the fires were now burning brightly in the great detective’s eyes.
“i’m of the opinion that this note isn’t more than a few hours old,” he said, tapping the paper signed by stone. “the ink is still fresh, and, besides, there’s the date—the twenty-fifth.”
“what of that?” demanded the cashier. “the check is also dated to-day.”
“but it wasn’t made out to-day.”
“still, i don’t see what you’re driving at. the check may have been dated ahead, and when the time approached for presenting it, follansbee might have asked for the note to present along with it.”
“doubtless that’s what happened, but what i’m getting at is this:
“this note purports to have been written at the hotel windermere on the twenty-fifth—to-day. i happen to know, however, that stone hasn’t been at the hotel since about three o’clock this morning, and i’m pretty well aware of the manner in which he was occupied while he was there. it isn’t likely that he wrote this note between midnight and three o’clock, and even if he did do so, it isn’t probable that he would have dated it to-day. under such circumstances a man would jot down the date of the day before, nine times out of ten.”
“then you think that the note was written after he left the hotel?”
“i do, and i believe that the paper was thoughtfully given to him for the purpose, after having previously been removed from the hotel. that in itself is suspicious. it suggests a plot, and it, together with the character of the writing, hints that the note was written under pressure, or that stone was not himself when he scribbled it. you can see the difference between the note, signature and all, and the signature on the check. the latter is big and bold and careless, but the note, although obviously written in the same hand, is tremulous and betrays agitation.”
expert as he was, carter was a little astray there. he was not in a position to know that the agitation revealed had been due not to any threats of follansbee’s, but to the fact that stone had been sane once more when he wrote it, and was suffering from the effects of his recent alarm and remorse.
as for his reasoning concerning the date on the note, it was sound enough in general, but the fact was the note had been written at follansbee’s, and that one of the doctor’s servants, before retiring for the night, had torn off the sheet on the top of the pad calendar on the desk. that bearing the date of the[168] twenty-fourth, had consequently gone into the waste basket, and the following date had been revealed in anticipation of the next day. stone had glanced at this, and mechanically copied it.
“then you think that this check and note were written under undue influence?” queried the cashier.
nick nodded emphatically.
“there isn’t the slightest doubt about it,” he answered. “as a matter of fact, stone has been suffering for months from some obscure mental trouble, and that is what took him to doctor follansbee.”
“is it possible!” whispered the bank official. “that’s very unfortunate. we couldn’t be expected to know that, though; and, after all, i hardly see what other course we could have followed.”
“oh, that’s all right,” nick assured him. “the bank can’t be blamed. it was an unusual proceeding, but you had ample justification for honoring the check, and you did what you could to get hold of stone or his partner before doing so.”
a relieved look spread over the cashier’s face.
“i’m glad to hear you say that, mr. carter,” he declared gravely. “both the president and vice president are out of town, and this thing is up to me. as a matter of fact, it seems to me that mr. stone oughtn’t to have been allowed to handle so much money if he’s in the state you say he is. we’re not alienists, and we would never have expected such a thing. besides, the check would not have been honored had it not been made out to a man of such prominence who personally vouched for the proceeding, as he did over the telephone.”
“i understand,” nick said consolingly. “don’t worry about your end of it. i think i can promise you that there won’t be any comeback. it’s up to me, though, to repair the damage, if i can. i had come to fear something of this sort in the last few hours, but follansbee has stolen a march on me. i don’t think his methods do any very great credit to his undoubted shrewdness, though, and the evidence you have to offer ought to be enough to make it hot for him.”
he left a few minutes later, after promising to keep the bank informed of developments.
“follansbee has made the haul of his life,” nick thought, as he paced along the busy street on his way back to the hotel; “and evidently crawford wasn’t his only victim.”
when he reached the windermere, his first act was to inquire if stone had returned or if anything had been heard from him.
“nothing doing,” was the clerk’s answer. “we’re somewhat alarmed, mr. mortimer. we don’t see how he could have left his room without the knowledge of the floor clerk.”
nick looked about and saw there was no one else within earshot. he leaned confidentially over the desk.
“i know how he left the building,” he told the clerk; “and although i don’t feel at liberty to tell you the whole story, i’ll say this much: i’m nicholas carter, not thomas mortimer, and i have been keeping an eye on stone and crawford—for their good.”
“you don’t mean it!” cried the clerk, eying nick’s make-up inquiringly. “i hope they haven’t done anything——”
“nothing of that sort,” nick assured him quickly. “it’s a long story, and the time hasn’t come to tell it. just keep it dark, therefore. i revealed my identity to your house detective last night, but i don’t want it to be generally known that i’ve been here in disguise.”
“trust me, mr. carter; i understand. is mr. crawford really ill, though?”
nick gave a slow wink. “no, he isn’t,” he admitted. “i put that one over on you for reasons of my own, and i want you to pass the story on to any one who inquires after him. he won’t be back for a few days, but you’re to hold his room for him. i’ll be responsible.”
“and mr. stone?”
“i think i know where to find him, and i’m going to trace him without delay. something may have happened to him, but nothing very serious, i’m sure. i’m going to give up my room now, since there doesn’t seem to be anything else i can do here. by the way, i have reason to believe that the young man who phoned for me and called here later is one of my assistants. if he asks for me again after i leave, try to find out his identity without letting the cat out of the bag, and if he satisfies you, tell him i’ve gone home.”
it was after two o’clock when nick arrived at the house uptown, where he inquired first for chick and then for patsy garvan. his housekeeper informed him that chick was in providence, and that patsy had seemed very anxious to reach his fellow assistant or his chief that morning.
“you don’t know why?”
“no, sir, i don’t; but i think it is something important. he’s been out every night lately, and goodness knows what time he’s been coming in. he slept until half past eleven this morning, and that’s why he missed mr. chick.”
“did he say where he was going?”
“no, sir.”
it was plain that patsy had stumbled over something important and was badly in need of advice, but it did not occur to the detective that it could have anything to do with follansbee or stone. he had given out no assignment of that sort. he found several matters which demanded his attention, and spent some time at his headquarters. he was impatient for the next move, but delayed a little in the hope that patsy would put in an appearance. at length, however, having heard nothing from his young assistant, he determined on a bold step—nothing less than to seek out doctor follansbee and confront the cunning rogue with the evidence he had gathered.
“it’s doubtful if i will be able to bring him to terms,” he told himself, “for i doubt if he has a nerve in his body. it’s worth trying, though. if he realizes that i’ve taken up the case, it will make him move more cautiously than he otherwise would. besides, i must find out, if possible, what has happened to stone. poor crawford will be on pins and needles until i can send him some definite word; and let’s hope the news won’t be too bad. follansbee certainly means no good to stone. he has annexed practically the whole of the fortune, and that implies some scheme to get rid of his victim. i’d be afraid that the worst had happened if i did not feel sure that follansbee isn’t the man to make use of any ordinary means of gaining his ends.”
the detective hunted up doctor follansbee’s private address in the telephone book and began hasty preparations for departure. he had already removed his disguise, and did not consider another. he meant to go openly in one of his cars and to see if he could scare the head of st. swithin’s into returning the money and dropping all of his schemes against the partners.
it was shortly after four o’clock when his machine stopped in front of the doctor’s house and he strode up the steps. he was more than half prepared to find that follansbee was out, although he had called up the hospital and learned that the doctor was not there. on the contrary, however, the servant informed him that her employer was at home.
nick thought best not to give his name, and was ushered into the reception room as if he had been an ordinary patient without an appointment. but follansbee happened to be at liberty, and in a few moments the servant invited him into the office adjoining the reception room.
it was a dark day, and the electric lights were on in the office. nick stepped quietly into the room, and the light fell full upon his face. follansbee did not look up at first, but when he became conscious that his visitor was standing just inside the door, he turned round to motion him to a seat. as he caught sight of the detective, he gave a visible start, and the hand on the desk closed convulsively.
his cool self-command had deserted him for the moment when he found himself face to face with the man who had once thwarted him and threatened to crush him if he ever broke his parole.
