"Sit still, all of you," Nick calmly commanded. "I will shoot the first man who shows fight or makes a move in that direction." Only one man did so--Goulard. A vision of the electric chair must have leaped up in his mind. For his face turned as gray as ashes, and he appeared to choose the quicker fate. He whipped out a revolver, clapped the muzzle against his ribs, and fired. The thundering report fairly shook the house. Goulard pitched face forward on the floor, shot through the heart. It was the last step of a downward career, the last act of a man gone hopelessly to the bad. The arrest of the others was easily accomplished, with nothing more sensational than imprecations and curses. Nine o’clock that evening saw all that remained of the gang securely lodged in the Tombs. The same hour saw Helen Mantell restored to her husband’s arms, and the cloud of fear that had hung over the Mantell mansion was dispelled forever. Though uninjured by the experience she had suffered, Helen could only state that, after riding away with the man she had supposed to be her father-in-law, he had almost immediately seized her and plunged a needle into her neck, evidently impregnated with some powerful and quick-acting drug. She knew no more until she revived in the old Corson place, scarce a half hour before Nick Carter’s arrival. The gratitude of the Mantells, as well as their reward to the detectives for their splendid work, were all that the Carters could ask, and Patsy made sure that Frank Steel got his for the services rendered. The crooks suffered the extreme penalty for their crime, including Nick’s partner in knavery--but the detective made sure that the Buckley plunder was restored to its owner. It was found in the secret cellar under the Corson stable--with the hidden fruits of several previous robberies. "Taken as a whole," Nick Carter remarked that evening; "it was the round-up and wind-up of a very bad gang." THE END. "The Mystery of the Crossed Needles; or, Nick Carter and the Yellow Tong," will be the title of the long, complete story which you will find in the next issue, No. 151, of the NICK CARTER STORIES, out July 31st. In this interesting narrative the famous detective matches wits with a clever Chinese crook, and throughout the story there is a constant mental battle between the man of the Orient and the man of the Occident. Then, too, you will also find the usual installment of the serial now running, together with several interesting articles. Sheridan of the U. S. Mail. By RALPH BOSTON. (This interesting story was commenced in No. 148 of NICK CARTER STORIES. Back numbers can always be obtained from your news dealer or the publishers.) CHAPTER XIII. ONE LITTLE SLIP.