CHAPTER XXXI.
NICK CALLS A COUNCIL.
The trouble was not over yet, however. The emphatic manner in which Bonesy Billings had said he believed the detective made a great impression upon the majority of his followers.
But there were some who were not prepared to accept the dictum in the face of what they had been told. It was common report that Howard Milmarsh was living in the house he had inherited from his father, and that he was there now. For some reason it seemed that the detective was trying to shield him.
Few of those in the mob had not heard of the famous detective, and all knew his reputation for straightforwardness. They were fully aware that a falsehood would be simply impossible for him. Still, how could they reconcile what he had just said with what they believed to be their actual knowledge?
“Look here, Bonesy!” ventured Plang while discreetly remaining out of arm’s reach. “If Howard Milmarsh isn’t in the house, we can’t do any harm by going up to talk to those other two men. We know they are here.”
“That’s a good idea!” agreed three or four voices at the back.
“What about it, Bonesy?”
Billings looked inquiringly at Carter.
“It would do no good,” said the detective. “The men you refer to would not give you any satisfaction, and they would probably mislead you. If you will go away now, I will give you my personal pledge that you shall not lose anything over this Paradise City affair. You shall have back the money you have laid out, and with it enough to compensate for any loss or trouble you have suffered.”