Twin of Fire (Montgomery/Taggert 7) - Page 102
“But I have to tell—.”
“Here!” Blair put a stinging antiseptic on the cut, and the new pain weakened the young man enough that he leaned back in the chair. “Tell me what happened,” she said.
“Two men came in and held a gun to my head. One of them, the little one, knew the combination to the safe.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Blair could see something white appearing in the fireplace. “Turn this way toward the
light. What happened then?”
“I just stood there while the little one opened the safe and took out a chest. I don’t know what was in it. Then, somebody hit me on the head, and the next thing I knew, I woke up and you were here. Blair-Houston, I have to call—.”
“That couldn’t be all of the story. You must have put up a great struggle.”
“But I didn’t, I—.”
“Ted, I want you to lie down on the floor for a minute or two. I’m worried about that cut. You’ve lost a lot of blood. Yes, that’s right, stretch out behind that cabinet. I need to clean my instruments.”
Blair ran to the fireplace, grabbed the white drawers and the rope off the chest and stuffed them into her medical case. “I think you’ll be all right now, Ted. Why don’t you come in here and get your gun, and I’ll drive you to the sheriff’s?”
Ted, with his hand to his head, walked haltingly around the cabinet, then stood staring in disbelief. “That’s it.”
“What do you mean?”
“The chest they stole. There it is. How long has it been here?”
“It was here when I came in. Do you mean the robbers didn’t take it, after all? Gee, Ted, I know you said you put up a struggle, but you were being modest. Do you mean you prevented them from stealing the chest?”
“I…I don’t know. I thought—.”
“There’s the evidence. You must have saved it. Ted, you’re a hero.”
“I’m not so sure. I seem to remember—.”
“With a crack like that on your head, you’re sure to be fuzzy, but the evidence is right here before us. Why don’t we lock it in the safe, and I’ll ride to the nearest telephone and get the sheriff out here? And the newspaper. They’ll want to hear about this.”
“I…I guess so.” He straightened his shoulders. “Sure, why not?”
Blair put the chest in the safe, locked the door, helped Ted to a chair, then ran outside. Lee grabbed her hand and they ran to the buggy together. It was only a mile to the nearest telephone, and Lee suspected the sheriff had been waiting.
Lee put down the receiver, thanked the bartender for the use and went outside to where Blair waited for him in the buggy.
“Is it really over?” she asked, leaning back.
“The sheriff said LeGault and a very small man—who I suspect is Françoise—got on the tram for Denver an hour ago. I don’t think we’ll see them for a while.”
“And all along it was unionists,” she murmured. “You know, Lee, I have some ideas about the unions in the coal mines, too. Maybe together we could—.”
“Over my dead body!” he said, snapping the reins.
“What am I supposed to do? Stay home and darn your socks?”
“You’re not bad at darning socks, and I like knowing where you are.”
“Like you’ve known for the last couple of weeks?”
“Yeah, I rather like a wife who—.”
“Let me tell you, doctor, if you think I’m going to read one more book about a simpering heroine or plan one more dinner, you’re out of your mind. Saturday morning, I’m going back to my clinic and see to my patients.”
Source: readsnovelonline.net