“That’s right,” smiled Nick, as he escorted her to the door.  “You shall not lose anything by so doing.”

“Ah, I am sure of that, sir.  You are so very kind, and I am so glad that I came to you.”

“Well, well, we shall see,” laughed Nick, with a paternal caress of her shapely white hand.  “By the way, Miss Page, since I now happen to think of it,” the crafty detective indifferently added, “wasn’t there a Hindoo juggler, or snake charmer, or something of that sort, connected with your late vaudeville company?”

“Oh, yes, sir!  Pandu Singe.”

“Ah, that is his name, is it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Is he still in the city?”

“I am not sure, Mr. Carter; but I think that he may be, for he is signed with the company for next season.”

“Do you know where he has been living?”

“Yes, sir.  I have seen his house address on letters forwarded to the theater.  Do you want it, sir?”

“If you can recall it, yes,” smiled Nick, producing his notebook.  “I am making a study of the Hindoo language just at this time, and I would like to consult Pandu Singe about certain books on the subject.”

Miss Page did not suspect any duplicity in this, and she cheerfully gave Nick the address of the snake charmer, whereupon the detective graciously thanked her, and then escorted her to her waiting carriage.

As it rolled rapidly away a second hack came bowling up to the curbstone in front of Nick’s residence.  It was the carriage for which Chick had sent a call.

“Don’t cover your horses, cabbie!” cried Nick, sharply.  “Wait about three minutes, and we’ll be with you.”

“Right, sir!”

And Nick dashed back up the steps and into the house, meeting Chick in the hall.

“What do you make of it, Nick?”

“Make of it?” cried Nick, with a laugh.  “It’s a cinch, Chick, dead open and shut.  Grab your hat and come with me.  I’ll explain in the carriage.”

“Good enough!  I’m with you, old man!”

“And we have no time to lose,” cried Nick, “Now, then, we’re off.”

CHAPTER XI.

The crime and the means.

“Yes, Chick, it’s as simple as two plus two, and we’ll presently try to bag a part of our quarry.  But first of all, I want a bit of corroborative evidence which I expect to get from that Hindoo snake charmer, Pandu Singe.”

“Going there first, Nick?”

“Yes; it will not take long.  Then I think we shall have the strands for a rope strong enough to hold that she-devil who murdered Mary Barton,” grimly added Nick.

These remarks were made while the carriage containing the two detectives was speeding through the city streets, then bright with the light and life of the early evening.

“What a dastardly crime it was, Nick,” observed Chick.