Then he crouched quickly back of the car with which he had come in contact. The sliding door had suddenly opened, and the light from the wall lamp outside shot into the extension cellar. The instant Nick’s eyes fell upon the row of automobiles, he guessed the whole truth concerning the place. His interest, however, chiefly centered in two men who were hurriedly rushing a third into the place, closely followed by two women, while Badger was hastening to light a lantern. “Good Heaven!” mentally exclaimed Nick. “Their captive is Patsy!” He watched and waited, deducing more and more from the little he heard, and all the while his stern white features, still swathed with bandages, grew hard as flint. Patsy felt the rope tighten about his neck. Then sounded the revolver-shot from outside. Next a dark form bounded out from back of the touring-car—bounded out with the leap of an angry lion. Two clenched hands rose and fell, and two men dragging upon a rope cast over a beam were sent senseless to the earth, quivering in every muscle, as an ox quivers when felled in the shambles. Then two hands closed around Amos Badger’s throat, and in the miscreant’s ears rang a voice and words that took all the strength and manhood, if any of the latter was there, completely out of him. “It will be you, Badger, not I!” “Whoop la!” shrieked Patsy. “It’s Nick himself!” Two women, frightened for their miserable lives, turned and ran toward the open door—only to rush into the ready arms of Chick Carter. Chick had arrived at the edge of the woods only a short time before, and had seen Patsy brought out of the house and into the basement of the garage. Hastening to cross the lawn and lend a hand, as he had promised, Chick had encountered the bloodhound, killing him with a single well-directed shot, and then had rushed on and into the garage, just in time to head off Vic Clayton and Claudia Badger when they turned to flee. The rest may be briefly told, for a more complete and successful round-up could hardly be imagined. In less than ten minutes the entire gang were in irons, and thirty minutes later they were taking a ride in the local patrol-wagon, instead of a Packard car. The exposure of their rascally scheme also was complete when the case came to trial, a little later, for Nick Carter found in and about the house and stable ample evidence to prove that his deductions had from the very first been entirely correct. Fortunately, too, he found letters and clues enabling him to trace much of the stolen property upon which Badger had realized thousands of dollars, and which ultimately was restored to its rightful owners. In Badger’s safe Nick found his own watch and chain, but the money of which he had been robbed was missing. He had in his success with the case, however, a reward that far more than offset his trivial loss.