climb to make, hand over hand, to the roof.

The instant that his eyes rested on the girl, he began the ascent.

He had gone up less than six feet when the rope suddenly gave way, and
he found himself plunging downward through the shaft.




CHAPTER VII.

THE WARDROBE OF GASPARD'S FRIEND.


Nick Carter is hard to kill. A good many crooks have tried to put him
out of the world, and a fair percentage of them have lost their own
lives in the attempt without inflicting any injury upon Nick.

He is a man of resources, and that's what saves him. When one thing
fails him, he finds something else to take its place.

And so, when that rope gave way, he took the next best thing.

That happened to be the sill of the window of Mr. Jones' bath-room. Nick
seized it with a grip of iron as he shot downward.

The strain on his arms was something awful, but he held on. His fingers
gripped the wood till they dented it.