to "that walk of life". 

In Chapter XXVI, a missing period was added after "too stuck up for mykind". 

No other changes have been made to the original text. ]