Nick Carter Detective Library, No. 1 | Page 8

instant.
"Fifteen seconds," said the captain.
Nick's eyes roamed from face to face, seeking that which belonged to
the man whom he wanted to attack first.
"Thirty seconds."
Still Nick remained quiet, while the ruffians seemed to grow eager for
the instant to arrive when they could fall upon him and hack him to
pieces.
"Forty-five seconds."
Nothing could be heard but the ticking of the watch which the captain
held in his hand.
"Fifty seconds."
Then Nick acted.
Like a flash of lightning he was upon his feet.
His fist shot out like a cannon-ball, and John, who was a little in
advance of the others, fell back like a stricken bullock.
With cries resembling the roar of wild beasts, the others then threw

themselves forward with uplifted knives and murderous hearts.
But again Nick was too much for them.
His foot flew up and knocked the knife from the foremost man's hand.
His fist followed, and the fellow was hurled backward against his
companion, utterly confusing them for an instant.
Nick quickly followed up the advantage thus gained.
He bounded forward and seized in an iron grasp the man whom he had
just struck,
Then, raising him from the floor as though he were a babe, the
detective hurled him bodily, straight at the now advancing men.
The human missile flew true to its aim, and three of the ruffians went
down as though laid low by the sweep of a scythe.
The fourth was the captain.
He leaped toward Nick, doubly infuriated by the fact that he was now
thoroughly satisfied that it was none other than Nick Carter, the little
giant, who was before him.
But Nick met him half way.
With a lightning-like movement be seized the hand which held the
knife.
Then, exerting all of his great strength, he bent the captain's wrist
quickly backward.
There was a snap like the breaking of a pipe-stem, and a yell of pain
from the captain.
Nick's left arm shot out and his fist landed with terrific force squarely
on the fellow's nose.

Now was the detective's time, if ever.
He turned, and with one bound reached the hatchway.
It was closed and fastened, but again his strength proved too great for
ordinary opposition.
In an instant he tore the hatch open and leaped out into the darkness,
followed by the report of two revolvers and the ringing of a couple of
bullets in his ears.
But he was unhurt.
The night was as black as Erebus as he bounded forward and crouched
behind a small boat that was overturned upon the sloop's deck.
The men rushed upon the deck in their eager haste to capture him.
One of them had been thoughtful enough to seize a bull's-eye lantern
which was already lighted, and with it he searched the water around the
sloop as far as the rays ,would reach.
Of course he could see nothing of Nick.
"Let's search the deck," said one of them. "Mebby he didn't go
overboard."
"Bah! d'ye think held stay here? Not much!"
"He's a terror, ain't he?"
"Lightnin's nothin' to that feller."
"Who is he?"
"Look here, Tony, there's only one man in New York who could do
what he did, an' that's the young devil they call Nick Carter."
"Ah! the little giant.

"That's him, an' he's, got to be done up."
The man called Tony chuckled audibly.
"A job for me, eh, Morgan?" he said; and Nick was conscious of a
shiver when he heard the exultation in the man's voice.
"Yes-you an' yer string."
"I am never without it, Morgan. The time I spent in India wasn't lost,
and there is nothing like the string for making a corpse. Do you
remember Red Mike?"
"B-i-r-r-r!" said Morgan. "You give me the horrors, Tony. I kin stand
knifin' a man, or puttin' a chunk o' cold lead into him, but when it
comes to windin' that cord o' yourn 'round a feller's throat, and a-makin'
his tongue an' his eyeballs stick out like fingers, I ain't in it."
A low laugh was Tony's reply, and then the men began a search of the
deck.
But they had no idea that Nick remained aboard of the sloop, and not
expecting to find their man, the search was only a half-hearted one, so
that the detective had no difficulty in keeping out of their way by
dodging around the boat.
The light thrown by a bull's-eye lantern reaches only the point at which
it is directed, and renders the surrounding darkness much greater by
contrast.
This fact was a great advantage to Nick, and he did not fail to make the
most of it.
When he had first heard, the word string mentioned in connection with
killing he had become greatly interested in