Show a s Yorke Davis 1926 I 11 CHAPTER VII VII Continued Continued 12 12 We both spoke at once at that dIsclaiming disclaiming disclaiming dis dIs- claiming any offense and the doctor after aeter a glance at his watch concluded by asking him to sit down and offering offering offer offer- ing him a cigar I ver very much I J that both these Invitations would he be declined for with that girl la In th the next room and Wilkins' Wilkins knock momentarily momentarily mo mo- expected at the door It was rather too close quarters to be he com coma Rut But ut my chief seemed sec to be perfectly at nt ease Ill confess he he began tn lI lighting a cigar of ot his own that Im I'm a n little curious curl curi ous Otis to know what caused your Jour change of vf heart what It was that convinced you that Phelps and I arent aren't engaged In a conspiracy to thwart justice I am afraid I 1 am urn a self-convicted self egoist said Ashton It took an un hour or more for the thought to occur to me that there are ore other people besides myself living In The Meredith and that June Jane Perkins might have have given that place as her address w without hout any reference to me whatever might have given It In perfectly good faith So When I came home to dinner I made some Inquiries and und was cool enough by that time not to be overwhelmed with surprise to find that the address was apparently given In good faith At any rate there is a J named earned Jane Jnue Perkins living in t r J b hotel botel The doctor simulated no surprise over this announcement lie He merely nodded calmly and said You will not h have He seen her yet I suppose So uSo you know about her too I exclaimed exclaimed exclaimed ex ex- ex- ex claimed Ashton And you Jou were wele ahead of me again Well IVell that's not remarkable you Jou kept your our temper and I But though I haven't seen her yet et I dont don't believe you ou have either because I have been given to understand that Its It's h her r evening outI out out- ouLI I suppose said the doctor that you have takes taken precautions m for apprehending bending hending her when she comes conies back Yes said Ashton theres a man roan manon manon on watch in her room now She wont won't go far I understand she's been ill the greater part of th the week The doctor smiled and wa waved wad d his hand band toward the telephone You puny may mayas as fiS well tell your Jour man to go home he be said Bald the tile girls girl's here Ashton sprung sprang right out of his chair that P he demanded Youve got here here hiding her from me If I were hiding her from you ou I shouldn't have ha told you No she's not In hiding at all She's doing up the bedrooms in this apartment Shell She'll come when I call her which I mean to todo todo todo do in a very few minutes When she conies comes I mean to mal make e a little ution of her mind to lo determine her actual connection with the crime I suppose said sold Ashton rather SUP sap that you ou wont won't mind my asking permission to contribute a few questions of my own to that examina examina- than tion Not at all said the doctor quite simply You may ask her anything you like mee There was a little silence Then Ashton said Impatiently Well what are you waiting for Im ulm expecting another visitor Wizen When I heard your knock I thought that you were he Its It's none other than our friend Wilkins Ashton laughed Wilkins I he re reo What do you want of him The doctor glanced at his watch I 1 fancy that hes he's coming now Why Wilkins knows this girl who Is a stupid creature and rather easily alarmed Shed She'd be almost sure to be stricken panic at the sight of these In In- str ments All Ignorant persons are the same way He paused and shot a derisive smile a at Ashton They put pUl them In the category of black black art art and hocus hocus hocus-pocus and regard them with a mixture of ot contempt and terror But she has confidence In Wilkins and by his submitting to be harnessed In the same way We vre propose to harness her which he lie has agreed to do It will quiet whatever fears she may have Ashton looked dubious Already Wilkins had tapped on the doorStop doorStop door Stop a bit Phelps said my chief started toward the door oa ns I Look here Use a n little plain common com com- mon Juan sense for tor a n minute You dont don't half halt believe yourself that this girl has any uny guilty connection with the crime Which way will you find out the most niost Cy By y making this girl feel that theres there's nothing to be afraid of ot that were we're simply and not accusing her at all aU Or by nutting her through an old fashioned third deGre degree de de- degree Gre gree gree r All HAil right said Ashton have It your own way only Ill I'll have my way tomorrow There wont won't be any need of ot that that said my chief L The Tire Oak Ridge mystery mystery mystery mys mys- tery Is going to be solved tonight and andIn andIn andin In this room ro-om solved down to the last detail Open the door Phelps I imagine that Ashton himself was wars not more amore surprised b by the doctors doctor's I prophecy than I was To ro be sure I had further Into the mystery mys mys- mystery ter tery than Ashton had hind I had shared with my chief the time knowledge e of Jane Pe Perkins kIns' Ik illS illS' strange other self I knew that the m mysterious sa a savage e creature In fulfilling an nn oath which to her must have e possessed a n relf religious lous sanctity had hind committed what our more civilIzed civilized civil society called culled a 11 crime And yet yetI et etI I felt sure that Doctor McAlister meant more than that when he had promised Ashton the whop whole solution of the m mystery Tire The heart the essence of the m mystery was still sUII unsealed By y some process of reasoning or Intuition which I had not followed my chief held that secret still unsolved In the hollow of his hand and he meant to reveal It to us before the night was out I opened the door and told Wilkins to come in In I had an Impression that he started a n little at the si sight ht of Ashton Ash ton and I didn't at all nil wonder since I remembered the tacit understanding I sy syA A t t r 1 ri d df f r ra a lv ii tom t I II I 1 Suppose Said the Doctor That Thai You Have Taken Precautions for Apprehending Her When She Comes Back 7 between ourselves and him that this examination of the girl was to be for forthe forthe I Ithe the purpose of shielding her against the district rather than of be bey betraying her to him But ut I had very little leisure for reflecting reflecting re re- re- re fleeting on Wilkins Wilkins' fears or misgivIngs misgivings misgivings ings because almost before I had hind closed the door behind him I heard the doctor cull call out Perkins Well Vell as I understood his experiments ments meats and confident as 1 was In the success of them I found it hard to go goon goon goon on breathing steadily while I waited for tor the response to the call that was to come com from the Inner room Would It be Jane June Perkins In her own proper person who would appear In the doorway doorway doorway door door- way In answer to the time call or would the occupant of her body hody prove to he that other wilder soul When she answered Coming Coining sir I drew In a deep breath of relief for It was the voice of the girl who used and abused English as her mother mother- tongue The next moment she was In Inthe Inthe inthe the doorway She was not not the girl who with green blazing e eyes es had flung that defiant challenge buck back at the doctor only a u few minutes before And yet et she was not precisely precisely precisely pre pre- June Perkins either not the time stodgy witted thick-witted housemaid who had giggled with such unalloyed delight delight delight de de- light as a's she fished for the doctors doctor's knife In the vase of ot water The girl who stood there now looking at us hurt had thou thoughtful troubled eyes Something an an elusive memory a 8 nameless emotion emotion emo emo- tion a va vague e fluid thing that would not crystallize was perplexing her She Ehe was tr trying to think thick which Is something something some somo- thing I am willing to wager that Jane Perkins had never done In her life Naturally the first person I looked cd at when I withdrew my may eyes ees from her was Ashton lie Ele was looking straight Into her face and It was the same sume face In a purely physical way that he hud had seen the night he went to the hospital hospital hos hog pital with us It was not until I saw the look of blank blunk Indifference depicted upon his own that the realization was forced upon me that he would not r recognize co her any uny better than I had done From him m my gaze flushed flashed round to the doctor and 1101 on the way It took In Wilkins Both of them were watching her both I guessed from their faces had hud rioted noted the same Indefinable Indefinable Inde Inde- finable Unable difference that had struck me It was the doctor dodor who spoke PeI Perkins he said here Is Mr Ash Ash- ton II lie e is one of the assistants n ts to the district attorney and he mind and I and Mr Phelps here are Interested In try try- In lug to find out something about the thu murder which took place at Oak Ridge e eu u a few nights n ago u. u Murder I she cried with a gaspI gasp I 1 dont don't know nl about out any murder murder murder mur mur- der sir No said the time doctor Im quite sure you Jou dont But we think It I pos pose possible OS- OS sible that you ou kno know v some things which will help us liS to find out who the murderer murderer mur mur- derer Is Are you ou willing to help us She hesitated a moment then turned quite frankly to Wilkins Is It all right Mr Ir Wilkins she asked Then quickly ly turned back buk to the doctor I I beg your sir for askin such a n question but hut I know Mr Wilkins llIS and If he sa says s 's Its It's allright all allright right right right- Its nil all right June Jane he assured herI herI herI her I came up here a n purpose so that j I there'd be nothing for you ou to worry about All right sir she said turning once more to Doctor McAlister Ill be glad to tell you on anything I know Im I'm Im I'm sure though I dont don't see how what I know can help much mooch unless unless- She frowned and rubbed the back of ot one hand across her forehead Unless what sir I seem Cem to be of all nil sorts of curious things a ne au If It my mind was to wander like The doctor laughed Were all ull that wa way sometimes he said Sit down downin in this big chair She obeyed a little reluctantly Whether It was a memory half of ot It that troubled her or merely the Instinctive Instinctive In In- hesitation of one of her tier class to make herself comfortable In our presence presente I did not know The doctor busied himself with his Instruments The lire girl watched him ra rather ther nervously I beg sir she said Are you Jou goin guin to do nn anything with those I dont don't exactly tike like liI e the looks of em emir sir all those queer machines Is s It un anything like to th the den dentists dentist's Nothing In the time world laughed the doctor These machines dont don't hurt Here Herc Wilkins sit down in this chair beside her imer and well we'll harness you ou up p too lie Be hun hung up before the time girl one of the pair of nf little telephones telephone that we hind had used In our association test on Harvey Then he lie turned his attention to Wilkins who had seated himself readily enough In the chair the doctor had designated a vcr very Impressive looking machine sir the man mun commented May Muy I 1 ask what name Its It's called culled by Its name is just as Impressive aa na It Is replied the doctor It Is called t a recording ph graph Up to that moment Ashton had l kept ept perfectly quiet but at the time sound D of that portentous word he burst Into a roar of laughter which Wilkins decorously dolorously do Ie- and aud respectfully echoed I laughed frankly m myself self What the purpose of the instrument might be I I hind had no idea but the prodigious name which the doctor assigned to It struck me as us nothing more than a flight of ot othis his rather grotesque fancy Well sir said Wilkins it will have to accomplish a good deal to live li up to that name That my chief had by no means menns exhausted exhausted ex ex- hausted his store of surprises became become I evident when he began his examina Lion of the girl There was nothing ps psychological about It lie He questioned her very much as Ashton would have done TO DH DID CONTINUED |