Isburn,
there is a call for you on the long distance telephone."
"I will be back in a moment," he said to the flower girl, as he went
into an adjoining room. The telephone bell was being rung
continuously, and he called "Hello" several times before the
tintinnabulation ceased.
The call was from a town some fifty miles away. The operator informed
him that No. 42 wished her to tell him that she had a valuable clue
in case T 697 and would not return for several days. Mr. Isburn knew
that No. 42 was Miss Dana.
He returned to his office. The young Italian girl still stood by his
desk holding the basket of flowers. He gave her more than the amount
she asked for, and, bowing low and smiling, she left the office:
Referring to his call index, he found that T 697 was that of a young
man, Tarleton, belonging to a wealthy family, who was the buyer for a
manufactory of electrical machines. In their construction, a large
quantity of platinum was used, a metal more valuable, weight for
weight, than gold. His purchases had been very heavy, but a checking
up of stock used showed that not half of it had been applied to
actual construction. The question was--"What had become of the
missing metal?" and that question it was No. 42's business to answer.
Mr. Isburn was a frequenter of clubs and social functions, partly
because he enjoyed them, but, principally, because many valuable
clues had been run across while attending them.
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