The boy hustled away, and soon came back, bearing two hat-boxes--one of
them in a crate--and the heavy leather suit-case.
With a start of surprise, Dunham sat up in his comfortable chair.
"Say, Henry, those things ought not to come in here." He glanced anxiously
about, and was relieved to find that there was only one old gentleman in
the room, and that he was asleep. "Suppose we go up to a private room with
them. Take them out to the elevator, and I'll come in a moment."
"All right, sah."
"And say, Henry, suppose you remove that crate from the box. Then it won't
be so heavy to carry."
"All right, sah. I'll be thah in jest a minute."
The young man hurried out to the elevator, and he and Henry made a quick
ascent to a private room. He gave the boy a round fee, and was left in
quiet to examine his property.
As he fumbled with the strings of the first box his heart beat wildly, and
he felt the blood mounting to his face. Was he about to solve the mystery
which had surrounded the girl in whom his interest had now grown so deep
that he could scarcely get her out of his mind for a few minutes at a
time?
But the box was empty, save for some crumpled white tissue-paper. He took
up the cover in perplexity and saw his own name written by himself. Then
he remembered. This was the box he had sent down to the club by the
cabman, to get it out of his way. He felt disappointed, and turned quickly
to the other box and cut the cord. This time he was rewarded by seeing the
great black hat, beautiful and unhurt in spite of its journey to Chicago.
The day was saved, and also the reputation of his mother's maid. But was
there no word from the beautiful stranger? He searched hurriedly through
the wrappings, pulled out the hat quite unceremoniously, and turned the
box upside down, but nothing else could he find. Then he went at the
suit-case. Yes, there was the rain-coat. He took it out triumphantly, for
now his mother could say nothing, and, moreover, was not his trust in the
fair stranger justified? He had done well to believe in her. He began to
take out the other garments, curious to see what had been there for her
use.
A long, golden brown hair nestling on the collar of the bathrobe gleamed
in a chance ray of sunlight. He looked at it reverently, and laid the
garment down carefully, that it might not be disturbed. As he lifted the
coat, he saw the little note pinned to the lapel, and seized it eagerly.
Surely this would tell him something!
But no, there was only the message that she had arrived safely, and her
thanks. Stay, she had signed her name "Mary." She had told him he might
call her that. Could it be that it was her real name, and that she had
meant to trust him with so much of her true story?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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