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 the books in this line are so uniformly good is entirely due to the work of a specialist. The man who wrote these stories produced no other type of fiction. His mind was concentrated upon the creation of new plots and situations in which his hero emerged triumphantly from all sorts of troubles and landed the criminal just where he should be—behind the bars.

The author of these stories knew more about writing detective stories than any other single person.

Following is a list of the best Nick Carter stories. They have been selected with extreme care, and we unhesitatingly recommend each of them as being fully as interesting as any detective story between cloth covers which sells at ten times the price.

If you do not know Nick Carter, buy a copy of any of the New Magnet Library books, and get acquainted. He will surprise and delight you.

ALL TITLES ALWAYS IN PRINT

850—Wanted: A Clew
851—A Tangled Skein
852—The Bullion Mystery
853—The Man of Riddles
854—A Miscarriage of Justice
855—The Gloved Hand
856—Spoilers and the Spoils
857—The Deeper Game
858—Bolts from Blue Skies
859—Unseen Foes
860—Knaves in High Places
861—The Microbe of Crime
862—In the Toils of Fear
863—A Heritage of Trouble
864—Called to Account
865—The Just and the Unjust
866—Instinct at Fault
867—A Rogue Worth Trapping
868—A Rope of Slender Threads
869—The Last Call
870—The Spoils of Chance
871—A Struggle with Destiny
872—The Slave of Crime
873—The Crook’s Blind
874—A Rascal of Quality
875—With Shackles of Fire
876—The Man Who Changed Faces
877—The Fixed Alibi
878—Out with the Tide
879—The Soul Destroyers
880—The Wages of Rascality
881—Birds of Prey
882—When Destruction Threatens
883—The Keeper of Black Hounds
884—The Door of Doubt
885—The Wolf Within
886—A Perilous Parole
887—The Trail of the Finger Prints
888—Dodging the Law
889—A Crime in Paradise
890—On the Ragged Edge
891—The Red God of Tragedy
892—The Man Who Paid
893—The Blind Man’s Daughter
894—One Object in Life
895—As a Crook Sows
896—In Record Time
897—Held in Suspense
898—The $100,000 Kiss
899—Just One Slip
900—On a Million-dollar Trail
901—A Weird Treasure
902—The Middle Link
903—To the Ends of the Earth
904—When Honors Pall
905—The Yellow Brand
906—A New Serpent in Eden
907—When Brave Men Tremble
908—A Test of Courage
909—Where Peril Beckons
910—The Gargoni Girdle
911—Rascals & Co.
912—Too Late to Talk
913—Satan’s Apt Pupil
914—The Girl Prisoner
915—The Danger of Folly
916—One Shipwreck Too Many
917—Scourged by Fear
918—The Red Plague
919—Scoundrels Rampant
920—From Clew to Clew
921—When Rogues Conspire
922—Twelve in a Grave
923—The Great Opium Case
924—A Conspiracy of Rumors
925—A Klondike Claim
926—The Evil Formula
927—The Man of Many Faces
928—The Great Enigma
929—The Burden of Proof
930—The Stolen Brain
931—A Titled Counterfeiter
932—The Magic Necklace
933—’Round the World for a Quarter
934—Over the Edge of the World
935—In the Grip of Fate
936—The Case of Many Clews
937—The Sealed Door
938—Nick Carter and the Green Goods Men
939—The Man Without a Will
940—Tracked Across the Atlantic
941—A Clew from the Unknown
942—The Crime of a Countess
943—A Mixed-up Mess
944—The Great Money-order Swindle
945—The Adder’s Brood
946—A Wall Street Haul
947—For a Pawned Crown
948—Sealed Orders
949—The Hate that Kills
950—The American Marquis
951—The Needy Nine
952—Fighting Against Millions
953—Outlaws of the Blue
954—The Old Detective’s Pupil
955—Found in the Jungle
956—The Mysterious Mail Robbery
957—Broken Bars
958—A Fair Criminal
959—Won by Magic
960—The Piano Box Mystery
961—The Man They Held Back
962—A Millionaire Partner
963—A Pressing Peril
964—An Australian Klondike
965—The Sultan’s Pearls
966—The Double Shuffle Club
967—Paying the Price
968—A Woman’s Hand
969—A Network of Crime
970—At Thompson’s Ranch
971—The Crossed Needles
972—The Diamond Mine Case
973—Blood Will Tell
974—An Accidental Password
975—The Crook’s Double
976—Two Plus Two
977—The Yellow Label
978—The Clever Celestial
979—The Amphitheater Plot
980—Gideon Drexel’s Millions
981—Death in Life
982—A Stolen Identity
983—Evidence by Telephone
984—The Twelve Tin Boxes
985—Clew Against Clew
986—Lady Velvet
987—Playing a Bold Game
988—A Dead Man’s Grip
989—Snarled Identities
990—A Deposit Vault Puzzle
991—The Crescent Brotherhood
992—The Stolen Pay Train
993—The Sea Fox
994—Wanted by Two Clients
995—The Van Alstine Case
996—Check No. 777
997—Partners in Peril
998—Nick Carter’s Clever Protégé
999—The Sign of the Crossed Knives
1000—The Man Who Vanished
1001—A Battle for the Right
1002—A Game of Craft
1003—Nick Carter’s Retainer
1004—Caught in the Tolls
1005—A Broken Bond
1006—The Crime of the French Café
1007—The Man Who Stole Millions
1008—The Twelve Wise Men
1009—Hidden Foes
1010—A Gamblers’ Syndicate
1011—A Chance Discovery
1012—Among the Counterfeiters
1013—A Threefold Disappearance
1014—At Odds with Scotland Yard
1015—A Princess of Crime
1016—Found on the Beach
1017—A Spinner of Death
1018—The Detective’s Pretty Neighbor
1019—A Bogus Clew
1020—The Puzzle of Five Pistols
1021—The Secret of the Marble Mantel
1022—A Bite of an Apple
1023—A Triple Crime
1024—The Stolen Race Horse
1025—Wildfire
1026—A Herald Personal
1027—The Finger of Suspicion
1028—The Crimson Clew
1029—Nick Carter Down East
1030—The Chain of Clews
1031—A Victim of Circumstances
1032—Brought to Bay
1033—The Dynamite Trap
1034—A Scrap of Black Lace
1035—The Woman of Evil
1036—A Legacy of Hate
1037—A Trusted Rogue
1038—Man Against Man
1039—The Demons of the Night
1040—The Brotherhood of Death
1041—At the Knife’s Point
1042—A Cry for Help
1043—A Stroke of Policy
1044—Hounded to Death
1045—A Bargain in Crime
1046—The Fatal Prescription
1047—The Man of Iron
1048—An Amazing Scoundrel
1049—The Chain of Evidence
1050—Paid with Death
1051—A Fight for a Throne
1052—The Woman of Steel
1053—The Seal of Death
1054—The Human Fiend
1055—A Desperate Chance
1056—A Chase in the Dark
1057—The Snare and the Game
1058—The Murray Hill Mystery
1059—Nick Carter’s Close Call
1060—The Missing Cotton King
1061—A Game of Plots
1062—The Prince of Liars
1063—The Man at the Window
1064—The Red League
1065—The Price of a Secret
1066—The Worst Case on Record
1067—From Peril to Peril
1068—The Seal of Silence
1069—Nick Carter’s Chinese Puzzle
1070—A Blackmailer’s Bluff
1071—Heard in the Dark
1072—A Checkmated Scoundrel
1073—The Cashier’s Secret
1074—Behind a Mask
1075—The Cloak of Guilt
1076—Two Villains in One
1077—The Hot Air Clew
1078—Run to Earth
1079—The Certified Check
1080—Weaving the Web
1081—Beyond Pursuit
1082—The Claws of the Tiger
1083—Driven from Cover
1084—A Deal in Diamonds
1085—The Wizard of the Cue
1086—A Race for Ten Thousand
1087—The Criminal Link
1088—The Red Signal
1089—The Secret Panel
1090—A Bonded Villain
1091—A Move in the Dark
1092—Against Desperate Odds
1093—The Telltale Photographs
1094—The Ruby Pin
1095—The Queen of Diamonds
1096—A Broken Trail
1097—An Ingenious Stratagem
1098—A Sharper’s Downfall
1099—A Race Track Gamble
1100—Without a Clew
1101—The Council of Death
1102—The Hole in the Vault
1103—In Death’s Grip
1104—A Great Conspiracy
1105—The Guilty Governor
1106—A Ring of Rascals
1107—A Masterpiece of Crime
1108—A Blow for Vengeance
1109—Tangled Threads
1110—The Crime of the Camera
1111—The Sign of the Dagger
1112—Nick Carter’s Promise
1113—Marked for Death
1114—The Limited Holdup
1115—When the Trap Was Sprung
1116—Through the Cellar Wall
1117—Under the Tiger’s Claws
1118—The Girl in the Case
1119—Behind a Throne
1120—The Lure of Gold
1121—Hand to Hand
1122—From a Prison Cell
1123—Dr. Quartz, Magician
1124—Into Nick Carter’s Web
1125—The Mystic Diagram
1126—The Hand that Won
1127—Playing a Lone Hand
1128—The Master Villain
1129—The False Claimant
1130—The Living Mask
1131—The Crime and the Motive
1132—A Mysterious Foe
1133—A Missing Man
1134—A Game Well Played
1135—A Cigarette Clew
1136—The Diamond Trail
1137—The Silent Guardian
1138—The Dead Stranger
1140—The Doctor’s Stratagem
1141—Following a Chance Clew
1142—The Bank Draft Puzzle
1143—The Price of Treachery
1144—The Silent Partner
1145—Ahead of the Game
1146—A Trap of Tangled Wire
1147—In the Gloom of Night
1148—The Unaccountable Crook
1149—A Bundle of Clews
1150—The Great Diamond Syndicate
1151—The Death Circle
1152—The Toss of a Penny
1153—One Step Too Far
1154—The Terrible Thirteen
1155—A Detective’s Theory
1156—Nick Carter’s Auto Trail
1157—A Triple Identity
1158—A Mysterious Graft
1159—A Carnival of Crime
1160—The Bloodstone Terror
1161—Trapped in His Own Net
1162—The Last Move in the Game
1163—A Victim of Deceit
1164—With Links of Steel
1165—A Plaything of Fate
1166—The Key Ring Clew
1167—Playing for a Fortune
1168—At Mystery’s Threshold
1169—Trapped by a Woman
1170—The Four Fingered Glove
1171—Nabob and Knave
1172—The Broadway Cross
1173—The Man Without a Conscience
1174—A Master of Deviltry
1175—Nick Carter’s Double Catch
1176—Doctor Quartz’s Quick Move
1177—The Vial of Death
1178—Nick Carter’s Star Pupils
1179—Nick Carter’s Girl Detective
1180—A Baffled Oath
1181—A Royal Thief
1182—Down and Out
1183—A Syndicate of Rascals
1184—Played to a Finish
1185—A Tangled Case
1186—In Letters of Fire

In order that there may be no confusion, we desire to say that the books listed below will be issued during the respective months in New York City and vicinity. They may not reach the readers at a distance promptly, on account of delays in transportation.

To be published in July, 1926.

1187—Crossed Wires
1188—A Plot Uncovered

To be published in August, 1926.

1189—The Cab Driver’s Secret
1190—Nick Carter’s Death Warrant

To be published in September, 1926.

1191—The Plot that Failed
1192—Nick Carter’s Masterpiece
1193—A Prince of Rogues

To be published in October, 1926.

1194—In the Lap of Danger
1195—The Man from London

To be published in November, 1926.

1196—Circumstantial Evidence
1197—The Pretty Stenographer Mystery

To be published in December, 1926.

1198—A Villainous Scheme
1199—A Plot Within a Plot

The Plot That Failed
OR,
WHEN MEN CONSPIRE

NICHOLAS CARTER

Author of “A Plot Uncovered,” “The Cab Driver’s Secret,” “Nick Carter’s Death Warrant,” etc.

STREET & SMITH CORPORATION

PUBLISHERS

79– 89 Seventh Avenue, New York

The Plot That Failed

(Printed in the U. S. A.)

THE PLOT THAT FAILED.

CHAPTER I.
TAMBOURINE JACK’S MESSAGE.

“I feared you would not come.”

The speaker, a beautiful woman of two or three and thirty, half reclined on a sofa, in an elegant apartment.

A gentleman, rather old, had entered the room.

He was what he looked to be—one of New York’s money kings.

“It is for the last time, Louise,” he said, toying with his watch guard.

“And why for the last time?”

For a second the woman appeared downcast, and then, rising to her feet, she said, pleadingly:

“You swore that you would always love me.”

“Yes,” he thundered, “but then I was not aware that the shy and modest Louise Calhoun was a common adventuress. Truly, you would be a nice woman to grace my home and be a second mother to my orphan children!”

“I shall force you to keep your promise!” The woman’s eyes blazed and she clinched her hands until the nails sank deep into the flesh.

“Force me—you will force me!” exclaimed the gentleman.

“Those were the words I used, Hilton Field.”

“Why, you are a criminal.”

She buried her face in her hands, and, as she began to sob, dropped upon her knees.

The banker was moved; he had loved this woman, who had introduced herself to him as the daughter of a New England clergyman, and said that she had come to New York with the intention of supporting herself by giving music lessons. Indeed, she bore letters of introduction from a man Mr. Field knew to be trustworthy.

He had helped the stranger along and often called to see her, the outcome of which visits resulted in a proposal of marriage, which was eagerly accepted, as he thought.

He was deceived.

Louise Calhoun could not marry the banker, and none knew this better than herself.

Her whole body seemed to shake with the emotions born of her grief as she knelt at Mr. Field’s feet.

When she removed her hands the old man saw that the face upturned to his was tear-stained and pale.

“How could you, oh, how could you?” she moaned.

“Compose yourself, Louise.”

“Would you be composed if such an accusation was made against you?” she asked, “by one you dearly loved?”

“My information comes from a detective,” Mr. Field said.

“He told you a falsehood! Would you not take my word before his?”

The banker hesitated.

Far better would it have been for him if he had not.

“Perhaps,” he said, “the man was wrong. Do you mind if I bring him face to face with you to-morrow?”

“You will persist in doubting me;” and, as she spoke, the girl appeared to be highly displeased.

“Louise, I owe a duty to my family,” Mr. Field said; “no one can come in contact with them whom even the breath of suspicion might rest on.”

“What is the name of the man who dares to injure my good name?” she asked, her eyes fastened on him as she awaited the answer.

“His name is Nicholas Carter,” replied the banker.

“Nick——”

She suddenly placed her hand over her mouth.

“Yes, Nick Carter. You seem to know him.”

“Only from reading of him in the newspapers. I read of a bold capture of his only this morning,” she replied.

Mr. Field was lost in thought for a second.

Then he raised the young woman from the floor and seated himself beside her on the sofa.

“Tell me you don’t doubt me.”

Her left arm was thrown around his neck, while her right hand fumbled about in her pocket.

Louise Calhoun was all smiles now, as she drew the banker to her so that his head rested upon her shoulder.

Then quickly did she tighten her grasp, drawing a handkerchief from her pocket and applying it to his nostrils.

Mr. Field struggled, and succeeding in breaking away, staggered to his feet.

Then he fell to the floor.

The drug had done its work.

Louise touched the prostrate man with her tiny foot, and assured herself that he was insensible.

“The old fool!” she exclaimed, and her laugh rang shrilly through the apartment, “marry him? I guess not!”

“Louise, you are a trump!”

The speaker, a young man who would be known anywhere for what he was, a sport and gambler, emerged from behind a heavy curtain, where he had been hid.

“How was my emotional acting, Elmer?” she asked.

The fellow kissed the woman, saying:

“Your husband is proud of his wife.”

His praise seemed to please her.

“Where are your men?” she asked.

“They will be outside at half-past eleven”—he pulled out his watch and glanced at it—“why, it is that time now!”

Elmer, as Louise called him, drew a long piece of thin rope from his pocket and pinioned the old man.

When he had completed the job, he said:

“This night’s work will pay handsomely or I’ll eat my head; then for Europe with the swag, sweetheart.”

The rascal left the house and soon returned with two brutal-looking fellows, who awkwardly removed their hats.

Two more villainous-appearing gentlemen in the yeggman line it would be hard to find.

“You, Mackrell, get the old gent by the head,” said one of them, “and I’ll collar his feet.”

“All right, Skip.”

They carried the banker from the house and placed him in a grocery wagon that was in waiting, and drove rapidly off.

This move was accomplished without discovery.

Investigation into some cases of the disappearance of rich persons would establish the fact that they were kidnaped.

The gentlemanly rascal did not accompany his friends.

He could trust them; he had often done so before and found that they would not go back on the man who paid them well.

The pair were members of the gang that Elmer had organized, and without taking active part in their crimes, he was their acknowledged leader.

It seems strange that an organized gang of nearly two hundred ruffians could exist long in the great metropolis, but Elmer Greer’s did until they were—but that is anticipating.

Returning to the apartment where he had left his wife, he said:

“Louise, you must leave here.”

“Why?”

“It is probable that the banker’s friends knew he was coming here.”

“What then?” she remarked; “they know he often calls here; there can be no suspicion cast on me.”

“He spoke about Nick Carter,” said Greer.

“Well?”

“Perhaps he might have come with the old chap and is now waiting for him.”

“Elmer, never until now did I believe you to be an idiot,” said the woman, “but your words force that conviction upon my mind. If Nick Carter were outside do you suppose they would ever be able to carry the old fellow out?”

“I am a fool; I spoke thoughtlessly,” replied Greer.

There was a sharp knock on the door which caused both the guilty pair to start.

The man hid himself in his former place of concealment.

“Come in,” said Louise, faintly.

The door opened and a huge dog sprang into the room, followed by its master.

The woman screamed.

“Don’t be afraid, miss, it is only me and Crackers. We won’t hurt her, will we, Crackers, old boy?”

Louise was not so much afraid of the evil-looking cur as she was of the monstrosity that accompanied it.

The newcomer was not over four feet in height, although his body seemed to have been intended for a man at least two feet taller.

He wore a pair of pants at least a dozen sizes too large and his coat hung about him in folds.

His head was very large, and the heavy shock of red hair that covered it seemed to add to its size.

“Don’t come near me,” cried Louise, as the creature approached the sofa.

“I won’t harm you.”

“Who are you?” exclaimed Elmer Greer, issuing from his hiding place.

“Don’t you know me?”

“No,” replied the villain. “Come, be quick, answer my question.”

The fellow began to laugh and his laughter seemed more like the scream of a hyena than anything else.

“I’m Tambourine Jack,” he said, at length, drawing a tambourine from under his coat and jingling it, at which the dog Crackers set up a dismal howl.

Greer caught the fellow, but released his hold when he felt the dog’s teeth grasp his leg.

“Down, Crackers, down,” cried Tambourine Jack, shaking himself free.

Elmer drew his pistol and pointed it at the cur.

“Don’t shoot, you’ll be sorry,” said the owner. “I have business with you. Come nearer; I must not let the lady hear it.”

The rascal stooped to enable Tambourine Jack to whisper to him.

When he had received the other’s communication, Elmer Greer became deathly pale.

“Great Heaven!” he cried, “what you tell me cannot be true! How do I know you speak the truth?”

“Give me your hand and I will convince you,” said Tambourine Jack, stretching out his grimy fist.

Greer took the proffered hand, and when he released it his pallor deepened.

“Do you believe me now?”

“I do,” replied the rogue. “You are one of us and dare not lie.”

“Come, Crackers, come; we have finished our business here.”

The dog made a snap at Elmer as he passed him, for which he was rewarded with a kick from his master.

When the door closed upon the strange individual and his four-footed companion, Greer said:

“Prepare for the worst, Louise. I fear we stand on the brink of a volcano!”

CHAPTER II.
THE YEGGMEN’S LEAGUE.

At the foot of one of the uptown streets, East River, is, or was, a tumble-down shed, once used as a wholesale oyster depot.

At high tide the water came up under the shed to within a few feet of the street.

Seated around the room, the night following that of the abduction of the old banker, were seven or eight men, while at a rude table in the middle of the shed were two others engaged in playing cards, and on the table between them were several black bottles.

They were a brutal set, the occupants of the place, and more than one of them had received free board and lodgings at Sing Sing.

“I say, you, Jack Frost, that game ought to be about finished,” said the man called Skip. “I’m thirsty, I am, and the bottles are empty.”

“You lose, Dick Denton,” said the fellow addressed as Jack Frost, arising from the table. “Who will go and get the bottles filled? Two quarts, Dick, you know.”

“I’ll go myself,” said the unfortunate gambler, picking up two of the bottles and leaving the shed.

“For Heaven’s sake, don’t be long! I am dying for a drink,” remarked the thirsty Skip.

Dick Denton had not been gone long when there came a double rap upon the door.

The whole gang were on their feet instantly.

“Go to the door, Ben Baker,” said Skip, who seemed to be a leader among them.

“Who is there?”

“Blue!” was the answer.

“Green!” exclaimed Baker.

“Yellow!”

The rough had locked the door when he went to it, but now he drew the bolt.

“It’s Old Man Moses,” cried several, as an old Jew hobbled into the room, and they all laughed heartily.

The newcomer joined in their mirth, with a succession of sounds something like those of a bagpipe with the quinsy.

“You are very glad to see me, my children,” said he, as he rubbed his hands together.

“Of course we are,” said Skip Brodie. “Got anything for us to do?”

Dick Denton rapped on the door, and the Jew started at the sound.

Raising both his hands above his head, he hoarsely whispered:

“Do not open the door.”

“It’s Dick Denton,” said one.

Once more Ben Baker went to the door.

The usual formula was gone through with.

“Blue!”

“Green!”

“Yellow!”

“Stop!” The Jew caught Ben Baker’s arm as he was about to open the door.

“Are you crazy?”

“No! no!” cried the Jew. “Tell me, do you know the voice?”

“As well as I do my own. It is Dick Denton.”

“You are sure?”

Baker admitted Dick.

“Hello, old Shylock!” remarked Mr. Denton.

“Very glad to see you, Dick.”

“You always are, I know, when I have any swag.”

“Say, Moses,” said Ben Baker, “why were you so anxious about my not opening the door unless I recognized the voice? Don’t you know we have hundreds of members I never saw, and I am an old hand?”

“I know all the boys, and they all know old Moses.”

“There is no doubt of that,” remarked Ben Baker, “especially if they ever had any dealings with you. But, come, that is not answering my question.”

They all had gathered around the table, now, and were engaged in helping each other to empty the bottles.

“Boys!” cried the Jew, “you must leave here. You have been betrayed. Detective Nick Carter knows of this place, and may be down on it at any moment.”

“Betrayed!” shouted the brutes, in chorus.

“Tell me, who was it betrayed us?” Skip caught Moses roughly by the arm. “They must have set no value upon their life.”

“Was it Tambourine Jack?” suggested Mackrell.

“No; not him.”

“Who, then?” shouted several of the ruffians.

“Speak, you old screw, speak!” said Skip, tightening his grasp upon the other’s arm.

“You will not strike me?”

“No.”

“It was Dell Ladley.”

“You lie, Jew, the girl is as true as steel; I don’t go much on giving secrets to women, but she is different to the rest.”

As he spoke, Skip Brodie raised his fist and would have felled Old Man Moses to the floor, had he not been prevented by his companions.

“I swear to you what I say is true,” muttered the Jew, quivering with fear, so fierce were the looks that were directed at him.

“What proof have you?”

“I heard her; she did not know that I listened,” replied the old Hebrew; “she is to enter and open the door for Carter and the officers he will have with him.”

“The devil shoot that same Carter, say I!”

The sentiments of the speaker, a burly Irishman, found an echo in the breast of all.

“Excuse me, Moses, I believe you; I was too hasty.”

Skip extended his hand and the other grasped it.

“Why should I tell a lie?” said the Jew; “are we not bound to tell the truth to each other where business is concerned?”

“Hark!” exclaimed Ben Baker, “I hear footsteps.”

“Quick, Barney, the boat!”

The big Irishman, although it was in the dead of winter, leaped through a window into the waters of the river and swam to where a boat was anchored.

While he was rowing it to a position under the window, Skip Brodie went to the end of the shed nearest the land and opened a trapdoor.

“Give me a hand,” the leader said.

With the assistance of Mackrell and Dick Denton he dragged something through the trap.

Covered with grime, in the dim light of the hovel, it would have been hard indeed to have recognized this object as a human being.

Hilton Field, for it was he, more dead than alive, was dragged to the window as if he had been a bag of wheat.

“Ready, Barney?” Skip cried.

“Yes!”

Dick Denton and the others got into the boat—with the exception of Brodie.

“Now, boys, don’t drown him.”

Saying this, Skip flung the helpless banker into the arms outstretched to receive him.

“Pull away and be sure and keep close to the Brooklyn side.”

“Ain’t you coming?”

“No,” replied Skip.

“But if you remain you will be nabbed,” remonstrated the Jew.

“You said the girl was to come first?”

“Yes.”

“Then I shall wait, and when she comes—well.”

The ruffian’s features were distorted with passion.

“Woe to you, Jew,” Skip continued, “if her coming is not followed by that of the police. Pull off, boys; some one is knocking at the door.”

Again the knock was repeated.

Hastily closing the window, the rascal went to the door.

“Let me in! Let me in, I say.”

“That is not her voice,” muttered Skip.

“Blue!”

“Green!”

“Yellow!”

“Who’s there?”

The thief, believing now that they had been betrayed, was very careful.

“Me and Crackers,” was the reply he got.

“Come in—you!” exclaimed Brodie, swinging the door open.

“Crackers,” said Tambourine Jack, addressing the mongrel, “we don’t seem to be very welcome here to-night.”

Jack was a very valuable member of the gang and, notwithstanding his small size and queer ways, there were no large jobs undertaken in which he was not an active worker.

“Anything in the bottles?” asked the visitor, before placing one of them to his lips.

“I guess there is a little left.”

“Say, Skip, I wants to ask you a question,” said Jack. “How comes it that this high-toned rooster, Elmer Greer, bosses the gang?”

“Elmer Greer—I don’t know any such person.”

“Oh, yes, you does.”

“Well, if I do,” muttered Brodie, “how comes it that you know him?”

“Oh, my eye, I knows all the bloods about town,” replied Tambourine Jack. “Crackers here can tell you that we move in the very best society.”

The fellow drew a cigar stub from his pocket and lighting it, said:

“That’s the kind Bill Vanderbilt smokes; he recommended the brand to me, saying: ‘Jack, my boy, lay in a stock of them; they will all be bought up within a few days, there is such a great demand.’”

Skip was in no humor for chaffing.

Dark passions reigned in his breast.

The brute sat on a low stool, his elbows on his knees, his head resting on his hands.

He had determined upon a bloody piece of work, but the still, small voice of his conscience whispered to him not to do what he meditated.

“Tambourine,” he growled, “you can’t stop here.”

“Where are the others?”

“Just left.”

This information did not seem to please Mr. Jack.

“Gone, eh?”

“Yes,” replied Brodie, “they pulled off in the barge as you knocked at the door.”

“Go to sleep, Crackers,” said the little fellow, throwing himself on the floor; “I guess we have as good a right here as anybody else, seeing that we helps pay the rent. We haven’t got our receipt about us for last month, but what of that?—they won’t go to court to have us dispossessed.”

“I told you to go.”

“Now, Skip, we’re come to stay,” answered Jack. “Eh, Crackers?”

“He won’t squeal anyhow,” muttered Skip, “but I’d rather he was not here.”

There was another knock on the door; the ruffian went to it and, after getting the countersign, opened it.

“It’s you, is it? Curse you!”

He caught a young girl who stood in the doorway roughly by the arm, and dragged her in.

“Oh, don’t! you hurt me, Skip.”

The rascal released his hold, and closing the door securely, fastened it.

Returning to the woman, he again caught her and, dragging her toward the light, cried:

“Now, traitor, what have you got to say for yourself? Quick, or I will shake the life out of you.”

Dell Ladley was a fragile girl of about twenty, and she would have been considered very beautiful were it not for the deep marks of dissipation already stamped upon her young features.

“You would not hurt me, Skip,” she said; “you know you wouldn’t.”

“No, not I”—again he shook her—“but if you would jug us all, you know the penalty.”

“What do you mean?”

“That you have betrayed us to that demon, Nick Carter. You grow pale.”

“It is a lie!” she exclaimed.

The ruffian threw her to the floor, and picking up a bludgeon, he lifted it and was about to strike.

“When you were on the point of death, I nursed you,” moaned the girl. “Oh, have pity on me!”

Her words arrested the villain’s arm.

“I have thought over all that,” Skip Brodie said.

“And you will have mercy?”

She dragged herself to him, and clasped her arms about his knees, looking the while imploringly up into his face.

“It is a lie!” Dell continued.

“No, it is not.”

The girl shuddered.

She knew the nature of the man she had to deal with, and was quite aware that to him the taking of a human life was but a passing incident, remembered for a few days, and then forgotten unless something occurred to recall it.

“You will not, oh, you will not kill me!” pleaded the trembling girl.

“But I will, traitor.”

“No, no, oh, mercy!”

The bludgeon was again raised on high and was about to descend.

“Stop!”

The Plot That Failed; or, When Men Conspire

The Plot That FailedOR,WHEN MEN CONSPIRE

CHAPTER I.TAMBOURINE JACK’S MESSAGE.

CHAPTER II.THE YEGGMEN’S LEAGUE.

The Plot That Failed
OR,
WHEN MEN CONSPIRE

CHAPTER I.
TAMBOURINE JACK’S MESSAGE.

CHAPTER II.
THE YEGGMEN’S LEAGUE.