$50,000 is only a small fraction of what you stole while we were living in mud and blood in France for you, and we mean to get that much or ……… !
A peculiar note in several ways. They are usually written with a great pretense of partial illiterateness. Almost always there’s an attempt to lead suspicion astray. Perhaps the ex-service stuff was there for that purpose … or perhaps not.
Then there was a postscript:
We know a Chinaman who will buy her even after we are through with her—in case you won’t listen to reason.
The letter from the girl was written jerkily on the same kind of paper, apparently with the same pencil.
Daddy—
Please do as they ask! I am so afraid—
A door at the other end of the room opened, and a head came through.
“O’Gar! Thode! Gatewood just called up. Get up to his office right away!”
The four of us tumbled out of the Hall of Justice and into a machine.
Gatewood was pacing his office like a maniac when we pushed aside enough hirelings to get to him. His face was hot with blood and his eyes had an insane glare in them.
“She just phoned me!” he cried thickly, when he saw us.
It took a minute or two to get him calm enough to tell us about it.