Nick entered the enclosure, and passed through the passage leading to the chief’s, private office. He did not so much as glance at the clerk, however, whose head had again dropped over his books. Snap! The catch-lock announced that the door of the private office had securely closed. Now Mr. Sandy Hyde dropped his pen, and came down from his stool. For a moment he peered sharply through the brass lattice along the top of the desks, toward the two open doors leading into the adjoining corridors. Next he darted out of the enclosure, and quickly closed both of these doors. No cat’s eyes aglow from a dark corner ever burned more greenishly bright and intense than those of this watchful miscreant at that moment. It was for him a moment of peril, and well he knew it; yet, in the event of an intruder into the outer office, he relied upon hearing one of the closed doors opened in time to evade detection. With both closed, he next hurried back into the enclosure, from outside of which the interior of the narrow passage could only partly be seen. Into this passage Hyde quickly entered, with the stealthy quietude of a shadow, and stood listening at the chief’s door, his ear touching the panel, his eyes still bright with a satanic glow evincing his evil impulse. His several precautions had required but a very few seconds, moreover, and he lost hardly a word of Nick Carter’s brief interview with Chief Weston, who was about repeating his question just as the eavesdropper arrived at the door. “You’ve not struck a clue from that photograph, Nick, have you?” Nick was never much inclined to reveal his discoveries before they culminated in some decisive move, and he again evaded the question by saying: “Well, I’m not quite sure about that, Weston.” “What do you suspect?” “Nothing at all definite as yet,” laughed Nick indifferently. “I wish to retain the photograph a while longer, however, if you have no objection.” “None whatever, Nick, yet you pique my curiosity.” “I will explain later.” “Very well.” “I presume that Madame Victoria could easily show me the exact spot where this hold-up occurred,” remarked Nick, who had remained standing beside the chiefs desk. “I imagine so, Nick.” “I’m going to have her take me out there.” “For what purpose?” “I want to see what sort of a place these crooks usually select for their rascally work.” “I should say that you already had seen that,” laughed Weston, who had been informed of Nick’s encounter with them. Nick shrugged his broad shoulders, smiling meaningly, and said: “I wish to see how the two localities correspond. As for my lost property, Weston, I’ll make an even bet that I recover it sooner or later.” The last was said a bit resentfully, and with a significance that brought a quick change over Weston’s face. “You’ve got wise to something, Nick!” he abruptly exclaimed. Nick laughed again. “What is it?” “I’d rather inform you a little later, Weston.”