that means he could keep
his eye upon her for several days thereafter, and ultimately could round
up the gang of crooks which he had no doubt she had organized.

But Madge, although she had no idea that either of the strangers might
be Nick Carter, did not intend that these two men should leave that room
without passing through some sort of inspection which would serve to
identify them for what they might be.

While every one else in that place was thoroughly satisfied about them,
because of their presence with Curly, this fact cut no ice with Black
Madge, and always suspicious, she was instantly suspicious of them when
they entered.

Therefore, a very short time had elapsed after the detectives took their
seats at the table, before she left her own place, and crossed the
sawdust-covered floor swiftly to Curly's table.

There she slapped him on the shoulder, as a man might have done, and
with a laugh, which called the attention of every other person in the
room to what she was doing, as she intended it to do, she exclaimed:

"Hello, Curly. It does me good to see you back among us again. How did
you put out the lamps of those chaps up in Mulberry Street, so that they
let you out?"

Curly, who was wise in his day and generation, jumped to his feet and
shook hands heartily with Black Madge; for he guessed instantly that it
was not to greet him that she had crossed the floor, but rather to gain
a closer view of his companions, and by standing erect he could keep her
a little distance without appearing to do so.

"Oh! they just found out they didn't want me," he replied. And then,
realizing that something was expected of him by the others in the room,
at least, if not Madge herself, he jerked a chair around toward her, and
added: "Sit down, Madge, won't you, and have something?"

"Sure," she replied, laughing again, and dropping negligently into the
chair.

"What kind of a game are you playing now, Madge?" asked Curly, after he
had motioned to the waiter to approach; and then, pausing long enough
to give the order, he added: "Last I heard of you you were behind the
mosquito bars resting up a bit."

Madge laughed again. She seemed to be full of laughter to-night, but it
was an uneasy, imperfect, and significant sort of laughter that Nick
Carter had heard from her lips before, and which he, therefore,
understood. He realized, now, that it was important that he should
proceed with great caution.

"Oh, yes," she sa