June 20, 2022 • 23 mins
In this episode, we continue the mystery of The Crime of The French Cafe - and we finally get a few answers.
Or do we?
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hey everyone.
Welcome back to another episodeof forward into the past.
I'm JC Rede, your host andnarrator.
And today we're heading backinto the world of fictional New
York city in 1893, as seenthrough the eyes of Nick Carter,
master detective.
But before we set that way backmachine, a little clarification
(00:22):
and a little more history.
I need to state forclarification purposes that I am
in no way, affiliated withproject Gutenberg.
I am not receiving any sort ofcompensation nor sponsorship.
I am merely doing this podcastbecause a I'm a voice actor and
narrator B.
I love a good story and C.
(00:44):
Project Gutenberg providesstories that are free of any
copyright.
So I am able to read them aloudto you in this way, without
having to pay any entity orhaving the entity pay me.
Now that that's clear, let's geton with a little history before
we hit back into the story.
The story that we're enjoyingthe crime of the French cafe,
(01:05):
was written way back in 1893,and it appeared in the New York
weekly, a publication of theprint house Street and Smith.
When it was originally publishedin the New York weekly, it was a
serialized story, meaning thateach week you, the reader would
read another chapter in whateverthe story arc it was that you
(01:26):
were following.
And this is the essence of astory paper.
Story papers by and large wereexactly what they sounded like.
Newspapers.
If you separate the two wordswhere papers they give you the
news and story papers.
Likewise, give you stories.
Each week a story paper wouldgive readers in the mid to late
(01:48):
18 hundreds, several stories toread and follow.
It might be a weekly serial,like the Nick Carter stories.
Many times it was a short storyor perhaps a long form poem.
There were romances for theladies or adventure story set in
the frontier or the ocean forboys and men.
And so on.
Story papers where sometimes thesame size as newspapers.
(02:10):
Some were magazine sized, butthey were all approximately
eight pages and all had at leastone to two characters that could
or did build up a following.
Eventually those serializedweekly stories were collected
and reprinted into dime novels,which were cheaper to make due
to their size.
The print houses were very savvywhen it came to collecting these
(02:32):
stories.
Time's being what they were.
They knew that although thestory papers were printed
weekly.
Not everyone would be able toafford to buy a weekly paper.
Although, yes, that was theplan.
So they would reuse almost everysingle one of their stories,
many times over in severaldifferent options, usually
following a pattern.
(02:53):
The story would appear in thestory paper first.
Then perhaps again, in adifferent edition of a story
paper.
From there, it would be reusedin several dime novels, which
unlike story papers were alittle bit less disposable.
Nick Carter who was street andSmith's most popular weekly
character.
Had his stories repurposed inseveral ways.
(03:14):
From the New York weekly, hisstories jumped into his own
weekly magazine.
Nick Carter weekly.
Around the same time, many ofhis older stories from the New
York weekly.
We're bundled together inpaperback form under street and
Smith's magnet library around1900.
And the new magnet libraryaround 1910.
(03:34):
For perspective, the story thatwe're currently enjoying the
crime of the French cafe waswritten for the New York weekly
first back in 1893 in a weeklyserial format.
In 1894, the story was again,serialized in the Nick Carter,
weekly magazine.
In 1900, the entire serializedstory was gathered and printed
(03:57):
in street.
And Smith's magnet library,paperback under the title of the
crime of the French cafe andother stories.
It was reprinted under this sametitle in 1919.
Under street and Smith's newmagnet library.
Now it's the 1900 version thatexists in the project Gutenberg
(04:17):
library that I am humbled to besharing with you now.
And speaking about that.
We're moving on, going forwardinto the past shadowing, the
case files of Nick Carter,master detective.
When we left the story lasttime.
Mr.
Hammond began to tell his storyin order to clear John Jones of
any wrongdoing.
(04:38):
Then Mrs.
John Jones arrived to provide analibi for her husband.
Nick's young assistant Patsytold Nick of his own misgivings
on the case, questioningGaspard's rather quick
identifications.
After having the Jones isfollowed.
Nick is convinced that Jones isnot as innocent as he appears.
And finally, while trying toprove his hunch by climbing a
(04:59):
rope, tied to the roof, down topeer through a window.
Nick finds himself suddenlyplummeting down the side of a
building.
Oh, exciting stuff happening nowin the next installment of the
crime of the French cafe byNicholas Carter.
Chapter seven, the wardrobe ofGaspard's friend.
(05:25):
Nick Carter is hard to kill.
A good many crooks have tried toput him out of the world and a
fair percentage of them havelost their own lives in the
attempt.
Without inflicting any injuryupon Nick.
He is a man of resources andthat's what saves him.
When one thing fails him, hefinds something else to take its
place.
And so when that rope gave way,he took the next best thing.
(05:50):
That happened to be the sill ofthe window of Mr.
Jones's bathroom.
Nick seized it with a grip ofiron as he shot downward.
The strain on his arms wassomething awful, but he held on.
His fingers gripped the woodtill they dented it.
In two seconds.
He had scrambled through thewindow into Jones's flat.
It was done so noiselessly thatthe colored servant in the room
(06:14):
directly opposite across thenarrow shaft was not disturbed
in her reading.
From the bathroom Nick made hisway to the hall and thence to
the parlor.
Where Mr.
Jones to judge by the light inthe window observed by Musgrave
had decided to spend theevening.
Mr.
Jones was not visible when Nicklooked into the room.
(06:34):
The bedroom adjoining was alsoempty.
Nick ran through the flat, butsaw nobody.
He returned to the parlor andthere stood Mr.
Jones under the chandelier.
Well upon my word, exclaimedJones.
How did you get here?
I might ask you the same, SaidNick.
But it isn't worthwhile.
(06:55):
I've been here all the time.
Except when you were on theroof.
Nonsense, what should I be doingon the roof?
It wasn't what you were doing.
It's what you were undoing thatbothered me.
You were undoing the knot withwhich I fastened my rope before
I descended your air shaft toget a peep at your servant.
Nonsense again, Mr.
(07:15):
Carter.
How could I get to the roof?
I'll show you just how it wasdone.
Now, the first place you saw mecoming back to the house and you
guessed what I was going to do.
You went into this room.
And Nick dragged Jones into asort of closet adjoining the
parlor.
And you got out of that windowonto the fire escape.
That led you to the roof.
(07:37):
And the rest was simple.
You saw me go down and you triedto make me go down farther and a
good deal faster, but youfailed.
And the game's up.
Now, come to headquarters again.
What for.
For trying to kill me.
That's the charge against you.
And I haven't got through withyou on that other matter.
But for heaven's sake, pity mywife.
(07:58):
What's the matter with her.
She will be crazy when she getsback and finds me gone.
One of my men will tell herwhere you are.
Why did you lie to me about hergoing out?
I've a great mind to place hertoo under arrest.
You can't do it.
It's no crime to dodge adetective.
I admit that she did it, but fora very innocent purpose.
She has gone to see our lawyer.
(08:19):
Hmm.
Very well.
I will attend to that later.
Now, come with me.
Nick took Jones to the street.
Musgrave got a policeman andJones was put in his care.
Musgrave remained on the watchfor Mrs.
Jones.
While Nick went to get a reportfrom Patsy who was shadowing
Gaspard.
Jones's last words to Nick werethese.
(08:40):
I am a victim of circumstances.
I had nothing to do with themurder in the restaurant, nor
with any attempt upon your life.
You are doing me a graveinjustice.
If you were not as blind as abat, you would see who the real
criminals are.
These words were pronounced in acalm and steady tone.
And it cannot be denied thatthey produced a great effect
upon Nick.
(09:01):
If it should prove that I havewronged you, he said, I will
repay you for the injury to thelimit of your demand.
And the detective did a lot ofhard thinking while he was
walking toward Gaspard'slodgings, where he expected to
meet Patsy.
Certainly if Jones eversucceeded in establishing his
innocence, he would have won afriend in Nick Carter, whose
(09:22):
Goodwill is worth a fortune toany man.
Nick found Patsy outside thehouse where Gaspard lodged.
I'm dead onto this fellow, saidthe youth.
He's just about ready to flit.
He's bought lots of stuff todayand is flushed with money.
A man just went in there with asuit of clothes.
Two delivery wagons from drygoods stores have been here.
I suppose that the stuff theybrought belongs to the woman who
(09:43):
is going with Gaspard.
Have you seen her?
No, she has kept mighty dark.
Hello, what's this?
Nick drew Patsy more closelyinto the shadow of the steps by
which they were standing.
A carriage rumbled over thepavement and stopped before the
door of Gaspard's, lodginghouse.
Upon my word said, Nick, it's myold friend Harrigan on the box.
(10:05):
The way people keep bobbing upin this case is something
wonderful.
Perhaps the woman's in the cab,whispered Patsy.
On the contrary, the cab wasempty.
Harrigan got off the box andrang the bell.
Nick heard him ask for GaspardLebeaux.
Gaspard was summoned.
I've two trunks for you, saidHarrigan.
For me?
(10:26):
asked Gaspard.
Nick Carter (10:27):
Yes.
A young woman hired me to bringthem and she said it would be
all right.
You'd pay the price.
What sort of a woman.
A very gallus French siren witha big white hat and a black
plume.
As long as the tail of me horse.
Alright, said Gaspard promptly.
Bring in the trunks.
They were carried up the stairsto Gaspard's room.
(10:49):
Harrigan mounted the box anddrove away.
Follow him, said Nick.
Bring him back here in abouthalf an hour.
Patsy darted away in pursuit ofthe cab.
Nick walked up to the door ofGaspard's house and rang the
bell.
He was directed to theFrenchmans room.
Gaspard was examining the twotrunks.
He looked very much embarrassedat the site of Nick.
(11:11):
What's all this Gaspard?
Asked the detective.
I hear you're going back toFrance.
I?
Oh no.
New York suits me much better.
But what are these trunks doinghere?
Gaspard look particularlyfoolish.
They are the property of afriend, a lady.
To tell the truth.
(11:31):
I hope to marry her.
A charming girl, monsieur andinnocent as a dove.
Why does she send her trunkshere?
Ah, that I do not know.
It was not agreed upon.
Have you any idea what is inthem?
Her wardrobe.
Ah, she is extravagant.
She buys many dresses, but thenwhat would you have when one is
(11:54):
young and beautiful?
Gaspard finished his sentencewith a sweep of the arms.
Oh, they are heavy said Nicklifting one of the trunks and
setting it crosswise on alounge.
He took a bunch of keys from hispocket.
Gaspard seemed aghast.
You would not open it.
He cried.
(12:15):
Perhaps it won't be necessarysaid Nick.
This may answer.
He drew a knife from his pocketand opened one of the blades,
which was sharpened like a verylarge nut-pick.
With a sudden movement.
He struck this into the bottomof the trunk and then withdrew
it.
A dark red stream followed theblade when it was withdrawn.
The end of the trunk projectedover the side of the couch and
(12:37):
the red fluid dripped upon thecarpet.
My God exclaimed Gaspard.
It is blood! So it would seemsaid Nick quietly.
He set the trunk upon the floorand snapped back the lock with a
skeleton key.
Then he threw open the lid andrevealed a mass of Excelsior and
scraps of newspaper.
(12:58):
This being torn away, discloseda dead and ghastly face.
The face of unfortunate Corbut,the waiter.
Chapter eight.
Tracing the trunks.
Corbut's body had been cut intwo.
Only half was in the trunk,which Nick had opened.
The other half was not howeverfar away.
(13:21):
It was in the other trunk.
Both trunks containedconsiderable blood.
But they had been neatly linedwith rubber cloth, apparently
taken from a rubber blanket anda man's heavy waterproof coat.
It was so fitted that the trunkswhen closed were water tight.
The neatest job I ever saw saidNick.
(13:42):
Come, Gaspard.
Tell the story.
I swear to you, cried Gaspard,that I know nothing of it.
At this moment, Patsy rapped onthe door.
He had brought back Harrigan.
Come in said Nick and they bothentered.
Oh, holy mother! ShriekedHarrigan when he saw the open
trunks.
So help me, gentlemen, I don'tknow nothing about this
(14:05):
business.
I ain't in it I'm telling youstraight.
You's don't believe I hadanything to do with this.
Do ya?
You brought the trunks here,said Nick.
Let me tell you's all about it,cried Harrigan who was so
anxious to tell that he couldn'ttalk fast enough.
The French lady struck me on theold place.
You know where I was the othernight.
(14:25):
She talked kinda Dago, but Itumbled to what she was, a given
me.
This was about half past seven.
O'clock.
Meet me.
She says in an hour and shegives me street and number.
It was west 57th street, butthere ain't no such number.
There's nothing there, but ahigh board fence, but that
didn't make no differencebecause when I got there, her
(14:46):
giblets was a standing on thesidewalk waiting for me.
Drive over to the corner, saysshe and turn round and come
back.
I did it.
And when I got there, she showedme these two trunks.
I hadn't seen him before.
And she gives me this mugsaddress and two bones for me
fare.
And told me to come down here,which I did.
And I wished to heaven I hadn't,see?
(15:08):
That's a pretty good storyHarrigan, said Nick.
Patsy, get a policemen to staywith gaspard.
Patsy brought the blue coat in afew minutes.
Now we'll go up to 57th streetsaid Nick.
Half an hour later, they hadfound the place where as
Harrigan claimed The French ladyhad delivered the trunks to him.
I thought, of course, that she'dbeen fired out of some boarding
(15:29):
house said Harrigan, there's ahash mill there on the right.
I had an idea she'd been drawnout of there.
Nick.
Meanwhile had been examining thesidewalk with the aid of his
dark lantern.
Clever work.
He said.
There are no marks on thesidewalk.
The trunks would not dragged.
That woman must be prettystrong.
(15:49):
You say you didn't see thetrunks when you first drove up.
Now.
then they couldn't have beenhere.
Where were they?
Not in any of these houses?
She couldn't have got them outquick enough.
Then they must have been behindthat fence.
There was a little gate in thefence, which Nick opened as he
(16:10):
spoke.
Ah, here we have tracks.
He said.
It's all cleared enough now.
The trunks were brought acrossto this vacant lot from one of
the houses facing the otherstreet.
The lot is the width of threeflat houses, which stand behind
it.
There are no gates in the fencebetween the yards of the houses
in the lot.
But Nick found a wide board thatcould be pulled off and replaced
(16:32):
without much trouble.
Passing through the opening madeby taking away this board.
He found himself in the yard ofthe middle house.
The trunks came from here hesaid.
They were lowered down in thedumbwaiter to the cellar.
And then carried through the lottwo 57th street.
I'll leave the rest of this jobto you, Patsy.
Find out all you can and have asmany witnesses as you can get
(16:55):
together at the superintendent'soffice tomorrow afternoon at
three o'clock.
We're going to have a specialexamination into this case.
The special examination beganpromptly at the hour named by
Nick.
All the person's hithertomentioned in connection with the
case.
Except of course the two victimswere present.
There were also severalwitnesses whom Patsy had
(17:17):
secured.
The case, which I have made out,said Nick, is perfectly clear.
It begins with Gaspard'sidentification of the prisoner,
Jones.
We know that he was at therestaurant when the crime was
committed.
His name is on the books.
In some way, which I am not nowprepared to fully explain, the
waiter Corbut, obtained theknowledge of the crime.
(17:40):
It was necessary for thecriminal to get Corbut out of
the way.
I saw Corbut get into a cab atthe door of the restaurant.
The driver, Harrigan testifiedto taking him and another man to
a point on west 57th street.
He was not sure of the exactspot, but he fixed the locality
in a general way.
From that point, all trace ofCorbut was lost for a time.
(18:04):
At last, his body was found.
I succeeded in tracing the bodyback to a place near the spot
where Harrigan last saw Corbutalive.
I discovered that the body hadbeen removed from a flat house
on west 58th street.
My assistant Patsy questionedthe people in that house.
He learned that the third flathad been occupied by a couple
(18:25):
who lived very quietly.
The man was often away.
I now desire to ask the witnessEliza Harris who lives in that
house when she last saw the manin question.
The man who rented that thirdflat.
A bright eyed, little womanarose at this and said, I see
him now.
There he is.
(18:45):
She pointed to John Jones.
He wore a false beard.
She continued, but I know him.
And there's the woman.
She stretched out her handtowards Mrs.
Jones.
To their flat, nick continued.
As I have every reason tobelieve.
Corbett was taken by Jones onthat night and there he was
(19:06):
murdered and his body cut intwo.
It was placed in the trunks.
Joan's intended probably toremove it the next day, but his
arrest prevented.
Of course, it was necessary toget the body out of the way very
soon.
But Jones was too closelywatched that work had to be done
by the woman.
And she did it exceedingly well.
(19:28):
Nick told how Musgrave had beenduped.
Now he continued.
Nothing remains, but to clear upthe details of the crime in the
restaurant, I shall proceed tostate exactly how it was done.
At this moment, Jones who hadpreviously remained perfectly
calm, uttered a horrible groanand half arose to his feet.
He sank back fainting.
(19:50):
And then came a surprisingincident for which even the
shrewd superintendent of policehad been wholly unprepared.
A pale faced man, who had beensitting beside Nick arose and
cried in a voice that trembledwith emotion.
Stop stop.
I can bear this no longer.
It was Hammond.
(20:10):
The man who begged Nick to saveJones.
While Nick had been speaking.
Hammond's eyes had been fixedupon Jones's face.
He had watched the agony of feargrowing upon the wretched man
and gradually overcoming him.
And when the burden became toogreat for the accused to bear
Hammond also reached the limitof his endurance.
(20:30):
I can't stand it.
He cried.
You shall not torture thisinnocent man any longer.
What do you mean?
Ask the superintendent.
This is what I mean.
The fear of disgrace has kept mesilent too long.
Now I will confess everything.
Do you think I will sit here andlet an innocent man be condemned
(20:50):
and his wife put the torture tosave me from the, just
punishment of my fault.
Never.
Listen to me, it was I who tookthat unhappy woman to the place
where she met her death.
It was I who wrote that name inthe register.
I! I and not that innocent manwas her companion.
The waiter Gaspard is mistaken.
(21:12):
I am the man who was in room B.
Did Hammond really commit thecrime.
Is John Jones truly innocent.
Does Nick really know who thereal murder is?
The answer to these and otherquestions will be answered in
the exciting conclusion to NickCarter on the crime of the
(21:33):
French cafe.
Well, I didn't see that coming.
Did you, the story has gottenmore and more exciting.
I can't wait to see how thisends.
Thanks once again for listeningfolks, as a reminder, please
feel free to visit gutenberg.orgorg.
For other stories like NickCarter or other fascinating
(21:54):
tales of wonder from the past.
If you spot one that you thinkwould be a great fit for this
podcast send me a note throughthe podcast website while you're
there, you can send me a tip orsubscribe to be a supporter.
Purchase a birthday audio orvideo for a loved one, or read
the latest blog entry to seewhat the next story will be.
(22:14):
Until next time, folks keepsharing the stories and be a
good human.
Bye for now.
Hey everyone.
Welcome back to another episodeof forward into the past.
I'm JC Rede, your host andnarrator.
And today we're heading backinto the world of fictional New
York city in 1893, as seenthrough the eyes of Nick Carter,
master detective.
But before we set that way backmachine, a little clarification
(00:22):
and a little more history.
I need to state forclarification purposes that I am
in no way, affiliated withproject Gutenberg.
I am not receiving any sort ofcompensation nor sponsorship.
I am merely doing this podcastbecause a I'm a voice actor and
narrator B.
I love a good story and C.
(00:44):
Project Gutenberg providesstories that are free of any
copyright.
So I am able to read them aloudto you in this way, without
having to pay any entity orhaving the entity pay me.
Now that that's clear, let's geton with a little history before
we hit back into the story.
The story that we're enjoyingthe crime of the French cafe,
(01:05):
was written way back in 1893,and it appeared in the New York
weekly, a publication of theprint house Street and Smith.
When it was originally publishedin the New York weekly, it was a
serialized story, meaning thateach week you, the reader would
read another chapter in whateverthe story arc it was that you
(01:26):
were following.
And this is the essence of astory paper.
Story papers by and large wereexactly what they sounded like.
Newspapers.
If you separate the two wordswhere papers they give you the
news and story papers.
Likewise, give you stories.
Each week a story paper wouldgive readers in the mid to late
(01:48):
18 hundreds, several stories toread and follow.
It might be a weekly serial,like the Nick Carter stories.
Many times it was a short storyor perhaps a long form poem.
There were romances for theladies or adventure story set in
the frontier or the ocean forboys and men.
And so on.
Story papers where sometimes thesame size as newspapers.
(02:10):
Some were magazine sized, butthey were all approximately
eight pages and all had at leastone to two characters that could
or did build up a following.
Eventually those serializedweekly stories were collected
and reprinted into dime novels,which were cheaper to make due
to their size.
The print houses were very savvywhen it came to collecting these
(02:32):
stories.
Time's being what they were.
They knew that although thestory papers were printed
weekly.
Not everyone would be able toafford to buy a weekly paper.
Although, yes, that was theplan.
So they would reuse almost everysingle one of their stories,
many times over in severaldifferent options, usually
following a pattern.
(02:53):
The story would appear in thestory paper first.
Then perhaps again, in adifferent edition of a story
paper.
From there, it would be reusedin several dime novels, which
unlike story papers were alittle bit less disposable.
Nick Carter who was street andSmith's most popular weekly
character.
Had his stories repurposed inseveral ways.
(03:14):
From the New York weekly, hisstories jumped into his own
weekly magazine.
Nick Carter weekly.
Around the same time, many ofhis older stories from the New
York weekly.
We're bundled together inpaperback form under street and
Smith's magnet library around1900.
And the new magnet libraryaround 1910.
(03:34):
For perspective, the story thatwe're currently enjoying the
crime of the French cafe waswritten for the New York weekly
first back in 1893 in a weeklyserial format.
In 1894, the story was again,serialized in the Nick Carter,
weekly magazine.
In 1900, the entire serializedstory was gathered and printed
(03:57):
in street.
And Smith's magnet library,paperback under the title of the
crime of the French cafe andother stories.
It was reprinted under this sametitle in 1919.
Under street and Smith's newmagnet library.
Now it's the 1900 version thatexists in the project Gutenberg
(04:17):
library that I am humbled to besharing with you now.
And speaking about that.
We're moving on, going forwardinto the past shadowing, the
case files of Nick Carter,master detective.
When we left the story lasttime.
Mr.
Hammond began to tell his storyin order to clear John Jones of
any wrongdoing.
(04:38):
Then Mrs.
John Jones arrived to provide analibi for her husband.
Nick's young assistant Patsytold Nick of his own misgivings
on the case, questioningGaspard's rather quick
identifications.
After having the Jones isfollowed.
Nick is convinced that Jones isnot as innocent as he appears.
And finally, while trying toprove his hunch by climbing a
(04:59):
rope, tied to the roof, down topeer through a window.
Nick finds himself suddenlyplummeting down the side of a
building.
Oh, exciting stuff happening nowin the next installment of the
crime of the French cafe byNicholas Carter.
Chapter seven, the wardrobe ofGaspard's friend.
(05:25):
Nick Carter is hard to kill.
A good many crooks have tried toput him out of the world and a
fair percentage of them havelost their own lives in the
attempt.
Without inflicting any injuryupon Nick.
He is a man of resources andthat's what saves him.
When one thing fails him, hefinds something else to take its
place.
And so when that rope gave way,he took the next best thing.
(05:50):
That happened to be the sill ofthe window of Mr.
Jones's bathroom.
Nick seized it with a grip ofiron as he shot downward.
The strain on his arms wassomething awful, but he held on.
His fingers gripped the woodtill they dented it.
In two seconds.
He had scrambled through thewindow into Jones's flat.
It was done so noiselessly thatthe colored servant in the room
(06:14):
directly opposite across thenarrow shaft was not disturbed
in her reading.
From the bathroom Nick made hisway to the hall and thence to
the parlor.
Where Mr.
Jones to judge by the light inthe window observed by Musgrave
had decided to spend theevening.
Mr.
Jones was not visible when Nicklooked into the room.
(06:34):
The bedroom adjoining was alsoempty.
Nick ran through the flat, butsaw nobody.
He returned to the parlor andthere stood Mr.
Jones under the chandelier.
Well upon my word, exclaimedJones.
How did you get here?
I might ask you the same, SaidNick.
But it isn't worthwhile.
(06:55):
I've been here all the time.
Except when you were on theroof.
Nonsense, what should I be doingon the roof?
It wasn't what you were doing.
It's what you were undoing thatbothered me.
You were undoing the knot withwhich I fastened my rope before
I descended your air shaft toget a peep at your servant.
Nonsense again, Mr.
(07:15):
Carter.
How could I get to the roof?
I'll show you just how it wasdone.
Now, the first place you saw mecoming back to the house and you
guessed what I was going to do.
You went into this room.
And Nick dragged Jones into asort of closet adjoining the
parlor.
And you got out of that windowonto the fire escape.
That led you to the roof.
(07:37):
And the rest was simple.
You saw me go down and you triedto make me go down farther and a
good deal faster, but youfailed.
And the game's up.
Now, come to headquarters again.
What for.
For trying to kill me.
That's the charge against you.
And I haven't got through withyou on that other matter.
But for heaven's sake, pity mywife.
(07:58):
What's the matter with her.
She will be crazy when she getsback and finds me gone.
One of my men will tell herwhere you are.
Why did you lie to me about hergoing out?
I've a great mind to place hertoo under arrest.
You can't do it.
It's no crime to dodge adetective.
I admit that she did it, but fora very innocent purpose.
She has gone to see our lawyer.
(08:19):
Hmm.
Very well.
I will attend to that later.
Now, come with me.
Nick took Jones to the street.
Musgrave got a policeman andJones was put in his care.
Musgrave remained on the watchfor Mrs.
Jones.
While Nick went to get a reportfrom Patsy who was shadowing
Gaspard.
Jones's last words to Nick werethese.
(08:40):
I am a victim of circumstances.
I had nothing to do with themurder in the restaurant, nor
with any attempt upon your life.
You are doing me a graveinjustice.
If you were not as blind as abat, you would see who the real
criminals are.
These words were pronounced in acalm and steady tone.
And it cannot be denied thatthey produced a great effect
upon Nick.
(09:01):
If it should prove that I havewronged you, he said, I will
repay you for the injury to thelimit of your demand.
And the detective did a lot ofhard thinking while he was
walking toward Gaspard'slodgings, where he expected to
meet Patsy.
Certainly if Jones eversucceeded in establishing his
innocence, he would have won afriend in Nick Carter, whose
(09:22):
Goodwill is worth a fortune toany man.
Nick found Patsy outside thehouse where Gaspard lodged.
I'm dead onto this fellow, saidthe youth.
He's just about ready to flit.
He's bought lots of stuff todayand is flushed with money.
A man just went in there with asuit of clothes.
Two delivery wagons from drygoods stores have been here.
I suppose that the stuff theybrought belongs to the woman who
(09:43):
is going with Gaspard.
Have you seen her?
No, she has kept mighty dark.
Hello, what's this?
Nick drew Patsy more closelyinto the shadow of the steps by
which they were standing.
A carriage rumbled over thepavement and stopped before the
door of Gaspard's, lodginghouse.
Upon my word said, Nick, it's myold friend Harrigan on the box.
(10:05):
The way people keep bobbing upin this case is something
wonderful.
Perhaps the woman's in the cab,whispered Patsy.
On the contrary, the cab wasempty.
Harrigan got off the box andrang the bell.
Nick heard him ask for GaspardLebeaux.
Gaspard was summoned.
I've two trunks for you, saidHarrigan.
For me?
(10:26):
asked Gaspard.
Nick Carter (10:27):
Yes.
A young woman hired me to bringthem and she said it would be
all right.
You'd pay the price.
What sort of a woman.
A very gallus French siren witha big white hat and a black
plume.
As long as the tail of me horse.
Alright, said Gaspard promptly.
Bring in the trunks.
They were carried up the stairsto Gaspard's room.
(10:49):
Harrigan mounted the box anddrove away.
Follow him, said Nick.
Bring him back here in abouthalf an hour.
Patsy darted away in pursuit ofthe cab.
Nick walked up to the door ofGaspard's house and rang the
bell.
He was directed to theFrenchmans room.
Gaspard was examining the twotrunks.
He looked very much embarrassedat the site of Nick.
(11:11):
What's all this Gaspard?
Asked the detective.
I hear you're going back toFrance.
I?
Oh no.
New York suits me much better.
But what are these trunks doinghere?
Gaspard look particularlyfoolish.
They are the property of afriend, a lady.
To tell the truth.
(11:31):
I hope to marry her.
A charming girl, monsieur andinnocent as a dove.
Why does she send her trunkshere?
Ah, that I do not know.
It was not agreed upon.
Have you any idea what is inthem?
Her wardrobe.
Ah, she is extravagant.
She buys many dresses, but thenwhat would you have when one is
(11:54):
young and beautiful?
Gaspard finished his sentencewith a sweep of the arms.
Oh, they are heavy said Nicklifting one of the trunks and
setting it crosswise on alounge.
He took a bunch of keys from hispocket.
Gaspard seemed aghast.
You would not open it.
He cried.
(12:15):
Perhaps it won't be necessarysaid Nick.
This may answer.
He drew a knife from his pocketand opened one of the blades,
which was sharpened like a verylarge nut-pick.
With a sudden movement.
He struck this into the bottomof the trunk and then withdrew
it.
A dark red stream followed theblade when it was withdrawn.
The end of the trunk projectedover the side of the couch and
(12:37):
the red fluid dripped upon thecarpet.
My God exclaimed Gaspard.
It is blood! So it would seemsaid Nick quietly.
He set the trunk upon the floorand snapped back the lock with a
skeleton key.
Then he threw open the lid andrevealed a mass of Excelsior and
scraps of newspaper.
(12:58):
This being torn away, discloseda dead and ghastly face.
The face of unfortunate Corbut,the waiter.
Chapter eight.
Tracing the trunks.
Corbut's body had been cut intwo.
Only half was in the trunk,which Nick had opened.
The other half was not howeverfar away.
(13:21):
It was in the other trunk.
Both trunks containedconsiderable blood.
But they had been neatly linedwith rubber cloth, apparently
taken from a rubber blanket anda man's heavy waterproof coat.
It was so fitted that the trunkswhen closed were water tight.
The neatest job I ever saw saidNick.
(13:42):
Come, Gaspard.
Tell the story.
I swear to you, cried Gaspard,that I know nothing of it.
At this moment, Patsy rapped onthe door.
He had brought back Harrigan.
Come in said Nick and they bothentered.
Oh, holy mother! ShriekedHarrigan when he saw the open
trunks.
So help me, gentlemen, I don'tknow nothing about this
(14:05):
business.
I ain't in it I'm telling youstraight.
You's don't believe I hadanything to do with this.
Do ya?
You brought the trunks here,said Nick.
Let me tell you's all about it,cried Harrigan who was so
anxious to tell that he couldn'ttalk fast enough.
The French lady struck me on theold place.
You know where I was the othernight.
(14:25):
She talked kinda Dago, but Itumbled to what she was, a given
me.
This was about half past seven.
O'clock.
Meet me.
She says in an hour and shegives me street and number.
It was west 57th street, butthere ain't no such number.
There's nothing there, but ahigh board fence, but that
didn't make no differencebecause when I got there, her
(14:46):
giblets was a standing on thesidewalk waiting for me.
Drive over to the corner, saysshe and turn round and come
back.
I did it.
And when I got there, she showedme these two trunks.
I hadn't seen him before.
And she gives me this mugsaddress and two bones for me
fare.
And told me to come down here,which I did.
And I wished to heaven I hadn't,see?
(15:08):
That's a pretty good storyHarrigan, said Nick.
Patsy, get a policemen to staywith gaspard.
Patsy brought the blue coat in afew minutes.
Now we'll go up to 57th streetsaid Nick.
Half an hour later, they hadfound the place where as
Harrigan claimed The French ladyhad delivered the trunks to him.
I thought, of course, that she'dbeen fired out of some boarding
(15:29):
house said Harrigan, there's ahash mill there on the right.
I had an idea she'd been drawnout of there.
Nick.
Meanwhile had been examining thesidewalk with the aid of his
dark lantern.
Clever work.
He said.
There are no marks on thesidewalk.
The trunks would not dragged.
That woman must be prettystrong.
(15:49):
You say you didn't see thetrunks when you first drove up.
Now.
then they couldn't have beenhere.
Where were they?
Not in any of these houses?
She couldn't have got them outquick enough.
Then they must have been behindthat fence.
There was a little gate in thefence, which Nick opened as he
(16:10):
spoke.
Ah, here we have tracks.
He said.
It's all cleared enough now.
The trunks were brought acrossto this vacant lot from one of
the houses facing the otherstreet.
The lot is the width of threeflat houses, which stand behind
it.
There are no gates in the fencebetween the yards of the houses
in the lot.
But Nick found a wide board thatcould be pulled off and replaced
(16:32):
without much trouble.
Passing through the opening madeby taking away this board.
He found himself in the yard ofthe middle house.
The trunks came from here hesaid.
They were lowered down in thedumbwaiter to the cellar.
And then carried through the lottwo 57th street.
I'll leave the rest of this jobto you, Patsy.
Find out all you can and have asmany witnesses as you can get
(16:55):
together at the superintendent'soffice tomorrow afternoon at
three o'clock.
We're going to have a specialexamination into this case.
The special examination beganpromptly at the hour named by
Nick.
All the person's hithertomentioned in connection with the
case.
Except of course the two victimswere present.
There were also severalwitnesses whom Patsy had
(17:17):
secured.
The case, which I have made out,said Nick, is perfectly clear.
It begins with Gaspard'sidentification of the prisoner,
Jones.
We know that he was at therestaurant when the crime was
committed.
His name is on the books.
In some way, which I am not nowprepared to fully explain, the
waiter Corbut, obtained theknowledge of the crime.
(17:40):
It was necessary for thecriminal to get Corbut out of
the way.
I saw Corbut get into a cab atthe door of the restaurant.
The driver, Harrigan testifiedto taking him and another man to
a point on west 57th street.
He was not sure of the exactspot, but he fixed the locality
in a general way.
From that point, all trace ofCorbut was lost for a time.
(18:04):
At last, his body was found.
I succeeded in tracing the bodyback to a place near the spot
where Harrigan last saw Corbutalive.
I discovered that the body hadbeen removed from a flat house
on west 58th street.
My assistant Patsy questionedthe people in that house.
He learned that the third flathad been occupied by a couple
(18:25):
who lived very quietly.
The man was often away.
I now desire to ask the witnessEliza Harris who lives in that
house when she last saw the manin question.
The man who rented that thirdflat.
A bright eyed, little womanarose at this and said, I see
him now.
There he is.
(18:45):
She pointed to John Jones.
He wore a false beard.
She continued, but I know him.
And there's the woman.
She stretched out her handtowards Mrs.
Jones.
To their flat, nick continued.
As I have every reason tobelieve.
Corbett was taken by Jones onthat night and there he was
(19:06):
murdered and his body cut intwo.
It was placed in the trunks.
Joan's intended probably toremove it the next day, but his
arrest prevented.
Of course, it was necessary toget the body out of the way very
soon.
But Jones was too closelywatched that work had to be done
by the woman.
And she did it exceedingly well.
(19:28):
Nick told how Musgrave had beenduped.
Now he continued.
Nothing remains, but to clear upthe details of the crime in the
restaurant, I shall proceed tostate exactly how it was done.
At this moment, Jones who hadpreviously remained perfectly
calm, uttered a horrible groanand half arose to his feet.
He sank back fainting.
(19:50):
And then came a surprisingincident for which even the
shrewd superintendent of policehad been wholly unprepared.
A pale faced man, who had beensitting beside Nick arose and
cried in a voice that trembledwith emotion.
Stop stop.
I can bear this no longer.
It was Hammond.
(20:10):
The man who begged Nick to saveJones.
While Nick had been speaking.
Hammond's eyes had been fixedupon Jones's face.
He had watched the agony of feargrowing upon the wretched man
and gradually overcoming him.
And when the burden became toogreat for the accused to bear
Hammond also reached the limitof his endurance.
(20:30):
I can't stand it.
He cried.
You shall not torture thisinnocent man any longer.
What do you mean?
Ask the superintendent.
This is what I mean.
The fear of disgrace has kept mesilent too long.
Now I will confess everything.
Do you think I will sit here andlet an innocent man be condemned
(20:50):
and his wife put the torture tosave me from the, just
punishment of my fault.
Never.
Listen to me, it was I who tookthat unhappy woman to the place
where she met her death.
It was I who wrote that name inthe register.
I! I and not that innocent manwas her companion.
The waiter Gaspard is mistaken.
(21:12):
I am the man who was in room B.
Did Hammond really commit thecrime.
Is John Jones truly innocent.
Does Nick really know who thereal murder is?
The answer to these and otherquestions will be answered in
the exciting conclusion to NickCarter on the crime of the
(21:33):
French cafe.
Well, I didn't see that coming.
Did you, the story has gottenmore and more exciting.
I can't wait to see how thisends.
Thanks once again for listeningfolks, as a reminder, please
feel free to visit gutenberg.orgorg.
For other stories like NickCarter or other fascinating
(21:54):
tales of wonder from the past.
If you spot one that you thinkwould be a great fit for this
podcast send me a note throughthe podcast website while you're
there, you can send me a tip orsubscribe to be a supporter.
Purchase a birthday audio orvideo for a loved one, or read
the latest blog entry to seewhat the next story will be.
(22:14):
Until next time, folks keepsharing the stories and be a
good human.
Bye for now.
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