“Tell us who you are,” the physician said. “Who is Jess, and how can the boys find her?”
“Jess—Jess—where the great light shines at night,—Bring her to me—I am—I am—Jess—the boys will find you—they will save you! Oh, the awful crash!”
The next instant the old man, who, in his excitement, had risen from the pillow fell backward, and his eyes closed. A terror seemed to grip the boys’ hearts. They thought they had seen death come. Dr. Bounce rang a bell to summon a nurse.
“He has become unconscious again after his raving,” the doctor said. “I’m afraid my experiment was a failure. Do you know who Jess is, or what he is referring to about the ‘great light,’ boys?”
“Not in the least,” replied Jerry, and his chums said the same.
“Was any one of that name killed or hurt in the wreck?” Dr. Bounce went on.
“No,” replied Bob. “I have looked over the list as published in one of the extras, and all the passengers are accounted for. No one was named Jess.”
“Do you suppose he could have meant a dog called Jess?” came from Ned. “He seemed to think some one might be pinned down under the seats where he was.”
“But he spoke of going to claim her after a long separation,” Dr. Bounce went on, while the nurse was administering medicine to the unconscious patient. “That would apply only to a person. No, I believe Jess is a girl or a woman. There seems to be some mystery connected with her.”
“Maybe we will happen to solve it some day,” remarked Jerry. “I wonder what he meant by the ‘great light?’”