The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Crime of the French Cafe and Other
Stories, by Nicholas Carter

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

Title: The Crime of the French Cafe and Other Stories

Author: Nicholas Carter

Release Date: April 11, 2004 [EBook #11989]
[Date last updated: January 22, 2005]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FRENCH CAFE ***

Produced by Steven desJardins and Distributed Proofreaders

The Crime of the French Cafe

Nick Carter's Ghost Story

The Mystery of St. Agnes' Hospital

_THREE COMPLETE STORIES OF THE EXPLOITS OF
NICHOLAS CARTER, AMERICA'S GREATEST DETECTIVE_

THE CRIME OF THE FRENCH CAFE.

CHAPTER I.

PRIVATE DINING-ROOM "B."

There is a well-known French restaurant in the "Tenderloin" district
which provides its patrons with small but elegantly appointed private
dining-rooms.

The restaurant occupies a corner house; and, though its reputation is
not strictly first-class in some respects, its cook is an artist, and
its wine cellar as good as the best.

It has two entrances, and the one on the side street is not well lighted
at night.

At half-past seven o'clock one evening Nick Carter was standing about
fifty yards from this side door.

The detective had shadowed a man to a house on the side street, and was
waiting for him to come out.

The case was a robbery of no great importance, but Nick had taken it to
oblige a personal friend, who wished to have the business managed
quietly. This affair would not be worth mentioning, except that it led
Nick to one of the most peculiar and interesting criminal puzzles that
he had ever come across in all his varied experience.

While Nick waited for his man he saw a closed carriage stop before the
side door of the restaurant.

Almost immediately a waiter, bare-headed and wearing his white apron,
came hurriedly out of the side door and got into the carriage, which
instantly moved away at a rapid rate.

This incident struck Nick as being very peculiar. The waiter had acted
like a man who was running away.

As he crossed the sidewalk he glanced hastily from side to side, as if
afraid of being seen, and perhaps stopped.