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Rh the dressings; that could only have been done by Doctor Adams himself or the nurses—

The nurses! He made a mental note to learn all that he could about them at the earliest possible moment; but meanwhile the afternoon was advancing and much remained to be done before he reported to the captain of his bureau that night. Much that had occurred in the house of mystery that day had been inexplicable to him, and there were so many loose threads to be gathered together that he felt as if he were attempting to solve four problems at once. A score of questions were teeming in his brain, and not the least insistent of them was the significance of Gerda's hint about insanity.

When he reached the house Jane, who admitted him, informed him that the doctor had come and gone. He started toward the drawing-room but hearing the low murmur of voices paused.

"Who is here?" he asked.

"Oh, just Mr. Tad—Mr. Traymore, sir. The young gentleman who comes to see Miss Nan from next door," Jane simpered meaningly. "I'll call Miss Meade."

"No. Tell Miss Chalmers, the elder Miss Chalmers, that I would like to see her in the library at once, please."

"She's layin' down," Jane observed somewhat doubtfully. "She had hysterics all the morning and she told Gerda that she wasn't to be disturbed now by anybody."

"Take my message nevertheless." There was a sharp note of authority in his tone, and Jane scurried away.

The temperamental Miss Chalmers was not to be so easily bullied, however, and it was a good twenty minutes before she trailed languidly into the library with an air of