Deacon was thoughtful for a few moments. Then he spoke in an expressionless tone.
"Judge is right," he stated. "The Shadow — whoever he happens to be — picked on Ferret as the most susceptible of our crew. But Judge overlooked one important point; and that makes me agree with you that Ferret read something he hasn't told!"
"Let's hear it, Deacon."
"It seems very plain to me. That note was placed in Ferret's cage. The Shadow expected that he would find it there, and open it when alone. When the message faded, Ferret would be puzzled.
"Ferret would say nothing — but he would use his head, the way The Shadow wanted. He would form the very opinion that he admitted. He would suspect that one of us — probably yourself — had planted the message there. That would mean that one of us — Ferret — would be looking for a double cross."
"That sounds reasonable, Deacon."
"But The Shadow evidently wanted Ferret to keep his thoughts to himself. That bears out your idea, Major. There was something in that message that Ferret hasn't told."
"You think he'd double-cross—"
"Easy, Major," said Deacon soothingly. "You're falling now. Ferret wouldn't double-cross us. He couldn't. But he has surely done something — and that is why he became suspicious of you."
"He told you—"