“How do you think that figures in it?” asked Sam.
“Well, this is only a theory, of course,” Tom replied, “but it seems reasonable. Something cropped up after the captain threw away the deed I showed him, that made him want to get it back again. We know how that plan failed.
“Then, evidently, he told Aaron Doolittle about the matter, and Doolittle, too, had reason to want to see that draft of the deed in their own possession. You see he states in his telegram that it is too bad I know about the existence of the paper and he is sorry about its loss. There must be something important back of it all when Doolittle wants to meet the captain in Garrison, across the river.”
“I’m beginning to think you’re on the right track, Tom,” said Sam.
“Of course, I don’t know when this telegram was received,” Tom went on, “and it may be that the captain is, even now, in Garrison, talking with Doolittle. If he is I wish I could be there too.”
“Captain Hawkesbury isn’t in Garrison now,” Sam told his chum, “for I saw him, a little while ago, going over to the Com’s quarters.”
“Well, he may already have had his talk,” Tom went on. “If we only knew the date the message was delivered I would know a little better where I was at.”
“That ought to be easy,” Sam said.
“What ought?”
“Finding out when this message came. We can interview the boy at the office who delivered it.”