chef, and had fake passports as
a Swiss citizen. He was another tool of the organization. By the
original scheme there would have been no direct communication between
Weintraub and Metzger, but the go-between was spotted by the Department
of Justice on another count, and is now behind bars at Atlanta.

"It seems that Weintraub had conceived the idea that the least
suspicious way of passing his messages to Metzger would be to slip them
into a copy of some book--a book little likely to be purchased--in a
second-hand bookshop. Metzger had been informed what the book was,
but--perhaps owing to the unexpected removal of the go-between--did not
know in which shop he was to find it. That explains why so many
booksellers had inquiries from him recently for a copy of the Cromwell
volume.

"Weintraub, of course, was not at all anxious to have any direct
dealings with Metzger, as the druggist had a high regard for his own
skin. When the chef was finally informed where the bookshop was in
which he was to see the book, he hurried over here. Weintraub had
picked out this shop not only because it was as unlikely as any place
on earth to be suspected as a channel of spy codes, but also because he
had your confidence and could drop in frequently without arousing
surprise. The first time Metzger came here happened to be the night I
dined with you, as you remember."

Roger nodded. "He asked for the book, and to my surprise, it wasn't
there."

"No: for the excellent reason that Weintraub had taken it some days
before, to measure it so he could build his infernal machine to fit,
and also to have it rebound. He needed the original binding as a case
for his bomb. The following night, as you told me, it came back. He
brought it himself, having provided himself with a key to your front
door."

"It was gone again on Thursday night, when the Corn Cob Club met here,"
said Mr. Chapman.

"Yes, that time Metzger had taken it," said Aubrey. "He misunderstood
his instructions, and thought he was to steal the book. You see, owing
to the absence of their third man, they were working at cross purposes.
Metzger, I think, was only intended to get his information out of the
book, and leave it where it was. At any rate, he was puzzled, and
inserted that ad in the Times the next morning--that LOST ad, you
remember. By that, I imagine, he intended to convey the idea that he
had located the bookshop, but didn't know what to do next. And