The Fatal Hour.

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 104, 3 May 1911, Page 10

The Fatal Hour.

BY NICHOLAS CARTER

Author of "A Double Mystery," "Tbe Crime of a Countess," "Kendriek'e Pledge," "Man Againsr Man," "At Face Value," etc.

CHAPTER TWO. A DEEPENING MYSTERY. Quick to set to work on so serious a lur Kick Carter felt reasonably Er.re that a brutal murder had been committed, ieveral pertinent questions had already arisen in the mind of the detective. "Who v.-as the victim, and why had he been killed : Could robbery have been the motive for so desperate a crime? Was the driver of the taxicab, whose absence then appeared inexplicable, guilty of the heinous deed? H:id he, on the contrary, had other p:issrnsers in his cab. by whom the man hnd bei-n slain? If so, were they stranpreri. or pretended friends of the victim': If fO. furthermore, where was the driver when the deed was done, and what had since become of him? Lookir.i at it in still another way. had the man be<>n murdered by some person who had approached the cab while the victim was seated in it, possibly waiting lor somebody, possibly the very perFon v»-ho had slain him . Even in that case, the absence of the driver then and since was equally mysterious. Though he made no attempt to answer them, those questions quickly occurTPd to Nick Carter, -who instinctively began to analyze a case the moment he set to work on it. From Waldron, however, he learned tbe precise circumstances leading to the discovery of the murder, and that the victim had been found sitting upright on the rear seat of the taxicab, and near the corner next to the sidewalk. This led Kick to suppose that the corpse naturally would have escaped the notice of pas=ers-by, and he had no doubt that Waldron and his companion were telling only th< truth. It took Kick only a. very few minutes to run the taxicab to the door of the undertaker's establishment, where he found both Chick and Boyden, as well as three policemen whom Chick had hurTiedlv summoned., and who at once proceeded to keep the gathering crowd at a respectful distance. This by no means suited one observer —the man in a baggy plaid suit. He fell back reluctantly, glanced furtivelj around, then slunk away through the crowd and disappeared. He was not noticed by Kick Carter, who at once proceeded to give his instructions. The body was quickly removed to the undertakers back room, also a Luge leather suit case found on the floor of the taxicab, which, evidently ■was the only piece of baggage, or parcel of any kind. Having placed an officer Sα charge of the vehicle, the inierior of which he wanted to inspect more carefully a little later, Kick repaired to the back room.

"Are you sure there were two?" '"Yes, absolutely." '•■Why sor" "Because this wound nearly under the arm was inflicted with a knife having a much narower blade than -*he other It was the blade of a dagger or stiletto, while the other appears to have been that of a dirk knife." "Yes, I "now see the difference." "Obviously, one assailant could not have throttled him with one hand and used both weapons. There must have been a brief struggle, and the one sitting beside him, fearing he might escape the other, or possibly utter a cry, ran the dspeer into >>im while the arm was raised. The other stabbed him from in front, in nearly a horizontal line, indicating that he had risen from hi 3 seat and drove the weapon from about on a level with his waist." "Either wound must have been fatal." "Yes. plainly." "There must have been three in the taxicab, then." "Yes. lam not inclined to think there were more." "Why?" M Because the suit case, which was lying on the floor, took up considerable room. It would have been exceedingly awkward for more than two to have worked to advantage. That would have been forseen if the job was planned in advance, as I now suspect it wai, and that leads mc to feel quite sure there were only two assailants." "Tou're right again, Nick, I'll wager, Chick thoughtfully assented. '•"We now will try to identify tie man." '"Dear mc, Carter, yoa said you had not discovered much," Boyden cried impulsively. "I should say you have learned a good deal." "Nothing that points to the identity of the man or of his assailants, nor so much as suggests the motive back of the crime," Kick pointedly answered. ""Well, that's true, "ill admit."

It was a square room with two windows, both, of which -were open, though ■"the outer blinds were closed. Nick closed both windows, bent upon heading <yS "publici'tv in cjLse the conversation that ensued could be heard from out: side. Turning qiridkly to Chick, he -then said quietly., referring -to one of Tiis younger assistants: — "Telephone to Patsy at once, stating "the circumstances, and send him to watch the house in front of which the taxicab was standing. Here's the street

1. "You suspect somebody there." :' '•Irs a significant fact that a public "cab was there and the driver missing. He may have been hired into the house. Instruct Patsy to keep an eye on it, front and back, until I can join him." "I see the point," Chick nodded, hasten JTirr to a telephone in fclie front shop. Nick then began an examination of the corpse, ■which had been placed on a bier near the middle of the room. Has only companions were the undertaker, a man of middle age, and one burly policeman who had helped bring in the body. It was that of a man of fifty, as stated, of medium size, and with somewhat ronnded shoulders. Cleansed of the blood with which it was soiled, the face appeared full and fleshy, marred here and there with pimples, the hair brown,"the top of the head quite bald, the eyes blue, the teeth discoloured by chewing tobacco and somewhat decayed. Aside from the aspect a violent death had given it, it was not a prepossessing face.

"We'll look farther." Nick opened the <iead man's coat and proceeded to search his pockets. He went Through them carefully, one and all. and found them entirely—empty.

Not so much as a handkerchief, a penny, a. key, a. scrap of paper —in not one was there the most insignificant article, nor even the sign of any. "H'm!" >Tick ejaculated, straightening up. ''That's strange!" doing!" queried Chick. "Absolutely nothing." "Examine his garments. They may be marked." Nick proceeded to do so, and began by lookincr for the business tag invarta-bly sewed £>y tailors, or clothiers, just within the collar of a coat. He looked for it in vain—the tag had been removed. A further search, moreover, proved equally futile. The dealer's name had been torn from the soft felt hat of tte murdered man. Not a piece of his clothing was marked. Not aai article Taoxe a name, an initial, not so much as the slightest clue to the victim's identity. •This i≤ not the result of mere onance," Nick bluntly said. "Steps have been carefully taken to prevent identification, to remove everything by which the man might have been traced. We'll see aftwDirt that. 11l "bet I can find some way to circumvent the rasoads." '•This proves that if, was a deliberately planned job," Chick remarked. •*"Y"es, conclusively. L»et mc 'have >the suit case. Well see what that contains. " 2Hck found it secured only with -Straps. Spreading it open on the floor, he proceeded to examine its contents —a quantity of soiled linen, a set of soiled undergarments, a few <jean collars and cuffs, a brush and comb, and a. fla.sk half filled ■with whisky. Txire a mark of any kind, hewever, and the suit case contained nothing else. "Well, it's certainly discouraging, Mr. Carter," Boyden observed, after watching him carefully examine each garment. Nick looked up ■WH-α a sharper gleam in his frowning eyes. "Less so, Boyden, than you imagine," lie quickly answered. '•"Indeed! What do you mean?" "These articles establish, 'beyond any reasonable doubt, several facts -which the criminals did not think would, be discovered, or failed entirely to anticipate such revelations. Otherwise, they "would have disposed of the suit case." "What facts. Nick?" Chick asked, a bit puzzled. "This man has come a long distance," Mick- declared. "He has -been travelling fry train for nearly a week." "Trom what do yoir deduce that?" ,r Erom. the soiled garments. Xotice one remarkable fact—all of them are new. None of them have -been laundered, barring that done by the manufacturers." ."By Jove, I guess you're right. That's a fine point." "The same is true of the dark suit in ■which he is clad, in that it is a new and

In the left breast, nearly in a line ■with the heart, were two terrible ■wounds, evidently inflicted with a large knife. Another, just under the left arm, in Hi" r< ted that a third blow had been dealt when the arm was raised in vain seii-deience.. Kick saw at a glance that either of the three siabs would have kiUed the man.

On the victim's neck, moreover,' were several dark bruises, plainly left by the fingers an(i thumb of his assailant, yet they were not so distinct ac- to be- of greater value in the way of evidence. "What do you find?" Chick asked, upon returning. Kick arose beside the bier, and bis replies gave the listening undertaker an idea of- the deductive possibilities of suck a case, and of the analytical genius essential to the success of a great detective.

""Xot much, Chick, as yet," lie gravely said. "The man came iron a distance, and has been travelling by train. His ears and nostrils are black with smoke and cinders. He was careless, uncleanly, and dissipated. Notice his pimply nose and bloaied cheeks. The fac? is much too full tor a man of his build. He has been a hard drinker." •Tes, that's very evident," Chick assented, noting the points mentioned. '"He has also done considerable hard ■work; his shoulders are rounded, his hands begrimed and caroused." Nick proceeded. "Be may have been a machinist, or a mechanic, and was a man of very small means." "How do you make that out?" * rTf mlenor tobacco, and s-moked a clay pipe. The teeth on this dde, where he habitually held it. are much, worn down. Clears would not have caused it, nor a wooden pipe."' "Yet he was not an ordinary fellow,; a low-class labourer. His face, even in death, and despite the -vidence of his dissolute habits, has unobliterated marks' of refinement. He's a man who has seen better days , and gone to the bad." "Have you identified him?" "Xot yet—T haven't tried," said yick. Tirst, note these wounds and fingermarks on his neck. His assailant, seized, him from in front, using , rfcis "left while with his right he gave /him these two breast wounds. He was, in all probability, on the front seat;;of the taxicab, and sat facing his victim. The man's other assailant sat Reside .bim-.-tm the rear seat,"

ready-made one. Take my word for it, Chick, this man was fitted out with brand-new garments for the purpose of making a journey." "One covering nearly a week?" "Undoubtedly." "How dx> you make that out?" "It's as simple as twice two," Nick replied. "Naturally, he started with an entirely clean wardrobe- He has changed his garments once, and has "worn three shirts and six collars, including those ■pr'hich he has on. One eouan a day is ail ■we can reasonably suppose a man of his habits and tastes would have worn. Plainly, then, -he li-as been travelling five or ?ix days." "By gracious, there's no getting around that argument!" "It is further confirmed, moreover, by the fact that the sis soiled collars are blackened somewhat by train dust and

cinders, plainly showing that each was worn during some stage of his journey." '"I -throw, up my hands." eaad Chick. "You have ocoved -one point, !N%ek, as sure as there is juice in a lemon."

"I have scored another," Nick replied —"one that may prove to Ibe even more important." '•THiat is that?" •TRiis mac was fitted out for his journey by a woman," Kick confidently asserted. '"TurthennoTe. tie -woman may have accompanied him." 'To this city?' "Exactly.". (To be continued next Saturday).