Read Ebook: The Lady of Fort St. John by Catherwood Mary Hartwell

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Ebook has 1367 lines and 46517 words, and 28 pages

"Well, I hope not, I'm sure."

"It is nearly time, I think, for Clayton and his bride to depart," Nick now said, glancing at his watch. "You will wish to see them leave, I suppose."

It then was ten o'clock in the evening, that of a bright day in June--a fit day, indeed, for the marriage of as beautiful a girl as charming Clara Langham, the only daughter of the multimillionaire president of the Century Trust Company, with whom Nick Carter had been talking.

More than six months had passed since the extraordinary case they had been discussing, that involving the theft and recovery of the world-famous jewels of Mademoiselle Falloni, the celebrated prima donna, a case resulting also in the arrest and conviction of all of the crooks save their ringleader, whose unparalleled elusion of Nick Carter at the last moment they had been reviewing.

Nick never had confided, not even to his trusty assistants, the terrible secret intrusted to his keeping by Clayton's cultured and attractive mother; that his extraordinary personal resemblance to the notorious crook was due to his twin relationship; that he bore his mother's maiden name, and David Margate that of the criminal father of both, who had deserted his wife in England while the children were infants, taking with him this son, who afterward fell naturally into the evil footsteps of his vicious father, who since had died under sentence in a German prison.

Nick would not have thought of betraying such a secret, of which Clayton was entirely ignorant, and the disclosure of which would serve only to mar his happiness and in a measure wreck his subsequent life.

The secret then was known, in fact, only by Nick and the sad-hearted mother, Mrs. Julia Clayton, who had confided it to him only in order that the detective might prove Clayton innocent of the great jewel robbery mentioned. It was a secret that could be safely trusted to a man of Nick Carter's sterling integrity.

The room in which he then was seated was the private library of Mr. Gustavus Langham, in the money magnate's great stone mansion, occupied only as a summer residence. It had been built several years before at an enormous expense, before the death of his gay and fashionable wife.

It was like an old feudal castle, with its massive walls and parapets, its broad halls and winding stairways, its stately rooms and attractive surroundings, covering a vast wooded estate in one of the most picturesque and secluded sections of the beautiful Berkshire Hills.

From the room in which Nick was seated could be heard, though the door was closed, the strains of the orchestral music, also the vivacious conversation and gay laughter of a multitude of guests, gathered at the wedding reception by a special train from New York, or with motor cars from select summer colonies from a radius of fifty miles.

The driveways and roads through the vast estate of nearly a square mile were alive with moving conveyances of one kind or another, some of the guests residing at a distance already having made their departure.

For the wedding ceremony had been performed two hours before, the reception was nearing its end, and the bride and groom were making final preparations for a precipitous departure to avoid the customary good-luck shower on such occasions.

Mr. Langham also drew out his watch and glanced at it.

But Mr. Langham, who had arisen while speaking, got no further with his remarks.

He was interrupted by the unceremonious opening of the door and by the hurried entrance of Clayton's best man, George Vandyke, a New York lawyer with whom Nick Carter was very well acquainted.

One glance at the young man's white face and dilated eyes was enough to convince the detective that something both alarming and extraordinary had occurred.

"Out with it, Vandyke," he exclaimed, starting up and dropping his cigar into the cuspidor. "What's the matter with you? What has happened?"

THE STOLEN BRIDE.

Nick Carter evidently was the man George Vandyke was seeking. He appeared unable to speak for a moment, nevertheless, so great was his suppressed excitement.

"Out with it!" repeated Nick more sharply. "What's the trouble?"

"Good God! Has the blow fallen?"

Mr. Langham staggered as if he had, indeed, received a brutal blow.

Nick Carter immediately took the ribbons.

"Don't create a stir!" he commanded quickly. "Leave me to look into the matter. Since both are missing, they may have departed together, bent upon eluding their very zealous friends and a deluge of confetti."

"Leave it to me. Don't alarm the guests needlessly."

Nick did not wait for more. He brushed by the two men, and, outwardly perfectly calm, hastened through the crowded hall toward the main stairway.

Both Chick Carter and Patsy Garvan then were on the main floor of the vast house, the former near the open front door, where, both in the hall and on the granite steps and the broad veranda outside, scores of guests had gathered to speed the happy couple on their wedding journey.

Chick saw Nick approaching and caught the ominous gleam in his expressive eyes.

"What's up?" he asked quietly, hastily meeting him.

Nick now said what he really thought.

"That devil has got in his work again."

"Not Margate?"

"I fear so. Both bride and groom are missing."

"The deuce you say!"

"Nothing could have been pulled off, however, under the eyes of this mob on the steps and veranda. Slip around to the side door and see what you can learn," Nick hurriedly directed. "Keep your eyes open and nail any one acting suspiciously. Get word to Patsy and send him to the rear door. The trick may not have been turned yet. They can have been missing only a few minutes."

"I'm wise," Chick nodded, starting for the side hall and the broad exit under the massive porte-coch?re.

Nick hastened to the second floor and toward the two rear rooms used by the bride and groom that evening, those in front having been needed to accommodate the throng of guests.

Nick discovered a solitary bridesmaid near the door of Clara's room, and somewhat apart from the group of women then near the stairs. She happened to be one with whom he was acquainted, and he hurriedly approached her.

"What's this I hear, Miss Arden?" he said quietly. "What do you know about it?"

"Little enough, Mr. Carter," she replied, pale and mystified. "I only know that Clara sent us all from her room after she was dressed for her journey. She explained that her father wanted to see her privately before she left, and that she was momentarily expecting him. We left her alone, therefore, and went downstairs."

"You mean yourself and the other bridesmaids?"

"Yes, sir."

"How long ago was that?"

"Not more than ten minutes; hardly as long, I think."

"Who discovered her absence?"

"I did. I returned to get my handkerchief, which I had left in the room. I found the room deserted. Clara had gone, but her suit case and hand bag still are there. I came out, of course, and I at once saw Mr. Vandyke coming up the side stairs. I told him about it, Mr. Carter, and he said that Clara probably was with Mr. Clayton in his room. He knocked, but received no answer. He then went in and found that Mr. Clayton also was missing."

"Did you make any inquiries among the guests here in the hall?"

"Yes, immediately. We could find no one who had seen either of them go out. Strange though it seems, both of them have mysteriously disappeared, leaving their luggage in their rooms."

"You say that Miss Langham, or, rather, Mrs. Clayton, was clad in her outside garments?"

"Yes, sir. She had on her hat, veil, and jacket, and was ready to leave at any moment."

"What is her traveling costume?"

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