f the story."

"What do you mean?" inquired Marsh.

"How did you come to connect these two men, and how did you get that
inside dope on the stealing?"

"You know all the incidents," returned Marsh, "and you ought to be
able to connect them as I did. The only information I had about
which you did not know was that notebook. The book contained
memoranda in Hunt's handwriting, which, by the way, closely
resembled the writing in Atwood's last letter. Among these were the
names, addresses and telephone numbers of the men who worked with
him, and showing their different locations during the past year or
two. He also made notations of the different stocks and bonds which
he took out of Merton's vaults at various times."

"Atwood, you know, took a suitcase at the last moment from his
apartment. This afternoon I located a suitcase in the Merton house,
containing the counterfeit plates, and the stocks and bonds which I
had found noted in Hunt's memorandum book. Naturally, a large part
of the story I told tonight was merely surmise on my part, but you
can see how near I came to the truth from the way Hunt acted."

"Another interesting point, due to your foresight, Morgan, was that
matter of the scar. I studied very carefully the photograph you had
taken. Sunday night, when I was calling here on Hunt, I goaded him
into a rage, so that he shook his right fist in my face. I had a
good view of the scar then, and my last doubt vanished."

"Another point that isn't clear," queried Morgan, "is that paper
Merton signed. What was it?"

"I don't know," said Marsh. "That was a wild guess on my part; that
he had signed any paper at all. It seemed odd, however, that an
experienced financier like Merton would make an employee sole
executor. So I decided that before his death, Merton was forced to
sign either a new will, or a codicil to his old will, which was
dated back some months so as to offset any suspicions."

"And what do you suppose Hunt expected to gain by kidnapping all of
us?" again questioned Morgan.

"Don't you see," explained Marsh, "that we were getting too close,
and might be expected to spring the trap at any minute. Our
disappearance would divert the police into a search for us instead
of for them. In the meantime, they could get quietly away and
vanish. And besides, I was supposed to have that notebook--the most
incriminating evidence we possessed at that time."

"But see here," now broke in Tierney. "Why did you