TO THE CREDIT OF THE CATBOAT.
“The moment I struck the cool water it brought all my senses back with a
rush.
“I kept myself afloat, and was picked up by two young men in a catboat.
These young men were members of a fishing club that had a boathouse on
the Sound, and were out for an all-night sail.
“They were close at hand when the steamer passed, and I was hurled into
the water.”
“I see. You do not want your uncle to invest your money in the mine, and
he is determined to do it.”
“That’s it. Yasmar is a glib talker, and uncle Horace is entirely
carried away with him.”
“Could you not get a restraining order from the court and thus prevent
your uncle from using the money?”
“Under my mother’s will, Mr. Carter, my guardian has a free hand. I will
do Mr. Montgomery the credit of saying that he has gone into the matter
in good faith, and he is usually level-headed. In this instance,
however, he is playing directly into Yasmar’s hands.”
“It was Monday night when you were picked up by the young men in the
catboat. This is Wednesday morning. Where have you been in the
meantime?”
“At the boathouse on Long Island, where I gave a fictitious name.”
“You wish to make it appear to Yasmar that you are dead?”
“Yes. I feel that I can fight him better in that way.”
“That’s rather clever in one way, Mr. Lansing. In another way, however,
it may be a very foolish move.”
“How so?”
“If you went to your uncle and told him how the villain had attempted
your life, you would at once convince him that the Western man was a
fraud, and thus prevent the investment in the Royal Ophir.”
“You do not know my uncle, Mr. Carter. He is investigating the mining
proposition, and, if he is satisfied with the result of his
investigations, the money will be invested.”
“Headstrong, is he?”
“Yes, sir; very much set in his way.”
“How did you happen to be on the same steamer with Yasmar?”
“I was going to Boston to interview some capitalists there, who are also
intending to put money into the mine. By chance, he was on the same
boat.”
“How is your uncle investigating the Royal Ophir mine?”
“The Boston men sent an expert in whom they have the utmost confidence
to Montana to take a sample of ore from the Royal Ophir.
“That sample was not out of the expert’s hands, day or night, from the
moment it was taken until, in a sealed bag, it was deposited in a New
York bank.
“The Boston men and my uncle, accompanied by the expert, will call for
the ore this afternoon, take it to an assayer, and have it assayed.
“On the result of that assay hangs the investment of a round million of
dollars.”
“Who is to do the assaying?”
“Cruse & Cupell, near Sixth Avenue and Twenty-third Street.”
“Who is the expert?”
“Orlando G. Bates.”
“I know Bates, and he’s as straight as a string. The assayers are all
right, too. Will Yasmar be present during the assaying?”
“No; no one but Mr. Bates, my uncle and the Boston men. Will you take
the case for me, Mr. Carter?”
“It’s hardly a ‘case,’ Mr. Lansing. You want me to prove to your uncle
that the Royal Ophir mine has been ‘salted,’ as the saying is.”
“That’s it. I’m sure the mine has been ‘salted,’ and I’m also sure that
neither the expert nor my uncle nor the Boston men are clever enough to
discover it. You are the only one who can do that, Mr. Carter.”
The detective smiled at the young man’s confidence.
Before he could answer Lansing’s question, another rap fell on the door,
and the servant handed in a card bearing the following name:
“Adolphus Yasmar.”