Page:The Master of Mysteries (1912).djvu/13

Rh Valeska sat for a while at her table, her head resting in her hand. Then she slowly turned the leaves, thinking. In a moment she went faster, stopping as before, for a second, occasionally. She went back once, made sure, and recommenced. Finally she smiled. "Yes!" she said. "He's right, too!"

"It may have a third cipher message, too," she suggested, looking at the volume curiously.

Astro thought it over. "Possibly, but that would be for the few, not for the ordinary 'smarty-cats.' I'll see when I have leisure for it. It will probably take a little more time to read it."

"Well," said Valeska, "if other books have contained any such secret messages, it's strange that some one hasn't eventually discovered them."

"That's no doubt because they didn't have modern publishers, who understood the practical psychology of advertising," said Astro.

And he turned to play with his pet white lizard.