Suspicions were mingled with Nick Carter’s surprise at seeing Nancy Nordeck. They were perfectly natural, too, under the circumstances, and in view of the disclosures to which he had just listened. The presence of a girl with a criminal record in the home of a man whose death was shrouded in mystery, much more of a mystery than Mrs. Darling even imagined, though already keenly appreciated by the detective, might indeed be significant.
Months had passed since Nick last saw Nancy Nordeck. She had so improved in looks that he hardly recognized her. She bore little likeness to the frail girl with pinched and haggard face, who was so deeply affected by the violent death of her crook father that she had resolved to reform, a moral awakening that Nick had by no means felt sure would be lasting.
