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Chapter XV.
DOUBLE CUNNING.
AN old oaken desk with a deep body stood by the window in a room that overlooked St. James's Park from a height. The room was large, furnished and decorated by some one who had brought taste to the work; but the hand of the bachelor lay heavy upon it. John Marlowe unlocked the desk and drew a long, stout envelope from the back of the well.
'I understand,' he said to Mr. Cupples, 'that you have read this.'
'I read it for the first time two days ago,' replied Mr. Cupples, who, seated on a sofa, was peering about the room with a benignant face. 'We have discussed it fully.'
Marlowe turned to Trent. 'There is your manuscript,' he said, laying the envelope on the table. 'I have gone over it three times.
