CHAPTER XVIII
ELUSIVE CLUES
Inspector Mitchell felt extremely pleased with himself as he hurried along Seventeenth Street in the direction of the Munitions Building. In his interview with Mrs. Augustus Murray of Georgetown, an hour before, he had been unable to shake her confidence in her claim that she had met Major Leigh Wallace leaving the Baird mansion on Sunday afternoon about five minutes past five o’clock. Mrs. Murray supplemented her original statement with the information that the Major never had the decency to apologize to her, when he ran against her in his blind haste.
Upon leaving Mrs. Murray, Inspector Mitchell went at once to Major Wallace’s boarding house where he learned that he had missed the young officer by ten minutes only.
“He’s gone to the Army Dispensary in the Munitions Building for treatment,” Mrs. Harris, the landlady, informed him. “Dear knows, I hope the treatment does him some good. The way he moans in his sleep is something awful.”
“Ah, is Major Wallace troubled with insomnia?” asked Mitchell.
“I don’t know what he’s troubled with.” Mrs. Harris was not blessed with an even temper, and when it was aroused generally vented her ill-humor on the first person encountered. “His room is next to mine and the partition is mighty thin. It makes my flesh crawl to hear him moan and when he cries out, ‘Kitty!’ and again, ‘That damned cat,’ I just have to pound on the wall and wake him up.”
“Perhaps he has an antipathy to cats,” remarked Mitchell, restraining a smile.
“Mebbe he has; anyway I can’t say that I’m sorry he’s going—”
“Going where?”
“Out west somewhere,” vaguely. “If you hurry you may catch Major Wallace at the Dispensary; he’s usually there about two hours.” And taking the broad hint Mitchell bowed himself out of the boarding house.