It
appeared that, in attempting to doctor the crack in the old looking-
glass, a large piece of the plate had got loose, and come away in his
hands; and in the space behind he had detected a paper, carefully
folded and tied up with a piece of faded ribbon. Paton was never in the
habit of hampering himself with fine-drawn scruples, and he had no
hesitation in opening the folded paper and spreading it out on the
table. Judging from the glance I gave it, it seemed to be a confused
and abstruse mixture of irregular geometrical figures and cramped
German chirography. But Paton set to work upon it with as much
concentration as if it had been a recipe for the Philosopher's Stone;
he reproduced the lines and angles on fresh paper, and labored over the
writing with a magnifying-glass and a dictionary. At times he would
mutter indistinctly to himself, lift his eyebrows, nod or shake his
head, bite his lips, and rub his forehead, and anon fall to work again
with fresh vigor. At last he leaned back in his chair, thumped his hand
on the table, and laughed.
"Got it!" he exclaimed.
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