T J Telegram e e ram Fiction At Last I My Love p t 9 1 i 1 D By Y PY Phyllis Is Moore Gallagher a a er d 1 I CHAPTER 4 k Jane came back consciousness consciousness consciousness con con- slowly pal painfully l fighting the cloudy vapors that still clogged dogged her brain beam violently nauseated What happened to tome tome tome me she wondered drowsily and knew vaguely that she was beg beg- b begging g- g 3 ging- ging aloud for something to i. i drink whimpering like a little child The Th fog cleared slowly and Jane opened her eyes at last to toa toa toa a small white room with plaster cracked in long white lips across the ceiling white walls with no pictures on them A bare tiny room with nothing in it but the theIron theIron Iron cot she was lying on She was wide awake now lyIng lying ly- ly rr Ing trig still moving her het eyes around A door opened slowly and every nerve in Janes Jane's body went t tense nse Lying on the iron cot she turned her head slowly and wasn't shocked to see that a aman aman aman man stood in the doorway She had known that when some one came it would be a man This one was short stocky with a white handkerchief across his face His eyes above it were black brilliant with little sharp points of fire that seemed to shoot out and prick into her t flesh Feeling better now now he t asked and Jane knew instinctively instinctively that the man wasn't using his own voice but one one- that couldn't be identified later It was too pitched high-pitched for that thick throat too weak for that short stocky body I 1 feel a little better she shet t said Id like something to drink though Coffee Caffee if that's k possible The man went out of the room a moment and when he hes s came back he had a steaming l cup of coffee in his hand As Ashe Ashe he passed it to Jane a sharp saber of fear plunged through her She took the cup heart pounding wildly but all of her senses her whole attention was riv riveted eted on the mans man's hand That odd jade ring on the middle finger Those short thick fingers Shed She'd seen that hand before and that ring In the Est Esta a corridor at City in front of Richard Waltham's door When Jane finished the coffee coffee coffee cof cof- fee the man took the cup disappeared disa disappeared dis dis- a appeared again for a second When he returned another man was with him face covered by a handkerchief They both stood there looking at her silent y Where am I she asked t and was thankful her voice wasn't shaky Never mind that the stocky man said Do you feel strong enough to get up now Yes Jane said And then Why have you me t 5 5 find out soon enough f the tall man said Follow me y Jane managed to struggle to tor r her feet But as she followed the themen themen thet t men down a short dark hall her brain reeled and her legs felt as asif asif asif if they didn't belong to her Twice she paused to get her breath struggling against waves of blackness that rushed at her F It seemed like 10 miles mUes that she followed the men down that dark hall hail Then they were in int t a front of a closed door One of the men swung stood aside for Jane to pass through 1 H into a small lighted brilliantly-lighted S room She was running running- across across ss k that room then to an n iron cot cota a. a a cot like the one in the room she had just left A young man was on it it a long slender shinder J 3 figure with a wealth of black hair Jane could only see his back and a shoulder soaked ti with blood Her practiced t i fingers were feeling the mans man's pulse even before she looked at athis his face Speed Medicine May Save Waltham Hes got a chance to pull through if we can stop this bleeding entirely she said hurriedly hurriedly hurriedly hur hur- forgetting her own sick stomach her dizziness her weakness Hes been shot hasn't he That tourniquet you put on his arm isn't tight enough It has stopped some o of the bleeding but not enough 5 You put the tourniquet on didn't t you 1 V That's right one of the themen themen r men said Then Jane saw the man on the cot Really For the first time Richard Waltham's white face ghastly from loss of blood He had turned his head a little was smiling up at her a queer sick racked pain-racked smile Fancy meeting you h here re he said and his voice was scarcely a whisper whis whis- per And tell ell Dorothy I Iwas Iwas Iwas was sorry I broke our date for this this afternoon You see see see-I I Iwas was unavoidably detain detained d. d Jane was all nurse nurse- then rapidly rapIdly rapidly rap rap- idly naming a list of things that all nurses think of in an emer emer- emer gency One of the men asked where the hell he could get all that stuff this time of the night and Jane gave him the name game name of ofa a drug store that stayed open all night Please dont don't forget anything Let me write the list Give Gi-e me a pencil and a piece of paper One of the men did as she requested and she began rapidly rapid rapid- ly Heavy white bandage Erlinger's Erlinger's Erlinger's Er- Er lingers linger's antiseptic Lysol Padget's codeine V It was as a along along along long list when shed she'd finished If If you want him to live and andI I presume you do or otherwise I wouldn't have been you'd better hurry with those things Hes He's Hes got to live dive the man an ansa sa said d for for a little whole any any- way Then hurry and her her voice held a note of command which sent the man rushing from the room Th The other man closed the thedoor thedoor thedoor door leaned against it and lit a cigarette As he lifted the edge of the handkerchief to inhale inhaled d deeply Jane tried to see his face But it Was it Avas useless He was being too oo careful He s said slowly No conversation conversation conversation conversa conversa- tion you two Im I'm here to see that no talking's done We wont won't talk Jane said evenly You See you have a avery very very persuasive persuasive manner manner And she eyed the bulge in the mans man's right-hand right pocket It was the longest and most horrible night Jane had ever lived through but when dawn came she had the satisfaction of knowing that Richard Waltham Waltham Waltham Wal- Wal tham was going to live at least as these men wanted him to Remembering Dorothy up in inthe inthe inthe the conservatory sobbing as if her heart would break made her repeat over and over to her soul Thank God they got me It would have been better if they'd a doctor but Ive I've been better than no one at atall all Richard Waltham was asleep now the blood had stopped its ugly flow and the two men leaning against the closed door w were re watching listening listening- making making mak mak- ing sure no words passed between between between be be- tween her and the wounded man She glanced at her watch and saw it was nearly 4 in the morn morn- ing She wondered where this grim apartment was was located With her fingers on Richard Waltham's pulse Jane let her eyes roam around the room trying trying try try- ing mg to find something to identify identify identify fy it some technique of architecture architecture architecture archi archi- that would give her a clue But there were none The windows had the shades drawn and from the inky blackness around the edge of them she knew that outside blinds had been closed too There was no noway noway noway way to tell where she was to even find her way way back here once she was free free if if these men intended to free her when her work was done Perhaps they meant to kill her to seal her lips forever Janes Janes Jane's Plan for Help Stopped Jane thought about that list she had written for the drug drug- gist She had taken a desperate chance and nothing had come of it She hadn't thought anything anything any any- thing would not really Heavy white bandage Erlinger's antiseptic Lysol Padgetts Padgett's codeine co co- deine IT H HELP E L P. P The druggist hadn't caught that message The Theman Theman Theman man had probably read her list off to him and he had gotten the items just as they were dic dic- dic- dic Well it had been a chance and it had failed For a long moment Jane tried to remember just how long the theman theman theman man had been away It seemed it had been a a. very short time and that would mean that drug drugstore drugstore drugstore store was rather close by But Butin Butin Butin in a a. swift car making good time through traffic traffic deserted deserted streets the drug store might have been clear across the city But it meant didn't it it that she was still in Washington 1 Or did it it 1 One of the men broke the si si- si lence Hes going to be allright all allright allright right isn't he he Yes Jane said Fortunately for him the bullet didn't lodge in his forearm It cut straight through missed the vital arteries arteries arteries ar ar- ar- ar teries and the bone Hell He'll be all allright allright 11 right but hes he's lost a lot of blood If hed he'd been taken to a hospital he would have had an immediate transfusion Jane got up from the chair beside the bed and walked slowly slowly slowly slow slow- ly up and down the room She was so tired so desperate for sleep and rest rest but but she didn't dare go to sleep She kept on walking nervously until one of the men barked out Sit down Jan Jane sat down weakly her face in her hands Could I ha have hae e another cup of coffee she asked One of the men said he hed he'd d make some and she heard him go 0 out of the room the door Continued on OD F PaCt O