Grantley was climbing into the power boat from the other side. He exposed himself as little as possible as he came over the rail, but the target was big enough for Nick.
The detective’s automatic spoke just once, but the fugitive crumpled up over the gunwale, his legs in the water, his hands groping blindly over the rail of the craft.
A cheer went up from the boatmen, and Nick’s assistants joined in a sigh of relief. A moment later they were both in the water and swimming to the aid of the girl.
The police boat slid alongside the racer with reversed engines. Grantley was taken on board. It was found that he had been shot through the right breast. Nick had taken no chances.
The girl proved to be a good swimmer, but her fright had weakened her to an extent which made her very grateful for the young men’s assistance.
Chick and Jack helped her back to the boat, and, after the former had been transferred to the police tug, Jack piloted the racing craft back to the yacht club from which the girl had set out a short time before.
The wound was a clean one, and, in spite of his age, Doctor Grantley possessed a great deal of strength and endurance. He recovered rapidly, and in due time was put on trial. Doctor Siebold, Miss Rawlinson, the nurse, and Hoff, the German servant—the latter pair having been captured through the efforts of Patsy Garvan and Ida Jones—were arraigned with him as accomplices.
There was another accomplice, however, who shared the ordeal with them, and whose arrest had caused a tremendous sensation in financial and social circles.
The fifth prisoner was Felix Simmons, another of the Wall Street money kings, and J. Hackley Baldwin’s rival.
The tearing up of the check for the quarter of a million dollars had started Nick Carter’s suspicions off on a new line.