"My Dear Friend:

"I have been waiting to write you with the hope that I could report
Señor Alvarez out of danger, but his condition, I regret to say, remains
unchanged. Shall I send an attorney to you? Would you like a book of any
kind? Or some delicacy sent in from a restaurant? Can I be of any
service to you in any way? If I can please drop me a line.

"Sincerely,

"Isabel Thorne."

At last she rose and standing in the window read the note over, folded
it, placed it in an envelope and sealed it. A maid came in answer to her
ring, and there at the window, under the watchful eyes of Blair and
Hastings--and, perhaps, Johnson--she handed the note to the maid with
instructions to mail it immediately. Two minutes later she saw the maid
go out along the avenue to a post-box on the corner.

Then she drew back into the shadow of the room, slipped on a
dark-colored wrap, and, standing away from the window, safe beyond the
reach of prying eyes, waited patiently for the postman. He appeared
about five o'clock and simultaneously another man turned the corner near
the post-box and spoke to him. Then, together, they disappeared from
view around the corner.

"So that's Johnson, is it?" mused Miss Thorne, and she smiled a little.
"Mr. Grimm certainly pays me the compliment of having me carefully
watched."