Chapter XV: Maddening Suspense

The detective gave hurried orders to his assistants and set them to work on another investigation into Grantley’s past, with a view to ascertain, if possible, the surgeon’s experiences in Wall Street.

Unfortunately, nothing of any importance was unearthed.

It was learned that Doctor Grantley had speculated heavily at one time, years before, and was supposed to have been unlucky in some of his investments, but the exact facts could not be obtained.

Nick felt it his duty to communicate the little he had learned to the blind magnate, and did so, but without result. Baldwin’s hope had been aroused, and he was pathetically eager to undergo the operation. He sent word to Nick that he could not see how the latter’s information affected the situation. Many men had burned their fingers in blind speculation, he declared, and added his conviction that a detective, with the best intentions in the world, was “making a mountain out of a child’s sand pile.”

Still Nick did not despair, and the probe went on. The next day passed without bringing anything more definite to light, and the morning of the operation dawned.

The blind millionaire was already in Grantley’s hands, having gone to the private hospital the evening before, in order to become settled in his new environment and to have a chance to quiet down before the fateful hour arrived.

He had no immediate relatives, and would allow no one else to dictate to him. Against Doctor Vanderpool’s advice, and in spite of the physician’s anxious pleadings, he insisted upon trusting Grantley implicitly.

“It’s all or nothing with me,” he persisted in saying. “This operation is altogether too important to me to allow its success to be threatened in any way. Grantley knows he is under suspicion, but I do not suspect him in the least, and I shall consent to nothing that would lead him to think so. He doesn’t want you or any other hostile personality present, and I don’t blame him. Besides, it might affect his nerves disastrously. And any nurse you would be likely to introduce would be bound to reflect the same antagonistic attitude toward him and his staff. I won’t have my chances jeopardized by any such childish jealousies.”

Doctor Vanderpool threw up his hands at that, but Baldwin laid down the law still further. He made it plain that he not only meant to place himself in Grantley’s hands for the operation itself, but that he did not wish any interference afterward, until such time as the surgeon should pronounce him ready to receive visitors.

The financier’s stubborn attitude caused Nick Carter many misgivings, but the detective saw that his own hands were tied. He could not force his way into the house, in the face of Grantley’s enmity toward him, at such a critical time. What was more, he could not even keep an effective watch over the premises, although that would have been small comfort at best.

The house immediately adjoining Grantley’s, which Nick had previously occupied for a time, had been regularly rented since then, so that that vantage point was no longer available.

The blind master of millions had, by his own act, completely isolated himself from his friends for an indefinite period, and put himself unreservedly in the power of the rascally Grantley, his no less unscrupulous assistant, Doctor Siebold, and the hard-faced nurse, Kate Rawlinson.

Moreover, even the protection of publicity was denied to Baldwin’s anxious well-wishers. They would have preferred, for the sake of the effect upon Grantley, to have all the papers publish the fact. They would have liked to see reporters calling at the private hospital at frequent intervals, in the hope that public knowledge and interest would deter the surgeon from crime, if he contemplated anything of the sort.

But Baldwin had also made that impossible, and for a very good reason: He realized that there would be the greatest alarm in financial circles if it became known in advance that he was about to submit to an operation at the hands of Doctor Hiram Grantley, and, in order to protect his own interests and those of his friends, he had taken the most elaborate precautions to keep his whereabouts secret.

The situation was maddening, but it could not be helped.

Ten o’clock came and went. Eleven struck, and then twelve. Doctor Vanderpool was almost beside himself with suspense. He longed to go to Grantley’s house and inquire about the success of the operation, but he did not dare for fear the secret would be revealed through the fact that he was known to be J. Hackley Baldwin’s physician. Besides, such operations often require several hours.

Consequently, the doctor haunted Nick Carter’s house, instead. Finally, at one o’clock, Nick telephoned to Grantley’s house. Hoff, the German manservant, answered the phone. Nick gave his name and asked after Grantley’s patient.

The German replied that his employer had been expecting such an inquiry and had instructed him to say that the operation had been successful in every respect, and that Mr. Baldwin was resting quietly. It would be several days, however, before the patient could safely receive callers, and meanwhile he would, of course, remain at the private hospital. Doctor Grantley did not care to answer in person.

There was an undercurrent of hostility and contempt in the manner in which the message was delivered, but that was to be expected. It did not necessarily mean anything, for Nick could hope for nothing else from Grantley or any of his employees. The detective could do nothing but formally thank his informant and hang up the receiver.

He repeated the message, word for word, to Doctor Vanderpool, and the two consulted.

Obviously, they knew no more than they had known before. The message might be a lie from end to end, it might be partially true, or all true, and there was no way of finding out until Grantley was ready to let them, unless they went counter to the millionaire’s express injunctions.

Would they be justified in doing so? That was one of the most important of the many problems which confronted them.

There had been something resembling a ring of truth about Hoff’s report of the success of the operation, but Nick had already foreseen the possibility that Grantley might take a fiendish delight in restoring the millionaire’s sight and then injure him terribly--if not actually kill him--in some other way.

To have to wait for days without knowing the true situation seemed more than flesh could bear.

On the other hand, if Grantley had really performed the operation in good faith, a forcible entry and examination of the patient might work grave injury.

Baldwin would be kept in a dark room for some time, under such circumstances, and rest and quiet were an important part of the cure.

It would excite him greatly to have his wishes disregarded, and Grantley would doubtless resist such an invasion to the last--very likely to the extent of arming himself and his staff.

The detective and Vanderpool realized all this, and finally came to the conclusion, with the greatest reluctance, that they must let matters take their course for a few days.

Some kind of an operation had doubtless been performed on the financier, and it was extremely improbable that their interference at that late hour could materially benefit him. Apparently, the most that could be done involved a more or less long-distance oversight of Grantley’s doings.

If any suspicious departures, or other questionable activities were noticed, it would be time to step in, but not otherwise.

Time passed. Repeated inquiries were made, both by phone and in person. Not until the third day did Grantley condescend to see the detective when the latter called, and then the interview was as fruitless as it could well have been.

The surgeon assured Nick that Baldwin was improving constantly, but he peremptorily refused to permit his patient to be seen. Moreover, he would make no definite statement as to the date of Baldwin’s return home.

To be sure, he did give the detective a message, which purported to come from the jealously guarded financier. It was to the effect that all was well, and that Nick and Doctor Vanderpool were not to worry; but that might easily have been made up out of whole cloth.

The surgeon’s manner was as irreproachable as ever, and Nick had to confess to himself once more that if Grantley was playing a part, it was a masterly one.

Thus a week of harrowing uncertainty passed.

At the end of it came the crash.