“Immediately after Frederick’s departure, Enright calls Carbon’s Cafe and talks to John Cavendish, who had been dining there with Celeste La Rue.

“It is reasonable to suppose that he told him of the will.  Less than five hours afterward Frederick Cavendish is found dead in his apartments.  Again it is reasonable to suppose that he was croaked by John Cavendish, who wanted to destroy the will so that he could claim the estate.

“These Broadway boys need money when they travel with chorines.  Anyhow, the dead man is buried, and John starts spending money like water.  One month later he receives a letter—­Josette patched the pieces together—­asking him to call at Enright’s office.

“What happened there is probably this:  Young Cavendish was informed of the existence of the will, and it was offered to him at a price which he couldn’t afford to pay—­just then.

“Perhaps he was frightened into signing a promise to pay as soon as he came into the estate—­tricked by Enright.  Enright, as soon as he heard no will had been found in Frederick’s effects, may have figured that perhaps John killed him, or even if he did not, that, nevertheless, he could use circumstances to extract money from the youngster, who, even if innocent, would fear the trial and notoriety that would follow if Enright publicly disclosed the existence of that will.

“John Cavendish may be innocent, or he may be guilty, but one thing is certain—­he’s being badgered to death by two people, from what little we know.  One of them is the La Rue woman; the other is Enright.

“Now I wonder—­Mr. Farriss, doesn’t it occur to you that they may be working together like the woman and the man in the Skittles case last year?  You remember then they got a youngster in their power and nearly trimmed him down to his eye-teeth!”

Farriss sat reflecting deeply, chewing the stem of his dead pipe.

“There’s something going on—­that’s as plain as a red banner-head.  You’ve got a peach of a start, so far, and done good pussyfooting—­you, too, Stella—­but there’s one thing that conflicts with your hypothesis——­”

The two leaned forward.

“Valois’s statement that he was almost positive that the dead man was not Cavendish,” the city editor snapped.

“I now believe Valois is mistaken, in view of developments,” said Willis with finality.  “So does Stella—­Miss Donovan, I mean.  Remember the body was charred across the face and chest—­and Valois was excited.”

Farriss was silent a moment.

“Stick to it a while longer,” he rapped out; “and get La Rue and Cavendish together at their meeting-place, if you can discover it.”

“We can!” interjected Willis.  “That’s something I learned less than an hour ago.  It’s Steinway’s Cafe, the place where the police picked up Frisco Danny and Mad Mike Meighan two years ago.  I followed them, but could not get near enough to hear what they said.”