The Tupelo journal., 1911-09-29

his seat. He tossed awsy the cigE
rette he had and lighted fresh one,
afterward holding the note over the
flame Of the match. Here and there.
where the paper charred In the heat.
. letter or word stood out from the
bare witness Of the paper. and finally
q message complete appeared between
the innocuous ink-written lines. The
prisoner read 1t greedily:
Am privately informed there 10
little chance Of AlvArex's recovery.
Shall l arrange escape for you, or have
ambassador intercede? Would advise
former, as the other might take
months, and meeting to sign treaty al
lance would be dangerously delayed.
signor Petrozinni permitted the
sputtering flame to ignite the paper.
and thoughtfully watched the blaze
destroy it. The last tiny scrap
dropped on the floor, burned out, and
he crushed the ashes under his heel.
Then he began to write:
my Dear Miss Thorne:
Many thanks for your courteous lit
tie note. am delighted to know OF
the Improvement in Senior Alvarez's
condition. had hoped that my impul.
sive act in shooting him would not
end in q tragedy Please keep me In
formed OF any further change in his
condition. As yet do not soc the
necessity of consulting IN attorney.
but later may be compelled to do so.
Respectfully.
"PIETRO PETROZINNI."
This done the secret agent carefully
cleaned the ink from the pen, wiping
It dry with his handkerchief, then
thrust It into the half empty glass Of
milk. The fuid chung to the steel nib
thinly; he went on writing with 1t,
between the lines OF ink:
II am in no danger. hold creden-
tails to United States, which. when
presented, will make me responsible
only to the Italian government as spe-
cial envoy, according to international
law. Arrange escape for one week
from tonight; use any money neces-
sary. Make careful arrangements for
the test and signing OF compact for
two nights after"
Again the prisoner cleaned the steel
nib, after which he put it back In the
bottle of ink, leaving 1t there. He
waved the sheet Of paper back and
forth to dry it, and at last scrutinized
it minutely. standing under the light
from the high-up window Of his CELL
Letter by letter the milk evaporated,
leaving the sheet perfectly clean and
white except for the ink-written mes
sage. This sheet he folded, placed In
an envelope, and addressed.
Later the guard passed along tho
corridor, and Signor Petrozinni thrust
the letter out to him.
BE good enough to post that
please" he requested. 1T isn't sealed.
/ don't know If your prison rules re-
quire you to read the letters that 60
out. If so, read 1t, or have 1t read,
then seal It,"
For answer the guard dampened the
nap of the envelope, sealed 1t, thrust
IL lulO LIS pOChCl anu PdoSSN ON'
secret agent sat down again, and
slipped his milk meditatively.
One hour later Mr.. Grimm, accom-
panied by Johnson, came out OF
photographers dark room in Pennsyi-
vania Avenue with developed mega
tive which he sat on a rack to dry. Al
the end of another hour he was slttlns
at his desk studying, under a magnf
flying glass. finished print OF the
negative Word by word he was
writing On a slip of paper what his
magnifying glass gave him and SO,
curiously enough, it came to pass that
Miss Thorne and Chief Campbell DI
the Secret Service were reading the
hidden, milk-written message at al
most the identical moment.
johnson got Petrozinnis letter
from the postman," Mr.. Grimm was
cd