he bank,
Mr. Gordon?"

"No, sir; they were put away in their usual places in the vault."

"Did they show any marks of blood?"

"None at all; they were perfectly clean."

"Could you tell from their appearance whether George had done any work
upon them that night?"

"Yes; I am sure he had done a great deal; in fact he had finished up all
entries to date."

"Were there any papers missing besides the money?"

"Yes; one or two bundles of old checks, drafts, etc., were used to
assist in burning the murderer's clothes. They were fastened in packages
with fine wire, and we found the wire in the grate."

"Then this note, signed 'Alexander P. Drysdale,' might have been pulled
out of one of these packages?"

"I suppose so; I don't know where else it came from; do you, Mr.
McGregor?" said Mr. Gordon, rather bewildered.

"No; I never thought about where it came from," said Mr. McGregor. "I
suppose the man built a fire of old papers and the fragments of the
waste paper baskets, and then used that note to set them on fire from
the lamp."

"There were no papers of any value used, then?" I continued.

"Oh, no; the papers were old bundles, merely kept as archives of the
bank."

I then picked up the note and glanced at it; as I did so, something
caught my eye which sent the blood throbbing through my veins at a
feverish speed. Enough of the date remained to show that it was drawn
some time during the year of the murder, hence it could hardly be one of
the archives. Besides, a note, if paid, would be returned to the maker,
canceled; if unpaid, it would be kept among the bills receivable, in the
inner safe; in neither case could it have been stowed away among the old
checks and drafts. This reasoning passed through my mind quickly, and I
realized that that little piece of paper might play an important part in
the tragedy after all. I did not form any definite theory on the
instant, but still I had a sort of presentiment that I had touched a
spring which might open the windows of this dark mystery and let in the
light of day. I did not show what I thought to my companions, but
continued to ask questions.

"Was Mr. Patterson in the bank the day of the murder, Mr. Gordon?"

"Oh, no; he was not in this part of the country at that time; he had
been in Mobile for some weeks."

"I understood you to say that Mr. Flanders went no further than the
private door with George; did he notice any one standing about when he
came away?"