He left the house by the rear door, passing around the stable and down the river bank. All that remained at the boathouse and its contents was a heap of charred, black ruins. The ground near by was covered with footprints of many persons who had visited the tragic scene, but none of them were of material significance.
Nick wanted only to view the surroundings, however, and he saw with a glance that the spot was so shut in by the hill in the rear and the trees on either side, that knaves selecting it for the murder of Darling, if such was his fate, would have incurred only chance observation by persons on the river, against which effective precautions could easily have been taken.
Scarce ten minutes had passed when Nick returned and rejoined Mrs. Darling in the library. He then obtained from her a description of Floyd and Sheldon, the only two persons then seeming to invite suspicion, and he also asked to see a photograph of her husband.
“I know of only one in existence, Mr. Carter,” she replied. “That was taken the year after our marriage. It is still a very good likeness of him. It is in our album. I will get it for you.”
She brought the volume and opened it on the library table—only to search it vainly.
The photograph of Mr. Cyrus Darling had disappeared.
CHAPTER III.
POINTERS TO CRIME.
Nick Carter made no comments upon the disappearance of the photograph, or, at least, none that expressed his thoughts. Mrs. Darling could not say how long it had been gone from the album, nor could she conceive of any reason for its removal.
“He may have led a much more gay and festive life than she suspected,” thought Nick, upon leaving the house after giving her a few additional instructions. “He may also have been a thousand times more sly than she imagined. Another woman now has the photograph, perhaps, the gift of a recreant husband, who thought it easier to give her that than to sit for a new one. It would be worth while to know the woman’s name, in that case—and also to know what has become of Danny Maloney.”
Nick’s mental digression occurred while he emerged from the driveway gate and found that his chauffeur was nowhere to be seen. The touring car stood at the curbing, but there was no sign of Danny.