THE WHEEL OF FATE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13790, 23 October 1908, Page 6

THE WHEEL OF FATE.

Uy NICHOLAS CARTER

Author of "When Kiuues Fall out,'' "The Seal of Silence," "The Price ot a Secret," "A Millionaire Partner," ' -Circumstantial Evidence," etc. CHAPTER Vll.— Continued. Kl!(j\\ 111- Pat -A to be OJ!<>_ ()t Nl(k Career's a^-,ist ant.->. Sterling's a^ent was casih obtpiii'-d. and tlu % lattei unit -o Km as to insiiuet the janitor to help linn in any wa\ he might i'"wuno while investigating the niiair and tlw> <-tioni;<> disappearance <M Doctoi Canliii'. PaU\ thanked linn in lu-. cusp, busi- \>< lashicm. then leinaiked lnquiriniiU. n» U lilt with an aitei thought "'You didn't see Doctor C'aidill last e\ening, did v" l " The ».uint, red-lianed professor <liiick.lv shook Ins iiead. "1 did not," he irplied. "1 lectured last e\einug in Hrookhn. 1 have not .-m. Doctor <Jardifi since \esterda\ noon. He ma\ liav(> gone awa\ for a da* or two. though he did not mention it io me." -'That's good enoujj.li ioi mi-\. thought Pats\. knowing that he could en-ilv lenrn h\ telephone whether or not Sterling had .spent the evening in Brooklyn. • This he did a little later, and ioiind th,,t Sterling had told the tiuth. P:its>'s visit to the vault, in which Kelly '.switched on an eleetiic lij;ht, was'oi hrief duration. The ■j.ruesoine scene it presented was not to Lis liking. In addition to the figures Nick had viewed, the t'looi was covered with blood lost by the detective aftei he had been struck down. "How came tho blood outside. Kelly." Patsy inquired. "I dunno, sir. 'Twas there when 1 cdine in this morning. That's why I looked in the vault." "Nick was l>iny. with hi^ feet toward the door, wasn't hey" "Sure. sir. he was, and without any shoes on." "No shoes, eh: - " Patsy knew at once that Nick had been stealing through the place with some design. "They were put on before he left, woren t thevr" "Yes, sir. I found 'em out near the door." "That's all right, then. "How'd you know he was hmg with his fpft this way!-' They were nearly on the sill." ' , •• , "1 tell by that pool of blood, winch must have come trom the wound in hit head. It is siv feet from tlu« door." "Sure, sir, that's right. J see the point." "Where docs that opposite door leadr" Patsy was gazing with wrinkled brows through the grim, chilling place. "Right into the dissecting-room, sir. , The corridor runs, way around." | "Yes, yes, I see." \et Patsy could by no means see tthat had taken Nick into the vault, nor how he could have seen .he veiled woman there, and been struck c'own by : ;» person behind him. His inspection lasted only a few moments and he then leturued to the corridor. A careful search through the entire basement, however, brought to light no additional evidence of what had occurred there. Patsy visited the laboraton, opposite the dissecting-room, and be\oiid the latter two large eeh'ar.s. In one oi these was a furnace, for uso in moderate weather, also a steam-heating apparatus for the winter months. The latter, he learned, had been put in after it was found that the furnace was mad quate to heat the entire building in cold weather.

AYho-U Patsy returned to the dissoct-mg-roorn he found that the three doctois had gone, also Adolph Vernol, and that onh Professor Sterling lemained. The latter asked a few questions, expressed hi.s mystification over i he extraordinary circumstances, and a hope that Xk k would soon be able to explain matters then abruptly departed. S«eiMg that there was no more to Ik leained then and there, Patsy iiext visited Doctor Cardiff's house to question his wife and daughter.

He found Mrs Cardiff to be a tall, dark woman, finely built and quite attract i\e, despite her forty-odd ,\ears. 'nit w ith a cold and haughty bearing that Patsy far i'roin fancied. The daughter, Belle Cardiff, rovjmbled her mother in appearance, having the same dark hair and eyes; but she was more j-MVcioiLS in her manner and was a strilcwim!\ handsome girl.

Though Patsy approached them politels and v. ith some little diploniacy, neither woman was at all communicative. Both stated, however, that Doctor Cardiil had recently spoken of going away ior a short time, and that they presum»fl that he had done so, despite that he had ojven them no definite information of his intentions. Neither e\ inced any anxiety because of his absence, and only an indifieront interest in the fact that a man had b"cn found injured in the college building. Jt soon became plain to Patsy tlmt he could learn nothing from them in a direei way, and he departed and headed for home, stopping on the i\ay onl.\ to telephone to Brookhn.

ft was early afternoon when he armed ami found Nick in bed, >et i'eeliiU niueh strono;er, and ready to hear !':its\"s report. He said nothing in repaid to it, liowever, but dismissed his |a--sistaiit with a nod of approval. i Xiek wanted time, in fact, to reconsider tlu> entire case. Three da\s pas>-efl. Doctor Ezra Carditt wa.s still m.\steriioiisK mis.sm^. The Oi-Ai'lle Coll'-j,(> oi Anatujny had !.e"ii lempornrilv closed, awntin^ Ins reiuni. or until the mystery of his 'inu-.ua! al)<.ence should be solved.

The thi"c day.s had done wonders for \i(k. th">-' ai.d the rich, strouy, blood "Inch Chick J»ad 'om-roush supplied him. Hanimx a dark mark on the |-idf of his head, which Mas rapidly ' leJdmu to treatment, Nick felt nearly ;>s well as usual, while Chick had cn't\\c\^ recovered irom his part in the operation.

The two \w>ro seated in tho hu->iiK\ss cUkh' that inorninti, in romp.'m with I'jjlsv. wlmmi Kirk signified tli.it he was about 1o net to work a^aiii I),- :thrupth irmarkinjj. : "Well, Ijnu, it looks to int •>- >| it >>■"- up to u^ to mnko u/»>d." "} ou lerrr to C'.irdiK's ("i<.i' jll i|'i'>n< <! Chirk. In.ik ni j. up. "( 'ci t -;iiii\ ." "I liiink >o. too." .\ic-k !ind ,ilrea-d\ told both <>| t li-in v li.'it !i" had sf«-ii ;mk! done on Ihn mull I "l his knock-out. "I told him » hat ] uould Jo. Chick. .Hid nu;\ I'm in .shape n^ain to undpr\>k<> :t." Nick \\rnt on. "Soim'tlun^ 'upponed to him that ni^l'*, and I'm I oipid tn icqiM \i h.it it avis" "if was nlhrr nbduct-^ <»r inur >< \r.\ ' said Chick blunt !\ . Il looks •-«) to nir." ' !su! w here's the bod\, il he was i i, l« i< 'l ' ' put in Pntw "I coudn't mid „n\ 111 1 ;fc ol it, nor am •-i^iis thai -»v [> ;i tiiiiu" had bfcji committed

'II if re were Jin indications "I .1 h^lit.i lor nil \ou heard a >j,un hred. All the blood I 'could find. Nick, was uhh ( n\n. Tl>e?'e VBS |)lcilt\ ()i tlliit." j "It would have hcon dcj'd easy t<> h .M' lu^ed the bodx out and east it l'ltc the Kast Himu." lcplied Nick. ' That'- true enough. I suppose." "I know, 1 ' Nick torcihlv added, "that •Jun J)e\lm and Mrs Cardiff were about thoie that m^hl, and xou h.tve heird how J lost si^lit ol th< 111. I don't sa. v t hey iumc m tint basement, but i1 I'ioks mighty like ii. J know that soincl one signalled with a flash-Ji^lu i'n.juj one of the windows ot the house onlx a shoit time before tho job u'\s deif j 1 know that Doctor Cardiff entered the; basement alone within hall m hoiii of j t lie time I was knocked out 1 know that I saw there the same \ (;!i d wmni'i I had previi v.-.lv encountered, md w!k>,i Mlher with conlederates or h'it<' :uiiiniT-. < lien had de^imi 1 - upnn l)o't,)? Cardiff. Knowing all this, | am now j dele; niinerl to hud out who -he is. a* Ik was in tint basement with he-. wlm ;> ! I istol-shot was tired, and pree-.M !v w'uit | oeeurred." "Ii seems \ei \ vfian^f 1 to imc tint mhi were found 111 that \ .-.ulf " s'nd 1 PatM. "I should thmk hex d l,n -j lett xou I.niii<j, where urn fel! " ( "Tint's of minor consi>mieric(\" l.d! Niel«. "Jt'.s quite possible ili:'t f tillj in theM- aftc>r be my, '•truck, roi I wa^l standinii clo-^e to the open door I iua\ ha\e pitehrd backward, and the do<>: ( max haw closed after J iel! " 1 ''That nuiihl be, I'll adn.it " | "Of oih v tiling I am --ure, \\<o\ mhih j kind ol a job was done thce." Nukj i'linly deelaied. "Whether it was the work of that \eiled womaji and her confederates, oi' whether she was aeti>>j uJ conjunction with Jnn l)(>\lii! and Mis: Cardiff, or with tho person who si'-.-, nailed f torn the chamber v union and' the chap 1 .saw on the street. 01 whe- 1 ther the whole lot o» them were en- j <j,aji;ed in a conspiracy ajzaiii'-t J)octoi Cardirf, to kill her or abduct him — those are problem.-, I am now rieter mined to .solve." "I'm with you." vr hU\\ Click, appro; in<i,ly. "(«et ready, then, and ''ome i\ith me." cried Nick, rising. "\\e'll call 011 those two Cardiff women. 1 11 .hud out what thc>'\e Ijeen up to. 01 I'M know the reason whx . If we i.nl theie we'll ji,et on th(> track of .Tim I)e\l'h and drive him to the wall." "That's the way to talk. Ni<k " "On our way up-tow n J wi-'n \n and pay Vernol for what he did." Niels added, turning to his desk. "I wondei that he hasn't called here. I>ei me se< —ah, yes. here's his address, iloom 37 The Kenneth, Third Avenue." "I know the place.' 1 said Cluck. "You remain here, Patsy, in cisc 1 wish to call a ou by telcjdi >v"." "All rightsir." ' (To be cont inued. )