Molly Brown's College Friends Part 24

"What under Heaven is the matter?" panted Judy.

"It may be nothing, but I must investigate. Let's go in as quietly as possible. Does Madame Misel still work on the surgical dressings?"

"Yes, indeed! And such beautiful work as she does! Molly insists that she must have a great deal of good in her to give so much time to this work. Sometimes I think I must have dreamed that they spoke as they did that night in the garden. Why should pro-Germans and spies choose this particular spot, anyhow?"

The workroom was filled with very busy ladies when our young couples entered. Molly was tying up dressings, after carefully inspecting and counting them. An order had come for many bandages and other dressings and all hands were at work trying to get them off. Madame Misel was deftly arranging the rolled bandages in pyramids and then tying them with strings made of the selvedge torn from the cotton. Nothing goes to waste in this war work. Madame's countenance was as calm as ever as she bent over her work, but when she saw the two men enter, Judy noticed a sudden alertness in her glance and a tiny spot of red on her usually white cheek. As she pulled the selvedge string, she must have given it an unusual tug for it broke and the tightly-rolled bandages flew hither and yon over the floor.

"Humph! There is no telling how many germs got picked up in that scatteration," muttered Andy as he stooped and gathered the bandages.

"The--bandage--does--not--touch the--wound," said Madame, evidently forgetting she was speaking to a surgeon.

"No?" said Andy shortly.

"Molly," he said, "I must speak with you a moment."

"Well, Andy dear, I am awfully busy. You come home to luncheon with me, you and Nance, and then you can speak all you've a mind to."

"I must speak now," whispered Andy sternly.

"Heavens! Is anything the matter?" asked Molly.

"I am not sure," and Andy drew her towards the vestry at the back of the church. "Tell me, Molly, have you packed all the dressings that that Misel woman has made?"

"Why, no, not all of them! Why?"

"Have you mixed them with the others?"

"No! They are so beautifully folded that I do not have to inspect them, and so I have put them in boxes to themselves. She is the best worker I ever saw."

"Molly, I shall have to ask you not to get this shipment off to-day."

"But, Andy, it is most important! The poor wounded are bleeding to death and the ship sails in two days. We must get them off this evening if they are to catch that boat. What is your reason?"

And then Andy told her of the puppy's death. He said the fact that his first aid had come from those very rooms, and that teta.n.u.s, or lock-jaw, had set in on a perfectly healthy puppy when he had a mere scratch from another dog, made him suspicious that teta.n.u.s germs were on some of the bandages.

"Why, Andy, that is ridiculous! Poor Madame Misel may be in sympathy with Germany in spite of all she says, she and her husband, but she could not do such a vile thing as that." Molly could not help feeling impatient and indignant with her old friend. "Only look at her sweet face and all thought of such infamy will leave your mind."

Andy did glance towards Madame Misel and the look of venomous hatred that he surprised on her face was shocking. The young physician laughed grimly. "Molly, you are no judge of persons unless they happen to be angels. You think wings are getting ready to sprout even from our enemies."

"Perhaps they are! Who knows?"

"You may be right, but in the meantime, please don't let any of these dressings get off. I must see those Secret Service men. Where are they?"

"Edwin knows, I believe, but he has not told me."

Molly was irritated beyond endurance. How was she to let these women know that the shipment must be held up? It was all of it so absurd. The women had done the work and now these men must come poking their fingers into the pie that they had had none of the work of making. The idea of accusing Madame Misel of such a crime! Judy, too, seemed to be doubting the stranger, and Nance, of course, would be aiding and abetting Andy.

"I shall have to ask you to be very quiet, not to give this creature an inkling of our suspicions," commanded Andy sternly. "That is very important."

"Well, naturally, I'll hardly be so rude as to let her think anyone is so unkind as to doubt her," and Molly's lip trembled.

"Molly, dear Molly, don't hate me so. I can't help seeing that something is wrong and if I have the slightest suspicion, I must surely probe to the bottom. You must see that."

"Of course I do, Andy, but I just can't bear to have anybody abused, especially a woman who makes such lovely dressings," and Molly tried to smile at her friend.

"Well, I'll depend upon you to stop the work of getting them off and still not let the woman know she is under suspicion. Just go on packing but do not make the shipment."

"I hate to resort to such subterfuge, but I'll do my best," sighed Molly.

"Wouldn't it be better to bring one criminal to justice than to kill thousands of poor wounded men by dressing their wounds with teta.n.u.s germs?"

"Of course, only--but--you see----"

"Yes, I see that your heart is so tender and you are so honest yourself you think all the world must be like you."

Molly went sadly back to her packing, all the joy and zest gone out of her work. How could nice men like Andy and Kent think such things about a poor defenseless woman? No doubt she did have a sneaking sympathy for Germany. Was not that natural? Had she and her countrymen not been under German rule long enough to consider the kaiser as their rightful ruler?

Because her husband chose to pretend to be lame was no reason why everybody should think Madame Misel capable of such a dastardly thing as putting teta.n.u.s germs on the bandages of poor wounded soldiers. That was something no woman, no matter how bad, could do,--and surely this woman was not bad, not really bad. Molly Brown was so const.i.tuted that one had to be proven to be bad before she could believe evil of him or her, and then, as a rule, she would find some excuse for the sinner if not for the sin.

Nance and Judy stayed on to help in the work, while Andy and Kent went to find the Secret Service agents. While the task of making bandages, etc., went rapidly forward, the detectives quietly ransacked the cottage occupied by the Misels. This was the first opportunity they had had of going over the house. The occupants had never before left it alone. Much of dire importance was discovered. Among other things a small laboratory where no doubt all kinds of evil germs were incubated. The search was made very rapidly, as they were anxious to leave things in such order that the owners would not suspect that they were under surveillance.

CHAPTER XX

GERMS

As the two quietly-dressed, intelligent looking men were in the act of going through a desk, they saw from the window the slow and painful approach of M. Misel. Without a word they let themselves out of a back window, left open for emergencies, and before the master had opened the front door the detectives were over the back fence and out of sight.

They were desirous of catching more than the Misels in their net and did not want to act too quickly.

Had they peeped through the window, they would have seen Misel with an impatient gesture sling his crutch in one direction, his cane in another.

"Lena!" he called, in anything but a gentle tone. "Lena!" And then with muttered curses, when he found his wife to be absent, he settled himself to look over the bunch of mail he had just obtained at the post-office.

One letter he examined very critically before opening. It was an inoffensive enough looking envelope, addressed on a typewriter and with a postmark from New York. It had the appearance of a circular or advertis.e.m.e.nt of some sort, being made of cheap, greyish-white paper, the kind of letter one would wait until last to open in a pile of mail, being sure it was of no especial interest or importance. Misel seemed to find it very interesting, however. It was the one he chose from all the letters and papers, and as he examined it, he scowled darkly.

"Lena!" he called as Madame Misel hurriedly entered the cottage, "Lena, some fool has been meddling with my mail!"

"Perhaps not such a big fool as you are!" she answered tartly.

"Look! The envelope has been opened before. Of course it is the letter from Fritz von Lestes, the one we have been awaiting." He tore it open and read aloud: "'The paint which you have ordered will be delivered immediately. Am sorry there should have been any delay. I am sending a light grey, as agreed upon.' Umm--I don't see how they could make much out of that."

"Let me see the letter.--Of course they can make much out of it as there is no address,--you men bungle things so! Why should a man who is in the paint business write a letter with no address and sign his name so illegibly that no one could make it out? He should have had a letter head and a business envelope."

"And speaking of bungling,--why did you go and leave the house with no one in it? Can't you see that is imprudent?"

"Mrs. Green came for me and I had no excuse.--Besides, I am sure if I am by when the dressings are handed in that no one will inspect my work. I have been packing all morning and have seen to it that my labor has not been in vain."