“And then, chief?” queried Patsy.
“Then came the one singular feature of the case,” said the detective. “Wagner felt a sensation as if a breath of air had hit his face. He doesn’t know where it came from, nor can he explain it, for the stranger still had the cigar between his lips and his mouth was closed. Be that as it may, Wagner instantly felt very numb and confused, and in another moment he lost consciousness.”
“Fainted away?”
“Not quite that, Patsy.”
“Great guns! What was he up against, chief?”
“That’s the question,” said Nick. “He was seen on the gravel walk a little later by a passing policeman, who hastened to aid him. Wagner still was unconscious, dead to the world, as he afterward expressed it when revived by a physician. He had been robbed of his money and all of his jewelry, and the thief had disappeared, leaving absolutely no clew to his identity.”
“He has not been traced, nor any of the jewelry?”
“Neither.”
“Is any one suspected?”
“No.” Nick shook his head. “There have been numerous other robberies of a like character, and under similar circumstances, but in no case has any of the stolen property been recovered, nor a clew to the criminal been found. The police have been at work for months on more than a score of such cases.”