His explanation of the possession of the paper was sufficiently plausible, and Stone was not in a critical mood. The result was that the miner scrawled a brief letter of introduction for Follansbee, accompanied with a request that the check be cashed without question.
If he had only ventured to look up as he signed the note, he might have been warned that all was not well, but he did not think of doing so. Follansbee rose to his feet, and, taking the letter, slipped it into a plain envelope. Evidently he had not thought best to provide a hotel envelope in addition to the paper, for that thorough preparation might have seemed a little suspicious.
“And now,” he said, “before you go, I’d like to offer you a little refreshment, if I may. I have some very good brandy, and a bit of it would tone you up. You need it after all you’ve gone through to-night. After that you can go back to the hotel.”
He did not know that Nick’s ruse in regard to the bell had spoiled Stone’s alibi. Had he been aware of the fact, it would have given him much food for thought, but it would not have affected his words to Stone, for they were spoken merely for effect.
“And in the morning,” he added, “you will find Mr. Crawford as well as he ever was in his life.”
“You are sure of that?” Stone asked eagerly. “The drug can’t possibly do him any permanent harm?”
“On my professional honor, it cannot,” Follansbee assured him. “He won’t know anything about it when you see him again.”
He had reached the sideboard now, and he picked up two glasses which stood beside the decanter containing the brandy. Stone was by his side as he poured the liquor, but the ex-miner did not see a suspicious move. Perhaps it was because he was not in a suspicious mood. At any rate, there can be no doubt that it was something more than brandy that he drank.
Little more than five minutes later Doctor Follansbee accompanied Stone to the door, shook hands with him, and watched him depart. Stone had suggested the use of the doctor’s phone to call a taxi, but Follansbee had advised against it.
“If you’re wise, you’ll walk; at least, a part of the way,” he had said. “You’ve been through a great deal to-night, and the exercise will be good for you. If you can get physically tired, so much the better. You’ll be more apt to sleep when you reach your room.”