LAST LINK IN THE CHAIN.
At two o’clock precisely a lady knocked
at the door of room 75, Adams House.
It was Anita Alvarez.
Nick Carter, alias Mr. Rogers, admitted
her.
"How do you do, madame?" said
Nick.
"Very well, thank you, Mr. Rogers. I
expected to find my brother, and--and a
friend here."
"They will be here presently."
"My brother tells me that Sam will not
accept the terms of the agreement."
"He will be here himself at three
o’clock, madame. We shall then arrange
everything connected with this matter."
"But cannot you tell me in the meantime
what it is he particularly objects to?"
"I cannot see what good it would do.
It will be much better to discuss the entire
affair with him personally. But won’t
you remove your heavy cloak and make
yourself comfortable while you are waiting?
By the way, wouldn’t you like a cup
of coffee after your journey?"
"Yes, Mr. Rogers, thank you. If you
would not mind, I should like a cup of
black coffee and brandy."
Nick touched a bell.
It was answered by Chick, to whom
Nick passed a note, saying, as he did so:
"Will you please bring some coffee and
brandy at once?"
"Yes, sir."
The note contained the following message:
"Have Moreno and Gonzales here at
3:30. Admit Rogers first. Keep prisoners
in your room until we need them."
Chick’s room was number 73, and had
a door leading into Nick’s.
When the door closed, Nick took from
his pocket the hat pin which he found in
Mr. Rogers’ room, and placed it on a
chair close to his visitor.
"Does that pin belong to you, madame?"
asked he.
She looked at it; then put her hand up
to her hat to satisfy herself that the one
there was not missing.
"Why, yes!" she cried. "I have missed
that pin for some days. I wonder where it
came from, or how it could have got
here."
"It was found upon the bed with Mr.
Rogers’ dead body."
She trembled and became pale and confused.
But recovering herself, she asked:
"Where did you say it was found?"
"Where you dropped it, madame."
"What do you mean?"
"Do you not remember the morning
after Mr. Rogers’ death?"
"Yes."
"When you went to see the body with
your husband?"
"No, sir. You are mistaken----”
"What?" said Nick. "Why, you told
me that----”
"Oh, yes! I forgot."
The unfortunate woman was so bewildered
that, in her confusion, she really
believed she had told him.
"By the way, I hope you have the release
for Sam ready," said Nick.
"Yes," said the woman, who was now
feeling particularly uncomfortable.
But just then the waiter arrived with
the coffee and brandy, and the diversion
relieved her.
She little guessed how badly she needed
a stimulant just then.
Nick looked at his watch.
It wanted but a few minutes of three
o’clock.
"When did you see your husband last?"
he asked, suddenly.
"Last night--eh, I mean--eh, not since
his father’s death."
"There is one thing that Sam has concealed
from me," said Nick.
"What is that?"
"Was his father really murdered by Dr.
Lord? Or was it by somebody else?"
"You know well," said Anita, regaining
her self-confidence, "that no other
person could have done it."
"Then you believe," said Nick,
adroitly, "that that syringe was charged
with poison solely for the purpose of
murdering Mr. Rogers."
"I know it."
The moment she uttered these words
she recognized her mistake, and would
have given worlds not to have spoken
them.
But, although Nick had now secured
the last link of his chain of evidence, he
gave no outward sign that he attached
any importance to it.
He was about to continue when someone knocked at the door.
"Come in!" said Nick.
Sam Rogers entered.
"Anita!" he cried, in amazement.
"At your service, sir!" coldly rejoined
the lady.
"Be seated, Mr. Rogers," said Nick.
Anita looked at Nick nervously.
"That man would not call him Mr.
Rogers, if he was his cousin!" was the
thought that flashed through her mind.
Rogers was clearly as much mystified as
was Anita.
But his perplexity was not mixed with
fear.
She was trembling with fear of an unknown
something which her imagination
was unable to define.
She looked at Nick with an expression
that mingled indignation and appeal.
Her suspense was really becoming unbearable,
and Nick saw it.
"Better cut this act short," he muttered.
Turning to Rogers, he said:
"Mr. Rogers, that woman is not your
wife."
"Liar!" thundered Anita.
"Keep your temper, madame," said
Nick. "Your real husband will shortly
be here. As Mrs. Moreno, you cannot be
Mrs. Rogers."
"My God!" she cried. "How did you
learn this? Who are you?"
Not heeding her question, Nick continued:
"I have learned much more, madame,
that you will be even less pleased to listen
to."
"Is this true?" asked Rogers, in a whirl
of delighted amazement.
"Yes, Mr. Rogers. You may set your
mind at rest on that point."
Just then the door opened, and Chick
announced:
"Dr. Lord!"
The woman trembled from head to feet
when she saw the doctor.
Rogers also felt very uncomfortable.
"Have the others arrived?" asked
Nick.
"Yes, sir. They are in the next room."
"Is Waldo with them?"
"Yes, sir, and another man."
"Send them in guarded."
The door between Nick’s room and his
assistant’s was immediately opened, and
Moreno and Gonzales were marched in,
handcuffed to the two detectives.
"Nick Carter!" cried both prisoners,
simultaneously.
"Yes, gentlemen," said Nick. "I shall
now explain why I have invited you all
to be present at this meeting."
No one uttered a word.
Everybody was too much astonished.
But they were even more astounded
when Nick said:
"Everybody in this room knows, in
part, a good deal of what I know concerning
Mr. Rogers’ death, and the criminal
events surrounding it; but not one of
you can even guess all that I do know.
"In the first place, Mr. Rogers was not
murdered.
"Three people in this room knew, from
the very beginning, that he was not murdered.
"These are Anita Moreno, Manuel Alvarez
and the conspirator in chief, Moreno
himself."
Had a thunderbolt fallen in the room it
could not have caused more consternation
and amazement.
Nick then continued, in the same cool
manner:
"There was an intention to murder him,
however; but luckily nature stepped in
and claimed Mr. Rogers before this crime
could be committed.
"This intended murder was planned by
Moreno and was to have been executed by
the woman, his wife, who is guilty of
bigamy for entering into a marriage ceremony
with Mr. Rogers.
"The plan was to incriminate Dr. Lord,
and thus create a lever for blackmail.
"When Anita Moreno went to Mr.
Rogers’ home--to murder him--and found
that he had died the night before of heart
disease, she nevertheless inserted the
needle of this hypodermic syringe in his
wrist and injected some of Mr. Moreno’s
famous poison into it."
Here he held aloft the syringe.
"She then broke off the point in the
wound, hoping that the doctors would
find it and naturally suspect the family
physician of having used the dreadful
poison it contained.
"But she was ignorant of the fact that
after death hypodermic injections will not
be distributed through the system, as the
blood has ceased to circulate.
"For this reason I noticed that the wrist
was discolored by the poison, and that
fact has guided me throughout.
"She then visited Dr. Lord and left the
broken syringe upon his bureau.
"There is no necessity to recite the
clever scheme of blackmail which was to
have been put into execution.
"Every one in this room knows the
particulars.
"But every one here does not know, nor
does the lady herself, that the vial of
poison from which the syringe was
charged was dropped by her at the Providence
depot and picked up by me.
"And lastly, only the three prisoners
know that Alvarez attempted to murder
your humble servant at midnight on Mr.
Rogers’ lawn.
"And now what should we do with
these criminals?
"Dr. Lord, you have the best right to
dictate.
"What is your sentence?"
"Spare them," generously cried the
doctor.
"Just what I expected you to say," said
Nick.
"Yes, we will set them at liberty.
"But upon one condition.
"They must return to Cuba; for if
within three days any one of them is
found in the United States, every one of
the crimes of which I hold the proofs
against them will be charged to the law’s
limit."
When the three culprits took their departure,
Nick Carter’s face became once
more severe, and, turning to Sam Rogers,
he said:
"You should not have lied to me!"
That was all; and the great detective
then escaped from the outpouring of gratitude
of the two men, whose happy future
he had insured.
THE END.
The next number will contain "Nick
Carter under the Knife; or, The Little
Giant Among the Body-Snatchers."
NICK CARTER WEEKLY.
_THE BEST LIBRARY OF DETECTIVE STORIES._
LATEST ISSUES:
198--Nick Carter Under the Knife; or, The Little Giant Among the
Body-Snatchers.
197--The Little Glass Vial; or, A Beautiful Blackmailer Brought to Bay.
196--A Man of Wood; or, Who Killed Dr. Startle?
195--Nick Carter’s Grateful Client; or, Saving the Honor of the Old
Man’s Boy.
194--Nick Carter on the Bowery; or, A Crippled Cracksman’s Detection.
193--Nick Carter on the Inside; or, No Chance for the Coroner.
192--Nick Carter in Frisco; or, Instructed by a Newspaper Personal.
191--Wanted for Embezzlement; or, What Became of the Treasurer.
190--Nick Carter’s Slippery Quarry; or, The Case Against ’Frisco Jim.
189--Nick Carter’s Proofs; or, Bad News for the Guilty.
188--Nick Carter at the Races; or, Two Kinds of Lead Pipe Cinch.
187--The Best Detective in the Country; or, A Prompt Reply to a
Telegram.
186--Nick Carter Rescues a Daughter; or, The Junior Partner’s Strange
Behavior.
185--Nick Carter Saves a Reputation; or, A Button Worth a Fortune.
184--Shielding a Murderer; or, Nick Carter’s Dealings with an Avenger.
183--Saved from the Penitentiary; or, Three Cheers for Nick Carter.
182--The Blood-Stained Check; or, Nick Carter in the Dissecting-Room.
181--In the Clutch of the Law; or, Nick Carter’s Chain of Evidence.
180--The Government Custom’s Swindle; or, Nick Carter’s Work for the U.
S. Treasury.
179--Nick Carter’s Beautiful Decoy; or, The Diamond Duke of Chicago.
178--Nick Carter Arrests a Client; or, The Body Found in the Flat.
177--Nick Carter’s Dumb Assistant; or, The Man with a Dead Brain.
176--Nick Carter Behind the Counter; or, A Peck of Pawn Tickets.
175--Nick Carter’s Pointer; or, A Hungry Dog’s Dinner.
174--By Whose Hand; or, Nick Carter Advertises for a Cab-Driver.
173--Caught in Six Hours; or, Trouble in Room No. 46.
172--Burglar Joe; or, Nick Carter’s Leap in the Dark.
171--Nick Carter’s Little Shadow; or, The Man with the Yellow Dog.
170--Caught by Electricity; or, Nick Carter Bags an Old Offender.
169--Unmasked by Nick Carter; or, An Attempt at Blackmail.
168--Nick Carter’s Second Sight; or, A Dumfounded Prisoner.
167--Nick Carter Makes a Loan That Brings Him Big Returns.
166--Nick Carter Prevents a Disturbance, and Loses a Disguise.
165--Nick Carter in a Hole; or, A Plan to Catch Him That Didn’t Work.
164--Nick Carter Off the Track, but Has Another String to His Bow.
163--Nick Carter Jumps a Train, and Takes Big Chances.
162--Nick Carter Saves a Life, and Earns a Woman’s Gratitude.
161--Nick Carter Corners a Bank President; or, A Balance That Was
Crooked.
160--Nick Carter’s Steamer Trunk; or, A Crime in Mid-Ocean.
159--Nick Carter’s New Uniform; or, A Bribe That Was Expected.
158--Nick Carter and the Sawdust Man; or, An Investment That Caused
Trouble.
157--Nick Carter as an Expert; or, A Battery That Was Tampered With.
156--Nick Carter’s Silent Search; or, A Drive at a Fake Detective.
155--Nick Carter’s Curious Client; or, A Criminal with More Gall than
Sense.
154--Nick Carter Settles a Conspiracy; or, A Telegram That Wasn’t
Signed.
153--Nick Carter’s Midnight Caller; or, A Case Concluded Before
Daylight.
152--Nick Carter’s Fake Murder Case; or, The Plan to Wipe Out the
Agency.
Back numbers always on hand. If you cannot get our publications from
your newsdealer, five cents a copy will bring them to you, by mail,
postpaid.
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