“It means, I suppose,” said Carmichael, “that Brotherhood had promised to do something, and was trying to back out of it.”
“Possibly that,” said Reeves.
“Why possibly? What else could it mean?”
“Oh, I don’t know . . . No, of course; that’s it. But, as Gordon says, it doesn’t seem to get us much further.”
“Not in itself,” agreed Carmichael. “But meanwhile it has incidentally provided us with an extra clue.”
“What’s that?” asked Gordon.
“I’ll tell you some other time. I say, it’s time for luncheon. Let’s go down.”
And it was not till they were downstairs that he explained his meaning. “The other clue is the disappearance of the cipher. There’s more in that than meets the eye, unless I’m mistaken.”
Chapter XI.
A Funeral and a Vigil
“I don’t quite see what you mean,” said Reeves as they sat down to luncheon.