CHAPTER XXXIII.
STILL HUNTING.
“Of course, Thomas Jarvis never was a real factor in this matter,” remarked Nick, fifteen minutes later, when all that was mortal of Jarvis had been removed to another room. “But we will go into the claims of that young man who has been sitting silently at the other side of the table from the beginning of the conference, and who——”
The detective broke off. The chair occupied by the man who had been declared by Louden Powers and Andrew Lampton to be Howard Milmarsh was empty, and he was not in the room!
Patsy and Chick had both helped remove the body of Thomas Jarvis, and no one had taken any notice of the young man. He had been sitting there when everybody else went out, watching the disposal of the still form on a large sofa in the library.
They were just returning, with Nick Carter in the lead, and speaking as he came, when he saw that the alleged Howard Milmarsh had disappeared.
There was a search all about the house and grounds which lasted for an hour or more. At the end of that time, when not a trace of the missing man could be found, Carter decided that there was nothing more to be done there, and he told Chick and Patsy privately that he was going back to New York.
Louden Powers and Andrew Lampton had both taken an active part in the hunt. They were loud in their protestations that he was the real heir, and that somebody must have spirited him away in the interests of enemies.
“What do you mean by enemies?” asked the detective quietly, when the whole party were again assembled in the dining room. “Do you mean that persons who believe him to be actually Howard Milmarsh have hidden him so that they can bring a spurious one in to take possession?”
“You guess well,” grinned Louden Powers.
“Mind I don’t guess a little too well for your peace of mind, Powers,” was Nick’s rejoinder. “This estate has not been settled yet. Besides, those people waiting at the station for Billings might come up here again and hold you personally responsible for the fraud of Paradise City. They count you partly in the swindle, as you know.”