As Tholbin asked the question, he drew back suddenly. The dull-faced steward was wearing a small stickpin that bore the shape of a crown!
“I thought you might have an answer, sir,” remarked the steward, in a foreign tone.
“Ah, yes. Perhaps.” David Tholbin nodded while he spoke. “Wait until I read this.”
He opened the radiogram. It was a brief message. These were the simply stated words:
PURCHASE ARRANGED AS PER ORDER PERKINS
The message and the signature fitted the instructions from Parker Noyes. Before dawn, Tholbin had a duty to perform — the last task in his strange series of assignments. This radiogram was the final notice to proceed.
Placing the message in his pocket, Tholbin approached the steward. He placed the finger tips of his right hand against those of the left, and made the sign of the crown. The steward responded with the same action.
“Half past five,” whispered Tholbin, “in the morning. Meet promptly outside of Stateroom 7-D, promenade deck.”
“With the others?” The steward’s question was tense.
“With the others,” David Tholbin repeated.