hink it is
Swain's?"

"Because Silva expected to use both hands, till he learned that Swain
had injured one of his. But for that, the blood needed to make the
prints would have come from the victim, and Silva would have worn this
glove, too; but Swain's injury gave Silva a happy inspiration!
Wonderful man!" he added, half to himself.

Goldberger and Simmonds went on into the inner room to arrange for the
disposition of the body of Mahbub; but Godfrey and Miss Vaughan and I
turned back together, for we did not wish to see the Thug. At her
boudoir door Godfrey paused.

"The case is clear," he said, "from first to last, provided you can
supply us with a final detail, Miss Vaughan."

"What is that?" she asked.

"Did you write that note to Swain in your own room?"

"Yes."

"And will you show me the table at which you wrote it?"

"Certainly," and she opened the door. "Come in. I wrote it at that
little desk by the window."

Godfrey walked to it, picked up a blotting-book which lay upon it, and
turned over the leaves.

"Ah!" he said, after a moment. "I was sure of it. Here is the final
link. Have you a small hand-mirror, Miss Vaughan?"

She brought one from her toilet-table and handed it to him in evident
astonishment.

"What do you see in the mirror?" he asked, and held a page of the
blotting-book at an angle in front of it.

Miss Vaughan uttered an exclamation of surprise, as she read the words
reflected there:

MR. FREDERIC SWAIN,
1010 Fifth Avenue,
New York City.

If not at this address,
please try the Calumet Club.

"'Tall oaks from little acorns grow,'" quoted Godfrey, tossing the
book back upon the desk. "But for the fact that you blotted the
envelope, Miss Vaughan, young Swain would never have been accused of
murder."

"I do not understand," she murmured.

"Don't you see," he pointed out, "the one question which we have been
unable to answer up to this moment has been this: how did Silva know
you were going to meet Swain? He had to know it, and know it several
hours before the meeting, in order to have those finger-prints ready.
I concluded, at last, that there _must_ be a blotting-book--and there
it is."

Miss Vaughan stared at him.

"You seem to be a very wonderful man!" she said.

Godfrey laughed.

"It is my every-day business to reconstruct mysteries," he said.
"Shall I reconstruct this one?"

"Please do!" she begged, and motioned us to be seated.

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