“The door?” said Jimmy. “Yes, that’s fairly evident. Whatever the word is, its second letter is ‘P.’ You see Reale’s scribbled notes? All these are no good, the other letters are best, I suppose it means; so we can cut out ‘T,’ ‘O,’ and ‘K.’”
“The best clue of all,” he went on, “is the notes about the ‘professor.’ You see them:
“‘Mem.: To get the professor’s new book on it.
Mem.: To do what the professor thinks right.
Mem.: To write to professor about——’
Now the questions are: Who is the professor, what is his book, and what did he advise? Reale was in correspondence with him, that is certain; in his desire for accuracy, Reale sought his advice. In all these papers there is no trace of a letter, and if any book exists it is still in Sped—it is still in the place from whence this red envelope came.”
The two men exchanged a swift glance.
“Yes,” said Angel, as if answering the other’s unspoken thought, “it might be done.”
The girl looked from one to the other in doubt.
“Does this mean an extra risk?” she asked quietly. “I have not questioned you as to how this red envelope came into your possession, but I have a feeling that it was not obtained without danger.”