A Broken Bond; Or, The Man Without Morals

“I’m of the opinion that this note isn’t more than a few hours old,” he said, tapping the paper signed by Stone. “The ink is still fresh, and, besides, there’s the date—the twen...

“Yes, my friend, I intend to earn my fee,” the cold voice declared to the empty room. “The only difference is that the fee is somewhat larger than I’ve given you reason to belie...

The South American liner had just passed Sandy Hook, bound inward, and was making its stately way toward New York harbor. It was late in the evening, and in a couple of deck cha...

Crawford had been trudging along with head bent, as if brooding over the loss of his faithful animal and the mystery of that unexpected shot, but when he looked up at length and...

“I wouldn’t use quite such a harsh word,” was the reply. “But I’ve been watching you for some time, and I’m certain that your mind is slightly affected. This grouch of yours aga...

“I didn’t give him credit for so much cunning,” he thought. “But hanged if I see why he should have felt it necessary to skulk away in that fashion. It can’t be possible that he...

Winthrop Crawford had raised himself in bed, and, leaning on one arm, was staring wonderingly at the figure of the detective seated in a chair close to the head of the bed.

One of the little physician’s hands shot out and caught at the ink bottle which the detective was about to pocket, and as they reeled across the room together, the rascal lowere...

James Stone looked as if the ground had suddenly caved from under his feet. His big body stiffened, his hands clutched his hat, and his startled eyes were riveted on Follansbee’...

Behind a big rock which looked down over the wide, straggling road that ran upward through the mountains crouched a long, lean figure. Snuggled against his right shoulder was a...

In his eagerness to reach the detective’s headquarters, Patsy drove the runabout rather recklessly at a time when the streets were full of traffic. As a result, his machine was...

Nick did not wait to see whether his order met with obedience or not. The words were still on his lips when he leaped to his feet and flung himself across the intervening space,...

They had failed to build up a case that would amount to anything if brought to trial. To be sure, they could have brought charges against the head of St. Swithin’s, and placed h...

It was little after eleven o’clock in the morning when a broad-shouldered man turned into Amsterdam Avenue and began to move slowly along the pavement, glancing now and then at...

Patsy Garvan had reason to congratulate himself on the outcome of his night’s vigil, but it is to be feared that he did not follow it up in the best way. It was nearly half past...

He was prepared to interfere at once, whatever the cost, if he should feel Stone was in any immediate peril; but he was curious to hear and see all he could. Suddenly a thin voi...

Darkness had descended when Patsy sprang up the steps of Nick Carter’s house. He eagerly inquired for his chief, and learned, to his delight, that he had returned and was in his...

“It was no fault of Follansbee that you did not carry out the vile scheme his cunning brain had devised,” Nick went on. “I was fortunately able to thwart him and to thwart your...

“I do,” the deep voice replied. “He tried to shoot me from ambush a week or so before we left Brazil, and just prior to our arrival at Kingston he made another attempt. He was n...

The clerk saw him enter the lobby and called him to the desk. He was informed of the telephone message and of Patsy’s call at the hotel. He realized, of course, that one of his...

“Now, then, my boy,” the detective went on, pointing to the telephone on his desk, “you’ll oblige me by calling up Miss Worth and telling her that your friend has agreed to plac...

“It beats me,” Crawford declared, glancing down at the bar, where the broad-shouldered figure of his old comrade was standing. “Jimmy and I have been chums for years. We’ve work...

Doctor Stephen Follansbee walked along at a slow pace, but his movements were not characteristic. His hands were not folded behind him, and his head was erect, as if he were pee...

Nick Carter moved with the quickness of a cat. In a twinkling he had jerked the ear piece away and slipped it into his pocket. While doing so, he had straightened up noiselessly...

“The chief isn’t in just now, Mr. Crawford,” he said, “but I don’t think he’ll be gone very long. Is there anything I can do for you? I’m his assistant.”

The two skulkers soon disappeared, having drawn too close to the nearer wall for Nick Carter to see them. He put his ear close to the opening, however, and listened.

He thrust the needle beneath the skin of his arm and pressed the plunger almost home; then, as he withdrew the syringe, a tiny drop of clear liquid appeared on the end of the ne...

“Great guns!” he ejaculated, rising up again and planting his hands on his knees. “Is it possible that you think the fellow is capable of trying to kill Jimmy, too?”

The detective’s scheme was simplicity itself, and it promised success. He had merely instructed Stickney to have Stone’s bell rung at the appointed time, and to keep it ringing...

Once more Nick Carter eased himself out of his window. It was getting to be a habit with him. His long legs bridged the gap as before, but this time his errand was, if possible,...

The words were spoken aloud in a thick, jerky voice, and it seemed to be all that Stone could do to keep his clutching hands from his senseless partner’s throat. Doubtless he re...

More than an hour and a half remained before half past two. There seemed to be plenty of time, therefore; but he could not be sure that Stone would take Follansbee’s advice and...

There was a moment’s silence, then Follansbee’s voice came again. “Above all, however,” he said, “remember that you must not be in a hurry. Do everything deliberately and don’t...

Winthrop Crawford was not satisfied, however. His anxiety was centered about the welfare of his old friend, and he could not lose sight of Stone’s continued absence from the Win...

There is always a certain element of luck in one’s experiences, and chance ordained it that Patsy Garvan should arrive in front of St. Swithin’s Hospital at just the right momen...

“That fiend is slowly killing him!” It was Sunday evening, just after eight o’clock, and the little ward in which Nick Carter found himself was deserted save for its two inmates...

The head of St. Swithin’s Hospital studied Stone for some moments without showing the slightest sign of emotion as a result of the astounding proposition which had just been mad...

“Neither did I,” his assistant answered. “Don’t forget, though, that that young doctor down in South America insisted that Stone should consult a specialist upon reaching New Yo...

James Stone’s questions, both uttered and unexpressed, were not to be answered just then. A sudden swerve of the car made Follansbee look out of the window. The machine had turn...

At seven o’clock on the evening of the twenty-fourth the dining room of the Hotel Windermere presented a scene of animation. The big hotel was fairly well filled, and most of it...

Follansbee looked at him with half-closed eyes and tapped on the desk with his long fingers. “This is an unexpected pleasure, Mr. Carter,” he said, in his high, thin voice. “Of...

He felt sure now that Follansbee would do all he wished, despite the fact that he had been able to pin him down. He assumed that that was merely the doctor’s caution and clevern...

With a shrug of his shoulders, and a return of the old troubled look on his face, Crawford turned away and went on to his own room to dress for dinner.

The head of St. Swithin’s had adroitly pulled the wool over James Stone’s eyes, and kept the half-crazed miner from knowing just what to expect; but nevertheless the specialist’...

Chick made his way dizzily across the room and turned the key in the lock. He knew the meaning of the move. The noise of the struggle might have been heard, and if so, the room...

Stone dropped back on the soft cushions of the car and passed his hands across his eyes. It had been a hasty and disordered flight that had followed his act, and had carried him...