“Of course. Oliver is all right.”
“Who else?”
“A man with a scarred face. Morgan did not know him, but he said he obtained a fair look at his face, and it was horribly disfigured.”
“I have seen that man!” exclaimed Hodge. “He has visited Defarge more than once. But what can any one of those three do? Not one of them will be present at the supper.”
“That question is one I wish to answer to my own satisfaction. You remember that I caused Defarge to give me a key to his door. It is here.”
Frank displayed the key, and Bart nodded.
“Defarge does not know he gave me this key,” said Merry. “It will admit us to his room to-night. If he is asleep, I shall place him under the spell and question him without waking him at all. He will never know we have been there, and we’ll learn the full extent of the plot. Then we’ll be prepared to meet it, and somebody will receive a surprise.”
The face of Bart Hodge was flushed with excitement.
“Merriwell,” he cried, “you are a wonder! If you can make one of the plotters tell you all about the plot, without knowing he has told it, it will be something marvelous! I do not believe such a thing can be done.”
Frank smiled.