Out of Death's Shadow; Or, A Case Without a PrecedentCarter, Nicholas (House name)
General
Out of Death's Shadow; Or, A Case Without a Precedent
Carter, Nicholas (House name)
Detective and mystery stories; Dime novels; Popular literature
"The voices ceased, and, though I waited some five minutes, nothing
more was said. Then I stole softly away, and, reentering the office,
telephoned the police officials that I had a couple of tramps for
the boys. Fifteen minutes later the patrol-wagon arrived with three
policemen. I piloted them to the roundhouse, but the two men were gone."
"Did you tell the officers what you had heard while listening at the
roundhouse door?"
"No. I should, perhaps, have done so had I not been called to the
office by a stranger, who desired to know at what hour in the morning
the first passenger-train started."
"Had you ever seen him before?"
"Now that I think of it, his voice was the same as that of the
foreigner of the roundhouse. I must be thick-headed, for the fact
did not strike me at the time. There is little more to tell. The
patrol-wagon went off while I was talking to the stranger, and I
thought no more of the matter until next morning, when I heard of
the murder. Then I put two and two together and formed a certain
conclusion."
"Describe this foreigner!"
"He was tall, dark-featured, and wore a heavy, black beard."
"Have you no idea as to his nationality?"
"I can't be positive on the point, but am inclined to think he is a
Russian. He looked like one, all right."
A Russian! Nick recalled his experiences with the Russian thugs of San
Francisco, and wondered if by any possibility this man of whom Hayman
had spoken could have been one of the number. Dorrant, the leader, was
dead, and so were Sergius and Nicholas Wykoff. There remained only
Dimitri Goloff, whose connection with the band had been slight, and who
had evinced a desire to lead an honest life. Had he suffered a relapse?
Hayman's description fitted him as far as externals went. But did he
not possess some peculiarly distinguishing characteristic? Yes, he
did--in his voice. "Hayman," said Nick quickly, "what kind of a voice
did this foreigner have? Was it light, or heavy; harsh, or clear?"
"It was heavy and harsh, like a fog-horn."
Goloff it was, then. Nick felt his pulse quicken. How lucky it was that
he had overheard Hayman's remark at the inquisitorial hearing! "Yes,"
he said, in answer to the question that looked out of the railway man's
eyes, "I know the man, and now if only you could give me a description
of the other man it would make my work much easier. But, of course, you
can't, so I will have to go ahead on the presumption that he is the man
I most desire to meet."
Hayman smiled reassuringly. "I think I can help you out, Nick. True, I
did not see the cuss, but another man did."
Nick's face brightened instantly.
"The next morning," said the railway man, "I asked Harrington, the
wiper, who had laid off the fore part of the night, on account of not
feeling well, if he had seen, before he went home, any persons hanging
about the shops of the yard.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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