He kept in mind the instructions of the elder Howard Milmarsh, to see that his son was not deprived of any of his rights.
If this was the real Howard Milmarsh who had seated himself in the mansion, with these two shady characters, Louden Powers and Andrew Lampton, as his chief advisers, then it was the detective’s clear duty to go there and tell the new head of the Milmarsh family what his father’s wishes were.
“I shall know more about it after to-night,” was the way he finally settled it with himself.
The swamp looked about the same as he always had seen it, and he ground his teeth in indignation as he thought of the poor people who were giving up their money for worse than nothing at all.
It was just as they had passed the swamp, and were turning into another road, away from the Milmarsh estate, that Nick caught sight of a man walking in a narrow path not far from the big house, apparently in deep thought.
His head was bent and his hands were clasped behind him, as he strolled, looking neither to the right nor left.
“Who is that?” asked Nick, who had not had a look at the man’s face.
But at that instant the musing one looked up, and the morning sun fell right across his countenance, bringing up plainly every feature.
It was only a momentary glimpse that the chief and Chick had of the man’s face. But it was enough for both of them to see it so clearly that both knew it was the man who called himself Howard Milmarsh.