“Dead sure, Dave,” Shannon insisted. “There’s nothing to it.”
“Nick Carter, eh? The worst ever, eh?” Doctor Devoll gave way to a mirthless, derisive laugh. “We’ll see about that. We’ll see about that, Shannon. He shall find that he has met one worthy of his steel, one who will balk, thwart, and laugh at him. Or, if need be, Shannon, who will wipe him from the face of the earth!”
Shannon shrugged his broad shoulders and smiled grimly. It was not the first time that he had heard such sentiments as these, and seen that same gleam and glitter in the eyes of the man confronting him, eyes with a glare like that of madness.
“You will not quit, then?” he said inquiringly.
“Quit!” Doctor Devoll sneered scornfully. “Only curs and cowards quit, Shannon, and throw up the sponge. Sit down at my desk. Sit down and write what I dictate. Your hand will never be suspected.”
Shannon obeyed him without a protest. He was accustomed to yielding to this man, to obeying him without question. He sat down at the desk, taking the pen and paper which the physician provided. Half an hour had passed when Doctor Devoll ended his dictation and gave the other his instructions.
Shannon arose and went to change his livery for street attire.
Doctor Devoll, with face still reflecting his vicious sentiments, gazed intently at his desk for several moments. Then he started abruptly, having decided what course he would shape, and hurriedly opened a safe in one corner, taking from it a small rubber mask, which he quickly adjusted over his mouth and nostrils. Then he took from an inner compartment—a small leather bag.
Out of the latter he drew a crumpled handkerchief, lady’s size, and hurriedly cast it with the bag into the fireplace. A blue flame sprang up, hissing audibly, denoting that the handkerchief was saturated with a very volatile and inflammable substance of some kind. The physician watched them burn, smiling sardonically; then forced the charred remains deep among the glowing embers.
“Nick Carter, eh?” he muttered, relocking the mask in his safe. “He suspects me, does he? He’ll corner me, will he? We shall see—we shall see!”