In less than three weeks Vasco turned up in town to report progress.
"The apparatus works beautifully," he informed his aunt; "the deeper one got the clearer everything grew. We found something in the way of a sunken wreck to operate on, too!"
"A wreck in Innisgluther Bay!" exclaimed Lulu.
"A submerged motor-boat, the Sub-Rosa," said Vasco.
"No! really?" said Lulu; "poor Billy Yuttley's boat. I remember it went down somewhere off that coast some three years ago. His body was washed ashore at the Point. People said at the time that the boat was capsized intentionally - a case of suicide, you know. People always say that sort of thing when anything tragic happens."
"In this case they were right," said Vasco.
"What do you mean?" asked the Duchess hurriedly. "What makes you think so?"
"I know," said Vasco simply.
"Know? How can you know? How can anyone know? The thing happened three years ago."
"In a locker of the Sub-Rosa I found a water-tight strong-box. It contained papers." Vasco paused with dramatic effect and searched for a moment in the inner breast-pocket of his coat. He drew out a folded slip of paper. The Duchess snatched at it in almost indecent haste and moved appreciably nearer the fireplace.
