Page:Vance--The trey o hearts.djvu/36



UT young Mr. Law was sole agent of his own evanishment. The reason for his life in exile was well known to him, if largely a matter of indifference since his friendships had taken root in English soil. The message of the Rose he understood perfectly; but the hidden meaning of the Trey of Hearts so perplexed him that before leaving London he dispatched a cablegram to Digby, his confidential agent in New York:

"What do you know about the Trey of Hearts? Answer immediately."

Digby's answer forestalled Alan's arrival in Liverpool:

"Trey of Hearts was Trine's death-sign for your father. For God's sake keep away from America."

But Alan had more than once visited America incognito and unknown to Seneca Trine, and had 20