"Lord, I don't think _he'll_ say anything."
"Find out, too, when he intends to go back West."
It took Hatch three hours, and required a vast deal of patience and skill, to find out that on a recent birthday Miss Dow had received a present of a monogram belt buckle from Reid. That was all; and that was not what The Thinking Machine meant. Hatch had the word of Miss Dow's maid for it that while Miss Dow wore this belt at the time of her elopement, it was underneath the automobile coat.
"Have you heard anything more from Miss Dow?" asked Hatch.
"Yes," responded the maid. "Her father received a letter from her this morning. It was from Chicago, and said that she and her husband were on their way to San Francisco and that the family might not hear from them again until after the honeymoon."
"How? What?" gasped Hatch. His brain was in a muddle. "She in Chicago, _with--her husband?_"
"Yes, sir."
"Is there any question about the letter being in her handwriting?"
"Not at all," replied the maid, positively. "It's perfectly natural," she concluded.
"But----" Hatch began, then he stopped.