1
The Mystery of St. Agnes' Hospital
Nick Carter
1893
Chapter I
Lawrence Deever Demands Justice
"I call it a perfectly plain case, Mr. Colton."
"A case of what?"
"Why, murder, of course."
"Who has been murdered?"
As "Mr. Colton"--who was no other than Nick Carter--asked this question, his face looked as innocent as a babe's. He seemed surprised to hear that there had been a murder, though his companion, Lawrence Deever, had been saying so repeatedly during the last half hour.
Deever now looked at Nick with eyes and mouth wide open.
"Who has been murdered?" he repeated. "My brother has been murdered."
"What makes you think so?" asked Nick, calmly.
"What, indeed!" exclaimed Deever. "I have told you already."
"No, you haven't. You have told me that your brother has been missing since night before last."
"I told you more than that," cried Deever. "He is known to have quarreled with that man Jarvis."
"Dr. Jarvis, of St. Agnes' Hospital?"
"Of course. And I have proved--"
"You have proved nothing," said Nick. "Let me repeat your statements:
"Your brother Patrick worked for Dr. Jarvis, or under his direction, in the garden of St. Agnes' Hospital. The doctor frequently remonstrated with Patrick for drinking too much whisky, and--"
"Remonstrated!" exclaimed Deever. "That's hardly the word for it. He abused the lad. He struck him half a dozen times during the last week."
"With the flat of his hand," said Nick, smiling. "That is hardly the foundation for a charge of murder."