d strong a card for us to lose. But in
losing her head over Venner, and jealously doing up that girl to-day,
she has given the Carters a clew by which to track us."

"How so, Dave?" muttered Stall, growing a bit pale.

"Through Venner, of course!" Kilgore forcibly argued. "Until this job of
to-day, Carter has had no definite suspicion of Venner, a possibility
which we headed off with that fake robbery. Now, however, since Cervera
must lie low, and Carter knows of her relations with Venner, he will
suspect the latter and make him a constant mark, in the hope of landing
the girl."

"By Heaven, that's so!" snarled Dalton, quickly seeing the point.

"And that's not the worst of it," added Kilgore. "The moment he suspects
Venner, Carter will connect him with us, and know that that robbery was
a put-up job. Then he'll begin to seek us and our game."

"But how can he locate us?"

"Locate us?" sneered Kilgore, acidly. "You don't know Nick Carter! I'll
tell you, Spotty, he can smell a rat further than any ferret that ever
shoved his nose under a miller's barn. As sure as death and taxes, Nick
Carter will run us down and land us, every mother's son of us--unless we
can get him, and put him down and out."

"By Heaven, I begin to think so myself," growled Stall. "If we--"

"There are no ifs, ands or buts about it, Matt," interrupted Kilgore,
decisively. "We must down them both, Nick and Chick Carter, or our game
is as good as done for."

"But how can we land them, Dave, and when?"

"I already have a plan, and I think the first move may be made this
very night."

"What's the plan, Dave?"

"To lure both detectives into Venner's house, and there do them up. If
we can get them to come there voluntarily, their fate may never be
learned, and our tracks will be better covered than by doing the job
elsewhere."

"That's true enough, since they're not likely to disclose their
intentions, and if they come in disguise, no one about here will have
recognized them."

"That's just my theory."

"But how can we lure them to Venner's house?"

"With the help of Pylotte, whom they do not know, nor ever heard of.
He's a brainy dog, moreover, and crafty enough to blind them."

"But what's your scheme for to-night?" demanded Dalton.

"After what has happened," replied Kilgore, "it's a safe gamble that the
Carters are at this moment watching Venner's house. If they are--but
wait a bit! First hear my whole plan."

The three crimina