Hiram Mallory started to rise from the table. Bob stopped him with a wave of his hand.
“Stay right here,” he said.
“No, no, Robert,” returned Mallory. “This may be a private matter—”
“Stay here,” insisted Bob. He turned to Thaddeus Westcott. “You have no objections to Mr. Mallory’s presence if I am satisfied?”
“Not in the least,” declared Westcott. “That is for you to decide. I can only say that I have something important to tell you pertaining to your uncle—”
“In which case,” interrupted Bob, “I think that Mr. Mallory should remain with us.”
“Very well,” said Westcott.
He drew an envelope from his pocket and held it between his hands.
“When Theodore Galvin left the country he gave this envelope to me,” Westcott began. “He showed me the paper it contains, and then he sealed the envelope. He did not, however, explain the significance of the paper.
“He stated that if he needed my assistance in a certain matter — which he did not specify — he would communicate with me, so that I might understand what the paper meant.