CHAPTER X. GERTRUDE LEAVES HER HOME.
Left to himself in the alleyway, our hero scarcely knew what to do next.
Under ordinary circumstances he would have notified a policeman of what was going on. But he reflected that Pepper had done him many kindnesses in the past, and that it was barely possible the man was not doing as much of a wrong as he imagined.
"I'll wait a while and see what turns up," he soliloquized, and hid himself in a dark corner, where he could watch not only the library window, but also the side alleyway leading to the street in front of the mansion.
Slowly the minutes wore away until Nelson felt certain that Sam Pepper was going to remain inside all night.
"Perhaps something happened to him," he thought. "Maybe he got a fit, or somebody caught him."
He waited a while longer, then, impelled by curiosity, approached the balcony, climbed up, and tried to look into the window of the library.
As he did this the curtain was suddenly thrust aside, and in the dim light he found himself face to face with Gertrude Horton!
He was so astonished that, for the moment, he did not know what to say or do. Gertrude was equally amazed. She quickly raised the window.