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Page 105
"When was this?"
"About four days ago--the day Miss Lamar was killed."
The expression on Manton's face was ghastly. "I didn't send down
any can to you, Wagnalls," he insisted.
"It was your writing, sir!"
Kennedy rose. "What did you do with orders like that, such as the
one you claim came with the can of undeveloped negative?"
"Put them on the spindle on that table in the vault."
"Wet your handkerchief and come show me."
When they returned Kennedy had the spindle in his hand, the
charred papers still in place. This was one of the items
preserved in part by the chemical spray through the ventilating
opening above.
"Can you point out which one it is?" Kennedy asked.
"Let's see!" Wagnalls scratched his head. "Next to the top," he
replied, in a moment. "Miss Lamar's death upset everything. Only
one order came down after that."
With extreme care Kennedy took his knife and lifted the ashy
flakes of the top order. "Get me some collodion, somebody!" he
exclaimed.
Wagnalls jumped up and hurried off.
The fire chief leaned forward. "Do you think, Mr. Kennedy, that
the little can he told you about started the fire?"
"I'm sure of it, although I'll never be able to prove it."
"How did it work?"
"Well, I imagine a small roll of very dry film was put in to
occupy a part of the space. Film is exceedingly inflammable,
especially when old and brittle. In composition it is practically
guncotton and so a high explosive. In this recent war, I
remember, the Germans drained the neutral countries of film
subjects until we woke up to what they were doing, while in this
country scrap film commanded an amazing price and went directly
into the manufacture of explosives. Then I figure that a quantity
of wet phosphorus was added, to fill the can, and that then the
can was taped. The tape, of course, is not moisture proof
entirely. With the dampness from within it would soften, might
possibly fall off. In a relatively short time the phosphorus
would dry and burn. Immediately the film in the can would ignite.
As happened, it blew up, a minor explosion, but enough to scatter
phosphorus everywhere. That, in the fume-laden air of the vault--
there are always fumes in spite of the best ventilation system
made--caused the first big blast and started all the damage."
Mackay had rejoined us in time to hear the explanation.
"Ingenious," he murmured. "As ingenious as the methods used to
murder the girl and her director."
Breathless, Wagnalls returned with the collodion. We watched
curiously as Kennedy poured it over the charred remains of the
second order on the spindle. It seemed almost inconceivable that
the remnants of the charred paper would even support the weight
of the liquid, yet Kennedy used it with care, and slowly the
collodion hardened before us, creating a tough transparent
coating which held the tiny fibers of the slip together. At the
same time the action of the collodion made the letters on the
order faintly visible and readable.
"A little-known bank trick!" Kennedy told us.
Then he held the slip up to the light and the words were plain.
Wagnalls had been correct. The order from Manton was
unmistakable. The can was to be kept in the negative vault for a
week without being opened, until a certain party unnamed was to
come to watch the development of the film.
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