“Did she wear it at the ball?”
“Some of it, most of it, in fact. But that was not all. There were also missing certain State papers and some private documents belonging to the governor. These are extremely important. They must be recovered at any cost.”
“Are they more important than the recovery of Miss Bradley, Mr. Snell?”
“No, I wouldn’t say that, but they complicate the case badly. An offer has been made to restore them.”
“And the girl?”
“No. That is, there was one offer to restore the girl and another to deal for the return of the papers and jewelry. There seems to be a double gang of villains at work.”
“Possibly. What about the blackmail you mentioned?”
“That,” answered Mr. Snell, hesitating, “has to do with the stolen papers.”
“Something shady in the governor’s past?”
Mr. Snell looked at the floor.