He was then released, the lawyer was handsomely
remunerated for his efficient services, and Mrs. Walton and her son
returned to the Southern Hotel.
It was on their way thither that they entered the car in which Mona was
also returning to the hotel, and when she made the discovery that the
woman had on the very dress which the charming Mrs. Vanderbeck had worn
on the day of the Palmer robbery.
We know what followed--how she immediately sent on to Ray for the scrap
of cloth, and how, later, she found that it exactly fitted the rent in
the dress.
We know, also, how, immediately following this discovery, she sought the
headquarters of the detective force, where she opportunely encountered
Mr. Rider, and related to him the discoveries which she had made.
Mrs. Walton had not appeared personally in connection with the
formalities regarding the release of her son.
Everything had been conducted by the shrewd lawyer, so Detective Rider
had not met her at all; but he felt confident, when Mona described her,
together with her dress, that she was not the mother of Jake Walton
at all, but one of the "gang" who had so successfully robbed different
parties during the last two or three years.
The moment the young girl disappeared from the office, after her
interview with him, the detective executed a number of antics which
would have done credit to a practiced athlete.
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