“Brand Jamieson,” supplied Chick. “He had been a deck hand on a tramp steamer in the China trade, and found out too much about the tong. But Mr. Anderton? How did they get at him? He never goes out without somebody with him, and he has enough people in his house to keep strangers away from him.”
“All that is true enough, Chick,” returned Carter. “But the men in the Yellow Tong are not ordinary rascals. They have some of the brightest minds in the world among them. You know something about the Chinese, Chick. You have been with me on more than one case among those people. They are not fools, whatever else may be said against some of them.”
“Fools?” ejaculated Chick. “I should say not! I’d back a chink—especially an educated one—against any other citizen on this round earth, when it comes to plain, natural smartness—and cussedness.”
“Here it is,” broke in Nick Carter, running his finger down the close typewriting on the page he had picked out in the large volume. “‘Yellow Tong. Death method—crossed needles. Poisoned. Poison a secret mineral, brought from the country bordering on the Yellow Sea. Very deadly. Object of tong—to establish gigantic criminal and political organization in United States, which may eventually even terrorize American government.’”
“Gee!” broke in another voice. “That’s great hokum.[Pg 9] As if chinks had any show to pull off such a scheme as that.”
“Never mind, Patsy!” said Nick. “We won’t question whether they can do it. We’ll only take care they don’t.”
It was Patsy Garvan, Nick Carter’s second assistant, whom he addressed. Patsy had been in the room all the time, but he had been busy at his particular desk, and the detective had not disturbed him. The young man was entirely in the confidence of his chief, however, and Nick was quite ready to answer any questions he might put.
“Andrew Anderton killed,” murmured Chick. “It seems impossible. Why, it was only two days ago that I went up there to see him about this Yellow Tong, and he laughed at the bare idea that he was in danger from the organization.”
“Anderton was a brave man,” commented Nick Carter.
“Three parts grit, and the rest of him nerve,” added Patsy.