“I did not hear from him before he died. So I have felt it my duty to turn over this paper to Theodore Galvin’s heir — namely, his nephew, Robert Galvin.”
The old man tore open the end of the envelope and drew forth the paper. He unfolded it and scanned it as though to make sure that it was the same sheet that had been intrusted to him. He then laid the paper on the table.
Both his companions stared at it curiously.
In the center of the sheet of paper appeared the same row of cryptic characters that had been inscribed on the slip which Reynold Barker had gained and lost that night when he had searched so eagerly.
It was an exact duplication of Theodore Galvin’s one mysterious message. It contained no other mark.
THADDEUS WESTCOTT looked at his companions and nodded his head at their perplexity. Bob examined the paper and gave it to Hiram Mallory, who studied it with curious interest.
Suddenly Mallory raised his head and folded the paper as he did so. The other men looked up.
A waiter was standing by, holding a tray which contained cups of coffee. The man’s approach had not been noticed by the diners.
Mallory was annoyed. He was sure that the waiter had glimpsed the message on the sheet of paper. But a glance at the man’s dull, expressionless face reassured him.
The waiter could scarcely have overheard more than a few snatches of the conversation. Mallory held the paper folded while the waiter placed the coffee on the table.