He must have got into my dressing-room, for
his old clothes are there and he went away in a suit of mine. No one has
seen him or knows anything about him. All that the local police can find
out is that a man answering somewhat his description caught the morning
train for Southampton from Hamblin Roads."
They had been standing together in a little recess of the hall. Suddenly
Lenora, whose face was turned towards the entrance doors, gave a little
cry. She took a quick step forward.
"Laura!" she exclaimed, wonderingly. "Why, it's Laura!"
They all turned around. A young woman had just entered the hotel, followed
by a porter carrying some luggage. Her arm was in a sling and there was a
bandage around her forehead. She walked, too, with the help of a stick.
She recognized them at once and waved it gaily.
"Hullo, you people?" she cried. "Soon run you to earth, eh?"
They were for a moment dumbfounded; Lenora was the first to find words.
"But when did you start, Laura?" she asked. "I thought you were too ill to
move for weeks."
The girl smiled contemptuously.
"I left three days after you, on the _Kaiser Frederic_," she replied.
"There was some trouble at Plymouth, and we came into Southampton early
this morning, and here I am. But, before we go any farther, tell me about
Craig?"
"We've had him," Quest confessed, "and lost him again. He escaped last
night."
"Where from?" Laura asked.
"Hamblin House."
"Is that anywhere near the south coast?" the girl demanded excitedly.
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