Themar had been deputed solely to report to Baron Tregar--
"And murder me!" supplemented Carl curtly.
"Yes," said Themar. "Under oath I was to obey Ronador's commands
without question. But he did not even trust me with the cipher message
of instruction. That was mailed to the Baron's Washington address
written in an ink that only turned dark with the heat of a fire. I too
was sent to Washington. Ronador knew nothing of the Baron's trip to
Connecticut."
By spying before he had sailed, Themar added, at a question from Carl,
he had learned of the cipher.
"You read the paper of course when you stole it from my desk?"
"There was a noise," said Themar dully, his face bitter; "I ran for the
street. Later the paper was gone."
"What were Tregar's intentions about the paper?"
Themar chewed nervously at his lips.
"His Excellency spoke to me of a paper. He said that I must discover
its whereabouts, if possible, but that none but he must steal it.
Anything written which you would seem to have hidden would be of
interest to him. He bound me by a terrible oath not to touch or read
it."
"And you?"
"After a time I swore that I had seen you burn it--"
"Clumsy! Still if he believed it, it left me, in the event of Miss
Westfall's complete ignorance of all this hubbub, the sole remaining
obstacle.
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