"But why didn't he come to claim Jack?"
"That's the mystery. I have asked that the colonel be brought here, and as soon as he is well enough to stand being questioned I am going to learn the truth of the matter."
"I hope he is Jack's father," murmured Marion. "But if so, what of Dr. Mackey?"
"That's another mystery."
"He must know something of the colonel's past."
"Undoubtedly."
"I wonder if the two ever met in this vicinity?"
"There is no telling. I am impatient to question the colonel. But of course nothing can be done until he is better and in his right mind."
That evening there was the rattle of wagon-wheels on the gravel road leading up to the Ruthven mansion, and, looking out, Marion and her mother saw an ambulance approaching. The colonel was inside, and they hastened to prepare a bedroom for his accommodation.
"Is he better?" asked Mrs. Ruthven of the surgeon in charge.