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asi ahacaiceoe baa?
°.; had converted him to your.way of thinking,”
“will say this:
-NEW. NICK CARTER WEEKLY. © 1 - 4a
=. pe 5
“What do you think? Is my wife there?”
- “She.may-be. -I can’t give an opinion that would be
_ worth anything at this time.” c
-“T thought when you came in with the count that you
said the
colonel, disappointedly.
“If the count shared your opinion, then I'll be satis-
fied,” Nick replied. “No, I never trusted him. , But I
Until I had my interview with him in the
hotel I did not know the man. I imagined him a weak
~-vessel,) \with séme dim notions of national honor and pa-
answer.
say ing to each other.”
- point.
broke’ s scheine was all-sham... There are no secrets be-
triotism. But ,I had not heard him speak five minutes
before I realized that he was not only cunning, but ut-
terly unscrupulous... He is a magnificent actor. But he
overdid the part, once or twice. I was watching -him
closely all the time, and I soon saw that I would have to
match ‘cunning ‘with cunning if I expected to score a
His indignation over my exposure of Mrs. Pem-
tween those two. They were prepared for just such an
emergency as ‘occurred to-day. By pulling the wool
over my eyes, they believed, they would: be able to go
- ahead with the Marixburg conspiracy.” :
-“But what can they do after the Third Section has
_ been advised of their. treachery?” .asked ‘Berthier.
“I can’t tell you, because I don’t know, and it is too .
_ early. to hazard a: guess.
We will’ undoubtedly spoil
their plot as originally arranged; but they have another
. in reserve, I.am sure.’
“Will I figure in it?” questioned Col. Konia nerv-
ously. no . . .
“Time will tell.”
One of the detectives of the department appeared at
this juncture. “TI have tracked my man,” he announced.
“Where is the place?” asked the chief. |
- “No. — Rue‘Lasalle.” .
“The Russian quarter,” said Berthier.
“Did you see the woman?”
“Not at the house, but I passed her a block som it.
She was ‘going in that direction.”
Nick Carter’s eyes glistened._ “What do you say now?”
he remarked to the colonel. -
_ “I say you are a wizard,” was the frank, appreciative
“Now, if we could’ only hear what : they are
“Some one may furnish you with § a report of the con-
versation,” remarked the chief.
The’ colonel looked bewildered. _ Nick Carter wee
"plained. Bt -
‘When the count w vent out,” said he, “I asked the chief
to send out: two of -his best men, one to shadow the
“count and make quick report, the other to act.as eaves-
_ dropper to hear what might be said between the count
“and any third person. The first shadower is the one who:
_Tine,’
_ hotel?” asked the chief.
Then he added:
‘up’ the first act by weeping in‘each other’s arms.’
e
just reported. The other detective ‘may ‘be. expected
shortly.”
In half'an hour he appeared:
CHAPTER VII.
foe CHICK MAKES A- DISCOVERY. -
"Claud Perrine, known as the “Ferret,” was one 2 of £ thé.
most: efficient sleuths in the Paris detective department.
He was:small, thin and wiry, with a face that might be
called a human interrogation point. His movements were .
swift and noiseless, and he could get in and out of the
smallest hole.
“Well,” said the chief, “what luck did you have?”
“T saw and heard everything,” was the ‘reply, in a
quavering treble. oe ,
“Tell your: story.”
_ “T saw the count eriter a room, and I-heard a woman
come to,the door a few minutes afterward. and give three
soft taps. The door opened and she went in. : Where
was I at the time? In the room,
Nick Carter’s fine face expressed his admiration. “Per-
” he said,’ “I salute you.”
The little man grinned. He appreciated the compli
ment which the words conveyed.
“You must understand, my-chief and you, ‘Mr. Car-
ter, that I réached the hotel before the appearance of ©
the count. There is a cigar booth next door to the hotel,
and the count stopped there a moment. I hurried past
him and into the office. To the clerk I said: ‘Count
Lanski is coming and he wants me to go to his room
~ before him and make sure that a certain person whom he
x99 *
does'not wish to see is not there.
“How did you know that the count had a room in the
I was fishing for points,
“I didn’t. I hoped he was —
‘staying there, and was soon rewarded by the clerk giv-
irlg me the number of the room, as he seemed to think that
I was acting upon authority from the count. I> had
picked the lock and was inside before the count mounted |
‘the stairs. .
“Where did I hide? In the wardrobe, of course.
There was the chance that I might be discovered, but I
was obliged to take it. Luckily, I’ was not ‘disturbed.
» Well, the woman came in, and then the fun’ began. First, |
they called each other all kjnds of fools, then they poured
_ upon the head of a certain Nicholas Carter all the power-
ful objurgations of three different languages, and wound
The »
scene was an affecting one, a and T could scarce ‘restrain
my own tears.
“Presently. the man and woman ; - became composed .
and got down to business. ‘Did you fool that Nick Car-
ter? asked the woman. ‘To the limit,’ was the reply.
‘He never tumbled to my play, He and Kowitzky will