CHAPTER III.

THE ONLY WITNESS.

Mr. Parks seemed to be greatly agitated by this intelligence, and it was some time before he regained his self-command. Then Nick asked him how it happened he had had no suspicions on reading the description of the wounded woman in the morning papers.
{20}

“Read that,” he said, thrusting a paper into Nick’s hands. “Does that describe her?”

“It is all wrong,” said Nick.

“And that picture?”

“It is a pure fake. There has been no opportunity of getting a picture of her.”

“The description and the picture caught my eye before I read about the diamonds. Therefore I never thought of my previous suspicions of my wife, except to be thankful that they had been proved groundless.”

“Why did you suspect her at first?”

“In one word, because it seemed utterly impossible that anybody else should have done it. The theory of burglars would not hold water. One of my servants had been ill, and had been about the house with a light almost all night, and had seen nothing of robbers.”

“Did you tell the servants of your loss?”

“No; I questioned them without letting them know anything unusual had happened.”

“They have been the guilty ones.”

Parks shook his head.

“I watched them all. They were honest. Then I learned that my wife speculated in stocks. There are more women stock gamblers in New York than most people could be made to believe.

“She had wasted her private fortune, and had got all the money she could from me. Heaven knows that I did not begrudge it. I only asked for her confidence, but she would not give it to me.”

“How about the nephew?
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”

“Out of the question entirely. He was not in the house. He was in a sleeping car bound for Boston. I only mentioned him to you because I could think of no other way to avoid mentioning my wife.

“And now, gentlemen, do not detain me longer. I have recovered from the first shock of this dreadful news. I must go to her. Guilty or innocent, she is my wife, and I will protect and help her so long as she has need of me.”

All three went at once to Bellevue Hospital.

When they stood beside the motionless and deathlike figure, the grief of the husband was pitiful to see.

He knelt by the bed, and taking his wife’s hand gently in his, he kissed it.

The patient occupied a cot in the accident ward. Several other injured persons were there.

Parks turned to ask Nick whether his wife could be removed from the hospital, but Nick had vanished.

Inspector McLaughlin could not tell where he had gone.

“He seems to be directing everything,” said Parks, “and I wished to ask whether I might take my wife to my house.”

“The surgeon can answer you,” said the inspector, pointing to a white-bearded and venerable man, who at that moment approached the cot.

“Then the police will offer no objection?” said Parks.

“Certainly not.”

Parks at once turned to the surgeon and besought permission to take his wife home at once.
{22}

“It is impossible,” said the surgeon.

“Why?”

“Because the patient could not endure the removal.”

“Is there any hope?”

“There is a faint hope.”

“Thank God for that.”

“In a few moments we shall make another examination of the wound. An operation may be necessary to remove a splinter of bone. After that she must be kept perfectly quiet.”

“Will you not allow me to see her?”

“We cannot prevent you, but it would endanger her life.”

Parks bowed his head.

“At least I can secure her a separate room,” he said.

“Yes.”

“And I can send a nurse to assist the regular hospital attendants.”

“You may.”

“You will send for me if she becomes conscious?”

“Yes; and now I must ask you to withdraw. I think it much better that you should do so.”

Without making any protest against this decree, Parks again knelt beside his wife and kissed her. Then he slowly walked out of the ward.

The surgeon beckoned to a nurse. Then he and Inspector McLaughlin went into a small adjoining room.

“Why did you do that, Nick?” asked the inspector, when they were alone.
{23}

Nick was removing the disguise in which he had appeared as the surgeon.

“For two reasons,” he replied. “The first is that Mrs. Parks really ought not to be removed. But if Parks had been told so less firmly he might have insisted.

“My second reason for keeping her here is that while she will almost certainly die, she will, perhaps, have a few minutes of consciousness. We must know what she says.”

“That is true.”

“And Parks would naturally conceal it.”

“He would, since it would be a confession tending to degrade her.”

Nick said nothing.

“You can’t blame him for wanting to keep this affair quiet,” continued the inspector.

“It is only natural; but we must hear what she has to say if ever able to speak rationally. We must do it in common justice.”

“Justice to her?”

“No; to the young man whom we hold under arrest.”

“Reeves?”

“The same.”

“He ought easily to be able to clear himself, if he is innocent.”

“On the contrary, he will find it very hard.”

“Well, you know best, Nick. Of course I have not had a chance to study the case you have. What will be the difficulty?”

“Lack of witnesses.
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”

“That seems incredible.”

“It is true. By chance that scene upon the street seems to have been wholly unobserved.

“Reeves is found with this wounded woman in his arms. We have only his word to explain how he came by her. A coroner’s jury would certainly hold him.”

“What do you think?”

“It is possible that he is in the plot. He may have expected to escape. In fact, he came near succeeding.”

“You saw the other man—the fellow with the brown beard.”

“I had a glimpse of him, but I know nothing that connects him with the crime.”

“You’re right, Nick. Reeves is in a tighter place than I had supposed.”

“But one word from this woman can certainly save him. I propose that we shall hear that word.”

“Well, Nick, take your own course. What I want is to see this crime fastened upon Helstone, and then to see you run that villain to earth.”

“As to the connection of this crime with that gang—— Ah, here is Chick.”

The door opened at that moment and Nick’s famous assistant entered. Even the inspector, who had seen him in many disguises, would not have known him but for Nick’s words.

“Well, Chick,” said his chief.

“Crazy Mag is our only direct witness, so far,” said Chick. “She is the only person who can testify that the woman came out of that house.
{25}
”

“Did anybody see her go in?”

“No; that was where I had trouble. It seemed impossible that she should have got in without being seen.

“I found a lot of people who ought to have seen her, but not one of them remembered her. At last, however, I struck the clew.

“Helstone’s gang had a secret entrance. They had rooms also in a rear building. To get into that house they passed through an alley from the street above.

“No. 349 and this rear building are connected by an iron bridge intended as a fire escape for the latter.

“Their use of this bridge had begun to be noticed, and this was probably one of the reasons why they had to skip.

“At any rate, I’m convinced that the woman entered that way. She could have done it all right, whereas the other entrance was under somebody’s observation almost all the evening.”

“Do you feel sure that she went to the rooms of the Helstone gang?”

“Yes. The house is tenanted by respectable people. They all say that they did not see her, and I believe them.”

“Is there any trace of the man with the brown beard?”

“He has been seen in the neighborhood, but nobody remembers anything about him. It is going to be nearly impossible to trace him.”

“I don’t mean to trace him,” said Nick.

“What!” exclaimed the inspector.

“That’s the state of the case,” Nick rejoined. “You
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won’t find me camping on the trail of that fellow any more.”

“What will you do?”

“Look here, inspector, your men have been after Helstone for some time, haven’t they?”

“Certainly.”

“And they haven’t caught him?”

“Equally true, I’m sorry to say.”

“Well, then, I think it is time to quit going after him.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m going ahead of him.”

“You are.”

“Yes; no detective can go to him, it’s time to make him come to the detective.”

“How’ll you do that?”

“I’ll set a trap.”

“A trap?”

“Yes, a mouse trap.”

“For Doc Helstone?”

“For his whole gang.”