“It’s not in my line,” said Burroughs. “I’m going to sleep over it. We’re not likely to have any more callers, so I shall go to bed;” and to bed I went, leaving him on watch, as he declared he should sit up till daylight. In the morning I decided what to do. It was clear that the papers were too important to be trusted by Dagara to any one but a duly selected messenger. The care with which the message was sent to Vasco that they were ready, suggested that he was not that messenger. Why then should he be told about them? Probably he had to send the messenger for them. I thought it over carefully, revolving all I knew, and by the process of exclusion decided it was Miralda. It must be some one whom Vasco could see at any time, the moment the message reached him. Even with Inez, of whom I thought first, this was not practicable. It might be some fellow-officer; but no one of them would be so invariably within immediate touch as Miralda. Moreover, it was just the thing for which she could be used to the best advantage. Dagara was married I knew, and thus she would only have to pay an informal visit to the wife for him to meet her and hand over any papers. Then I recalled that Inez had been one of the first to see that forged letter of mine which Dagara had given up, and the conclusion was easy that when Miralda obtained anything, she handed it on to Inez for the latter to give to Barosa. The inference was strong enough for me to risk acting upon it. I could not, of course, be certain that Miralda went to Dagara’s house for any communications, while that I should go there was out of the question. I decided therefore to try my hand at a cipher message in Miralda’s name telling Dagara to bring the papers to a spot where I could meet him, and then take him to the only safe place for such an interview as ours would be--on the _Stella_. I must contrive to get him there secretly. I remembered a very little-used landing-stage on the east of the city round the point, where I could have my launch ready, and I soon saw a way of getting Dagara to that spot. The message I sent in cipher was as follows: “Usual place unsafe. M. waiting now in the Praca da Figueira for papers.” I wrapped this up in a long letter answering his about the chess problems, addressed it to Dagara at Volheno’s and sent Bryant to leave it at the office. I had meanwhile bundled Burroughs off to bring the launch to the landing-stage, and I timed the delivery of the letter to reach Dagara just about his dinner interval. If the scheme failed, I resolved as an alternative to find out where he lived and risk a visit to his house to frighten the papers out of him. I had a carriage in readiness as I intended to drive him in it to the landing-stage; and I was not a little excited as I started for the Praca da Figueira--a quiet little square close to my flat.