A Broken Bond; Or, The Man Without MoralsCarter, Nicholas (House name)
General
A Broken Bond; Or, The Man Without Morals
Carter, Nicholas (House name)
Detective and mystery stories; Dime novels; Popular literature
“Don’t worry about that, Crawford. I’ll look out for your friend. He
may have spent the night at Follansbee’s house. At any rate, the doctor
is a marked man, and if Stone has gone anywhere with his companion, it
ought to be a comparatively easy matter to trace them. You can’t stay
here, though, while I’m doing it.”
“Why not?”
“For various reasons. If you did so, and Stone came back, it would be
hard to act as if nothing had happened, and he would be watching you
with lynx eyes, waiting to see the effect of the injection. I haven’t
had time yet to analyze the original contents of the syringe, so that
I can’t say just how the stuff is supposed to act. In order to be on
the safe side, though, you’ll have to leave the Windermere for the time
being. If you’re out of their sight, they will not be able to keep tabs
on your condition, and we can easily enough make them believe that the
disease which they suppose has been introduced into your system is
following its normal course.”
“But won’t Jimmy think it strange if I disappear after I’ve stuck to
him so long—stuck to him against his will?”
“You can leave word for him. Write him a note and make some excuse that
will sound plausible.”
“Yes, I could do that,” the miner agreed. “Where do you want me to go?”
“I haven’t thought of any particular place as yet. That will
come later, but it is necessary that you should go away at once.
Furthermore, I want the people here in the hotel to see you and me go
out together.”
Crawford soon became convinced that something of the sort was
desirable. He was very reluctant to leave the hotel before learning
anything definite concerning Stone’s whereabouts, but there seemed no
help for it, and Nick promised to let him know at frequent intervals
whenever anything new came up. By half-past nine o’clock Crawford and
the detective—the latter once more in the guise of Thomas Mortimer—were
eating their breakfast in the dining room. Making a pretense of eating,
however, would be the better way of describing the half-hearted way in
which the man from South America toyed with his food.
Before ten o’clock they had both left the Windermere without giving any
one a hint as to their destination. So far as the detective knew, he
was the only one on the case; therefore it did not occur to him to keep
Chick advised of his comings and goings.
Crawford took with him nothing in the way of baggage; therefore they
were obliged to purchase a suit case and enough clothing for a few
days. That done, they boarded a train at the Grand Central Terminal,
and about half an hour later alighted in one of the northern suburbs
within sight of Long Island Sound.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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