Dr. Stone, reaching into the closet, found the gray suit that needed
pressing. He knew it was gray because his fingers felt the three
sharply-ridged lines of thread sewed on the inside of the collar. So, to
the blind man, was every suit, shirt, tie and sock in his wardrobe marked
for exact identification. One raised ridge of thread for blue, two for
brown, and three for gray.
He came down the stairs with the suit. Joe Morrow had put a leash on
Lady, and she whined eagerly.
"Ready to go, old girl?" The blind man patted the dog's head and took the
leash. "All set, Joe? Got your money?"
"Yes, sir." The boy felt for the two dollars he had earned weeding a
neighbor's garden. "I'll have fourteen dollars saved," he boasted.
"Wealth," the doctor chuckled, and snapped open his watch and touched the
exposed hands with a finger. "We'll be back in time for dinner."
But that was a dinner they were destined never to eat.
Roses bloomed in the summer heat, fields of corn tasseled in the sun, and
a dog ran out of a yard and barked at them furiously. Lady, intent only
on the blind man in her keeping, pricked up her ears but did not change
her rapid pace. The village was busy with its Saturday morning trade, and
the tawny brute carefully maneuvered the doctor through the crowds. Joe
clutched his two dollars and his bank-book. They left the gray suit at
the tailor's and came out to the street. And at that moment a man,
coatless and hatless, ran out of the Pelle Canning Company building and
went past them, panting.
Dr. Stone said: "Did you hear that man's breathing, Joe? He's frightened.
Who is he?"
"Mr. Pelle," the boy told him.
"Where did he go?"
"Into the bank."
The doctor said: "Lady, right," and followed the dog across the roadway
to the bank side of the street. A small door in one of the two-story
brick buildings opened suddenly, and a girl hurried out. The door was
marked: "OFFICE, MIDSTATE TEL. CO. UPSTAIRS," and the girl was Tessie
Rich, one of the telephone operators. In her haste she almost ran into
the blind man.
"Oh! I'm sorry, Doctor."
"No harm done, Tessie," Dr. Stone said, and chuckled slyly. "We're on our
way to the bank. Any message you'd like me to give Albert Wall?"