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The Quack Doctors
by
Nor could all of O’Hanlon’s bulldozing get another admission out of her except that it was a “stranger.” She protested and wept. But she even rode off in the patrol wagon with the rest of the employes unmoved.
Whom was she shielding? All we had was the secretary, a couple of cappers, and half a dozen patients, regular and prospective, who had been waiting in the office. We had a wagon-load of evidence, including letters and circulars, apparatus of all kinds, medicines, and pills. But there was nothing more. Craig did not seem especially interested in the mass of stuff which the police had seized.
In fact the only thing that seemed to interest him was the man who had disappeared. We had his hat and the package of filters. Craig picked up the hat and examined it.
“It’s a soft hat and consequently doesn’t tell us very much about the shape of his head,” he remarked. Then his face brightened. “But he couldn’t have left anything much better,” he remarked complacently, as he went over to one of the little wall cabinets which the towel service companies place over wash-basins in offices. He took from it a comb and brush and wrapped them up carefully.
I looked at the hat also. There was no name in it, not even the usual initials. What did Craig mean?
Other raids in various parts of the city proved far more successful than the one in which we had participated and O’Hanlon quickly forgot his chagrin in the reports that soon came piling in. As for ourselves we had no further interest except in the disposition of this case, and Craig decided shortly to go back to work again in the laboratory among his test-tubes, slides, and microscopes.
“I will leave you to follow the cases against the quacks, particularly Dr. Loeb and Miss Golder, Walter,” he said. “By the way, you saw me take that hair brush. I wish I had a collection of them. In some way you must get me a hair brush from Dr. Goode. You’ll have to take a trip out to Norwood. And while you are there, get the brushes from Darius Moreton and Lionel. I don’t know how you’ll get Goode’s, but Myra will help you with the others, I’m sure.”
He turned to his work and was soon absorbed in some microscopic studies, leaving me no chance to question him about his strange commission.