V + 

Gabrielle + 

The next day brought happenings. + 

Early in the morning there was a telegram from our New York office. Decoded, it read: + 

Louis Upton former proprietor detective agency here stop arrested September first one nine two three for bribing two jurors in Sexton murder trial stop tried to save himself by implicating Harry Ruppert operative in his employ stop both men convicted stop both released from Sing Sing February six this year stop Ruppert said to have threatened to kill Upton stop Ruppert thirty two years five feet eleven inches hundred fifty pounds brown hair and eyes sallow complexion thin face long thin nose walks with stoop and chin out stop mailing photographs + 

That placed Ruppert definitely enough as the man Mrs.┬аPriestly and Daley had seen and the man who had probably killed Upton. + 

OтАЩGar called me on the phone to tell me: тАЬThat dinge of yoursтБатАФRhino TingleyтБатАФwas picked up in a hock-shop last night trying to unload some jewelry. None of it was loose diamonds. We havenтАЩt been able to crack him yet, just got him identified. I sent a man out to LeggettтАЩs with some of the stuff, thinking it might be theirs, but they said no.тАЭ + 

That didnтАЩt fit in anywhere. I suggested: тАЬTry Halstead and Beauchamp. Tell them you think the stuff is LeggettтАЩs. DonтАЩt tell them he said it wasnтАЩt.тАЭ + 

Half an hour later the detective-sergeant phoned me again, from the jewelersтАЩ, to tell me that Halstead had positively identified two piecesтБатАФa string of pearls and a topaz broochтБатАФas articles Leggett had purchased there for his daughter. + 

тАЬThatтАЩs swell,тАЭ I said. тАЬNow will you do this? Go out to RhinoтАЩs flat and put the screws on his woman, Minnie Hershey. Frisk the joint, rough her up; the more you scare her, the better. She may be wearing an emerald ring. If she is, or if itтБатАФor any other jewelry that might be the LeggettsтАЩтБатАФis there, you can take it away with you; but donтАЩt stay too long and donтАЩt bother her afterwards. IтАЩve got her covered. Just stir her up and beat it.тАЭ + 

тАЬIтАЩll turn her white,тАЭ OтАЩGar promised. + 

Dick Foley was in the operativesтАЩ room, writing his report on a warehouse robbery that had kept him up all night. I chased him out to help Mickey with the mulatto. + 

тАЬBoth of you tail her if she leaves her joint after the police are through,тАЭ I said, тАЬand as soon as you put her in anywhere, one of you get to a phone and let me know.тАЭ + 

I went back to my office and burned cigarettes. I was ruining the third one when Eric Collinson phoned to ask if I had found his Gabrielle yet. + 

тАЬNot quite, but IтАЩve got prospects. If you arenтАЩt busy, you might come over and go along with meтБатАФif it so happens that there turns out to be some place to go.тАЭ + 

He said, very eagerly, that he would do that. + 

A few minutes later Mickey Linehan phoned: тАЬThe high yellowтАЩs gone visiting,тАЭ and gave me a Pacific Avenue address. + 

The phone rang again before I got it out of my hand. + 

тАЬThis is Watt Halstead,тАЭ a voice said. тАЬCan you come down to see me for a minute or two?тАЭ + 

тАЬNot now. What is it?тАЭ + 

тАЬItтАЩs about Edgar Leggett, and itтАЩs quite puzzling. The police brought some jewelry in this morning, asking whether we knew whose it was. I recognized a string of pearls and a brooch that Edgar Leggett bought from us for his daughter last yearтБатАФthe brooch in the spring, the pearls at Christmas. After the police had gone, I, quite naturally, phoned Leggett; and he took the most peculiar attitude. He waited until I had told him about it, then said: тАШI thank you very much for your interference in my affairs,тАЩ and hung up. What do you suppose is the matter with him?тАЭ + 

тАЬGod knows. Thanks. IтАЩve got to run now, but IтАЩll stop in when I get a chance.тАЭ + 

I hunted up Owen FitzstephanтАЩs number, called it, and heard his drawled: тАЬHello.тАЭ + 

тАЬYouтАЩd better get busy on your book-borrowing if any goodтАЩs to come of it,тАЭ I said. + 

тАЬWhy? Are things taking place?тАЭ + 

тАЬThings are.тАЭ + 

тАЬSuch as?тАЭ he asked. + 

тАЬThis and that, but itтАЩs no time for anybody who wants to poke his nose into the Leggett mysteries to be dillydallying with pieces about unconscious minds.тАЭ + 

тАЬRight,тАЭ he said: тАЬIтАЩm off to the front now.тАЭ + 

Eric Collinson had come in while I was talking to the novelist. + 

тАЬCome on,тАЭ I said, leading the way out towards the elevators. тАЬThis might not be a false alarm.тАЭ + 

тАЬWhere are we going?тАЭ he asked impatiently. тАЬHave you found her? Is she all right?тАЭ + 

I replied to the only one of his questions that I had the answer to by giving him the Pacific Avenue address Mickey had given me. It meant something to Collinson. He said: тАЬThatтАЩs JosephтАЩs place.тАЭ + 

We were in the elevator with half a dozen other people. I held my response down to a тАЬYeah?тАЭ + 

He had a Chrysler roadster parked around the corner. We got into it and began bucking traffic and traffic signals towards Pacific Avenue. + 

I asked: тАЬWho is Joseph?тАЭ + 

тАЬAnother cult. HeтАЩs the head of it. He calls his place the Temple of the Holy Grail. ItтАЩs the fashionable one just now. You know how they come and go in California. I donтАЩt like having Gabrielle there, if thatтАЩs where she isтБатАФthoughтБатАФI donтАЩt knowтБатАФthey may be all right. HeтАЩs one of Mr.┬аLeggettтАЩs queer friends. Do you know that sheтАЩs there?тАЭ + 

тАЬMaybe. Is she a member of the cult?тАЭ + 

тАЬShe goes there, yes. IтАЩve been there with her.тАЭ + 

тАЬWhat sort of a layout is it?тАЭ + 

тАЬOh, it seems to be all right,тАЭ he said somewhat reluctantly. тАЬThe right sort of people: Mrs.┬аPayson Laurence, and the Ralph Colemans, and Mrs.┬аLivingston Rodman, people like that. And the HaldornsтБатАФthatтАЩs Joseph and his wife AaroniaтБатАФseem to be quite all right, butтБатАФbut I donтАЩt like the idea of Gabrielle going there like this.тАЭ He missed the end of a cable car with the ChryslerтАЩs right wheel. тАЬI donтАЩt think itтАЩs good for her to come too much under their influence.тАЭ + 

тАЬYouтАЩve been there; what is their brand of hocus-pocus?тАЭ I asked. + 

тАЬIt isnтАЩt hocus-pocus, really,тАЭ he replied, wrinkling his forehead. тАЬI donтАЩt know very much about their creed, or anything like that, but IтАЩve been to their services with Gabrielle, and theyтАЩre quite as dignified, as beautiful even, as either Episcopalian or Catholic services. You mustnтАЩt think that this is the Holy Roller or House of David sort of thing. It isnтАЩt at all. Whatever it is, it is quite first-rate. The Haldorns are people ofтБатАФofтБатАФwell, more culture than I.тАЭ + 

тАЬThen whatтАЩs the matter with them?тАЭ + 

He shook his head gloomily. тАЬI honestly donтАЩt know that anything is. I donтАЩt like it. I donтАЩt like having Gabrielle go off like this without letting anybody know where sheтАЩs gone. Do you think her parents knew where she had gone?тАЭ + 

тАЬNo.тАЭ + 

тАЬI donтАЩt think so either,тАЭ he said. + 

From the street the Temple of the Holy Grail looked like what it had originally been, a six-story yellow brick apartment building. There was nothing about its exterior to show that it wasnтАЩt still that. I made Collinson drive past it to the corner where Mickey Linehan was leaning his lopsided bulk against a stone wall. He came to the car as it stopped at the curb. + 

тАЬThe dark meat left ten minutes ago,тАЭ he reported, тАЬwith Dick behind her. Nobody else that looks like anybody you listed has been out.тАЭ + 

тАЬCamp here in the car and watch the door,тАЭ I told him. тАЬWeтАЩre going in,тАЭ I said to Collinson. тАЬLet me do most of the talking.тАЭ + 

When we reached the Temple door I had to caution him: тАЬTry not breathing so hard. Everything will probably be oke.тАЭ + 

I rang the bell. The door was opened immediately by a broad-shouldered, meaty woman of some year close to fifty. She was a good three inches taller than my five feet six. Flesh hung in little bags on her face, but there was neither softness nor looseness in her eyes and mouth. Her long upper lip had been shaved. She was dressed in black, black clothes that covered her from chin and earlobes to within less than an inch of the floor. + 

тАЬWe want to see Miss Leggett,тАЭ I said. + 

She pretended she hadnтАЩt understood me. + 

тАЬWe want to see Miss Leggett,тАЭ I repeated. тАЬMiss Gabrielle Leggett.тАЭ + 

тАЬI donтАЩt know.тАЭ Her voice was bass. тАЬBut come in.тАЭ + 

She took us not very cheerfully into a small, dimly lighted reception room to one side of the foyer, told us to wait there, and went away. + 

тАЬWhoтАЩs the village-blacksmith?тАЭ I asked Collinson. + 

He said he didnтАЩt know her. He fidgeted around the room. I sat down. Drawn blinds let in too little light for me to make out much of the room, but the rug was soft and thick, and what I could see of the furniture leaned towards luxury rather than severity. + 

Except for CollinsonтАЩs fidgeting, no sound came from anywhere in the building. I looked at the open door and saw that we were being examined. A small boy of twelve or thirteen stood there staring at us with big dark eyes that seemed to have lights of their own in the semidarkness. + 

I said: тАЬHello, son.тАЭ + 

Collinson jumped around at the sound of my voice. + 

The boy said nothing. He stared at me for at least another minute with the blank, unblinking, embarrassing stare that only children can manage completely, then turned his back on me and walked away, making no more noise going than he had made coming. + 

тАЬWhoтАЩs that?тАЭ I asked Collinson. + 

тАЬIt must be the HaldornsтАЩ son Manuel. IтАЩve never seen him before.тАЭ + 

Collinson walked up and down. I sat and watched the door. Presently a woman, walking silently on the thick carpet, appeared there and came into the reception room. She was tall, graceful; and her dark eyes seemed to have lights of their own, like the boyтАЩs. That was all I could see clearly then. + 

I stood up. + 

She addressed Collinson: тАЬHow do you do? This is Mr.┬аCollinson, isnтАЩt it?тАЭ Her voice was the most musical I had ever heard. + 

Collinson mumbled something or other and introduced me to the woman, calling her Mrs.┬аHaldorn. She gave me a warm, firm hand and then crossed the room to raise a blind, letting in a fat rectangle of afternoon sun. While I blinked at her in the sudden brightness, she sat down and motioned us into chairs. + 

I saw her eyes first. They were enormous, almost black, warm, and heavily fringed with almost black lashes. They were the only live, human, real things in her face. There was warmth and there was beauty in her oval, olive-skinned face, but, except for the eyes, it was warmth and beauty that didnтАЩt seem to have anything to do with reality. It was as if her face were not a face, but a mask that she had worn until it had almost become a face. Even her mouth, which was a mouth to talk about, looked not so much like flesh as like a too perfect imitation of flesh, softer and redder and maybe warmer than genuine flesh, but not genuine flesh. Above this face, or mask, uncut black hair was tied close to her head, parted in the middle, and drawn across temples and upper ears to end in a knot on the nape of her neck. Her neck was long, strong, slender; her body tall, fully fleshed, supple; her clothes dark and silky, part of her body. + 

I said: тАЬWe want to see Miss Leggett, Mrs.┬аHaldorn.тАЭ + 

She asked curiously: тАЬWhy do you think she is here?тАЭ + 

тАЬThat doesnтАЩt make any difference, does it?тАЭ I replied quickly, before Collinson could say something wrong. тАЬShe is. WeтАЩd like to see her.тАЭ + 

тАЬI donтАЩt think you can,тАЭ she said slowly. тАЬShe isnтАЩt well, and she came here to rest, particularly to get away from people for a while.тАЭ + 

тАЬSorry,тАЭ I said, тАЬbut itтАЩs a case of have to. We wouldnтАЩt have come like this if it hadnтАЩt been important.тАЭ + 

тАЬIt is important?тАЭ + 

тАЬYeah.тАЭ + 

She hesitated, said: тАЬWell, IтАЩll see,тАЭ excused herself, and left us. + 

тАЬI wouldnтАЩt mind moving in here myself,тАЭ I told Collinson. + 

He didnтАЩt know what I was talking about. His face was flushed and excited. + 

тАЬGabrielle may not like our coming here like this,тАЭ he said. + 

I said that would be too bad. + 

Aaronia Haldorn returned to us. + 

тАЬIтАЩm really very sorry,тАЭ she said, standing in the doorway, smiling politely, тАЬbut Miss Leggett doesnтАЩt wish to see you.тАЭ + 

тАЬIтАЩm sorry she doesnтАЩt,тАЭ I said, тАЬbut weтАЩll have to see her.тАЭ + 

She drew herself up straight and her smile went away. + 

тАЬI beg your pardon?тАЭ she said. + 

тАЬWeтАЩll have to see her,тАЭ I repeated, keeping my voice amiable. тАЬItтАЩs important, as I told you.тАЭ + 

тАЬI am sorry.тАЭ Even the iciness she got into her voice didnтАЩt keep it from being beautiful. тАЬYou cannot see her.тАЭ + 

I said: тАЬMiss LeggettтАЩs an important witness, as you probably know, in a robbery and murder job. Well, weтАЩve got to see her. If it suits you better, IтАЩm willing to wait half an hour till we can get a policeman up here with whatever authority you make necessary. WeтАЩre going to see her.тАЭ + 

Collinson said something unintelligible, though it sounded apologetic. + 

Aaronia Haldorn made the slightest of bows. + 

тАЬYou may do as you see fit,тАЭ she said coldly. тАЬI do not approve of your disturbing Miss Leggett against her wishes, and so far as my permission is concerned, I do not give it. If you insist, I cannot prevent you.тАЭ + 

тАЬThanks. Where is she?тАЭ + 

тАЬHer room is on the fifth floor, just beyond the stairs, to the left.тАЭ + 

She bent her head a little once more and went away. + 

Collinson put a hand on my arm, mumbling: тАЬI donтАЩt know whether IтБатАФwhether we ought to do this. GabrielleтАЩs not going to like it. She wonтАЩtтБатАФтАЭ + 

тАЬSuit yourself,тАЭ I growled, тАЬbut IтАЩm going up. Maybe she wonтАЩt like it, but neither do I like having people running away and hiding when I want to ask them about stolen diamonds.тАЭ + 

He frowned, chewed his lips, and made uncomfortable faces, but he went along with me. We found an automatic elevator, rode to the fifth floor, and went down a purple-carpeted corridor to the door just beyond the stairs on the left-hand side. + 

I tapped the door with the back of my hand. There was no answer from inside. I tapped again, louder. + 

A voice sounded inside the room. It might have been anybodyтАЩs voice, though probably a womanтАЩs. It was too faint for us to know what it said and too smothered for us to know who was saying it. + 

I poked Collinson with my elbow and ordered: тАЬCall her.тАЭ + 

He pulled at his collar with a forefinger and called hoarsely: тАЬGaby, itтАЩs Eric.тАЭ + 

That didnтАЩt bring an answer. + 

I thumped the wood again, calling: тАЬOpen the door.тАЭ + 

The voice inside said something that was nothing to me. I repeated my thumping and calling. Down the corridor a door opened and a sallow thin-haired old manтАЩs head stuck out and asked: тАЬWhatтАЩs the matter?тАЭ I said: тАЬNone of your damned business,тАЭ and pounded the door again. + 

The inside voice came strong enough now to let us know that it was complaining, though no words could be made out yet. I rattled the knob and found that the door was unlocked. Rattling the knob some more, I worked the door open an inch or so. Then the voice was clearer. I heard soft feet on the floor. I heard a choking sob. I pushed the door open. + 

Eric Collinson made a noise in his throat that was like somebody very far away yelling horribly. + 

Gabrielle Leggett stood beside the bed, swaying a little, holding the white foot-rail of the bed with one hand. Her face was white as lime. Her eyes were all brown, dull, focused on nothing, and her small forehead was wrinkled. She looked as if she knew there was something in front of her and was wondering what it was. She had on one yellow stocking, a brown velvet skirt that had been slept in, and a yellow chemise. Scattered around the room were a pair of brown slippers, the other stocking, a brown and gold blouse, a brown coat, and a brown and yellow hat. + 

Everything else in the room was white: white-papered walls and white-painted ceiling; white-enameled chairs, bed, table, fixturesтБатАФeven to the telephoneтБатАФand woodwork; white felt on the floor. None of the furniture was hospital furniture, but solid whiteness gave it that appearance. There were two windows, and two doors besides the one I had opened. The door on the left opened into a bathroom, the one on the right into a small dressing-room. + 

I pushed Collinson into the room, followed him, and closed the door. There was no key in it, and no place for a key, no lock of any fixable sort. Collinson stood gaping at the girl, his jaw sagging, his eyes as vacant as hers; but there was more horror in his face. She leaned against the foot of the bed and stared at nothing with dark, blank eyes in a ghastly, puzzled face. + 

I put an arm around her and sat her on the side of the bed, telling Collinson: тАЬGather up her clothes.тАЭ I had to tell him twice before he came out of his trance. + 

He brought me her things and I began dressing her. He dug his fingers into my shoulder and protested in a voice that would have been appropriate if I had been robbing a poor-box: + 

тАЬNo! You canтАЩtтБатАФтАЭ + 

тАЬWhat the hell?тАЭ I asked, pushing his hand away. тАЬYou can have the job if you want it.тАЭ + 

He was sweating. He gulped and stuttered: тАЬNo, no! I couldnтАЩtтБатАФitтБатАФтАЭ He broke off and walked to the window. + 

тАЬShe told me you were an ass,тАЭ I said to his back, and discovered I was putting the brown and gold blouse on her backwards. She might as well have been a wax figure, for all the help she gave me, but at least she didnтАЩt struggle when I wrestled her around, and she stayed where I shoved her. + 

By the time I had got her into coat and hat, Collinson had come away from the window and was spluttering questions at me. What was the matter with her? OughtnтАЩt we to get a doctor? Was it safe to take her out? And when I stood up, he took her away from me, supporting her with his long, thick arms, babbling: тАЬItтАЩs Eric, Gaby. DonтАЩt you know me? Speak to me. What is the matter, dear?тАЭ + 

тАЬThereтАЩs nothing the matter except that sheтАЩs got a skinful of dope,тАЭ I said. тАЬDonтАЩt try to bring her out of it. Wait till we get her home. You take this arm and IтАЩll take that. She can walk all right. If we run into anybody, just keep going and let me handle them. LetтАЩs go.тАЭ + 

We didnтАЩt meet anybody. We went out to the elevator, down in it to the ground-floor, across the foyer, and into the street without seeing a single person. + 

We went down to the corner where we had left Mickey in the Chrysler. + 

тАЬThatтАЩs all for you,тАЭ I told him. + 

He said: тАЬRight, so long,тАЭ and went away. + 

Collinson and I wedged the girl between us in the roadster, and he put it in motion. + 

We rode three blocks. Then he asked: тАЬAre you sure homeтАЩs the best place for her?тАЭ + 

I said I was. He didnтАЩt say anything for five more blocks and then repeated his question, adding something about a hospital. + 

тАЬWhy not a newspaper office?тАЭ I sneered. + 

Three blocks of silence, and he started again: тАЬI know a doctor whoтБатАФтАЭ + 

тАЬIтАЩve got work to do,тАЭ I said; тАЬand Miss Leggett home now, in the shape sheтАЩs in now, will help me get it done. So she goes home.тАЭ + 

He scowled, accusing me angrily: тАЬYouтАЩd humiliate her, disgrace her, endanger her life, for the sake ofтБатАФтАЭ + 

тАЬHer lifeтАЩs in no more danger than yours or mine. SheтАЩs simply got a little more of the junk in her than she can stand up under. And she took it. I didnтАЩt give it to her.тАЭ + 

The girl we were talking about was alive and breathing between usтБатАФeven sitting up with her eyes openтБатАФbut knowing no more of what was going on than if she had been in Finland. + 

We should have turned to the right at the next corner. Collinson held the car straight and stepped it up to forty-five miles an hour, staring ahead, his face hard and lumpy. + 

тАЬTake the next turn,тАЭ I commanded. + 

тАЬNo,тАЭ he said, and didnтАЩt. The speedometer showed a 50, and people on the sidewalks began looking after us as we whizzed by. + 

тАЬWell?тАЭ I asked, wriggling an arm loose from the girlтАЩs side. + 

тАЬWeтАЩre going down the peninsula,тАЭ he said firmly. тАЬSheтАЩs not going home in her condition.тАЭ + 

I grunted: тАЬYeah?тАЭ and flashed my free hand at the controls. He knocked it aside, holding the wheel with one hand, stretching the other out to block me if I tried again. + 

тАЬDonтАЩt do that,тАЭ he cautioned me, increasing our speed another half-dozen miles. тАЬYou know what will happen to all of us if youтБатАФтАЭ + 

I cursed him, bitterly, fairly thoroughly, and from the heart. His face jerked around to me, full of righteous indignation because, I suppose, my language wasnтАЩt the kind one should use in a ladyтАЩs company. + 

And that brought it about. + 

A blue sedan came out of a cross-street a split second before we got there. CollinsonтАЩs eyes and attention got back to his driving in time to twist the roadster away from the sedan, but not in time to make a neat job of it. We missed the sedan by a couple of inches, but as we passed behind it our rear wheels started sliding out of line. Collinson did what he could, giving the roadster its head, going with the skid, but the corner curb wouldnтАЩt cooperate. It stood stiff and hard where it was. We hit it sidewise and rolled over on the lamppost behind it. The lamppost snapped, crashed down on the sidewalk. The roadster, over on its side, spilled us out around the lamppost. Gas from the broken post roared up at our feet. + 

Collinson, most of the skin scraped from one side of his face, crawled back on hands and knees to turn off the roadsterтАЩs engine. I sat up, raising the girl, who was on my chest, with me. My right shoulder and arm were out of whack, dead. The girl was making whimpering noises in her chest, but I couldnтАЩt see any marks on her except a shallow scratch on one cheek. I had been her cushion, had taken the jolt for her. The soreness of my chest, belly, and back, the lameness of my shoulder and arm, told me how much I had saved her. + 

People helped us up. Collinson stood with his arms around the girl, begging her to say she wasnтАЩt dead, and so on. The smash had jarred her into semiconsciousness, but she still didnтАЩt know whether there had been an accident or what. I went over and helped Collinson hold her upтБатАФthough neither needed helpтБатАФsaying earnestly to the gathering crowd: тАЬWeтАЩve got to get her home. Who canтБатАФ?тАЭ + 

A pudgy man in plus fours offered his services. Collinson and I got in the back of his car with the girl, and I gave the pudgy man her address. He said something about a hospital, but I insisted that home was the place for her. Collinson was too upset to say anything. Twenty minutes later we took the girl out of the car in front of her house. I thanked the pudgy man profusely, giving him no opportunity to follow us indoors. + 