“Listen, then, and don’t butt in,” continued the woman. “It’s about a piece of live stock that you must have missed by this time. I’ve got the lamb, and she’s all right. Whether she’ll come home all right, wagging her tail behind her, depends on yourself. You’ll get a letter to-morrow morning stating the conditions. It will be mailed to your business office--and it will mean business, too; you can bet on that.” “Tell me----” “You keep quiet,” snapped the woman. “I’ll do all the telling that’s necessary. You do the listening.” “Go on.” “The letter you will receive to-morrow morning will explain all. In the meantime the lost lamb will not be harmed, and you must not take steps to find her. If you do, mind you, we will surely fleece her instead of you. Don’t publish the facts. Don’t inform the police. Don’t kick up a stir of any kind. Do you get me?” “Yes,” Nick repeated simply. “Mark this, too; don’t you employ Nick Carter in this affair, as you have in others, or it will be all over but the shouting--and the burial. We’ll return her to you in a wooden raincoat. That goes, mind you, and that’s all for the present. Beware of any deviations from these instructions. Wait for your letter to-morrow morning.” Nick heard the quick click of the hook on the distant telephone when the threatening speaker hung up the receiver, and he knew that any attempt to prolong the interview would be utterly futile. He replaced the telephone on the library table, then turned and told his companions all that he had heard. The pale, anxious face of the noted money king became a little brighter while he listened. He found a grain of comfort and encouragement in knowing, at least, that his missing child was in no immediate danger. “You were right, Nick,” he declared. “The scoundrels have hastened to communicate with me.” “I felt sure of that, Mr. Madden.” “But I have made one terrible mistake.” “What is that?” “In putting you on the case. If that woman’s threat----” “That will not be executed,” Nick interrupted, resuming his seat. “The rascals must know that you may have notified the police by this time, or even have appealed to me. That threat was only a bluff. Take it from me, Mr. Madden, they will not harm the child at present, do what you will. They have not abducted her for that purpose.” “That’s a good safe gamble,” supplemented Patsy. “They are out for the coin, Mr. Madden, and nothing else. There may be a second woman in the case, chief, or Margaret Hanson, so called, did not recognize you. If she had, they already would know you are on the case.” “There is a second woman,” Nick replied. “Furthermore, Patsy, she is some crook with whom I am acquainted.” “You recognized her voice?” “Positively! But I cannot tell whose voice. I am absolutely sure, nevertheless, that I have heard it before.” “Not Margaret Hanson’s voice?” “No.” “Some other woman, then, may have got away with the child. It may have been her voice.”