"How did you discover it? And are you sure that the person who died in the Baltimore hospital was not Arthur Mannion?"
"When I read the announcement of the death," said Nick, "my suspicions were aroused. Frauds of this kind are no new thing. The criminal records, both of America and Europe, are full of them. I had been waiting for Mannion or his friends to make some move, and the death scheme, under the circumstances, seemed just the thing. I went to Baltimore puzzled as to the manner in which the fraud had been accomplished, but, after my visit to the hospital, I had the whole thing before me as clear as day. Some of the details are, as yet, unknown to me, but the fraud itself, the purpose for which it was perpetrated, the plan of conduct which it suggests, all were revealed.
"Peter Mannion, acting for Arthur Mannion, arranged the cunning deception, and I must say his work shows the hand of a master artist. The fellow who died was a petty thief, Knocker Jilson, whom I had known in New York, and who of late years has been hoboing it about the country. He must have fallen in with Arthur Mannion while Mannion was journeying under cover from Washington to Baltimore. Jilson fell sick and went to the hospital; went there, of course, with Mannion's money. But the scheme to trick the officers and the public was not broached to Jilson until he saw death in the near distance. It must have suggested itself to Mannion when he saw that Jilson, like himself, had half of his left forefinger missing, and that there was a resemblance between the two men in height, color of hair, and general appearance. What inducements were offered I can only guess. But I don't think I will be far out of the reckoning when I say that the offer meant pecuniary assistance to some relative of Jilson's; probably an old mother, whom he had neglected in her days of adversity.
"As it might be unsafe for Arthur Mannion to appear at the hospital and see that the fraud was carried out, the work fell upon the shoulders of Peter, who appears to possess all the qualifications necessary for the purpose. But there was one thing that escaped the notice of the conspirators—the tattooing on Jilson's arm. It could never have been observed, otherwise there would have come a hitch in the proceedings. But the tattooing kills the fraud, for, with the missing finger, it positively identifies the dead man as Jilson."
"When do you propose exposing the plot, Mr. Carter?" asked Feversham.
"On the day set by the court for hearing the application which I feel assured Peter Mannion will make. Probate day is to-morrow. We must be in court when it opens, but not where Peter Mannion can see us. If I am not mistaken, he will appear to-morrow, for he is not the man to permit the grass to grow under his feet."
Nick's prediction came true. The next forenoon, after court opened, Peter Mannion, accompanied by a lawyer of shady reputation, appeared. A will purporting to have been made by Arthur Mannion and witnessed by Prosper Craven and Emma Newton, a neighbor of Craven's, was presented for probate. By the terms of this will all the property possessed by the alleged decedent was bequeathed to Nellie Mannion, the wife, Peter Mannion, the uncle, being named as sole executor. As the instrument was in due form, it took the usual course, being set for hearing on the next court day. Then the matter of Playfair's will was taken up at the suggestion of Peter Mannion's attorney, and the hearing set, also, for the next court day.
On reaching his room after the court-room incidents, Nick found Patsy. "And your mission. Did it succeed?" questioned the great detective.
"It was too easy," replied Patsy.