"I haven't done anything," Larry replied. "I am only too glad to be of service to you. But I may be able to find out something by this envelope."
"I don't see how."
"Will you let me take it to the sub-station?"
"Of course. But what good will that do?"
"I want to ask the sorters and clerks in charge if they remember having handled it. I may find the carrier who brought it in from the box, and he can tell in what locality it was."
"But how can they remember when they must handle thousands of letters every day?"
"Perhaps they cannot, but it is worth trying. You see in that section of the city are mostly foreigners, who write a peculiar hand, and use stationery anything but clean or of this quality. This envelope and paper are of an expensive kind."
"Yes, they are some father had made to order for his private correspondence. I did not know he took any to Europe with him, but he must have."
"It may be that a letter carrier or mail sorter took enough notice of the envelope to remember
it," Larry went on. "Besides there is a small blot on it, and the way in which the stamp is put on shows that some glue or paste was applied to the envelope. Probably he used an old stamp which had no mucilage on. To make it fast to the envelope your father, or whoever posted the letter, would have had to use some sticky substance, and, in doing so, he has put it on a little too thick. Some spread out from under the stamp and soiled the envelope.