NICK CARTER’S LITTLE COUNTERPLOT.
Nick Carter recalled vividly his first encounter with Mercedes Danton.
He remembered that it had been in the early morning and among the roses
at Linden Fells; and he remembered also that he had learned in other
ways that she was fond of rising early in the morning, and upon this
habit he had calculated to afford him an opportunity for an interview
with her before her father and mother should appear on the deck of the
steamer.
Indeed, he argued that it was extremely doubtful if they appeared at all
before the ship was safely docked at her pier, and so there would be the
time occupied in traversing the distance from Quarantine, during which
he could perfect his plans for the future.
It may seem strange to the reader that he should have adopted the
disguise he did, in order to see and talk with Mercedes Danton, but
there was a distinct method even in that move. He had no desire to
conceal his identity from the young lady herself, although for the
present and for reasons that were perfectly obvious to himself, he did
not care, as yet, that either old Peter Danton or his wife should be
made aware that Nick Carter was meddling in their affairs.
Nick had taken the conduct of the case on his shoulders entirely because
of his own wish to do so, and was, therefore, acting in a manner which
might be deemed officious by the old man, who was cranky and difficult
to deal with at the best.
The detective knew that the financier would pooh-pooh any idea that a
conspiracy had been organized against the peace of his family. If he had
been told that there was a conspiracy against his bank accounts he would
have believed the report without question, on the principle that it
would be an act of wisdom to guard against such a contingency in any
event; but a conspiracy against the happiness and peace of his family,
or even against his own life, unless it were formed somewhere in the
Street and aimed in reality at one of his deals, he would refuse to
comprehend or believe.
But with Mercedes it was different.
She had already been through one experience of the kind, and had
promised, upon Nick’s advice, to keep the matter a secret from her
father and mother. Hence, while she was in a measure prepared for what
Nick had to impart to her, her father and mother were not.
And there was another reason why the detective believed it wise to
disguise himself as effectually as possible.
He had no doubt--if the story told to him by Tom Morgan was true--that
there could be emissaries of Paul Rogers at the pier when the ship was
docked, for he reasoned that they would not waste time in beginning
their operations.
He naturally did not wish to have any of these agents of the
murderer-conspirator recognize him nor suspect that he was present, and
he most certainly did desire to see without himself being seen.
Mercedes did not depart from her usual custom on that particular
morning.
Soon after the appearance of dawn in the east, and sometime before the
sun was up, she appeared on the deck, and as soon as she did so, the
captain, acting upon Nick’s request, approached her and said a few words
to her in a low tone.
Almost immediately thereafter she crossed the deck to the spot where
Nick was standing leaning against the rail, and in a position he had
selected so that they would be sufficiently apart from other passengers
who might appear on the deck. He did not care to be overheard in what
he had to say.
“The captain told me that you wished to speak with me,” she said in a
low tone. “He said that you had something of importance to communicate
to me. Please tell me who you are, sir, for I do not know you.”
“Don’t you recognize my voice?” asked Nick, smiling, and speaking in his
natural tones.
Mercedes started back with a little cry of pleased surprise, and then
again looked at him doubtfully.
“Sure,” she said, “you are not--no, you cannot be--Mr. Carter.”
“Nick Carter; no other; and wholly at your service,” he replied.
“Why have you come here in this disguise? Has anything happened to my
brother?”
“Oh, no. I think not. At least, nothing of which I am informed. I have
come to meet you hidden behind a disguise because I had good reasons for
desiring that you should be the only person aboard this ship--aside from
the captain, of course--who would know me.”
“But why?”
“First tell me that you are glad to see me.”
She smiled brightly at him, and then said demurely:
“But I do not see you. I see only a man who is past fifty, who looks as
if he had just come in from feeding the stock and milking. I don’t call
that seeing you, because it is not in the least like you.”
“At least you hear me,” said Nick.
“Well, I’m not so sure of that, either. Your appearance is so at
variance with my conception of the manner of your meeting me----”
“Ah!” said Nick. “Then you did expect me to meet you?”
She bit her lips in momentary vexation, and then said, with a smile:
“Certainly I expected to meet you somewhere, at some time, again.”
“All right,” replied Nick. “We will let it go at that, but in the
meantime please remember this fact: If you cannot see me, I can see you
quite plainly, and----”
“And, of course, you are glad to see me. Let it go at that, Mr. Carter.”
“All right,” he said, again. “Now to business.”
“Is there business?”
“Yes; serious business. Paul Rogers has escaped from prison, and Isabel
Benton has been released from prison. Both of those interesting events
took place yesterday.”
“Indeed! Well, Mr. Carter, have I anything to fear from them? Is that
why you are here?”
“Yes; that is why I am here. I will not say that you have anything to
fear, because it is not in you to fear things--is it?”
“Not especially, I think.”
“But you have much to guard against--much to make you watchful--much to
keep you on the alert lest your enemies again find an opportunity to
make trouble for you, and I fear that they are contemplating a renewal
of their machinations.”
“And that is why you are here?”
“That is why I am here.”
“It seems too bad that we have to meet a repetition of all that trouble,
is it not?”
“Yes; and I want to arrange so that there will be no possibility of a
third effort on their part, after we have headed them off on this one. I
have made up my mind that there is only one way to accomplish that
thoroughly, and at the same time to be sure that I am affording you, as
well as the other members of your family, all the protection possible,
and so I have come here to-day to make a strange request of you.”
“Say, rather, a command,” she said brightly, “for I already see that you
will insist upon it.”
“Very well; put it that way. Is it true that you have taken the cares of
the conduct of your household equally from the shoulders of your father
and mother? In short, that you are the one who is consulted when there
is any change to be made in the personnel of your service at home?”
“Quite so. My father never did bother with the home part of his
existence, and my mother leaves it all to me.”
“How do you like your present butler?”
“I am afraid that I do not understand.”
“That’s easy. I want you to fire him and give me the job.”
“Mr. Carter, I----”
“Well, you need not fire him; just give him a vacation. Let him go home
and see his parents, or something like that. I want to fill his place.
Don’t you understand?”
“I don’t think I do understand.”
“I want to become, for a time, a member of your household, and to be
your butler seems the only available plan that is worthy of adoption. I
want to watch over you, and to be your butler. I’ll wager that this is
the first time in your life when a confessed admirer has offered to
become your butler, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” she replied coolly, “and it is also the first time in my life
when I have felt it my duty to grant what one of them has asked. You
shall be my butler, Mr. Carter. Could I say more?”
“Good,” said Nick, chuckling audibly. “You will have no trouble in
sending old Simmons away on a vacation for a time. Now, I want you also
to engage a new stable-boy.”
“You are not expecting to serve in both capacities, are you?” she asked.
“Oh, no. I have a young friend who is sometimes handy to have about. I
want him there.”
“Consider the new stable-boy engaged. I will give directions about him
as soon as I reach home.”
“Excellent. You can let it be supposed that he came over on the same
ship, if you care to do so. I’ll guarantee that he will be sufficiently
Irish to fool the best of them.”
“Is there anything else?”
“Yes; one more. I want to put one more man in your house. Where shall I
put him?”
“Bless me! Are you going to fill Linden Fells with men?”
“Not quite. Only three. I want another place inside the house for my
assistant, Chick.”
“How would he like to serve as valet?”
“Valet to whom?”
“My father. We always keep a valet for him, and he never in the world
knows that he has one, for if there is a commodity in the world for
which he hasn’t a particle of use, it is a valet; so you see the
position is a sinecure; perhaps your assistant would like it--or,
perhaps, you would prefer it to the somewhat arduous one of butler.”
“No, thank you. I’ll stick to the butler.”
“And when do you propose appearing on the scene with your assistants?”
“At once. To-day. I will report within two hours after I know that you
are safely at home, and Chick and Patsy will be there before night. And
now, as there are other passengers coming on the deck, I’ll leave you.
Please do not speak to me or notice me again, no matter what happens.
When I appear at the Fells, you can call me by the name of the old
butler--Simmons; will that do?”
“Very nicely, indeed. There is only one question I can think of which I
would like to ask you, and that is, when shall I have the pleasure of
seeing you in person?”
“Before very long,” replied Nick, as he turned away.