The photographer was able to promise these for the following day, and till then French had to possess his soul in patience. But on his return from lunch he found on his desk three excellent prints of the document.
They were only half-plate size, or about one-third that of the tracing which had been given to Cheyne. He therefore instructed the photographer to prepare enlargements which would bring the document up to more nearly the size of the original. These were ready before it was time for him to leave for home, and he sat down with ill-controlled excitement to compare them with the document at which he had already spent so much time.
And then he suddenly experienced one of the most bitter disappointments of his life. To all intents and purposes the two were the same! There were the same circles, the same numbers, letters, and signs enclosed therein, the same phrase, “England expects every man to do his duty,” spaced round in the same way! The tracing had not been very accurately done, as some of the circles seemed slightly out of place, but the discrepancies were trifling, and seemed obviously due to careless copying. He gave vent to a single bitter oath, then sat motionless, wrapped in the most profound gloom.
He took tracing and photographs home with him, and spent the greater part of the evening making a minute comparison between the two. The enlargement unfortunately was not exactly the same size as the tracing, and he therefore began his work by covering the surfaces of both with proportionate squares.
Taking the tracing first he drew parallel lines one inch apart both up and down it and across, thus covering its whole surface with inch squares. Then he divided the prints into the same number of equal parts both vertically and horizontally and ruled them up in squares also. These squares were slightly smaller than the others—about seven-eighths of an inch only—but relatively the lines fell on each in the same positions. A comparison according to the squares thus showed at a glance similarity or otherwise between the two documents.
As he examined them in detail certain interesting facts began to emerge. The general appearance, the words “England expects every man to do his duty,” and the circles with their attendant letters and numbers were identical on both sheets. But there were striking variations. The position of certain of the circles was different. Those containing numbers and crooked lines were all slightly out of place, while those containing letters remained unmoved. Moreover, the little crooked lines, while preserving a rough resemblance to the originals, were altered in shape. The more he considered the matter the more evident it became to French that these divergences were intentional. The tracing which had been given to Cheyne was intended to resemble the other superficially—and did so resemble it, but it had clearly been faked to make it valueless.
If French were right so far, and he had but little doubt of it, it followed that the essential feature of the circles and crooked lines was position. This, he felt, should be a useful hint, but as yet he could not see where it led.
He pondered fruitlessly over the problem till the small hours, and next morning he took the documents back to the Yard to continue his studies. But he did not have an opportunity to do so. Other work was waiting for him. To his delight he found that Arnold Price had reached home, and that he and Cheyne were waiting to see him.
Price proved to be a lanky and rather despondent-looking individual with a skin burned to the color of copper and a pair of exceedingly shrewd blue eyes. He dropped into the chair French indicated, and instantly pulled out and lit a well-blackened cutty pipe.
“Got in yesterday morning,” he announced laconically, “and wired Torquay I was going down. By the merest luck I got a reply before I started that Cheyne was in town. I looked him up and here I am.”
French smiled pleasantly. Though interested in the man, he could not help noting with some amusement at once the restraint and the completeness of his statement. How refreshing, he thought, and how rare, to meet someone who will give you the pith of a story without frills!
“I’m glad to meet you, Mr. Price,” he said cordially. “I suppose Mr. Cheyne has told you the effect that your letter has had on us all?”
The other nodded.
“Not altogether surprising,” he declared. “There’s money in the thing—or so I always believed, and this other crowd must believe it too; though how they got on to the affair licks me.”
“We shall be very much interested to hear what you can tell us about it,” French prompted. “Will you smoke, Mr. Cheyne?” He held out his cigar case.
“I can’t tell you much,” Price returned, “and nothing that will clear up this blessed mystery that seems
