The Washington times., 1906-09-16


hours. to guard against any miscar-
riage OF our plans. for the successful
execution OF which we are directly re-
sponsible. " Barlow continued. We have
deemed absolute secrecy 10 be so i'm
perative. moreover. that we have not
relied upon ordinary communication
with our Boston and Chicago CORE
sponaents. lest a mislaid letter or a
leak IN private wire should betray
our designs"
Then you have been using a code.
l infer, OF a secret cipher?'
Yes and no." replied Barlow, now
rcverting 10 the envelope IN his hand.
car you make anything Of this.
AIr. Boyd?~
with the last he displayed a sheet
of paper. fOolscap size. IL was thin
and nearly transparent. yet was quite
strong. and was irTegularly perforated
with rectangular holes Of various
sizes, each OF which was carefully
numbered with pen and ink. IN ap-
pearance. though on a much smaller
scale. Il somewhat resembled the per
forated music sheet recently invented
for attachmeu; 20 an organ or piano.
Felix Boyd merely glanced at IT,
Il should have known" said he.
had your remarks given me no hint
of It: II Is part Of your scores cipher.
or code. BY properly placing that
sheet upon some printed page. dupli-
cate of which IS possessed by each
correspondent, and reading IN numerl-
cal order the words visible through
the perforatons. a communication
easily and safely Is impaired That
sheet alone conveys absolutely moth
ing. To use & ct all. one must pos
sess a printed page corresponding with
that on which the sheet was laid when
the perforatiOns were made and num-
bered. That method OF secret CORE
spondence Is lot mex or original, Mr..
Barlow"
True" admitted Barlow: yet It is
the one we adopted. We have not
used page from any book. however,
very few Of which would contain such
diversity OF words as our business
requires. Instead. we had a printed
page expressly prepared. containing
a vocabulary adequate 10 our needs.
and a copy OF which IS possessed by
each OF our espondents."
Now. Boyd, 20 state my business"
said Barlow, bracing back IN his chair.
Il told you that we were very serious
ly threatened in a nutshell, we sus-
pect that a copy OF the printed paBe
from which our secret correspondence
sheets are prepared IS possessed by
some outside party"
rs that 500" reJoined Boyd. his
brows knitting slightly. Yet IN that
case, even. the printed page alone
would convey nothing. For an out
side party % read one OF your secret
letters, he must possess also the per
f0rated sheet"
we believe. also" cried Barlow.
that duplicates OF several OF these
sheets have gone into outside hands,
either from our own Office or those
Of our correspondents OF the cities
mentioned"
interest
why 90 you believe that. Mr.. Bar
low" he demanded
"It Is indicated by recent heavy
operations In the market. on the part
Of a house We have serious occasion
o. fear"
Kennedy & FecB7''
Precisely Not only have they op-
posed us from the first. being interest
cd in one OF the roads of which We
aim to get control, but lately they
have gone very long Of the stock.
Every act on their part points 10 the
fact that they suspect our designs.
Furthermore We have learned that
they recently have employed a pri-
yate detective. from some agency be-
low keTe, in an effort 10 secretly as
certain what we are about. I am
quite confident Of this
why 500 From whom do you get
your Information
FRANKLY, Boyd, We get Il from
Jimmy Coleman, Of the central ONCE.
whom we secretly employed as a foil
% the uthel."
'Co.eman, Oh? Why then. have you
called upon me2"
You should know why" said Bar
low, bluuuy. because our onera-
ions iu the market have reached
stage where the least slip may ruin
aI and We require the services of a
man of the greatest acumen and abIl-
iry. our affairs have taken an un-
expected ana serious turn within
tWonty-four hours
An. ] begin 10 see
Upon receipt Of advlces expected
from Chicago, we mus be prepared
tn go into The New York market at
once. and strike a eliminating blow.
There. can bs no delay in this. no hesi-
tauoR owing 10 lacl, of funds. or
because Of failing courage Our en-
tire project is involved; and If, on re-
Ccipt Of such a letter from Chicago.
i.s contents were 20 be disclosed to
those opposed 90 our immediate oper-
atious i'm the market. the perycrsion
OF our entire scheme might result. and
ruin come where we look for success.
That is why ] have come to you.
Felix Boyd. and why I am here so
carly THIS morning, For all I know
To the contrary" quickly added Bar
low, "our morning mail may bring
The Chicago letter"
"a perforated sheet?"
'SUrcly. sLrtly!'
Then you as surely cen prevent its
being removed from your office. OF
any duplicate Of Il treacherously sent
OUT said Boyd. Although my con-
tract with you insures you my best
services, Mr.. Barlow, 7 do not quite
understand just what you require Of
me-
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