“Suicide, it is said. He fell from his office window.”
“That looks bad,” remarked the secret-service man. “When did it happen?”
After a moment’s thought, Harry gave the approximate date.
“Hm-m-m,” said Marquette. “So that’s why Stokes lost the newspapers, two days in a row. Whitburn may have learned it by letter — but I didn’t know about it.
“But we can discuss that some other time. Let me tell the important story.
“Graham made Whitburn financially independent. The professor took this place. The secret service learned what was going on — in part. I found out the rest.
“When I obtained a job here, Whitburn had one helper — a man named Blades. Then Stokes came along.
“Each one of us has different experimental work, and duties to perform. None of us could learn enough to be of value.
“If Whitburn has drawings — which seems likely — he makes them himself, and stows them away somewhere.
“Just as the torpedo was developing well, Blades was killed. A fly-wheel came off a machine which he was using in the cellar workshop.