Part 5 (1/2)
”What terrible thing?” asked Frank ”You have not told the entire story, and we do not knohat you mean”
”True, true Listen! With that letter Pacheco--the ers!”
”shi+mminy Gristmas! I don'd toldt you dot, do I?”
”Horrible! horrible!”
The professor and Hans uttered these exclamations, but Frank was calm and apparently unmoved, with his eyes still fastened on the face of the old er uf your son, mister?”
”That's it, that's it--how could you tell?” asked the professor
”My son-- that the finger had been taken from his left hand, and that Pacheco threatened to cut off his fingers one by one and send them to me if I did not hasten with the ransonized the handwriting as that of your son?”
”I did; but I recognized soer”
”Oh, you may have been mistaken in that--surely you may”
”I was not”
”How do you know?”
”By a er”
”Ah! what sort of a le, situated between the first and second joints Besides that, the nail had once been crushed, after which it was never perfect”
”That was quite enough,” nodded Professor Scotch
”Yah,” agreed Hans; ”dot peen quide enough alretty”
Still Frank was silent, watching and waiting,not a gesture, failing to note no move
This silence on the part of Merriwell see, a trifle sharply:
”Boy, boy, have you no syh! You should pityto do now?” asked Frank, quietly
”I a to raise soht you did raise h”