clever manner in which he introduces his subject. Butlet us continue."
With delicate fingers Frank Farquhar handled the next scrap oftypewriting and placed it before the great expert.
The folio in question apparently attracted Professor Griffin much morethan the first one presented to him. He read and re-read it, his greyface the whole time heavy and thoughtful. He was reconstructing thecontext in his own mind, and its reconstruction evidently caused himdeep and very serious reflection.
A dozen times he re-read it, while Frank and Gwen stood by exchangingglances in silence.
"The first portion of the statement on this folio is quite plain,"remarked the Professor at last, looking up and blinking at the youngman. "The writer indicates the Biblical fact that, after the Babylonianimprisonment the tablets of Moses were never again exhibited in theTemple. Surely this is not any amazing discovery! Every reader of theOld Testament is aware of that fact. The prophet Ezekiel himself wasone of the temple priests deported to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar in 597B.C. You'll find mention of it in Ezekiel, i, 2-8. His messageconsisted at first of denunciations of his countrymen, both in Babylonand in Palestine, but after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. he becamea prophet of consolation, promising the eventual deliverance andrestoration of the chosen people. Give me down the Bible, Gwen, dear,and also Skinner--the `Expositor's Bible.' You'll see it in the secondcase--third shelf to the left."
The girl crossed the room, and after a moment's search returned with thetwo volumes, which she placed before her father.
"Nebuchadnezzar received certain vessels from the temple at Jerusalem.Well, we know that," remarked the old man, as he opened the copy of HolyWrit and slowly turned its pages.
"The reference in the book of Ezra," he said, referring to the open bookbefore him, "concerns the proclamation of Cyrus, King of Persia, for thebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, how the people provided for thereturn, and how Cyrus restored the vessels of the temple to Sheshbazzar,the Prince of Judah." Then, turning to Gwen, he said: "Read the versesreferred to, dear--seventh to the eleventh in the first chapter."
The girl bent over the Bible, and read the verses aloud as follows:
"Also Cyrus the King brought forth the vessels of the house of the Lord,which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and had putthem in the house of his gods;
"Even those did Cyrus King of Persia bring forth by the hand ofMithredath the treasurer, and numbered them unto Sheshbazzar, the Princeof Judah.
"And this is the number of them: thirty chargers of gold, a thousandchargers of silver, nine and twenty knives,
"Thirty basons of gold, silver basons of a second _sort_ four hundredand ten, _and_ other vessels a thousand.
"All the vessels of gold and silver _were_ five thousand and fourhundred. All _these_ did Sheshbazzar bring up with _them_ of thecaptivity that were brought up from Babylon unto Jerusalem."
"Surely that is sufficient historical fact!" the old Professor said inhis hard, "dry-as-dust" voice. "Again, farther on, there is, you see, astatement that Titus destroyed Jerusalem and that he built the Arch ofTriumph in Rome and placed a representation of the candlesticks upon it.Does not every schoolboy know that! Bosh! my dear Frank!"
"True," exclaimed Frank, "but see! in the next line but one is areference to the existence of something in `the whole prophecy ofEzekiel'--something in `black and white.'"
Professor Griffin shrugged his shoulders.
"Ezekiel develops the doctrine of individual responsibility and of theMessianic kingdom as no prophet before him," was the Professor's reply."It may refer to that. The prophet's style is not of the highest order,but is extraordinarily rich and striking in its imagery. Theauthenticity of the book is now admitted, all but universally, but thecorrupt state of the Hebrew text has, for ages, been the despair ofstudents. Cornhill, in 1886, made a brilliant attempt to reconstructthe Hebrew text with the aid of the Septuagint."
Griffin noticed that his young friend did not quite follow that lastremark, so he added:
"The Septuagint is, as you may perhaps know, the earliest Greektranslation of the Old Testament scriptures made directly from theHebrew original during the third century before Christ for the use ofthe Hellenistic Jews. In the literary forgery produced about theChristian era, known as the `Letter of Aristeas,' and accepted asgenuine by Josephus and others, it is alleged that the translation wasmade by seventy-two men at the command of Ptolemy II. You will findportions of it in the British Museum, and from it we find that thetranslation is not of uniform value or of the same style throughout.The Pentateuch and later historical books, as well as the Psalms,exhibit a very fair rendering of the original. The prophetical books,and more especially Ezekiel, show greater divergence from the Hebrew,while Proverbs frequently display loose paraphrase."
"But is there anything in those typed lines which strikes you asunusually curious?" demanded young Farquhar, pointing to the smoked andcharred fragment upon the blotting-pad.
The Professor was silent for a moment, his eyes fixed upon thedisjointed and unfinished sentences.
"Well--yes. There is something," was his answer. "That statement thatsomething exists in `the whole prophecy of Ezekiel.' What is thatsomething?"
"Is it what Doctor Diamond suspects it to be, do you think?"
"I can form no definite conclusion until I have investigated the whole,"was the great scholar's response. "But I would, at this point, withdrawmy own light remarks of half an hour ago. There may be something ofinterest in it, but what the picturesque story is all leading up to Icannot quite imagine."
"To a secret--to the solution of a great and undreamed-of mystery!"declared Frank excitedly.
"The last few lines of this scrap before me certainly leads towards thatsupposition," was the answer of Gwen Griffin's father.
"Then you do not altogether negative Diamond's theory that there ishere, if we can only supply the context, the key to the greatest secretthis world has ever known!"
"Ah! that is saying a good deal," was the reply. "Let me continue theinvestigation of this wonderful document which the dying man was soanxious to destroy."
And by the sphinx-like expression upon the old man's face it wasapparent that he had already gathered more information than he waswilling to admit.
The truth was that the theory he had already formed within his own mindheld him bewildered. His thin fingers trembled as he touched the dried,crinkled folio.
There was a secret there--without a doubt, colossal and astounding--oneof which even the greatest scholars in Europe through all the ages hadnever dreamed!
The old man sat staring through his spectacles in abject wonder.
Was Doctor Diamond's theory really the correct one? If so, what righthad these most precious papers to be in the hands of an irresponsiblejournalist?
If there was really a secret, together with its solution--then thelatter must be his, and his alone, he decided. How it would enhance hisgreat reputation if he were the person to launch it forth upon theworld!
Therefore the old man's attitude suddenly changed and he pretended toregard the affair humorously, in the hope of putting Frank off hisguard.
If the world was ever to be startled by the discovery it should, heintended, be by Professor Arminger Griffin, and not through any one ofthose irresponsible halfpenny sheets controlled by Sir George Gavin andhis smart and ingenious young brother-in-law.
Both Frank Farquhar and Gwen noticed the old man's sudden change ofmanner, and stood puzzled and wondering, little dreaming what waspassing with his mind.
Few men are--alas!--honest where their own reputations are at stake.
CHAPTER SEVEN.
IN WHICH THE PROFESSOR EXHIBITS CUNNING.
Frank was fully aware that Professor Griffin was an eccentric man, fullof strange moods and strong prejudices. Most scholars and writers are.
"But, dad," exclaimed his daughter, placing her soft hand upon hisshoulder, "what do you really think of
it? Is there anything in thisDoctor Diamond's theory?"
"My dear child, I never jump to conclusions, as you know. It is againstmy habit. It's probably one of the many hoaxes which have beenpractised for the last thousand years."
The girl exchanged a quick glance with her lover. She could see thatFrank was annoyed by the light manner with which her father treated thealleged secret.
"Well, Professor," said the young man at last, "this, apparently, is thenext folio, though the numbering of each has been destroyed," and heplaced before the man in spectacles another scrap which presented theappearance as shown.
In an instant the old man became intensely interested though heendeavoured very cleverly to conceal the fact. He bent, and taking up alarge