She paid no heed, and he leaped forward toward her; and then the unexpected happened.
To reach Madge, Red Mike had to pass close to the chair where Lynne was seated; and as he passed, Lynne thrust out one foot in his path. Red Mike tripped upon it. He fell to the floor at Madge’s feet, and the automatic flew from his grasp, almost into hers.
On the instant she seized upon it. She turned it butt end foremost. She raised it and struck with it before he could recover himself, and he made no attempt to rise, for he was stunned and helpless.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
THE MASTERS OF MILLIONS.
Patsy barely heard Nick Carter’s closing remarks as told at the close of the tenth chapter. He was intent upon another thought; upon a recollection that had come to him, induced by his own facetious remark about a desert island, and by Chick’s comment, “where desert islands grow; upon the water.�
“Chief,â€� he cried out suddenly, “I’ve got an inspiration. I’ll bet a hundred to nothing that I know where they are hiding themselves—the three of them, or the four, if there are four. Don’t you remember the house boat?â€�
“What house boat?� asked the detective.
“Edythe Lynne’s. It was mentioned at the coroner’s inquest, after she was killed. You know she entertained a house party at Pleasantglades last summer, while her father was away—at the time he was murdered, and long before she could have known anything about it had she lived?â€�
“I remember about the house party; but not about any boat.�
“You were absent from the room at the time it was told. She entertained her guests on the house boat, as well as at the house, at Pleasantglades. It is kept anchored in the bay, within a mile of the house, and is always in commission. That is where Madge and Mike have taken Lynne, I’ll bet a cooky. Come; we can get there in an hour. I’ll go alone if you do not care to go.�