The Lonely Bride by Fred M. White

The morrow came, but with it no explanation of the mystery surrounding the extraordinary attack on the life of James Holder. It had not been proved as yet that the worthy old cashier had received any definite message to attend the bank on that fateful evening. A careful search had elicited the information that nothing whatever was missing except the duplicate key of the safe. And as this duplicate key was of no use without the counterpart in the possession of Mark Anstey, it was difficult to see why the thief had taken it away. It was still more difficult to understand why Holder had visited the bank at all. Such an act was absolutely contrary to his usual routine, for he was a man of regular habits, he could always be relied upon to do the same thing exactly at the same time. Enquiries at Leverton Hospital had resulted in the information that the injured man was still absolutely unconscious, and that his life hung on a thread. So it was just possible that he might recover, for he had a regular life and good constitution on his side, but even if he did shake off the illness that bound him he was never likely to be the same man again. Expert opinion held it that the injury to the brain would mean something like idiocy in future.

All this Anstey told Grace over breakfast.