U.'s, with amounts and dates and initials." "Probably worthless, from our point of view!" interposed a voice.
The dreaminess suddenly went out of Durkin's eyes, as he listened.
"Postal-Union Telegraph bonds, valued at $102,345," went on the reading voice, and again the interrupting critic remarked: "Which, you see, we may regard as very significant, since it both obviously and inferably demonstrates that the telegraph company and the poolrooms are compelled to stand together!" Durkin followed the list, with inclined head and uplifted hands, forgetting even his simulation of work, until the end was reached.
"In all, you see, one quarter of a million dollars in negotiable securities, if we are to rely on this memorandum, which, as I stated before, ought to be authentic, for it was taken from the Penfield safe the night of the first raid." Durkin started, as though the circuit with which his fingers absently toyed had suddenly become a live wire.
"Penfield!" The word sent a little thrill through his body.
Penfield--the very name was a challenging trumpet to him.

But again he bent and listened to the drone of the nearby voices.
"And Keenan, you say, is in Genoa ?" asked one of the Englishmen.
"If he's not there now he will be during the week," answered the American.
"You're sure of that ?" "All I know is that our Milan man secured duplicates of his cables.
Three of them were in cipher, but he was able to make reasonably sure of the Genoa trip!" "It would be rather hard to get at him, _there_!" "But if he strikes north, as you say, and goes first to Liverpool, and gets home by the back door, as it were, by taking a steamer to Quebec or Montreal----" "That's a mere blind!" "But why say that ?" "Because he's too wise to stride British territory, before he unloads.
It's not a mere matter of stopping the transfer of this stock, or whether or not all of it is negotiable.

What we want is tangible and incriminating evidence.

The signatures of those cheques are----" That was the last word that came to Durkin's ears, for at that moment a steward, with a tray of glasses, hurried into the pantry.

His suspicious eye saw nothing beyond a busy electrician replacing a switchboard.