{"product_id":"2940013769021","title":"Burn, Witch, Burn!","description":"I heard the clock strike one as I walked up the hospital steps.\u003cbr\u003eOrdinarily I would have been in bed and asleep, but there was a case\u003cbr\u003ein which I was much interested, and Braile, my assistant, had\u003cbr\u003etelephoned me of certain developments which I wished to observe. It\u003cbr\u003ewas a night in early November. I paused for a moment at the top of the\u003cbr\u003esteps to look at the brilliancy of the stars. As I did so an\u003cbr\u003eautomobile drew up at the entrance to the hospital.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs I stood, wondering what its arrival at that hour meant, a man\u003cbr\u003eslipped out of it. He looked sharply up and down the deserted street,\u003cbr\u003ethen threw the door wide open. Another man emerged. The two of them\u003cbr\u003estooped and seemed to be fumbling around inside. They straightened and\u003cbr\u003ethen I saw that they had locked their arms around the shoulders of a\u003cbr\u003ethird. They moved forward, not supporting but carrying this other man.\u003cbr\u003eHis head hung upon his breast and his body swung limply.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA fourth man stepped from the automobile.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI recognized him. He was Julian Ricori, a notorious underworld\u003cbr\u003echieftain, one of the finished products of the Prohibition Law. He had\u003cbr\u003ebeen pointed out to me several times. Even if he had not been, the\u003cbr\u003enewspapers would have made me familiar with his features and figure.\u003cbr\u003eLean and long, with silvery white hair, always immaculately dressed, a\u003cbr\u003eleisured type from outward seeming, rather than leader of such\u003cbr\u003eactivities as those of which he was accused.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI had been standing in the shadow, unnoticed. I stepped out of the\u003cbr\u003eshadow. Instantly the burdened pair halted, swiftly as hunting hounds.\u003cbr\u003eTheir free hands dropped into the pockets of their coats. Menace was\u003cbr\u003ein that movement.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I am Dr. Lowell,\" I said, hastily. \"Connected with the hospital.\u003cbr\u003eCome right along.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThey did not answer me. Nor did their gaze waver from me; nor did\u003cbr\u003ethey move. Ricori stepped in front of them. His hands were also in his\u003cbr\u003epockets. He looked me over, then nodded to the others; I felt the\u003cbr\u003etension relax.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I know you, Doctor,\" he said pleasantly, in oddly precise\u003cbr\u003eEnglish. \"But that was quite a chance you took. If I might advise you,\u003cbr\u003eit is not well to move so quickly when those come whom you do not\u003cbr\u003eknow, and at night--not in this town.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"But,\" I said, \"I do know you, Mr. Ricori.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Then,\" he smiled, faintly, \"your judgment was doubly at fault.\u003cbr\u003eAnd my advice doubly pertinent.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere was an awkward moment of silence. He broke it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"And being who I am, I shall feel much better inside your doors\u003cbr\u003ethan outside.\"","brand":"WDS Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47070265344240,"sku":"2940013769021","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013769021_p0.jpg?v=1763598849","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013769021","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}