Books › Blue Book v57 n04 [1933-08], 1933 › scan 125
Scan 125
Blue Book v57 n04 [1933-08], 1933
40 lines. Read by computer on 18 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1"Why—yes," said Gordon. "I believe Doris was there—and perhaps Carlotta."
2"I heard her too," said David. "It was just before I went up to my room."
3"That's so," said Gordon. "But—"
4"It's nothing," Tyler smiled. "Now, I think we'd better say good night."
5Harrigan appeared as Tyler and Ruth were coming out of Gordon's apartment.
6"I've got a man in the cottage," he said. "I'll just walk along with you now."
7He escorted them to the cottage, where they found a man on guard in the living-room, prepared for an all-night vigil. Harrigan cautioned him to investigate the slightest sound outside the cottage and then took his departure.
9TYLER picked up Ruth's violin from the table and went with her up to her room. He turned on the light and put the violin in its case. Ruth had seated herself on the bed. He saw her face turned toward him, questioningly.
10"Who do you think, Ruth?" he half-whispered.
11She didn't answer for a moment. Then she raised her face, filled now with tender concern.
12"Father," she said, "the moment after that shot was fired, I—I knew exactly what was in Nat's mind. It was terribly sharp—and clear."
13"What was it, child?" Tyler asked gently.
14"First—pain," said Ruth. "Physical pain, the reaction of his mind to that bullet. And then—astonishment—and pain; but a different kind of pain—a pain that struck at his heart. And—and finally, a name." She raised her face. "Doris' name," she whispered.
15Then she gave a little half-sob.
16"Oh, Father, I can't believe it!"
17Tyler gripped both her shoulders and stood off, looking into her face.
18"Ruth!" he cried. "You are sure?"
19She shook her head, miserably.
20"No," she said. "Because at the moment that name was in Nat's mind, I had no communication with—with the mind of the—the one who fired. . . . I don't know it was Doris—but who else could it be?"
21"My God," Tyler said heavily. "I was positive it was an inside job. . . . But Doris—it doesn't seem possible!"
22"And Father," Ruth said, "Nat—Nat loves her."
23Great tears welled up in her dark and sightless eyes.
25CHAPTER XI
26FEAR
27NEXT morning Tyler went out into the garden to have a smoke while he waited for Ruth. Upstairs, Olga was helping her dress for breakfast. Tyler had taken a turn about the fountain when he saw Gordon approaching. The two men leaned against the fountain.
28"Dr. Grace is having a look at the patients," Gordon said.
29He took out a cigarette, lighted it and stared thoughtfully into the cascading water. Tyler kept silent for a long moment, expecting Gordon to speak. When he did not, Tyler brought up what was in his mind.
30"You were telling us a story," he said quietly. "I'm eager to hear the rest of it."
31Gordon regarded him silently for a moment.
32"Very well," he said finally. He turned, leaning against the edge of the fountain. "The facts, as Benson learned them from the news-stories, are correct," he said. "I notified the police when my boy was kidnaped, because I thought it was my duty as a citizen to wipe such vermin out."
33Tyler nodded sympathetically.
34"Of course they agreed to make no move until David had been returned," Gordon went on. "But as the news-stories said, they followed the man who got the money; and as soon as David was sent back to me, they trapped the Gaudios. Justice worked swiftly; they were promptly convicted."
35He sighed.
36"Then—came the jail-break," he continued. "I realized that with Joe Gaudio at large, myself and my family were in danger. I asked for police protection—and received it. But—but my house was bombed. My—my wife was killed."
37He sank his head into his hands, paused, shaken by the memory of that far-off tragedy. In a moment he raised his eyes, controlled his voice.
38"The other attacks followed. It was plain that Gaudio's Sicilian friends were carrying on the feud. I knew our lives would never be safe in Chicago, at least as long as he was free. I didn't care, for myself; at that time, to tell the truth, I would have welcomed death. But I had David to think of—and Hélène. She was only a baby then.
39"So I—I converted all my securities to cash, took my children and slipped
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