“Do you suppose that you could do so, even if I consented? I tell you that a detective has his eye on you at this moment, though you do not see him. Do you think that policeman would have been stupid enough to let you get away if he hadn’t known that somebody was on hand to look out for you?”
“And who are you?”
“I’m a man who may believe in your innocence and help you to prove it, if your conduct justifies it.”
The young man looked at Nick as if he meditated making a break for liberty, but something in the detective’s glance restrained him. The stronger mind prevailed.
“What would you advise me to do?” he asked.
“Go back and stand near the policeman,” said Nick. “Be on hand when the ambulance surgeon makes his examination.
“You will be taken to the police station. When you get there tell your story as you’ve told it to me. If there’s anything else, save it till you see me again. What is your name?”
“Austin L. Reeves. I live at ninety-two West Thirty-ninth Street.”
“Very well. Here comes the ambulance.”
Though fully twenty minutes had elapsed since the woman had received the injury, her condition had not changed in the least. Nick had felt certain that the night was so warm that no harm would result from her remaining outdoors. Otherwise he would have taken her to a drug store or into one of the houses.