San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-10-07
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with delft sleight-of-hand transferred !
to his pocket, bringing up in its steat
q cigaret.
It's safe," he assured her.
sand now tell me about your worl
with Bristow," she said.
! He did SO briefly, explaining the fea
lures connected with it that might in
ure to their benefit.
"Also, he went on, 81 have found
out about Higgins as you asked me
to-"
"Oh, yes?" But the interest she
had shown the day before in the de-
crepit old man seemed to have waned
Hes hand in glove with Bristow,
said Kelsey, concluding his sketchy
report. sand / have no doubt Is just
as big a crook"
"And Copley. too" added the girl
with conviction. They're all three
crooks together"
Kelsey himself had much the same
idea, but be hadn't wanted to say it.
Strange, that she should speak so OF
her sister.
But already her thoughts seemed to
have turned in another direction. She
was gazing again at the gap in the
wall.
"Do you know anything of DR.. Bris.
lows engagements?" she asked unex.
pectedly.
He shook his head. "Only, that
heard him tell his secretary, he would
be attending q dinner Of the Medical
Society in town tomorrow night"
Tomorrow night" For some rea-
son. this seemed to her extremely i'm.
portant.
"And Copley's sick headache will
last two or three days; they always
do" She spoke musingly as if the two
facts to her held some connection.
Fearing that he had already stayed
too long with her, and knowing of
nothing else to be said, Kelsey rose
to go; but she detained him with a
quick gesture.
Watt" He could see that her
fingers were trembling as she guided
her pencil; there was an excited trem'
or in her voice. II must see you to-
morrow. Don't let anything prevent.
l have an idea. We may be able to
get away"
He nodded. A nurse was moving
toward them, and he dared not linger.
Il will lay off about noon, and find
YOU"
He was eager of course to see what
the message she had given him con-
tanned. but he deliberately held him
self in check. He ate his dinner,
talked an hour or so with Morton,
and it was not until he was safe in
his room and had taken every pre-
caution against surprise, that he ven
tured to look at it.
II was brought here" it began
without preamble, Il don't know
how. The next day. it must have
been the next day-Dr. Bristow told
me that / had been very i'll and was
in hospital, but that would see
my father and mother soon. ! be-
lieved what he said for little while.
But when the effects of the drug
wore off - / must have been given a
drug - felt well and strong. My
parents did not come, there were ex-
cuses. l insisted on going home, Dr.
Bristow and the Copley woman
wouldn't let me. When l tried to
go, they prevented me by force. l
screamed and struggled. Then the
doctor put drug into my arm.
These scenes happened several times
and always ended in the same way.
They never let me get out of that
one room. Then one day when Cop
ley thought / was asleep, heard her
tal'aing outside my door to another
nurse.
This woman said: is your sister
getting any better? and Copley an.
swered in weepy voice: No, she'll
never be any better, I'm afraid They
talked a while, and then the other
nurse said: If you were little
younger, dearie, and hadn't been
here for years, I'd try and get the
hundred thousand dollars reward for
that missing Hope Ranger. You're
almost a dead ringer for her.
"Then it all flashed over me, what
they were doing; why ]. Hope Ran
ger. was in this place
The sheets of the letter shook in
Kelsey's hands.
AFTER heard these women talk
ing, and understood what it meant,
I nearly went mad, trying to think