Nick had just traversed every inch of it, and he had met with no obstacle of any kind, nor had he seen a sign of life or a light anywhere.
For that very reason he figured that doubtless something had attracted the attention of Kane after his arrival at the place of meeting, and he had gone to investigate. But after he had waited fully half an hour, the detective decided that it was time for him to move.
He had not a doubt now that something had happened to his companion. He was confident, however, that Kane could not have fallen, or have met with an accident, without the intervention of another person.
Presently he scribbled these five words: “Wait here till I return,” on a leaf torn from his book of memoranda, and, wrapping it in a handkerchief, he weighted it with a pebble and left it where the white of the cambric would attract the attention of Kane, should he regain the spot before the detective could get back again.
“And now to break my way into that castle,” he mused. “And I must take extra care, too, for if some prowlers around this old pile have captured Kane, they will be on the lookout for me as well.”
The low building, which resembled a bowling-alley more than anything else, and which extended from one wing of the castle to the edge of the bluff on the side toward the harbor, had evidently been erected originally to serve as a passageway between the château and the water when the weather was inclement; and this was the building which was before him now. But in inspecting it from a distance the detective had decided that this would provide a means of entrance. It was almost windowless, and such as it contained were much too small and too high from the ground to serve his purposes.
He therefore turned again toward the castle, and hurried toward a spot where he remembered to have seen a wealth of ivy growing against the old walls. He had not forgotten their locality, and he went directly to the spot.
The ivy was old and tough, and had grown firmly in its place, so that when he placed his hands upon it he knew that it would sustain him readily. He recalled the fact that the ivy trailed across several windows, and so he began at once to make his way up it.
The dampness of the falling rain had rendered the ivy in such a condition that it gave out no sound as he climbed, while the dark background against which he clung afforded no opportunity for prying eyes to discover him.
He climbed rapidly, for he realized now that haste was necessary. The strange call to him from the window of the tower, and the disappearance of Maxwell Kane, had convinced him that all was not to be as smooth sailing as he had anticipated.