Johnson hesitated. He saw the weakness of his position. He wished to assist Finland, for he believed him to be innocent; moreover, he did not wish, without the strongest reason, to fail in the trust he had undertaken. Still, Chard, as the representative of the law, had right and might on his side. If he did not give up the letter willingly, he would no doubt be forced to. On consideration he decided he could do nothing but yield.
"Here is the letter," said he, taking it from his pocket. "I trust you will deliver it to its address when you have done with it."
"That depends entirely upon the contents," said Chard, grimly. He untwisted the piece of paper. Finland had not put it into an envelope. The reason for this was soon apparent. Chard looked at it carefully, then he swore.
"Mr. Chard," reproved Johnson, "why such language?"
The inspector clapped the letter on the table before Johnson. "Isn't that enough to make a man swear? The rascal has written his letter in cypher."
It ran as follows:--
Coded Message
"Can't you understand it?" asked Johnson, puzzled.
"No; can you?" snapped the inspector, picking up the cypher.