Part 27 (2/2)
”Only this!”
Quest opened it and read it through. It was from the Sheriff of a small town in Connecticut:--
”The men you enquired for are both here. They have sold an automobile and seem to be spending the proceeds. Shall I arrest?”
Quest studied the message for a moment.
”Say, this is rather interesting, Professor,” he remarked.
”Really?” the latter replied tartly. ”You must forgive me if I cannot follow the complications of your--pardon me for saying Munchausen-like affairs. How does the arrest of these two men help you?”
”Don't you see?” Quest explained. ”These are the two thugs who set upon me up at the section house. They killed the signalman, who could have been my alibi, and swiped my car, in which, as it cannot be found, French supposes that I returned to New York. With their arrest the case against me collapses. I tell you frankly, Professor,” Quest continued, frowning, ”I hate to leave the city without having found that girl; but I am not sure that the quickest way to set things right would not be to go down, arrest these men and bring them back here, clear myself, and then go tooth and nail for Craig.”
”I agree with you most heartily,” the Professor declared. ”I recommend any course which will ensure the return of my man Craig.”
”I cannot promise you that you will ever have Craig here again,” Quest observed grimly. ”I rather fancy Sing-Sing will be his next home.”
”Don't be foolish, Mr. Quest,” the Professor advised. ”Don't let me lose confidence in you. Craig would not hurt a fly, and as to abducting your a.s.sistant--if my sense of humour were developed upon normal lines--well, I should laugh! What you have really done, you, and that young lady a.s.sistant of yours, is to terrify the poor fellow into such a state of nerves that he scarcely knows what he is doing. As a matter of fact, how do you know that that young woman has been abducted at all? Such things are most unlikely, especially in this part of the city.”
”What reason do you suggest, then, for her disappearance?” Quest enquired.
”At my age,” the Professor replied, drily, ”I naturally know nothing of these things. But she is a young woman of considerable personal attractions--I should think it not unlikely that she is engaged in some amorous adventure.”
Quest laughed derisively.
”You do not know Lenora, Mr. Ashleigh,” he remarked. ”However, if it interests you, I will tell you why I know she has been abducted. Only a few hours ago, I was talking to her.”
The Professor turned his head swiftly towards Quest. There was a queer sort of surprise in his face.
”Talking to her?”
Quest nodded.
”Our pocket wireless!” he explained. ”Lenora has even described to me the room in which she is hidden.”
”And the neighbourhood also?” the Professor demanded.
”Of that she knows nothing,” Quest replied. ”She is in a room apparently at the top of a house and the only window is in the roof. She can see nothing, hear nothing. When I get hold of the man who put her there,”
Quest continued slowly, ”it will be my ambition to supplement personally any punishment the law may be able to inflict.”
The Professor's manner had lost all its petulance. He looked at Quest almost with admiration.
”The idea of yours is wonderful,” he confessed. ”I am beginning to believe in your infallibility, Mr. Quest. I am beginning to believe that on this occasion, at any rate, you will triumph over your enemies.”
Quest rose to his feet.
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