Transcriber’s Notes:
The original spelling, hyphenation, and punctuation have been retained,
with the exception of apparent typographical errors which have been
corrected.
Text in Italics is indicated between _underscores_.
Text in Small Capitals has been replaced by regular uppercase text.
* * * * *
NICK CARTER STORIES
New Magnet Library
PRICE, FIFTEEN CENTS
_Not a Dull Book in This List_
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 trouble, 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 By Nicholas Carter
851—A Tangled Skein By Nicholas Carter
852—The Bullion Mystery By Nicholas Carter
853—The Man of Riddles By Nicholas Carter
854—A Miscarriage of Justice By Nicholas Carter
855—The Gloved Hand By Nicholas Carter
856—Spoilers and the Spoils By Nicholas Carter
857—The Deeper Game By Nicholas Carter
858—Bolts from Blue Skies By Nicholas Carter
859—Unseen Foes By Nicholas Carter
860—Knaves in High Places By Nicholas Carter
861—The Microbe of Crime By Nicholas Carter
862—In the Toils of Fear By Nicholas Carter
863—A Heritage of Trouble By Nicholas Carter
864—Called to Account By Nicholas Carter
865—The Just and the Unjust By Nicholas Carter
866—Instinct at Fault By Nicholas Carter
867—A Rogue Worth Trapping By Nicholas Carter
868—A Rope of Slender Threads By Nicholas Carter
869—The Last Call By Nicholas Carter
870—The Spoils of Chance By Nicholas Carter
871—A Struggle With Destiny By Nicholas Carter
872—The Slave of Crime By Nicholas Carter
873—The Crook’s Blind By Nicholas Carter
874—A Rascal of Quality By Nicholas Carter
875—With Shackles of Fire By Nicholas Carter
876—The Man Who Changed Faces By Nicholas Carter
877—The Fixed Alibi By Nicholas Carter
878—Out With the Tide By Nicholas Carter
879—The Soul Destroyers By Nicholas Carter
880—The Wages of Rascality By Nicholas Carter
881—Birds of Prey By Nicholas Carter
882—When Destruction Threatens By Nicholas Carter
883—The Keeper of Black Hounds By Nicholas Carter
884—The Door of Doubt By Nicholas Carter
885—The Wolf Within By Nicholas Carter
886—A Perilous Parole By Nicholas Carter
887—The Trail of the Fingerprints By Nicholas Carter
888—Dodging the Law By Nicholas Carter
889—A Crime in Paradise By Nicholas Carter
890—On the Ragged Edge By Nicholas Carter
891—The Red God of Tragedy By Nicholas Carter
892—The Man Who Paid By Nicholas Carter
893—The Blind Man’s Daughter By Nicholas Carter
894—One Object in Life By Nicholas Carter
895—As a Crook Sows By Nicholas Carter
896—In Record Time By Nicholas Carter
897—Held in Suspense By Nicholas Carter
898—The $100,000 Kiss By Nicholas Carter
899—Just One Slip By Nicholas Carter
900—On a Million-dollar Trail By Nicholas Carter
901—A Weird Treasure By Nicholas Carter
902—The Middle Link By Nicholas Carter
903—To the Ends of the Earth By Nicholas Carter
904—When Honors Pall By Nicholas Carter
905—The Yellow Brand By Nicholas Carter
906—A New Serpent in Eden By Nicholas Carter
907—When Brave Men Tremble By Nicholas Carter
908—A Test of Courage By Nicholas Carter
909—Where Peril Beckons By Nicholas Carter
910—The Gargoni Girdle By Nicholas Carter
911—Rascals & Co. By Nicholas Carter
912—Too Late to Talk By Nicholas Carter
913—Satan’s Apt Pupil By Nicholas Carter
914—The Girl Prisoner By Nicholas Carter
915—The Danger of Folly By Nicholas Carter
916—One Shipwreck Too Many By Nicholas Carter
917—Scourged by Fear By Nicholas Carter
918—The Red Plague By Nicholas Carter
919—Scoundrels Rampant By Nicholas Carter
920—From Clew to Clew By Nicholas Carter
921—When Rogues Conspire By Nicholas Carter
922—Twelve in a Grave By Nicholas Carter
923—The Great Opium Case By Nicholas Carter
924—A Conspiracy of Rumors By Nicholas Carter
925—A Klondike Claim By Nicholas Carter
926—The Evil Formula By Nicholas Carter
927—The Man of Many Faces By Nicholas Carter
928—The Great Enigma By Nicholas Carter
929—The Burden of Proof By Nicholas Carter
930—The Stolen Brain By Nicholas Carter
931—A Titled Counterfeiter By Nicholas Carter
932—The Magic Necklace By Nicholas Carter
933—’Round the World for a Quarter By Nicholas Carter
934—Over the Edge of the World By Nicholas Carter
935—In the Grip of Fate By Nicholas Carter
936—The Case of Many Clews By Nicholas Carter
937—The Sealed Door By Nicholas Carter
938—Nick Carter and the Green Goods Men By Nicholas Carter
939—The Man Without a Will By Nicholas Carter
940—Tracked Across the Atlantic By Nicholas Carter
941—A Clew From the Unknown By Nicholas Carter
942—The Crime of a Countess By Nicholas Carter
943—A Mixed Up Mess By Nicholas Carter
944—The Great Money Order Swindle By Nicholas Carter
945—The Adder’s Brood By Nicholas Carter
946—A Wall Street Haul By Nicholas Carter
947—For a Pawned Crown By Nicholas Carter
948—Sealed Orders By Nicholas Carter
949—The Hate That Kills By Nicholas Carter
950—The American Marquis By Nicholas Carter
951—The Needy Nine By Nicholas Carter
952—Fighting Against Millions By Nicholas Carter
953—Outlaws of the Blue By Nicholas Carter
954—The Old Detective’s Pupil By Nicholas Carter
955—Found in the Jungle By Nicholas Carter
956—The Mysterious Mail Robbery By Nicholas Carter
957—Broken Bars By Nicholas Carter
958—A Fair Criminal By Nicholas Carter
959—Won by Magic By Nicholas Carter
960—The Piano Box Mystery By Nicholas Carter
961—The Man They Held Back By Nicholas Carter
962—A Millionaire Partner By Nicholas Carter
963—A Pressing Peril By Nicholas Carter
964—An Australian Klondyke By Nicholas Carter
965—The Sultan’s Pearls By Nicholas Carter
966—The Double Shuffle Club By Nicholas Carter
967—Paying the Price By Nicholas Carter
968—A Woman’s Hand By Nicholas Carter
969—A Network of Crime By Nicholas Carter
970—At Thompson’s Ranch By Nicholas Carter
971—The Crossed Needles By Nicholas Carter
972—The Diamond Mine Case By Nicholas Carter
973—Blood Will Tell By Nicholas Carter
974—An Accidental Password By Nicholas Carter
975—The Crook’s Bauble By Nicholas Carter
976—Two Plus Two By Nicholas Carter
977—The Yellow Label By Nicholas Carter
978—The Clever Celestial By Nicholas Carter
979—The Amphitheater Plot By Nicholas Carter
980—Gideon Drexel’s Millions By Nicholas Carter
981—Death in Life By Nicholas Carter
982—A Stolen Identity By Nicholas Carter
983—Evidence by Telephone By Nicholas Carter
984—The Twelve Tin Boxes By Nicholas Carter
985—Clew Against Clew By Nicholas Carter
986—Lady Velvet By Nicholas Carter
987—Playing a Bold Game By Nicholas Carter
988—A Dead Man’s Grip By Nicholas Carter
989—Snarled Identities By Nicholas Carter
990—A Deposit Vault Puzzle By Nicholas Carter
991—The Crescent Brotherhood By Nicholas Carter
992—The Stolen Pay Train By Nicholas Carter
993—The Sea Fox By Nicholas Carter
994—Wanted by Two Clients By Nicholas Carter
995—The Van Alstine Case By Nicholas Carter
996—Check No. 777 By Nicholas Carter
997—Partners in Peril By Nicholas Carter
998—Nick Carter’s Clever Protégé By Nicholas Carter
999—The Sign of the Crossed Knives By Nicholas Carter
1000—The Man Who Vanished By Nicholas Carter
1001—A Battle for the Right By Nicholas Carter
1002—A Game of Craft By Nicholas Carter
1003—Nick Carter’s Retainer By Nicholas Carter
1004—Caught in the Toils By Nicholas Carter
1005—A Broken Bond By Nicholas Carter
1006—The Crime of the French Café By Nicholas Carter
1007—The Man Who Stole Millions By Nicholas Carter
1008—The Twelve Wise Men By Nicholas Carter
1009—Hidden Foes By Nicholas Carter
1010—A Gamblers’ Syndicate By Nicholas Carter
1011—A Chance Discovery By Nicholas Carter
1012—Among the Counterfeiters By Nicholas Carter
1013—A Threefold Disappearance By Nicholas Carter
1014—At Odds With Scotland Yard By Nicholas Carter
1015—A Princess of Crime By Nicholas Carter
1016—Found on the Beach By Nicholas Carter
1017—A Spinner of Death By Nicholas Carter
1018—The Detective’s Pretty Neighbor By Nicholas Carter
1019—A Bogus Clew By Nicholas Carter
1020—The Puzzle of Five Pistols By Nicholas Carter
1021—The Secret of the Marble Mantel By Nicholas Carter
1022—A Bite of an Apple By Nicholas Carter
1023—A Triple Crime By Nicholas Carter
1024—The Stolen Race Horse By Nicholas Carter
1025—Wildfire By Nicholas Carter
1026—A _Herald_ Personal By Nicholas Carter
1027—The Finger of Suspicion By Nicholas Carter
1028—The Crimson Clue By Nicholas Carter
1029—Nick Carter Down East By Nicholas Carter
1030—The Chain of Clues By Nicholas Carter
1031—A Victim of Circumstances By Nicholas Carter
1032—Brought to Bay By Nicholas Carter
1033—The Dynamite Trap By Nicholas Carter
1034—A Scrap of Black Lace By Nicholas Carter
1035—The Woman of Evil By Nicholas Carter
1036—A Legacy of Hate By Nicholas Carter
1037—A Trusted Rogue By Nicholas Carter
1038—Man Against Man By Nicholas Carter
1039—The Demons of the Night By Nicholas Carter
1040—The Brotherhood of Death By Nicholas Carter
1041—At the Knife’s Point By Nicholas Carter
1042—A Cry for Help By Nicholas Carter
1043—A Stroke of Policy By Nicholas Carter
1044—Hounded to Death By Nicholas Carter
1045—A Bargain in Crime By Nicholas Carter
1046—The Fatal Prescription By Nicholas Carter
1047—The Man of Iron By Nicholas Carter
1048—An Amazing Scoundrel By Nicholas Carter
1049—The Chain of Evidence By Nicholas Carter
1050—Paid with Death By Nicholas Carter
1051—A Fight for a Throne By Nicholas Carter
1052—The Woman of Steel By Nicholas Carter
1053—The Seal of Death By Nicholas Carter
1054—The Human Fiend By Nicholas Carter
1055—A Desperate Chance By Nicholas Carter
1056—A Chase in the Dark By Nicholas Carter
1057—The Snare and the Game By Nicholas Carter
1058—The Murray Hill Mystery By Nicholas Carter
1059—Nick Carter’s Close Call By Nicholas Carter
1060—The Missing Cotton King By Nicholas Carter
1061—A Game of Plots By Nicholas Carter
1062—The Prince of Liars By Nicholas Carter
1063—The Man at the Window By Nicholas Carter
1064—The Red League By Nicholas Carter
1065—The Price of a Secret By Nicholas Carter
1066—The Worst Case on Record By Nicholas Carter
1067—From Peril to Peril By Nicholas Carter
1068—The Seal of Silence By Nicholas Carter
1069—Nick Carter’s Chinese Puzzle By Nicholas Carter
1070—A Blackmailer’s Bluff By Nicholas Carter
1071—Heard in the Dark By Nicholas Carter
1072—A Checkmated Scoundrel By Nicholas Carter
1073—The Cashier’s Secret By Nicholas Carter
1074—Behind a Mask By Nicholas Carter
1075—The Cloak of Guilt By Nicholas Carter
1076—Two Villains in One By Nicholas Carter
1077—The Hot Air Clue By Nicholas Carter
1078—Run to Earth By Nicholas Carter
1079—The Certified Check By Nicholas Carter
1080—Weaving the Web By Nicholas Carter
1081—Beyond Pursuit By Nicholas Carter
1082—The Claws of the Tiger By Nicholas Carter
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, 1922.
1083—Driven From Cover By Nicholas Carter
1084—A Deal in Diamonds By Nicholas Carter
To Be Published in August, 1922.
1085—The Wizard of the Cue By Nicholas Carter
1086—A Race for Ten Thousand By Nicholas Carter
1087—The Criminal Link By Nicholas Carter
To Be Published in September, 1922.
1088—The Red Signal By Nicholas Carter
1089—The Secret Panel By Nicholas Carter
To Be Published in October, 1922.
1090—A Bonded Villain By Nicholas Carter
1091—A Move in the Dark By Nicholas Carter
To Be Published in November, 1922.
1092—Against Desperate Odds By Nicholas Carter
1093—The Telltale Photographs By Nicholas Carter
To Be Published in December, 1922.
1094—The Ruby Pin By Nicholas Carter
1095—The Queen of Diamonds By Nicholas Carter
To Be Published in January, 1923.
1096—A Broken Trail By Nicholas Carter
1097—An Ingenious Stratagem By Nicholas Carter
SNARLED IDENTITIES
OR,
A DESPERATE TANGLE
BY
NICHOLAS CARTER
Author of the celebrated stories of Nick Carter’s adventures, which
are published exclusively in the NEW MAGNET LIBRARY, conceded
to be among the best detective tales ever written.
[Illustration]
STREET & SMITH CORPORATION
PUBLISHERS
79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York
Copyright, 1916
By STREET & SMITH
Snarled Identities
(Printed in the United States of America)
All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign
languages, including the Scandinavian.
SNARLED IDENTITIES.
CHAPTER I.
STARTLING NEWS.
Nicholas Carter, and his first assistant, Chickering Carter, had risen
early that morning, but not for the usual reason. It was a very unusual
occasion in the great detective’s household, for he and Chick were
actually going away for two weeks’ vacation in the Adirondacks.
The train that was to carry the two to the Great North Woods was
scheduled to leave shortly after eight o’clock, and many preparations
had been deferred until that morning. Now, however, everything was
practically ready, their trunk was packed, locked, and strapped,
their suit cases were nearly filled, and they had time for a bite of
breakfast and a glance at the morning papers, which had thus far been
neglected.
Nick seemed to be the only one who was interested in the news. In fact,
his assistant made a wry face when he saw his chief reaching for one of
the papers.
“Can’t you forget that sort of thing?” he asked, in an injured tone. “I
was hoping you would until we got well started, at least.”
“What’s the trouble?” Nick asked, in a bewildered tone. “Oh, I see what
you are driving at! You are afraid I’ll see something interesting in
the line of crimes and mysteries, and decide at the last minute to stay
at home? Is that the idea?”
His assistant nodded gloomily. “Correct,” he answered. “I never
know which way you are going to jump, or at what moment. When I’m
trying to get you off for a holiday, especially, I feel the greatest
responsibility. You have such a way of changing your mind, and, if you
don’t, somebody usually bobs up with a case that you find irresistible.
You’ve been working your head off for months, and you are run down;
you know you are.” Chick grinned. “You are not exactly at the breaking
point yet,” he went on, “but you are just a little stale, and that
won’t do, you know. Any day something may break that will require your
keenest brain work, and your last ounce of strength and agility. Of
course, things will turn up; of course, you’ll have all sorts of calls
every day, and if you allow yourself to read the papers, you’ll run
across plenty of things that will prove fascinating to you. Can’t you
cut yourself loose, though—absolutely?”
“I’ve done harder things than that, grandmother,” Nick answered, “but
I really don’t see the necessity for that sort of total abstinence. If
you think I’m going to cut out all newspapers for two weeks, you’re
very much mistaken. I’ve promised to go, though, and I’m going—unless,
of course, something turns up that is altogether too big to neglect.”
He opened the paper, whereupon Chick gave an exaggerated sigh of
resignation.
“What is to be is to be, I suppose,” the younger detective murmured;
“or, in more up-to-date form, she goes as she lays.”
It may be inferred, therefore, that he was far from surprised, when his
chief gave a startled exclamation a few moments later.
“Well,” Chick asked pessimistically, “what have you struck now? We are
not going away, I suppose?”
“Of course we are, you idiot!” Nick answered excitedly. “You’ll agree
with me, though, I’m sure, that it would have been a calamity if we had
missed this. It looks as if we had had our last tussle with ‘Green-eye’
Gordon.”
Chick’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?” he asked. “Has Gordon died in
prison?”
Nick nodded soberly. “He was burned to death last night in a fire that
destroyed one wing of Clinton Prison,” he replied, his eye hastily
running over the rest of the article.
Presently the paper was passed to Chick. This, in part, was what the
latter read.