He went away, giving the assurance that he would return in the afternoon, and, after telling Chick to come home as soon as he had returned the boat to the man from whom it had been hired, Joe Travers, he hustled downtown as fast as a subway express could take him.
After breakfast and a change of clothing, Nick Carter’s first action was to look in his safe to make sure that the jewel watch was safe.
He took it out and looked at it. When he had examined it for a few moments, he saw that there was a spring, evidently intended to be secret, hidden beneath the catch that opened the outer case.
“I should like to know what that spring controls,” he muttered, as he looked at the watch under a strong light on his large library table. “But it is not my secret. If it has any bearing on the attack of Solado and Miguel upon Marcos, or if it was the principal inducement to Miguel to steal the article, I may learn something about it later. At all events, if there is anything more to interfere with the departure of Marcos from New York, I will keep this secret spring in mind.”
The detective was accustomed to take clews wherever he found them, and it was his experience that trifles like this spring in the valuable watch often led to discoveries very much worth while.
He was still musing over the watch when his telephone bell rang.
Something seemed to tell him that there was a communication of importance trembling on the wire, and he responded with a sharp “Hello!”
“This is Claudia,” was the response. “That you, Mr. Carter?”
“Yes. What is it, Miss Solado?”
“Your assistant, Mr. Chickering Carter——”