“The police——”
“Could not possibly accomplish more than we,” Nick interrupted. “Immediate publicity, too, might result in a disadvantage. You must leave the case entirely to me and wait patiently until morning. We will return at an early hour to continue our work.[Pg 12]”
“I shall remain here with uncle to-night, Arthur,” said Wilhelmina, turning to her lover.
“That will be wise, Mina, I think,” Gordon readily agreed. “But I will return to see you in the morning, Nick.”
“Very good,” nodded the detective. “You may expect us about seven o’clock.”
CHAPTER III.
THE FACE OF A CROOK.
“There are only six hundred Stradivarius violins known to be in existence. Their value varies from three to ten thousand dollars, but in a few cases these figures are greatly exceeded. Two are said to be worth no less than fifty thousand dollars each. One is the famous Emperor Stradivarius. It is two hundred years old, and the only one comparable with it is that left by Paganini to the city of Genoa. A sum running into five figures sterling was offered for it.”
“Gee! That sure is some fiddle, chief,” declared Patsy Garvan sententiously.
Nick Carter was having an early breakfast with Chick and his junior assistant before returning to the Strickland apartment on the morning following the robbery. They had nearly finished, when Nick, after a general discussion of the crime, made the foregoing comments concerning that rare make of violin that had been stolen from the elderly German.
“Some fiddle, Patsy, is right,” Chick agreed, laughing over his coffee.