“No, sir, nothing,” Nellie interposed. “I would have done so, perhaps, if there had been any, for I held it quite near my face.”
“That is the very point,” said Chick, smiling. “I now suspect that the handkerchief was impregnated with some odorless, but very powerful drug, which instantly affected you. Naturally, in your surprise, you would have inhaled it freely, and I think that is how you were so quickly overcome.”
“That may explain it,” Miss Fielding admitted. “But it all was very, very strange.”
“Can you recall anything that immediately followed?”
“No, sir, absolutely nothing.”
“But you can tell me just where it occurred?”
“Oh, yes,” Nellie nodded quickly. “It was on the corner of Main and Maple Streets. There is an all-night lunch cart nearly opposite. I remember seeing it, and that is why I am sure of the precise location.”
“Very good,” said Chick, smiling again. “Now tell me, Miss Fielding, why you asked for the leather bag before leaving the hospital. You claimed to have missed it.”
“I did, sir,” she readily admitted. “I suddenly remembered it and thought I would take it and try to find the owner. I did not think of its having been the cause of my trouble.”
“But why did you not explain the circumstances to Doctor Devoll and insist upon searching for the bag? You afterward said you were not sure you had it.”