“And you know, of course, that secrecy is one of the absolute requirements in such work,” Chief Welden proceeded. “There is no occasion for me to enlarge upon that. Secrecy is imperative to adequate protection. If other nations were to learn----” “I know all about that, Welden,” Nick interposed, checking him with a gesture. “It goes without saying. Come to the point.” “That may be done with few words,” Chief Welden replied. “Last Friday, three days ago, Garland had occasion to confer with Captain Backas about a very important part of their mutual plans, and he went to Annapolis for that purpose.” “I see.” “He took the plans with him in a leather portfolio. He spent most of the day with Captain Backas, returning alone to Washington in the early evening. He was met at the Union Station by two young women, one the only daughter of Senator Barclay, the other a Miss Verona Warren, an intimate friend of Miss Barclay, and with whom Garland is deeply in love. The girls knew he was to arrive from Annapolis at seven o’clock, and they met him with Senator Barclay’s touring car, driven by his chauffeur. They at once took Garland to his apartments, where they dropped him and returned home.” “Garland, I infer, brought back the plans taken to Annapolis,” Nick observed. “He put them in the portfolio before leaving the office in which he had talked with Captain Backas. Their conference had been strictly private. The portfolio did not leave Garland’s hands from that time until he entered his apartments in the Grayling, where he has a safe in which to lock them. He opened the portfolio to inclose a memorandum relating to the plans--and found them gone.” “The plans?” “Yes. The portfolio contained, instead, a quantity of blank paper resembling them in size and thickness.” “I disagree with you,” said Nick, after listening with scarce a change of countenance. “You have made one wrong statement.” “Namely?” “You said the portfolio did not leave Garland’s hands after he had placed the plans in it,” said Nick. “It did leave them, Welden, or there could not have been a substitution of worthless paper for such tremendously important plans.” Chief Welden smiled and nodded. “That goes without saying,” he admitted. “As a matter of fact, Nick, it was not the same portfolio.” “The whole business had been substituted?” “Exactly. The substituted portfolio was so like his own, however, that he did not detect the difference until after he had opened it,” said Welden. “His own was nearly new and his name was written with ink on the inside of a flap that closes it, and which is secured with two small straps and buckles. There was no name in the substituted portfolio. It was slightly defaced, moreover, so like his own that he detected no difference.” “Which plainly denotes that whoever turned the trick, or planned and directed the job, was perfectly familiar with Garland’s portfolio,” said Nick. “That is obvious, of course,” Chief Welden agreed.