ge of prisoners and the fortunes of war brought them,
as guards to Libby Prison. To that prison there came a group of
Union prisoners, among whom there were one or more of the men who
had betrayed them.

"They had a peculiar system in Libby Prison at that time. When a
group of Union prisoners was brought there, all the members of the
group was given one number; they lost their individuality, so far
as the prison was concerned, completely."

"One number?" queried Matthews.

"Yes, one number. Just bear that in mind. All the members of the
batch of prisoners in question were given the same number. This
group was given the number '14.' That is the way they were known
to the officers and prison guards.

"Our friends of the Tontine group were never quite certain who had
betrayed them. They suspected several men, among them, some of the
prisoners who were brought to Libby Prison and given the number
'14.' Later they were certain of it. At the end of the war, each
one of them received the following communication:

"None of you will enjoy the fruits of your insurance any more than
you did the unsuccessful jail break. 14."

"Since that time, during the entire sixty-five years, when
misfortune, sickness, accident, loss or death happened to any
member of the Tontine group, the surviving members of the group
would each receive a sheet of paper, on which was printed in large
characters, the number '14,' just that, nothing more."

McCall stopped; his features were drawn and tense. He continued:

"Do you see the dreadful possibilities in this thing? During the
past two years, out of seven deaths, _five were reported as
suicides_. After each death all the survivors received the terrible
blank sheet of paper with the number '14.' These men are not
easily scared. They have all gone through a lot and are able to
face things.

"But more. You may put it down to the fact that as a prosecutor, I
am naturally suspicious. To me, the Tontine insurance agreement
presents dreadful possibilities. Each of the survivors has a
powerful motive in--" He shook his head somberly.

"What does the fund amount to now, Mr. McCall?" Asked Professor
Brierly.

"Several million dollars. Add to that the fact that in the stock
market crash of October of last year, those members of the group
who had money, lost it. It is a nice philosophical and psychologic
speculation as to whether the man who had money and lost it or the
man who never had it, will m