MADDENING SUSPENSE.
The detective gave hurried orders to his assistants and set them to work
on another investigation into Grantley’s past, with a view to ascertain,
if possible, the surgeon’s experiences in Wall Street.
Unfortunately, nothing of any importance was unearthed.
It was learned that Doctor Grantley had speculated heavily at one time,
years before, and was supposed to have been unlucky in some of his
investments, but the exact facts could not be obtained.
Nick felt it his duty to communicate the little he had learned to the
blind magnate, and did so, but without result. Baldwin’s hope had been
aroused, and he was pathetically eager to undergo the operation. He sent
word to Nick that he could not see how the latter’s information affected
the situation. Many men had burned their fingers in blind speculation,
he declared, and added his conviction that a detective, with the best
intentions in the world, was “making a mountain out of a child’s sand
pile.”
Still Nick did not despair, and the probe went on. The next day passed
without bringing anything more definite to light, and the morning of the
operation dawned.
The blind millionaire was already in Grantley’s hands, having gone to
the private hospital the evening before, in order to become settled in
his new environment and to have a chance to quiet down before the
fateful hour arrived.
He had no immediate relatives, and would allow no one else to dictate to
him. Against Doctor Vanderpool’s advice, and in spite of the physician’s
anxious pleadings, he insisted upon trusting Grantley implicitly.
“It’s all or nothing with me,” he persisted in saying. “This operation
is altogether too important to me to allow its success to be threatened
in any way. Grantley knows he is under suspicion, but I do not suspect
him in the least, and I shall consent to nothing that would lead him to
think so. He doesn’t want you or any other hostile personality present,
and I don’t blame him. Besides, it might affect his nerves disastrously.
And any nurse you would be likely to introduce would be bound to reflect
the same antagonistic attitude toward him and his staff. I won’t have my
chances jeopardized by any such childish jealousies.”
Doctor Vanderpool threw up his hands at that, but Baldwin laid down the
law still further. He made it plain that he not only meant to place
himself in Grantley’s hands for the operation itself, but that he did
not wish any interference afterward, until such time as the surgeon
should pronounce him ready to receive visitors.
The financier’s stubborn attitude caused Nick Carter many misgivings,
but the detective saw that his own hands were tied. He could not force
his way into the house, in the face of Grantley’s enmity toward him, at
such a critical time. What was more, he could not even keep an effective
watch over the premises, although that would have been small comfort at
best.
The house immediately adjoining Grantley’s, which Nick had previously
occupied for a time, had been regularly rented since then, so that that
vantage point was no longer available.
The blind master of millions had, by his own act, completely isolated
himself from his friends for an indefinite period, and put himself
unreservedly in the power of the rascally Grantley, his no less
unscrupulous assistant, Doctor Siebold, and the hard-faced nurse, Kate
Rawlinson.
Moreover, even the protection of publicity was denied to Baldwin’s
anxious well-wishers. They would have preferred, for the sake of the
effect upon Grantley, to have all the papers publish the fact. They
would have liked to see reporters calling at the private hospital at
frequent intervals, in the hope that public knowledge and interest would
deter the surgeon from crime, if he contemplated anything of the sort.
But Baldwin had also made that impossible, and for a very good reason:
He realized that there would be the greatest alarm in financial circles
if it became known in advance that he was about to submit to an
operation at the hands of Doctor Hiram Grantley, and, in order to
protect his own interests and those of his friends, he had taken the
most elaborate precautions to keep his whereabouts secret.
The situation was maddening, but it could not be helped.
Ten o’clock came and went. Eleven struck, and then twelve. Doctor
Vanderpool was almost beside himself with suspense. He longed to go to
Grantley’s house and inquire about the success of the operation, but he
did not dare for fear the secret would be revealed through the fact that
he was known to be J. Hackley Baldwin’s physician. Besides, such
operations often require several hours.
Consequently, the doctor haunted Nick Carter’s house, instead. Finally,
at one o’clock, Nick telephoned to Grantley’s house. Hoff, the German
manservant, answered the phone. Nick gave his name and asked after
Grantley’s patient.
The German replied that his employer had been expecting such an inquiry
and had instructed him to say that the operation had been successful in
every respect, and that Mr. Baldwin was resting quietly. It would be
several days, however, before the patient could safely receive callers,
and meanwhile he would, of course, remain at the private hospital.
Doctor Grantley did not care to answer in person.
There was an undercurrent of hostility and contempt in the manner in
which the message was delivered, but that was to be expected. It did not
necessarily mean anything, for Nick could hope for nothing else from
Grantley or any of his employees. The detective could do nothing but
formally thank his informant and hang up the receiver.
He repeated the message, word for word, to Doctor Vanderpool, and the
two consulted.
Obviously, they knew no more than they had known before. The message
might be a lie from end to end, it might be partially true, or all true,
and there was no way of finding out until Grantley was ready to let
them, unless they went counter to the millionaire’s express
injunctions.
Would they be justified in doing so? That was one of the most important
of the many problems which confronted them.
There had been something resembling a ring of truth about Hoff’s report
of the success of the operation, but Nick had already foreseen the
possibility that Grantley might take a fiendish delight in restoring the
millionaire’s sight and then injure him terribly--if not actually kill
him--in some other way.
To have to wait for days without knowing the true situation seemed more
than flesh could bear.
On the other hand, if Grantley had really performed the operation in
good faith, a forcible entry and examination of the patient might work
grave injury.
Baldwin would be kept in a dark room for some time, under such
circumstances, and rest and quiet were an important part of the cure.
It would excite him greatly to have his wishes disregarded, and Grantley
would doubtless resist such an invasion to the last--very likely to the
extent of arming himself and his staff.
The detective and Vanderpool realized all this, and finally came to the
conclusion, with the greatest reluctance, that they must let matters
take their course for a few days.
Some kind of an operation had doubtless been performed on the financier,
and it was extremely improbable that their interference at that late
hour could materially benefit him. Apparently, the most that could be
done involved a more or less long-distance oversight of Grantley’s
doings.
If any suspicious departures, or other questionable activities were
noticed, it would be time to step in, but not otherwise.
Time passed. Repeated inquiries were made, both by phone and in person.
Not until the third day did Grantley condescend to see the detective
when the latter called, and then the interview was as fruitless as it
could well have been.
The surgeon assured Nick that Baldwin was improving constantly, but he
peremptorily refused to permit his patient to be seen. Moreover, he
would make no definite statement as to the date of Baldwin’s return
home.
To be sure, he did give the detective a message, which purported to come
from the jealously guarded financier. It was to the effect that all was
well, and that Nick and Doctor Vanderpool were not to worry; but that
might easily have been made up out of whole cloth.
The surgeon’s manner was as irreproachable as ever, and Nick had to
confess to himself once more that if Grantley was playing a part, it was
a masterly one.
Thus a week of harrowing uncertainty passed.
At the end of it came the crash.