INTRODUCTION
“I did not believe he would do so,” replied Nick Carter for the words were directed to him, and the speaker was the President of the United States, who had sent for the detective to come to Washington at once.
“He did not strike me as being the sort of man, Mr. President, who could easily be made to abandon a work to which he had devoted so much of his talents as he had to the organization of the spy system.”
“He was an oily little rascal, wasn’t he, Mr. Carter?”
“Decidedly so, sir.”
“I thought at the time that possibly you did not give him full credit for his talents,” remarked the President dryly.
“You will pardon me, sir, but it was my impression at that time that I gave him rather more credit for his possibilities than you did.”
“How so?”
“I don’t think, if our positions had been reversed, that I would have let up on him so easily as you did.”
“It was through no consideration for him that I did so, Mr. Carter; you may be sure of that.”
“Oh, I was sure enough of that at the time, sir. But all the same it appeared to me that a punishment of some kind would have been about the thing for him, then. Instead of that, you merely dismissed him and warned him to leave the country and “And he has made himself active again?”
“Decidedly so; yes.”
“Along the same lines?”
“Practically the same… Of course, there is a difference. I don’t think that he wishes me to guess that he has remained here. He possibly believes that I will think it is the activity of another, and that he has gone, as I ordered him to do.”
“But you are sure that it is Mustushimi?”
“I haven’t a doubt of it, Mr. Carter.”
“You have not seem him?” No.
“Nor heard directly from him?”
“No.”
