Willie, meanwhile, was hastily stacking maps on the mantelpiece. He did not bother to fold them up, but put a weight on them and let the sheets hang down toward the floor. In no time the desks were cleared, and the little group soberly seated before them.
"You've taken away the paper with the message on it," said Captain Hardy to Henry.
Henry started for the book-shelves, but Willie, who sat nearest the shelves, was there almost before Henry was out of his chair. He scanned the heap of books, looking for the missing paper.
"There it is, under that Bible," he muttered.
He lifted off the superimposed books, and shoved the Bible to one side. The books began to slide, but Willie stopped them before they poured down to the floor. The Bible he caught on the very edge of the shelf, its covers open. He thrust the book back, seized the paper, and returned to his seat.
For perhaps an hour the little group worked on. Sometimes each labored in silence, busy with his own thoughts. Again there was eager discussion, as one or the other advanced some theory or idea as to the meaning of the message. Then silence would come again. So the hours rolled by. In one of these pauses, Willie sat with closed eyes, turning the mystery over in his mind. But his brain was tired and other thoughts would creep in. Once he caught himself thinking of Camp Brady. Again he was thinking about the East River, and all the sights he had seen on a trip he had made up that stream into the Sound. Rigidly he brought himself back to his task. But presently his attention wandered again. Now he was thinking about the book-shelf and the volume he had caught as it was slipping to the floor. And then, as though a flash of lightning had suddenly illuminated a dark place in his brain, he saw the words on the open page of the book—words that in his haste he had barely glimpsed, but that now came vividly to his mind:
TO THE MOST HIGH AND MIGHTY PRINCE
JAMES,
By the Grace of God
King of Great Britain, etc.
In another instant Willie was on his feet. "There's one King James that we didn't think of," he said, "the King James of the Bible."
His fellows laughed. "He's dead," said Roy.
But Willie paid no attention to the comment. His look was centred on his captain's face. And his captain's face was worth watching. Over it came that eager look that always marked his countenance when he got new light on a problem.