Danglar’slittleblackeyesnarrowed，andhethrusthisheadforwardandoutfromhisshoulderssavagely。Intheflickeringcandlelight，withcontortedfaceandsnarlinglips，helookedagainthebeasttowhichshehadoncelikenedhim。
“NevermindhowI’mgoingtogether！“heflungout，withanoath。
“ItoldyouI’dbeenbusy。That’senough！You’llseeRhodaGray，inthesemi-darkness，shruggedhershoulders。Wastheman，promptedbyrageandfury，simplymakingwildthreats，orhadheatlastsomedefiniteandperhapsinfallibleplanthathepurposedputtingintooperation？Shedidnotknow；and，muchasitmeanttoher，shedidnotdaretaketheriskofarousingsuspicionbypressingthequestion。Failing，then，toobtainanyintimationofwhathemeanttodo，thenextthingmosttobedesiredwastogetridofhim。
“You’vegotthemoney。That’swhatyoucamefor，wasn’tit？“shesuggestedcoldly。
Hestaredatherforamoment，andthenhisfacegraduallylostitsscowl。
“You’rearareone，Bertha！“heexclaimedadmiringly。“Yes；I’vegotthemoney-andI’mgoing。Infact，I’minahurry，sodon’tworry！Yougotthedope，likeeverybodyelse，forto-night，didn’tyou？Itwassentouttwohoursago。“
Thedope！Itpuzzledherforthefractionofasecond-andthensherememberedthepapershehadthrustintothebodiceofherdress。Shehadnotreadit。Shelungedalittleinthedark。
“Yes，“shesaidcurtly。
“Allright！“hesaid-andmovedtowardthedoor。“ThatexplainswhyI’minahurry-andwhyIcan’tstoptooilthatgrouchoutofyou。
ButI’llkeepmypromisetoyou，too，oldgirl。I’llmakeupthelastfewdaystoyou。Haveaheart，eh，Bertha！’Night！“
Shedidnotanswerhim。Itseemedasthoughanunutterabledreadhadsuddenlybeenliftedfromher，ashepassedoutofthedoorandbegantodescendthestepstothehallbelow。Her“grouch，“
hehadcalledit。Well，ithadserveditspurpose！Itwasjustaswellthatheshouldthinkso！Shefollowedtothedoor，anddeliberatelyslammeditwithabang。Andfrombelow，hislaugh，moreanamusedchuckle，echoedbackandansweredher。
Andthen，foralongtimeshestoodtherebythedoor，alittleweakwiththerevulsionofreliefuponher，herhandspressedhardagainsthertemples，staringunseeinglyaboutthegarret。Hewasgone。Hefilledherwithterror。Everyinstinctshepossessed，everyfiberofherbeingrevoltedagainsthim。Hewasgone。Yes，hewasgone-forthetimebeing。But-butwhatwastheendofallthistobe？“
Sheshookherheadafteramoment，shookithelplesslyandwearily，as，finally，shewalkedovertothewashstand，tookthepieceofpaperfromthebodiceofherdress，andspreaditoutunderthecandlelight。Aglanceshowedherthatitwasincipher。Therewasthestubofapencil，sheremembered，inthewashstanddrawer，and，armedwiththis，andapieceofwrappingpaperthathadonceenvelopedoneofGypsyNan’sginbottles，shetookupthecandle，crossedthegarret，andsatdownontheedgeofthecot，placingthecandleonthechairinfrontofher。
Ifthelastthreedayshadbeenproductiveofnothingelse，theyhadatleastfurnishedherwiththeopportunityofstudyingthenotebookshehadfoundinthesecrethidingplace，andofmakingherselfconversantwiththegang’scipher；andshenowsettoworkuponit。Itwasanumericalcipher。Eachletterofthealphabetinregularrotationwasrepresentedbyitscorrespondingnumeral；azerowasemployedtosetoffoneletterfromanother，andtheadditionofthenumeralsbetweenthezerosindicatedthenumberoftheletterinvolved。Also，therebeingbuttwenty-sixlettersinthealphabet，itwasobviousthattheadditionofthreenines，whichwastwenty-seven，couldnotrepresentanyletter，andthecombinationof999wasthereforeusedtoprecedeanyofthearbitrarygroupsofnumeralswhichwereemployedtoexpressphrasesandsentences，suchasthe739thatshehadfoundscrawledonthepieceofpaperaroundherkeyonthefirstnightshehadcomehere，andwhich，haditbeenembodiedinamessageandnotprecededbythe999，wouldhavemeantsimplytheadditionofseven，threeandnine，thatis，nineteen-andthereforewouldindicatethenineteenthletterofthealphabet，S。
RhodaGraycopiedthefirstlineofthemessageonthepieceofwrappingpaper:
Addingthenumeralsbetweenthezeros，andgivingtoeachitscorrespondingletter，shesetdowntheresult:
fakeevidenceinItwasthenbutamatterofgroupingthelettersintowords；and，decoded，thefirstlineread:
Fakeevidencein。
Sheworkedsteadilyon。Itwasalengthymessage，andittookheralongtime。Itwasanhour，perhapsmore，afterDanglarhadgone，beforeshehadcompletedhertask；andthen，afterthat，shesatforstillalongtimestaring，notatthepaperonthechairbeforeher，butattheflickeringshadowsthrownbythecandleontheoppositewall。
Queerandstrangeweretheundercurrentsandthecross-sectionsoflifethatweretobefound，amazinglycontradictory，amazinglyincomprehensible，onceonescratchedbeneaththesurfaceofthepovertyandthesqualor，and，yes，thecrime，amongstthehivingthousandsofNewYork’sEastSide！Inthedays-notsoverylongago-when，astheWhiteMoll，shehadworkedamongsttheseclasses，shehadononeoccasion，whenhewassick，evenkeptoldVinerinfood。Shehadnot，atthetime，failedtorealizethatthemanwasgrasping，rapacious，evenunthankful，butshehadlittledreamedthathewasamiserworthfiftythousanddollars！
Hermindswervedoffsuddenlyatatangent。Thetentaclesofthiscrimeoctopus，ofwhichDanglarseemedtobethehead，reachedfarandintomostcuriousplacestofastenandholdandfeedontheprogenyofhumanfoibles！Shecouldnothelpwonderingwherethelairwasfromwhichemanatedtheefficiencyandsystemthat，aswitnessthiscodemessageto-night，keptitsmembers，perhapswidelyscattered，fullyinformedofitseverymovement。
Sheshookherhead。Thatwassomethingshehadnotyetlearned；
butitwassomethingshemustlearnifevershehopedtoobtaintheevidencethatwouldclearherofthecrimethatcircumstanceshadfasteneduponher。Andyetshehadmadenomoveinthatdirection，because-well，because，sofar，ithadseemedallshecoulddotoprotectandsafeguardherselfinherpresentmiserableexistenceandsurroundings，which，abhorrentastheywere，alonestoodbetweenherandaprisoncell。
Herforeheadgatheredintolittlefurrows；and，revertingtothecodemessage，herthoughtsharkedbacktoawell-knowncrime，theauthorshipofwhichstillremainedamystery，andwhichhadstirredtheEastSidesometwoyearsago。Aman-inthevernacularoftheunderworlda“stagehand“-bythenameofKroner，creditedwithhavingalargeamountofcash，theproceedsofsomenefarioustransaction，inhispossessiononthenightinquestion，wasfoundmurderedinhisroominanoldandtumble-downtenementofunsavoryreputation。Thepolicenethadgatheredinsomeoftheco-tenantsonsuspicion；NickyViner，referredtointhecodemessage，amongstthem。Butnothinghadcomeoftheinvestigation。Therehadbeennochargeofcollusionbetweenthesuspects；butPerlmer，ashysterlawyer，hadactedforthemallcollectively，and，oneandall，theyhadbeendischarged。InwhatdegreePerlmer’sserviceshadbeenofactualvaluehadneverbeenascertained，forthepolice，throughlackofevidence，hadbeenobligedtodropthecase；buttheunderworldhadwhisperedtoitself。Therewassuchathingassuppressingevidence，andPerlmerwasknowntohavethecunningofafox，andacodeofmoralsthatneverstoodintheway，orrestrictedhiminanymanner。
Thecodemessagethrewanewlightonallthis。PerlmermusthaveknownthatoldNickyVinerhadmoney，for，accordingtothecodemessage，PerlmerpreparedafakesetofaffidavitsandforgedachainoffakeevidencewithwhichhehadblackmailedNickyVinereversince；andNickyViner，knownasadissolute，shadycharacter，innocentenoughofthecrime，butafraidbecausehispossessionofmoneyifmadepublicwouldtellagainsthim，andfrightenedbecausehehadalreadybeenarrestedonceonsuspicionforthatverycrime，hadwhimpered-andpaid。Andthen，somehow，Danglarandtheganghaddiscoveredthattheold，seedy，stoop-shouldered，bearded，down-at-the-heelsNickyVinerwasnotallthatheseemed；thathewasamiser，andhadahoardoffiftythousanddollars-andDanglarandtheganghadsetouttofindthathoardandappropriateit。
Onlytheyhadnotsucceeded。ButintheirsearchtheyhadstumbleduponPerlmer’strail，andthatwasthekeytotheplantheyhadafootto-night。IfPerlmer’sfakeandmanufacturedaffidavitswerecleverenoughandconvincingenoughtowringmoneyoutofVinerforPerlmer，theyweremorethanenoughtoenableDanglar，employedasDanglarwouldemploythem，towringfromNickyVinerthesecretofwheretheoldmiserhidhiswealth；forVinerwouldunderstandthatDanglarwasnothamperedbyhavingtosafeguardhimselfonaccountofhavingbeenoriginallyconnectedwiththecaseinalegalcapacity，oranycapacity，andthereforeindemandingallornothing，wouldhavenocauseforhesitation，failingtogetwhathewanted，inturningtheevidenceovertothepolice。Inotherwords，wherePerlmerhadtoplayhismancautiouslyandgetwhathecould，Danglarcouldgothelimitandgetall。Asitstood，then，Danglarandtheganghadnotfoundoutthelocationofthathoard；buttheyhadfoundoutwherePerlmerkepthisspuriouspapers-stuffedinatthebackofthebottomdrawerofhisdeskinhisoffice，practicallyforgotten，practicallyuselesstoPerlmeranymore，for，havingonceshownthemtoViner，therewasnooccasiontocallthemintoserviceagainunlessVinershowedsignsofgettingalittleoutofhandanditbecamenecessarytoapplythescrewsoncemore。
Fortherest，itwasaverysimplematter。PerlmerhadanofficeinasmallbuildingonlowerSixthAvenue，anditwashiscustomtogotohisofficeintheeveningsandremainthereuntilteno’clockorso。Theplanthen，accordingtothecodemessage，wastolootPerlmer’sdesksometimeafterthemanhadgonehomeforthenight，andthen，atmidnight，armedwiththefalsedocuments，tobeardoldNickyVinerinhismiserablequartersoverontheEastSide，andextortfromtheoldmisertheneatlittlesumthatDanglarestimatedwouldamounttosomefiftythousanddollarsincash。
RhodaGray’sfacewastroubledandserious。Shefoundherselfwishingforamomentthatshehadneverdecodedthemessage。Butsheshookherheadinsharpself-protestthenextinstant。True，shewouldhaveevadedtheresponsibilitythatthecriminalknowledgenowinherpossessionhadbroughther；butshewouldhavedoneso，inthatcase，deliberatelyattheexpenseofherownself-respect。
