“Generally speaking, it’s a bad thing to let the other side get a glimpse at your evidence the day of the trial,” he said; “but I can’t see that it’s going to do any harm in this case. Even that pink-whiskered lawyer fellow from New York won’t be able to make a jury believe that the address wasn’t written by Carroll. So go ahead, my boy, and publish it, if you want to.”
When the Camera Chap and Lawyer Hands saw this exhibit on the front page of the Chronicle, they were greatly interested.
“It certainly does look like Fred’s handwriting,” Hawley declared. “But it must be a clever forgery.”
The lawyer shook his head. “I’m not so sure that it is a forgery at all,” he said quietly. “I shouldn’t be surprised if it were really Carroll’s own handwriting.”
Hawley stared at him in astonishment. “But I don’t understand. How could it have been written by him if he didn’t send the bomb—and I am quite sure that he didn’t.”
“So am I,” the lawyer answered, with a smile. “But let me read you a paragraph from to-day’s Chronicle. Then I think a solution of the mystery will suggest itself to you.”
Hawley listened intently while Mr. Hands read aloud this extract from the article which young Gale had written for the front page of his father’s newspaper:
“‘The cut published on this page is a photographic reproduction of the wrapper in which the deadly infernal machine was inclosed. The mechanism was packed in a small wooden box. This box was wrapped in stout blue paper, on which was pasted a small label of white paper. On this label the words, “Delancey Gale, Esquire, Chronicle Building, Personal,” was written in ink. That this address is the handwriting of Frederick Carroll, proprietor of the Oldham’s Bulletin, there cannot be the shadow of a doubt.’”
The Camera Chap’s face lighted up. “A label of white paper, eh?” he exclaimed, with a grin. “About the size of an ordinary correspondence envelope, I suppose?”
The lawyer nodded. “I see that you get the idea. At some time or other Carroll must have had occasion to send a personal letter to Gale. They happened to save the envelope of that letter, and they used the front part of it as the label for the infernal machine.[Pg 44]”