"Can you understand any of these symbols, Mr. Burke?" he asked.
"No."
"Curious," mused the Tracer. "Do you know it was fortunate that you put this bit of papyrus in the pocket of your shooting coat—so fortunate that, in a way, it approaches the miraculous?"
"What do you mean? Is there anything in that scroll bearing on this matter?"
"Yes."
"And you can read it? Are you versed in such learning, Mr. Keen?"
"I am an Egyptologist—among other details," said the Tracer calmly.
The young man gazed at him, astonished. The Tracer of Lost Persons picked up a pencil, laid a sheet of paper on the table beside the papyrus, and slowly began to copy the first symbol:
