The chief laughed heartily for a moment, and then his face grew grave.

“We are having a great deal of trouble with burglars lately,” he said, “and I am often at a loss what to do.”

“And nearly all recent burglaries are unusually daring and successful, are they not?”

“They are all daring, and I am sorry to say that nearly all are successful.”

“You’ll have to send to New York for Nick Carter.”

“I can’t always get Nick Carter.”

“Well, we ought to have a few men like Nick on the Chicago detective force.”

The chief smiled.

“There is only one Nick Carter,” he said.

The banker gave a few additional details regarding the burglary at his residence, and went away.