“Ah, here is proof of it,” said Nick.
He bent forward and read from the sheet of paper merely the following lines:
“To the Right Reverend Bishop Cassidy, Washington, D. C.
“My Dear Bishop: I feel compelled to ask your consideration of a matter of which I have just become informed. Though the sacred secrecy of the confessional forbids——”
That was all, written with a firm and flowing hand, and Nick straightened up and turned to his companion.
“Yes, this settles it, Fallon,” said he. “Father Cleary was writing when his assassin entered. Observe that he quickly dropped his pen, instead of placing it in this tray with the others.”
“Yes, obviously,” Fallon agreed.
“Plainly, then, he was startled, or even alarmed by some unexpected noise. That would not have been the case, Fallon, if his bell had rung, either that of the front or the side door.”
“But he may not have been alone at that time,” suggested Fallon. “The person by whom he was killed may have been here.”
“That is not probable,” Nick quickly objected. “This letter which he began to write denotes that he was alone, also that some person had just left him, or only a short time before, and by whom serious information of some kind had been imparted to him, so serious that he felt compelled to write about it to Bishop Cassidy.”