Page:The Master of Mysteries (1912).djvu/190

 news to Mrs. Dalrymple number two. It's outrageous!

"Oh, but—" Valeska sprang up in consternation and faced her master with a look of horror. "I forgot! Why, I translated the cipher to Miss Dalrymple while the maid was in the room! What will happen?"

Astro took up his water-pipe with perfect equanimity. "My dear, you seem to have made several very lucky blunders to-day."

She put her hands to her eyes. "Oh, I don't understand! What about this cipher message? Where did it come from?"

"Let us go at it analytically," he replied calmly. "For the sake of the argument, grant first that the cipher discloses the hiding-place of the lost letter, secreted by the first Mrs. Dalrymple. Very good. Let us suppose, also, as a second hypothesis, that the locket was sent by the second Mrs. Dalrymple, knowing of the cipher. Very good again. Now examine the two theories. Is it likely that such a person as this second wife would place a rival claimant to the estate in possession of the secret? No. Something is wrong, the first hypothesis, or the second. Take your pick. I say the first is wrong,—the cipher does not disclose the place of the letter, but the second is right: Mrs. Dalrymple sent it. We know that probably she knew Miss Dalrymple visited me, and believed in my power. She, therefore, intended Miss Dalrymple to dig in that spot, cleverly concealing her instrumentality in the matter. That's why the cipher was made so absurdly easy. Do you think it will be well for Miss Dalrymple to dig there? I don't."

He paused. "Now suppose the second hypothesis