I been sizin' up things--and folks like me don't get such fancy
trimmin's without payin'."
"Why--it was your--your father."
Pete sat up quickly. "My father! I ain't got no father. I--I reckon
somebody got things twisted."
"Why, the papers"--and Doris bit her lip--"I mean Miss Howard, the
nurse who was here that night . . ."
"When The Spider cashed in?"
Doris nodded.
"The Spider wasn't my father. But I guess mebby that nurse thought he
was, and got things mixed."
"The house-doctor would not have had him brought up here if he had
thought he was any one else."
"So The Spider said he was my father--so he could git to see me!" Pete
seemed to be talking to himself. "Was he the friend you was tellin' me
called regular?"
"Yes. I don't know, but I think he paid for your room and the
operation."
"Don't they make those operations on folks, anyhow, if they ain't got
money?"
"Yes, but in your case it was a very difficult and dangerous operation.
I saw that Dr. Andover hardly wanted to take the risk."
"So The Spider pays for everything!" Pete shook his head.
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