“Yes, sir, rather. Fact is, I’ve done ‘em before, but as you’ve never initialed ‘em, I thought I ought to bring ‘em to your notice.”

“Quite right—very neglectful of me. I suppose they’re all right?”

“Yes, sir, all right.”

“Then I won’t trouble to go through them.”

“They’re all there, sir, except, of course, the cable about the second loan, sir.”

“Except what?” I said.

“The cable about the second loan,” he repeated.

I was glad to be reminded of this, for of course I wished to remove that document before the bundle finally took its place among the archives. Indeed, I thought I had done so. But why had Jones removed it? Surely Jones was not as skeptical as that?

“Ah, and where have you put that?”

“Why, sir, his Excellency took that.”