Nicholas Carter and his assistants were never slow in beginning to weave a net in which to catch a culprit when the evidence and circumstances in a case convinced them that a crime had been committed.

Patsy Garvan, while Chick was engaged as described, was nearly as successful as the latter in picking up the first strands with which the net might be formed. Hastening to the brokerage office of Daly & Page, he introduced himself to the latter, the former then having gone to the local stock exchange, and requested a few facts concerning the history and character of Mr. Gaston Todd, whose very sudden death had greatly shocked his many friends in Madison.

“He was a fine fellow,” Page glibly informed him. “Genial, honest, and capable, devoted to our interests, and always at his desk in business hours. That’s pretty good, isn’t it? That’s all we require of a man.”

“That would seem to fill the bill, sir,” Patsy observed a bit dryly.

“It does,” said the broker. “And what such a man does out of business hours, of what his habits and deportment consist, are of little importance to us. Todd served us faithfully for ten years. We shall miss him. We shall, indeed!”

“He died very suddenly,” said Patsy. “Had you any idea that he was afflicted with any ailment?”

“No, not the slightest. His death came like a bolt from the blue.”

“Was he regular in his habits?”

“Very.”

“I understand that he left here about twelve o’clock. Did he usually go out at that time?”

“Well, no, he did not.” Page gazed more sharply at his questioner. “He usually lunched at one o’clock.”

“He may have had some mission to attend to for the firm, or——”

“No, nothing of that kind. He was our cashier, and his duty kept him here. You raise a point, young man, that has not occurred to me. By the way, Archie,” Page called to a clerk who had served in Todd’s place when the latter was absent, “come here a moment. Do you know why Todd went out an hour earlier than usual yesterday?”

“Well, I’m not sure, sir,” replied the clerk. “I think it was because of a telephone message.”

“Do you know from whom?”

“No, sir. I know only that he was called to the telephone just before noon. When he returned he asked me to take his place in the cage, saying that he was going out for a few minutes. That’s all I know about it.”

That was all of any importance that Patsy was able to learn, but it was sufficient to send him posthaste to the office of the telephone exchange. There he stated his mission to the manager, who conducted him into a room where three girl operators were seated at a large switchboard.

“Look at your record sheets for yesterday,” said the manager, addressing them. “Which of you made a connection for Daly & Page, 442 West, just before twelve o’clock?”

One of the girls replied in a few minutes, after inspecting a large sheet of paper taken from a drawer:

“I did, sir, and I now remember it distinctly,” she said. “It was the last I made before going to lunch.”

“Is there any way of learning who made the call?” Patsy inquired.

“Only by ringing up Daly & Page and asking them,” said the manager.

“They do not know,” said Patsy. “The call was not for the firm.”

“It was for a man named Todd,” put in the operator.

“How did you learn that?”

“I heard a few words that were said before I removed my receiver,” explained the girl. “The man who rang up the number said he wanted to talk with Mr. Todd, and half a minute later I heard him ask: ‘Is that you, Todd?’”

“Are you sure it was a man’s voice?”

“Yes, positively.”

“Did you hear him say anything more?”

“I heard Todd reply in the affirmative. The other then said, as near as I can remember, that he was Todd’s running mate who was talking, and that Todd must go at once to the Waldmere Chambers and wait in the second-floor corridor until the speaker could join him.”

“That was all?”

“Yes, sir. I heard the last while I was removing the receiver. It is only by chance that I remember it. His calling himself Todd’s running mate, however, sounded so singular to me that I listened for a moment longer. That is all I can tell you.”

Patsy thanked her, also the manager, and departed.

It then was about the time when Nick Carter entered the Madison mortuary, to which all that remained of Gaston Todd had been taken, and where the autopsy was to be performed. It was finished, in fact, or all that then could be done, when Nick entered, and he found only Coroner Kane and Doctor Marvin, the district medical examiner, in the superintendent’s office. He scarce had arrived there, however, when Chief Gleason followed him in from the street.

Nick already had introduced himself to the others, with whom an appointment for him had been made by the chief, and, after a few conventional preliminaries, he brought up the business engaging them.

“Well, what’s the verdict, Doctor Marvin?” he inquired. “You say you have made a thorough examination of the body.”

“Not quite,” corrected the physician, glancing at a leather bag on the floor. “There are parts of the body of which I wish to make a microscopic examination and subject to chemical analysis. I do say, however, that you should have been a physician, Mr. Carter, despite the fact that you would be badly missed in your present vocation.”

“You mean, I infer, that you wonder why I so quickly suspected that Todd did not die from natural causes,” said the detective.

“Exactly. On what do you base your suspicion?”

“On several facts, doctor, which are hardly worthy of mention,” Nick said indifferently. “The surrounding circumstances, Todd’s outward indications of good health, a lingering expression denoting mingled fright and horror, evinced also by an unusual dilation of his pupils—these, together with a singular abnormal appearance of the skin near the lips and nostrils. But the result of your own examination is much more material,” he abruptly digressed. “What is your opinion?”

“The same as your own,” said Doctor Marvin more gravely.

“You found——”

“That there was absolutely no organic disease. His vital organs were apparently in a perfectly healthy condition. I can discover no natural cause for Todd’s sudden death.”

“Did you notice the singular condition I have mentioned?” Nick inquired.

“I did,” said the physician. “I detect it, or a somewhat similar condition, in the tissues of the lungs. They have a curious, withered or cauterized appearance.”

“Have you any opinion as to the cause?”

“I would say it was caused by inhaling some very powerful corrosive gas, possibly of a deadly nature, though from what it was derived or how administered I cannot imagine, even if I am right. I am going to submit them to tests, however, also the blood, that may enable me to form a more definite opinion and solve the problem.”

“Do you think there is any problem, doctor, or any doubt, to put it more properly, that Gaston Todd died an unnatural death?”

“No, not the slightest, Mr. Carter.”

“Do you think it the result of a crime?”

“Well, I think the circumstances warrant very serious suspicions,” Doctor Marvin said gravely.

“So do I,” Nick declared. “As a matter of fact, gentlemen, I feel reasonably sure that Gaston Todd was, with some strange and atrocious means, most foully murdered.”

“We agree with you,” Coroner Kane now asserted. “There are other circumstances which warrant that suspicion.”

“You mean?”

“They involve a young man known to have had feelings of bitter enmity for Todd, with whom he had an angry altercation night before last and who was seen leaving the Waldmere Chambers only a minute or two before Todd was found dead on the corridor floor.”

“Do you refer to Frank Paulding?” the detective inquired.

“Yes. How did you learn about him, Mr. Carter?” inquired the coroner, with a look of surprise.

“Chief Gleason spoke of him to me and mentioned their unfriendly relations,” Nick explained, but he said nothing about his interview with Paulding. “He was seen leaving the Waldmere Chambers, you say?”

“Yes. We have found two witnesses and the time is definitely fixed. Though they were not seen to meet, we are reasonably sure that they did, and that Paulding hurried out of the building and up the street immediately afterward.”

“All that does appear suspicious,” Nick agreed, not without an object. “Have you questioned Paulding?” he added, turning to Chief Gleason.

“No, not yet,” replied the latter. “I have followed your advice and waited until after the autopsy. I have had Paulding under espionage since last evening.”

“A wise precaution, chief.”

“What do you now advise?” Gleason added. “It strikes me——”

“If the circumstances are incriminating, as you say,” Nick interrupted, “I think it will be wise to arrest Paulding and hold him until after Doctor Marvin’s further investigations. If we can prove positively that Todd was murdered, we may build up a strong case against the lawyer and possibly force a confession from him.”

“I already have decided on that step, Mr. Carter,” said the coroner. “See to it, Gleason. Have Paulding arrested as soon as possible, chief, and held on suspicion.”