It consists of a solid gag, so to speak, yet it is so constructed, with interior springs, that, once thrust into a person's mouth, it expands as fast as the mouth is opened, and rigidly distends the victim's jaws. The more widely the victim gapes to eject the "choke pear," or to cry out for aid, the larger the hideous object becomes, until torture, suffocation and death speedily ensue. Had this infernal device been generally available to modern criminals, Nick would have been warned by the significant words he had heard, and would have guarded himself against it. As it was, however, he had been caught; and in the mouth of any ordinary man the "choke pear" would have been irresistible. But the muscles of Nick Carter's jaws were like fibers of steel, and the instant he realized his situation he opened his mouth no wider. Instead, while hands and arms were still engaged in the furious conflict with his assailants, he brought his jaws together as if with superhuman power, and with a force that crushed the infernal device between them, much as if it had been little more than an eggshell. One of the ruffians heard the snapping crunch, and uttered a cry of amazement. The cry was echoed by hurried footsteps in the house. Then a rear door was suddenly thrown open by Rufus Venner, and a flood of light revealed the struggling men, still battling furiously on the pavement. Nick now had both opponents down, and within another minute he would have had them at his mercy, a fact which Venner instantly perceived. He sprang nearer, drew his revolver, and dealt the detective a single swinging blow upon the head. Nick dropped like an ox struck down in the shambles. The darkness of night was as nothing to the darkness that instantly fell upon him. CHAPTER VII A STRATEGIC MOVE. Nick Carter had a head that was used to hard knocks, and it required more than one to put him down and out for any considerable period. The great detective recovered consciousness within half an hour after the blow received from Rufus Venner, and he fell to taking the measure of his situation the moment the cobwebs began to clear from his brain. He found himself bound hand and foot with ropes, and lying upon the floor of a dark room. That he was in the dwelling occupied by the Spanish dancer, Nick had not a doubt. As his mind became clearer and his eyes accustomed to the darkness, Nick discovered a narrow thread of light some yards away and close to the floor, and presently the sound of lowered voices faintly reached his ears. "A light in the next room," he said to himself. "Probably the whole gang is out there, sizing up my case, and deciding what to do with me. If they are there, I must get a better look at those two ruffians. I owe them something for their work of to-night, and I always mean to pay such debts.