Page:Under three flags; a story of mystery (IA underthreeflagss00tayliala).pdf/64

 the affair? But in either event would he not have argued that to fly would be the worst possible thing he could do? I confess that when I arrived at Raymond I was in doubt as to Ames' possible guilt, but my afternoon's investigations have about convinced me that Derrick Ames had nothing to do with the death of Cashier Hathaway."

"Then you must have substituted some other person as the object of your suspicion."

"Yes; but the substitution is not especially recent. Before I give you the result of my afternoon labors let me tell you of a discovery that I made yesterday, not three hours after my arrival in town.

"After I had posted myself from the stenographic notes of the inquest I dropped into the bank to have a talk with the officials. President Felton took me into the directors' room, where the tragedy occurred, and I sat in the cashier's chair and glanced around to get a few bearings. While Felton was retelling his story of the finding of Hathaway's body I toyed with a blotter on the desk. It was the ordinary blotter, larger than the average, with the advertisement of an insurance company on one side. As I glanced carelessly at it I noticed that it had taken up the ink of some unusually plain characters.

"Felton was called out of the room for a moment and I slipped the blotter in my pocket to examine it at my leisure. When I returned to the hotel I made an investigation, and I discovered—but I will let you see for yourself. Hand me that small mirror on the wall."

Ashley does so. The detective takes his prize from a bundle of papers in his pocket, smooths it flat on the table, and places the mirror perpendicularly before it. Then he draws the lamp over and remarks complacently: "Look here upon this picture!"

And this is what Ashley sees as he gazes upon the reflecting surface. There are three groups of characters. The first group reads:

"Come to the bank immediately"

The second:

"Your personal account overdrawn"