CHAPTER IX.
AN OFFER OF LIBERTY.
When Nick Carter and Patsy began to row toward the back of the warehouse, both were on the alert for any enemy who might be on the watch.
The famous detective knew by experience that the time to expect a hostile surprise was the moment when everything seemed safe, and he was not deceived by the apparent serenity around him.
“Pull into the reeds, Patsy!” he whispered hurriedly.
Patsy obeyed without asking why. He had not seen anything suspicious, but he knew Nick Carter would not give an order without some good reason.
Once in the shelter of the thick, tall grass, however, Patsy looked at his chief for an explanation.
“There’s a boat at the back door, Patsy! I can see only the end of the rudder. But that is enough to tell us that if we were around the corner we should come upon the boat itself. You sit still. I’ll take the oars.”
Patsy yielded the oars without a word.
With extreme caution, Nick Carter pulled through the reeds, without coming out, until he had a clear view of the back door.
Larry Dugan, in the bow of a serviceable skiff—flat-bottomed and solid, like Carter’s—was knocking at the heavy door with a blackjack.