The old man opened a table drawer and drew out an envelope. Bob tore it open and began to read. Mitchell also handed him a key, which Bob took without looking.
“There, in the proper room,” said Mitchell, “you will find the hiding place specified. It was probably known to one man only beside your uncle. That is the architect who designed it — undoubtedly Richard Harkness—”
Bob looked up startled at the name. He remembered now that Harkness had been on the point of making a statement when Clink had fired the fatal shot. So that was it! Harkness, to save his life, had intended to speak.
THERE was some sign in Bob’s face that startled Zachary Mitchell. The old attorney stared narrowly at the young man.
Bob did not notice the look. He was again reading the contents of the envelope. The telephone rang. Bob looked up again; then resumed his reading as Mitchell answered the phone in a quiet voice.
The lawyer’s conversation consisted entirely of short replies. Some one was giving him information, yet the shrewd old attorney did not betray the fact.
He was listening to a quiet voice — the voice of Burbank — and it was carrying both a warning and an explanation. The Shadow’s agent was thwarting the schemes of Bob Maddox and his fellow plotters.
Mitchell hung up the receiver and turned quietly toward his visitor.
“There is something else,” he said, calmly. “I had almost forgotten it. Read the letter again.”
As Bob Maddox obeyed, the old lawyer reopened the table drawer. He turned.