Roanoke Rapids herald. [volume] (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.) 1914-192?, 1915-08-13
Fifteenth INSTAllMENT
CHAPTER xxxv.

81 The first shock was over. Craig
"a body had been removed, and the girl
had taken Mary, half stunned wit
III grief, to their room. French an
III Quest were left alone.
E That Is some disappointment,
II the former remarked, gloomily
81 1T Is disappointment" CUES
said, slowly, which may clear tn,
& way to bigger things"
What's in your mind now?" French
inquired.
Quest shook his head.
"A turmoil First of all where /,
the professor
Must have scooted right ava,
home,' French suggested. He Wal
i booking pretty sick all the time, Guess
= II must have been a powerful shocl
Tor him, and he isn't SO young as he
psed to be-"
Give me that paper of Craig'l
again, Quest asked
& The inspector produced the docu
ment from his inner pocket, and
quest, stretching It out upon his knee
read it word for word
Never to communicate or to have
anything to do with anyone OF the
name of Ashleigh, eh?" he remarked
as he handed 1t back again, Rather
queer provision, that, French
I've been thinking that myself" the
inspector admitted
Quest glanced at the clock.
Well" he said, ~ you're ready
inspector we'll be getting along"
The two men drove to the outskirts
of the city almost In silence The
professors house seemed more than
ever deserted as they drew up at the
front door. They entered without
ringing and crossed the hall towards
the library. On the threshold Quest
paused and held up his finger.
Someone is in there" he whispered,
stepping quickly forward. Gomez"
He threw open the door. The room
was empty, yet both Quest and French
were conscious Of curious eonvic
ton that 1t had been occupied with,
In the last few seconds.
Queer, but 1t seemed to me heard
someone" French muttered.
Il was sure OF IT," Quest replied.
They stood still for a moment and
listened The silence In the empty
house was almost unnatural. Quest
turned away with a shrug of the
shoulders,
AT any rate" he said, "Craig's dy.
ing thoughts must have been truth.
full Come"
i He led the way to the fireplace,
! went down on his knees and passed
his hands over the bricks The third
zone he touched. shook He tapped
Ut without a doubt It was hollow.
with his penknife he loosened the
&mortar little and drew II out easily.
The back was open. Inside was the
black box
"Craig's secret at last" French
muttered, hoarsely. Bring 1t to the
Hight, quick!"
ia They were Unconditional men, but the
moment was supreme The key to
the mystery of these tragical weeks
was there In their hands! Their eyes
almost devoured those few hastily
scrawled words buried with so much
care:
See Page 80, January Number,
American Medical journal, 1905.
They looked at one another. They
repeated vaguely this most common.
place of messages. As the final result
OF their strenuous enterprise, these
cryptic words seemed pitifully made
Quate. Quests face darkened He
8crumpled the paper In his fingers.
There must be some meaning In
this, he muttered. 1t can't be alto
gether FOOLS game we're on. Wait"
He moved towards a table which
usually stood against the wall, but
which had obviously been dragged
out recently into the middle of the
room. 1t was covered with bound
volumes, Quest glanced at one and
exclaimed softly;
American Medical Journal, 1906!
French, there's something In this mes
sage, after ALL"
He turned over the pages rapidly
Then he came TO stop. Page 81
was there; page 81 had been neatly
removed with rair of scissors.
THE professor!" he cried. THE
professors been at work here!"
The two men stood looking at one
another across the table. Strange
thoughts were framing themselves In
the brains of both of them. Then
there came a startling and in its way
dramatic interlude Through the
empty house came the ringing OF the
electric bell from the front door. shrill
and insistent. Without a moments
hesitation, Quest hurried out and
French followed him. On the doorstep
was another surprise. Lenora and
Laura were there. the former carry
Ing a small, black bound volume.
Don't be cross" she begged,
quickly. 1--WE just had to come. Look!
We picked this up underneath the