Page:Under three flags; a story of mystery (IA underthreeflagss00tayliala).pdf/68

 undue haste or agitation. I am not an expert in hand-*writing, but I should say that this letter was written at a normal speed and by a man in a comparatively calm condition of mind. The signature is bold and firm, as are all the legible characters. I should also say that this letter was the one which Roger Hathaway sent to Cyrus Felton half an hour or so before he was found dead in his office."

"You remember Felton's testimony at the inquest?"

"Perfectly. He stated that the note he received contained the simple request: 'Come to the bank immediately.'"

"Then you think he lied to the coroner?"

"It would seem so. Unless"

"Unless the note he received at his house on the evening of Memorial Day did contain only that brief summons, which is contained in the five words at the top of the blotter."

"Precisely," agrees Ashley. "That brings us to the question, when was the other letter written? It must have been previous to the note referred to at the inquest, but how many hours or days before? Let me have your theory, Barker. My mind is already shaping a shadowy one."

The detective chews his cigar reflectively. "Suppose that Roger Hathaway discovered, some time ago—within a few weeks, we will say—that the affairs of the bank were not in the condition that they should be?" he hazards. "An examination of the books showed not only that the president's personal account was overdrawn, but that certain operations of the latter had jeopardized the soundness of the institution. The knowledge might have been expected or unexpected. In either case the cashier realized that something had to be done, and at once. So on the day before Memorial Day, or even earlier, he wrote a letter to the president and couched it in plain English. He instanced the overdrawal of the president's personal account and a number of other unpleasant conditions, and urged upon that gentleman the necessity for an immediate adjustment of the critical affairs, closing