He reached inside and drew forth the card, wondering what it could be; and then for a moment he sat quite still, staring at it in silence; but only to break into a hearty laugh immediately thereafter.
What was it that caused his amazement, and then his laughter? This:
There was writing upon the card, which was the only thing the safe contained, and the message it contained was addressed to him. It said:
“My Dear Mr. Carter: So sorry to disappoint you, you know; but I have a notion that some day you will pay me a call, and, finding me absent, will venture to investigate the surroundings. Naturally, this safe would be the first thing to attract you; and so—this slight message of my regard and esteem.
“Madge Hurd-Babbington.�
“Well, now what do you think about that?� he muttered to himself, with a grim smile on his face.
He wished at that moment that he had not taken it at all; he wished, also, that he could have returned it, so that Madge would not know that he had visited her apartment during her absence; he wished a lot of impossible things, in fact, but what he did was quite to the point.
He closed and locked the safe again, put it in an upright position, as if it had not been opened—for, of course, he replaced the card inside of it—and then he passed from the roof to the top floor of the building and walked down the stairs to the tenth floor, where he sought the elevator.
At least, he would return to the office from the floor to which he had been taken in the first place.
It was a little past three o’clock when he left the building, nodding to the clerk as he passed the office.