Chick was a little puzzled to know how to meet this direct question. It had been the hope of Nick and the Sanborn family as well, that the dismissal of the guests would be attributed to the sudden illness of the bride, and that, for a time at least, the disappearance of the groom could be concealed. So he asked:
“What do you know about it?”
“I don’t know anything about it,” said Merton. “But a friend of mine, who was there as a guest, said he heard Sanborn say something to his nephew that made him believe that it was the running away of Ellison from the house that made the bride sick. In other words, my friend thought that there had been a big quarrel somewhere and that Ellison left the house in a huff before the reception.”
This was enough to justify Chick in a denial, and he promptly made it.
“Well,” said Merton, “if there was an attempt made on the house, what gang was it?”
“The chief thinks,” said Chick, “that Lannigan tried to get inside the house, pretending to be one of your plainclothes men.”
“Lannigan? The man that Nick Carter had his hands on a little while ago and let him off with a caution. Is it possible that he can be fool enough to butt himself against the law again?”
“That’s what the chief thinks.”
“Well, I saw Lannigan on the street not an hour ago. You can find him almost any minute in the Tenderloin somewhere. Both nights that he has been about here he has had a woman with him, who is as swell as they make ’em.”
Chick turned to Patsy and said: