Page 112 (1/1)

"I don’t see any books," Uncle Will said warily

"Got it all right here," Evie touched her head "And here," she said, patting her pocketbook

"You stole books from the New York Public Library?" Will’s voice rose in alarm

"O ye of little faith, Unc I took notes" Evie drew a stenographer’s notebook fro

Uncle Will held out a hand "May I see the doing I’ve lost hours of et back, and I neverradio announcer, here" Evie lay on the settee with her feet propped on the back and flipped pages till she found the one she needed "Naughty John, born John Hobbes, raised in Brooklyn, New York, at the Mother Nova Orphanage, where he was left at the age of nine A troubled youth, he ran aice, finally succeeding when he was fifteen He shows up in police records again at age twenty-nine, when a lady accused hi to have his ith her--what a bad, bad boy!" Evie waggled her eyebrows, and Sahed "However, the lady in question was a prostitute, and the case was dise "He worked in a foundry, where he was told to beat it when they caught hiain in 1865 for peddling dope to returning Union soldiers In 1871, he worked for an eer He set up a profitable side business selling cadavers to medical schools At so séances at Knowles’ End, a ritzy mansion uptown on the Hudson Ida Knowles--ned the joint--ran out of dough and had to sell it to a lady"--Evie traced her finger to the spot she needed--"nahty John’s coot pretty chummy with Ida after Ida’s mother and father died That Ida was a real to your pardon?" Will said

"She was pretty gullible," Sa all her clams on séances with Mary and John Anyway, the chin music was--"

"The what?" Will asked

"Gossip," Sam said

"That John Hobbes kept a lot of dope around, and these Spiritualist s’ because everybody was pretty half seas over on soot up to would’ve made every Blue Nose and Mrs Grundy fro salts"

Will held out his hand "May I, please?"

"Suit yourself" Evie handed over her notes, as well as several newspaper articles, which Will regarded with an expression of alaret these out of the library?"

Evie shrugged "I’ll take the they were my Daily News"

"Does yourcriminal mind?"

"That’s why she sent rinned "Nice work, Sheba"

"Ishkabibble" Evie reclined against the pillows, closing her eyes "I o to the pictures tomorrow"

Will paced as he read "… Mrs Mary White, a rather colorful hose companion was Mr John Hobbes Ida continued to live there in the eastern wing, and she and Mary grew very close Ida was not, however, particularly fond of Mr Hobbes In letters to her cousin, she wrote, ‘Mary and Mr Hobbes hosted another of their spiritual ht, which went on well past a decent hour I attended for a spell Mr Hobbes offered a sine, which e visitations that I could not be certain of as real and as not I excused myself and retired to bed, where I was troubled by peculiar dreams

" ‘The old book, which he does not allow me to read, he keeps locked in the curio cabinet "It is the book of iven to me by e," he told me with a smile…’ "

"The book of my brethren!" Evie exclaimed "Hot socks!"

" ‘But I do not trust a word he says,’ " Will continued " ‘For he seeain syhten Once he told me that he had the power to raise the Devil if he wished There is a foul stench in the house, as if the very walls are corrupted, and I hear the o at all hours of the day and night Most of the servants have left us I fear so wicked is at work in this house, dear cousin Oh, please do send the authorities to investigate, for I am too ill to see to it myself’ "