Nick Carter Stories No. 158, September 18, 1915: The blue veil; or, Nick Carter's torn trail.

Nick Carter, the legendary sleuth, finds himself confronting a baffling new threat. A criminal mastermind named David Margate has slipped through the detective’s grasp by exploiting an uncanny physical resemblance to a respectable hotel manager. When the authorities raid a house of conspirators, Margate vanishes in a flash, leaving only bewildered witnesses and a trail of questions. Carter’s reputation for razor‑sharp perception is now put to the test against a foe who seems to be everywhere at once.

The chase leads Carter to the bustling Westgate Hotel, where a secret electric signal hidden beneath a carpet corner warns the impostor of impending danger. In a daring pursuit, Carter and his assistant Patsy Garvan discover a bewildering scene: the man they thought was Margate lies unconscious in a suite, yet the clothes he wears match those seen only minutes earlier. As the detective pieces together the impossible switch‑eroo, the stakes rise, promising a tense battle of wits before the true identity of the blue‑veiled adversary is revealed.