CHAPTER 8 _IN SEARCH OF JERRY_
"Now what could have become of Jerry?" Penny murmured as she and Saltgazed about the deserted room in amazement. "Surely we've made nomistake."
"He was assigned this room all right," the photographer declared. "Butmaybe they changed it later."
"That's it," agreed Penny in relief. "For a minute it gave me a shockseeing that empty bed. I thought perhaps he had taken a bad turn and beenremoved for emergency treatment."
The pair sought Miss Brent, a floor supervisor.
"Why, the patient in Room 318 hasn't been changed elsewhere," shereplied. "At least, not to my knowledge. I've been off the floor for thelast half hour."
Inspecting Room 318 to satisfy herself that the bed was empty, Miss Brentquestioned several nurses and an interne. No one seemed to know what hadbecome of the patient. There was a whispered conference and then MissBrent made a call to the superintendent.
"Something has happened to Jerry!" Penny told Salt tensely. "He may havebeen abducted!"
A nurse came flying up the hall from the locker room.
"Mr. Livingston's clothes are gone!" she reported.
Light began to dawn on Penny. She recalled the seemingly innocentquestion Jerry had asked earlier that night as to the location of theclothes locker.
"He's probably walked out of the hospital!" she exclaimed.
"Impossible!" snapped Miss Brent, though her voice lacked conviction."Nurses have been on duty here all the time. Mr. Livingston couldn't haveobtained his clothes without being observed."
"The floor was deserted for about ten minutes," an interne recalled. "Anemergency case came in and everyone was tied up."
Penny re-entered Jerry's room. The window remained closed and it was astraight drop of three stories to the yard below. She was satisfied thereporter had not taken that escape route.
A sheet of paper, propped against the mirror of the dresser attracted hereye. As she unfolded it, she saw at once that the handwriting wasJerry's.
"I'm too healthy a pup to stay in bed," he had scrawled. "Sorry, but I'mwalking out."
Penny handed the note to Miss Brent who could not hide her annoyance asshe read it.
"Nothing like this ever happened before!" she exclaimed. "How could theyoung man have left this floor and the building without being seen? He'sin no condition to be wandering about the streets."
"Then Jerry really did need hospitalization?" inquired Penny.
"Certainly. He suffered shock and the doctor was afraid of brain injury.The patient should have been kept under observation for at leasttwenty-four hours. Wandering off this way is a very bad sign."
"We'll get him back here pronto!" Salt promised. "He can't have gonefar."
In the lobby he and Penny paused to ask the receptionist if she hadobserved anyone answering Jerry's description leave the building.
"Why, no," she replied, only to correct herself. "Wait! A young man in agray suit left here about twenty minutes ago. I didn't really notice hisface."
"That must have been Jerry!" cried Penny. "Which way did he go?"
"I'm sorry, I haven't the slightest idea."
"Jerry may have gone to his room," Penny said hopefully. "Let's call hishotel."
Using a lobby telephone, they dialed the St. Agnes Hotel Apartments wherethe reporter lived. The desk clerk reported that Jerry had not been seenthat night.
"Oh, where could he have gone?" Penny said as she and Salt left thehospital. "He may be wandering the streets in a dazed condition.Shouldn't we ask police to try to find him?"
"Guess it's all we can do," the photographer agreed. "Jerry sure will besore at us though."
A taxi cab pulled up near the hospital steps.
"Taxi?" the driver inquired.
Salt shook his head. "We don't know where we want to go yet. We'relooking for a friend of ours who left the hospital about twenty minutesago."
"A girl?"
"No, a man in a gray suit," Penny supplied. "He probably wasn't wearing ahat."
"Say, he musta been the one that asked me about the fare to the swamp!"
At the pair's look of intense interest, the cab driver added: "I waswaitin' here for a fare when some ladies came out of the hospital. Ipulled up and took 'em aboard. Just then this young feller comes out.
"He didn't seem to notice I had my cab filled, and says: 'How much totake me to Caleb Corners?'"
"Caleb Corners?" Penny repeated, having never heard of the place.
"That's a long ways out, almost to the swamp. I says to him, 'Sorry,buddy, but I got a fare. If you can wait a few minutes I'll be right backand pick you up.'"
"What did Jerry say?" Salt asked.
"He said he wanted to get started right away. Reckon he picked up anothercab."
Thanking the driver for the information, Penny and Salt retreated a fewsteps for a consultation.
"If Jerry started for the swamp at this time of night he must be wacky!"the photographer declared. "That knock on the head must have cracked himup and he doesn't know what he's doing!"
"Why would he start for the swamp? Maybe he remembers what I told himabout seeing a stranger there today, and in his confusion, has an ideahe'll find Danny Deevers!"
"Jerry can't have had much of a start, and we know he headed for CalebCorners! I'll go after him."
"We'll both go," Penny said quickly. "Come on, let's get the car."
Before they could leave the hospital steps, the receptionist camehurrying outside.
"Oh, I'm glad you're still here!" she said breathlessly, looking at thephotographer. "Aren't you Mr. Sommers?"
"That's me," agreed Salt.
"A telephone call for you."
"Say, maybe it's Jerry! Wait here, Penny. I'll be right back."
Salt was gone perhaps ten minutes. When he returned, his grim expressioninstantly informed Penny that the call had not been from Jerry.
"It was from my friend in the Motor Vehicle Department," he reported. "Hetraced the license number of the car that was in the accident."
"How did he know you were here, Salt?"
"Telephoned the office, and someone told him to try the hospital."
"Who owns the car, Salt?"
"A woman by the name of Sarah Jones, Route 3, Crissey Road.
"Crissey Road! Why, that's out near the swamp, not far from Trapper Joe'splace! I recall seeing the name on a signpost when Louise and I were outthere this afternoon."
"All roads lead to the swamp tonight," Salt commented. "I'm worried aboutJerry. I called the office and he hasn't shown up there."
"Then he must have started for Caleb Corners! Salt, we're wasting time!"
"We sure are," he agreed. "Let's go!"
The press car had been parked in a circular area fifty yards from thehospital. Salt and Penny ran to it, and soon were on their way, speedinginto the night on a deserted, narrow road.