Page:The achievements of Luther Trant - Balmer and MacHarg - 1910.djvu/109

Rh and the one other fact we have—that there had been no demand for ransom."

Eldredge stared at him almost wildly. His brother-in-law moved up beside him.

"Then where is my son, and who has taken him?"

"I cannot say yet," Trant answered. There was a knock on the door.

"You asked to have everything personal brought to you at once, Mr. Eldredge," said Miss Webster, holding out a note. "This just came in the ten o'clock delivery." Eldredge snatched it from her—a soiled, creased envelope bearing a postmark of the Lake View substation just west of his home. It was addressed in a scrawling, illiterate hand, and conspicuously marked personal. He tore it open, caught the import of it almost at a glance; then with a smothered cry threw it on the desk in front of Murray, who read it aloud.

Yure son E. is safe, and we have him where he is not in dangir. Your wife has not payed us the money she promised us for taking him away, and we do not consider we are bound any longer by our bargain with her. If you will put the money she promised (one hund. dollars) on the seat behind Lincoln's statue in the Park tonight at ten thurty (be exact) you will get yure son E. back. Look out for trubble to the boy if you notify the police. N. B.—If you try to make any investigation about this case our above promiss will not be kept.

"Well, Trant, what do you say now?" asked Murray.

"That it was the only thing needed," Trant